P1 Further considerations on the bride of Christ

Romans 11:25-26 "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

Ephesians 3:9-10  "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 5:25-27 25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."

Introduction:

So much of the excitement that surrounds a wedding in modern culture centers around a whole host of details: food, music and venue.  Beyond even those things, the one area that is still a perennial area of curiosity for both guests, the groom and even the bride herself concerns the dress.  What exactly will the bride's dress look like? In most contexts the bridal gown is still preferred to be kept a "mystery" from the groom and all others until the day of the wedding when what is mystery will be revealed to all.  Even when the bride has walked the isle, the other piece of her ensemble - the veil - is viewed as a further detail of excitement, being that once the couple have exchanged their vows and the pastor says to the groom: "you may kiss your bride", the veil is put back.  Now everyone can see the bride's beauty and complexion as she and her groom kiss for the first time as husband and wife. 

This little introduction serves to aid the reader in understanding what exactly is going on in the New Testament regarding God's continual unfolding of His saving purposes through Jesus Christ.  Last week we looked at a three part series that we termed: "The Wedding you must not miss".1 So much was covered in that series that I felt like we needed to take a closer look at the bride herself.  Much like the little scenario pictured above, the New Testament's chief task is to reveal to us the Groom Jesus Christ, as well as His Father's plan in sending the Holy Spirit to gather forth sinners who, in accordance to His elective purpose of grace (to use the term of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000) will freely believe and be included in the bride. 

As we think further on this subject of the bride, we will utilize the following headings to guide our thinking:

1. The calling of Bride this current age
2. The inclusion of Israel with the bride in the Kingdom age
3. The completed bride in the Eternal age

Today's post will feature the first two points.

1. The calling of Bride this current age

We can summarize the entirety of Biblical revelation as being composed of five distinct, overlapping "eras" or "ages": creation or beginning age, Old Testament age, present or church age, millennium or kingdom age, eternity or the age to come. As we saw in last week's study, Yahweh had chosen to enter into covenant with his people - Israel - likened as a husband and wife relationship. (Jeremiah 31:31-34). God chose to experience Israel's formal breaking of covenant with Him. (Isaiah 50:1-2) Despite Israel's failure, God already had in mind the prophecies of a New Covenant, a plan in which He would bring about the Messiah or Groom for the people and promises of restoration for His people. (Ezekiel 11, 36-37)

When Christ came in the Gospels, He presented Himself as the Groom for the people. (John 3:29-30) Israel of course rejected Christ and in the course of His ministry He began to give glimpses of the fact that the Gentiles outside the Jewish fold were going to get a chance to be part of the People of God. Once Christ died, raised and ascended into heaven, the book of Acts records that on the day of Pentecost, a totally new work was begun - the church.

In the Old Testament God had called Israel to be a light to the nations, calling the Gentiles, in the words of John Piper, to "come and see". However once Israel rejected the Messiah, salvation was going to be fully opened up to called Gentiles who would believe and be saved. The church's emphasis would be more in lines of "going and telling". Thus the great surprise of the New Testament entails a two-fold mystery that many people even to this day discuss quite frequently: namely the place of Israel in God's purposes and the place of the church. Romans 11 helps the reader untangle this dual mystery of what the relationship is between Israel and the bride or church in this current age.2    

2. The relationship between the calling of the bride now to the inclusion of Israel with the bride in the Kingdom age

Thus God is right now calling forth the chosen bride for the Son, composed of choice sinners who in turn freely choose Jesus Christ as their saving bridegroom.  Israel, we discover, has not been replaced by the church nor rejected absolutely by God.  To erase the distinctions between Israel and the church would be to go against such distinctions that are still retained by the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 10:32) Rather, in relationship with the church and what will be her saving relationship with Christ at His second coming, God will fulfill His promises to Israel in the millennium or Kingdom age.  

Right now the church is being gathered by the Spirit to make Israel jealous, with her setting aside orchestrated by God to make way for the gathering in of believing Gentiles (and Jews). 

Such a magnificent and admittedly mind-blowing master plan of salvation by God prompts Paul to write these words in Romans 11:33,36 (33) "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" (36) "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." 

As powerful as God's master mission plan is in gathering a bride for the Son, we discover through Romans 11 that it is but a means to the greater end - God's glory.  John Piper notes: "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man."3
To add an additional thought to Dr. Piper's insight, the church is here on this earth to do missions. In doing the great commission of her Heavenly Bridegroom, she is preparing for and bringing glory to Him. The more the church engages in missions and evangelism, the greater urgency there will be for the worship and exaltation of Jesus Christ. 

Why is it relevant to understand God's calling of a bride in this current age and the inclusion of Israel with that bride in the future Kingdom age?

Such an understanding is practical for three reasons.  First, to demonstrate that God keeps His promises. God never lies (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18-20) and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Second, by noting the Bible's unfolding of all these details demonstrates God's plan of salvation to be far richer and more glorious than we ever imagined.  Salvation is not ultimately about the saved, but the Savior. God's glory in both His grace to sinners who believe and justice to those who freely reject Him is emphasized again and again in scripture.  Then thirdly, knowing such truths enables us to consider what God has ultimately in store for all who believe in this church age, those martyrs who believe in the tribulation and those Jews who believe in Christ's return. Christ is worth it all and it is faith's hope in Him that drives the believer to see that in Him all of God's promises are truly yeah and amen. (2 Cor 1:20)

More tomorrow.....

Endnotes:

1. http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p1-wedding-you-must-not-miss-that-is.html
http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p2-wedding-you-must-not-miss-god.html
http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p3-wedding-you-must-not-miss.html

2. In short, God's master program of missions in gathering forth sinners, one at a time, into the bride of Christ's in this present age, includes the following:

a. Israel is still God's chosen people, who have been temporarily set aside. 10:18-11:10

b. God has ordained unbelieving Israel's setting aside in order to save believing Gentiles and Jews. 11:11-24

c. God has ordained that once the full number of Gentiles (and believing Jews) are gathered in this age (this age includes the church age, rapture of church age saints, tribulation and inclusion of tribulation martyrs at Christ's return at the end of the Tribulation), Israel will then be saved at Christ's return. Zech 12:10-11; Revelation 1:7; 7; 14; Romans 11:25-32.

3. In short then, once Christ returns with His raptured saints at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be given the grace to believe on Him, and thus she will shine forth the glory of her Messiah in His Kingdom, enjoying His glory with the glorified church who is seated with Him on thrones in the Millennial Kingdom. (Revelation 20:1-6) 

A passionate letter warning the Southern Baptist Convention: Have we lost our first love?

Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Today's post features an open letter written yesterday by President and CEO of Life Way Christian Resources, Dr. Thom Rainer, to all the churches in the SBC.  I felt what he wrote was so important and timely that it merited a post on this blogsite today. The letter can be found at the link to Dr. Rainer's blogsite: http://thomrainer.com/2014/01/13/an-open-letter-to-my-denomination-have-we-lost-our-first-love/ I would encourage us all to read what he wrote and ask ourselves: "what am I doing to reach lost souls for Jesus?" Without further delay, I present to you below Dr. Rainer's open letter: "Have we lost our first love?"

Dear Southern Baptists:

I could be writing to a broader audience. Perhaps I should be. And I know many outside our denomination will read this brief letter. I hope those readers will bear with me as I have a “family discussion.”

Please hear me clearly. I am not writing out of any sense of superiority. Indeed, many of you could put me to shame. But my heart is breaking with what I perceive to be a loss of passion for those who do not know Christ. Many of you have seen the numbers. We are reaching fewer people for the gospel today than we did decades ago when we were a much smaller group.

The First Love
Where is the passion in most of our churches to reach the lost? Where is the passion among our leaders, both in our churches and in our denomination? Jesus told those at the church at Ephesus that they had sound doctrine, that they hated evil (Revelation 2:1-7). But He also told them they had lost their first love. When we truly love Jesus with all of our hearts, we can’t help but tell others about Him. We can’t help but share the good news.

I thank God for our contending for the faith. I thank God for our affirmation of the total truthfulness of Scripture. I thank God for orthodoxy. But I pray that it is not becoming a dead orthodoxy—an orthodoxy that has lost its first love.

The Purpose of the Letter
The purpose of this letter is not to chastise. I am a messed up sinner who has no right to look at the splinter in the eyes of my brothers and sisters when I need to deal with the plank in my own eye. I need to fall more deeply in love with Jesus. I need to share His love as part of my very being. In His power I must do more and I must do better.

No, the purpose of this letter is simply to share a broken heart, and to express a heartfelt desire to change. I must love Jesus more deeply and tell others about Him more often. I must show Christ’s love not only with my words, but with every action and interaction I have. I must be more like Him every day.

I have no proposal. I have no new programs for now. I simply have a burden.

And as a commitment to God first, but then a commitment to you, I am asking God to lead me to love Him more deeply than I ever have. I am asking God to put people in my life where I can show His love, and tell them about my Savior.

It Must Begin with Me
My life’s desire is to glorify God by loving Him with all my heart. And I have no right to say that unless I am so much in love with Him that I “am unable to stop speaking about what (I) have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Evangelism must be as natural to me as breathing.

Pastors, will you join me in this plea? Will you be an evangelistic example for the churches God has called you to serve? Laypersons, will you pray for evangelistic hearts in your own lives? I must make that prayer a part of my life every day.

Have we lost our first love? Is that love reflected in in how we share the gospel of Christ every day? May God break me until I am all His, telling others about His Son every day. And may the sharing of the good news of Christ once again become the focus of all our lives in the churches of our denomination.

The New Testament Books in Chronological order

2 Timothy 2:15  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

Today's post is all about summarizing the chronological order of the 27 New Testament books.  Knowing such an order can be useful for those who may want to read the New Testament in the order that God revealed His words to the New Testament apostles.  Credit for the dating goes to Dr. Richard Fairman, a wonderful New Testament Professor that I had in Bible College years ago.  May the reader find the following list both useful and informative.

James = 45 A.D

Matthew = Written between 45-50 A.D

Galatians = 52 A.D

1 & 2 Thessalonians = 52 A.D

1 & 2 Corinthians = 56 A.D

Romans  = 57 A.D

Mark = Written between 60-69 A.D

Luke  = Written 59 or 60 A.D

Acts = Written very shortly after Luke. 

Ephesians = 60 A.D

Colossians & Philemon = 61 A.D

Philippians = 62 A.D

1 Timothy & Titus = 62 A.D

1 Peter = 63 A.D

Hebrews = 64 A.D

2 Timothy  = 64 A.D

2 Peter = 66 A.D

Jude = 75 A.D

1,2 & 3 John = Written between 85-95 A.D

Revelation = 96 A.D

A closer look at faith - Hebrews 10:19-39

Hebrews 10:19-22a "Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."

Introduction:
Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said one time: "The light bulb for us Christians is prayer, and God has the power but it is faith that makes the connection." The part about "faith" in that statement is what captures the reader's attention, and thus leads us into considering a closer look at faith in today's post. The particular section of Hebrews 10:19-39 will be the focus, being that the word or idea of "faith" occurs in four places.  However if one were to undertake the wider context of Hebrews 10:19-12:2, one would find the word "faith" mentioned over 30 times.  As we are well underway into this new year, I felt it necessary to consider Hebrews 10:19-39 in regards to taking a closer look at faith.  As we do so, we will consider the following three main thoughts:

1. Ground of Faith - Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:19-21
When we talk about the "ground of faith", we are referring to the foundation, or what we could also term the charter of faith.  The New Oxford American Dictionary, page 289 defines a charter as: "a written grant by a country's legislative or Sovereign power by which an institution such as a company, university or city is created and its rights and privileges defined." Think about how Jesus Christ, in all that He is, and all that He has done, as being the charter or ground of faith. The whole book of Hebrews was written to convince believers who were saved out of Old Covenant Judaism that it is Christ, and nothing else, that provides the ground for faith. Even in the Old Testament era, the shadows and types of every covenant and ritual pointed to Christ, hence He being the ground of Old Testament faith in the form of a plan and promise. There is no question that the point of Hebrews 10:19-21 is to define for us the ground of faith by the words "therefore" and "since". 

It is Christ, in His Deity, who is able to ensure the ground or charter of faith.  Likewise, Christ in His humanity is the only one capable of providing such a ground. Passages throughout the New Testament such as Ephesians 1:7 and Titus 1:2 describe Christ in both His Eternal and historic existence as God in human flesh as being the believer's salvation. No doubt, the ground or charter of faith is Christ and His work.  But now notice what God has prescribed concerning the growth of faith, namely...

2. Growth of faith - The church. Hebrews 10:22-25
It is astonishing how in the 16 million member Southern Baptist Convention alone, only a little over half of that number can actually be found in attendance in a weekly church service.  Whenever I speak to people about what is necessary for Christian growth, I point them to three main things that are the most often neglected, and yet are what God has prescribed: the scriptures, prayer and church attendance.  Oftentimes people may respond: "Well I pray, and I occasionally read my Bible, but I just can't see the need for church." Dear friend, unless Providentially hindered due to emergency, illness or required job situation, no excuse in the world can be given for missing weekly time with God's people.

Truly Hebrews 10:22-25 functions as God's garden, full of three rows of "lettuce" commands: "let us draw near" (10:22); "let us hold fast" (10:23) and "let us consider how to stimulate one another unto love and good deeds" (10:24). Another section, Hebrews 3:12-13 states similarly: "Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Whenever you see that phrase "let us", that is indicating a command, and not suggestion.  Paul (or whoever the human writer of Hebrews may be, we know the Holy Ghost is the Primary Author) is urging his readers to grow in their faith by being with others of "like faith".  The 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession puts it plainly: "All saints that are united to Jesus Christ, their head, by His Spirit, and faith, although they are not made thereby one person with Him, have fellowship in His graces, sufferings, death, resurrection and glory; and being united to one another in love, they have communion in each others gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, in an orderly way, as to conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man." 

So we have seen the Ground of faith to be Jesus Christ.  Also, we have seen the growth of faith to be prescribed by God in the the local church.  The writer of Hebrews directs us to one more consideration of this important subject of faith, namely...
3. Genuine faith (contrasted with false faith). Hebrews 10:26-39
Throughout the Bible we find discussions regarding what we could call "counterfeit faith" vs genuine faith.  Certainly Cain and Abel are the first historic examples of "make belief" versus "true belief" in God, His salvation and His word. The crowds' response to Jesus in John 12:36-43 evidenced "false faith", being that they "loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43). All who truly believe on Jesus Christ must have the supernatural saving gift of faith.  However, as we see in the instance of Simon Magus in Acts 8:12-32, there is a form of belief that represents an ascent of the mind to the Gospel, and yet is absent of the true faith that is placed by God in the heart.  

Throughout the Book of Hebrews we see five warnings issued against those "professors of faith" who have not yet "possessed Christ by faith" (please compare Hebrews 2:1-5; 3:6-4:7; 6:1-8; 10:36-39; 12:25-29). 

Whenever we see the frightening reality of such a condition - the question that should arise is: "what then distinguishes true saving faith from false, counterfeit belief"? According to Hebrews 10:26-39, it is that one trait of endurance or perseverance.  Time and time again the quality of endurance or perseverance is defined as distinguishing true belief from make belief.  Jesus in His parable of the four soils (Matt. 13:3-23; Mk 4:3-25; Lk 8:5-18) emphasizes that the first three soils fell away, with only the four soil remaining and bearing fruit. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 notes: "All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."

After issuing warnings and contrasts, the Holy Ghost says plainly in Hebrews 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."

Conclusion
Today we have considered a closer look at faith in Hebrews 10:19-39.  We noted first of all that the Ground of faith is none other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-21).  We secondly considered the growth of faith, prescribed by the Lord, to be none other than the local church (Hebrews 10:22-25). Then we finally noted that in distinguishing genuine faith from counterfeit belief, the trait of endurance or perseverance merges repeated throughout Hebrews 10:26-39 (especially vss 32,36 & 39).  May this closer look at faith encourage either the Christian reader to grow in their faith or the unbeliever to trust in Christ by faith. (Romans 10:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-9)

P2 God's Will, the Believer and Suffering

James 5:10-11 "As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

Introduction and review In yesterday's post we began considering the relationship between God's will, the believer and suffering.  Thus far we have considered Job as an example of what it means to endure suffering and evil, as instructed by James in James 5:10-11.  In today's post we continue our study by noting how the various aspects of God's will enable us to grasp better how to face the suffering and evil in this world as Christians. The point of this study is not to gain total comprehension of how God is Sovereign and Good while there is yet evil and suffering in the world. Rather the purpose is to have better understanding in how to handle such issues and to give the reader a way in which to cope and comfort those who are suffering by pointing them to God in Christ as revealed in the scriptures.

God's will as spelled out in scripture and in the life of the believer

Before getting to the subject of suffering and evil, we need to briefly look at God's will as outlined in the scriptures.  God's will first and foremost has to do with what God desires and/or purposes. (for instance, Isaiah 45:1-7; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 11:15) Thus God being all-powerful and all-good has an ultimate will by which He governs and sustains all of life, places and people. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15; Ephesians 1:11-12; Romans 8:28, 11:36) Such an understanding of God ruling and reigning over all people's and places according to His purposes and/or pleasure is what we call His Sovereignty. God's Sovereignty includes the fact He governs with all power (1 Corinthians 8:6-7), righteousness and truth (Psalm 89:14) and justice and goodness (Genesis 18:25). Thus whatever is right and good is so because God is the Ultimate standard of right and good. (Exodus 33:16-17; 34:6-7; Luke 18:1-5)

If we can picture God's Ultimate will as an umbrella, scripture unfolds His ultimate will, representing His purposes and/or desires, as being composed of at least three aspects or "wills" that He uses in exercising His ultimate will. We will name them and then use each one to walk our way through what took place in the opening chapters of the Book of Job.

1. God has a permissive or inclusive will.
God's permissive or what we could also term His "inclusive will", refers to whatever means God uses or "permits" in bring about His ultimate will.  For example, we understand that God often will use and permit evil persons such as pagan kings (Isaiah 45:1-7), nations (Habakkuk 1) or in the instance of Job's situation, Satan himself to accomplish His purposes. (Job 1:6-19; 2:7-10)  Scripture itself refers to God's permissive will.  At times God willed to permit or include suffering and hardship in the lives of the Israelites to show them that "man shall live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God's mouth". (Deuteronomy 8:4) James records in James 4:14 the phrase "If the Lord wills" regarding plans that people may have for the future. God clearly "permitted" or "willed to include" the evil actions of the Jews and Romans in the execution of Christ, the event He had in His ultimate will ordained to come to pass. (Acts 2:23-24).  Scripture tells us the principle that God permits what He hates in order to accomplish the good He intends. (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28). 17th century Baptist theologian Andrew Fuller, in his foundational work "Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation" writes: God has ever maintained these two principles: all that is evil is of the creature, and to him, belongs the blame of it; and all that is good is of Himself, and to Him belongs the praise of it."1

God has an unrevealed will
Scripture spells out the fact that there are aspects of God's ultimate will that men nor angel will never know nor can know.  Deuteronomy 29:29 states that "the unrevealed things belong to God". Matthew 24:36 states that the time of Christ's coming is only known to the Father. It is this facet of God's will that makes the problem of evil and suffering truly and personally painful. With even as much information that Job 1-2 reveals to the reader (the conversation between Satan and God and the direct cause of Job's suffering being done by Satan and evil men), still the fact remains that there are things we do not know.  For instance: Why did God will to permit Satan to come into His presence in heaven? Why did God include Satan in such a dialogue about Job? Why does God let Satan afflict a man who was as righteous as Noah, had the integrity of Joseph and faith like Abraham? The text does not say specifically. In Job's case we know the overall outcome and thus the purpose of God's ultimate will for Job, which we will look at in just a moment.  However some of the specific things God included in His plan we are not told, nor can we know. 

Scripture uniformly points us to find comfort in God's character as being All-Good and All-powerful, rather than answers to all our questions. The same God who chose to create a world where His Son would be crucified is the same God behind working forth His redemptive purposes in such an act. As the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of 1742 notes: "that His determinate counsel extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions both of angels and men; (and that not by a bare permission) which also He most wisely and powerfully boundeth, and otherwise ordereth, and governeth, in a manifold dispensation to His most holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness of their acts proceedeth only from the creatures, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin."2

God has a revealed will - The Word of God
We have seen God's ultimate will to be about what He desires and/or purposes, and that His Ultimate will includes what He permits/includes as well as some areas He only knows.  However there is one last aspect of God's Ultimate will, what passages such as Deuteronomy 29:29 and 2 Timothy 3:16 refers to as His revealed will.  Twice we see Job finding comfort in His sufferings in the revealed aspect of God's will.  Job notes God's Sovereignty in Job 1:21 and God's character in 2:10.  Though such truths had not yet been put in writing at this point in redemptive history (this writer assumes the events of Job occurred in the days of the Genesis patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or Joseph), nonetheless Job may had learned of them from being a distant relative of Esau, and thus through indirect contact with Abraham's relatives.  What we do know is that Job clung tightly to God's revealed Word in the face of financial loss, family loss, loss of health, a shattered and bitter wife and of course his so-called "friends" and their helpless words comprising the bulk of the book.

God has a purpose in suffering - always
We have looked at the believer Job and the will of God.  But now the big question comes: what purpose is their in his suffering? We must note two fundamental assumptions about suffering, the believer and the will of God: there is always a purpose, however we may often not know nor understand what that purpose is.  Whenever we read through the whole book of Job, the question comes up again and again: Why? Again we may not know the answer comprehensively, however Job 42:10-11 reveals the outcome: "The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold." The purpose of God was to ultimately bless Job.  So in the end, not one of the things Job underwent occurred without a purpose.  That is Job's life.

But now what about you.  Unlike the Book of Job, you and I often don't have the purposes of God spelled out as to why we experience particular evils or sufferings.  In fact I am thinking of a couple people in my own life: a dear friend and a family member, who are experiencing suffering in their lives.  They are believers who love the Lord, and yet their circumstances are close to what Job's was like.  I don't even begin to know all the reasons why. However I do know the Who Who is Sovereign.  They too know Him Who makes known Himself though the scriptures.  

Job himself had done nothing wrong.  Nonetheless God's statements at the beginning of the book were based upon how God saw Job not in Job 1-2, but how God knew Job was going to be in Job 42.  Yes, God's purpose and desire was to bless Job.  You and I most certainly may not see what purposes God has.  However the same Sovereign and Good God in the book of Job is still operating and working in the world and so desires to work in your life.  As Dr. Swindoll has noted: "Though God's Sovereignty may not answer all my questions, nonetheless His Sovereignty does calm me in all my fears". 

Conclusion:
As we close out today's post, we have considered Job as an example of a believer who went through suffering within the will of God.  We looked at various aspects of God's Ultimate will (permissive, unrevealed and revealed wills) to grasp in a better way how there is no conflict between God being Sovereign and there being suffering. Then we saw that in regards to suffering, God has a purpose, however we often will not full comprehend that purpose - thus driving us to trust in what He has revealed Himself to be in Christ and in His word. (John 16:33) The aim of today's post was not to provide comprehensive understanding, rather to aid in better grasping of this difficult issue.  My hope is that this post has given the reader some encouragement in whatever difficult time they are facing or are currently experiencing.  
Endnotes:
1. http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/fuller/gospel/worthy.pdf

2. http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/pc05.htm

P1 God's will, the believer and suffering

James 5:10-11 "As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

Introduction: The Lord's Will, Suffering and the Christian

James begins today's post by having us consider the prophets as an example of suffering and patience, among whom is specifically mentioned Job. In James 5:11 we read the inspired summary of the assessment of Job's suffering and God's will: "You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."  Whenever a discussion begins on the problem of evil and suffering, typically it is in the context of skeptics attacking Christianity's claim of their being an all-powerful, all good-God governing our universe. As the standard skeptical argument goes: If God is all powerful and all good, and yet there is evil, either God is all powerful but no good or He is all good and yet not powerful enough to do anything about it. 

As the skeptic winds down what they think to be a watertight case against God's existence, the conclusion is made: there can be no All good or all powerful God, being that there is so much evil and suffering in the world.  Amazingly whenever we read the scriptures, the presence of evil and suffering in the lives of Christians is dealt with head on as substantiating not only the existence, but the need for the All-power and All-Good God of Biblical Revelation.  The atheist or skeptical argument assumes to much of humanity's knowledge and understanding - which exposes the fatal flaw in their argument.  As pastor and theologian Mark Dever has noted: "God is by His nature to be trusted.  He may be misunderstood by us in what He does or allows, but He cannot be declared wrong."  

From the earliest book of the New Testament, the Book of James, James Himself draws the conclusion from reflecting on the earliest Old Testament book - Job, that Job's sufferings end up reinforcing the Biblical revelation of God being full of compassion and mercy.  James uses the phrase "God's dealings" to bring this truth into sharp clarity. The phrase "God's dealings" is another way of saying "God's Will".  As we consider how God's will, suffering and the believer work together in Job's life, we will aim to better grasp (mind you not fully comprehend) how an all powerful, all Good God can govern a universe, and still be the God "full of compassion and mercy" despite the presence of evil and suffering. 

Meet Job - The believer in the Lord

Job 1:1-6 introduces us to Job.  What kind of man was he? According to the sacred text, Job was "upright, blameless, fearing God and turned away from evil" (1:1).  Spiritually and morally Job was without peer.  We could say that in regards to his character, Job was at least equal to Noah, who receives a similar description like Job in Genesis 6:9.  

Materially Job was unparalleled among men. He had seven sons and three daughters, each number representing fullness and completion. The animals he owned (camels, she-donkeys, and oxen) were all marks of wealth and fame.  We could say that in regards to his fame, Job was likened unto the later Solomon, the richest and wisest man who ever lived. 

In regards to his faith-walk, Job was second to none.  Job 1:8 has God Himself saying to Satan: "The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Truly it could be stated that Job's faith was as great as Abraham, who is described in similar terms in Genesis 18:6-9. Certainly among the great men of God, Old Testament passages such as Ezekiel 14:14 & 20 equate Job as being as righteous as Noah and Daniel. So without a doubt, Job in regards to his character, wealth and faith was the last man we would expect to undergo the sufferings he was about to endure. Job is the believer whom James encourages us to emulate. However in doing so, what about how God's will and suffering operated in his life? 

More tomorrow....

P3 The Wedding you must not miss: The Presentations of the Bridegroom and His Bride

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:27-29 "John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full."

Introduction and Review

For the past couple of days we have been exploring the Biblical theme of the Divine Wedding as used by God to portray His redemptive purposes in the Bible.  After overviewing the big picture in the first post of this series, we then looked yesterday at how God began to utilize this major theme in the Old Testament through the Gospels. In yesterday's post we discovered the following two major points:

1. Purposes of a Sovereign, Loving Savior

2. Presentation of the Son as a Bridegroom for the people

In today's post we want to develop further the second point and add one more to it as we aim to understand the wedding you cannot miss - a wedding that is concerned with the destiny and salvation of those who accept or reject it's invitation.

Presentation of the Bridegroom for the people

It is no accident that the most famous passage on salvation in the Bible - John 3:16, occurs in the same chapter with John the Baptist's declaration of Jesus as the Bridegroom for the people. If the reader will recall, God planned to marry Israel as His wife, only to experience the pain of divorce as a result of her unfaithfulness.  Through prophetic predictions of a new Covenant and coming Messiah, Yahweh planned to restore unto Himself His people, meaning that in His Sovereign purposes, His plan to restore His choice people was not going to fail.  The Old Testament tells us what Yahweh intended to do, and yet it does not reveal how.  

John the Baptist's remarks about Jesus being the "bridegroom" begins to unfold how it is God is going to restore unto Himself a people.  With a surprising twist - that God Himself in the Person of the Son was going to be incarnated as the Groom who would offer Himself to Israel as her Messiah.  Redemption is pictured among other things in the New Testament as God's desire to restore broken fellowship with a people who rejected Him!  As the reader journey's throughout the Gospels, we see the following thoughts developed regarding the presentation of the Son as the Groom for His people:

1. The Divine Groom rejoices in coming for His people. Matthew 9:15; John 2:1-12

2. The Divine Groom rejected by His people. Matthew 22:1-5

3. The Divine Groom renders His life on behalf of His people. Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25-27

The New Testament's unfolding of this amazing theme centers almost exclusively on the Groom - The Son.  However there is another twist, a surprise unforseen by the Old Testament and faintly unfolded in the Gospels - namely what would be the...

Presentation of the Bride for the Son - The church

The Son who rejoiced, was rejected, rendered His life and who will return, is now looking forward to coming to receive the bride that is being called forth, one choice person at a time, by the Holy Spirit, resulting in freely made decisions that say: "I do" to Jesus Christ.  Consider the following points about the bride: 

1. The bride is being prepared for her groom, (with Israel being set aside at this present time)

Romans 11

2. The Bride will be presented to the Son as His bride in heaven the rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:6-7

3. The Bride will be presented here on earth at His second coming (at which point He will restore Israel). Matt 25:1-13; Rom 11:25-26; 1 Thess 4:13-16

4. The Groom will reign on earth with His Bride the church, along with Israel who will be folded into His bride to be at the end of His reign on earth. (Revelation 20)

5. The Groom and Bride will be married for all eternity, thus completing God's purposes in presenting a bride, composed of all of those whom He chose, called and were converted by faith to His Son. 

Appeal for you to become part of the Bride of Christ

The Bible closes will a final appeal to every person to become part of the bride by becoming converted by grace through faith in the Divine Groom - Jesus Christ. (Revelation 22:17)  Won't you come?