Five Reasons To Study The Bible's Teaching On Angels, Demons, and Satan

Introduction

    I open up today's post with Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." Why should a Christian know what the Bible teaches about angels, demons, and Satan? A quote from one of the ablest theological minds, Charles Hodge, will set the tone for this post:

"So much is said in the Scriptures of good and evil angels, and such important functions are ascribed to them both in the providence of God over the world, and especially in the experience of his people and of his Church, that the doctrine of the Bible concerning them should not be overlooked."1

    Anytime we engage in the study of the angelic realm, three branches are generally recognized in the subject (some may list more or less): angelology (study of angels, their nature, function and ranks); demonology (study of demons, their nature, function and ranks) and Satanology (Satan's nature, function and efforts against mankind and God).  To get us off the runway and into the air on this subject, I want us to consider why studying the angelic realm is important.

1. Massiveness of the subject in the Bible

    A great tool to have when studying any topic of scripture is a Bible Concordance.  A concordance functions much like a telephone book (I date myself I suppose with that analogy). Perhaps, we could say, a concordance is a book version of a "Google search" for any word or subject in the Bible. Anyhow, the added bonus is that many Bible Concordances today will print out a portion of the passages and give you all the Bible books and number of times each word appears.2  The magnitude of times the angelic realm appears in the scripture is extraordinary and thus warrants its study.  Consider the following statistics (I found these just searching through the Strongest Strong's NIV exhaustive concordance):

a. Angels and their various ranks and descriptions are found roughly 400 times in the scriptures. Angels of all sorts are mentioned in 17 of the 39 Old Testament books and 19 out of 27 of the New Testament books.

b. Demons and their various ranks are found in 6 of the 39 Old Testament books and 12 of the 27 New Testament books.  In the concordance I consulted I discovered nearly 75 places in the scriptures on the subject of demons.

c. Satan, who is also called the Devil, Serpent, Dragon and other names appears in 6 of the 39 Old Testament books and in 19 of the 27 New Testament books, causing problems in at least 115 places throughout scripture. 

d. When you add up all of the places in the Bible where angels, demons and Satan appear, you come up with close to 600 places.  

e. Whether good angels, fallen angels or Satan himself, the nature of angelic beings is that of spirit - that is, they are rational, intelligent beings without a physical body (Psalm 104:3-4; Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 1:14). Occasionally, (good angels) can assume for a temporary period of time a physical form of sorts (Genesis 18:2; Mark 16:5; Hebrews 13:2). But notice a second reason why this subject is important...

2. Major scale of spiritual warfare

    Ephesians 6:10-11 issues this command - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."  Should not Christians of all people be more aware of the nature of the spiritual battle that they are involved? 

    As a practical example, let's say you were to take a trip to a foreign country that is experience increasing pockets of violent outbreaks.  Would you not read up on the current conditions of the government, intelligence information on where attacks have taken place, as well as updates on where the safest places would be? 

    If that is the case in the incidence of travel, how much the more in the daily Christian walk.  Knowing the proverbial "lay of the land" in the spiritual Christian walk will make for a more Biblically informed and wise people who are effective witnesses for Jesus Christ.

3. Maintain a proper balance on the angelic realm

    Having been involved with or having interacted with various Christians from many denominational and theological persuasions, there are two ditches people fall into when it comes to the angelic realm:

a. Ignorance.  Some denominations and some theological traditions don't talk about angels, demons or Satan.  The danger of this ditch is viewing life and reality in only physical terms. To be ignorant of the angelic realm means ignorance of the supernatural realm, a Christianity that operates with one arm tied behind its back if you will.

b. Obsession. Other groups go to the other extreme and see demons behind every bush. They blame everything bad on the Devil. When the ditch of obsession over the angelic realm occurs, Christianity can skirt close to paganism by giving angels too much prominence.  
Christian people need to know what the Bible teaches in order to moderate our priority of the angelic realm.  

4. Mandate of scripture: The study of the angels is indeed practical

    In the opening verse of today's blog I mentioned Hebrews 13:2 which commands Christians to exercise hospitality. Why? Because among other things, we may be entertaining angels unawares.  Reference to angels is listed among the very practical topics of Hebrews 13:1-4 such as loving the brethren (13:1); hospitality (13:2); visiting prisoners (13:3) and marriage (13:4). 3

    So, studying the angelic realm is important because of its massiveness in the scripture, major scale of spiritual warfare, maintain a proper balance, and the mandate from scripture for more awareness of the invisible realm. 

5. Majesty of God is reinforced in our hearts and minds by the study of angels

    Perhaps the most important reason to study angelology, demonology and Satanology is due to how each subject in one way or another points to God's glory.  Satan for sure is the chief adversary of God and His people, however knowing that He was defeated at the cross shows the glory of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8). 4 

    Angels (the good ones) function in relationship to God like rays of light do for the sun. The rays of the sun lead the viewer back to their point of origin - the sun.  Likewise, the good angels continually point believers back to the glory and majesty of God.  In fact, the angels of heaven are termed "fellow servants" with the saints of God (Revelation 19:10)

Closing thoughts:

    We have taken the time to briefly sketch out what the Bible has to tell the reader about the angelic realm - good, bad and ugly. The aim was to express practically why anyone would study angels. 

Endnotes:

1. Charles Hodge. Systematic Theology - Volume 1. WM. B Eerdmans. 1965 edition. Page 637 
Dr. Charles Hodge was a professor of theology at Princeton Seminary in the late nineteenth century.  Before Princeton went liberal in the late 1920's, it had been known for years as a bastion of Bible believing orthodoxy.  At Princeton, three theologians were noteworthy for their contributions to conservative bible believing Christianity from the 1880's-1920's: Charles Hodge, B.B Warfield and J. Greshem Machen. Dr. Hodge wrote a three volume work on Systematic Theology that to this day is a standard reference work for any and every subject in the field. 

2. Any Bible concordance will aid you greatly and there are number available to purchase at either a Christian Bookstore, Lifeway.com, Amazon.com or CBD (Christian Book Distributors).  Some of the ones I have found helpful are: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (based of KJV) and NASB Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (based of NASB text).  Most of the major English versions have their own concordances as well, such as the ESV (English Standard Version); NLT (New Living Translation); NKJV (New King James Version) and NRSV (New Revised Standard Version). Most of these resources are produced by Zondervan.

3. In other passages, such as 2 Corinthians 13:4-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18, knowledge of the angelic realm can be useful in practical everyday Christian life. In 2 Peter 2:4, mention is made of the cosmic rebellion of the angels who followed after Lucifer in his bid to attempt a coup against God as recorded elsewhere in scripture (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Revelation 12:4). Now why does Peter bring to the reader's minds the angelic realm along with other examples of rescuing Noah out of the flood and Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? 

      The inclusion of the angelic realm is to demonstrate the universality of the principle laid out in 2 Peter 2:9 "then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment." In ways not fully explained, God preserved the holy angels from further corruption by casting out Satan and the fallen angels. Likewise, God also preserved Noah, and Lot and thus preserves Christians today living in this godless world. (Philippians 2:15-16) Peter sees the practicality of including knowledge of the angelic realm in the exercising of ourselves in Godly living. 

4. For sure, the demonic realm can certainly discourage and afflict God's people, however knowing that nothing, not even they, can separate us from the love of God actually points the way to the majesty of God's love. (Romans 8:37-39) Satan's far lesser kingdom functions as a black cloth to highlight the far greater Kingdom of God.  In God's Sovereignty He permits Satan to carry out his diabolic schemes so that in the end, His glory is shown in even greater proportion (Philippians 2). 

An Overview Of Good And Bad Angels In The Bible

 

Introduction:

The Psalmist notes in Psalm 148:1-5, 

“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.” 

The late Baptist theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong notes about the importance of studying angels: 

“The doctrine of angels affords a barrier against the false conception of this world as including the whole spiritual universe.  Earth is only part of a larger organism.  As Christianity has united Jew and Gentile, so hereafter will it blend our own and other orders of creation."

Whenever anyone explores the various creatures in the Bible’s presentation of the supernatural realm, such a study is called: “angelology”. Broadly speaking, the "good guys" in angelology represent varying orders of spiritual creatures. 

    There are the highest-level beings called "the Divine Council (see 1 Kings 22:19-22; Daniel 4:17; also known as created "sons of God" Job 1:5-6, with some corrupting themselves, Genesis 6:1-4). 

    Then there is a middle tier of beings known as, "Cherubim", "Seraphim" and "the watchers", to the third tier of every other spiritual being known simply as: "angels". This assortment of "good" spiritual beings populate God's invisible kingdom. 

       On the bad side we have two other subheadings known as “Satanology”, or the examination of Satan (his being, rebellion and work), and “demonology” (that is, the various ranks of spiritual beings). Satan and all the various sort of malevolent spiritual beings populate the parasitic "kingdom of darkness". 

    This parasitic kingdom has varying orders of malevolent spiritual beings who defected from the angelic order. There are the fallen "sons of God" or former members of the Divine council, some of whom were confined to the darkest areas of Hades to await judgment (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). Others of these were given jurisdiction over nations, as evidenced by the "Prince of Persia" whom Gabriel fought for twenty-one days before delivering Daniel's answer to prayer in Daniel 10. 

    There are what we could call "mid-tier" malevolent forces enumerated by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-12 ("powers, principalities", etc.). These mid-tier beings could very well be those being I mentioned above who wield their evil intentions over regions and nations. 

    Then there are the varied sorts of demonic forces that Jesus exorcised from people during His earthly ministry and who torment people today. We find demons mentioned in the Old Testament (Leviticus 17:17; Deuteronomy 32:17; 2 Chronicles 11:15; Psalm 106:37) and Satan (for example, Job 1:6-9,12; 2:1-7; Zechariah 3:1-2). 

    Below we have a chart that depicts the Biblical supernatural realm where I've depicted where the good and bad angels in their respective orders fit. Notice that in the diagram, angels occupy the third or lowest tier of the spiritual creatures in God’s invisible kingdom. 

     In what remains, I want to offer a brief account of the angels as they are portrayed in the Bible. I hope this summary edifies and equips readers with a better working understanding of the Biblical doctrine of angels (known, as noted above, by the term: "angeology").

1. Angels are created beings.

       We can note first, that like the other spiritual beings in the Biblical supernatural realm, angels are created beings.  Psalm 148:5 notes that the angels were created by the command of God, just like the visible universe, stars, planets, life and humanity. Hebrews 1:7, quoting Psalm 104:4, states: “And of the angels He says,

“Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” From what we can discern from Job 38:1-7, the entire supernatural realm was created by God on either days 2 or 3 in the creative week. 

2. There are Good and Bad Angels

     When God originally created the angelic realm, they were all good. The creation of the supernatural realm was followed by the cosmic rebellion of Lucifer, which in turn influenced other spiritual beings to become the fallen angels (Isaiah 14:12-20; Ezekiel 28:13-19; Revelation 12:4). As mentioned, some of those fallen angels are chained and some roam freely between here and the heavenly realms (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Ephesians 6:10-11). 

    Thankfully, there are 2/3 of the heavenly angels faithfully serving God and His people (1 Timothy 5:21; Hebrews 1:14). The good angels outnumber the bad ones. With that said, it is incumbent upon every Christian to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:1-11) and to exercise vigilance by prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), daily time in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 2:5), weekly church attendance (Hebrews 10:23-25), and living a devout and holy life according to the will of God (Romans 12:1-2).

3. Angels are powerful beings

     Angels are dramatically powerful beings.  In 2 Kings 19:35 we read: “Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.”  Revelation 9:13-21 records a future time when God will release four angels to kill 1/3 of humanity in the judgment of The Great Tribulation.

4. Good Angels aid God’s people

     Is it scriptural to say that angels are deployed by God to aid Christians in their walk of faith? Absolutely! Consider Psalm 91:11 "For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Old Testament saints had angels assist them (Genesis 18; Psalm 37:4; Daniel 10:11). We see angelic aid of Jesus and other believers in the New Testament (Matthew 4:11; Matthew 26:53; Luke 22:43; Acts 12:6-8; Acts 27:23-24). Without a doubt, Christians today can still experience angelic assistance when they least expect it (Hebrews 1:14; 13:2). 

     Scripture reveals how angels can protect believers (2 Kings 6; Psalm 34:7; 91:11 Hebrews 1:14); help in grasping God’s truth (Psalm 68:7; Matthew 28:5-7; Acts 1:9-11; Luke 2:14) and point to Christ’s deity (Psalm 68:17; Daniel 7:10-13; Matthew 28). The Book of Revelation illustrates how angels aid believers. It contains roughly 25% of the 300 times we find mention of the good angels in the Bible. Often, the Book of Revelation describes angels announcing something or explaining to John the meaning of the various visions. 

Final thought of application:

    Today's post was intended to offer a brief treatment of the subject of angels. We noted the following:

1. Angels are created beings.
2. There are good and bad angels.
3. Angels are powerful beings.
4. Good angels aid God's people.

     The eighteenth-century preacher John Wesley once wrote the following about angels: 

"They may assist us in our search after truth, remove many doubts and difficulties, throw light on what was before dark and obscure, and confirm us in the truth that is after godliness. They may warn us of evil in disguise; and place what is good, in a clear, strong light. They may gently move our will to embrace what is good, and fly from that which is evil. They may, many times, quicken our dull affections, increase our holy hope or filial fear, and assist us more ardently to love Him who has first loved us."

The Glue That Holds Together The Christian Life - Union With Christ

Introduction:

    As we turn our attention to Paul's words in Galatians 2:20, he expresses His spiritual relationship to Jesus Christ in a most peculiar way, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." You'll notice how Paul expressed in the verse "Christ lives in me". 

    How can it be that Jesus, a carpenter from first century Galilee, specifically Nazareth, could somehow indwell Paul and every follower of Jesus Christ in the many generations which have passed over the last 2,000 years? One answer we can give is the fact that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, the Word made flesh, ascended and exalted. 

    A second answer, the focus of today's post, is found in how the Holy Spirit performs upon every Christian from salvation a marvelous work known as "union with Christ". We find here what I call "the glue that holds together the Christian life". This "glue", if you will, this "union with Christ" is described all over the New Testament as the reader will see below.

Defining and describing union with Christ

    We could define union with Christ as follows, the Holy Spirit's work of connecting me to Jesus Christ at saving faith organically to His finished work, mystically to His person in Heaven, spiritually as a participant in His deity, and corporately to other Christians. 

   John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue helpfully explain the Christian's union with Christ as follows,

"One of the most precious truths in all Scripture is the doctrine of the believer's union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The concept of being united to Christ speaks of the most vital spiritual intimacy that one can imagine between the Lord and His people."

   They later add,

It is not that Christians merely worship Jesus, obey Him, or pray to Him, though surely those privileges would be enough. Rather, they are so intimately identified with Him and He with Him that Scripture says they are united-He is in them and they are in them."1

    Jesus expressed this reality to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion in John 14:20-21 "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

    No other religion, philosophy, or concept in any other movement has this notion of "union" defining the relationship of devotees to their founder. I as an American, along with others,  celebrated this year the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation. The "Founding Fathers" as they are called should be read and understood as important historical figures. However, I am not in union with men such as George Washington, since he is locked away in history as an important figure of history. 

    Jesus Christ on the other hand is not just someone whom I read about in the four Gospels. He is someone to whom I daily pray, walk with in conscious awareness by faith, and am empowered by through the Holy Spirit. He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live the daily Christian life through me, and I through Him. This is "union with Jesus Christ". 

    He is not hermetically sealed away in Heaven or locked up on the pages of my Bible. He is in me and I in Him by the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul describes this wondrous union with Christ as a practical reality in Colossians 1:25-27 

"Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Where in the Bible do we find union with Christ?

    Over the years I've heard varied estimates of how often this doctrine of union with Christ is found in the New Testament. The "smoking gun" of the doctrine is found in the little preposition phrases that sprinkle the New Testament, such as "in Jesus Christ", "in Christ Jesus", "in Christ", "with Christ", "with Jesus", "through Christ", "through Jesus Christ our Lord", "through Jesus Christ", "by Christ Jesus", and "from Jesus Christ". As I've studied the passages that speak on this vital doctrine, I've found over 125 passages. 

"in Jesus Christ", Romans 3:22; Galatians 3:22.

"in Christ Jesus" (50x)

Acts 24:24; Romans 3:24,6:11,23; 8:1,2,39; 15:17; 16:3; 1 Cor 1:2,3,4; 4:15; 15:31; 16:24; Galatians 2:4,16; 3:14,26,28; 5:6; Eph 1:11; 2:6,7,10,13; 3:6,11,21; Philippians 1:1,26;2:5; 3:3,14; 4:7; 4:19;4:21; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thess 2:14;5:18;1 Tim 1:14; 3:13; 2 Tim 1:1,9,13;2:1,10; 3:12,15; Philemon 1:23.

"in Christ" (40x)

Romans 9:1; 12:5; 15:17; 16:3,7,9,10; 1 Cor 3:1;4:10; 4:17; 15:18,19,22; 2 Cor 1:21; 2:14,17; 3:14; 5:17;12:2,19; Gal 1:22; 2:17; Eph 1:3,10,12,20; 4:32; Phil 2:1; 3:9; Col 1:2; 1:24; 1:28; 2:5; 1 Thess 4:16; Philemon 1:18; 1 Peter 3:16; 5:10; 5:14.

"with Christ" (12x)

Romans 6:8;8:17; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:5; Gal 3:27; Philippians 1:23; Colossians 2:20; 3:1,3; Revelation 20:4, "with Jesus", 2 Corinthians 4:14.

"through Christ", 2 Corinthians 1:5; 3:4; 5:18; "through Jesus Christ our Lord", Romans 5:21; 7:25; Jude 1:25; "through Jesus Christ", John 1:17; Acts 10:36; Romans 1:8; 5:21; 7:23; 16:27; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:5; Titus 3:6; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 2:5; 4:11.

"by Christ Jesus", Philippians 3:12; "from Jesus Christ", 2 John 1:3; Revelation 1:5.

The importance and application of union with Christ 

   Readers can see that the Scriptural data on this doctrine is massive to say the least. Arguably this precious truth is the most important of all the glorious doctrines of Christian salvation. John Calvin in Book 2, chapter 1 of his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" began his section on Christian salvation with this statement,

"And the first thing to be attended to is, that so long as we are without Christ and separated from him, nothing which he suffered and did for the salvation of the human race is of the least benefit to us. To communicate to us the blessings which he received from the Father, he must become ours and dwell in us." 2

    As I said at the beginning of this post, union with Christ is the glue that holds together the Christian life. In the definition I offered, the Holy Spirit's work of connecting me to Jesus Christ at saving faith organically to His finished work, mystically to His person in Heaven, spiritually as a participant in His deity, and corporately to other Christians, this union covers every aspect of the Christian life. Tis union begins from the moment of regeneration in saving faith, through their growth in sanctification, through their relationships with other Christians in the local church, through death and the life hereafter, through what will be resurrection and the world to come. 

    Union with Christ is expressed visually when the church observes the Lord's Supper or when someone makes their public profession of faith in baptism. Union with Christ comforts me in difficult times, reminds me of my identity, grounds my Christian walk, and brings to me the Person and work of Christ who is my Mediator in Heaven. It is the glue that holds the Christian life together. 

Endnotes.

1. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue. A Systematic Summary of Biblical Truth - Biblical Doctrine. Crossway. 2017. Page 602.

2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, online edition here John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion - Christian Classics Ethereal Library  As for my statement of this doctrine being arguably the most important to the overall understanding of the Christian life, I have Sinclair Ferguson and Derek Thomas of Ligonier Ministries to thank in the marvelous discussion they have about this doctrine of union with Christ. They note how John Calvin and John Murray made "union with Christ" the centerpiece of their respective treatments of the doctrine of salvation. Their discussion can be found here Ferguson and Thomas: The Significance of Union with Christ (Seminar)

What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's pattern - Serve and Rejoice in Jesus Christ

 

Introduction:

    The last few posts have looked at what it means to abide in Christ. The posts are based off of a recent sermon I preached on the subject. Featured in the posts are Mary and Martha, two sisters whom Jesus met in the course of His earthly ministry some few months before His crucifixion. The last few posts dealt with how Mary highlights for us what it means to abide in the presence of Christ. We learned that to abide in Christ means:

"To abide in Christ is when my faith is settled in spiritual union with Him, identification with Him, and bearing fruit for Him." 

    Mary had her faith "settled in Jesus" but how she abided in His words, His cross, and His majesty.  We are now going to switch our attention to her sister Martha to learn what it means to abide in the pattern of Christ. In the last post we witnessed Martha learning to seek and know Jesus Christ as she mourned over her brother's death. She found Jesus to be who He said He was, the resurrection and the life. Today's post will conclude our character studies of these two sisters as we focus on how Martha abided in the pattern of Jesus Christ by serving and rejoicing.

Serve and rejoice. John 12:1-3 

   Martha would continue on in the pattern of following and serving her Lord. Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead in John 11. In the wake of that we read John 12:1-3 “Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

    No doubt this meal and gathering was a mixture of jubilation with an undertone of plotting against Jesus. Judas’ coldness toward Mary’s anointing of Jesus and the plotting against Lazarus by some in the background remind us that we’re but days away from Jesus’ crucifixion. Such coldness and plotting contrasts with an otherwise joyous occasion – Lazarus was alive and well and Jesus was present in the home. 

    All John 12:2 tells us is “Martha was serving”. In the first scene we looked at a few posts back, Jesus corrected Martha not for her serving but for her distraction in her serving. Here in John 12 we see Martha serving but with a difference. She was abiding in the pattern of her Lord - that of service.  

    Lazarus was sitting beside Jesus at the table. As was typical oriental fashion in those days. The guests would have been reclining on one another, propping themselves up by one arm while reaching for food with the other. Mary was anointing Jesus. Martha served. The scene is one of celebration along with the pending crucifixion of Jesus looming in the not-so-distant future. The Lord's pattern of service was closely connected to His cross.

    Our Lord’s pattern was “to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Other than Judas, do you notice how the whole scene is joyous. Martha was not there to have her praises sung in service, but she served so that her Savior’s praises would be sung. 

Closing thoughts on post series:

    We have done a series of character studies on the lives of Mary and Martha. They taught us what it means to abide in Jesus Christ. From Mary we learned what it meant to abide in the presence of Jesus Christ,

1. Abide in His words.

2. Abide in His cross.

3. Abide in His majesty.

   We then saw Martha's abiding in Christ pattern as we noted the following,

1. Stop, look, and listen. Luke 10:38-42

2. Seek and know. John 11:20-28

3. Serve and rejoice. John 12:1-3 

    My hope is this series of posts has caused the reader to more closely consider the importance of abiding in Jesus Christ, having their faith settled in their spiritual unity with Him, their identity with Him, and bearing fruit for Him.

What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's pattern - Seek and Know Jesus Christ

 

Introduction:

    The last few posts have looked at what it means to abide in Christ. The posts are based off of a recent sermon I preached on the subject. Featured in the posts are Mary and Martha, two sisters whom Jesus met in the course of His earthly ministry some few months before His crucifixion. The last few posts dealt with how Mary highlights for us what it means to abide in the presence of Christ. We learned that to abide in Christ means:

"To abide in Christ is when my faith is settled in spiritual union with Him, identification with Him, and bearing fruit for Him." 

    Mary had her faith "settled in Jesus" but how she abided in His words, His cross, and His majesty.  We are now going to switch our attention to her sister Martha to learn what it means to abide in the pattern of Christ. In the last post we witnessed Martha learning to stop, look, and listen as she settled into abiding in Christ's pattern. Today's post will take us a step further by teaching us about "seeking and knowing" Jesus Christ. We will turn from looking at Luke 10:38-42 to the episode of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:20-28, and how Martha responded to Jesus.

Seek and know. John 11:20-28

   We come to a second episode involving Martha in John 11:20-28. John 11 records the death of Lazarus and Jesus’ delay in getting to the family right before He dies. John 11:1 “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.” 

   Jesus and the disciples were sent a message from Mary and Martha to come heal their brother before it was too late. Well, “too late” came and Lazarus died, prompting Jesus to say these words in John 11:11-15 “This He said, and after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.’ 12 The disciples then said to Him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Thomas then makes a remark in John 11:16 and the narrative switches to it’s second main sequence beginning at John 11:17.

Lets pause before moving forward.

    Let’s pause here before continuing and ask ourselves this question: why does the Lord seem to hide Himself when we need Him most? This touches upon a philosophical and apologetical challenge referred to as “God’s Hiddenness”.  I’m reminded of the time I was flying back from a ministry trip many years ago. We lived in Florida where I was pastoring. The plane had to go above the cloud tops because of a major storm. 

    Above those clouds was blue skies and endless sunshine. Once we descended to land we were in the middle of the storm. If I had not witnessed what was above the clouds I would have assumed that the whole day in Florida was nothing but storm. Do you know when we landed, I wasn’t near as troubled by the lightening and the thunder. As a matter of fact I could be patient as I sought out the day that would come when I’d see the sun I knew was always there.

Dealing with the problem of God's hiddenness as we seek and know Jesus Christ.

    This problem of “God’s hiddenness”, as it is called, has prompted some skeptics to argue that because of all the evil in the world and the prevalence of unbelief, there surely can be no good reasons for God to allow it, and thus many deny His existence. Such an argument assumes that God has no good reasons, which is its flaw. It would be like me saying there can be no such thing as a “sun” if all I saw was storm and wind and assumed there can be no good reason for the storm.

 If I recall correctly, the storm of that day provided temporary cooling of the waters off the Gulf Coast of Florida which greatly weakened an incoming larger storm. Jesus’ delay had good reasons – to eventually raise Lazarus and show God’s glory. 

God’s supposed “hiddenness” is counter-balanced by His revelation of Himself in creation, the conscience, and especially His Word, which on average will foster either trust or expose how much we distrust Him. In other words, Jesus’ strategy of hiddenness was so that people like Mary and Martha would seek and know Him. We often don’t see the need to seek and know God until we’re in a situation where we cannot find peace despite seeking everything else. In my storm illustration earlier, I would not have desired to see the sunshine again unless I first had to ride through that storm and wind.   

How Martha sought to know Jesus Christ in the face of grief. 

Let’s see how Martha responded to Jesus and ended up seeking to know Him more. John 11:21-27 “Martha then said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’ 23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ 24 Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ 25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’ 27 She ‘said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” 

Martha had apparently taken time to know Jesus and seek Him between Her first meeting of Him over two months prior in Luke 10:38-42 to this episode in John 11. She was tested at a great point of loss, and she came through with flying colors. She confessed Him to be “The Christ”, her Anointed Savior. She confessed Him “The Son of God”, her Almighty God. She confessed He had “come into the world”, her incarnated Lord.

She found out it wasn’t so much her seeking and knowing Him as it was Jesus seeking and already knowing her. She learned to abide in His pattern through this storm of grief. As Adrian Rogers once noted, “tears are but telescopes through which we can see and grab onto the promises of God”. As we learn to abide in the pattern of Christ as Martha, we first need to stop, look, and listen; followed by seeking to know His pattern.

More next time...

What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's pattern - Stop, Look, and Listen.

 Introduction:

    The last few posts have looked at what it means to abide in Christ. The posts are based off of a recent sermon I preached on the subject. Featured in the posts are Mary and Martha, two sisters whom Jesus met in the course of His earthly ministry some few months before His crucifixion. The last few posts dealt with how Mary highlights for us what it means to abide in the presence of Christ. We learned that to abide in Christ means:

"To abide in Christ is when my faith is settled in spiritual union with Him, identification with Him, and bearing fruit for Him." 

    Mary had her faith "settled in Jesus" by how she abided in His words, His cross, and His majesty.  We are now going to switch our attention to her sister Martha to learn what it means to abide in the pattern of Christ. 

    Today's post and the next couple are based upon another sermon that deals with the same subject of "abiding in Christ", only with the nuance of abiding in His pattern. In today's post we will see how Martha abided in the pattern of Jesus Christ by taking the time to "stop, look, and listen".

Stop, Look, and Listen. Luke 10:38-42

     Let’s turn our attention then to Luke 10:40-41, notice verse 40 “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” 

    When you're driving and come to a railroad crossing, you’ll sometimes see this sign, “Stop, Look, and Listen”. Martha was rushing around her house at a thousand m.p.h. She was stuck in her pattern and needed redirection to realign with the pattern of our Lord. Stop your pattern. Look at His pattern. Listen to His Word to change your pattern.

   A. Stop your pattern.

     Martha had some unlearning to do first before she could effectively go further in her abiding in the Lord. Her pattern of life was full of distraction. Sound familiar? Our church life in the Baptist world has not done well to incorporate “rest patterns” or “sabbatical patterns”. We make the mistake of equating “abiding” with idleness. 

     I heard it once said that even though Jesus had a lot placed upon Him, He never once felt imposed upon. Why? He abided in His Father’s presence and pattern. Jesus’ words to His disciples in between busy seasons conveys this first step of “stop”. Mark 6:30-33 “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. 33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.” 

    The problem is our pattern. We need to unplug the devices. Get out of the rut of being people pleasers. Get away from making ourselves look strong when we’re really not. We’re too “bothered by many things”. That word translated “distracted” in Luke 10:41 gives the idea of focusing so much on what is going around you that you forget what is in front of you and you “stumble” as it were. [note: in 2 Samuel 6:5, we have the episode of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant on an oxcart into Jerusalem, and how the ox “nearly upset it”. The Greek Septuagint translation used the same word we find in Luke 10:40 to describe the ox’s distraction and stumbling, which caused the ark to nearly topple off the cart]. Stop your pattern. Secondly….

     B. Look at His pattern.

     After we have “stopped our pattern”, we secondly need to look at His pattern. Martha was so overwhelmed and frustrated she blurted out in Luke 10:40 “Lord do you not care….”. Have you ever accused God of not caring? 

    Elijah the great prophet in 1 Kings 19:14 was at the end of his rope following an otherwise tremendous victory over rival false prophets in Israel. A wicked Queen Jezebel put a price on his head and Elijah fled for his life. He went to the very mountain God had revealed the ten commandments, Mount Horeb. He tells God in 1 Kings 19:14 “Then he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

    God had to redirect Elijah’s focus away from his pattern of worry, anxiety, and flat-out exhaustion to remind Elijah of God’s pattern of faithfulness. 1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” 

    Notice how Jesus never gets up to help Martha, nor does He tell Mary to go assist. He lets Martha fume and come to the end of herself to redirect her to His pattern. 1 Peter 2:20b-21 ….”but if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. Christ Is Our Example 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” Stop. Look. Then.

   C. Listen to His Word to change His pattern.

    What amazes me about this entire passage Luke 10:38-42 is that we do not see a nice little bow tied on the end of it. Notice Luke 10:41-42 “But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  We’re not told whether Martha stopped and sat down at Jesus’ feet. We don’t know if she went back to what she was doing and Jesus kept on teaching Mary. Scripture does this on occasion. I call this a “truth cliff-hanger”.

     The Book of Jonah ends this way with us not knowing whether the prophet Jonah repented of his anger toward God whether he remained angry (see Jonah 4:11). In Luke 15:32 we find Jesus ending the parable of the prodigal son with the father pleading with his eldest son not to be angry, making the argument that, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” 

    Did the older brother come around or did he remain outside the family’s celebration? We’re not told. These “truth cliff-hangers” are purposeful to force the reader to a decision: will I remain where I’m at or yield to the Lord’s pattern? That’s what we see happening here with Martha. We are forced to listen to God’s Word and either change our pattern to match Jesus or remain stubbornly in our own. There is your first step then, Stop. Look. And Listen.

More next time.....

What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's pattern - Character Studies On Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42

Introduction:

    The last few posts have looked at what it means to abide in Christ here Growing Christian Resources: What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's Presence - Character Studies On Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42 and here Growing Christian Resources: What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's Cross - Character Studies On Mary and Martha and here Growing Christian Resources: What it means to abide in Jesus Christ's Majesty - Character Studies On Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. 

     The posts are based off of a recent sermon I preached on the subject. Featured in the posts are Mary and Martha, two sisters whom Jesus met in the course of His earthly ministry some few months before His crucifixion. The last few posts dealt with how Mary highlights for us what it means to abide in the presence of Christ. We learned that to abide in Christ means:

"To abide in Christ is when my faith is settled in spiritual union with Him, identification with Him, and bearing fruit for Him." 

    Mary had her faith "settled in Jesus" by how she abided in His words, His cross, and His majesty.  We are now going to switch our attention to her sister Martha to learn what it means to abide in the pattern of Christ. Today's post and the next couple are based upon another sermon that deals with the same subject of "abiding in Christ", only with the nuance of abiding in His pattern. 

How a block of wood and a wooden ball illustrate abiding in Christ.

    My late father was a carpenter by trade. As a younger man he had taken a small block of wood and worked at carving out a ball to where you could see the ball in the wood, rolling around. The ball and that block were made of the same material, and there was no way you could get the ball out of the wood. My dad had carved the block in such a way that you could view the little ball he had carved from all sides. The ball and the block were clearly different while having a union that had the ball abiding still in the block while freely rolling around inside of it.

We had defined in our last few posts “abiding in Christ”, to abide in Christ is when my faith is settled in spiritual union with Him, identification with Him, and bearing fruit for Him.   Jesus reminds us in John 15:7-9 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”                                                                                                               The Pattern of Jesus Christ

As we return to Luke 10:38-42 once more, we see Mary abiding in in the presence of Jesus, listening to Him teach. She is abiding in His presence, in stillness. Martha is learning to abide in Christ’s pattern while she struggles. She was serving His pattern. What is the pattern of Jesus Christ? One way we can answer that is by noting how He served as shown in the passages below.

 Jesus came to serve (Mark 10:45 “not to be served, but to serve…”, Philippians 2:7 “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant….”.) Later after this episode in Luke 10, Jesus would wash His disciples’ feet and say these words in John 13:15, “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” We as Christians are called to abide in this pattern of Christ, Galatians 5:13b “….but through love serve one another.” 

How God uses stillness and struggle.

Martha’s serving was invaded by her struggle of worrying. Luke 10:40-41 “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.”

Stillness and struggle go hand-in-hand. God has been teaching me that these last several months. I wish I could report I’m an “A” student – I’m pulling a “C-” at the moment. Some reminders about the need for stillness before God. Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  Also, Isaiah 40:30-31 “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength….”. Isaiah 30:15 “In quietness and trust is your strength.” As we saw in John 15:9 “abide in my love”.

If you struggle with stillness with God in abiding, you’ll see why God pairs “struggle” with “stillness”. That’s why these two sisters are put together by the Holy Spirit in our text. Martha was a different personality than Mary. Martha struggled in an area we all know to well – worry. This was the testing ground to show her how to abide in Christ as her pattern. How did she learn to abide? How can we?

1. Stop, look, and listen. Luke 10:38-42

2. Seek and know. John 11:20-28

3. Serve and rejoice. John 12:1-3  

More next time.....

How To Refocus On God When You’re Distracted

 

Introduction

     We will continue our current series on "abiding in Jesus Christ" in the next post. Today I wanted to take time out to address how Christian people can refocus on God when they are distracted. I remember hearing a statistic forty years ago that noted that Americans watched between 3-7 hours of television per day. All of that has changed with the dominance of social media. The organization “addictionhelp.com” conducted a poll on social media use and what it identified as “social media addiction (the entire study is found here Social Media Addiction Statistics 2026 - Usage and Effects. Here is what it noted, 

“Many mental health professionals worry that children and teens are particularly at risk for social media addiction. Such concern is due to the way social media platforms encourage endless scrolling, impulsive behaviors, and the need for instant gratification.” 

It then noted these statistics,

“Young social media users aged 18 to 22 account for a shocking 40% of all Americans addicted to social media. According to research from Common Sense, teens average 7 hours and 22 minutes of screen time per day, and kids 8–12 years old get an average of 4 hours and 44 minutes of screen time per day.”

     I’m not advocating that social media is evil that we must avoid it. Like all previous forms of technology, social media and A.I. are tools. How we wield them and for what end we use them is where prudence is needed. Yet, when it becomes an addiction (i.e. “something I cannot live without or defines how I conduct daily life) or a distraction (i.e. where I lose perspective and neglect what is important), such things can lead to serious emotional and mental issues. That same website noted the following negative effects of such a distraction,

“Out of the 1,141 respondents aged 13 to 17, teens reported that: 70% felt left out or excluded when using social media; 43% have deleted social media posts due to receiving too few likes; 43% felt bad about themselves if no one liked or commented on their posts; 35% reported experiencing cyberbullying. One of the most serious risks social media addiction poses for young people is increased thoughts of self-harm and suicide.”

     We need Psalm 135 as an antidote for our distracted minds and prayer-life. How can we get refocused on God when we’re distracted?

1. Remember the names of God. Psalm 135:1-4, 13-14

      We do not know the author of this Psalm nor the occasion. Nevertheless, its timeliness and timelessness is perfect for our distracted lives. Sometimes what I’ll do is take a sheet of paper or reflect upon the names of God as I begin my prayer time to reel in my scattered thoughts. Notice Psalm 135:1-4,

“Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

Then notice Psalm 135:13-14, “Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.” 

One resource I have in my library lists over a thousand names of God in the Bible. Our Lord Jesus Christ alone has over two-hundred names ascribed to Him. Sometimes I like to say some of those names in alphabetical order to get myself refocused. The point is God’s names represent who He is or what He has done. We remember then the names of God. How else can we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and in our thought-life?

2. Review the perfections of God. Psalm 135:5-6

     We begin by focusing on God's names, not let's put before us God's perfections. Notice with me Psalm 135:5-6 “For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” 

    When I say “perfections”, I’m speaking about what are called His “attributes”. An attribute is a perfection of God that reveals the kind of God He is. God doesn’t merely “have” certain characteristics. Rather, He is whatever that attribute reveals Him to be. Notice firstly, God’s greatness, especially in how He is above all other “gods”. The Psalmist here is not granting existence or reality to other deities, since God and God alone is God (Isaiah 43:10-11). The Psalmist labors to show that the idols people worship are breathless, sightless, deaf creations of men. 

      Secondly, notice God’s Sovereignty in verse 6. These two headline perfections of His greatness and sovereignty contain other perfections which are just as wonderful as they. 

     To illustrate, sometimes Debi will ask, "are you here?" because my mind is thinking in different directions. We all have “divided attention”. We all, like every other created thing, can never be all nor give all of ourselves to everything. 

      This is why praying to God, who alone is undivided (what theologians call “Divine Simplicity”) is so crucial to “pulling together” our prayer life and thoughts. Just like the names of God, it is helpful to have God’s perfections written down as you pray. Perhaps pray for a little bit and then praise God for one of His perfections. I promise you God’s perfections and names will help bust the distraction. Notice a third way to defeat distraction here in Psalm 135.

3. Recall the works of God. Psalm 135:7-14

     This is the longest section in the Psalm, and rightly so, since God does so much! Psalm 135:7-14 records for us God’s works or providence. The Heidelberg Catechism, question 27, raises this question, 

“What do you understand about the providence of God?”

It gives this answer: “The almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures, and so governs them, that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yes, all things, come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.”

    We definitely see God’s providence here in Psalm 135:7-14, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings for the rain, who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. 8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He smote many nations and slew mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan; 12 And He gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people. 13 Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.”

     We see God’s providence at work in His creation, redemption, and our future. God knows what is best. These truths are what we glean from focusing upon the works of God.  

      Sometimes when I cannot readily see His work in my life at present, I’ll focus on His works over the past course of my life. God never changes (Malachi 3:6), which means He will always be at work in my present life and in whatever He has ordained for my future. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 31:15 “My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.” How do we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and thought-life? By remembering His names, reviewing His perfections, and recalling His works. One more method from Psalm 135.

4. Repeat the praises of God. Psalm 135:19-21

     Psalm 135:19-21 “O house of Israel, bless the Lord; O house of Aaron, bless the Lord; 20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord; you who revere the Lord, bless the Lord. 21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!” 

       That word translated “bless” speaks of “bending the knee in thanksgiving to God”. The force of the Hebrew verbs translated “bless” gives the idea of continuing a process. We could even say there is a certain what we call “antiphonal” quality to this final set of commands.

     Have you ever heard a choir sing a line of a song, with one part repeating the line and the other perhaps joining in with a chorus or some other line that adds and builds momentum? That’s what we mean by “antiphonal”. To make it clearer, Isaiah 6:3 records a worship scene in Heaven involving the Seraphim, a special class of angels, “And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” The whole of Israel is told to begin, followed by the priestly leadership of the Aaronic priesthood, then the servants of the temple – the Levites, and then each personal member of the nation. Praise is made personal. 

Closing thoughts:

We focus on God by His name, perfections, works, and repetition of His praises. Let’s use this antidote of Psalm 135 to refocus on God and defeat distraction.