Flesh and Spirit: Evidence of a Raging War

This is meant to be a partial examination of the war between the flesh and the Spirit, and I hope that at a minimum it leads you to ask deep questions of yourself and of God, and to search the Word for those answers.

(Written Saturday)

Today was softball day with my Sunday School class.  We play in a league through our church and have a great time, win or lose.  After every game, we always go somewhere to eat lunch together.  At lunch today, a few of my friends and teammates engaged in a conversation that accidentally drove to the heart of the war between flesh and Spirit.

One of my teammates had gotten upset during the game and thrown the bat in frustration at the fence…a seemingly benign outlet of less-than-controlled anger; however, unfortunately, the bat came a little too close for comfort to an opposing player.  The throwing of the bat was quite intentional...it being anywhere near another human being, quite unintentional.  Nevertheless, he had to leave the game and was full of godly conviction immediately after the incident, seeking out the opposing players, officials, and all of our team to own up to his mistake and apologize.  It was great to see everyone forgive and restore him immediately, and I love my brother in Christ today more than ever.

Later at lunch, one of my friends mentioned the scriptural truth that “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34, Luke 6:45), asserting that whatever things he or anyone utters is a direct reflection of what is inside of us.  We may not want the ugliness of sin to be inside of us, but our mouths give us away.  He therefore concluded that when people say, “I didn’t mean that,” when referring to an action or word spoken, they are incorrect…for in the moment, they did mean it, for their heart meant it, because out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  Interesting train of thought that I could neither reject, nor wholly accept.  And my response erked me slightly and made me perk up and search deeper as to why.  Additionally, my teammate who had thrown the bat used his experience from a couple hours earlier to counter the argument, asserting that he by no means meant to hit the opposing player or to throw the bat whatsoever in any display of anger.  He found within himself, in that situation or any other, that the person he believes himself to be is not in tune with those actions and therefore, he could say accurately, “I didn’t mean that,” when referring to an action or word spoken…the opposite contention of my other friend.

As we debated and chimed in, never reaching a satisfying conclusion, it dawned on me that the Word of God speaks exactly to this point.  It is found in Rom 7 and 8, and it must be read slowly, hanging on every word and clause, in order to understand clearly (at least for me, reading it quickly easily leads to getting a little lost and running in a circle):

Rom 7:15-23 - “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

In this passage, Paul stunningly and transparently reveals his own personal struggle with sin, an ever present battle, a violently raging war within him.  If this is true of Paul, is it not also true of us and anyone who calls Christ Lord and Savior, being indwelled by the Holy Spirit?

In this passage, I do not want to miss many of the critical truths.  Firstly, Paul astutely recognizes something within him at his core that agrees with God in good (v. 16).  Secondly, he quickly claims this part of him to be his truest self, asserting that it is not him in his truest identity that carries out the sinful act, but instead the sin that dwells within him carries it out (v. 17).  Next, he mentions that the portion of him that is flesh contains nothing good, and that it is distinctively and utterly separate from the part of him that is good, which is the ability “to will” anything contrary to that corrupted flesh (v. 18).  Also, in v. 18, he concedes that within this conflict, he finds no solution on how to conquer the flesh with the will and do what he knows is good, of God, and his deepest desire. 

Going further, verse 21 is perhaps the most insightful because of its careful construction.  Mentioned first is a law…that evil is present within him—the one who wills to do good.  Notice that in this construction, the one who wills to do good is the self.  He has identified and separated his truest self as the part of him that wills to do good, and the evil portion (the flesh) as the imposter, residing simultaneously, but being the counterfeit “self,” and therefore not the self at all.  He reveals next that the “inward man” is his true identity (v. 22), the portion that delights in the law of God.  And finally, the “members”—that is, the flesh—is at war with the “mind”—that is, the inward man, the true identity—and that he is in a certain captivity to this struggle for the time being.

Within this complex communication of ideas is an overwhelming and unmistakable truth: we carry within us as humans on earth, this side of Heaven, warring identities—the flesh versus the Spirit.  Only in the assertion that I am a complex being—made up of multiple parts, distinctively and utterly separate from each other, yet intertwined…flesh and Spirit—only in this view of myself can I claim all that Paul has claimed here.  And once we have fully embraced this truth, we can easily see why both contentions of my friends are true in a sense: “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks,” and when my mouth speaks sin it is because I myself have fallen to the evil that resides “in my members,” but also “I didn’t mean that” because the truest meaning of the word “I” is my real identity, which is in Christ and the Holy Spirit alone.

Please do not misunderstand me: this is not a cop-out.  “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom 6:1b-2)  The point of all of this is to come to realization of 1. Our true identity as Christ followers is Him alone, made possible by Him alone, and therefore “there is no condemnation” for those of us who are His, and 2. We are being attacked, invaded, and even overwhelmed on a daily basis and therefore, we must fight actively against this law of evil within our present bodies.

Finally, lest we become discouraged, we are affirmed again in chapter 8 of victory and our unassailable identities in the Spirit of Christ, our Lord.  And the power of the passage and exclamation point is what follows next:

Rom 7:24-8:2 – “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

We would be right to conclude that Paul has revealed that we can easily lose this war and that as long as we live, we will fight it.  Additionally, according to v. 18, we are powerless to be victorious at all in our own strength.  But as we read on in this passage as we have done and hold it up in the light of the Word in its entirety, we see much more clearly that we are “more than conquerors” in Christ (Rom 8:37). 

As long as you and I live on this earth and not in Heaven, we will never cease for evil to reside side-by-side with the Spirit within us, a conflict so violent that without the hand of God to hold us together, it would tear us into a million pieces.  Thus we feel the tension, the conflict, making us cry out in anguish as we sin yet again…and we even have a hard time knowing if we are truly evil or good.  Ah, but the Word is equally as clear about the final outcome, for we know that the law of the Spirit is stronger than the law of evil in the flesh. 

Rom 8:9-11 – “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Until our flesh has died and raised up again in Jesus Christ, that flesh will war against the Spirit.  But that’s just it: “Until!”  For the “Until” is not yet present, but is presently coming!  We are assured of victory!  Only because Christ has been raised after death, his flesh united with Spirit as the firstfruits of all to come who believe in Him (1 Cor 15:20,23)…only in that do we have hope of being raised to eternal life.  For in this living body, the war rages, the law of evil within me fights on…but in death of the body, yet alive in the Spirit, we have the assured hope of resurrection to eternal life, a plainly asserted claim of truth in v. 11 of chapter 8.

I hope that through this study, you are encouraged of your true identity if you call Jesus Lord and Savior.  Your identity is the Holy Spirit within you.  Your enemy is the evil that resides in your flesh.  And every day you live in the fiercest battle zone taking direct hits, for we have willingly accepted this battle by receiving a new identity in Christ.  Before knowing Christ and receiving the indwelling Spirit, we had a single, fleshly identity, being fully captive to evil.  But upon receiving Christ in the Spirit, we have immediately declared civil war on the flesh, to the death.  And in this, we have been assured victory at the completion of our lives, such that in final death, we are given full eternal life, according to the covenant promise of our Father God through Christ.  If you believe this, you have already won; though you must still fight the raging battle to the day of your death and wonderful entry into the eternal rest and peace of Heaven.  May we each embrace these truths and be transformed by the renewing of our minds this very day (Rom 12:1).  Amen.

Pray It Through: In Jesus' Name

John 16:23-24, 26 – “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete…26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.”

I wonder if any one of us comprehends the power of Jesus’ name.  He is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is Lord: sovereign, perfect God.  He is Jesus: a distinct individual, fully God and fully man.  He is Christ: the Word becoming flesh, poured out for us, the ransom for our sins such that we may have eternal life with God.  This is Jesus’ name.  This is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even still, I wonder if any one of us comprehends the power of Jesus’ name.  We are rightfully taught to pray in Jesus’ name, as He himself taught us that.  And we are obedient to do it, ending every prayer and interjecting into the middle of our prayers His name.  But too often, that is the extent of it: we are merely following a formula, a tradition, and we say His name with no more reverence or power than any other words we utter in a given day.  But if we understood the power and meaning of praying in Jesus’ name, if we comprehended it even minutely more than we did yesterday, our lives and spiritual journeys could be radically and gloriously transformed.

I would like to first build upon our most common understanding and intent when praying in Jesus’ name.  As mentioned above, too often we pray out of rote and tradition, thoughtlessly.  If you are feeling convicted just now, it is the Holy Spirit’s work in you—rejoice that you have felt the presence of God!  And take heart, for I stand equally convicted.  Perhaps the next step in the walk of grace as we pray in Jesus’ name is taking the view of the natural interpretation of John 16:23-26.  I say “walk of grace” because it is by God’s grace that we comprehend His deepest truths, being welcomed into abundant life, both eternal and immediate.  Comprehending Jesus’ name is one of these great truths and experiences of grace in our lives.

Two things immediately jump out at me as I read John 16:23-26.  1. Anything I ask in Jesus’ name will be granted to me, and 2. I am not asking Jesus to ask for me, but instead, I have direct communication with the Father and it is the asking in Jesus’ name that grants me my request.  From here, we often err (and by “we,” I mean “I”).  The human mind immediately begins to surmise that the key to obtaining that which I desire in this very moment, whether noble or shallow, is praying in Jesus’ name.  Jesus’ name then becomes a magic currency or voucher of divine credit by which I can obtain the desires of my heart, flesh, and soul.  Before we immediately reject this train of thought (It is much harder to admit to it when it is called out so plainly, but search yourself and see if you have not considered Jesus’ name in such a way after boiling down your motives and desires until only the bare truth remains.), I would like to explore this analogy of Jesus’ name being a “voucher of divine credit.”

Consider the following situation: Your father is wealthy and you live in his house as his child.  You work together and he takes good care of you.  One day you ask for money to purchase something you desire.  Your father gives you a check for the exact amount and you take it to the store.  When the time comes to make the transaction and purchase the item, the clerk will look for at least three things: form of payment (in this case, a check), an authorizing signature, and a valid proof of identification.  If you are missing any of these, the payment is rejected.  Any combination of two will not suffice…you must have all three.  And I believe that prayer can be viewed in this way, if done very methodically and carefully.  God has essentially given us the “checkbook” of prayer, in that He has granted us access to Him and His infinite power.  Furthermore, He has granted those who have been regenerated in Christ the identity of Christ through the Holy Spirit, for we are His body and indwelled by Him.  And lastly, we have His authority and “signature” in Jesus’ name.  Prayer without the Holy Spirit or Jesus Christ is an unauthorized check.  Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit without God the Father is like an ID card and signature on a piece of paper that means nothing (before you call me a heretic, I do not believe we can be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, walking in relationship with Christ, and NOT pray (i.e. commune with God); therefore, this portion of the analogy is strictly for the sake of conveying the point).  The overarching point is that we must be identified and in communion with all three: Father, Son, and Spirit, or our prayers will be hindered.  This is no surprise, for you cannot know God without knowing all three, for all three are indeed divinely One.

Furthermore, to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in faith.  To utter Jesus’ name without faith in Him is like presenting counterfeit currency.  The untrained eye may be fooled, but the producer of the currency will spot its falsehood with ease.  We cannot fool God…He knows our sincere and counterfeit words of faith.  However, the above example is almost petty and certainly inadequate, for the depth of understanding comes from comprehending what it means to be identified in Christ and to ask in Jesus’ name.  If His name is simply an authorizing signature and we do not understand it to any greater degree, then we have gained very little understanding thus far.  (Such analogies to currency and transaction can be very misleading and I use them simply because our minds have been trained to understand things in this context.  The analogy is true in meaning, but severely inadequate at reaching the truth of the power of Jesus’ name, which is far removed from transaction conceived by our earthly desires.)

Since we have been building our comprehension of praying in Jesus’ name, starting with simple obedience and tradition, however thoughtless, then stepping forward in grace to authorization through Jesus name, we can build further by examining the nature of His name and not just what it does for us.  The first of these is covering and intercession.

Heb 9:12-15 – “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

In this scripture we understand a review of Old Testament sacrifices: a covenant extended by God to Israel, which by the shedding of animals’ blood in sacrifice and obedience to God, a portion of atonement was granted to the faithful.  This temporal atonement, as explained throughout Hebrews to a direct audience with very keen knowledge of such commandments and the covenant, was replaced in a new covenant by Jesus, the only perfect sacrifice.  Knowing that “by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)” we can receive Jesus' teaching, “this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many” (Matt 26:28), in view of Heb 9 above, and we can therefore have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19).  And so we see that through the blood of Christ we are made able to stand unblemished before the throne of God, a place where only perfect righteousness can remain alive…perfect righteousness only available to a human through Christ.  This is part of the reason why Jesus says in John 16:26, “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.”  It is not that Jesus’ death and resurrection allows us to communicate with the Father by messages delivered by Jesus (or any other man or being for that matter), but that we ourselves not only speak to the Father Himself, but enter the “Holiest.”  The “Holiest” or “Holy of Holies” was the presence of God in the tabernacle and is what is being conveyed here: the very presence of God Himself. 

The high priest, thought to be the most righteous of men, would have a rope tied around him when entering this place of perfect righteousness and the presence of God.  Had the proper blood sacrifices not been prepared according to the covenant and the high priest therefore still harbored sin within him, unremoved by the blood of the sacrifice before God, he would die immediately in the Holy of Holies.  Should anyone enter to retrieve his body, he also would die, as sin in the presence of God spells immediate death.  Therefore, the rope would be utilized in the event of such an occurrence to remove the high priest from the presence of God in the tabernacle.  This is the seriousness of God’s presence and the amazing privilege and power of Jesus’ name granted to us!  We can enter the Holy of Holies, God’s very throne room without a rope, without speaking through any priest, and without fear of dying…if we are covered by the blood of Christ in Jesus’ name.  And as Hebrews points out, this is a sacrifice that is everlasting, such that additional blood need not be shed for our atonement, as we are perpetually covered in Jesus’ name.  Knowing this, would you ever dare to approach God in prayer outside of Jesus’ name?  By His grace, the regenerated in Christ will never encounter that fearsome reality.  Instead, we come “boldy before the throne of grace” (Heb 4:16) in Jesus’ name.

At this point, we have come to a powerful comprehension of the meaning of praying in Jesus’ name.  Even still, there is more.  Who can search out the depth, height, and breadth of Jesus Christ?!  He is wonderful to comprehend in the slightest, and in that joy I seek to share with you through this post.  The final dimension amongst infinite dimensions that I seek to explore tonight is the powerful truth that coming to God in Jesus’ name means coming to Him in perfect submission.

Praying in the name of Jesus Christ can be very tangibly beheld in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Matt 26:39 – “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.””

Do we comprehend that praying in Jesus’ name, as the words leave our lips, is declaring to God that His will be done and not ours?  We do not comprehend it, nor do we experience its rich joy and blessing, because we do not mean it as we say it.  It is a rich joy and blessing because it is the life of Jesus Christ Himself inside of me, the life of perfect fulfillment of God’s glorious will, the life of nearness in the presence of God that cannot be revoked or destroyed by any thing, man, or supernatural being.  It is also protection, for quite often we ask the Lord for things that are not born of His desire…and anything not squarely born of His desire is riddled with evil and meant to harm us and those we love.  We are protected in Jesus’ name, such that our wills are submitted to God’s.  And the knowledge and comprehension of this power avails to us the experience of God’s presence more clearly and meaningfully as we pray and walk with Christ.  It is the source of deep transformation.  By Jesus’ name and the perfect submission that is carried through Him in our prayers, we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit in new ways that we could never know without receiving His will to transform ours.  Often we pray mighty sounding prayers in the hope of conforming God’s will to ours, certain of our prayers in Jesus’ name, not understanding that we have prayed against the will of God.  So be it, for God takes our fragile faith and misguided motives, convicts us, and sanctifies us.  However, if we do not move past that attitude in prayer, we miss out on the sweetness of being transformed by God through prayer.  Among the sweetest of promises of coming before our Father in deep intimate prayer in Jesus’ name is our being transformed by Him into His likeness.  There is perhaps no greater answer to prayer than being transformed into His likeness, except for beholding the presence of God as we are transformed.

Finally, after all of this revelation, all of this study of God’s Word, all of this teaching…I myself conclude by praying in Jesus’ name…and I am immediately convicted how small is my comprehension of what my lips utter.  If I could fully comprehend what I have just written above, I would fall to the ground in reverence of His name, and even then only glimpse His glory.  And so I pray that you would come to know Jesus Himself just a little bit more today, comprehending even slightly the power of Jesus’ name, praying the same desire for myself.  It is in Jesus’ name that I come boldly before the throne of grace, into the very presence of God Himself, and offer this prayer on behalf of you and me.  Amen.


For the entire "Pray It Through" series of posts, click here.

Prayer For Today

Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Thank you, Lord, for this day.  Although it does not feel special as I pray, today is not just another day…it is Today.  A day with a specific purpose and a specific way to praise you.  Today my brothers and sisters and I will have specific purposes, specific ways to praise you, and specific ways that we feel your presence.  This very day, specific battles are being fought, with specific victories and specific defeats.  Today specific people will die...some will go to Hell and specific others will go to Heaven.  Because of this, Today is not just another day.

Today could feel like just another day.  Even at the end of Today, it could look like many other past Todays with no perceived distinguishing features.  But for those going to Heaven or Hell, Today was certainly unique.  For those being dealt a personal blow in the spiritual battle, Today was not just another day.  For those entering captivity as a slave to merciless captors, Today is far from an ordinary day. For those receiving a revelation or gift from God, Today is a special day.  If any one of my brothers or sisters is experiencing Today as not just another day, then neither is it for me.  No, Today is a special day, unique and specific.  Specific sun rays on my face, warming my body and soul.  Specific oxygen molecules in the air I breathe, giving me life as a gift of God.  Specific vitamins in specific foods nourish my body in a specific way.  Specific words are received by my ears from Scripture, song, sermon, or friend.  And if I treat Today as a special day, then all of these things are not just received by my ears, body, and face…they are received by my heart and soul.

So it is not the makeup of Today that makes it special so much as the makeup of me to receive the specificities of Today that make it uniquely special, powerful, and life giving.  How wonderful then that Christ through the Holy Spirit lives within me!  For in Him alone can I receive each day in such a way.  In Him alone can I be made alive in all things.  Only by receiving Today through Christ can all things work together for my good (Rom 8:28) and can I do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).

Today.  My special day.  Not because of the specifics of the day, but because Christ lives in me Today.  May you know Jesus in this way, too, and never live an ordinary day again.  Through Christ, may every day be as special as Today.  Amen.

Guest Post - Re: The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

A dear friend of mine responded to my latest blog post titled, "The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation" with some very insightful and edifying assertions. With this friend's permission, I cannot help but share, as I enjoy and value the perspectives offered in this reply:

"I agree that the calling is to Christ Himself, because the relationship is more important than the roles we play. So often we seek to establish ourselves in a business relationship with God, instead of a personal one. We strive hard to be servants when God has called us to be sons.

In being sons, the ultimate thing is the love and intimacy we share with Christ. Since we share in His kingdom, we share in His kingdom's work. The scripture seems to discourage segregating this work into higher vs. lower within the kingdom because, after all, the highest is the least servant in God's kingdom. Philippians does talk about the high calling, but never the higher calling.

The term "higher calling" has been used to distinguish those who are following a specific calling with the organized church or full time mission effort. When I say full time mission, not to be stuck on semantics, I mean one whose life activities are not fungible in the securlar market place. His economic needs must be subsidized by others of the "lower" calling (so to speak in keeping with the topic). So, in this sense, I would agree we would be off-base to say one Christian has a "higher calling" because he does not have a day job.

But the status of being supported by the Christian community is Biblical, and is a specific calling, albeit not higher. Those in that role tend to be held to a "higher" standard, which is also Biblical. Of course we are all held to the same standard which is the Word, but Biblicially speaking leaders of the church throughought the Bible have been expected to demonstrate exceptional holiness as they naturally become leaders. In being in this office it can be said that we "follow them" as they follow Christ. It is in this sense that the "higher" terminology would gain some historical basis - but I would agree that it still is inaccurate.

The secular perspective says jobs are to produce products, and the "better" we are, by worldy standards, the more products we produce. In that lifestyle, if I were to "do my best," I would always be trying to maximize my competitiveness and success would be measured in magnitude.

The Word says, the kingdom of God is like a treasure someone found in a field, burried it, went and sold all he had, and bought the field. If I won the lottery, my paycheck would diminish as an important factor to me. In the secular sense, my paycheck is my master - because its presence commands my obedience (speaking in worldly perspective). If I were to become a millionaire, it would no longer have any meaning for me. My paycheck would decrease, and the need to enjoy my work would increase. Similarly, when we are saved, we are set free from the shackles of status, the need to produce. We now do those things because we enjoy them.

Some may try to correct me there and say "because we serve Jesus." But serving Jesus is joy. We continue to do what we are good at because of joy, nothing else. God knows who he gave a good voice to, a quick body, a bright mind...we use those gifts out of joy. When your future is secure, your present takes on a new identity. The law, no longer our master, fades as the love and joy of Jesus fills our lives. God lacks nothing, yet he intervenes to save the needy. Why? Because he is so full of joy, it is overflowing. He is so full of love, it is overflowing. His actions are a result of His love and joy.

When you are full of fear and hate and bitterness, you seek to share it. When you are full of love, joy, and peace,you share that too. And when you get grafted into the vine that is love, joy, and peace.....you can't help it. That becomes who you are.

Being a Christian is being free from status. What would it matter if I exchanged one activity I enjoyed for one I will enjoy even more? This would be the case for a Christian transitioning from engineering to full time missions. I believe a man I greatly respect once said, missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is the goal of the church, not missions. Paraphrasing alot but, he goes on to say: because God is ultimate, not man. Whether I'm a slave, free, engineer, nurse, ditch digger, or whatever else - it is for worship. For joy. For the life I have in Christ. Missions is just one more role - but a temporary one like all the others. Preacher is temporary, because Jesus is our true shepherd. Engineer is temporary, because by Christ all things were made. Whatever role He puts us in, He is highest, not our role. He has called us to only one thing, to worship Him forever. The rest is just the details."

The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

2 Cor 5:18-20 – “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

We must get the idea of a higher calling out of our collective minds. It is misleading and destructive to the pursuit of the Lord and hearing His voice in obedience. It puffs up if we receive what we feel is higher, and it casts down if we receive what we feel is lower. A higher calling alludes to a lower calling with lower standards…but there is only one standard: Christ. Therefore, there is no higher calling than to Christ Himself by Christ Himself. And if you call Jesus your Savior, you have received the highest calling, and one shared with everyone who calls Jesus Lord.

This calling is into full-time ministry, for we are ministers of reconciliation. At different points in my life, I have considered what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry,” at times being very much unattracted to such a life and at times being very attracted. I have wanted to give my full life to Jesus so thoroughly, such that all that I do and every ability with which He has gifted me is to serve Him and His purposes, and to do this in a way that feels impossible or at least very hindered in a common “secular” job. And tonight I am convicted more than ever of my error in thought within the aforementioned framework.

I have heard it preached and have nodded my head in agreement with numerous others who sincerely follow Christ that we are all in full-time ministry, right where we are. But I challenge you as I challenge myself: how well are you attending to that calling and do you really believe it in your heart? Is it your identity or a side-gig that you continually wish was more dominant, but never seems to be preeminent?

I want to challenge our spiritual world views. When you view your head pastor and others such as John Piper, Francis Chan, or Billy Graham; or going back in time, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, or Martin Luther; or even going back to Peter and Paul…when you view them in your mind, do you hold them higher? I certainly do. These are amazing and inspiring men after God’s heart and dedicated with lives that some even laid down both in the spirit and in final bodily death. Men who are mentors, if by their words and examples only, on whom Jesus has built His church. Men who fit together in the sentence above…a sentence that we wouldn’t dare place our names within and alongside these names. But what if you did? Peter, Paul, [Your Name]. How does that sound? I chuckle as I think, “Terribly inadequate or terribly and misguidedly prideful.” The truth is that we should never place our own names there. In fact, we should seek to have no separate set-apart list whatsoever. The reason is that we have all received the same call from Jesus: “Come, follow me,” and since then have been commissioned as ministers of reconciliation. Peter, Paul, [Your Name], ministers of reconciliation and disciples of Christ. What a privilege to be called as such…a privilege because of the nature of the blessed gift of the calling that we could never deserve, not because of the uniqueness of it, for we share it with every soul throughout time who calls Jesus Lord.

Too often we look at our new lives in Christ as adaptations of our old lives. We see where the call to be ministers of reconciliation fits into our day-jobs and lives as they have always been. We are set free to live a new life, yet we don’t. The truth is that for the newfound in Christ, there is no adaptation of the old life…the old life must die and a new life be erected in its place. This means that every framework of self that I have believed, every way that I perceive the world and my fellow-man, my every purpose and desire, is transformed into nothing less than Christ Himself. In Christ alone am I to know my identity, in Christ alone am I to perceive the world and fellow-man, and in Christ alone is my every purpose and desire. And therefore, any circumstance that lies before me is quite secondary to my identity in Christ. Any job or calling by which I am the hands and feet of Christ is quite secondary to the calling as a full-time minister of reconciliation. This may seem elementary or it may not, but how easily we get it squarely backwards! We try to build Christ into our frameworks that are external to Him. We try to fit the ministry of reconciliation into our lives, as if God was saying, “Will is a chemical engineer. How can I now work the ministry of reconciliation into that job?” God is not saying that, although I am prone to. Quite oppositely, as a believer in Christ, we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation since the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1:20-21 – “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Eph 1:4 – “…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”

Thus we see the Word of God paring up the commissioning as ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19) with Christ who was foreordained from the foundation of the world to reconcile us to Himself (1 Pet 1:20-21, Eph 1:4); therefore, our commission as ministers of His reconciliation is most certainly present from the foundation of the world. And therefore, it is preeminent over anything that you or I have become, learned, or have been gifted with. And so we must take on the new view in truth that our current circumstance, whether a job or otherwise, is a subset of the ministry of reconciliation, both in importance and in time. That means that what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry” is also a subset of this same call to be ministers of reconciliation. In this we see the peer-to-peer brotherhood among all who are ministers of reconciliation, whether they serve in the church, on the mission field, at the office, or in the home.

The first misunderstanding that we have in our identity is that our primary calling is to any particular service or purpose...our primary calling is simply to Jesus Christ Himself, in the solitude of our hearts before Him. The second misunderstanding we have in our identity is placing the subset above the superlative office…i.e. placing any “full-time” ministry or “secular job” above the ministry of reconciliation to which we have been called. The final misunderstanding of our identity that I want us to examine is that one subset is higher than the other…which turns out to often be the result of the first and second misunderstandings. If our secular jobs or works in ministry were indeed our superlative calling and the ministry of reconciliation was but a subset of that calling, then there certainly would be a difference…for the observation is that much more reconciliation to Christ is happening in these works of ministry than in the common, secular workplace. But even in this misunderstanding, we have placed the value on the ministry of reconciliation itself after all, judging between the two callings, “secular” vs. “works of ministry,” by their fruit. In any case, we can more easily begin to see that the first calling was to Jesus Himself, being commissioned as ministers of reconciliation…a calling that we each share and that dominates our shared identities. Therefore, there is absolutely no difference in the height or greatness of the callings that lie in the subset…only a difference in obedience. Let us note that often the reason for attributing one calling as consistently higher than the other is that we perceive greater obedience to the call of reconciliation ministry within the works of traditional ministry. Oh, but what our world might look like if we took the same sold-out passion and love for Christ into our secular jobs! The fruit of the harvest that we could reap! This is where the droves of the lost reside, and we have been given access to the front lines of the battles over their souls, having greater contact with these than many of their closest family members and friends (how many people do you spend 40+ hours with each week?).

So what is the conclusion? Firstly, that there is one, singular calling to Christ, which is manifested in full-time ministry of reconciliation. Second, that this is manifested in numerous ways, for the Spirit gifts as He pleases (1 Cor 12:11). Thirdly, that all specific endeavors, works, and sub-callings are subsets of the calling to the ministry of reconciliation, and we need not consider that one calling is greater than another, such consideration being futile, elusive, and even destructive. And finally, that we cannot measure the greatness of the calling by the level of obedience of the multitude in that calling: Firstly, because we have examined that in principal, the callings are the same in necessity and value, though different in means; and secondly, by what means can we determine that one calling is greater than the other? We might better judge obedience, but even in that, we have difficulty seeing clearly the spec in another’s eye, due to the plank in our own.

I encourage you, I challenge you, I implore you: heed your calling. It is as magnificently great as it is common, the calling as a minister of reconciliation. As Christ dominates our identity, this ministry dominates our daily works. There is no greater calling than to Christ Himself. There is no greater blessing on this earth. There is no greater joy. And there is no escaping the full-time ministry of reconciliation as a follower of Christ, for to follow Christ is to minister to each other of reconciliation with Him. There are different ministry methods, but one ministry of reconciliation. May the Lord continually call you to Himself, and bless you abundantly in your personalized, yet shared calling as a minister of reconciliation. Amen.

*This post was inspired by current events in my life, as usual, as well as the first two chapters in "The Cost of Discipleship," by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a book that I most highly recommend.*