That Your Faith Might Not Rest On Human Wisdom

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Cor 2:4-5

We love persuasive speakers or orators. Don’t we all love to listen to the people who have their way with words, who can weave threads by the spoken word and make so much sense. Some of those with oratorial powers are motivational speakers. We may listen to them, may have our favourites from among the pool of the rich speakers out there today; speakers who have what it takes to cause people to make changes that can produce better results in life. Most of them possess human wisdom, which produces results. But mere persuasive words of human wisdom cannot go far enough.

Within the kingdom of God, we are not short of men who have their way with words and indeed the word of God. Now, while oratorial power is great and desirable for public speakers, it is important to reflect on the preaching of the gospel especially today. What greater example could we look at than the apostle Paul. Though not blessed with oratorial prowess, we see that his message was not about enticing words but more about hope and trust in Christ, more about having faith in God, more about inviting people to a relationship with God through Christ.

When he, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he made it clear that he did not use enticing or persuasive words to convince them to believe in God. He made it clear that it was not because of his oratorial prowess, although he wasn’t as great a speaker as he was a writer (2 Cor 11:6). He mentioned that he was not called to oratory or eloquence. He admitted that the reason for this was so that the cross of Christ may not be emptied of its power (1 Cor 1:17). We can deduce that this was deliberate, remember when he said that God’s power is made perfect in weakness? Certainly, this must have been one of the aspects where God’s power overshadowed him. His work of the ministry saw him raise Eutychus from the dead, cast out demons, shake off a viper and lived when onlookers expected him to die. The power of God was indeed highlighted and brought to the fore in these and many other circumstances, his writings has encouraged many believers over centuries now.

So, the gospel as shown by Paul is meant to showcase the power of God and faith is built on hearing the great things that God has done in the past and is promising to those who believe. Chief among these promises is the promise of eternal life. Our faith is meant to be anchored on the power of God not human wisdom. The power that is working in us daily to help us to conform to the image of the invisible son of God and rid ourselves of self-will and/or iniquity. The power that can convince others to come to Christ through the spreading of the word. The power that helps our weaknesses.

We can have faith in God’s power to deliver on his promises. In every aspect of our earthly life, we can have faith in the one true God. The one through whom we live, move, and have our being. The one who has called us his people even when we were not a people of his. So, this is where our faith should rest and not on human wisdom.

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION

The knowledge of God is truly essential to all humans. For the Christian, we can say that we know him. Although our level of knowledge is different from person to person. The Apostle Paul was one who knew God and Christ at a very personal level. The Lord appeared to him and spoke to him upon his conversion; he also had many experiences of divine guidance. So, he is an example of one who KNEW the Lord. But beyond this, Paul knew much more. He knew that knowledge puffs up (1 Cor 8:1-2). One can become proud because of the knowledge that he or she has been able to acquire, including the knowledge of the Lord and his ways. In Paul’s example his heart and desire could be seen through the things he wrote down. He sought something beyond knowledge, and that is the resurrection power and sharing in the fellowship of the suffering that brought about the resurrection.

Before we talk about the resurrection power, we must mention the willingness of Christ to lay down his life. You see, there could never be a resurrection power without the willingness to go to the cruel cross. The power comes from the willingness. Little wonder Paul also mentioned this in his writing to the Philippians 2:8-11, about how Christ humbled himself to death and from thence came exaltation, where he has been given a name that is above every other name that at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee must bow. Christians, we are called to do the same, humble ourselves in similar fashion. Ours might not be to the point of death although some Christians find themselves in those positions even today, but it is important to yield our will to him.

So, knowing God and Christ should not be all that we seek to achieve, for it is but a start of a glorious journey with the Lord. Beyond knowledge lies the understanding of the resurrection power and having fellowship with the sufferings of Christ. In Paul’s case he wanted to be conformed to His death. What does it mean to be conformed to the death of Christ? Well, this is seen in total surrender; Christ had the power to say no to death, yet he chose to die because of us. Conforming to his death is to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, it is to surrender ourselves fully to the will of God. It is to live a transformed live. It is to count all things but loss for the sake of the knowledge of Christ – Phil 3:8-9. Something must give, in order to gain this knowledge. We only lose other things to gain this knowledge and gain with it a glory and amazing promises that outweighs the losses. Also, we gain, true transformation into the image of God.

A transformed life is a testament of the resurrection power. It is through transformation that the resurrection power is seen in action. It is that power that transforms us and gives us the grace to obey. Because we cannot obey God on our own. We can but allow the spirit of God in us to so work in our hearts to yield to God every day and by so doing witness the amazing power of resurrection. We can only pray that God helps us to seek him beyond peripheral knowledge but to walk daily in a manner that expresses the resurrection power and a fellowship of His suffering.

Lo, God Is Here!

Lo, God is here! let us adore,
And own how dreadful is this place; 
Let all within us feel His power, 
And silent bow before His face; 
Who know His power, His grace who prove, 
Serve Him with awe, with reverence love. 

Lo, God is here! Him day and night United choirs of angels sing; 
To Him, enthroned above all height, 
Heaven’s host their noblest praises bring; 
Disdain not, Lord, our meaner song, 
Who praise Thee with a stammering tongue. 

Being of beings, may our praise 
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill; 
Still may we stand before Thy face,
Still hear and do Thy sovereign will; 
To Thee may all our thoughts arise, Ceaseless, accepted sacrifice. 

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN, 1897-1789

The Immeasurably Great Power of God is Within Us

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength  he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ~Eph 1:18-21

God’s power is incomparable or immeasurable as alluded to by Paul. We cannot really measure how powerful our God is. But the ability to compare or measure is of such great importance in human endeavour that it makes it possible to visualise and instantly compare things. One of the greatest “inventions” of man is the ability to measure time by observing how the earth rotates about its axis and revolves around the sun, which of course results in the concepts of time measurement, so we notice that when the earth rotates and gets back to its original position, we are able to divide that period into 24 hours. This ability helps us live better lives – we know when to cultivate, when to harvest, when is the best time to work, etc. In essence, God’s wonderful creations that we see in nature helps us measure and number our days.

Also, the ability to compare a certain length to a certain standard (kilometre in today’s SI unit system) is also a concept that began with the use of physical creation – the cubit, the handspan, the feet, etc. Measuring things or comparing things around us is done to help us gauge which is bigger, stronger, heavier, more powerful and to determine which item or element will be better suited for any given situation.

To measure one thing against another, there must be of the same physical or chemical composition, you cannot measure weight and compare it to length. And there must be a standard to compare it against.

Now let’s take the concept of power which is defined as the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. And Mechanical power is the rate at which work is done. There is a rate at which a man can do a particular job – and that ability can be influenced by a number of factors which include, skill and experience. Mechanical machines like cars have their own rate of work which can be comparable against each make using the standard we call horsepower. But with God, we tend not to have a standard to compare his power to.

First Chronicles 29:11 says: Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

This alludes to the fact that power and greatness originate fromGod and Paul also did mention that that great and immeasurable power was seen in the raising of Christ from the dead. No matter what we may achieve as mortals on earth, NO ONE can raise another from the dead using the physical medical practices. Death means that one transcends the earth, and on to the spiritual. Therefore, physical practices cannot reverse death, only the power of God can. And the power of God cannot be measured or compared with any other power, for there is no frame of reference for which we can compare. You can only compare or measure something when you have a frame of reference, (something you have seen or witnessed) to be able to compare to some other phenomena. But NO ONE has seen God hence it will be impossible to be able to measure the amount of his power and ability, although we can see his invisible power through what he has made – Eph 1:20.

Paul did mention that God is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20) and this is according to the POWER THAT WORKS IN US.

Oh, wait…..that power is at work within us? Yes, it is! In Romans 8:11, he said that if the power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us; again alluding to that power dwelling within man. And Jesus also did tell his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they receive power through the holy spirit – Acts 1:8, showing that that power is experienced or received through the holy spirit. Paul did say again in Romans 1:16 that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the power of God is immeasurable, it is at work within us through the holy spirit. The only thing that comes close to showing us the measure of the power of God is that it is the resurrection power. It is that same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It is the power that calls things that be not as though they were. It is that same power that said, let there be light and there was light. That power can do immeasurably more than we can imagine. And we need to know that upon baptism we receive that power of the holy spirit (Acts 2:38). And interestingly it is a gift. Therefore, the immeasurably great power of God has been handed down as a gift to those who have believed.

So as we begin to the new year, we ought to remember that God’s power is within us and what that can do is immeasurable and above what we can ask or imagine. It is through this power that we can create wealth (Deut 8:18), live amazing lives, do all throughs through Christ (Phil 4:13) because that his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Pet 1:3)

Soar on! Happy New Year!

Identity Crisis (2)

The concept of identity pressuposes uniqueness as much as it alludes to ownership. There cannot be an identity without ownership. This is because identity is relative. For example, the content and format of my mobile phone gets its identity from me but prior to my ownership of the phone, its identity was primarily tied to the manufacturer. And even when I bought it and it became my own, its identity is still tied to the manufacturer. It is my mobile phone and the brand also identifies the manufacturer or maker. A case of dual-identity perhaps or having different identity states. Which also shows that identity is dynamic; there can be a transition from one identity state to another and that usually would follow a process.

We can identify someone, an electronic device, a concept or natural phenomena by its physical or chemical or morphological properties or qualities and perhaps other qualities or attributes based on their original design entity or composition. Inherent here is also that of a function, entities have functions which can become a form or state of identity. Which also means that identity can be tied to function and so we can identify things by their function. An automobile can function as a taxi meant for commercial purposes and can be thus identified. The automobile’s use-case or function here gives it is identity.

When it comes to humans, our identities are first tied to the God who made us in his image. And then to the fallen state of disobedience and alienation from God. But then it can also be tied to the son whose blood was used to redeem us while we were yet sinners.

In the state of alienation, people’s identities are tied to their possession (like the prodigal son), some are tied to their position (King Saul, Esau). But the Christian’s real identity is tied to the cross. This is so because the saved one resumes a new identity upon baptism. Before becoming a Christian, one’s identity is in one’s self, prestige, family, possession or position in society. But when redeemed, one is meant to become Christlike in act and conduct.

The changes in one who has been redeemed to assume a new identity state is tremendous. As many as receive Christ have put on Christ and baptism is a washing of the self from former things to put on the new man. A new man whose identity is now defined by the life of Christ. Therefore, the Christian should be easy to identify. Easy to identify because the new life is meant to be remarkably different from the old, it is meant to demonstrate the power of Christ, it is meant to radiate the light that is in Christ. The new life is seen in new thoughts and actions which are determined by the book. For the book (bible) becomes the ultimate guide. The new identity gained as a result of embracing the new life is meant to bring to life the message of the book. So, the book finds its expression in the new identity. To put it as the apostle Paul did, having this new identity means becoming a book/epistle that is read by all men.

Taking the book and living by its precepts and promises bring life to the one who does so. It also changes the atmosphere around as it affects other people in society. It becomes a source of conviction for wrongdoing. When someone looks at the life of a Christian, one should be able to find the truth, commitment, discipline, patience, and faith that is different from any other.

The power of the Christian to affect his society is well exemplified in the story of the early Church as seen in the book of Acts. They literally “turned their world upside down”. And this generation calls for such identity to become the dominant identity that is hard to dispute against. When the life of Christians convince and convict the unbeliever unto repentance. When the absence of Christians in any place is felt. When the presence of Christians inject life, truth, trust in a place and makes for an aura of peace and serenity, then the identity is exemplified.

However, identity crisis sets in when the presence or absence of a Christian in a gathering, friendship circle, workplace, educational group is not noticed. When the Christian thinks and reasons along the lines of the current society or world around, then there is a serious identity crises. When a Christian begins to hold opinions that are against the book; then his real identity has been lost or is in a state of crisis.

Some signs of identity crisis?

When the world agrees with everything the Christian says or does, it is a very critical sign that there is an identity crisis. Our master said that the world hated him because he was not of the world because if he was, then the world would have loved him; because the world loves its own. Throughout the history of Christianity, persecution has almost always defined the faith. It seems like an identity of its own. The world is antagonistic when it comes to the message and life of the cross. Therefore, if our worldview is not different from that which is being held by the society, it is important we watch out.

When there is serious effort to find reasons from the book to back certain courses of actions or lifestyle, then there is need to think again, as this could be a sign of identity crisis. In as much as they may be areas where people differ in the interpretation of the book, a lot of times there are very clear messages from the book to guide and if, in such matters people still struggle, it could certainly be a case of an identity crisis.

Having doubts about the message of the cross could be a sign of an identity crisis. Also, loving the ways of the world more than that of the cross indicates a case of identity crises.

How then can one regain a lost identity? …………To be explored in the next post………

The Mystery and Power of Shame

Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion typically associated with a negative evaluation of the self, withdrawal motivations, and feelings of distress, exposure, mistrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness.

To be ashamed, a self-evaluation or perhaps a situational evaluation takes place subconsciously. And Psychologists say that there are five factors that make people feel ashamed; (1) self-awareness, (2) self-blame, (3) self-esteem (4) personal trait and (5) standards. All the factors relate to how the individual sees himself. The fifth factor, standards is especially interesting, as it relates to a person’s belief about acceptable standard concerning actions, thoughts, and feelings. It will be particularly useful to look at this fifth factor. Standards particularly concern how we perceive the norms of our society and culture. And what is acceptable in one culture greatly differs from another and there lies the conundrum especially in a global society. As an example, what may be considered acceptable in one culture may greatly be frowned at in others. But then, if someone’s action is not acceptable in a culture, then there is a trigger for shame. For example, at funerals, we know that laughing, expressing joy, and feeling glad that the person is dead are not the norm. So, if one expresses joy, such person will witness the disapproval of others around.

The emotion of shame can be a powerful tool though. Societies have used it as ammunition. Ammunition which helps to correct wrongful acts. So, the popular phrase, name, and shame seek to show the undesirable nature of any deviant behaviour or action. Feeling ashamed could also lead to remorse which often leads to repentance and correction.

Little wonder then that the saviour of the world had to go through a shameful death. A type of death that was meant to make a statement, to shape society; to punish wrongdoing hence discouraging it. Death on the cross was considered a curse but nevertheless, the Lord chose to die such death. He had to be humiliated not because it was a fun thing to bear but because of the mystery and power therein. It is ironic and indeed mysterious how his death brought about salvation.

The apostle Paul said,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:…” Rom 1:16

Paul had every reason to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ especially given its nature and how it came about. The gospel is the good news about the story of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Good news coming from shame? Given the nature of the death, it might be a shameful thing for anyone to think that anything good can come from someone who died with criminals. Paul had reasons to be ashamed of the gospel because he also vehemently refuted it to the point of killing those who preached it. He had a reason to be ashamed because it does not make sense from the natural point of view. That someone, Jesus Christ, if he was the messiah and had the power to rise from the death could have chosen not to be killed in the first place. Why get yourself killed in the most shameful execution when you had the power to stop it from happening? It does not make sense. Why give yourself over to be maimed and shamed when you could have chosen a more noble approach? Why should someone believe such a story?

You see, the story does not seem logical at all. Therefore, it is hard to explain to a neutral mind how such a thing can be. It seems like foolishness; even the bible admits that God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise. The gospel message is foolishness to those who are wise in the world. God chose a shameful act, through which his mystery and power can be made manifest. In doing so, you might say he made the lives of his followers difficult. You might think it makes Christianity hard to sell. And yes, while it might not make sense in the natural, it makes perfect sense to the ones who are saved. Because, the power to raise someone from the dead after three days is much greater than that of saving him from the dead on the cross. Therefore, it had to take the shameful route in order to confound the wise. And the death was a sacrifice for the sins of the world, sins yet to be committed. And it served as a ticket unto salvation.

The shameful death makes perfect sense. It shattered the standards of society, standards that demand perfection. It showed mercy, mercy in place of judgement. It showed grace to cover all sins. It showed weakness that became power; it turned sickness into healing, pain into relief, mourning into laughter. The mystery of the shame on the cross is that of ironies. Ironies that paints everlasting pictures of who God is and what he would do for love. The mystery of the shameful cross is revealed in the power of resurrection to which every believer can have hope. Hope for mercy and eternal life, strength and of course a share of that same power (Rom 8:11).

A Form of Godliness that Denies its Power (1)

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. – 2 Tim 3:1-5

 

Godliness has power. But some are in denial of its power. Being in denial of the power of godliness is an indicator of the form of godliness in question. There are different forms of godliness surely and we can broadly see two from what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy – (1) a form of godliness that recognizes its power and (2) a form of godliness that denies its power.

The denial of the power of godliness is linked to the last days and certainly, some character traits of people who do so are listed in the apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy. As easy as it sounds to sometimes think that we are not doing so, that people who deny the existence of God or perhaps serial sinners are the culprits; everyone in some form may be a culprit. So, could I be denying the power of godliness in certain areas of my life? Perhaps, to be able to answer that question sufficiently it is better to understand what godliness is and how powerful it is or can be.

Godliness refers to the quality of being devoutly religious; that is, piety. Put in another word, we can say it means conforming to the laws and wishes of God; or being devout.

So then, piety is essentially the conformance to the laws and wishes of God; it is dedication or devotion to God. It is obedience to God. But it seems quite ludicrous to think that one could ever go wrong with devotion to God. Yet the apostle Paul referred to a category of people of the last days who will do all of these but will go ahead and deny the power that comes from godliness. Because devotion and conformance to the will of God presuppose the fear of God and the fear of God is said to be the beginning of wisdom. Then there seems to be a conundrum here.

This concept seems more like someone having a smartphone and using it for calls and texts but denying that it can ever be used to do any other thing. It means, that one can use the smartphone well and achieve some functions but yet does not believe or perhaps vehemently denies its ability to do something else like browse the internet, take photographs and record videos.

In like manner, a form of godliness that denies its power does not necessarily deny that Jesus is the risen saviour who died as a sacrificial lamb for the redemption of the world. There is that believe, there is also a sense of dedication to God, in obedience to his commands, there is piety and strong devotion to God.

So then, how can we deny the power of godliness if we do all these? Well, one way of denying the power of godliness is in a lack of trust in God to do ALL he says he will do. Selective obedience and believe you could say. It can be seen in the ‘obedience of convenience’. Have I believed God and tried to obey him when it is convenient for me to do so? Certainly, I have found myself in that position sometimes. I have however found that obedience in those moments manifests the power of God.

Also, there are times when we fail to obey or believe God because it is not convenient, it does not look good and is not a position anyone wishes to stay in.

Usually, believing or obeying at such moments is difficult. Well, it is, sometimes it seems impossible. We may lose something if we do, or perhaps it may cost our lives if we obey.

The problem here is that it is like saying that the God who promised to be with you in trouble and to rescue you has not got enough power to do so. Or perhaps because you erred, you then use that to assume that God may not be happy with you (even when you have asked him to forgive) and will allow you to fail. Have you found yourself in that position before? I must confess, I have, so do many people I believe; but it is not a place anyone wants to be in because it all boils down to the thought that God has not forgiven and perhaps even more so, the thought that God forgives but the consequences remains to be faced. Yes, God does chasten his beloved to correct them, though they may suffer for a little while, he restores them (1 Pet 5:10). If we realise that God is always looking out for us even if we err and then return to him, he forgives and heals, restores, rejuvenates, rebuilds and makes whole again (Acts 3:19-21, James 5:15, Gal 6:1, 1 Pet 5:10). In fact, he is like a GPS that recalculates the best possible route every time we miss the wrong turn.

Now, that sounds like the power that comes from a form of godliness that is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

 

How else do we deny the power of godliness, the next post will look at other ways.