A Practical Guide to Prayer

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A Practical Guide to Prayer[1]

Before they call I will answer. Isaiah 65:24

Introduction: George Swinnock offers some very helpful and practical steps to praying. He presents several things we should meditate on before praying. It may be appropriate to take each topic separately and then pray in response. He lists six categories on which we can meditate.

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Meditation prepares the heart for prayer. “Meditation is the best beginning of prayer, and prayer is the best conclusion of meditation. Prayer is a building which reaches up to heaven, meditation lays in all the costly materials which are requisite for this building.” (p. 112)[2]

1. Meditate on your sins, and hunt them out of their lurking holes; this helps in our confession.[3] “Your duty in prayer is to indict, arraign, and condemn and execute those malefactors and transgressors of the royal law, which can never be done till they are apprehended. If you want to kill those foxes that spoil the vine, those lusts which hinder your regenerate part from thriving, your care must be by meditation to hunt them out of their lurking holes and take them.” (p. 113) [Name the sins before God in your meditation and confess and repent of them.]

2. Meditate on your needs, for God is fully able to supply them. Consider what you need—pardoning mercy, strength for victory, power against sin—that you may entreat God to give them to you. “Consider…what sin you lately prevented, and are afraid it will recover again, that you may beg strength to pursue the victory; what lust lately got the better of you, that you may entreat pardon of it, and power against it… This consideration of your needs, with the weight of them, will make you more urgent and instant with God for supply; they that feel hunger, how hard will they beg for bread!” (p. 114) [Consider your spiritual needs more than your material needs.]

3. Meditate upon his mercies to you from birth. Look at the dangers you have been delivered from, the journeys you have been protected in, the seasonable help he has sent you, the suitable support he has afforded you in distress, the counsel he has given you in doubts, and the comforts he has provided you in sorrow and darkness. These are present with you by meditation. Every breath in your life is a gift of mercy. Do not forget the former favours bestowed on you and your family. An empty perfume bottle still smells when the perfume is gone. “These thoughts before prayer may stir you up to bless the giver. If you should bless men when they curse you, much more should you bless God, when he blesses you.” (pp. 115-116) [Look over all the specific mercies God has given you.]

4. Then meditate upon your present mercies. How many do you enjoy—your house, family, body, and soul, are all full of blessings! Think of them particularly. Spread them out like jewels to your view. Meditate on how freely they are bestowed, on their fullness and greatness. But O, your soul’s mercies—the image of God, the blood of Christ, eternal life, and seasons of grace! Your whole life is a bundle of mercies. These stir us up to bless the Giver.  [Consider both “body-mercies” (things that benefit your body, physical life, etc.) and especially “soul-mercies” (things that benefit your soul) you receive on a daily basis.]

5. Then meditate on God to whom we pray. O how we are ashamed of our drops when we stand by this ocean! “As God rises in our thoughts, self falls. That sun discovers all our dust… This serious apprehension of your distance will quicken you to reverence. God’s greatness and man’s vileness are both arguments to make man humble and serious in the worship of God.” (p. 116) [Go through His attributes in your mind and consider how infinitely higher He is than you. This helps us to maintain a proper perspective in prayer.]

6. Meditate on his mercy and goodness.[4] These like Moses’ strokes will fetch water out of a rock. God delights to be sought and found. He delights to see men joyful in the house of prayer. God will not send you away sad. When you have by mediation put the wood in order upon the altar, you may by prayer set fire to it and offer up a sacrifice of sweet smelling savour. “Believe before you pray, that your hand of prayer shall not knock at heaven’s gate in vain, that God will not send you away sad.” (p. 116) [As a believer, this is the one thing you must be convinced of in your prayer or your prayers will be drudgery, legal, burdensome, and something you will want to dispense with as soon as possible. “Believe before you pray!”]

[1] Enlarged from Nov. 11, Voices from the Past, Vol. 1 (George Swinnock, Works, 1:111-117). The editor extracted this reading from Swinnock’s The Christian Man’s Calling. In particular, it represents a portion from chapter 12 entitled, “How a Christian may exercise himself to godliness in prayer.” I added extra sentences from the original work to the selection from Voices from the Past.

[2] This along with the rest of the quotes will be modernized.

[3] Swinnock says three things relate to us, “thy sins, wants [needs], and mercies.”

[4] “…what promises He has made to prayer, how bountiful he is to those who call upon Him. He does more than they can ask or think; he gives liberally without upbraiding.” (p. 116)

Leviticus 10, Unauthorized Fire

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For the first and only time in Leviticus, we are introduced to Aaron’s two oldest sons Nadab and Abihu (cf. Ex. 6:23). From Exodus 28 we learn that they must have participated in the ordination process of chs. 8 & 9. These sons experienced God’s presence in the ratification of the covenant in Ex. 24:1, 9.

They offered “unauthorized fire” — the phrase is used two other times but they all refer back to this incident (Num. 3:4; 26:61). Specific incense ingredients were prescribed and perhaps they offered something different into the fire? Some argue this should have been offered by the high priest so they blatantly usurped this role (cf. TOTC). What is clear is that they did what they wanted and not what God prescribed.

Aaron cannot complain even though his sons were destroyed because God acted justly as Moses said, “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.” (v. 3) They were not permitted to grieve (vv. 6, 7) because they have been consecrated — other people can grieve for them. They were also not to drink while they performed their duties (vv. 8-11).

In vv. 16-20, Aaron’s two sons did not eat the meat of the sin offering which raised Moses’ ire and concern. Aaron’s plea is that on account of what happened, they felt ashamed to eat or they were simply afraid — it was a dangerous situation. This reason seems to have met with Moses’ approval — at least they were not careless but fearful.

Worshipping God must never be gone in a cavalier manner. Being on this side of the cross does not diminish the seriousness of worship. In the New Testament, Annanias and Saphira were struck dead for lying against God. In Corinth, some died because of the way they treated each other and the Lord’s Supper. The writer of Hebrew says, “let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, or our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:28, 29) Through Christ we offer our spiritual worship with reverence and awe. Worship in the New Covenant must never be goofy, irreverent, or casual.

Will we eat in heaven?

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Today in our Christian Classics Club, we discussed the last chapter of Wilhemus a Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service (Vol. 1). We vigorously talked about a short statement made by a Brakel on p. 630 (see below). He explained in what way Christ could have eaten after the resurrection. We considered his words and sought to square that with 1 Cor. 6:13: “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” This verse has been used by Reformed thinkers to establish the truth that we will NOT be eating in our glorified state. I incorporated a Brakel’s statement into my notes on Eschatology and the following are my current reflections on this topic. I am very thankful for our wonderful group that meets twice a month to discuss both Gurnall and a Brakel! Today, we finished Volume One of a Brakel!!!! I have been greatly edified by our robust discussions throughout this year!

Food? Eating in Heaven?

Will we eat in our glorified state? Some (like Hoekema)[1] believe that 1Cor. 6:13 emphatically teaches that we will not eat in our glorified state.[2] Our glorified body no longer depends on the nourishment. Herman Bavinck also agrees with this. He says the resurrected body “is no longer composed of flesh and blood; it is above the sex life (Matt. 22:30) and the need for food and drink (1 Cor. 6:13).”[3] The older commentator, John Diodati, said that “by death, the passage to eternal life, all use of meats, and of those organs is annihilated.” (Annotations [1648], 190) John Gill concurs and stated that “there will be no appetite, no desire in the stomach after meats, no need of them to fill the belly, and so no use of these parts for such purposes as they now are; for the children of the resurrection will be like the angels, and stand in no need of eating and drinking.”[4] Even Charles Hodge drew the same conclusion from 1 Cor. 6:13, “The time shall come when men shall no more be sustained by food, but shall be as the angels of God.”[5] Geerhardus Vos espoused the traditional interpretation of 1 Cor. 6:13.[6] And lastly, the venerable and trustworthy Matthew Henry believed it was safe to state that we will not need food:

There is a time coming when the human body will need no further recruits of food.” Some of the ancients suppose that this is to be understood of abolishing the belly as well as the food; and that though the same body will be raised at the great day, yet not with all the same members, some being utterly unnecessary in a future state, as the belly for instance, when the man is never to hunger, nor thirst, nor eat, nor drink more. But, whether this be true or no, there is a time coming when the need and use of food shall be abolished.

However, various passages indicate that perhaps that may not be the case. One of the most common imageries used in the Bible is one of feasting. The OT refers to a “lavish banquet” which the Lord will prepare. Is. 25:6 reads, “And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine.” In the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:29), Jesus says, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Rev. 19:9 speaks of the “marriage feast of the Lamb.” Perhaps these statements only symbolize the blessed estate of the righteous?

Oddly, we read of Christ eating after the resurrection (cf. Luke 24:43, Jn. 21:9-14). Does that mean we will eat with a glorified body? However, Bavinck noted, at that moment, Jesus existed in a transitional body before His ascension.[7] Wilhemus a Brakel goes further saying, “He may possibly have held back His full glory while interacting with His disciples. He ate with His disciples (Luke 24:43) to further assure them of His resurrection, not because He was in need of nourishment. His stomach also did not digest this nourishment, since this would be inconsistent with a glorified body. Rather, by His omnipotence He caused the food to disappear.”[8] Perhaps a Brakel said too much when he declared that Christ’s omnipotence “caused the food to disappear”?

Against this majority opinion, Venema adds, “Though some might be inclined to deny this outright, it might be that this denial is borne out of an over-spiritualized view of the final state.”[9] It may not be an over spiritualized interpretation because 1 Cor. 6:13 seems to support the “majority” opinion.  We conclude with Venema’s statement though it puts him at odds with Hoekema, Bavinck, a Brakel, Gill, Hodge, etc.

Just as our eating and drinking today is to be done to God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31), so it may well be in the new heavens and earth that the blessings of food and drink, sanctified through the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:5), will be the occasion for worshipping and serving the living God. It is wise not to be too dogmatic on this question one way or the other. Nevertheless, life in the new creation will undoubtedly be like a rich banquet at which the saints of God will sit down together and enjoy the richest of foods.[10]

[1]Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, 252: “It would seem that, according to this passage, the digestive functions of the body will no longer be necessary in the life to come.”

[2] Lenski says, “In the Parousia no digesting and no organ for that purpose are needed to keep the body alive. Regarding the change of our bodily organs compare Matt. 22:30; 1 Cor. 15:44, 51.” Kistemaker does not wish to press this.

[3] Bavinck, The Last Things, 137. “After the resurrection both the stomach and food will be destroyed (1 Cor. 6:13), but both were realities to Adam. In heaven God’s children will no longer marry, but be like the angels (Matt. 22:30); Adam, however, needed the help of a wife.” (Reformed Dogmatics, 2:564)

[4] John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 2, The Baptist Commentary Series (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 638.

[5] Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1857), 103. A less theological exegete drew the same conclusion: “God, however, will (at the Parousia) cause such a change to take place in the bodily constitution of man and in the world of sense generally, that neither the organs of digestion as such, nor the meats as such, will then be existent.” [Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Corinthians, ed. William P. Dickson, trans. D. Douglas Bannerman, vol. 1, Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1879), 179.].

[6] Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, ed. Richard B. Gaffin, trans. Annemie Godbehere et al., vol. 5 (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012–2016), 274.

[7] Bavinck, The Last Things, 137: “And Jesus arose with the same body in which he died and which had not even seen corruption, and remained moreover in a transitional state up until his ascension, so that he could still eat food as well.”

[8] The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:630.

[9]Venema, The Promise of the Future, 474.

[10]Venema, The Promise of the Future, 474.

Denominations: Is it wrong to be in a denomination?

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Being “non-denominational” always sounds better than being in a denomination. No one wants to be “labeled” or narrowly pigeonholed. Some even seem to believe that their non-denominational status is inherently superior to those stuck in an old man made denomination.

But is being in a denomination inherently bad? They seem to imply that a denomination needs a justification for its existence while being non-denominational requires no justification. I don’t know when or how this happened but that seems to be the state of affairs now.

In this study, I want to argue for the benefits of being in a denomination and argue that an independent non-denominational church creates more problems than they know.

What is so great about…?

I want to present a typical scenario to help us look into the supposed benefits of being non-denominational. Let’s say the non-denominational church in question called itself Community Church of Warminster (CCW). This church emphatically distances herself from being connected to a certain denomination. She sells this as her strong point. They remain adamant about this — they desperately seek to be THE community church for everyone in their neighborhood and city.  Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, non-denominational, etc. can all come. They exclude no one.

Furthermore, denominational churches, they argue, were started by men. Wesley (for Methodists and Wesleyans), Calvin (Presbyterians and Reformed churches), Luther (for Lutherans), etc. A non-denominational church depends only on the Bible and not on the fickle and peculiar personalities of men and fallible institutions. Her eyes behold only the Bible and nothing else!

Sounds great! She remains open to all and excludes no one. They also depend on the Bible and not on men and great personalities. These things appeal to every believer. Who can disagree with that? That surely makes a non-denominational church great! Right?

Hidden Assumptions

Under closer scrutiny, these things may not be as beneficial as they first appear to be. But what does CCW believe? Does CCW tell us anything about what she believes? Will she always believe it? Is that belief dependent on the pastor or her leaders? The simple affirmation, “We just believe in the Bible.” is both naïve and misleading.

No church exists without some doctrinal positions. She has to believe in something. To say they believe in the Bible doesn’t tell us much. The devil espouses the Bible. Jehovah’s Witness and even the Mormons appeal to the Bible. Roman Catholics do the same. The question remains, “What doctrines or teachings do you believe come from the Bible?” Once we frame the question that way, many churches part company from each other. Many churches that purport to believe in the Bible rarely read it from the pulpit.

Most non-denominational churches have a statement of faith or beliefs. Often they tend to express their beliefs in minimal terms. But even here they can mislead. Every church has a position on women preachers, baptism (paedo, credo, salvific, etc.), Lord’s Supper, Christ’s return, its view of the millennium, view of the OT (dispensational, covenantal, etc.), Ten Commandments (all say they believe them but most deny the second and fourth), God’s sovereignty, church discipline, church government, etc. but they rarely ever set forth where they stand on these important issues.

For example, Calvary Chapel[1] lists what they believe. It doesn’t tell us about their view of women’s ministry, Ten Commandments, church discipline, and God’s sovereignty. They believe in baptism by immersion but we know nothing else as to its meaning. They are clearly dispensational though they do not say so. Their Trinitarian formulation borders on being modalistic[2] and their view of Christian fellowship is faulty — the basis of Christian fellowship should not be “Christ’s agape love”[3] (does that clause mean Christ’s love for us or our love for others on account of Christ’s love)?

A lot more could be said. But who holds the pastor accountable? Can the entire church simply change all those views? Does each staff member have to hold to these doctrinal views? Is the pastor the final authority? Are there elders?[4] We don’t really know any of these things.

To Form a Perfect Union?

Individual non-denominational churches remain unconnected to any other church in any formal way. They can meet with other churches but nothing requires or encourages that. In their efforts to be open to everyone, they can only be that way if someone comes to that church. CCW remains unattached to any other church and technically, she could live and die without ever fellowshipping with other local churches!

Presbyterian churches have voluntarily joined themselves together by their mutual confession of faith. We have a “built-in” fellowship. We remain connected to other churches in our denomination and the leadership regularly meets with the leaders of other churches. Some of them meet together as churches on a regular basis while the rest of them have to meet together as elders (in Presbyteries).

Having said all of this, being in a denomination will not necessarily determine the church’s general attitude. She can be either charitable and catholic (in the generic and the true sense of the word) or be sectarian and parochial. Whereas being Presbyterian may help to foster a more generous charitable spirit, it does not necessarily always happen. Truly, if we are one in Christ, then we must love those whom Christ loves.

KEY THOUGHTS: Beyond the Local Church

Creeds and Confessions or What we Believe (Statement of Faith)

A non-denominational church list what they believe. Most are short and very simple. We would expect something like that in CCW.

Conservative Evangelical Bible believing Presbyterian churches hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Catechisms. Many godly and learned men met together to write this Confession (all of them well aware of the historic creeds and confessions) and it has stood the test of time since 1646. The WCF was something of a consensus statement by many of the great men of the seventeenth century. These men held to more distinct views on many other matters but these statements in the WCF were held by all of them.

However, “What we Believe” statements seek to be minimal. Therefore their broad statements create many more questions (because they are not as comprehensive). Also, because they were written by a few people and not necessarily by the most biblically and theologically equipped men, they tend to lack depth and insight (being unaware of the broad differences of opinions on certain matters). For example, many people do not know that the modern view of the “rapture” is less than 150 years old! Such a view was never ever considered before this. Yet, some believe if you don’t believe in the “rapture” then you are not a Christian![5]

To argue that nobody wants to follow “men” and instead follow the Bible overlooks a simple point. These “What we Believe” statements were composed by contemporary men and I can hardly believe they are godlier and more theological than the men who penned the WCF. They were all composed by men — which one is more biblical and more thoroughly theological and reflective of the Bible’s overall teaching?

We hold to these Confessions not by coercion but by conviction. After reading, studying and reflecting on the Bible’s teaching, we have come to believe that these statements in the Confession reflect what the Bible teaches as a whole. Yes, they were written by men ages ago but we believe the truth of Scripture has not changed. We embrace these doctrines because we believe they are in accordance with Scripture. The same can be said of the “What we Believe” statements. Both maintain their biblical basis. We affirm more and with greater precision; they affirm very little and some of their statements lack clarity.

KEY THOUGHTS: Minimal vs. Comprehensive; Credal by Conviction and not by Coercion

Church Government

Every church has some form of “leadership.” The question is not over its simplicity vs. complexity but its fidelity to the Bible. Is the church government in accordance with Scripture? Many non-denominational churches do not have “elders” or “deacons.” They have boards, committees, etc. All of them have a “pastor” and other leaders but the Bible clearly teaches that the church leaders are to be her elders who teach and oversee the flock of God.

The “pastor” is not superior to the other elders but they work as a body of elders. They hold each other accountable and are held accountable by the church and Presbytery. Here is where this is very important. We can be sure that everyone will voluntarily teach what the Confession teaches and that it will be (at least it should be!) the same in all the churches. Since all her elders believe the Confession faithfully reflects the Bible’s teaching, they require each individual elder to consistently teach what the Confession teaches.

In a non-denominational church, the pastor often has the highest authority. Sometimes, the ruling body (whatever they might call it, the board, etc.) has the highest authority and they hire and fire as they see fit. The doctrine that is being taught reflects the mind of the individual leader or the governing authority and no external doctrinal standard can hold him or them accountable. For example, in a non-denominational church, the pastor can say, “The Bible does not teach that Jesus is God.” The congregation may not like it but what can they do? Doesn’t it become a power struggle to see if the pastor stays or not? What if several people in the congregation have been convinced by the pastor? What happens now? In a Presbyterian church, we can say up front that we have already declared in our Confession and its Catechisms that the Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God! That doctrine continues to be what we believe the Bible teaches. So, the same pastor could be charged of heresy or formally disciplined and in the end, excommunicated. An appeal could be made to a larger body of elders beyond the congregation if it become messy in the local congregation. The same doctrinal standard will be used both in the local congregation as well as the local presbytery to try the heretic of his Arian Christology!

In a Presbyterian structure, the pastor will be held accountable either by the elders and/or the Presbytery. Her doctrinal distinctives regulate what can being taught! If the pastor no longer believes what he professed to believe when he joined the denomination, then he can leave or be deposed.

Because the Presbyterian church is a Confessional church, you don’t have to wonder what the pastor and the elders believe. Will this pastor teach such and such? You cannot be certain in a non-denominational church. However, in a confessional denominational church, though emphases may differ, each pastor will generally teach those basic doctrinal positions each pastor and elder voluntarily believes.

KEY THOUGHTS: Voluntary Association; Independent vs. Connectionalism (cf. Acts 15); Elders and not Boards, etc.

A Rose by any other name?

A non-denominational church may say they are free from the opinions of men and open to all people. Yet, their doctrinal distinctives, whether explicitly stated in a statement of belief or not, reveal their theological pedigree (whether they know it or not). Everyone is either an Arminian or a Calvinist; a paedobaptist or a credobaptist; covenantal or dispensational (though there may be moderating positions between these two); etc. That is, they are either Baptist or not — each church maintains a position on these and other theological issues.  A church may not want to be called Baptist and yet everything they believe in and everything they teach have been held by Baptists. That doesn’t per se make it right or wrong but not labeling oneself doesn’t mean the church can escape a label. A denominational label describes the kinds of beliefs held by the church — some are conscious of that while others are not. A rose by any other name is still a rose. A Baptist is a Baptist even if he disavows it. Avoiding a theological or denominational label does not enable a church to escape it.

If one has chicken pox, then one has it even if he or she does want to call it that. They could avoid the label entirely but call it what you will, it is still chicken pox. A church may avoid being denominational and being theologically labeled but what they believe still has a “label” perfectly describing them.

KEY THOUGHTS: Theological labels help us and do not limit us

CONCLUSION: There are several non-denominational independent churches that are healthy and powerful in their community (cf. John MacArthur’s church) but the church’s theological distinctives will disappear once the pastor retires. The same could be said about each denominational church but these churches are guaranteed certain theological positions after their pastor retires.

[1] http://www.ccphilly.org/what-we-believe/

[2] To say “who manifests Himself in three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is classic modalism. The word “manifests” is not the word to use because that is the word Sabellius and other modalists used to describe the Trinity. Our LC says,  “There be three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one …God” (LC, #9).

[3] This phrase literally means Christ’s love love — there isn’t anything unique about the word “agape” per se no matter how many times ministers argue that it is a unique kind of love (it just means “love”).  Our fellowship is based on our union with Christ and in having the same Holy Spirit dwelling in all of us.

[4] Calvary Chapel’s statement talks about the church government being simplistic — “church government should be simplistic rather than complex and bureaucratic.” It should read “simple” and not “simplistic.” This is a very unfortunate formulation. It states what they avoid but does not set forth what they affirm.

[5] Our view of the “end times” (eschatology) is very basic and held by almost all Christians.

Leviticus 9, The Lord Appears

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Leviticus 9, The Lord Appears

Aaron’s first sin offering as the newly ordained high priest was a “bull calf” — ironically, in Ex. 32, he had previously fashioned an idolatrous golden bull calf and led others astray. That God spared Aaron and destroyed others in that incident is a testament to God’s mercy! But to continue to serve as the high priest displays God’s extravagant mercy!

All these rituals of detailed sacrifices and the manipulation of blood served to bring about one thing— that God would be with them. In this chapter, after all the regulations, the Lord would appear appear to them (vv. 4, 6, 23) — God’s presence would become palpable. God appeared when the tabernacle was constructed (Ex. 40) thus showing His approval and He does the same here after the ordination of the priests – once again, conveying His tacit acceptance.

Sin offerings and burnt offerings were offered first for the priests and then for the people (vv. 8-21) — the order remains significant. The sin offering “are not for specific sins” but “for the general sinfulness” of the priesthood and the people (Currid). First they were cleansed by the sin offering and then they entered into fellowship with God through the burnt offering.

After Aaron’s blessing (v. 22) God’s glory appeared to all the people (v. 23) and while the sacrifices burned on the altar, God’s fire came from his presence in the tent of the meeting and consumed the offerings (v. 24). The people, upon seeing this “shouted and fell on their faces” (v. 24) — probably out of fear and awe though the word implies one of joy! That must have been an awe inspiring experience! This led them to worship!

The priest’s ministry enabled God’s glory to become present to the people. Israel’s presence as a people was to enable God’s glory to be present to the world (Is. 43:7, 21; 49:3): “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Is. 43:21). As God is with us to the New Covenant people, so God makes Himself known to the world as we proclaim God’s Word. In addition, God conveys His presence to us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

I make one last observation from v. 24. God is worthy of our worship. That worship must be according to God’s prescribed Word – that we have noted repeatedly. We also note how a sight of God induced worship — O that God would so make Himself known in our services that we might be powerfully moved to worship Him that much more!!

CCPC Reading Groups for 2019 (DV)

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CGG                                                                           CCC

Christian Growth Group                                            Christian Classics Club

1St Sunday of the Month                                              3rd Sunday of the Month

 

William Gurnall                                                          Wilhelmus a’Brakel

The Christian in Complete Armour                       The Christian’s Reasonable Service

3 Vols. (Abridged) BOT                                             4 Vols. (Unabridged) RHB

 

Jan.                                                                             Jan. (Vol. 1)

2:21-58                                                                        1:381-425

 

 

Feb.                                                                             Feb.

2:58-94                                                                        1:427-463

 

 

March                                                                         March

2:94-137                                                                      1:465-491

 

 

April                                                                          April

2:137-172                                                                    1:493-537

 

 

May                                                                            May

2:172-208                                                                    1:539-574

 

 

June                                                                            June

2:209-244                                                                    1:575-623

 

 

July                                                                            July

2:245-281                                                                    1:625-658

 

 

Aug.                                                                            Aug. (Vol. 2)

2:281-314                                                                    2:3-54

 

 

Sept.                                                                           Sept.

2:314-348                                                                    2:55-106

 

 

Oct.                                                                             Oct.

2:348-371                                                                    2:107-155

 

 

Nov.                                                                            Nov.

2:372-398                                                                    2:157-187

The Glory of Heaven for the Dregs of Earth

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The Glory of Heaven for the Dregs of Earth

These three sentences from Stephen Charnock represent only a small sample of the veritable riches of heart warming theological reflections and meditations found in his The Existence and Attributes of God. Though it is taking me an interminably long time to work through his classic work, I cannot complain because I have been relishing these opportunities to read it.

Technically, the second sentence cannot be a “run on sentence” but if it were, it would be a glorious run on sentence! He has been delineating the numerous ways in how our God is GOOD. The following passage comes from one of the sections detailing this statement: “In God’s giving Christ to be our Redeemer, he gave the highest gift that it was possible for divine goodness to bestow” (324). The Father’s Son was given to rescue us “by his death.” Meditate on the wonders of God’s goodness to us in all that our gracious Lord Jesus underwent for us!

He gave him to us, to suffer for us as a man, and redeem us as a God; to be a sacrifice to expiate our sin by translating the punishment upon himself, which was merited by us. Thus was he made low to exalt us, and debased to advance us, made poor to enrich us, 2 Cor. 8:9, and eclipsed to brighten our sullied natures, and wounded that he might be a physician for our languishments; he was ordered to taste the bitter cup of death, that we might drink of the rivers of immortal life and pleasures; to submit to the frailties of the human nature, that we might possess the glories of the divine; he was ordered to be a sufferer, that we might be no longer captives, and to pass through the fire of divine wrath, that he might purge our nature from the dross it had contracted. Thus was the righteous given for sin, the innocent for criminals, the glory of heaven for the dregs of earth, and the immense riches of a Deity expended to re-stock man.[1]

[1] Stephen Charnock, The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1864–1866), 2:326.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Greeting and Thanksgiving

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1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Greeting and Thanksgiving

Paul first journeyed to Corinth near the end of his second missionary journey around 51 AD. He had been in Athens where he had addressed the Areopagus, proclaiming to them who was this unknown god that they worshipped. It was after he left Athens that he traveled to Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla – fellow Jewish Christians and fellow tentmakers. It was while Paul was in Corinth that “the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.’”[i] And the book of Acts tells us that he stayed in Corinth more than 18 months “teaching the word of God among them.”[ii]

Corinth was a port city, one of the largest cities in the Roman world and one of the most corrupt.[iii] It was a strategic commercial center, filled with immorality of all kinds.

In 1 Corinthians 16:8, Paul tells us that he is writing this letter while he was staying in Ephesus. This would have been during his third missionary journey when Paul spent about three years ministering in Ephesus. This would put the writing of 1 Corinthians around 55 AD.

It had been a couple years since Paul was last with the church in Corinth. This letter reveals that instead of growing more mature in the faith, as Paul might have expected, the church at Corinth had developed a great number of problems. Word of these various problems had come to Paul, and he spends the first six chapters of 1 Corinthians addressing several of these problems that have come to his attention: problems like divisions within the church, arrogance, questioning of apostolic authority, incest, sexual immorality, and believers cheating each other and taking each other to court.

The rest of the letter is driven by issues raised by the Corinthians themselves, as we read in 7:1, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote….”

Beginning in chapter 7, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul tackles issues regarding: marriage, divorce, singleness, Christian liberty, headship, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, serving in the body of Christ, and the Resurrection.

And yet, in this letter that grew out of all these different problems, we find some of the most familiar and beautiful passages of Scripture: the chapter on Love, 1 Corinthians 13, read at weddings throughout the world; the chapter on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, which has for centuries brought hope to believers during times of grief, and read at countless funerals and graveside services.

As Paul does in many of his letters, he begins 1 Corinthians with a greeting, followed by thanksgiving in verses 4-9. Contrary to how we write letters today, where you have to go all the way to the end to see who wrote the letter, letters in ancient times would begin with the author’s name – which we see here in verse 1, “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes.”

There is only one other Sosthenes mentioned in Scripture, and he was a synagogue ruler in Corinth. If you remember, back in Acts 18, we read about an incident when the Jews joined together to make a unified attack on Paul. They hauled him before the tribunal and accused him of “persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” As it turned out, Gallio, who was the proconsul in Corinth, had no interest in getting involved in matters of Jewish law, as he saw it, and he drove the Jews from the tribunal. Then we read in Acts 18:17, “And they all [that is, the Jews] seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal.” If this is the same Sosthenes, it’s not too hard to believe that he left Corinth after all of that, and later ended up in Ephesus with Paul.

In verse 2, Paul addresses the letter to “the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” Even in this simple address, we see an important truth: not only are we called to be saints, not only are we called to be holy (which is what the word “saints” means), but we are already, in Christ, seen as being sanctified.

There is said to be three tenses of sanctification used in the Bible: past, present, and future. In the past, when we came to Christ for salvation, we are said to be justified in Christ, and as we see in this verse, we are described as being “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” This is an accomplished fact. Those who are in Christ are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. So when God looks upon us in Christ, we are seen as being sanctified, as being holy, as being perfect, all for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. What a wonderful truth this is! It is our assurance as we come to God in worship and prayer.

The present tense of sanctification is ongoing. We are called to be saints, to be holy. As the catechism teaches us, sanctification is a work of God’s free grace, and as a work, it is continuing. It is the process by which we “are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.”[iv]

The future tense of sanctification refers to that time when we go to be with the Lord, that we will be finally free from sin, both the sin within ourselves, and the sin that surrounds us. Verse 8 refers to this when it says that we will be sustained “to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We will finally be holy. And that is our glorious hope – that when we go to be with the Lord, we will be fit, by his grace, to live with Him forever, for we will be without sin.

Let us also notice the emphasis upon Jesus as Lord. Notice how in verse 2 the saints are described as those who “call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours­.” In verse 3: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In verse 7: “so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In verse 8: “who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And finally, again in verse 9: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” More references are made to the Lordship of Christ in these nine verses than in any other chapter of Scripture.

How appropriate it is, in this letter that will deal with many different problems in the church, that it begins with all these references to Jesus Christ as Lord, and as verse 2 says, “both their Lord and ours.” As we go through 1 Corinthians in the months ahead, we should keep in mind that Christ is Lord of His Church. And as such, He is rightfully able to give direction as to how His Church should act and live.

One last thing to consider from our passage this morning: Even with all the problems the church in Corinth had, from rivalries and divisions, to incest and sexual immorality; even with all that, Paul gives thanks to God, in verse 4, for the grace of God that was given them in Christ Jesus. Even with all their problems, Paul is able to see the grace of God working out in their lives, and is able to write with confidence that they were “called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Some days we can tend to forget that. We can so easily concentrate our gaze upon our own problems, or worse yet, the problems of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and miss the evidences of God’s work of sanctification in His children, whom he has called to be saints. Let us be reminded to give thanks to God always for each other because of the grace of God that was given us in Christ Jesus.

[i] Acts 18:9-10

[ii] v. 11

[iii] Reformation Study Bible, Introduction to First Corinthians, p. 1642.

[iv] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q35

Leviticus 8, The Ordination of Priests

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Leviticus 8, The Ordination of Priests

Following the commands given in Ex. 28-29 about the ordination of the priests, this chapter records how Moses complied with the commands — it is the historical narrative of that event. Interestingly, the chapter states seven times the phrase “as the Lord commanded” (two additional times record Moses saying it). The altar is anointed seven times (v. 11) and the priests remain in the tent of meeting seven days (vv. 33. 35). Seven is the number for completeness!

All of Israel is assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting (vv. 1-4). Israel will witness the ordination of the priests —God wanted them to see this happen and that these men were divinely set apart for this office in accordance with His Word.

They are first washed (v. 6) and then clothed with their garments (vv. 5-9). After that, they are anointed along with the tabernacle and its items (vv. 10-13). The sin offering is offered first for the priests and also used to purify the altar (vv. 14-17). Following Lev. 1, the burnt offering is made next (vv. 18-21) — the whole offering perhaps expressed the priests’ total dedication.

After these men had been set apart and purified, they offer up the ram for their ordination (vv. 22-29). Aaron and his sons have the blood put on their right ear, right thumb and their right big toe — which may symbolize their consecrated role to hear, act, and move about as mediators. Finally, they are anointed a second time with the oil and blood. Now the priests and their attire are fully consecrated (v. 30).

In vv. 31-36, both the fellowship covenant meal and the ordination offering are recorded here. For seven days, they could not leave the tent of meeting (v. 33) to fulfill their ordination process.

In the New Covenant, we know that our Lord is the final high priest who was sanctified so that we also could be sanctified: “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (Jn. 17:19). From Heb. 7:26, 27, we learn that Jesus our High Priest, did not sacrifice animals for his own sins but instead, offered up himself as a perfect sacrifice for all our sins!

Some of the sacrifices were rejected and all the sacrifices had to be carefully and faithfully offered according to God’s strict and holy requirements. They were performed by fallible priests. But now, we have a faithful high priest who did everything that was required and we can have confidence that through Jesus’ blood, we will be accepted in the beloved! In a sense, this entire chapter looked forward to the perfect faithful high priest, Jesus Christ!

Leviticus 7:11-38, Fellowship Offerings

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Leviticus 7:11-38, Fellowship Offerings

The peace or fellowship offering can be offered in three ways. It can be offered as a thanksgiving (vv. 12, 13, 15 – probably means a response to what God did for the offerer), a vow offering (v. 16, presumably in fulfillment of a vow the offerer made), and a freewill offering (v. 16, he simply offered it freely).

Remember (from ch. 3), these fellowship offerings allowed the laymen to eat some of the sacrifice. In view of that, specific directions were given as to what was to be given to the priests (cf. v. 14). It also gives directions on when the offerer was to eat the sacrifice (vv. 15-17) along with what was unclean (vv. 18-21).

In vv. 22-27, they are once again told not to eat the fat or the blood. The breast (v. 31) and the right thigh (vv. 32-34) of the peace offering were given to the priests— it is their 
“portion” (v. 35). Verses 37, 38 give a summary of the laws pertaining to the sacrifices and offerings. Note, these were given to Moses on Mount Sinai — it had divine authority. In Ex. 25-40, God gave instructions about the tabernacle and now in these chapters, God gives the commandments regarding the offerings that were to be offered in the tabernacle. One writer put it like this, “They provide means to seek forgiveness from sin, remove guilt, celebrate blessings, rejoice in fellowship with God, and ordain the priests who serve as indispensable mediators of the sacrifices.” (EBC-R)

We are reminded that these laws were divinely given. Israel was not at liberty to offer what they pleased. God orders the way He is to be worshipped. We too quickly forget that God is very particular and jealous about the way He is worshipped. Does this not teach us the very importance of worshipping God rightly, in Spirit and in Truth — all according to God’s revealed will? M. Henry says, “The observance of the laws of Christ cannot be less necessary than the observance of the laws of Moses was.”

This is how serious all these things were, those who did not followed these commands were to be “cut off” (vv. 20, 21, 25, 27) — this could mean death (as used in Ex. 31:14, “You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.”)

Having fellowship with God entailed careful adherence to His stipulations. Sinful man cannot approach God without holiness and conformity to His Word. Since all of us have failed in obeying God, Jesus was “cut off” in our behalf so that He might bring us near to God through His sacrificial death!