"Men don't believe in the Devil now, as their fathers used to do.
They reject one creed because it's old, for another because it's new..
But who dogs the steps of the stumbling saint? Who spreads the net for his feet?
Who sows the weeds in the world's broad fields where the Saviour sows His wheat?
Some say the Devil has never lived; some say the Devil has gone.
But simple folk would like to know: Who carries his business on?"
(some lines from a poem by Alfred J Hough)
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the devil is that the Bible has so little to say about him. Like Professor Moriarty, ‘he does little himself; he only plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organised.’ In the Old Testament he is often called Satan, which means ‘the accuser’ (e.g. I Chronicles 21:1; Job 1 & 2; Zechariah 3:1,2). In the New Testament he is sometimes referred to as ‘the prince of this world’ (e.g. John 12:31; John 14:30). He is the enemy of God and of all God's people. The Bible does not really satisfy our curiosity about where he came from, although many people believe that it is alluded to in Ezekiel 28:11-19.
We first meet him in Genesis 3:1-7, persuading Eve first to doubt God’s love and then to disobey God’s command.
In Job 1 & 2, he is depicted as seeking to spoil the relationship between Job and God.
In Zechariah 3, he appears again as the accuser, pointing out the unworthiness of Joshua the high priest.
But in all these three instances, God is seen to be more powerful than Satan. In Genesis 3:14,15, the devil is cursed and warned that the woman’s offspring will defeat him (and that is Jesus!). In Job, Satan can do only what God allows him to do; and in the end, Job’s wellbeing and his relationship with God are restored. In Zechariah’s vision, God Himself intervenes to make Joshua righteous and silences Satan’s accusations.
The devil's main objective is to turn people away from the truth and against God. Jesus describes him as ‘a liar and the father of lies’ (John 8:44). He deceives unbelievers (II Corinthians 4:6) in order to prevent them from becoming Christians, and he tries to lead Christians astray by infiltrating the Church with false teachers (Jude 3,4). He also seeks to sow discord within the Church and to spoil the church’s reputation by tempting us to sin.
It is important to remember the devil's limitations. He cannot force us to do anything; he can only persuade - but he is very persuasive! He disguises himself so that we will not easily recognise him (Matthew 7:15,16; II Corinthians 11:14,15), and he perverts God’s truth in such subtle ways that it can be very difficult to detect.
The devil is a dangerous enemy (I Peter 5:8) but there is no reason why he should defeat us. Our first line of defence is simply to be aware of his activities: he will be quick to exploit things such as unforgiveness (Ephesians 4:26,27) and pride (I Timothy 3:6). Then we need the determination to stand up to him (James 4:7). Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us how. We defend ourselves with:
A firm understanding of Christian truth (remember that the devil is a liar!)
The righteousness of Christ (which protects our hearts from guilt).
A readiness to proclaim the gospel.
Faith in God's promises, power and love.
The knowledge that we have been saved (which protects the mind against doubt).
The Bible (our only weapon of attack).
Prayer (our spiritual supply-line).
In fact, the devil has already been defeated (Luke 10:17-19; Romans 16:20; Revelation 12:1-12). At the end of the age he will be consigned to Hell for ever, along with those who have been foolish enough to follow him, and he will never tempt or torment anyone again. (Revelation 20:7-10)
However, from a practical point of view, most of us rarely come up against the devil directly. Ninety per cent of the time he sits back and lets his two principal agents (the world and the flesh) do the work of tempting us off the path of righteousness.
Friday, 25 September 2009
The Trinity
IS THE TRINITY BIBLICAL?
Many Christians are happy to worship and follow Jesus as Lord and God without worrying about how He can be God. But others want to understand more about - and make sense of - what they believe. For some people, the fact that the word 'Trinity' does not occur in the Bible is a stumbling-block; does that mean that the doctrine is a human invention?
The first disciples came to a full understanding of who Jesus was only gradually. Trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord came first; working out the details of His exact nature followed afterwards. The doctrine of the Trinity is not stated as such in Scripture; it is, rather, a summary of everything that the Bible has to say about the relationship between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
GOD
There is only one God: this is absolutely fundamental.
Deuteronomy 6:4,5 (Judaism’s confession of faith) (but note that the Hebrew word ‘one’ does not denote a mathematical singularity – it is the same word used to describe the oneness of husband and wife in Genesis 2:24)
Deuteronomy 4:32-35
Isaiah 43:11
Isaiah 44:6
And this doesn’t change when we come to the New Testament:
I Corinthians 8:5,6
And yet, it can’t be quite as simple as that...
I John 4:8
Love does not exist on its own; it presupposes a relationship in which it can be expressed by one and received by another. So the expression ‘God is love’ has no meaning if God is a single, undifferentiated being.
JESUS
Although Jesus was obviously a man (He was born, grew up, ate, slept, felt pain, sadness and fear, was tempted, and finally died), it gradually became clear to His disciples that He was more than just a man.
He had power over sickness, demons and the forces of nature (e.g. Luke 8:22-56)
He claimed authority over divinely given laws and institutions like the Sabbath (Luke 6:5)
He forgave sins (Isaiah 43:25; Luke 5:18-25)
He claimed to be the final Judge of mankind (Psalm 9:7,8; Matthew 25:31,32)
He spoke of Himself in ways that were interpreted as claims to divinity (John 10:31-33)
He claimed to be the embodiment of the Father (John 14:7-10)
He accepted the worship of others (John 20:26-29)
Yet He was clearly separate from the Father to whom he prayed.
HOLY SPIRIT
In Biblical thought, the spirit of someone is indistinguishable from the person himself (e.g. II Samuel 13:39). See I Corinthians 2:11,12, I Corinthians 3:16
But the Holy Spirit is also a person in His own right. He makes decisions (I Corinthians 12:11) and He has emotions (Ephesians 4:30, Hebrews 10:29). He teaches, reminds and guides (John 14:26, 16:13).
THREE IN ONE
Deep-rooted in our culture (and even in some of the Christian creeds) is the old Greek idea (from Aristotle) that God consists of some kind of ‘single divine substance’. But in the Bible, nobody ever meets a ‘divine substance’ – they meet the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit. Our God is “Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all loving each other.”
Let’s go back to the beginning of God’s revelation:
The Hebrew word for God (Elohim) is plural.
At the very beginning of Genesis, God, Word and Spirit are all involved in the Creation. (Genesis 1)
When man is made ‘in God’s image’ it is as male and female – different, but in relationship to each other.
When God visited Abraham, He appeared as three men. (Genesis 18)
In the Tabernacle (Exodus 25), God was represented by three pieces of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant, the Table for the consecrated bread (John 6:32-35) and the Lampstand (Revelation 4:5).
In the New Testament, Father, Son and Spirit are not independent of one another. There is a reciprocal relationship between the Father and the Son (John 14:9,10). The Spirit is sent by the Father (John 14:26) and by the Son (John 16:7). Jesus glorifies the Father (John 17:4) and the Spirit glorifies Jesus (John 16:13,14).
All three are involved in the conception (Luke 1:35) and baptism (Mark 1:10,11) of Jesus, and in His great act of atonement (Hebrews 9:14).
And all three are manifested in the life of the Church (II Corinthians 13:14), including baptism (Matthew 28:19), prayer (Ephesians 2:18) and the bestowal of spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:4-6).
In actual Christian experience, all three Persons can be indistinguishable. The great blessing promised by God in the beginning was that He would live amongst His people (Leviticus 26:11,12, II Corinthians 6:16). That promise is fulfilled by God dwelling within each one of us – as Father, Son and Spirit (John 14:16,17, 21-23). Jesus promised that Christians would experience God’s presence in their lives (John 14:15-23) as the Spirit (verse16,17) and as the Son (verse 20) and as the Father (verse 23). Peace is the gift of all three (Philippians 4:7, John 14:27, Galatians 5:23). In the space of one short paragraph (Romans 8:9-11), the apostle Paul refers to the Spirit of God living in us, the Spirit of Christ living in us, and Christ himself living in us. These are not three different experiences, but three ways of talking about the same experience.
God is in fact a ‘society’ of three Persons (NOT three individuals). They are not identical: the Son expresses ignorance of some things that the Father knows, and is always dependent on the Father. They have different roles, and are distinguished by the nature of their relationships with one another. The Father is the Father of the Son. The Son is the Son of the Father. The Spirit is the Spirit of both Father and Son. And love is what makes God one. None of the three Persons stands alone; they are bound together by love and always operate as one. The Father always initiates. The Son executes the will of the Father. The Spirit provides the power with which the Son operates. So, for example, the Father makes Himself known through His Word – the Son (Matthew 11:27; John 1:18). The Son is made known through the Spirit-breathed Scriptures (John 5:39,40).
And finally, a quote from The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass:
Frank lit his pipe and said, “You know, there are four things I like about the Trinity. First, I love having a father in God. Second, I love having a friend and brother in Jesus. Third, I love having a comforter and guide in the Holy Spirit. And fourth...”
“Yes?” we said.
“Fourth, I love the fact that it’s a mystery. God in three persons. Three persons – one God. Why would I want to spoil things by trying to explain it?”
Many Christians are happy to worship and follow Jesus as Lord and God without worrying about how He can be God. But others want to understand more about - and make sense of - what they believe. For some people, the fact that the word 'Trinity' does not occur in the Bible is a stumbling-block; does that mean that the doctrine is a human invention?
The first disciples came to a full understanding of who Jesus was only gradually. Trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord came first; working out the details of His exact nature followed afterwards. The doctrine of the Trinity is not stated as such in Scripture; it is, rather, a summary of everything that the Bible has to say about the relationship between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
GOD
There is only one God: this is absolutely fundamental.
Deuteronomy 6:4,5 (Judaism’s confession of faith) (but note that the Hebrew word ‘one’ does not denote a mathematical singularity – it is the same word used to describe the oneness of husband and wife in Genesis 2:24)
Deuteronomy 4:32-35
Isaiah 43:11
Isaiah 44:6
And this doesn’t change when we come to the New Testament:
I Corinthians 8:5,6
And yet, it can’t be quite as simple as that...
I John 4:8
Love does not exist on its own; it presupposes a relationship in which it can be expressed by one and received by another. So the expression ‘God is love’ has no meaning if God is a single, undifferentiated being.
JESUS
Although Jesus was obviously a man (He was born, grew up, ate, slept, felt pain, sadness and fear, was tempted, and finally died), it gradually became clear to His disciples that He was more than just a man.
He had power over sickness, demons and the forces of nature (e.g. Luke 8:22-56)
He claimed authority over divinely given laws and institutions like the Sabbath (Luke 6:5)
He forgave sins (Isaiah 43:25; Luke 5:18-25)
He claimed to be the final Judge of mankind (Psalm 9:7,8; Matthew 25:31,32)
He spoke of Himself in ways that were interpreted as claims to divinity (John 10:31-33)
He claimed to be the embodiment of the Father (John 14:7-10)
He accepted the worship of others (John 20:26-29)
Yet He was clearly separate from the Father to whom he prayed.
HOLY SPIRIT
In Biblical thought, the spirit of someone is indistinguishable from the person himself (e.g. II Samuel 13:39). See I Corinthians 2:11,12, I Corinthians 3:16
But the Holy Spirit is also a person in His own right. He makes decisions (I Corinthians 12:11) and He has emotions (Ephesians 4:30, Hebrews 10:29). He teaches, reminds and guides (John 14:26, 16:13).
THREE IN ONE
Deep-rooted in our culture (and even in some of the Christian creeds) is the old Greek idea (from Aristotle) that God consists of some kind of ‘single divine substance’. But in the Bible, nobody ever meets a ‘divine substance’ – they meet the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit. Our God is “Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all loving each other.”
Let’s go back to the beginning of God’s revelation:
The Hebrew word for God (Elohim) is plural.
At the very beginning of Genesis, God, Word and Spirit are all involved in the Creation. (Genesis 1)
When man is made ‘in God’s image’ it is as male and female – different, but in relationship to each other.
When God visited Abraham, He appeared as three men. (Genesis 18)
In the Tabernacle (Exodus 25), God was represented by three pieces of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant, the Table for the consecrated bread (John 6:32-35) and the Lampstand (Revelation 4:5).
In the New Testament, Father, Son and Spirit are not independent of one another. There is a reciprocal relationship between the Father and the Son (John 14:9,10). The Spirit is sent by the Father (John 14:26) and by the Son (John 16:7). Jesus glorifies the Father (John 17:4) and the Spirit glorifies Jesus (John 16:13,14).
All three are involved in the conception (Luke 1:35) and baptism (Mark 1:10,11) of Jesus, and in His great act of atonement (Hebrews 9:14).
And all three are manifested in the life of the Church (II Corinthians 13:14), including baptism (Matthew 28:19), prayer (Ephesians 2:18) and the bestowal of spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:4-6).
In actual Christian experience, all three Persons can be indistinguishable. The great blessing promised by God in the beginning was that He would live amongst His people (Leviticus 26:11,12, II Corinthians 6:16). That promise is fulfilled by God dwelling within each one of us – as Father, Son and Spirit (John 14:16,17, 21-23). Jesus promised that Christians would experience God’s presence in their lives (John 14:15-23) as the Spirit (verse16,17) and as the Son (verse 20) and as the Father (verse 23). Peace is the gift of all three (Philippians 4:7, John 14:27, Galatians 5:23). In the space of one short paragraph (Romans 8:9-11), the apostle Paul refers to the Spirit of God living in us, the Spirit of Christ living in us, and Christ himself living in us. These are not three different experiences, but three ways of talking about the same experience.
God is in fact a ‘society’ of three Persons (NOT three individuals). They are not identical: the Son expresses ignorance of some things that the Father knows, and is always dependent on the Father. They have different roles, and are distinguished by the nature of their relationships with one another. The Father is the Father of the Son. The Son is the Son of the Father. The Spirit is the Spirit of both Father and Son. And love is what makes God one. None of the three Persons stands alone; they are bound together by love and always operate as one. The Father always initiates. The Son executes the will of the Father. The Spirit provides the power with which the Son operates. So, for example, the Father makes Himself known through His Word – the Son (Matthew 11:27; John 1:18). The Son is made known through the Spirit-breathed Scriptures (John 5:39,40).
And finally, a quote from The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass:
Frank lit his pipe and said, “You know, there are four things I like about the Trinity. First, I love having a father in God. Second, I love having a friend and brother in Jesus. Third, I love having a comforter and guide in the Holy Spirit. And fourth...”
“Yes?” we said.
“Fourth, I love the fact that it’s a mystery. God in three persons. Three persons – one God. Why would I want to spoil things by trying to explain it?”
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