Seeing how God uses different blends of personality temperaments in families and churches

Romans 12:4-5 "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."

Introduction and Review

The past couple of days has been devoted to understanding how God uses different personality temperaments in the overall design of His church. How different types of people that live and minister in our churches can just as easily valuable in understanding our families as well. If anything, the family is the most fundamental relational unit designed by God. Just as individuals makes up families, such families and individuals who are born-again by the Spirit of God make up our churches. In three major sections of Paul's letters (Romans 12; Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12-14) and Peter's first epistle in chapter 4, we see extended discussion on both the natural and supernatural design of God in both families and churches. 

In this particular series of posts I am interested in exploring the natural, physical and personality make-up categories that God has designed into the life of each person. Such an area of study has been around for centuries and Bible teachers have found such a study valuable in helping people understand why they do and respond like they do. A few days ago I mentioned that I am convinced that over 3/4 of the conflicts we see in churches arises as a result of not understanding each other. 

We have been using four fictional characters to unpack the four personality temperaments that we find in people: Carl Choleric; Sam Sanguine; Molly Melancholy and Fred Phlegmatic. If the read will recall, our four characters had come to a red-light in the center of an imaginary town that gave us opportunity to see how they respond in a given situation. We saw Carl Choleric being the guy who is task oriented and prone to telling others what needs to get done. When we met Sam Sanguine, he was the guy who wanted to wave hello at everyone and even though he too was excited about his trip, he more so was interested in meeting people. Molly Melancholy was very detailed and thoughtful and was willing to take turns if necessary. Then there was Fred Phlegmatic who thought it comical to watch everyone else but was content on waiting to get to his destination, knowing he would get there on time and knowing what he would do.

Well now all four of our characters have arrived at their destination and have met and are now returning to their individual homes. We won't have them go through a red-light again but rather we want to understand further this concept of personality temperament and understand that for every person, there are blends of all four of these temperament types, as well as certain temperaments working differently in different people. Later on we will see how this insight aids in understanding what happens in our families and churches, based upon the scriptures cited above. 

Carl Choleric's home - a combination of order and creativity

Carl is married to a woman who is Melancholy - the creative, mainly introverted and thoughtful personality type. Carl and his wife love each other very much and their combined temperaments balance each other very well. Their one daughter exhibits her mother's melancholy thoughtfulness, her dad's tendency to be focused on a task. However what makes their daughter interesting is that she has a dominate sanguine personality, with a smattering of phlegmatic tendency to play practical jokes. Carl and his wife are proud of their daughter. She is very likable as a sanguine but when placed in large groups tends to be quieter, due to inheriting her mother's melancholy traits. As Carl and his wife get to know their daughter more and more, they see in each of themselves smatterings of the other personality types, all combined uniquely under their dominate personality temperaments. 

Sam Sanguine's Home - Warm and Safe

When Sam arrives home, he greets his wife and son with a "hey everyone, daddy's home". His wife, a Phlegmatic, has been working steadily to make sure that their family has a nice meal and fun game after dinner. Sam's wife tends to be quieter, but when she says something, it is usually worthwhile listening to. Their son is like his mom - a Phlegmatic, but more so like his dad - a sanguine. He talks about his day with excitement but then reports how he is wanting to make sure his schedule doesn't get interrupted by surprises. The dominate sanguine and phlegmatic personality temperaments make this home a combination warm and safe place to be.

Molly's Home - Intellectual and purposeful

When Molly arrives home she waves at her husband who has been making some stir fry in the kitchen for the family. Molly instantly looks through the mail, since that was the first thing on her list of to-do's. Molly's husband is a combination choleric and phlegmatic, with the phlegmatic being the dominant personality temperament. Molly loves her husband due to the fact he is ever loyal and never leaves her side. When it comes to making decisions, her husband's choleric side tends to keep things focused. Molly, being a melancholy, reminds her husband to be sure to remember the appointments they have planned for the week. Their teenage daughter drives up as supper is about done being cooked. As Molly and her husband's daughter walks in, she strolls by calm and collective. As a sanguine she hugs her parents and begins to tell them about her day. Their daughter is a basketball player who also likes her new math class. However, her secondary phlegmatic temperament kicks in and she settles down quickly into getting the table set, just as she always does at dinner.  As the family eats their meal, each relays their day and soon each will be settling into their chairs to read a book and then end the evening watching their favorite t.v show or playing a board game.

Frank's home - Steady adventure

Frank Phlegmatic arrives home and is greeted with excited wife and son holding up plane tickets. Fred is the type of guys who likes to ease into his evening, but he can tell by the Sanguine personalities of his wife and son, that the evening is going to be a discussion about adventure. Frank's birthday is coming up, and his wife and son break the news that they are wanting to take Frank on a ski-trip. As they sit down to dinner, Frank is enjoying his food while his family goes on and on. After they finish, they ask excitedly: "well, what'ya think?" Frank slowly sipped his coffee and smiled and said: "That sounds good to me." At first Frank's wife and son stared at Frank in disbelief, not understanding how he could not be excited. However, Frank suddenly bursted out laughing, as only  Phlegmatic can do. Then Frank's wife and son realized they had been kidded around with by Frank, with Frank immediately saying - well, lets do it. I'm grateful you both would think of that for me. 

Closing thoughts

In the fictional accounts above, how many readers found the account more interesting to read than the red-light scenario of a couple of posts back? The hope of this writer is that today's post proved more interesting. To see how God has not only created people with temperament styles, but with different blends, makes for greater expressions of creativity, excitement, adventure and building of relationships. Each of the above homes were certainly different, and yet because they all understood one another, it proved to be a harmonious home-life for Carl, Sam, Molly and Fred. 

In the scriptures above, God not only has different people of different temperaments in families, but in the local church. According to Dr. Tim Lahaye's book: "Spirit-controlled Temperament", the four personality temperaments can yield up to twelve different combinations. Furthermore, each person has all four types, with one, two or sometimes three being the dominate ones in different measure. When we consider how each person is wired and has different levels of each temperament style, the blends and combinations can certainly exceed the ideal 12 blends. 

In the Romans 12 passage, as well as the other scriptures that speak about the Body of Christ and the differing gifts, the emphasis is as much on the diversity of God's people as there is their unity. The Lord is so creative and innovative. If we can appreciate how each of these temperaments interact with one another, and the beauty that can result from such interaction, how can we not praise God for how such a design exists in the local church and in our families?

More tomorrow....

Carl, Sam, Molly & Fred: How God uses different personality temperaments in His church

1 Cor 12:4-7 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

Introduction and review
When Paul writes what he did up in 1 Corinthians 12, his concern was to show how the Triune God has so designed the church to be a reflection of Himself as a redeemed community unified in Jesus Christ that expresses such devotion in diverse ways. Spiritual gifts are the primary focus of the texts and are supernaturally given graces given out by the Holy Spirit at salvation. When we speak of personality temperaments, these are natural inborn traits that everyone has and which tend to fall into four general categories of description (choleric, sanguine, melancholy and phlegmatic). The goal today is to further our understanding on this subject and to see what happened to our four friends who were stopped at the stop light. 

Carl, Sam, Molly and Fred proceed forward
Fred Phlegmatic and Molly Melancholy were both the type of people who preferred others to go first, since they by this point had all kinds of things going through their minds. Sam Sanguine and Carl Choleric were revving their engines. Sam was excited to get to where he was heading. He just hoped that despite forgetting the itinerary, he would be able to influence others to help her along the way. Carl Choleric began honking his horn and it was time to get down the road. Carl then realized that he recognized the other three drivers, and that they all were going to the same destination. So to save face he decided to direct the other three to go first. Sam Sanguine jumped at the opportunity and went first. When Carl tried to wave on Molly Melancholy and Fred Phelgmatic, each of them just stared at each other, hoping the other could move. They pointed to Carl to go ahead and so with a quick thumbs up Carl gunned it and sped off. Molly Melancholy decided that it might be best for Fred Phlegmatic to go, since it is etiquette to let the person to your right go first.  Once Fred left, Molly then proceeded but first needed to stop and a cup of coffee, since the destination to where she was heading did not serve good coffee.

The church that God has designed is composed of different types of temperaments

The above little story was designed to get you and I to think about the different types of personalities God has made to occupy our world and our churches. When I think of the local church from a Biblical standpoint, it is like the little town. There are governing standards (God's Word, the Bible); the Mayor or we could say the King of Kings (Jesus Christ), the Sherriff (The Holy Spirit), deputies (Pastors, Elders, Deacons) and the town's people with businesses and homes that make the town life, breath and work by their differing gifts (all Christians, including the pastors, Elders and Deacons). 

The above fictitious characters are so-named from the four personality types that have been identified throughout history. Tim Lahaye in his book; "Spirit-controlled Temperament", page 2, defines temperament as: "that combination of inborn traits that subconsciously affects all of your behavior." Others, including Lahaye, have described temperament as answering the question: "why you do what you do". 

Lahaye goes onto define two other words closely related to "temperament" - namely "character" and "personality". Character is in Lahaye's words: "the real you when no one is looking". According to Lahaye, character combines your temperament, training, moral values, beliefs and habit patterns. In thinking on Lahaye's distinction of character, if "temperament" represent the raw material from whence people are made from the traits inherited from their parents, character represents the chisels, the hammers and tools taken in by that person in the shaping and molding of that person. Certainly God in His Sovereignty affects people unto salvation, bringing about progressive change in the character of the Christian and thus an alteration in the temperament. 

The second related word: "personality", is defined by Lahaye as the outward expression of one's character. We could say that personality is the paint and final touches that over time reflect to others who we are or who we want them to thin we are. Again in the life of the Christian, the Holy Spirit's work of inward transformation of the character should over times align the personality on the outside with what's going on inside.

In the above little story, not only did Carl, Sam, Fred and Molly represent the four main temperaments (respectively Choleric, Sanguine, Phelgmatic and Melancholy), but undoubtedly everyone living and working in the town had combinations of these temperaments which made the town a truly remarkable place to live. 

The more we identify God's design and yield to His will, the less conflict and more appreciation we will have for fellow Christians

God has so designed the church to be composed of those whom He set His affection upon that are not cookie-cutter people, but different. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, in-as-much as the text is all about the unity of the Body of Christ, three times in as many verses we read the word: "variety". I am convinced that over three-quarters of the disputes that arise in the church stem from misunderstanding one another. 

Years ago I recall listening to a message series on the spiritual gifts. The pastor commented that the Holy Spirit's distribution of the gifts take into account the personality of the person. This insight has definite scriptural support. Within 1 Corinthians 12 for example, we read of how much of each person's individuality and uniqueness is factored into the Spirit's Sovereign decision in determining which people will receive what gifts. For example, 1 Corinthians 12:11  "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." Another text, 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it."

The types of people that occupy our churches and the gifts God has distributed to each person is so vital to understand. When you consider the different church to which Paul wrote, they all were - well - different? Why? Each one had different mixes of personality temperaments and giftings. These mixtures are what I term "the church's spiritual finger print". Just as our finger prints are God-given, each church is different due to grasping how God has and is molding each one to achieve the Great Commission and Great Commandment. 

More tomorrow....

The Stop-Light and Four Personality Temperaments

1 Cor 12:4-7 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

Introduction:
Today's post aims to begin exploring the concept of how God uses different personality temperaments to achieve His purposes. Before we make any further comments on the text above, I want to introduce you to four people and a little story about them that illustrates what is meant by the idea of personality temperament. 

Meet Carl, Sam, Molly and Fred

There was once a small town that had at its center a stop light. The roads leading into and out of this town went to places and came from places of influence and possibility. For anything and anyone coming into and out of the town, there had to be a common understanding and agreed upon authority telling those going through the light when to go and when to stop. Thankfully the town charter had adopted the words of the State and Government that established such principles so that anyone coming into the town could proceed or stop at the light in order and go in peace.

The Mayor of the small town exercised the authority and the Sheriff and Deputies made sure all things were in order. Little businesses and homes peppered the country side and thoroughfares of that small municipality. 

One day four completely different people were coming toward the stop light at the same time. The first was Carl Choleric (pronounced Ko-lair-ick). Carl was the type of man that had no time for stop lights and was eager to get to his destination on time. Carl was a take-charge type of guy who was a good person to have if you need something done but who otherwise preferred to have it done yesterday. Carl's hope was that the light would stay green, however if it turned yellow, he would floor-it and hope to make it through before the dreaded "red-light" came up.

The second person was Sam Sanguine. Sam was a friendly outgoing fellow who though having a destination, yet had forgotten his itinerary at home. Sam Sanguine was not worried because for him, meeting people along the way and being a friendly outgoing person was just as important (or perhaps moreso) than getting the job done. Sam was a motivator who could get the ball rolling and convince others to follow him. However Sam also had the bad habit of not finishing things and moving onto something else. As Sam was approaching the stop light, his hope was that the light would be a quick one, however if he got to talking to the other people in the other cars waiting at the light, that was o.k too!

The third person was Molly Melancholy. Molly enjoyed thinking and doing creative things. She had her gps, maps and itinerary all laid out in alphabetical order. Molly had lists and lists of lists of what she was going to do before, during and after arriving at her destination. When Molly saw the stop light up ahead, she had researched how long the light would take to change from red to green. Molly at times could get moody if things didn't go her way, however she had three or four plans ready to go in case the light took longer than expected.

Then the fourth person heading towards the light at the center of town was Fred Phlegmatic. Fred was easy going and in no particular hurry. Fred was the kind of guy who could mutter things under his breath but would keep to himself unless prompted by someone to act. His destination was the same every week and he never missed one time, since his loyalty and love for regularity made him a valued person. Fred's slow and easy going ways could sometimes cause people to wonder why he took so long to do things. However, Fred was unconcerned about the red light up ahead and planned on slowing down before the light turned yellow.

The light in the center of town was a quick yellow light and so all four of our fictitious characters arrived at the same time. Sam Sanguine wanted to introduce himself, Molly Melancholy whipped out some paper to make another list and tried not to look up at the other three people but made sure she stayed focused on the light. Carl Choleric tapped his fingers and rolled his eyes at Molly and at Sam's excessive waving and friendliness. Poor Carl just wanted to get to "point B". Fred Phlegmatic was calm and surveyed each of the other three drivers and smiled, thinking of funny little jokes to pass the time. He figured the light would turn eventually and in the meantime, already had planned what he was going to do once he arrived at his destination.

Suddenly the light turned green and now the question was: who would go first? To find out, you will have to come back to our next post. Meanwhile, here is the point regarding personality temperaments and the above opening scripture as we close out today's post.

The point:
When Paul writes what he did up in 1 Corinthians 12, his concern was to show how the Triune God has so designed the church to be a reflection of Himself as a redeemed community unified in Jesus Christ that expresses such devotion in diverse ways. Spiritual gifts are the primary focus of the texts and are supernaturally given graces given out by the Holy Spirit at salvation. When we speak of personality temperaments, these are natural inborn traits that everyone has and which tend to fall into four general categories of description (choleric, sanguine, melancholy and phlegmatic). The goal is to further our discussion on this subject and to see what happens to our four friends. Blessings! More tomorrow....

P3 - God Empowered Living - 1 Timothy 2:7-8

1 Timothy 2:7-8 "For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."

Introduction and Review:
For the past couple of days we have been interested in understanding and applying the idea of "God-empowered living". Our main point of application in this series of posts has been: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. We noticed how such a life is God calling the Christian to specifically desire to:
1). Please God
2). Powerful Testimony
3). Personally Focus on Jesus Christ

Today we will conclude this blog series by considering one more area to which God-empowered living is called, namely...

Profound church-life. 1 Timothy 2:7
We have seen what happens when the power of God is unleashed through plugging into His power through prayer. God's power at work through prayer can lead to a more powerful and effective Christian life, witness and focus on Jesus Christ. What happens when individual believers come together in the setting of the local church. What occurs when a local church body is composed of believers who understand their call to live as God-empowered people for God? 

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:7-8  "For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."

In our churches, when prayer is made the priority, much like the individual Christian life, a red-carpet of invitation is opened up to God to come and do as he pleases in the church's ministries. As the Holy Spirit begins to ignite the hearts of certain people to intercede, much like the windows in Noah's Ark, light and fresh air begin to infiltrate the vessel we call the church. What happens when it's not just the preacher or even the Deacons calling people to pray and seek God, but the move becomes an entire body activity? The whole body of Christ becomes as one man - answering the call to God-empowered living that will want to please God, have powerful testimonies, personally focus on Jesus Christ and thus have a profound church life. 

Paul's mention of his calling and preaching to the exhortation to pray in 2:8 suggests firstly that plugging into God's power through prayer will yield power in the pulpit. The apostolic authority that comes through the scriptures will be refreshed and renewed and thus the church will once again be rekindled in its focus on the Word. The fact that Paul mentions teaching reminds us of the importance of the teaching ministries of the church such as Sunday School and Small groups. Then finally, when we plug into God's power through prayer, the people of God will be illuminated to a greater understanding of life-application. 

Too often our feet hit the ground running without any thought of prayer. The true work of the local church are not so much the works themselves, rather the work of the local church is the work of God at work. How else can God work freely and unhindered in our churches lest He be invited to do so through the church body as a whole seeking Him in prayer. 

Closing thoughts:
These past few posts have attempted to flesh out further what we see in 1 Timothy 2:1-8 regarding God-empowered living. We noted in our main point of application: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. We noticed how such a life is God calling the Christian to specifically:

1). Please God
2). Powerful Testimony
3). Personally Focus on Jesus Christ
4). Profound Church-life


May God use these posts for His glory!

P2 God-empowered living - 1 Timothy 2:3-6

1 Timothy 2:3-8 "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time."

Introduction and Review:
We closed out yesterday's post with this thought: Remember: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. Having Biblically defined the God-empowered life, we can now notice how such a life is God calling the Christian to specifically.....

Pleasing God. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
1 Timothy 2:3-4 is one of the most important passages in the New Testament with regards to God's missionary heart. The text reads: "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." The underlined word "acceptable" could just as easily be translated "pleasing". Before we go any further into this verse, it is worth noting some things about what it means to bring pleasure to God, and how such a desire marks God-empowered living. 

Let me ask a simple question: are you and I interested in bring pleasure to God? The relationship my children and my wife and me have with one another is based upon the fundamental assumption that they have our favor. We are pleased with out children in-so-far as they are our children and we are their parents. However, can children bring pleasure or dis-pleasure to their parents? Certainly. When a child disobeys or does something to hurt another person or themselves, that causes the pleasantness of the relationship to be altered. Does that mean that the parent-child relationship is over? No, because biologically they are our children and we are their parents. However a family is so-much more than being about biological relationships. Their is relationship, communication, closeness, trust and all the factors necessary to ensure stronger bonds. 

Likewise in the Christian's relationship with the Heavenly father, we are related to Him spiritually through Jesus Christ. By the Holy Spirit we are partakers, fellowshippers in the Divine nature and have the very energies of His nature at work in us. (Philippians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:3-4). Remember: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. This call for God-empowered living leads to a desire to please God and what will hopefully be..

Powerful testimony. 1 Timothy 2:3-4,8
We must not be content in being spiritual related to God and being "o.k" with getting to heaven. No. The Christian life is to be a God-empowered one that desires to bring pleasure to God. Such a life entails a relationship and fellowship with God that bears witness to others about such a reality. 

When we couple 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2:8, we see the clear linkage between prayer and evangelism. Mike Barnett, editor of the book: "Discovering the Mission of God", (IVP Academic, 2012 page 375), notes the importance of prayer and missions: 
"Why pray for God's missions and His missionaries? Because God always has and always will answer prayer. Whom should we pray for? The nations and missionaries. Pray for the nations to hear and understand the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for missionaries to endure and develop Christlike character as they serve. How should we pray? For God's mission to be accomplished. Don't focus so much on plans, strategies, means and methods, but for God's will to be done - His Kingdom to come. These are the basics of praying strategically for God's mission and missionaries."

I remember years ago hearing someone say that a man is no greater in his public life than he is on His knees in prayer. When we pray for the lost, we not only pray for their salvation and pray for God to send others to the unregenerate. We must necessarily say with Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 6: "Oh Lord, send me!" When you and I get in order with God's purposes for evangelism, and couple that with prayer, God's effort in creating a testimony in and through out lives will affect people on a very personal level. In-as-much as the scripture are the means by which the Spirit of God affects conversion, it is by the means of consistent Gospel-witness both verbally and practically that such conversions are demonstrated to be true. Again: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. The God-empowered life calls the Christian to please God by way of a powerful testimony. Unless God is empowering us, such truths will never be able to be lived out consistently nor in reality. Now notice the third area to which such a life call the Christian, namely....

Personal focus on Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5-6
How is it that Christians can retain a thorough Christ-centeredness in their lives? It all begins with prayer! It is no accident that Paul would insert in a section on prayer one of the most Jesus' saturated texts in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." The symmetry and beauty of these verses is so profound in bringing into focus the miraculous Person of the Son.

Jesus is Divinely able to keep us focused
First, the Mediatorship of Jesus, called by Bible teachers His "Session", has at its heart the purposes and power of prayer. As God, the Son is Divinely able to supply and be the focus of the God-empowered life, since He himself is God! The book of Hebrews is replete with reminders of how Jesus Christ is the Living Mediator who intercedes for us and makes such intercession possible. (Hebrews 7:25; 8:6; 9:15: 12:24). 

Jesus is humanly capable to empathize with us and by the Spirit encourage us to keep focusedSecondly, Jesus Christ as man has something in common with us and at the same time being God can connect us directly to the Father. The power of prayer truly means we are connected to that wondrous fellowship that exists between the Trinity through the ongoing Mediating ministry of the Son - Jesus Christ. 

As both God and man, Jesus is the proper focus Who can turn our duty toward Him into increasing delight
These thoughts are all to say that when the power of God is unleashed in our lives, the goal of being Christ-centered will go from a duty to a delight, being that prayer itself is only possible through Jesus Christ. By focusing on Jesus Christ in the God-empowered life, my attitude towards the things of God as been a "laundry list of have-to's" (church, witnessing, loving my neighbor, my enemies, my in-laws, reading my Bible, prayer) turns into labors of love or "want-to's". 

More tomorrow.....

P1 God-empowered living - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

1 Timothy 2:8 "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."

Introduction:
A couple of days ago we considered what it means to unleash God's power through prayer (link: http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/12/unleashing-power-of-god-through-prayer.html) This author felt it necessary to dig further into 1 Timothy 2:1-8 and to take this post of a couple of days ago and use it as a springboard into discovering the need for God-saturated living. 

As was mentioned in that older post, prayer could be conceived of as rolling out the red carpet for God to come into and do His work. Prayer invites God to work where He wants and how He wants. When Paul writes what he does to Timothy, his chief concern is how one ought to conduct themselves in the household of the living God - the church. (1 Timothy 3:15) We must not think of Paul's 1st Epistle to Timothy as being concerned about behavior, but rather transformed, redeemed lives living out God's purposes together by His power for the glory of Jesus Christ. As the opening verse of today's post urges, men everywhere ought to be lifting up "holy hands" without wrath and dissension. The God-empowered life will have things right in both the vertical direction (God-and-me; God-and-us) and the horizontal direction (you and me direction). 

Point of Application
The point of application for today's post will be: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. In the thoughts below we will flesh out from 1 Timothy 2:3-8 what is meant by God-empowered living, and why in its connection to prayer, it stands as the primary call of the Christian. Notice that the call to be God-empowered is a call to...

Biblically defining God-empowered living. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
1 Timothy 2:2 says these words - "for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." As God's people regularly pray for those in authority, the communities in which they live and the surrounding culture, God's favor works on their behalf. Proverbs 16:7 reminds us: "When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." Certainly King Jehosaphat, one of the godliest kings to ever reign in Old Testament Jerusalem, embodied this passage as seen in 2 Chronicles 17:10 "Now the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat." Or how about the early church in the New Testament in Acts 2:46-47 "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved."  

Certainly plugging into God's power is done so through prayer. Undoubtedly Christians must put prayers to the feet, intercessions to the hands and entreaties to the plans and purposes of the mind. Yet what Paul is equally affirming in these verses is that feet, hands, plans and purposes need to be practically lived out in light of prayer - i.e "putting feet to our prayers". 
The underlined words above in 1 Timothy 2:3,  "tranquil" and "quiet", speak of a soul that is at rest as a result of improvement of outside circumstances (i.e the word tranquil) and the inward conditions of the heart. (1 Peter 3:4). 

Is God-empowered living going to lead to a life of ease and comfort? Not in the sense of the so-called "American Dream". The type of life which is spoken of here is a life that rests in the fact that God is in control. God-empowered living is a call to live the type of life that is being encouraged as a result of God's power unleashed through the connection of prayer - i.e "life in all godliness and dignity." 

Remember: God-empowered living, built upon prayer, is the primary call of the Christian. This necessarily begins with the foundation of the Christian's call as being empowered by God in their life. 

More tomorrow....

Jesus came to bring about changed humanity

Ephesians 4:21-24 "if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."

Introduction
In yesterday's post we considered why no one can properly define "what man is" apart from Jesus Christ. In today's post I thought we would flesh this out further by considering one of the reason why Jesus came to this world in His first Advent. 

All other attempts to understand "what is man" fail apart from God's revelation in Jesus Christ

When attempting to map out the make-up of human beings, the Christian must necessarily begin with Jesus Christ. Why? In the Person of Jesus Christ the fully-Divine and fully-human natures meet. The Old Testament's answer to the question: "what is man?" could only be answered in light of whether or one was rightly related to God. When we arrive at the New Testament, the answer of the Old Testament is affirmed and taken further, that is to say, a man perfectly related to God would need to be the Savior who is at the same time God if true humanity ever had a chance of being recovered and understood. 

When Adam sinned, he died spiritually (in his human spirit) and thus lost all personal and moral ability to personally relate to and desire to know God. As a living soul, mankind would be born with a dead-inability to know God in his human spirit. As a living soul, man-kind would still bear the imprint or image of being made and design by God with a sense of God being revealed in a general way in creation (Psalm 19:1-6) and the conscience (Romans 2:15). The soul of the man is the "real you" so-to-speak, containing the mind, emotions, will and conscience. Thus the Bible reveals man as a soul, containing a human spirit, living in a physical body. 

When Jesus came and assumed upon himself a human nature, he did not inherit the fallen nature of Old Adam. As the Son ever remained God, He chose to enter into time by the virgin birth. (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:35). Jesus' humanity was untouched by sin as a result of this miracle and thus in his humanity, Jesus' human spirit was filled with the fullness and glory of God's very presence by the Person of the Spirit. 

We know Jesus had a spirit in how he was able to perceive certain things at the deepest level by his inner communion with the Holy Spirit empowering and indwelling His humanity. (Mark 2:8; 8:12; John 11:33) Furthermore, the Gospels reveal Jesus' humanity as being a true living soul, as recorded in passages such as Matthew 26:38. In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus expressing His mind, emotions, will and conscience as a man. Moreover, the scriptures repeatedly affirm that Jesus' humanity included a real, physical body, both in His pre-resurrection (Mk 15:43,45) and post-resurrection (Luke 24:39). 

Hence Jesus Christ in regards to His humanity, is a soul, containing a spirit, residing now in a glorified, resurrected physical body. (compare above scriptures to 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 4:12) Such a humanity describes Jesus Christ as "The New Adam" and the "Second Adam". (Romans 5:14ff; 1 Corinthians 15:22,44-45)  

When a man, woman or child is by grace united to Jesus Christ in saving faith, the transformational miracle that occurs in bringing about such union describes what takes place instantaneously in the human spirit through what the scriptures call the "new birth" or regeneration. (John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 23) The Holy Spirit of God takes the sinner "out of Adam" and place them "in Christ" or "the New Adam". (2 Corinthians 5:17) This instant change of the human spirit from death/darkness to life/light is where salvation begins. However the human soul (mind, emotions, will, conscience, i.e the "real you") is being progressively changed in a process called "sanctification". (Romans 6:7-19; 8:1-10; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The physical body of the Christian awaits redemption and will be redeemed and transformed or "raised" from this corruptible to incorruptible form. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58)

As preachers of old have said for years: "the penalty of sin is removed in regeneration/justification; the power of sin is removed in sanctification and the presence of sin will be removed in glorification or when Christians are in the presence of God in Heaven". I would add to this wonderful summary one more important point: "the physical decay of the body, caused by the curse of sin, will be removed at resurrection".

Transformation is central to Christianity because of what Jesus achieved as both God and man
As we draw this post to a close, we must ever remember that Jesus Christ retained His full-Deity when He came the first time. Unless Jesus Christ has been God, there would had been no way He would have had the power to Divinely change people's lives. With that said, we must also equally assert that Jesus Christ came to this world to take upon himself a fully human nature and retained such following His resurrection and ascension. Remarkably, unless Jesus Christ retained His full-humanity, He would not be capable of directly transforming the human life with whom He came to redeem and whom are united to His humanity by the Holy Spirit at saving faith. (2 Corinthians 12:12-13) The changes that take place and that are available in Jesus Christ are many and would not be possible to list in today's post. However the ability to be changed in one's spirit by the new birth and to experience emotional, physical, relational and societal healing, just to name a few of the many changes, is all made possible by what Jesus achieved as both God and man on the believer's behalf. This is only the beginning when it comes to thinking about how Jesus came to bring about changed humanity. 

Why people cannot properly understand themselves apart from Jesus Christ

Ephesians 4:21-24 "if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."

What is man?

Who are you? Whose are you? These are two questions that are fundamental to grasping one's identity. How people answer these two questions will determine how they understand themselves and for whom they live their lives. God's main aim in Christian growth is to transform a person from the inside to the outside to Christ-likeness.

Understanding "who you are" and "whose you are" entails answering a third related question: "what are you?" Secularists will tell us that people are nothing more than the sum-total of the electrical impulses traveling between the neurons in the brain. In short - man is only a physical, biological machine that has a consciousness emerging out of the sum of the parts. Man lives, dies, and no more.

The Bible itself asks this question "what is man?" in Psalm 8:3-4 "What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?" The key to understanding how to answer the question "what is man?" is implied in King David's question itself: "You take thought of Him". Scripture uniformly states that mankind cannot understand "what they are" nor "who they are" without identifying themselves in relationship with God. 

Man's true humanity cannot be properly understood apart from Jesus Christ

The goal of salvation is reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The marvel of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, came to this earth and took upon himself the nature of those whom needed to be reconciled and transformed. As fully God - Jesus Christ perfectly reveals to us the God with whom we need reconciled and the God Who desires to be reconciled to us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 states: "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." 

Simultaneously as God, the Eternal Son is now also man. Therefore in answering the question: "what is man?", the only accurate answer to be given is by looking at the humanity of Jesus Himself. The writer of Hebrews takes the question of Psalm 8:3-4 and casts it in light of Jesus Christ's incarnation in human flesh in Hebrews 2:9 "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." 

More tomorrow....

Unleashing the power of God through prayer - 1 Timothy 2:3-8

1 Timothy 2:8 "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."

Introduction:
Yesterday we considered the importance of plugging into God's power through prayer. Our main point of application was: Plugging into God's power is done through prayer. We surveyed the Bible's teaching on this subject. In 1 Timothy 2:1-8, the Apostle Paul needed to remind Timothy and the church at Ephesus of the need to plug into God's power through prayer. 

Think of prayer as a rolling out the red carpet for God to come into and do His work. Prayer invites God to work where He wants and how He wants. 

So then in seeing what the Bible has to say about this important topic of "plugging into God's power through prayer", what specific areas can be affected when God's power is unleashed through prayer? 

Plugging into God's power through prayer leads to....

Powerful living. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
1 Timothy 2:2 says these words - "for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." As God's people regularly pray for those in authority, the communities in which they live and the surrounding culture, God's favor works on their behalf. The words "tranquil" and "quiet" speak of a soul that is at rest as a result of improvement of outside circumstances (i.e the word tranquil) and the inward conditions of the heart. (1 Peter 3:4). 

Is Paul saying that plugging into God's power through prayer is going to lead to a life of ease and comfort? Not in the sense of the so-called "American Dream". The type of life which is spoken of here is a life that rests in the fact that God is in control. Notice the type of life that is being encouraged as a result of God's power unleashed through the connection of prayer: "life in all godliness and dignity." 

Powerful witness. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
1 Timothy 2:3-4 is one of the most important passages in the New Testament with regards to God's missionary heart. The text reads: "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all men to be saved and tocome to the knowledge of the truth." When we couple these verses to 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2:8, we see the clear linkage between prayer and evangelism. Mike Barnett, editor of the book: "Discovering the Mission of God", (IVP Academic, 2012 page 375), notes the importance of prayer and missions: 
"Why pray for God's missions and His missionaries? Because God always has and always will answer prayer. Whom should we pray for? The nations and missionaries. Pray for the nations to hear and understand the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for missionaries to endure and develop Christlike character as they serve. How should we pray? For God's mission to be accomplished. Don't focus so much on plans, strategies, means and methods, but for God's will to be done - His Kingdom to come. These are the basics of praying strategically for God's mission and missionaries."

Powerful focus on Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5-6
How is it that Christians can retain a thorough Christ-centeredness in their lives? by means of prayer! It is no accident that Paul would insert in a section on prayer one of the most Jesus' saturated texts in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." These two verses in and of themselves could easily turn into two or three blog posts, but for now we will confine ourselves to a few thoughts. 

First, Paul's words and thoughts veer into this focus upon Jesus Christ as the Mediator and is at the center of a section that begins and ends with the exhortation to pray. 

Secondly, the Mediatorship of Jesus, called by Bible teachers His "Session", has at its heart the purposes and power of prayer. The book of Hebrews is replete with reminders of how Jesus Christ is the Living Mediator who intercedes for us and makes such intercession possible. (Hebrews 7:25; 8:6; 9:15: 12:24). 

Thirdly, Jesus' role as Mediator means that He is both the source and goal of prayer. Fourthly, Jesus Christ as man has something in common with us and at the same time being God can connect us directly to the Father. The power of prayer truly means we are connected to that wonderous fellowship that exists between the Trinity through the ongoing Mediating ministry of the Son - Jesus Christ. These thoughts are all to say that when the power of God is unleashed in our lives, the goal of being Christ-centered will go from a duty to a delight, being that prayer itself is only possible through Jesus Christ.

Powerful church-life. 1 Timothy 2:7
We have seen what happens when the power of God is unleashed through plugging into His power through prayer. God's power at work through prayer can lead to a more powerful and effective Christian life, witness and focus on Jesus Christ. What happens when individual believers come together in the setting of the local church. What occurs when a local church body is caught up in a powerful prayer movement? Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:7-8  "For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."

In our churches, when prayer is made the priority, much like the individual Christian life, a red-carpet of invitation is opened up to God to come and do as he pleases in the church's ministries. Paul's mention of his calling and preaching to the exhortation to pray in 2:8 suggests firstly that plugging into God's power through prayer will yield power in the pulpit. The apostolic authority that comes through the scriptures will be refreshed and renewed and thus the church will once again be rekindled in its focus on the Word. The fact that Paul mentions teaching reminds us of the importance of the teaching ministries of the church such as Sunday School and Small groups. Then finally, when we plug into God's power through prayer, the people of God will be illuminated to a greater understanding of life-application. 

Too often our feet hit the ground running without any thought of prayer. The true work of the local church are not so much the works themselves, rather the work of the local church is the work of God at work. How else can God work freely and unhindered in our churches lest He be invited to do so through the church body as a whole seeking Him in prayer. 

Plugging into God's power through prayer - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

1 Timothy 2:1-2 "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

Introduction:

Recently our oven at home stopped working. My wife had been preparing to cook supper and when she went to turn on the oven, sparks and flames came from inside the door. Thankfully she was able to get to the breaker box to shut off the power. The oven had cooked its last meal. When I arrived home that evening, I looked at the oven. By and large the oven looked the same as it had when I had used it earlier that morning to make some breakfast. By outward appearance things looked fine and yet, without power, the inside of the oven will remain ineffective and incapable of achieving what it was designed to do. 

When the Apostle Paul is writing to young Timothy who is getting ready to assume pastor leadership, much instruction is given. We discover in 1 Timothy 3:15 the primary intent of the letter: to teach God's people how they ought to conduct themselves in the church of the Living God. As one scans over the first chapter, Paul instructs Timothy about the importance of church membership (1 Timothy 1:1-11); the necessity of thanking Jesus (1 Timothy 1:12-17) and fighting the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 1:18-20). As we prepare to enter into the second chapter of this marvelous book of the Bible, Paul is going to push the urgency of plugging into God's power through prayer.

Point of Application: 

As we consider the significance of prayer in the life of the Christian and the church, we will aim to unpack the following main point of application: "Plugging into God's power occurs through prayer."

Biblical pattern for plugging into God's power through prayer
Plugging into God's power by prayer for daily decisions
Why do we need God's power and why is prayer the way to connect to such power? Paul is urging this church to pray on behalf of others and to seek the face of God. A church and its membership that takes seriously the matter of prayer understands that God's power is needed when making decisions. In prayer the mind and the human spirit are linked together. (1 Corinthians 14:15) The mind that has taken in the words of God from the Bible knows the will of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13, 16) The human spirit that is home to the Holy Spirit of God knows the will of God intuitively enough to make decisions that match what God would choose to do in that given situation. All of these linkages are made possible by means of prayer. Remeber: plugging into God's power is done by means of prayer.

Plugging into God's power by prayer feeds the faith
When we deal with the matter of faith, it too requires the child of God plugging into God's power by prayer. Faith by its very definition in Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not yet seen. Praying in the power of the Spirit is commanded in Jude 1:20  "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit." 

Plugging into God's power by prayer to overcome fear
Such praying is how we overcome the fear that so often tries to constrict the Christian's faith. Did you know that the Bible tells us to "fear not" over 200 times. The language of "faith" vs "fear" shows us the contrast between the two, and why powerful prayer is needed to break the yoke of fear. Fear says: "Maybe". Faith says: "God can". Fear says: "I'm not sure". Faith says: "I know He will". Prayer crosses over that invisible boundary between human half-hearted prayers vs Spirit-wrought powerful intercession by what we can call "certainty" and "knowing that we know that we know". Praying with power will lead to living with power, worshipping with power and preaching with power. 

Plugging into God's power by prayer is demonstrated by people in the scripture
In the scriptures we see Abraham praying with power in Genesis 18, resulting in Abraham's walk with God being made closer and closer with Him. In King Solomon's dedication of the Temple in Jersualem in 1 Kings 8, we see the glory cloud of God (The Shekinah) fill the temple, thus bringing God's power to bear on that ministry. Jesus' first words from the cross was a prayer that stayed the hand of God from destroying Jesus' executioners and really all of humanity from being wiped out by God's wrath at that given moment. Jesus was ever in touch with the Father in Heaven. He chose to willingly take upon Himself the wrath that we all deserved. The early church was a church of prayer and the power of God was said to had been so much so in those early meetings that when they prayed, the whole place was shaken. (Acts 4:31) The Bible's teaching about plugging into God's power is plainly taught.