The Gospel of Christ--A Systematic Exploration

Our bodies bear evidence of sin.  Disease, affliction, decay.  If our bodies carried no sin in them, they would cease to decay and no disease or affliction would be manifest.  This is how we were created--in the image of God.  Adam and Eve, and the human race, were created to live forever in perfect harmony with God, each other, and all creation.  That is, until they sinned in the Garden.  At that moment, the human body took on sin, by choice, and began to decay.  From this point forward, there is an irreparable rift between God and man, the perfect from imperfect, eternal from dying.  But just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, so through one Man (Jesus), sin is conquered and we can be reconciled (Rom 5:12-21).


Show me one man who has defied the decay of the human condition.  Show me one man that has lived even 2 generations, let alone eternally.  You cannot.  But I will show you Christ, who lived, has lived and forever will live.  Jesus is the only God-man to have ever lived and therefore lives forever, being fully God, and gives opportunity for all flesh to be saved--being fully man Himself--the only bridge of this gap between dying man and eternally living God.

Our bodies testify that we are born into sin.  For all flesh is grass and perishes (Isaiah 40:6, 1 Pet 1:24), i.e. all flesh contains sin and is therefore decaying.  If all flesh was not with sin, then not all flesh would be decaying...but the scripture, as well as our experience, testifies that all flesh is dying. Therefore, there is no difference in circumstance, moral code,  in perception or reality--all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). All flesh is grass.  All flesh is dying.  All flesh has sin.  All men are dying as a result of being covered in their sins.

Make no mistake--God is incorruptible.  He is too consistent to allow sin to survive.  Therefore, as He has decreed, all sin will die.  And therefore, all men will die.  And though He loves us, He cannot deny Himself.  He has too great of character...perfect character...He will not "change the rules," so that we might live.  We cannot offer any goodness or action such that He says, "I love this one too much to let him burn eternally in Hell.  I will let Him live."  No, God's desire for us to live does not give rise to Him compromising!  He would cease to be God if He could be compromised.  No, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8).

How then will we be reconciled to a perfect God?  How will we who are dying ever hope to live more than our short 100 years, if we are so lucky to live even that long?  If we are born into sin, what chance do we have, and how is it fair that God would allow us to be created and born into sin such that we have no chance of avoiding Hell?  God would certainly cease to be good, infallible, and sovereign if the truth was anything short of this: Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8, 1 Pet 1:20, Matt 25:34).  Let's look at this closer.

First of all, God created us knowing our ability to sin.  Not the unavoidable affinity to sin...no, just the possibility and our ability to choose.  Jesus Himself knew what was in man and did not entrust Himself to them (John 2:24).  In the same way, God has never, from the foundation of the world, entrusted His perfect care for the human race to man alone.  No, He is too good, too sovereign, too infallible.  Instead, reconciliation was conceived from the very beginning.  Let's examine free-will, God's foresight, and the means of reconciliation to Him.

Free-will.  This is the capacity to love.  Think about it: can you force someone to love you?  You can force another person to do many of the outward showings of "loving" behaviors in its various forms, but you have no ability to force a person to love from their heart.  This is by design.  Love, it turns out, requires a voluntary choosing of another.  And with any voluntary choice, there are two possibilities: the choosing of someone or something, or the rejection of that same someone or something.  This is free-will.  This is the gift of God to the human race to have the capacity to love!  Anything short of this and we become robots; and we ourselves, as well as God Himself, are deprived of the richness of love, as characterized by freely choosing Him.  And so any question of God's goodness in that He has "allowed" sin (inherently also death and decay, and even Hell that comes with it) to persist is easily answered in the beautiful gift of love made possible by having the choice.  The real question then isn't of God's goodness--the question is of our obedience or rebellion.

However, since God is perfect in foresight and sovereignty, he would have known that all men would sin--all men would choose sin and not Him, and therefore all men would inherit death, both physical and eternal.  "What a flawed system!" you might say.  And you would be correct if not for this truth: God prepared a way for atonement--a way to be reconciled to Him even after experiencing sin and the curse of decay.  This is His Son Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.  This is critical because we might otherwise think God had a moment like this: "Oh no, they are all sinning.  Oh no, through Adam all men have inherited sin and death.  What have I done?  How can I save this?  How can I rectify this?  Oh, I know...I've got it, I'll send my Son to die."  Nonsense. This is not what God did, as it would fall well short of His uncompromising character and power.  Instead, He, from the foundation of the world, made provision for reconciliation through Christ.  Let's examine that at last.

We have established that God is perfect.  Furthermore, He cannot be compromised and is unchanging.  He can accept nothing into His Kingdom except perfection (absolutely zero sin).  The problem arises that all men have sin, and are even born into sin.  This is sin that resides in our flesh, inherited as we are born, as well as willing sin committed as we ourselves have not chosen to love Him by obeying Him (John 14:15, 21, 23-24).  And so every single natural man being born to man is condemned to death.  Therefore, there is a naturally irreconcilable rift, for you can show me no man that has ceased to die, not even Jesus Christ Himself.  This is critical that even the perfect God-Man, the only God-Man, Jesus Christ had to die; though not a natural death of decay in sin--He Himself being perfect and without sin--but rather at the hands of sinful men, willingly taking on death, i.e. voluntarily taking on the sin of man with such sweeping fullness that He being without the curse of death from sin would die, death being the fruit of sin.

Putting it all together, the paradoxical sacrifice of a perfect God-Man is the only Hope of rectifying the chasm between God eternally perfect and man eternally sinful.  There must be a go between--someone or something with a foot on each side, something itself as incorruptible and perfect as the side of God, yet something as perfectly identified with the flesh of Man such that they could exist together and thereby provide a bridge across this great eternal chasm.  In this we see that as Christ's body was crucified, the punishment of death, the inherited death of the flesh was fully upheld and satisfied.  Now, this is satisified in every individual who dies: the body has perished in sin, and the soul is cast eternally into godless Hell for he cannot be reconciled with God.  That is, until through Jesus, something different happened.  In His death, He was still perfect...being perfect, He was the first to ever be reconciled to God after death of His own accord.  Suddenly the gap between God and man has a link, a bridge, a tie-line.  And as Jesus was again raised to life, He secured this passage, this link, this bridge to God--for in His resurrection to life, He did what no natural man could do--He demonstrated the power for perfect God to be greater than the sin of human decay that leads to Hell.  In this, He now remains at the right hand of the throne of God and through Him all can now pass from death to eternal life.

But that's just it--through Him alone.  Without choosing Jesus Christ as Lord, it is as if He never came for that individual...there is no reconciliation, there is no bridge to perfect God--we still have the free-will to choose or reject Him.  But with Jesus--the way, the truth, the life (John 14:6)--we have every fellowship with God the Father and are made perfect in Christ alone, being welcomed into His Kingdom forever.

Questions to consider:
When will you die?
Why will you die?
What will you say to God when you die?
Are you 100% sure that God will accept you?

In Jesus Christ my savior, I can say the previously unthinkable: Yes, I am 100% sure that God will accept me when I die, and I will live eternally with the King.  All the glory to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit who preserves us through the final day of judgment.  Amen.

Obeying His Call: The Fullness of the Life of Christ

Matt 10:16-32 – “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” 

“The power which men enjoy for a brief space on earth is not without the cognizance and the will of God. If we fall into the hands of men, and meet suffering and death from their violence, we are none the less certain that everything comes from God. The same God who sees no sparrow fall to the ground without his knowledge and will, allows nothing to happen, except it be good and profitable for his children and the cause for which they stand. We are in God’s hands. Therefore, “Fear not.”” – Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship,” Ch 25, “The Decision.” (commenting on Matt 10) 


If you are a child of God’s, kept in the Spirit of Christ, you come to no longer fear making wrong steps along your path.  Instead, your only fear becomes the fear of the Lord in denying Christ. Your path is simple: proclaim the life of Christ everywhere you go…that is, the life of Christ Himself, the life of Christ in you, and the life in Christ available for all men who repent and call on Him for salvation. The “everywhere you go,” is less important than proclaiming Him wherever you happen to go. Some go here, some go there, and God will direct. We often get all worked up about which direction to go, taking long periods of time and expending tremendous mental and emotional energy, such that we might walk rightly with God in obedience in the physical places we go and things we do on earth…meanwhile, we give no thought to the fact that wherever we chose or felt led to go, we did not proclaim Christ. The disobedience is in failing to proclaim Christ. What if we spent as much mental energy and dedication to obedience of our Lord simply on proclaiming Him everywhere we went, spending less on where God might want us to go and be? Only then would we have apportioned our seeking of His will and our obedience properly to what matters most. It is as if we are an athlete on the basketball court, trying to decide whether to go right or left…there is likely a best choice, but it is unclear…if we spend our time and energy (there is precious little time and energy on the field of play and in the span of our lives!) determining which way to go, and even choosing well, but we fail to even shoot the ball, have we done well? Certainly not. Too often, we design plays, we seek to be the wisest in our choice of plays and execution of the plays, and then we never even engage in the whole purpose of the play…in basketball, the purpose was to score a bucket, and with the Lord it was to first draw near to Him and second proclaim the life of Christ WHEREVER we go. It is time for us as individual believers to alter our focus in seeking the Lord, looking less for direction for our specific lives (afterall, that is easily selfish in nature), and more to simply be obedient to the call of our Lord WHEREVER we might end up going. Meanwhile, a single sparrow does not fall to the ground without both His knowing and willing, and even the hairs on our head are numbered by our Lord. That’s right, every morning God takes an inventory on even the number of hairs on your head. How much more will He be absolutely present and sovereign in decisions that will alter our lives?! The liberating truth is that we cannot misstep for long if we will obediently proclaim the life of Christ wherever we go, for in proclaiming Christ, what was once a misstep becomes the work of the Kingdom; and living by obedience produced by faith, our hearts will be continually united in Christ. This sounds so simple and easy because it is part of the source of Jesus proclamation that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). Conversely, as simple and easy as the yoke of Christ is, disobedience to the life of Christ is its proportional opposite, being utterly confounding and impossibly difficult. 


I speak somewhat boldly about this because I have been the self-centered, path-focused believer that I described above. And I am convicted that if I spent half as much fervency in prayer and intentional living to simply obey the Lord WHEREVER I go, proclaiming the life of Christ (that is, equally proclaiming verbally and in living as Christ in both the mundane and exceptional things), my struggle of obedience would not only be more victorious, but I would experience the truth that my Savior’s “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” 


When we have been confronted with this liberating truth, the crux of the matter becomes simply obedience to the life of Christ. If we know that when we walk in obedience to the life of Christ WHEREVER we go, we are aligned with Him, whichever path we might have taken originally, then we must simply understand and obey the life of Christ. Therefore, we must spend more time exploring what the life of Christ means in you and me. 


As a sinner, obedience to the life of Christ is first repentance. If we do 100 works of kindness and self-sacrifice daily, ministering to the hungry, needy, and defenseless, but we have not confessed our sin to the Lord, we are not walking in the life of Christ. After confessing our sin, obedience to the life of Christ is in asking Him to replace that sinful nature with Himself. His reply to our pure cry for salvation is that we would “take up our cross daily and follow [Him]” (Luke 9:23). This means that the next step in living the life of Christ is in utterly crucifying my old self, my old life, my entire identity. If any portion of my identity prior to Christ lives on, I have yet to experience the fullness of the life of Christ in me, no matter how noble or moral that old identity may seem. After crucifying our old identities and the sin we were slaves to, obedience to the life of Christ is then surrender to the Spirit of Christ to reign in us. This surrender can only accompany and follow repentance and the crucifying of the old self, or we would still be holding on, if only slightly, to the old self, which is mutually exclusive to surrender. Finally, when we have surrendered and beckoned our Lord’s Spirit to have total dominion over us—our minds, hearts, souls, and lives—obedience to the life of Christ is made manifest in our actions, as we both proclaim verbally the life of Christ wherever we go, and we walk in the Spirit of Christ, abundantly loving in action whomever we come across. We do this as an outpour of the life of Christ within us—it is Christ Himself who is living in action, for “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). In awe of His grace to give us life for certain death, we then live a life bestowing grace to all who will receive it in Christ. In all of this, there was no mention of how to serve, what action to take, on whom to bestow grace, or where we would live the life of Christ. That is because the when and where are not central—the life of Christ is central and everything else is periphery. And yet, our sovereign God who counts every hair on our heads every morning, is faithful to allow and will only what is profitable for His saints and His Kingdom, down to the minute detail. With that understanding, we can trust Him to guide us and not fear bad decisions of where we might minister, work, play, or live…but instead spend our days and nights praising our gracious Lord and living the life of Christ wherever we might walk. 


Challenge: Tomorrow, when you wake up in the morning, take a moment to pray and consider what obedience to the life of Christ in you means. Consider not where you will go, but instead consider that wherever you end up going, you will obediently live out the life of Christ to every single individual you encounter, as well as alone before God. This becomes a worshipful life lived in spirit, action, and truth. A life of humility and diminished self-thought. A life of surrender and without fear of any earthly thing. This becomes a life of supreme joy and purpose, a life of purified love and kindness, where grace abounds, both given and received. Grace received by you from God, given by you to your fellow man. You may be ridiculed and defamed, you may be physically beaten or even killed, all the while you will be able to say “it is well with my soul” for your soul rests in the grace, promise, and eternal certainty of the life of Christ. You may be highly esteemed and praised, you may be successful and world-changing, all the while you will stand in humility saying “I must decrease, He must increase” (John 3:30) for your identity rests in the life of Christ alone. I pray that you and I will walk in the life of Christ so simply, so powerfully, in such liberty this very day. Amen.

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.

Have You Ever Made a Mistake?

Tonight, I opened my Bible and found myself reading about Daniel and the lion's den in Daniel chapter 6. For the first time, it struck me from the king's perspective: One who made a terrible mistake that was about to cost the life of someone he loved and valued. Have you ever been there? Maybe it hasn't cost someone's life or maybe it has, but I'm sure you and I have both made major mistakes that we only recognized after we made them. What is our response in that situation, what is God's response, and what does that say about our Father in Heaven?

Daniel 6:13-16a - "So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions...

The king had been rashly talked into making a decree that no god could be worshiped or prayed to, but only he could be worshiped. This was a terribly prideful mistake. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov 16:18). I know this proverb all too well, not just from memorization, but from living it. Be careful of any decision or portion of a decision that allows pride inside! It will hurt you and quite possibly those you love in the end.

The gist of this portion of the passage is that the king had made a mistake, though he didn't know it yet. When it was revealed that the death of his beloved subordinate Daniel would be the consequence of his mistake, he was deeply moved and sought to reverse it and save him. How much was he troubled by this and how much did he love Daniel? It says in verse 18, "Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him." He didn't sleep all night, sought no comfort, and didn't even eat. However, as was the law in that empire, not even the king could change a law that he or any other king had written into law. This might sound a bit rigid, as it allows for no amendment policy; however, this was central to the Mede and Persian empire and their way of life.

Now for the most interesting part. The king was fully aware of his blunder and he felt powerless to do anything. What a sinking feeling in the soul when we realize our error just in time to see the consequences but have no power to avoid them! What deep sorrow when our mistakes, whether prideful or otherwise, begin to hurt deeply our loved ones. What utter hopelessness we feel when we see the train wreck that we have caused proceeding and cannot stop it! We cry out in anguish as this king did, but to what avail?

The most important part of this section is found in the second part of v. 16:

"...But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”

The cry to our Lord. As we read on, Daniel was saved by God sending an angel to "shut the lions' mouths." Even when all hope is lost, there is hope in our God. And if it so pleased our Lord, Daniel would not have been spared and would have served our sovereign God's purpose in his death. But God's purpose was contrary to the foolishness of this prideful king. God's purpose was not finished in Daniel, or in the king for that matter, and through their faith and the power of our sovereign God, Daniel was saved.

The next day the king hastened to the lion's den to see what had become of Daniel. When Daniel was found alive, he was pulled out of the den and prospered even more greatly in the kingdom for God's glory. Additionally, the king then tossed the men who had devised the entire plan, which was set specifically to trap Daniel, into the lion's den where they met their death. And finally, this prideful king was gloriously humbled, proclaiming throughout the kingdom that the God of Israel is the one true God (v. 26-27). Even the king fulfilled God's purpose through the Lord's glorious work to turn what was meant for evil into good.

Have you been tossed into the lion's den and there is no way out? Pray to the Lord to deliver you and strengthen you through the experience, just as Daniel was. The lion's den could be a great work of God after all. Have you stumbled and brought forth a terrible result on yourself or a loved one? Call on the Lord to rescue. And if in His favor and grace, He spares you, do away with all unrighteousness that served to set the trap.

The main lesson for me in the perspective of the king is that God is faithful when we are not, and even my own foolishness and pride will not stop a sovereign God. It is never too late to pray and seek His face, even as we stare down the mouth of a lion. Furthermore, let us "clean house" and remove all unrighteous thought and behavior once we recognize our folly. Finally, let us glorify God for his mercy and grace, and seek to follow Him more closely in every decision going forward. May the God of all grace pour abundantly His grace upon you and your loved ones, and may it please Him and glorify Him as we repent, call on His name, and live in His deliverance. Amen.