The Dorea of the Holy Spirit

Those of you that have any background in Seminary or a charismatic church may be asking me. Why are we not talking about the charisma of the Holy Spirit? After all that is a free gift of grace. Though it is true that charis and charisma are used of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, today I want to talk about another, perhaps more important, word for gift.

The Kenosis of Jesus

Since creating this blog I have gotten asked several times to explain what kenosis is and why I chose to use it in my title. Since last time I did a linguistics lesson I thought that I would continue the theme and talk here about a Greek word.

The Hesed of God

Any of you that know me or have been reading the last of my blogs know that I have been going through a lot the last couple of years. Though I wouldn't particularly wish to go through any of it again, these experiences have given me some perspective on a particular Hebrew concept.

Yes you heard me right, today is a linguistics lesson - sort of.

My last post was an interpretation of Psalm 136. You can look at that post here. Some of you may notice that I did not use love, but rather covenant faithfulness. If you look at the range of translations you will see things like lovingkindness and steadfast love. All this variation is because of one Hebrew word:

חםד

This variation occurs because we don't have a direct corollary to hesed in English. The Hebrew concept of this word is vast and relies on history of the people to fully flesh out. All the above translations are correct, yet they don't really get at the complete understanding of the word.

So what does hesed mean?

Well first lets look at Psalm 136. If you look at it in the Hebrew you will find that every single line ends with hesed. (Technically it's hasdow, but that is because the pronoun is part of the word in Hebrew. Ok seriously I'm done with the technical.) What I want you to see is that Psalm 136 is sort of describing what hesed means.

Here we have the Psalmist going through the history of Israel and describing how God protected and cared for them. He starts with the might wondrous miracle of creation. Yet the very next thing is the death of the first born of Egypt. Some might find this odd if we are talking about the love of God. Yet hesed is more than just love. In fact if we look at the rest of the Psalm it talks about striking down kings and bringing Israel into the land.

Now the NIV translates this simply as love. Which I guess is correct, but love is a word that we use so much and is used to translate three separate Greek words. Add to this the fact that we are talking about God striking down kings. Love is really not enough to understand hesed.

The NASB translates hesed as lovingkindness. This is better. But again we might come across the same issues. ESV has steadfast love. Again we see love as part of the translation. It would seem that the translators think this is part of the concept.

Maybe we need to rethink how we view love?

Let's think about what happened to the people of Israel during the time described by Psalm 136. They were in slavery to Egypt for generations. They were forced to build the pyramids for the Pharaohs. This was not a fun family vacation. If we look at Exodus 3 we find that God did not think so either.

“I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey"

We don't ever really know why Israel was enslaved. Often we can look at things like the Babylonian exile and see that Israel turned from God. However that does not matter. What matters here is that God has not left his people. He has determined to save them. God is not going to continue to let His people remain in slavery. Yet to bring them out He must show his power. He must defeat the so called gods of Egypt and slay the first born of Pharaoh. This is the love of God. A love so strong that He is willing to defend His people in any way He can.

I once heard Matt Chandler (yes it's that guy again from this post) talk about the love of God. He made the analogy to himself. Matt is a pacifist. He doesn't want to hurt you. But he also loves his family. And though he is a pacifist he will not hesitate to hurt you if you try and harm his family.

For love to be true love it must also have wrath.

See this concept of hesed is one that is so close to my heart. It is a lesson that God has been teaching me for the last several years. When I did my interpretation of Psalm 136 I chose not to use the word love. Not because I don't think that God loves us. But rather because I think we need a fuller concept of love. For me the love of God is shown through His covenant faithfulness.

God did not abandon Israel and God has not abandoned us either. His love for us is vast and unending. Yet we think that love is a feeling. Not for God. Love is a choice. He chose to die for us. He chose to give up all the privileges afforded Him because He was God and become human. God did not give up on us. In fact God made the first move. With Israel (bringing them out of Egypt) and with us (dying before we were even born). Our God is a God whose covenant faithfulness knows no end.

The hesed of God is something that cannot and will not be stopped. God is faithful. But not only is he faithful, He has promised good to us. That is the covenant part. Not only will God always be there to deliver us, but He has promised to do so. This is the covenant faithfulness of God. He will not break His promise. He will always be faithful.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

In my own life I have wondered if God is really faithful. When my ex-wife and I had a miss carriage God was faithful. When my marriage fell apart God was faithful. When I lost my job as a teacher God was faithful. When I found a new job and remembered my calling God was faithful. When I had to move for the third time in a year God was faithful. When I was provided a home and a living God was faithful.

The hesed of God is not about never having troubles. The hesed of God is about knowing that God will never leave us. It is about knowing that God is faithful to protect us. It is about God remembering His people. When you are in distress remember that God will not leave you there.

May the God who brought Israel out of Egypt save you in your distress. May you grow in your understanding of His hesed. And may His praises ever be on your lips.

Amen!

His Covenant Faithfulness Knows No End

Today I was going to write about the faithfulness of God, but I read through Psalm 136 and couldn't help but write my own.

5 Things I Learned About Marriage During My Divorce

So recently some friends in my church got married. As part of the reception the church was asked to write down some words of wisdom and give them to the couple. As I began to think about what I could share I realized that the things I wanted to tell them were things that I wished I had known before I got married.

Why We Need Community

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It occurs to me that today is September 11. Though not directly related I realize that when I talk about the need for community one of the best examples was the numerous men and women who devoted time, energy and their lives in the wake of this horrific tragedy.

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Lately God has been talking to me about community. Why he designed us to live in community. What it means to live that out. Why we think we can be Christian by ourselves. How the community of God has blessed me.

I was pondering these things this morning as I sat down and watched a sermon by Alistair Begg. I noticed that the title was Membership Matters. Funny how God often orchestrates things just when we need them. If you want to have a look at the sermon you can view it here. One of his main points was that we often think we don't need the community. This started me to thinking about reasons why that might be.

Before I go any further a little sociology lesson.

When I was in undergrad I took a sociology class. One of the things we talked about in that class was the difference between the individual in Eastern and Western culture. Essentially in Western culture we talk about how everyone is unique and you are your own person. We have individual liberties, individual opinions, and individual beliefs. Eastern culture is much different. For many of those cultures the group is the most important unit. Your beliefs and opinions are not just yours.

My professor gave us this example from sociological studies. She mentioned that a class of kindergartners was used. This was a class with many first generation Americans whose parents came from Asian countries. It was the ideal class for such an experiment. Students were given a coloring page and told to choose whatever color they wanted to color with. Those students whose parents had grown up in the United States quickly took their favorite color and started. The students who parents were from Asia were unsure what to do. They could not decide what color to use.

Next the researchers told the students that their parents wanted them to color with a red crayon. At this the students who parents were from Asia perked up and began to gladly color with red. Some of the other students who had gladly colored with the color of their choice before got upset. Why should they have to color the way their parents wanted? It was their coloring page. They should be able to do what they wanted.

This is the difference between Eastern and Western culture. Here we are told to be your own person that what you do is important and no one can tell you what to believe. We live in a culture that tells us that we don't need anyone else. That we can do anything we put our minds to. This may be true of many things. 

But this is not God's design for the church.

In scripture we find the church described as a flock, a house, a body, and even a family. None of these things can operate on their own. They are all made up of various parts. As Begg puts it:

"One Sheep doesn't make a flock. One brick doesn't make a house. One limb doesn't make a body. One individual doesn't make a family."

The point is that God never designed us to be alone we were always meant to live in a community. But the question becomes why? What is it about humanity that makes us need and desire community?

The fact of the matter is that people cannot live the life God has called us to alone. We are broken people. We stumble we fall. In seclusion we can never become what we are called to be. We need other people to encourage us, to walk with us, to grieve with us, and yes even to rebuke us when we are wrong. This is the point of community. This is what the church is supposed to be to itself. A place for people to be people and place for people to grow, to rejoice, and to grieve. (If you don't believe me check out what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12)

So why is this important to me?

As I said in this post. I am divorced. That process was not an easy or clean one for me. It was painful and it was messy. Yet I was fortunate enough to be a member at a church that came along side me and grieved with me. They sat in ashes and wept with me. They prayed for and with me. The community of God was my faith when I had none. This community enabled me to grieve, to heal, to lean into God and to learn. 

That is what the church is for. But more than that the church is a place for us to be held accountable. Take a look at the things Paul says in his letters. They are not always encouragement. Paul understands that sometimes we need someone to come alongside us and rebuke us. We are not perfect. We need people to call us on what we do.

But the best part about the church is its diversity.

Take a look at Revelation. We see that all nations will come before God and proclaim His goodness and glory. Even Solomon understood that the temple was not just for Israel but for all nations. The blessing given to Abraham was so that he could be a blessing to the whole world. 

Now I'm getting a little ahead of myself. That really should be saved for tomorrow. But the point is that the church is to be a place where people come and learn from each other. Where we see the wonders of God's creation in all its diversity. The church is diverse because God's creation is diverse. 

This is my hope for us.

I hope that we can realize the need for the local church. That it can be a place where we come and are renewed. Where we are encouraged. Where we are blessed. Where we help each other. A place where we are rebuked in love. A place where we learn from each other. The church needs to be a community of God. It is not just a social club. It is a new way of life. It is something so different from the rest of the world that people look and wonder what it is all about. The church needs to be the community of God. In the words of Paul:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Amen! 

Lessons from a Lion and a Wizard

Recently a friend of mine has been sharing with me sermons by a guy named Matt Chandler over at the Village Church. He and the church there have some really great sermons. You should check them out sometime. Seriously. Stop reading right now and go look at those. I'll wait

Done?

Well anyway Matt Chandler has been talking about the balance we need to have when it comes to God. How we need to understand that He is King and He is Savior. This reminded me of some of my favorite movies and how this message is shown in them.

Anyone that knows me will know I love movies. Its funny to me how often I look to scenes or themes to inform my life and my faith. I think most people are passive when they watch movies. They are there for entertainment and nothing more. I look to them to understand the message.

See I don't think that movies are passive.

I think that every movie is a story. It tells us something about ourselves, our society, or our God. It doesn't matter what the movie is, it can speak to us in ways that simple conversations can't. I am reminded of a professor I had at North Park Seminary. He was always talking about the parables of Jesus. (See he wrote a book on them. You should get it here.)

Professor Klyne Snodgrass was always talking about how Jesus told stories because it was the best way to break through the barriers that people have. When you tell someone a story they are not guarded. They listen. Often when Jesus was asked a question His response was "let me tell you a story." He did this because He knew that stories will always bypass our heads and speak directly to our hearts.

So what about my favorite movies?

Every Christmas my brother and I have a Lord of the Rings marathon. We get up early and we watch all three extended cut Blu-Rays (cause Blu-Rays are prettier you know) back to back. It is 12 hours of joy. I know some of you might think that sounds like torture. I understand. For me it is time with my brother and time with my God. See these are not just movies to me. They are ways to let my creator speak to me.

One of my favorite scenes in the Fellowship of the Ring comes after Bilbo's birthday party. He has used the ring to become invisible and is very proud of himself. Well Gandalf knows what's up and meets Bilbo back at his house. Now I could tell you more, but I'd rather let you watch.

Did you notice what happened in the middle there? Bilbo was consumed by the Ring. He wanted it for his own. Gandalf was trying to save Bilbo from temptation but he wouldn't listen. It was not until Gandlaf stood and displayed his power that Bilbo listened. And then, oh how beautiful, Gandlaf showed love to him. The King and the Savior.

"Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks! I am not trying to rob you! I'm trying to help you."

How often is God this way with us? How often do we think that God is just trying to keep us from having fun or from getting what we want? We think we know what is best. We think that we should keep our sin and our filthiness because it's ours. We rail and we kick and we scream and we complain to God that He is taking it away from us. We treat God like a robber come into our home to steel all that we have spent our time and our money on. And then

The Lion roars.

See this same friend of mine likes to think about God the way C.S. Lewis describes. She is always talking about how Jesus is a lion. The lion of Judah. Matt Chandler talked about this. He talked about how great it would be to wrestle a lion. But the thing to remember about lions is that they are powerful. They keep them behind fences at the zoo for a reason. My friend's favorite quote about Aslan goes like this. 

"'Course he isn't safe. But he is good."

God is not a robber. We think that what we have is ours. But it's not. We think that we want our sin and our filthiness. But we don't. God knows better than we do. God loves us and cares for us. And lest we forget. He is a God. He is King.

This is the God we serve. We serve the God that spoke -- let me say that again -- He spoke the world into existence. With a word He quieted the storm. Our God is so powerful that not even death could defeat Him. He is the God that forced idols to bow to His Arc. He is the God at the sight of whom the mountains run. 

And Blessed be His name.

He is the God who chose to come down and be like us. He is the God who cares for your every need. He is the God who loves so deeply that He cannot and will not let you continue in pain. He is the God that walks with you. And talks to you. He is the God that died for you. This is our God. 

He is King. He is Savior.