Mulling it Over - Romans 8:18-25 Part 1: Of Suffering and Longing

Another month has gone by and we have come back around to Mulling Over Romans chapter 8. This chapter is full of information that is pertinent to our walk with Christ and to our future with Him. I know it can be hard to think about the future when our days are so full of the present, but one day we will know fully our inheritance in Christ Jesus. As it is, our lives at this point are merely reflections of Christ, and many of us have dirty mirrors. God is often trying to clean those mirrors with a glorified bottle of Windex and a rough cloth, and that can make us uncomfortable, but remember our goal is to be like Christ, so clean on Father, clean on!

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“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

— Romans 8:18-25 (NASB 1995)

This is a longer section so we’ll take it a chunk at a time.

For I consider…

I wanted to take these three words by themselves because they are so important. One of the things I often hear Christians accused of is that they don’t think. They take the scriptures, and the historicity of their belief system on blind faith. While it is true that we are walking by faith, it is also true that we, with the Holy Spirit’s help, are able to think just as intellectually about our faith as someone who has studied for years and has multiple degrees.

Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word consider in the following ways: to think about carefully; to think of especially with regard to taking some action; to take into account; to regard or treat in an attentive or kindly way; to gaze on steadily or reflectively; to judge or classify; regard; suppose; reflect or deliberate.

When we look at the book of God, the Bible, we need to consider what we are reading. We also need to look at life and consider what it means, and how what we are doing, or going through pertains to our faith, or how our faith pertains to it. We aren’t meant to just bull doze our way through life giving no regard to how our actions or words are affecting the people around us.

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In this particular passage the word consider relates directly to the words that follow.

…that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

I have been emphasizing this idea of suffering over the last few months, not because I am trying to be a downer, but because suffering is inevitable. We all, at some point in time, will suffer. We will know illness, loss, grief, sadness, anger, fear and the overwhelming reality of a busy life in a chaotic and fallen world. It is not bad or wrong to consider our suffering.

“12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ”

— I Peter 4:12-13 (NASB 1995)

Paul, however, did not want us to be solely focused on our suffering. In fact, He says that whatever we are currently suffering through is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Let’s just sit there for a minute.

Think about all the bad stuff you have been through. Some of you have lived through the typical minor inconveniences life offers like, car break downs, the fridge stops working, or the toilet backs up. Others have walked a bumpier path. You have lost a job, a home or been through a divorce. Still others have seen suffering in the form of addictions, jail time, death of a loved one, or a chronic, incurable disease. No matter what the suffering, it is not worthy of being compared to the glory that awaits us! Isn’t that amazing? What hope is ours that the suffering we are going through on this planet will pale in comparison to the joy and glory we will know when we see Jesus face to face.

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For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

Have you ever thought about the fact that the world: the trees, birds, fish, animals, rocks and so on have longings? Is it possible for creation to be anxious as it waits for the revealing of the sons of God? Stay with me here. I am not talking about something weird or spooky. Let’s back up a minute.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1). If God created them, don’t they have His signature on them in a similar way that we have His signature on us. Granted we are human beings and we are made in the image of God, while creation was not, but that does not mean that creation is unable to recognize its creator and recognize the position of humanity as its caretaker.

Image by Evgeni Tcherkasski from Pixabay

There is a reason creation waits eagerly which we see in the next verse.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…

The creation did not want to be cursed. It enjoyed its relation to its Creator and to its caretaker. It rejoiced in the growing and the greening, the fullness and the fellowship. When sin came into the world, God didn’t just send Adam and Eve out of the the beautiful garden of Eden, but the creation changed. It became rife with weeds and thorns. Where once all animals lived in harmony, now certain animals became predators and all others became prey. In addition, creation no longer bore the fruit of the relation between it and its Creator, but was subject to futility, disease, rot and death.

Image by Ilo from Pixabay

But God…

In hope…

…that the creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

This was God’s hope from the foundation of the world. He knew it all before it began. He knew when He set into motion the creation of a planet and the filling of that sphere of rock and stone with all that is living, and breathing, moving and reaching…He knew that His beautiful creation would suffer and die. So He also created the plan, the One, the Savior, the Son. It was only by this, the gift of pure, unselfish love, that the whole of creation would be able to be set free. But, it will not happen until we are face to face, fully knowing as we have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12); when we become His perfect reflection.

Next time we will continue our look at this section of Romans 8 by looking at the Groaning and the Hope.

Have a great weekend!

Mulling it Over - Part 9

Once again I am looking at 2 Peter 1:1-11. Over the last number of weeks I have been walking slowly through this passage, desiring that you and I ruminate on the verses each week, much like a cow chewing on his cud. We want to read, reread and reread again. Not only read, but really think about the words that God inspired His chosen ones to write in the Holy Scriptures.

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The context of this passage written by Peter was to encourage believers that were scattered throughout the areas of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. His readers were mainly Jews who had become believers. Seeing as it was a large area Peter was writing to, it makes sense that he was trying to cover the main points of what a walk with Christ would look like. Let’s look at the whole passage again.

“1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

As we have learned in our study, the eight qualities that Peter lists are ours to have because of Jesus’ great and magnificent promises. They are to be increasing in our lives, meaning we need to be putting in the effort to focus on these qualities and determine, how we can allow God to bring them to fullness in us.

Today we are going to finish the passage, by looking at the last two verses.

“10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

— 2 Peter 1:10-11 (NASB)

Therefore, brethren…

Once again, we are reminded that these letters were written to believers. In the Christian community we look at our fellow believers as our brothers and sisters.

…be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…

I believe in eternal security, meaning once you make the decision to accept Christ as your Savior, you are always saved, however, there are decisions made when emotions are high, that aren’t necessarily real. I grew up in a Bible believing church and was taught that asking Jesus to be my Savior was a decision I had to make. While my Sunday School teachers did an excellent job to teach me how to make this decision and what and who exactly I was believing in, it wasn’t until I was twelve that I fully committed my life to Christ. That decision was real. I knew exactly who I was talking to, when I prayed that prayer, on my own, in my bedroom at home.

Image by reenablack from Pixabay 

When Peter says to be diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you, He isn’t saying you might have lost your salvation along the way. He’s saying, make sure that decision was real when you made it. I also think that he is encouraging us to go back and ruminate on what, exactly Jesus did and why He did it. With Easter just around the corner, what better time to be certain about His calling and choosing. Did you make a decision to follow Jesus? What it real? Has it changed your life? That brings us to the next phrase.

…for as long as you practice these things you, will never stumble…

Do you believe this? There is a connection here between the two phases. Practice is essential for not stumbling. The passage doesn’t say, “…for as long as you read about these things…” Nor does it say, “…for as long as you occasionally do these things…” The word is practice. You all remember the old saying, “Practice makes perfect.” Of late, there is a new movement towards a different mentality of “Practice makes permanent,” which actually might make more sense. We want what we practice to become a permanent part of who we are. If I am practicing brotherly kindness, I want to practice it and practice it, until it becomes a natural response for me.

So what exactly does it mean when it says, we will never stumble?

If we were truly practicing all of the qualities listed in this passage, and it was a practice that made permanent, I think Peter would be right, we would never stumble. Unfortunately, how many of us are practicing these qualities until they are firmly embedded on our minds and hearts. Sure we might be really good at brotherly kindness, but when it comes to self-control, we trip up. Yes, we might make a regular practice of moral excellence, but when we have to be diligent we fall short. I do believe we can become better and better at every single one of these qualities, and we may even get to the point where we no longer stumble, but again, it is only Jesus and his Spirit that gives us this stumble proof ability.

For in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

If we don’t really pay attention, one could say that this verse is a proponent of good works theology. This is theology that says, we gain entrance into heaven by our good works. But the Bible is clear on this:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

i believe this verse is speaking as a matter of degrees. The Bible says,

“...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”

— Romans 10:9 (NASB)

If we believe in Jesus we will be saved. We will get into Heaven and dwell with the Almighty forever. What this verse seems to be suggesting is that it can be even better than that. It says that entrance into the Kingdom will be abundantly supplied to us. Abundance implies wealth and resources. Maybe for those who have been practicing these qualities and striving to be diligent and remember God’s precious and magnificent promises, they will receive a ticker tape parade. I really don’t know, but I find it interesting that the point was made that the entrance into the Kingdom will be abundantly supplied.

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay 

I hope you have enjoyed this look at 2 Peter 1:1-11. Next week, I hope to do an Easter post. After that I might return to the eight qualities listed in this passage and start looking at those in depth. Until then, have a great week everyone.

Mulling it Over - Part 3

Here we are again, ready to mull a few ideas over. I like the word, ruminate. If you have been following me for a while you know I have used this word before, when discussing the idea of Bible study. God tells us through the Psalmist that we are to meditate on His word day and night.

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“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success”

— Joshua 1:8 (NASB)

Webster’s online dictionary gives several definitions for the word meditate. These two describe what it means to ruminate on God’s word.

1 - to engage in contemplation or reflection

2 - to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness

Meditation is basically giving deep thought to God’s word and allowing His Holy Spirit to give us His understanding of it. To ruminate, literally means - to chew repeatedly for an extended period. Whether you want to call it meditating or ruminating, getting into God’s word should be more that a passing fancy. It should be something we dive into with the intent of moving into the deeper layers.

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Let’s look at our verse for this week:

“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

— 2 Peter 1:4 (NASB)

…For by these…

This refers back to the end of verse 3, “…Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” It is His glory and excellence to which the these refers. God is reliable. His glory and excellence cannot be undermined by any trouble or power on this earth. Remember in last week’s post we saw that His glory and excellence was personified in the person of Jesus Christ. It is His glory and excellence that lead us to the next part of the verse.

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…He has granted to us…

Once again we see God granting to us. This all mighty being wants to give us things. As we looked at verse 3 (see that post here) of the 2 Peter 1 passage we saw that God granted to us. He not only granted to us by His divine power, but now He grants to us by His glory and excellence.

Let’s just take a moment to think this over. Here is an all powerful being. His words brought this planet and all it contains into existence. His breath gave life to dust in the form of humanity. This humanity chose to rebel against Him. Yet…

…He loves us. He holds all that power and glory and excellence and yet, He desires to give to us.

Just what did He give to us?

…His precious and magnificent promises…

Look at the descriptors. Precious and magnificent. Let’s go back to Websters.

Precious - of great value or high price; highly esteemed or cherished.

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Magnificent - marked by stately grandeur or lavishness; impressive to the mind or spirit; great in deed; exceptionally fine.

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These words describe the promises of God. These aren’t cheesy, second rate promises. What God says, He will do. Who He says He is, He is. Who He says you are, you are.

All of us have been the recipients of broken promises. We’ve all experienced the disappointment of a parent, partner, friend or lover, making a promise and not proving good on that promise. We even break promises to ourselves. That is because we make our promises starting from a position of brokenness. God makes His promises starting from a position of divine power, glory and excellence. He can’t go wrong. He doesn’t forget, and He most certainly will not fall out of love with you. God always keeps His precious and magnificent promises.

Here are a few of those promises:

He will fight for you - Isaiah 14:14

He will give you strength - Isaiah 40:31 and Philippians 4:13

He will hold our hand - Isaiah 41:13

He will be with us - Isaiah 43:2 and Matthew 28:20

He will give us wisdom - James 1:5

He will forgive us - 1 John 1:9 and 2 Chronicles 7:14

He will give us eternal life - John 3:16

He will meet our needs - Philippians 4:19

He works things for our good - Romans 8:28

The list goes on. These are just a few of His precious and magnificent promises.

….so that by them, you may become partakers of the divine nature…

Whoa! Did that just say that I could receive some of that divine nature? Is that the same divine nature that granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness? In other words that divine nature becomes a part of me when I partake. I partake by taking the precious and magnificent promises.

This flow of thought and action just blows my mind. He gives, we take. He gives, we partake. He gives, and we become. So what exactly does it mean to become a partaker of the divine nature? Let’s take a look at the word partake:

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1 - to take part in or experience something along with others

2 - to have a portion (as of food or drink)

3 - to possess or share a certain nature or attribute

I think all three of these definitions make sense when it comes to partaking of the divine nature. We take part in it. We have a portion of it. We share it with the Almighty. Doesn’t that make you feel rather special? Everything that He does for us, that He gives to us, is to enable us to be a part of Him, to share in His very nature.

This leads to the question, how do the precious and magnificent promises enable us to partake in His divine nature? This is my theory. When we become a Christ follower, by belief, we are then able to claim those precious and magnificent promises. When I claim a promise that God has made, I take it back to Him and I say,

“You have said this in Your word. This is a promise that You have made. I am claiming that promise as my own, believing that You will do it, because You have said it.”

Now, let me clarify, this is not a Santa Clause wish list. We need to understand that all of what God does is to make us partakers of His divine nature. He is not out to grant our every desire. He is not going to make life free of difficulty, but He is going to honor the promises He has made when we claim them, and as He does that He grants us a portion of His divine nature.

If you are uncertain what I mean when I talk about the divine nature, think about the characteristics of God; His holiness, righteousness, love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and so on. As we live life, claiming His promises and walking in His spirit, those characteristics will become a part of us in a more deeply rooted way.

Let’s look at the last piece of this verse.

…having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

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Partaking of His divine nature enables us to escape the corruption that is in the world. Why do you think Peter was inspired to add the phase, by lust? Aren’t there other things in the world that cause corruption? If the idea of lust is an intense longing for something or someone, that pretty much covers most of what causes the corruption in our world. Think about things like stealing, murder, adultery, jealousy, anger, gluttony, pride, the list goes on. Doesn’t everything begin with the idea, “I want?” Didn’t the first rebellion against God start with the thought, “I want?” When we partake of the divine nature, our “I wants” turn into “He wants.” We become more interested in what God wants and what we can do to love and serve Him and others. How different would the world be if we all journeyed through life with the divine nature flowing through us, rather than the weight of “I want” holding us down.

I hope you are enjoying this study of 2 Peter 1:1-11. Be sure to check back next week for Part 4 as we look at verse 5.

I love hearing your thoughts, so if you have the time let me know what you are thinking. Have you every claimed one of God’s precious and magnificent promises? How did God come through for you? Do you feel like you are partaking of His divine nature on a regular basis? What does that look like for you. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great day.

Mulling It Over - Part 1

Last year I did a Mulling It Over series on Ephesians 6:10-18. It took me a period of months to dig deeply into that passage on the armor of God. This year I would like to use the same format to dig into a few other passages that are worth chewing on slowly. According to Webster's online dictionary, the word ruminate means to go over in the mind repeatedly, often in a slow, casual fashion or to chew repeatedly for an extended period of time. That is what we are going to do with these passages. 

Pixabay - this little guy looks like he'll be chewing for a while!

The books of 1st and 2nd Timothy in the New Testament were letters written by Paul to Timothy, pastor of the church at Ephesus. Timothy had journeyed with Paul on his second and third missionary journeys. The two knew each other and had spent plenty of time working and ministering side by side. Paul's purpose in these letters was to encourage and give practical advice and instruction for the pastor of a church. 

“First Timothy presents the most explicit and complete instructions for church leadership and organization in the entire Bible. This includes sections on appropriate conduct in worship gatherings, the qualifications of elders and deacons, and the proper order of church discipline.”

— Chuck Swindoll (from Insight for Living Ministries)

With regards to 2 Timothy:

“Paul knew that Timothy’s task of keeping the church within the bounds of sound doctrine while encouraging believers to live their lives well for the sake of Christ would be an often thankless and difficult task. Though hardship would come, Paul wanted Timothy to continue in those things he had learned, drawing on the rich heritage of faith that had been passed down to the young pastor, not just from Paul but also from his mother and grandmother ”

— Chuck Swindoll (from Insight for Living Ministries)

Both letters written to Timothy are worth mulling over, but for the next few months, I want to look at just a few verses from 2 Timothy 2.

“20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

— 2 Timothy 2:20-26 (NASB)

Let me preface the discussion with a key point:

This was written to the church leadership. This is important to remember when we look at the terminology in the passage. I would add, it is written to any mature Christian, since it is included in the Bible. I added the word mature, because part of this passage talks about teaching and I think it is important that we have Christians who know God's word and not only understand it, but live it in leadership and teaching positions.

All that being said, let's take a look at the first verse:

“Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

— 2 Timothy 2:20 (NASB)

How can we dissect this verse to squeeze as much out of it as possible? I like to take each phrase and ruminate on it. 

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1. Now in a large house....

I believe the idea Paul  is trying to get across is that the church is a big institution. We are not talking the physical size of each individual church, but the body as a whole. A large house, in Paul's day would have indicated power and wealth. While this is still true today (ever watch that series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous), there can be instances of large houses that are completely abandoned. 

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2. ...there are not only gold and silver vessels...

This was another clue that Paul was making a comparison to a house of wealth and power. There were people in the church, just as today, who were wealthy. The church has always had a mix of rich, middle class and poor and it is often the rich and middle class who are giving of their surplus to aid those who go without. 

Gold and silver vessels were akin to us bringing out the good silver ware for a holiday dinner, at least that is something my mother used to do. I don't have any good silver ware. It is what it is. Ha, ha. But back in the day, this was an important thing to do when entertaining guests. Cleaning, polishing and making everything comfortable is the way we have chosen to honor the guests brought into our homes for centuries. 

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3. ...but also vessels of wood and earthenware...

Not all vessels are the same. There are gold and silver, those vessels used for special occasions, but there are also vessels of wood and earthenware. Are you following the analogy? Paul is not talking about actual cups and bowls, he is talking about people! All of us are vessels. Some of us are gold and silver. We are flashy and showy. We bring in a crowd or we brighten up a room. Some us us are wood and earthenware. We are stable, consistent and incredibly functional, but we are not recognized beyond that. 

4. ...and some to honor and some to dishonor...

What exactly does Paul mean in this phrase? Simply put, we are all capable of honoring God, but we are also all capable of dishonoring Him.

Timothy was a young pastor and not everyone in his congregation thought he was up to the task. Rather than encouraging him and trying to work with him, a few of his congregants became obsessed with his age and felt he didn't have enough experience to properly pastor a church. He also had congregants who were involved in some less than savory things, but more on that next month. 

So what can we learn from this one verse today:

1. We are part of His body - the big house.

2. We are all vessels.

3. Not all of us are gold or silver. Some of us are wood or earthenware.

4. We are all capable of honoring or dishonoring God.

I hope and pray that as you read this post you will realize that we are all important in His body, or house - the church. I also hope you will see your worth. It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like or what you do as a job or how much money you make, you are important to the body of Christ. 

Have a great day!