Galatians 3 – The Providence of Covenant

“Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” ~Galatians 3:21-22 (NRSV).

The Apostle Paul opens this second half of chapter 3 with a warm greeting, to his “brothers and sisters,” to maintain a bond with them. Love has until now spoken the language of discipline, correction, flat rebuke. His rebuke has been an impassioned, though instructionally constructed, rebuke.

The Promise to Abraham

Paul propounds the idea in verses 15-18, as he intimated earlier, that the promise given to Abraham preceded the giving of the Law by some four hundred and thirty years.

The argument that the apostle presents is a simple, yet powerful one. God has not replaced the promise given to Abraham as a covenant by the installation of the Law. Somehow, in the hype of the Mosaic Law there is lost the central meaning for the operation of the Law—that, Abraham “believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

The promise to Abraham appears to be one of the most, if not the most, powerful precursors to modern faith from an eternal setting—righteousness, eternally, through faith. This is the wisdom and law of God. Abraham is but an early and salient example. Once our eyes are opened to the promise given to Abraham we see the echo of the promise—righteousness through faith—resonating through the entire Bible. The Lord is faithful, to this end, over and over again.

The Purpose of the Law

This, here, is an important point: If we acknowledge that the meaning behind the Law is righteousness by faith, then we understand that the Law can complement the original covenant made with Abraham.

This is the Law’s purpose: to improve, and provide a structure for, obedience; not to replace the more basic relational covenant of righteousness by faith. Faith cannot be expunged through adherence to rules; faith comes first; it is foundational; the Law is pathetic and baseless without the meaning behind it.

But Paul doesn’t wish to denigrate the Law in this section. It is, in his view, still to be esteemed—the Law was, after all, God inspired. But the emphasis that the Judaisers placed on rigid obedience to the Law had swayed the Galatians away from the original meaning that forever underpins the Law.

The Revitalisation of Abraham’s Covenant

Perhaps the simplest point that Paul wishes to make is the death and resurrection of Jesus completes the promise uttered to Abraham. This promise preceded the Law, which “was our disciplinarian until Christ came,” (Galatians 3:24) so then we might finally be justified by faith—the reacquaintance and revitalisation of the covenant made with Abraham.

Jesus Christ is the seal of that covenant God made with Abraham... There is no longer any difference; no range, no levels, nobody superior or inferior, no racial or gender differences, limiting or extending our relationship with God. We are all one in Christ. We are all “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29b)

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General Reference: Leon Morris, Galatians: Paul’s Charter of Christian Freedom (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), pp. 107-17.

Galatians 3 – By Faith, ‘Reckoned’ As Righteous

“Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ so you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham... For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.” ~Galatians 3:6-7, 9 (NRSV).

Four hundred and thirty years before the Law was proclaimed through Moses, Abraham was justified by faith. He is, therefore, a compelling illustration for Paul; God did not need the Law to justify Abraham as blessed—though it is clear Abraham would no doubt have met the requirements of the Law.

Faith Easily Meets The Law

As love is a higher law, and superior, than the pure requirements of the Law, faith has a way about it that exceeds the rulebook.

Faith and belief are synonymous. Perhaps these two are more rooted in action than we might suspect, having previously aligned the requirements of the Law with works. But faith and belief are known by their works.

Abraham was known by what he did. He left his homeland at the call of the Lord, not sitting on his haunches thinking, “Was that really God’s voice?” When he placed Isaac on the altar, with a thorough will to go through with the sacrifice, he never doubted the voice of God that tested him (Genesis 22:1-2), or the voice of the Angel of the Lord to dissuade him (Genesis 22:11-12).

On both occasions God blessed Abraham’s faith. These were action-oriented deeds of trust. Not only did these actions meet the requirements of the Law, they proved Abraham’s faithfulness; he went well beyond his own insight.

Abraham’s faith far exceeded the requirements of the Law. When we, too, act by faith as we’re led, we prove our belief and are, hence, also justified.

Only Faith Can Justify

Where faith steps up into another realm is in the field of salvation.

There are no two ways to be saved. We cannot choose between the works of our own strength and the faith of trust in God. The former requires none of God; the latter is completely reliant on Divine revelation and intervention toward decisions of action; the placement of faith.

We cannot make it to, or reconcile, heaven—as an experience in the here and now, or ultimately—by praying the ‘right way’ or by reading our Bibles every day or by attending church every Sunday for the whole of our lifetimes; never skipping one, or by being a Christian for ten, twenty, thirty or forty consecutive years. Justification just doesn’t work that way.

We cannot prove ourselves worthy; we can’t ‘improve’ salvation; we can’t gain this gift of God by human feats.

If we are to be ‘reckoned’ as righteous, God has ‘calculated’ us that way. We are counted righteous or our ‘accounts’ are valued thus, without question. This adjudication is never in dispute and it can’t be removed from us—as if we didn’t keep the Law, for instance.

For what Christ established on the cross, we can afford to believe in God guilt free. We are granted sonship and daughtership; we are heirs of the Promise; because we believe, we will be glorified with God in heaven one day. This is not a conditional reality.

We are the fully fledged kin of Abraham.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General References:

Leon Morris, Galatians: Paul’s Charter of Christian Freedom (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), pp. 92-97.

A. Lukyn Williams, D.D. (ed), The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians: Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (London, England: Cambridge University Press, 1914), pp. 59-62.

Psalm 52 – Trust in the LORD, Not Wealth

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” ~Psalm 52:8 (NRSV).

We will all meet the same end, but then again Judgment—in this life and in the next—is meted out at accord with how we actually handle, and have handled, ourselves; faithfully or faithlessly. When all is said and done, as the song goes, we must ask, did we live for truth?

This psalm endorses the faithful, by way of their honest dealing with life, whilst it denounces the wicked that seem bent on trusting on their wealth alone without account to God. The latter will see their folly eventually.

The structure of the psalm is threefold. The first four verses highlight the actual situation that David finds himself in; he deplores the ‘mighty one’ that operates via devious means. The echo of Judgment peels like thunder from verse five. The final two verses enunciate the confidence of trust that exemplifies David’s faith.

No One Gets Away From God

Of course, the psalmist highlights a truth we all know. The issue is, however, in the normal run of life, we tend to forget such a truth when our eyes consider how much favour the wicked receive, and how much they seem to get away with.

We know the theory, yet by our acts we disbelieve the theory—we get upset at injustices and seek to contort, or even pervert, the course of justice: God’s justice. Sometimes we do need to intervene, especially where we have a prime accountability.

But much of life involves simply watching on as disconnected injustices play out, knowing that God will intervene at the right time and in the right way.

Truly, no one gets away from God; from the injustices of perversion, greed, and malevolence. Everyone pays, ultimately.

Down Goes the ‘Mighty One’ Trusting in Themselves

There are people in all our lives that enjoy the privilege of influence; some have so much power it’s hard to comprehend. The important question, so far as their lives are concerned, is where do they place their trust?

It is a very basic error that many so-called wise people make in life; to trust in riches, the positions they’ve attained, et cetera.

Let us not be like that. We should pray that God will always keep us grounded in a reality that trusts in the Power behind life itself, and not in the power that seems to be ours.

Most especially, in the context of this psalm, we can know that when we are reviled, doublecrossed, and cheated—if we’re faithful to God—we will be avenged.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

Psalm 8 – Praise The LORD’s Magnificence

An emphatic psalm, a hymn, of David: “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” ~Psalm 8:1 (NRSV).

If ever there was a biblical pick-me-up it must surely be this psalm, sung according to The Gittith, which is a musical instrument.

The inspiration for such a psalm could perhaps have come from one of those peace-lit nights; imagining David lying back, harp at hand, gazing awestruck at the starry host above.

Privileged Human Beings

Verses 4-8 consist the body of the psalm. It centres on the cherished spoil—that to be human. This section hearkens back to Genesis 1 and 2, where amongst all creation, humanity is given dominion, only that “a little lower than God.” (Verse 5a)

Whenever we are given to a depressed episode, anxiety, or another affliction, we can well consider these five verses, and suddenly true perspective might return as we gaze upon all we’ve been given; to be human—the most blessed of beings.

And in comparison to God we human beings are truthfully so very insignificant. Yet, the wisdom of the Lord is such that he, the Sovereign of all beings, is mindful of us—each and every one—and cares about us. (Verse 4)

The Lord has placed us in the highest esteem; humanity has been given government over all creation. What a rich responsibility. All creation looks to its governor and seeks reprisal from evil and iniquity; it requires a defender.

The Lord Has Perfected Praise Because Of Justice

“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise, because of thine enemies...” ~Psalm 8:2a (LXX).

Verse 2 deserves special treatment. Having been praised by the children in the Temple area for numerous healings, Jesus cites this verse when he is challenged by the chief priests and teachers of the law (Matthew 21:16). It’s immediately after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and straight after Jesus had cleared the Temple because it was being used inappropriately. Even in the midst of injustice—the state of the crippled and the iniquity of the moneychangers in the Temple—God creates justice through healing and indignation.

The Lord has shown what justice is shaped like, in order that the same justice might be applied by humanity as it exercises lordship over the earth. Like an animal or bird or fish in the sea relies upon humanity for care and justice, we human beings are to rely on the Lord through a foundation of trust. We may be sovereign over creation, but God is Sovereign over all.

God ordains praise for all the Creator has created, because of this justice that judges the wicked. Justice reigns.

For the balance that is the very feature of creation, God’s name is to be lauded as majestic over all the earth. The Lord has perfected righteous praise for himself.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

Galatians 3 – The ‘Spirit and Flesh’ Conundrum

“Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?” ~Galatians 3:3b-5 (NRSV).

How might we contrast the Spirit and the flesh, for two things could hardly be more opposite? Faith is receptive of the Spirit; works alone is of the flesh, productive but not receptive at all. The flesh does its own thinking; those in the Spirit wait on God.

The Apostle Paul’s technique of enquiry in the abovementioned three verses, the opening of chapter 3, turns the focus from Paul’s experience of the gospel and grace (in chapters 1 and 2) to that of the Galatians.

He invites them to reflect; to juxtapose what they had previously heard (the gospel as revealed through Paul) and the legalism which apparently they had returned to. ‘What has power?’ seems to be Paul’s question to them.

The language is scathing; I have omitted the beginning of verse three, which says, “Are you so foolish?” My omission was for kindness, not wanting to draw attention to conflict—in present company—unnecessarily. This is the second time in only a few sentences that Paul has been unable to restrain his incredulity at what he sees as nonsensical—the Galatians relinquishing the power of the Spirit, in favour of works devoid of the Spirit and, therefore, power.

They choose death and not life; productivity over receptiveness; powerlessness over the power of God.

A Personal Reflection – How Would We Respond?

We can only wonder how the First Century Galatians would have taken such a letter.

We might imagine, if we read a similar personal communication to our churches today, that many people would take umbrage in their pride, getting caught up in the spirit of offense when, really, Paul would be warning us in love.

If we are admonished in our churches, or in our lives personally, by credible ministers and mentors, we might be tempted to react in the flesh via our pride, where humility is the essence of the response whose faith is in the Spirit. Pride is a trick for young players, when very often we fall for our own forms of legalism and the chiding reminder—to restore our reliance on the Spirit—should be most welcome.

Do Miracles Ever Occur Through Rigid Obedience To The Law?

This appears to be Paul’s question. Obeying the intent of the Law is one thing, but rigid subservience to rules negates even the need for God; Power is jettisoned for what we can establish, any and every day, through our own strength without God’s help.

How could the miraculous ever occur purely by our design? That, by definition, could never be miraculous. Experiencing miracles requires faith; first, as an attribution that the thing that occurred was miraculous and, second, miracles are beyond what can be explained and our doing. Faith is not ignorant, or arrogantly disparaging, of the miraculous. Yet, the legalist cannot see the miracle or God in the miracle. Their lack of faith blinds them.

We cannot have our cake and eat it too. We live according to the true gospel—through genuine faith—or we engineer and manufacture results to suit ourselves; the latter has nothing about God, and no Power, in it. The Lord’s Spiritual power is revealed only by way of trust.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General Reference: Leon Morris, Galatians: Paul’s Charter of Christian Freedom (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), pp. 92-97.

Galatians 3 – The Vibrancy of Grace

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” ~Galatians 3:13-14 (NRSV).

Faith is the word. “Through faith,” as the Apostle Paul’s words echo asunder, we are known as believers in the Lord, Christ Jesus.

No one is justified by the Law—that is the message of verses 10-14 of Galatians 3.

Besides, when Paul commences Galatians 3 with, “You foolish Galatians!” he is nonplussed by their virulent return to powerless and entrapping dogma. They are fooled by some sort of perception of safety—to follow what they know: the Law.

But the Law, in this context—as the medium to salvation—is a red herring. Not only is there no safety in the Law, it is blatantly hazardous; perilous; condemnatory.

God Connecting Us with Abraham (Abram), through Christ

The Call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15:5-6), and the Sign of the Covenant (Genesis 17:4-8) laid out a promise for all humankind; how interesting that some conveniently forget this. Indeed, the Old Testament is riddled with examples, as in a Gatling gun let loose in a ghost town, where grace to all is promised, yes, beyond even the Jews.

Where the promise was bellowed from the heart of God into Abraham’s psyche—even as it had echoed as a love song from Genesis 1 and 2—there it travelled faithfully through the pre-Davidic line to the Davidic line, through until Jesus. How entirely fitting it is that the first gospel, of Matthew, commences with the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, which barks a resonant testimony of God’s faithfulness through all generations dating to Jesus (and now beyond, through grace).

The Cost of Grace – A Curse for Christ

The compelling flipside to the fact that no one is justified by the Law is that it cost God incarnate his earthly life—via a cursed, criminal’s death; the worst kind—in order to snap the curse over humankind.

Grace is not cheap; never was, nor could ever be.

It cannot be cheapened by following a bunch of rules; by behaving a certain way; by appearing as godly before humankind, without cognisance of and awe before God.

This thing of grace is gigantic. At one end of the continuum we have what it cost—a fact impossible to comprehend. Now, at the other, we have the resplendent vibrancy of this one and only thing that smashes the curse, death, legalism, and powerless rules to abide by, for real power to live as we were always meant to live. The cost cannot be measured, nor can the gleaming brilliance of such a thing—the gift of eternal life.

Grace is Vibrancy – The Law is Death

How do we sufficiently juxtapose two such dichotomous concepts: Grace and the Law?

It is no exaggeration that these are poles apart. One brings everlasting life; the other death... and perhaps the worst kind, for this type of death is fooled into thinking it has life. Smells like fire and brimstone; the source and residence of Satan is where that came from.

Grace is everything about not trying; but, instead, a faith to obediently follow. Grace does not people please, but satisfies itself in God alone. Grace is not self-conscious; it’s Spirit-conscious. Grace is, therefore, freedom to exist knowing and accepting there’s nothing left to prove and nothing left to gain.

Grace is vibrant. It expunges death, which in spiritual terms is the extrinsically-composed pressure of keeping to meaningless rules and endless senselessness. Grace frees us from all this, and there is not even anything we need to do—barring accepting our salvation, given our acknowledged sinfulness and repentance, unto thankfulness in the name of Jesus.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General Reference: Leon Morris, Galatians: Paul’s Charter of Christian Freedom (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), pp. 102-07.

Lessons from Jeremiah’s Tree of Life

“I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.” ~Jeremiah 17:10 (NRSV).

There are many biblical concepts wrapped up in this sub-section of Jeremiah concluding at verse 10. This Word of the Lord is a wisdom oracle consistent to the genre of the biblical Prophets; polarising faithful living with unfaithful. Indeed, Jeremiah 17:5-10 is also reminiscent of Psalm 1, just reversed.

Overall, by the vitality of their “fruit” is how the faithful shall be known.

Seekers and Finders of Our Own Destiny

We sow more intrinsically than we realise. Whilst God searches our hearts and tests our minds, we’re of full volition when the conscience is the vehicle to it. The Lord need not find a more capable ally than we find in ourselves.

This is the Christian person: one who has enabled God to steer their lives.

Certain others won’t be tested or searched; they’ll not have a bar of it. They refuse entry of the Sovereign God into the vestibules of godly dominion: their minds and hearts.

Still, that’s not a chosen destiny for us; we have a better angle on life because by our deeds we wish to be known. Fruitfulness is the disc of our spiritual hard-drive and, solemn to scrutiny, it’s not fragmented.

Watching the Heart

Proverbs most virulently proposes the heart as both the wellspring of life (4:23) and the deviser of scheming (6:18; 15:11). This wisdom book makes a purposeful study of the concept of the heart being the seat of both our emotions and intentions.

It is obvious that this is what Jeremiah has in mind as he transcribes God’s Word. No one can understand the motioning and concluding devices of the heart; least of all, at times, its possessor—us. If we’ll not watch our hearts, God will; the judgment of the Lord we’ll reap upon ourselves in any such event—good or evil.

It pays us to watch our hearts.

A Tree Planted by Water

Jeremiah offers Psalm 1 imagery. We imagine a sole tree in a desert, but one fed by an abundant nearby stream. Both tree and stream appear out of place in the landscape of the desert, but they cast forth an important metaphor to remember.

Sinfulness abounds in this life. That sin is desert-like; it’s caused any life around it to be swallowed up and the only things known to the desert are the hot and chilly winds that howl by day and night. It is a most inhospitable place.

On the other hand, the tree survives marvellously in this environment because it has its water-source nearby to constantly refresh and feed it.

We are the tree and God’s Spirit and Word is the stream. It nourishes us in this desert-life where the winds of sin howl, consuming all in their path, including the deceiving of our hearts toward treachery if we’re not connected vitally to the “stream” of God.

The tree planted by the water has evergreen roots connecting ever-better to the stream; it is well prepared for the coming heat and strangling drought. It continues bearing fruit through all seasons. So shall we.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General Reference: J. Andrew Dearman, The NIV Application Commentary: Jeremiah/Lamentations (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002), pp. 175-76.

Psalm 66 – The LORD Has Heard My Prayer

“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.” ~Psalm 66:18-19 (NRSV).

Many, many people struggle to hear the voice of God. They perhaps think it is an audible voice to be heard. Well, for few it is. But the vast majority of us have to find other ways of hearing God’s will for our lives, and knowing the Lord’s heard us.

Psalm 66 is a psalm of thanksgiving by an individual; it’s anonymously ascribed “to the Leader.”

A psalm like this—one etched in the praise of thankfulness—is a strange place, perhaps, to send someone who does not readily hear God’s voice. But when we realise that hearing God’s voice is possible for anyone, it gives us confidence to read what it might be like to hear it.

A ‘Backwards’ Psalm

Because the psalm starts in the mood of ecstatic praise and ends in the reasons for such praise, there is a natural invitation to wonder for the cause of that praise; as we read on that cause is given.

The basic structure of the psalm is like an onion—it’s to be unpeeled a layer-of-meaning at a time, consisting in:

þ A plea for “all the earth” to praise God for his wondrous deeds (verses 1-4);

þ A call to remember God’s deeds of the past (verses 5-7);

þ Another call, this time for communal praise (verses 8-12);

þ Motivations are touted toward fresh commitments to God (verses 13-15);

þ A further call, from the psalmist before the community, to acknowledge God’s faithfulness (verses 16-19); and,

þ A concluding doxology to God (verse 20).

The flow of this psalm is, hence, unveiling or revealing the clarity, cut, colour and carat of a diamond-of-salvation-experience named “God has heard me!”

The Process of Vindication

It is clear that whoever wrote this psalm felt the ecstasy of victory; the experience of having had their prayers heard. Not only has the individual been vindicated, they also had enough perspective within them to laud the historical victories of Israel (e.g. verses 5-7).

To know that God takes our problems, prayers, and petitions seriously is an enormous reassurance. Through these, in God’s hearing, we are eventually vindicated.

Intimacy with God and Having Our Prayers Heard

Learning to hear God’s voice is as much about not giving up along the journey as anything else. And surely learning to hear God’s voice is as much about learning to hear our own heart-song.

The psalmist throughout the Psalter, as they are generally presented, has an excellent sense of the Presence of God, even if at times it appears that God is absent.

What’s in the frame, here, is intimacy with God. Besides being spiritually and morally obedient, we cannot hope to be intimate with God, and the Lord with us, if we don’t put in the time and effort to nurture our relationship with the Divine.

Thankfulness in this psalm is given by verse 20: the prayer of the psalmist has not been rejected, and they’ve not lost the “steadfast love” of God.

Thankfulness is an outcome of being heard and understood. The psalmist has been heard and understood. Could he or she possibly feel this way if they didn’t already have an intimate relationship with the Lord their God?

Intimacy with God and having our prayers heard: one leads to the other.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

The Heritage of Faithfulness

Ruth said to her mother-in-law, Naomi: “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” ~Ruth 1:16 c, d (NRSV).

The genealogy of David, the king over God’s chosen people, Israel, involves the ancestry of this Moabite woman—clearly under normal circumstances, a heathen. Yet, she enters the lineage of Christ.

The heritage is not, then, about a bloodline of obedience—more, in this case and so many more, it is faithfulness. Ruth has proved her worth as an Israelite—regarding what is important to true Israelites—not by being born an Israelite, but by living to their code; in fact, exceeding the requirements of the Jewish Law.

The heritage of faithfulness is about knowing the right thing to do, and doing it, without fail. A life sown in this regard reaps blessing, as ripples, through seceding generations as well its own.

The heritage of faithfulness is the real spirituality of Christianity. Indeed, it is also the theology of Judaism, predating our faith. True faithfulness surpasses the Law. True faithfulness is the achievement of God’s will.

The Exceeding faithfulness of Ruth, Boaz and Jesus

Just as Ruth showed Naomi unsurpassed loyalty, and Boaz rewarded her faithfulness with his, by his hand in marriage—continuing the lineage to Jesus—the Messiah has shown unsurpassed loyalty to humankind—with no limitation—by dying on a cross for our sin.

Jesus owed no loyalty to even the most righteous of humankind, yet he died for the worst of sinners—in God’s terms we are all the same, which is a great comfort to the many.

Whilst the measure of comparison between Ruth and Boaz, and Jesus—the Saviour and Redeemer of the world—is worlds apart, Ruth, Boaz, and Jesus all proved a principle that captivates a practical kindness resonating holy virtue.

We are all capable of exemplifying this principle. That is, to live out a justice in the midst of our fellow humanity that puts the other person at a distinct advantage over even ourselves.

This might be impossible to maintain, day in, day out, every day of our lives, but it is the holy standard we ought to aspire to—to attain and sustain a heritage of faithfulness. Even done in small ways it reaps significant blessings.

Faithfulness unto Blessing

When we live to such a standard—the heritage of faithfulness—as it occurs at least within our families—as far as it is possible for as—we enable the power of God, in this case the unfolding of blessing, to prevail over our living situations.

The heritage of faithfulness sees our works of faith, which are our practical intercessions for others, blessed in so many ways that will far exceed our expectations for the future now. The ways of God work harmoniously in faithfulness; the Lord grows such holy and relational investment.

Faithfulness is the catchcry of a spirituality exceeding the Law; what is faithlessness is ‘religious’, while the faithful are, conversely, Spirit-filled.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

Graphic credit: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Ruth in Boaz’s Field, 1828 (from Wikipedia).

The Corinthian ‘In The Faith’ Test

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—Unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!” ~2 Corinthians 13:5 (NRSV).

This is an acid test for the Corinthians as the Apostle Paul concludes his second canonical letter to the church there. The ebbing, flowing passage of the conflict in this text takes us through a very practical insight to Paul’s theology. If we want to know how to deal in hurt, or with hurt, we get a cogent glimpse here.

The key in this verse above, however, seems to be the phrase “in the faith.” In other words, are they in fellowship with Christ Jesus, the Lord? The inference is rhetorical: they are, and this means they should be living “in the faith.”

Real Christian or Not?

Millions of people around the world will profess faith in Christ—marking “Christian” on important identification papers—or for that matter “Muslim” et cetera—but don’t follow that profession at all apart from ‘agreeing’ with its values, yet not aligning with them. We can very well respect the ardent Muslim for the commitment they may have to their beliefs—for instance, adhering to their holy month of Ramadan. We would call them a real believer in Islam. So what makes a real believer in Jesus Christ?

The Apostle Paul uses words that will push the Corinthians when they read them.

He knows that Jesus Christ dwells with them, and indeed in them. He knows this because he has discipled them. He knows they are saved.

Yet, so often the Corinthians had sought to test Paul when indeed Paul now asks them to test themselves. He seeks they honestly look at themselves; as if the Lord were the present Judge—which indeed he was (and is eternally).

The real Christian will test themselves; the key question is, are they in the faith, by way of works consistent with love and repentance. Do they allow the Lord Jesus to judge them, here and now?

Contemporary Reflections

The way some people treat their pastors we might have modern-day representations of Paul and the Corinthians all laid out before us. Presuming this isn’t us, the verse profiled above is very much about fruitfulness—if we are “in the faith” we will pass the test or repent. There’s nothing wrong with being wrong. That’s why there’s no fear in being a Christian because we can, and should, always repent. Indeed, to repent is its own form of fruitfulness.

Amazingly, Paul still takes the lowly position, even in this concluding bunch of verses. He wishes for the Corinthian best when they might openly disparage him.

This is the example of Christ—the very real sign someone is acting “in the faith”; that they voluntarily surrender the upper hand, capitulating in meekness when a ‘killing stroke’ would be that typically expected response.

It is for us, personally, in the privacy of our prayer closets, to allow God to test our hearts and minds—our acts. We pass the test or we fail and then repent. Repenting, of itself, is a fruitful activity enabling us to pass the test; we’re in the faith.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

General Reference: Frank J. Matera, II Corinthians: A Commentary – The New Testament Library (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), pp. 308-09.