The Study of the Scriptures - Session 12: Wednesday, 22 July 2015 at Faith Baptist Fellowship Church Lake Ariel, PA

The Study of the Scriptures

Session 12, Wednesday 22 July 2015

Faith Baptist Fellowship Church

Lake Ariel, PA

http://faithbaptistfellowshipch.com/

Review Sessions 1-11[1]

The Means God Uses: The Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the Church

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)

1. Placing trust in God: The ability of God and the sufficiency of the Scriptures — Coming to the Scriptures with Faith

2. Putting man in his place: The inability of fallen man and an understanding of the responses of the creature to the revelation of God — Coming to the Scriptures with Humility

3. The Unity of the Word of God: the First, Progressive, and Full Mention Principles of Interpretation — Coming to the Scriptures with Hope

4. The Diversity of the Contexts within the Canon of Scripture — Coming to the Scriptures with Respect

5. The Humiliation of Incarnational Hermeneutics — Coming to the Scriptures with Caution

6. Putting the Scriptures in their Place: The Historical Perspective in Bible Study — Coming to the Scriptures with Perspective

7. Familiarity Breeds Contempt — Coming to the Scriptures without Presumption

8. Texts and Translations — Coming to the Scriptures with Thanksgiving

9. Three Issues With Unfulfilled Prophecies — Coming to the Scriptures with Consistency

10. Lex Rex: or Slow Down, Simplify, and Separate — Coming to the Scriptures with Simplicity

11. Praying, Singing, and Trembling - Coming to the Scriptures with Worship

The Problem of the Parables

The definition of parable: What is a parable?

Common assumptions and misconceptions about parables — things to be aware of, and in some cases to be avoided

What is the longest parable?[2]

Immediate and larger context:

1) the introduction (vv. 1-2), and the 2 earlier “parables” in Luke 15 (vv. 3-7, 8-10),

2) the rest of the “Travel Narrative” of Luke (9:51-19:27),

3) the rest of the Gospel of Luke before and after the “Travel Narrative,”

3) the other parables in the Synoptic Gospels (esp. Mt. 13),

4) the rest of the New Testament, and,

5) the Old Testament.

Subject matters and doctrinal emphases to connect to in these other contexts:

repentance, the love of the Father, sonship, inheritance, adoption, etc.

Specific passages from the Old Testament with connections to the parable:

The two sons? Cp. Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, and esp. Jacob and Esau (Gen. 27:1-36:8).[3]

The inheritance of the older versus the younger son? Cp. Dt. 21:15:22:4; Jer. 31:18-20.

What about the cultural context? The cultural context of this part of the world in the 1st century A. D.

A definition of culture: What is culture?

 “Culture is part of history because it concerns the creative result of man’s actions. Culture involves the ways, methods, manners, tools, institutions, and literary productions of any people. These reveal how a people lived, what values they stressed, and why they did or did not prosper. Culture involves the totality  which emerges out of the elements that make up everyday life. The terms, “Egyptian Culture,” “Palestinian Culture,” “Greek Culture,” etc., are not abstractions. These terms denote the way of life of these people. Idolatry and sorcery as well as the forms of worship of the living God are all a part of a people and their culture.”

— A. Berkeley Mickelsen, Interpreting the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963), pg. 160.

“…cultural literacy, namely, the network of information that all competent readers possess. It is the background information, stored in their minds, that enables them to take up a newspaper and read it with an adequate level of comprehension, getting the point, grasping the implications, relating what they read to the unstated context which alone gives meaning to what they read.”

— E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), pg. 2.

Examples of cultural illiteracy:

“I’m mad about my flat!”

In the USA?

In the UK?

 “Consider the phrase fed up or the word mad. “In Egyptian English, a visitor might say, ‘Thank you. I cannot eat any more cookies. I am fed up.” Someone from the United States or United Kingdom would probably use another word, such as full.

A British person who says, “I’m mad about my flat!” is likely far happier about the apartment than an American who says the same phrase but means “I got stuck with this place.””

— Joan Huyser-Honig, “Kenneth E. Bailey on Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes” (7 MAY 2008), on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/kenneth-e-bailey-on-jesus-through-middle-eastern-eyes/ [accessed 22 JUL 2015].

“Look at the bottom of my shoe! I must have stepped on some chewing gum!”

Here?

In Iraq, or a Muslim nation?

“Royal Tulip Al Rasheed Hotel (sometimes spelled Al-Rashid) (Arabic,فندق الرشيد) is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, favored by journalists and media personnel due to its location within Baghdad's Green Zone.”

“It gained worldwide fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War when CNN conducted their newscasts from the hotel, propelling the network's senior war correspondent Peter Arnett to fame. Between the Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the building was the main housing facility for Western businessmen and diplomats, as well as foreign press.

A tile mosaic depicting U.S. President George H.W. Bush with a look of astonishment on his face was installed on the floor of the lobby after the Persian Gulf War. This was intended to force any visitors to walk over his face to enter the hotel (a serious insult in Arabculture)….After the invasion in 2003, the mosaic was smashed by U.S. soldiers, who left a portrait of Saddam Hussein behind.”

— Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Tulip_Al_Rasheed_Hotel [accessed 22 JUL 2015].

Benjamin J. Stein, “The Cheerful Ignorance of the Young in L.A.,” Washington Post, 3 OCT 1983, pg. A15; cited by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), pp. 6-7.

“Waltzing Matilda,” in E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), pg. 17.

In order to get the full impact of the Scriptures we must enter into another culture, and assimilate as much of it as possible. The more culturally literate we are with the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Roman Empire of the 1st century A.D. the better we will be able to understand the New Testament documents, and the more we will be able to appreciate their impact on their original recipients. The more culturally literate we are with the previous centuries back to the time of Moses, the greater will be our comprehension of what we encounter in the Old Testament.

Read Luke 15:1-32

¹¹ And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. ¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. ¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. ²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. ²⁵ Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. ²⁸ And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. ²⁹ And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: ³⁰ But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. ³¹ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. ³² It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

What are the three basic elements in this parable?

What are the similarities and differences between the accounts of the lost sheep, coin and son?

How many parables are here?

How would you title this parable?

Kenneth E. Bailey - Muslim emphasis on this parable

Cultural clues — the more we dig, the more we enter into it, the more we learn, the more amazing it is

If you were “a fly on the wall,” and were able to observe the expressions on the faces of Christ’s hearers that day what would you find inexplicable? Why would that be the case?

When they expressed shock, would you have? Why, or why not?

When they shook their heads in dismay and disbelief at what they were hearing, would you be reacting the same way, and for the same reasons? Why, or why not?

What if you heard some of the members of His audience muttering under their breath, or exclaiming out loud, “No! No way! That would never happen! No one would ever do that! Never!” Would you have joined in, and understood why they would respond in this manner?

Soli Deo Gloria,

John T. “Jack” Jeffery

Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel

Greentown, PA

22 JUL 2015

******************************************************************************

Postscript

…and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. (Acts 15:3)

This is to be contrasted to the response of the Judean false teachers in the First Christian Church of Antioch, and the Pharisees in the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem.  This is the hinge verse in this paragraph, and the mixed responses to this news highlights the element of internal dissension amongst believers over this issue.

Is there a connection in these historical events to the Parable of the Two Sons in Luke 15?  This is commonly referred to as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son”, but when the point of the parable is understood, along with how it is introduced, perhaps it is more accurately referred to as the “Parable of the Two Sons”.  Is there a connection in these historical events in Acts 15 to the meaning of the Parable of the Two Sons in Luke 15?  Are the chapter numbers merely coincidental, or is there a meaningful link between what Christ taught in Luke 15, and what the ascended Christ is doing through His Holy Spirit by His Apostles in Acts 15?

— The Occasion for the Jerusalem Council (The Parable of the Two Ethnicities?), Acts 15:1-5; Sermon preached 22 JUN 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA; on Wayside Gospel Chapel at http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/2014/06/pastors-sermon-notes-occasion-for.html [accessed 19 AUG 2015].Kenne

******************************************************************************

Bibliography

Augustine, Quaestiones Evangeliorum, II, 19 (slightly abridged); cited in C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom, rev. ed. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961), pp. 1-2; “Augustine's Commentary on the Good Samaritan,” on Sermons.Logos at https://sermons.logos.com/submissions/47795-Augustine-s-Commentary-on-the-Good-Samaritan#content=/submissions/47795 [accessed 21 JUL 2015].

Kenneth E. Bailey, The Cross and the Prodigal (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005).

Kenneth E. Bailey, Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15 (St. Louis: Concordia Press, 1992). 

Kenneth E. Bailey, Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story (Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003).

Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Gospel Studies Informed by Culture (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007).

Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant: A Literary Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976).

Kenneth E. Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes: More Lucan Parables, Their Culture and Style (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980). 

G. K. Beale, and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 341–343.

D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), pg. 12; also in D. A. Carson, “On Distorting the Love of God,” Bibliotheca Sacra 156:621 (Jan 1999), pp. 3-12.[4]

J. Duncan M. Derrett, Law in the New Testament (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1970), pp. 100-125, s.v. “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.”[5]

C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom, rev. ed. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961), pp. 91-93.

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1982, 1993, 2003, 2014), pp. 154-167.

Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2014), pp. 113-120.

Ada R. Habershon, The Study of the Parables, 6th ed. (London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.).

E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), pp. 2, 6-7, 17.

Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 2nd rev. ed. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954. 1963, 1972; from Die Gleichnisse Jesu, 8th ed., Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1970), pp. 128-136.

Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (New York: Dutton, 2008).

Timothy Keller, “The Fellowship of Grace Series” (related to his book The Prodigal God), on gospel in life at http://www.gospelinlife.com/sermons/the-fellowship-of-grace.html [accessed 27 JUL 2015]; seven sermons on Luke 15 preached from 28 SEP 2008 to 9 NOV 2008. See especially Keller’s final sermon, “The True Older Brother.”[6]

I. Howard Marshall and R. V. G. Tasker, “Parable,” in New Bible Dictionary, eds. D. R. W. Wood, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), pp. 867–869.

Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, series ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2011), pp. 265-277.

J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, 4 vols., Vol. 2: Luke 11-24 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, n.d.; 1990 reprint of 1856 original), pp. 180-195; s.v. Luke 15:11-32; on Grace Gems at http://gracegems.org/Ryle/l15.htm [accessed 21 JUL 2015].

G. H. Schodde, “Parable,” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915 ed., ed. J. Edwin Orr (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1999); on International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online at http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/P/parable.html [accessed 14 AUG 2015].

Deborah J. Shore, “The Infamous Good Samaritan” (28 JAN 2012), on Think Theology at

http://thinktheology.org/2012/01/28/the-infamous-good-samaritan/ [accessed 21 JUL 2015].

John W. Sider, Interpreting the Parables: A Hermeneutical Guide to Their Meaning (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995).

Klyne R. Snodgrass, “Parable,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, eds. Walter A. Elwell, and B. J. Beitzel (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988), pp. 1606-1614.

R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977, 2009), pp. 94-97.

Benjamin J. Stein, “The Cheerful Ignorance of the Young in L.A.,” Washington Post, 3 OCT 1983, pg. A15.

R. C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1910), 99. 392-428.

Warren W. Wiersbe, Meet Yourself in the Parables (Wheaton: Victor, 1983).

******************************************************************************

Appendix: Basic Bible Study Materials — A Suggested Bibliography (with links to Amazon)

This is the book that I recommend as collateral reading for the "Scripture Study Seminar":

Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2014); paperback (no Kindle available at this time) for $10.59 on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Mouth-God-Sinclair-B-Ferguson/dp/1848712421/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].

1. In addition to Sinclair Ferguson's work that I am recommending as collateral reading the following five recent works on the subject may be the most helpful:

J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Journey-into-Gods-Word-Understanding-ebook/dp/B000SEJRJI [accessed 14 JAN 2015].

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1982, 1993, 2003, 2014); 

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth-ebook/dp/B00GS084YA/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].

Peter Krol, Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible (Minneapolis: Cruciform Press, 2014);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowable-Word-Helping-Ordinary-People/dp/1936760894/ [accessed 10 NOV 2014].

Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991, 2006);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Hermeneutical-Spiral-Comprehensive-Introduction-Interpretation/dp/0830828265/ref=sr_1_sc_1 [accessed 10 NOV 2014].

R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977, 2009);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Scripture-R-C-Sproul/dp/083083723X [accessed 10 NOV 2014].

2. Here are five recommended older works whose value does not fade!

James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);

in public domain, available online or as a free downloadable digital file (PDF or ePub) on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=AOUOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 18 FEB 2012].

J. Edwin Hartill, Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1947);

available online or as a free PDF file download (60 mb) on Seminario LAMB at  http://seminariolamb.com/biblioteca/lib/lib-biblical%20analysis/Principles%20of%20Biblical%20Hermeneutics%20-%20J%20Edwin%20Hartill.pdf [accessed 9 MAR 2014];

print editions available on Amazon at 

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Biblical-Hermeneutics-Edwin-Hartill/dp/0310272556/

[accessed 18 JAN 2015].

Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Spiritual-Criticism-Arthur-Pierson/dp/B0045PPI6W/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].

Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study: A New Approach to Hermeneutics (Wilmore, KY: self-published, 1952; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980); 

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Methodical-Bible-Study-Robert-Traina/dp/0310246024 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].

Oletta Wald, The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study, rev. ed. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2002);

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/New-Joy-Discovery-Bible-Study/dp/080664429X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].  

Note: This newly revised edition is also available in Kindle.

Compiled by:

John T. “Jack” Jeffery

Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel

Greentown, PA

---

End Notes:

[1] The notes from the previous sessions have been posted to the Wayside Gospel Chapel blog at  http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20Study%20Seminar.

[2] “Lk xv.11-32, an elaborate, circumstantial, in fact the longest, parable….” J. Duncan M. Derrett, Law in the New Testament (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1970), pg. 100, s.v. “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” This chapter, pp. 100-125, was originally published as an article: J. Duncan M. Derrett, “Law in the New Testament: The Parable of the Prodigal Son,” New Testament Studies 14 (1967), pp. 56-74.

[3] On this see especially Kenneth E. Bailey, Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003). Bailey states, “In my personal study, a list of fifty-one points of comparison and contrast have gradually emerged.” Op. cit., pg 14. He credits a footnote in N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 2 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996), pg. 127, note 10, with alerting him to the possibilities in this connection. This was in connection with Gen. 33:4.

[4] Originally presented as The W. H. Griffith Thomas Lectures (FEB 1998), Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX.

[5] This chapter was originally published as an article: J. Duncan M. Derrett, “Law in the New Testament: The Parable of the Prodigal Son,” New Testament Studies 14 (1967), pp. 56-74.

[6] I am indebted to one of our members, Mary Ellen Bradley for bringing Keller’s book and sermon series on this subject to my attention. I was not aware of either prior to presenting this study, but believe that we are on the “same wavelength.” Keller also credited Kenneth E. Bailey's work. I have included several of them in the bibliography.

Pastor's Sermon Notes:Five Words You Must Understand (series), Part Twenty-three, “Peace I leave with you.” (John 14:27)

Sermon Series:

Five Words You Must Understand

1 Corinthians 14:19

Yet in the church I had rather speak

five words with my understanding,

that by my voice I might teach others also,

than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Part Twenty-three: John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you.”

Introduction:

On the old Daniels and Webster program on ROCK107 we often heard from one Walter Nepasky.  He would begin his commentary in his very recognizable “Coal Cracker” dialect with either, “I'm Walter Nepasky and today I wanna talk about tree tings.”, or “Hi. My name is Walter Nepasky. How ya doin’? Today I want to talk to you about tree tings.”

What if we had a modern Christian radio station —The Rock of Ages 316 — with a program that began, “Hi, I’m Paul of Tarsus, and today I want to talk about five words.”

The Apostle Paul wrote: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,

that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.[1]

Paul follows up his introduction on The Rock of Ages 316 with his personal example — an extreme preference framed as a mathematical proportion: 5 versus 10,000. This is Paul’s “druthers”!  This is when 5 is better than 10,000!

If Paul were here, and you could pin him down to a literal selection of five words, what do you think he would choose?  “Gimme Five Paul!”

Before we get to a selection from the list of five word Scripture passages that might be in Paul’s “in box” we should also consider how Charles Haddon Spurgeon went even beyond Paul, perhaps due to “spiritual inflation” in the intervening centuries!

“But the seed, though very small, was a living thing. There is a great difference between a mustard seed and a piece of wax of the same size. Life slumbers in that seed. What life is we cannot tell. Even if you take a microscope you cannot spy it out. It is a mystery, but it is essential to a seed. The Gospel has a something in it not readily discoverable by the philosophical inquirer, if, indeed, he can perceive it at all. Take a maxim of Socrates or of Plato, and inquire whether a nation or a tribe has ever been transformed by it from barbarism to culture. A maxim of a philosopher may have measurably influenced a person in some right direction, but who has ever heard of a someone's whole character being transformed by any observation of Confucius or Socrates? I confess I never have. Human teachings are barren. But within the Gospel, with all its triteness and simplicity, there is a divine life and that life makes all the difference. The human can never rival the divine, for it lacks the life-fire. It is better to preach five words of God's Word than five million words of human wisdom. Human words may seem to be the wiser and the more attractive, but there is no heavenly life in them. Within God's Word, however simple it may be, there dwells an omnipotence like that of God from whose lips it came.”[2]

Note: The five word statements from Scripture selected may not actually be five word statements in  either the Hebrew or Greek originals, nor are they necessarily complete sentences or verses in English language translations from the Hebrew and Greek, including the King James Version  which is the source translation for the statements.  Nevertheless, they were selected for the fundamental truths and span of doctrine that they present.  The current list of 36 examples is not intended to be comprehensive, and may easily be expanded or consolidated.

The 36 selections are categorized under the following four headings:

The Person of Christ — The Redeemer

The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) — Redemption Accomplished

The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied

The Return of Christ — Redemption Revealed

The advantage of short simple sentences like these is that they are easy to remember. There is little or no danger of our failing to see the forest for the trees! May these words ring in our ears, resonate in our minds, and abide in our memories.

Now for one of the possible selections from Paul’s “in box”:

The five word statement to be considered on this occasion, “Peace I leave with you,” falls under the third of these four headings, The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied.

Outline:

I. The Nature of the Peace

II. The Means of the Gift — I leave

III. The Effect of the Receipt — with you

Transition:

Some refer to only seven Discourses in John’s Gospel:

1. The New Birth (3:1–36)

2. The Water of Life (4:1–42)

3. The Divine Son (5:17–47)

4. The Bread of Life (6:35–58)

5. The Life-Giving Spirit (7:16–52)

6. The Light of the World (8:12–59)

7. The Good Shepherd (10:1–18)

What about the Upper Room Discourse in 13-17?

Note: Some would limit this discourse to 14-17, or 14-16.

This discourse is unique among the Four Gospels in the New Testament. The only parallels are found in the Synoptic Gospels to the content in John 13 surrounding the “Last Supper.”

The statement at the end of chapter 16 may be considered the conclusion of the Upper Room Discourse “proper,” since Christ then enters into His great prayer as the Priest of priests, and the High Priest of the high priests. With these concluding words in 16:33 he gives the disciples the reason for the discourse, and reason for “good cheer” in the face of tribulation from the world. The reason for the discourse is that they might have peace. The basis for “good cheer” in spite of tribulation lies in His pronouncement, “I have overcome the world.” This statement, by the way, was the subject for a previous sermon in this series.[3]

From the preceding contexts:

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Christ is leaving. It is important for our sakes that He do so. He will come again. What He is doing in the interim is for us, and will be for our eternal blessing. However, the fact remains that as this chapter begins, as the “discourse” proper begins, a note is struck concerning His departure and their separation from Him.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

This separation, however, will not be total. Nor will it be void of provision for us. Another member of the Trinity will take up residence within us, and this residence will be permanent.

The immediate context:

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

I. The Nature of the Peace

The word “peace” only occurs five times in John’s Gospel: here and in 16:33 in the Upper Room Discourse, and three times in John 20 (vv. 19, 21, and 26).

The three-fold repetition of “Peace be unto you” is found in the accounts of two post resurrection episodes in John 20. One of these has a significant parallel in Luke 24:33-49.

Jn. 20:19, 21, 26 — 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.…21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you….26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

 Lk. 24:36 — And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Cp. also Mt. 8:26 (23-27; pp. Mk. 4:35-4; Lk. 8:22-25; Mt. 14:22-33; Mk. 6:45-52; Jn. 6:16-21)

1. His Presence

2. His Power

3. His Promise

Some suggestions for inclusion in a Biblical theology of “Peace”:

The greatest blessing in the Mosaic Covenant

Num. 6:24-26 — 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

Ps. 29:11 — The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

The Promise of peace

Hag. 2:9 — The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Prince of Peace

Is. 9:6-7 — 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

The Gospel of Peace

Is. 52:7 — How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Is. 54:13 — And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Is. 57:19 — I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.

The Covenant of Peace

Ezek. 37:26 — Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

The announcement of peace at this birth

Lk. 1:79 — To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Lk. 2:14 — Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

He is the Prince of Peace.

The Word of Christ as the source of peace

Jn. 16:33 — These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

The preaching of peace in the New Covenant

Ac. 10:36 — The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

The Pauline doctrine of peace

Rom. 5:1 — Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Rom. 14:17 — For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Eph. 2:14-17 — 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

Reconcilation - the fruit, the end result, the eternal effect[4]

The “Shalom” of the Lord Jesus Christ

Some good study Bible notes on the significance of this verse (John 14:27):

New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), pg. 1692.

ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pg. 2053.

The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), pg. 1614.

“Peace, peace where there is no peace!”

II. The Character of the Gift — I leave

This is His bequest.

This is His “Last Will and Testament.”

This is our inheritance.

III. The Effect of the Receipt — with you

There can be no peace with the world, the flesh and the Devil!

There can be no peace with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh,  and the pride of life!

Our spiritual warfare can neither rob us of our inheritance, nor undo it!

Conclusion:

Col. 3:15 — And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Phil. 4:7 — And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Peace. Perfect Peace. His Peace. And now our peace. Forever.

May these words ring in our ears, resonate in our minds, and abide in our memories.

2 Th. 3:16 — Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

[Sermon preached 19 JUL 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

O my soul, with wonder tell

William Gadsby[5]

Meter: 7s.[6]

“My peace I give unto you.”

John 14:27; Ephesians 2:14

1 O my soul, with wonder tell, Jesus has done all things well; And, through his atoning blood, I’ve a settled peace with God. 2 He bequeathed his peace to me, As a gift divinely free; And it is his righteous will, That my soul in peace shall dwell. 3 [Love to such vile worms as I, Brought the Saviour from the sky; Every foe for them to quell, Jesus conquered death and hell.] 4 [Gifts like this, so full and free, Stand as firm as Deity; God has sworn, nor can he lie, It shall last eternally.] 5 Justice, mercy, truth, and love, Every attribute of God, Join to make this peace secure, And it must and shall endure. 6 What a solid basis this! Such a peace can never miss, But produce a grateful mind, To a God so vastly kind. 7 [Mourning souls who feel the smart Of a guilty, treacherous heart, And with mighty care and pain, Struggle hard relief to gain; 8 Labour hard you may, and long, But you’ll find your foes too strong; Solid peace can ne’er be had, Only through a Saviour’s blood.] 9 Jesus, mighty Prince of Peace, Now proclaim a full release; Set poor captive sinners free; Give them solid peace in thee.

Appendix 1: Reconciliation

This, in my humble opinion, is one of the most significant, and yet most neglected doctrines involving our salvation. 

It also, has benefited from far fewer published works than either justification or sanctification. 

Why do you think that is?

Yet it is the most significant of the soteriological doctrines since it is the capstone and the summation of them all.

“…this one term is sufficiently broad as an ‘umbrella’ idea to accommodate the leading aspects of Paul’s main thinking…”[7]

Even those who disagree with this assessment, e.g., Thomas Schreiner, must be seen as inconsistent when in their very arguments against the centrality of this doctrine lies the proof of it.

“reconcile” - Eph. 2:16 (2:11-22); and Col. 1:20 (1:20-21).

“reconciled” - Rom. 5:10 (5:1-11); 2 Cor. 5:18, 20 (5:17-21); and Col. 1:21 (1:20-21)

cp. Mt. 5:24; and 1 Cor. 7:11.

“reconciliation” - 2 Cor. 5:18, 19 (17-21); and Heb. 2:17.

cp. Lev. 8:15; 2 Chr. 29:24; Ezek. 45:15, 17; and Dan. 9:24.

Contexts where reconciliation is taught either assume or explicate the conditions that persist in the absence of reconciliation: 1) a state of alienation or separation involving distancing, 2) the absence of peace understood as a state of war between enemies, 3) hatred rather than love, 4) broken relationships or barriers and breaches between persons due to offenses.

Contexts where the following are found assume whether explicated or not, the reality of reconciliation:  1) the removal of alienation and a drawing near, 2) the state of peace between former enemies, 3) love where hatred once existed, and, 4) the healing of relationships,  the removal of barriers, the mending of breaches, or the removal of offenses.

1.  Vertical Reconciliation: Rom. 5:1-11 (5:10) - “I will be their God…”

Rom. 5:1-11 - 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

2 Cor. 5:17-21 - 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Is it doctrinally correct to sing “My God is reconciled…”?[8]

What about:

 “Sinners, rejoice: your peace is made;

Your Savior on the cross hath bled:

Your God, in Jesus reconciled,

On all His works again hath smiled;

Hath grace through Him and blessing giv’n,

To all in earth and all in Heav’n.”[9]

Or:

“Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!””[10]

When this issue is raised, of whether God needed to be reconciled or not, due to the emphasis in the New Testament where this doctrine is taught, or when it is explicitly denied,[11] I simply ask, “Was there wrath that needed to be propitiated?”[12], and, “Were we not ‘by nature the children of wrath, even as others’?”[13]

I would also point out that reconciliation always involves two parties, and is explicitly spoken of in Scripture as the making of one, or unity, two previously estranged parties. See, for example, Eph. 2:15.  Making reconciliation is, therefore, never a one-sided affair, even in this case, when the actual accomplishment of the reconciliation is achieved by only one of the parties involved.

This might be viewed another way to make this point quite clear.

I see a man in a garden:

Lk. 22:44 - And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

I hear a man on a cross:

Mt. 27:46 - And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Please do not judge me for singing Wesley’s hymn heartily, fervently, and with tears! I will be in good company when I do so![14]

The essence of the great covenantal promise in Scripture, i.e., the “end game” is:

2 Cor. 6:16 - And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

[Ezek. 37:27 - My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.]

Heb. 8:10 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Rev. 21:3 - And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 “I will be their God…” - Is. 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

2.  Horizontal Reconciliation: Eph. 2:11-22 (2:16) - “…and they shall be my people”

Eph. 2:11-22 - 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Jn. 17:20-23 - 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

What does reconciliation look like on the horizontal plane?

1.      In our homes?

2.      In our marriages?

3.      In our churches?

4.      On our jobs?

5.      In our neighborhoods?

6.      With other races?

7.      With citizens of other nations?

“…and they shall be my people”

3.  Cosmic or Universal Reconciliation: Col. 1:20-22

20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Col. 1:15-20 = early Christian hymn? 

Climax = vs. 20

Present application/first fruits = vss. 21-22

“Peace, if it is to exist at all, must be all embracing.”[15]

1)  The Identity of the Prince of Peace - Is. 9:6

Is. 9:2-7 - 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

2)  The Announcement of Peace at the First Advent of the Prince of Peace - Lk. 2:14

Lk. 2:14 - Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Contrast:

Mt. 10:34 - Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Lk. 12:51 - Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

3)  The Promise of Peace from the Prince of Peace - Jn. 14:27

Jn. 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Cosmic or Universal Reconciliation (Col. 1:20; 2 Cor. 5:19) is directly connected in Scripture to (embraces) the following:

(1)  Adoption - Rom. 8:22-23

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

(2)  Redemption - Rom. 8:23

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

(3)  Glorification - Rom. 8:17-21

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

(4)  Regeneration - Tit. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Mt. 19:28

Tit. 3:5 - Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

2 Cor. 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Mt. 19:28 - And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

(5)  Resurrection - 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Rom. 5:9-10

Rom. 5:9-10 - ⁹ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ¹⁰ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

1 Cor. 15:24-28 - ²⁴ Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ²⁸ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

4)  The Reality of Reconciliation as Pacification

Col. 1:20 - And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

What about “things under the earth”? 

Phil. 2:10 - That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Rev. 5:3, 13 - ³ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon….¹³ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

1 Cor. 15:24-28 - 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The audio-visual history of the final phase of reconciliation as pacification may be viewed and heard in Rev. 19-20.

“Peace, if it is to exist at all, must be all embracing.”[16] 

“Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5)

Reconciliation

~ The Great Exchange ~

My God is Reconciled, His Pardoning Voice I Hear!

“Peace on earth, good will to men!”

“God with us”

“My peace I give unto you”

“all things are become new”

“Be ye reconciled to God!”

God	Christ	Man
Loves	Incarnation	Enemy/Hates God
Wrath	Sacrifice	Sin
Propitiated	Atonement	Condemned
Reconciled
Justifies	Double Imputation	Ungodly
		Justified/Righteous
	Redemption	Adopted:  Status
		Sanctified
		Regenerated
		Faith & Repentance
	Peace	Peace with God
	Resurrection	Glorified/Resurrected
	Reconciliation	Adopted: Inheritance

“Behold, I make all things new”

“I will be their God, and they shall be My People.”

Conclusion

“To say that Paul is unintelligible, or that he presents Christianity in a way which does it every kind of injustice and is finally unacceptable to us, is to fly in the face of history and experience. There have always been people who found Paul intelligible and accepted the gospel as he preached it. There are such people still, if not in theological class rooms, then in mission halls, at street corners, in lonely rooms. It is not historical scholarship that is wanted for the understanding of him, and neither is it the insight of genius: it is despair. Paul did not preach for scholars, nor even for philosophers; he preached for sinners. He had no gospel except for men whose mouths were stopped, and who were standing condemned at the bar of God. They understood him, and they find him eminently intelligible still. When a man has the simplicity to say, with Dr. Chalmers, “What could I do if God did not justify the ungodly?” he has the key to the Pauline gospel of reconciliation in his hand.” 

- James Denney, The Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation: The Cunningham Lectures for 1917 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1917), pp.179-180.

“Reconciliation is, then, the great positive enactment of the divine love.  It is the fulfillment of the divine love in its out-pouring upon man and its completion in achieving the gathering up or assumption of man into the embrace of divine love.”

- Thomas F. Torrance, Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ, ed. Robert T. Walker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), pg. 147.

Many are currently debating over the related emphases in the Gospel of indicative and imperative, or the proclamation of Christ’s historical accomplishments for us versus the commands to us by way of response to this Good News.

There is no command in the Gospel to be justified.  There is not command in the Gospel to be sanctified.  There is a command to believe in Christ, and also a command to repent of sin.  Coordinated with these commands to believe and repent, however, and presented as a summary of what we are about in the Gospel ministry, is the all-encompassing, over-arching command to be reconciled to God.

The most important words that will ever come out of your mouth to another human being this side of glory are, “Be reconciled to God!”

If you ever wonder what reconciliation looks like go back and read Revelation 21-22.  Point your finger to Christ, and then to his finished work of conquest and recreation in the New Heavens and New Earth.  That is reconciliation!  Nothing else and nothing less will satisfy either the command of God or the revelation of God concerning this doctrine in His Word!  Until that great day the command goes forth, “Be ye reconciled to God!”

“Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.”[17]

Justification, Sanctification and Reconciliation, Session 3: Reconciliation[18]

by John T. Jeffery

Copyright 2014 by John T. Jeffery.

All rights reserved.

The use of excerpts or reproduction of this material is prohibited

without written permission from the author.

Contact information for the author:

Email to waysidegospelchapel@yahoo.com

---

End Notes:

[1] 1 Corinthians 14:19.

[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher” (Lk. 13:18-19), Sermon No. 2110, delivered 20 OCT 1889, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, U.K.; in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 35 (1889), pp. 565ff.; in Charles H. Spurgeon, The Parables of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003), pg. 707; and on The Spurgeon Archive at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2110.htm [accessed 23 DEC 2014].

[3] Part 13, 13 MAY 2012.

[4] See Appendix: Reconciliation.

[5] In William Gadsby, A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship (London: Gospel Standard Publications, 1987; also, n.p.: Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2000), pp. 450-451, hymn #594.

[6] Tunes with this meter include: Aletta, Crucis Milites, Easter Hymn, Mercy, Monkland, Savannah, Seymour, and Vienna. Seymour is the most well know since hymns such as “Depth of Mercy! Can There Be,” “Come, My Soul, Your Plea Prepare,” and “Softly Now the Light of Day” have been set to it.

[7] Ralph P. Martin, Reconciliation: A Study of Paul’s Theology, in New Foundations Theological Library, gen. ed. Peter Toon (Atlanta:  John Knox Press, 1981; also Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989; and Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1997), s.v. “Preface”.

[8] Charles Wesley, “Arise, My Soul, Arise”, in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1742); on Cyber Hymnal at http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/r/arisemys.htm [accessed 26 FEB 2014].  On this issue see esp.:  James Denney, The Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation: The Cunningham Lectures for 1917 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1917), pp. 236-239; and Thomas F. Torrance, Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ, ed. Robert T. Walker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), pp. 146, 149.

[9]  “Sinners, rejoice: your peace is made”, by John and Charles Wesley, in Hymns for Ascen­sion (1762); on Cyber Hymnal at http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/r/srypisma.htm [accessed 26 FEB 2014].

[10] Charles Wesley, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739); on Cyber Hymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/h/a/hhangels.htm [accessed 26 FEB 2014].

[11] E.g., “God is never said to be reconciled to man, but man to God since it is man’s sinfulness which creates the enmity…”  Clarence B. Bass, “Reconciliation”, in The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, gen ed. Merrill C. Tenney, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963, 1964, 1967), pg. 708.

[12] Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10.

[13] Eph. 2:3.  See also Rom. 5:9 and 1 Th. 1:10.

[14] See, for example, Charles H. Spurgeon, “Joy In A Reconciled God” (Rom. 5:11), Sermon #1045, preached 7 APR 1872 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, U.K.; Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 18 

http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols16-18/chs1045.pdf [accessed 26 FEB 2014].

[15] Hartmut Beck and Colin Brown, “Peace”, in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, gen. ed. Colin Brown, English ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978; trans. from Germ. original, Theologisches Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament, 1971 by Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal), 2:781.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Charles Wesley, “Arise, My Soul, Arise”, op. cit.

[18] Presented 26 FEB 2014 at Faith Baptist Fellowship Church (1397 Easton Turnpike, Lake Ariel, PA 18436) as part of Justification, Sanctification and Reconciliation: A Conference Introducing Three of the Great Doctrines Concerning the Salvation of Sinners.