September 24, 2014 1st John Chapter 4

1st John Chapter 4

Originally posted Thursday November 20, 2008

1st John, Chapter 4:1-6 Testing the Spirits

John has given two indicators which offer tangible verification that the believer knows and continues to abide in God: practicing self-giving love (3:16-17) and obeying the commandments to believe "in the name of...Jesus" (Jesus as Messiah/Christ) and to love one another (3:23). The first is witnessed through acts of love and the second by public confession of faith. Above both of these is a third witness to mutual indwelling of believer and God, "the Spirit that [God] has given..." (3:24). John develops the work/witness of this Spirit in the first passage of Chapter four. While we would typically entitle this Spirit as the Holy Spirit, John has introduced a more complex understanding with the unique use of the "Paraclete" (2:1). Taken from the Johannine tradition - and frequently encountered in John's Gospel, The Paraclete not only represents Christ, he is the Spirit of Christ in the Church. In John's Gospel Jesus says that when he is gone another Paraclete will come "to be with [the disciples] forever" (Jhn. 14:16).

The Paraclete is more than an advocate before God. He is the "anointing...[that] teaches...all things" mentioned in 2:27. He is also the reminder and revealer mentioned in Jhn. 14:25-26. Jesus was the first Paraclete who brought the revelation of God and taught the disciples all they needed to know of God. This Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth because it bears witness that the truth of God is or is not abiding in the person professing that it does (Jhn. 15:26).

John warns the believers of the possibility of false spirits speaking through those who make false claims denying Jesus as God's Messiah. In Jewish and Greek cosmology there were many spirits - elemental spirits, good and evil, angelic and demonic. These spirits spoke through human beings. In John's understanding of the work of the Paraclete/Spirit of Christ, the spirit speaking through preaching/prophecy can be tested. The believer in whom the Spirit of Christ abides can discern whether or not a spirit is of God or of the devil. The test is an elaboration on what John has said about those who have denied that Jesus is the heavenly Messiah. Now it depends on a confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah who has come "in the flesh" from God. Those who make such a confession are "of God;" those who do not are not of God (4:3). The false prophets - the antichrists, are not of God. John's faithful communities who have not broken fellowship are. This may seem somewhat fantastic to us but for John it is impossible for anyone in whom the Spirit abides to curse (deny) Jesus as Messiah in the flesh.  It is just as impossible for anyone in whom the Spirit does not abide to say that Jesus has come as Messiah in the flesh (see 1 Cor. 12:3). To the point, John declares that whether the message is or is not of God depends on confessing as true or rejecting the teaching that Jesus is God's Messiah sent from heaven and in the flesh. Of course, what is not of God is of the devil, the false prophets/antichrists.

The discerning Christians are not to be concerned about these evil spirits for the Spirit in the believer is greater than the spirit "who is in the world" (the devil). The believer who possesses the Spirit of and from God has the advantage. In the real situation of some Christians having broken fellowship based on the question of Jesus' Messiahship, John writes that the fact of their refusal to listen to him is an expression of their not being of God. They speak and act with a spirit of error.

It may be difficult for us to relate to John's line of thinking regarding spirits of truth and error as he decides who is in and who is out of the Spirit. He wrote from a position of authority, knowing (in his own traditions) what was of God and what was not. We may be certain of our own understanding of God, Christ and the content of the Christian life. To the degree to which we are secure in our certainty we can accept what is "truth" and not truth, of value and not of value "for us" but not for anyone else. We may come to know through our regular study, discussion and reflection with others what for us constitutes being a Christian. Yet we might want to keep in mind the variety of backgrounds and spiritual histories that inform the thinking of others. We might want to do more than keep this in mind. We may want to listen, measure and compare. Who knows what insights are available and helpful in the traditions and spiritual experiences of others?

1st John, Chapter 4:7-21 God is Love

There are two spiritual truths held together in John's faith - a cause and effect. They are "God is love" and God sent Jesus into the world on our behalf. God's love is the cause of the sending and Christ's appearing is the effect. This passage is about these two truths upon which John bases his understanding of the world - present and future.

Our mutual love is rooted in God, the author of love. To love is to be born of God who loved us first. God's love is revealed in Christ with the gift to us of new life which he preached and for which he died. The measure of God's love is to be the measure of our love one for the other. Because God abides in us, God's love is perfected in and through us. Perfect love overcomes any fear of the future for we belong to God. If we cannot love and be the expression of God's love in the lives of those whom we see in our midst how can we say we love the God we cannot see? 

Reading this passage should give us pause as we consider the meaning of a God who loves. Just how do we know that God loves? We all have heard the saying "God loves you and so do I." Well, how does God love you and how do I love you? And are the two somehow interrelated? As John might put it, to say we love another without a tangible demonstration of that love is of little value. To say that God loves someone without a similar expression of that love is just as much of an empty platitude as when we say the same. Granted there are times when simple words are meaningful expressions of love. They are a reminder of our devotion and closeness to another - a spouse or child or friend. Certainly how we speak to others with kindness and gentleness can be an expression of love. Some believe showering gifts on another proves their love for the other. Material gifts are fine but we do not want to miss the simpler treasures we can share: sending a card, placing a phone call or a visit to someone who needs to be connected.

It is said that God needs nothing. Consider this: if God needs nothing then we cease to have meaning and speaking of a God who loves becomes an absurdity. We live in a world wracked with devastating hatreds, injustice, hunger, pestilence, despoiling of the environment and grinding oppression. Do we think this is the world God wants for humanity? If God is love why has that love not transformed God's world? Why indeed! Maybe God does need something. Maybe God's need is our purpose. Maybe our purpose - what brings a measure of meaning to living, is to be the living expressions of God's love in the world. Mother Teresa said that her work among the poor in India was like a drop of water in the ocean; but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

September 23, 2014 1st John Chapter 3

1st John Chapter 3

Originally posted Wednesday November 19, 2008

General comment: John has introduced the image of the antichrist (Greek antichristos). While the letter's readers have heard that an antichrist is coming John qualifies the term as a plural - many antichrists. As the title suggests the antichrists are against the Christian Messiah, the Christ (Messiah = Christ). By the end of the 2nd century and beginning of the 3rd there will be literary references seeking to identify a single antichrist. It is from this development that the popular sport in succeeding centuries to identify the antichrist as a particular person arises. In our own time we can find any number of screeds purporting to prove that the current Pope Benedict XVI and Barack Obama are the antichrist, neither of whom appears in the Bible. One denomination has a long list of candidates for the antichrist which is updated every year. The reality is that the only Biblical reference to "antichrist" defines the term as any person who denies that Jesus is the Christ and seeks to deceive others to think the same. Based on the current world population the number would be somewhere over four billion antichrists.

1st John, Chapter 2:28-3:10 Children of God

Having issued warnings to his readers about the deception of those who deny that Jesus is the Christ (2:22), he urges them to remember their anointing by the Spirit of Christ (the Paraclete of 2:1, 20). This anointing, which has not been given to the deceivers, is true and has taught them what they need to know about Jesus (2:20, 27) to protect them against deception. If they will abide in these teachings and in Christ, "they may have confidence" when Christ appears (2:28), for those who have lived righteously as Christ is righteous have been "born of him" (2:29). Some writers suggest the "him" of vs. 29 is God and that is certainly the inference of texts in John's Gospel (Jhn. 1:12-13, 3:3). However, in all uses of this metaphor of birth, Christ is the agent of the anointing and new birth of the believer. Particularly in 2:29 all the previous verses have pointed to Christ or the Spirit of Christ as the subject. Even in Paul who writes of our adoption as God's children it is through the agency of Christ (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:5, see also Eph. 1:5).

Having been born of faith in Christ, the readers have become the children of God and this is a sign of the love God has given them in Christ. John's spiritual world view is based on the existence of two concurrent worlds: one constituted of the anointed who abide in Christ and Christ's teaching and the other that denies Jesus is the Christ. The two groups correspond to those who remain in fellowship with the Elder's authority and those who do not. This latter world does not know the former because they do not know God. This is not literally so, since they certainly know who God is. They are (or were according to the Elder) Christians. His meaning is derived from the word "know." In the religious sense to know is to accept as valid and to believe. To know God (or Christ) is to believe in and to follow God's will (Christ's teachings).

Focusing on the time of Christ's return John writes that those who do know God (those remaining in fellowship) are already God's children even though they are in this present earthly form. However, there will come a time when they will be changed. What that change will be is yet to be revealed. This is Paul's "for we see still through a mirror indistinctly, but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12) and "...at the last trumpet...we will be changed" (1 Cor. 15:50-51). Whatever the change, John knows that the believers will see Christ as he is and will become as he is.

Vss. 4-10 have presented a number of interpretative difficulties. Several statements seem to indicate that sin is impossible in the Christian life. On its face this statement is irreconcilable with any understanding of human reality, Christian or otherwise. John begins with the obvious: "Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness" (3:4). But Christ has come to "take away sins" (3:5). So, John seems to reason, those who know (believe in and follow) Christ do not sin (3:6). In fact, those who are born of God cannot sin (3:9). Only the unrighteous children of the devil sin (3:8). The key to understanding John's reasoning is to recognize that he is not using hyperbole. He is not exaggerating the idea of sin for affect, or an "as if it were." Nor is he using the word  to mean the day to day sins (small "s") one commits. For John, Sin with a capital "S" is synonymous with the world that does not know God. Sin is not knowing God (see Jhn. 15:21-24), not abiding in God and not being born of God. Taken together, John equates the Sin which is not knowing God with those who have denied Jesus as the heavenly Messiah sent by God. They have broken fellowship with those who know and abide in both Jesus and in God. Their Sin has been revealed in that they do not love their fellow Christians.

1st John, Chapter 3:11-24 Love One Another

The antitheses to those who have broken fellowship are those who follow the commandment to love one another. Love is the supreme commandment and marks the divide between those who know God and those who do not. In an interesting analogy taken from extracanonical Jewish writings John compares the two camps with Cain and Abel. Cain, the murderer of his brother, is from the devil. He broke fellowship with Abel (to the extreme) because his own works were evil (the hallmark of not knowing and abiding in God) while Abel's were righteous (the hallmark of knowing  and abiding in God). The unrighteous hated the righteous (see Jhn. 15:18-25). This, John writes, is why the world that does not know and abide in God hates those who do know and abide in God. They, like Cain, are murderers cut off from God.

The depth of love for one another is modeled after Christ. As he gave his life for believers they should be prepared to do the same for one another. John gives an example of the lack of this sacrificial love translated into personal action. He asks if such a love is demonstrated by the refusal of those who have much being unwilling to share with others who have little. Or course it does not. It represents selfishness, a lack of knowing and abiding in God. It is not enough to mouth the words of generosity or to pray for the other's need while doing nothing about it. One must act. Not to act is to reject the one in need. To reject the one in need is to reject Christ. To reject Christ is to reject God. This may be acceptable to those who do not know or abide in God. It is not, John writes, acceptable for those who do. As the old saw goes, "Actions speak louder than words."

John asserts that those who love one another in "truth and action" know when they have failed to live up to the commandment. He suggests that guilt (the heart) will tell the person of his fault but that reassurance (forgiveness) is available from God who "is greater than [the] heart." We might speak of a guilty conscience that nags the soul when we err and motivates us to correct the error. John believes that those who know and abide in God will strive to do what is right while at the same time knowing that when they fail God is still near at hand.

In vss. 23-24 John restates God's commandment: The Christian is to believe in "the name" of God's Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another. These are the two commandments broken by those who have denied Jesus as the Christ and have broken fellowship (did not love) others. To obey is to abide in God as God abides in them as confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

September 22, 2014 1st John Chapter 2

1st John Chapter 2

Originally posted Tuesday November 18, 2008

1st John, Chapter 2:1-6 Christ Our Advocate

John understands the human nature of Christian believers. Like everyone else, Christians sin. As Paul argued so consistently, even when we know the totality of the Law we still violate its commands. This was at the heart of the post-resurrection, Christian insistence that doing works of the Law could not lead to God's righteousness. Only faith - Martin Luther's acclamation, "sola fide," could bring the transformation God can work in a person's life.

In the circumstances of his readers who are about to or are being tempted to break fellowship, John has already established that making the claim of being free from sin is itself a sin (1:8, 10), rendering them as unrighteous. He also reminds them that confession of sin brings forgiveness and "cleansing...from all unrighteousness" (1:9). In that regard he gives the reason for this letter as his wish that the readers "may not [continue to] sin." He addresses them with the familiar "little children." This is a term used for newly converted Christians and those whose words and/or deeds indicate the need for further instruction (baby's milk instead of solid food in 1 Cor. 3:2). Using the title "Paraclete" (advocate) as the spiritual presence of Christ, John writes that Christ "is the propitiation for...sins," theirs and for those of the whole world (Jhn. 4:42c).

Many English translations read vs.2 as "atoning sacrifice" instead of propitiation. It certainly can mean that in the context of the Day of Atonement. When the High Priest sprinkles the blood of the sacrifice on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant - the Mercy Seat, the sins of Israel are forgiven (atoned for). This is consistent with an early understanding of Jesus' death on the cross - forgiveness by atonement through the shedding of his blood. It also has the meaning of "making propitious," which in this context means to represent the continued kindness and graciousness of God. In the Psalms and Prophets of the Old Testament there is the recurrent theme of the faithful graciousness of God, usually rendered from the Hebrew "hesed" as "loving kindness." Thus, Jesus is the propitiation for our sins for in him is demonstrated the consistent love of God for the members of the household of God upon whom God looks with favor.

John writes that to say in all honesty we "know [Christ]" is confirmed by obeying Christ's commandments - to love one another. For John to "know" and to "come to know" Christ is to be in relationship with Christ. In fact, to say we "have come to know [Christ]" and yet to disobey Christ's commands is to be a liar "in whom there is no truth." (We note the frequent use of the word "liar" which in the religious context means to bear false witness - taking God's name in vain.) Those who do obey Christ's word (commands) exhibit the perfected love of and for God in their lives, a love which is coincidental with faith in God's love for the believer.

John repeats in different terms his claim that knowing Christ leads to obeying Christ's word. He uses the mystical words "in him (Christ)" and "abide in [Christ]" as a spiritual state of being. We might think of the cloud of the transfiguration scene which represented the mystical presence of God in which Christ, Moses and Elijah stood. As we walk in the earth's atmosphere we experience and draw in the breath of life. As we walk (or abide) in the Spirit of Christ we experience Christ and draw in the breath of the new life. John's connection is completed. Knowing Christ leads to obedience to the command of Christ which leads to the perfection of love of and for God. The result is that the believer imitates the life of Christ, walking the way he walked.

1st John, Chapter 2:7-17 A New Commandment

As we noted above Christ's new commandment is that believers love one another (Jhn. 13:34). It is the greatest of Christ's commandments for it encompasses the meaning, experience and practice of being a Christian. Coincident with this commandment is the test of obedience. Keeping this commandment will demonstrate the believer's love of Christ (Jhn. 14:15) - having come to know and walk with Christ. The obverse is, of course, true. This is the "old commandment" the believer has heard since becoming a Christian for it was spoken long ago by Jesus during his earthly ministry. Yet John can write that he can now offer it again (from the Spirit) as a new commandment. It is new in Christ and in the believer because now it is about to be fulfilled as the "darkness is passing away and the true light (of Christ) is already  shining." It is old because it was given by Jesus in the beginning. It is new because Jesus is about to demonstrate the outcome of love in a new world already being fashioned by God.  The true believer is already walking in this emerging light as clearly seen by love for others. Not to love the other is a sign of remaining and walking in the darkness which has rendered the one who does not love the other as blind. In an addictive sense the more sin one commits the easier it is to commit sin.

John continues with a series of affirmations addressed to three categories of members in the community that has broken fellowship with the Elder (and what he represents). They form two sections, each addressing in the same order: children, fathers and young people. As a whole the mention of these three groups is important only as a reminder to those addressed that each church and all churches together constitute the household of God. The groups are not listed in any order of importance, thus emphasizing unity in Christ. The basic thrust of the message is that forgiveness is offered by the Father in Christ's name and with that forgiveness comes the power to overcome evil. The readers are well aware of Christ's commandment - from the beginning, to love one another. With love the sin of separation is overcome.

John focuses the readers' attention toward the love of God and away from a love of the world. Love of God is not found in the world or in those who love the world (the world is a general category representing the realm of Satan and so, full of "desire of the flesh" and that which does not come from God). While this evil world and its sin is passing away and the light of Christ is beginning to shine, those who remain in the light of Christ doing the will of God will live forever.  

1st John, Chapter 2:18-28 Warning against Antichrists

In this passage John elaborates on the signs that the world is passing away. He introduces the term "antichrist" which appears only five times in the New Testament, all in John's letters. This indicates how late the concept came into use and then rather narrowly in Asia Minor to cover one set of circumstances. Apparently the term is known to his readers. What they have heard has now occurred. In John we learn that the appearance of the antichrist is a sign of the "last hour." Indeed, there are now many antichrists which makes the "last hour" all the more certain. The final conflict between the holiness of God and evil of Satan is about to begin. These antichrists are human beings, for John writes that "they have gone out from us" indicating they have broken fellowship and started their own "churches" independent of those under the Elder's authority. In an interesting use of "logic" their "going out" is evidence to John that they never really did belong to the fellowship represented by the Elder in the first place. Had they truly been part of his fellowship of churches they would not have broken that fellowship. Since they never were in fellowship with the Elder their departure represents a lie for only truth can come out of the communities represented by the Elder. We might not want to press this too far. It is very much like one denomination's understanding that a "saved" person who leaves one of its churches for another denomination really wasn't saved in the first place. The current disintegration of some communities over the issue of homosexuality is an example of the mutual recriminations that can arise when only one point of view can be the absolute truth.

John defines what constitutes the lie defining an antichrist. First, those who have broken fellowship with and gone out from the Elder's authority are antichrists. Second the antichrist is one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah. This may indicate a lingering Jewish influence in Asia Minor. While it was certainly part of Paul's early preaching, eventually the term 'Christ" became more of a surname for Jesus rather than a meaningful title. The better interpretation is that what was denied was the concept of the heavenly Messiah as presented in John's Gospel where the Word sent by God from heaven became flesh. Such a Christology would not have been acceptable to those influenced by the Jewish principle of absolute monotheism. A heavenly Messiah may have seemed to be too close to a secondary albeit lesser god. Third, the antichrist denies "the Father and the Son" as spiritually inseparable in purpose (this is John's "I and the Father are one"). If Jesus is denied so is God.

The exhortation to the remnant of believers that arises from the current situation urges the faithful to allow what they have "heard from the beginning" to continue to abide in them. If they will practice such spiritual discipline they will continue to abide in "the Son and the Father" thereby receiving the promise of eternal life. He does not want them to be deceived by the antichrists. They do not need instruction from others which differs from what they learned "in the beginning" (the anointing they received is from the Holy Spirit who "teaches...about all things" represented by baptism).

September 21, 2013 1st John Chapter 1

1st John Chapter 1

Originally posted Monday November 17, 2008

General Comment: The three letters ascribed to John were written at the beginning of the 2nd century shortly after the turn of the century (100-110 CE). All three were likely written anonymously by the same person. We know him only by his title, "the Elder." While he is not associated with the writing of the Gospel of the same name, most scholars consider him as part of the larger "Johannine" school of writers/evangelists active in western Asia Minor. From this "school" came the earlier Gospel and Revelation and these letters. As we read the letters we will see similarities of terminology with the Gospel as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran. As an Elder the author is a person of authority over a number of churches. From our reading it will be obvious that these churches are firmly rooted in the traditions expressed in John's Gospel. We will read of his concerns regarding the introduction of false teachings about Christ and his attempt to clarify the true doctrine to be followed by those who are truly Christians. As we read in 2nd Peter, this was a time of Christological experimentation and a number of views of the nature of Christ were taking shape, some achieving a level of religious currency. These letters played an important role in the later process of identifying those groups and their writings that would be excluded from normative - orthodox, Christianity.

1st John, Chapter 1:1-4 Prologue

As we read the prologue we will see the similarities with the use of certain words held in common with the Gospel according to John. What is written (proclaimed) is from the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It is based on the eyewitness sources, those who heard, saw and touched "the word of life" (the human being, Jesus). The use of the pronoun "we" has the sense of seeing through the eyes of those who were "in the beginning" with Jesus. What is being declared is the "word of life" which is eternal life, given by God and revealed by Jesus "in the beginning" (Jn. 1:4). The purpose of the written (as well as spoken) declaration is to establish the authority of the writer as one who bears witness to the truth of Christ. By doing so he can also establish that those churches remaining in "fellowship with" him will be in fellowship "with the Father and with [the Father's] Son, Jesus Christ. The writer hopes that his words of fellowship will "complete [his] joy" through the correction of ideas held by others. The word "fellowship" (Koinonia) used here is better translated as "partnership" meaning the expectation that the community which has strayed from right belief will rejoin the fold.

1st John, Chapter 1:5-10 God is Light

The writer departs from the Johannine use of "light" as a reference to Christ as the Word who is the "light of all  people that shines in the darkness" (Jn. 1:4b-5). Here what they have heard from Christ is that God is light in whom there is no darkness - no lack of complete and perfect holiness. Darkness is the place where evil lurks and sin is committed. Therefore, one cannot profess fellowship with God while walking in the darkness of sin. Anyone who professes fellowship with God and sins is a liar. For the writer, fellowship with God is measured by the bond of fellowship which exists among the church communities. Accordingly any community that has broken that bond by rejecting the authority of what has been declared is walking in darkness and no longer has fellowship with God.

As something of a side benefit, for those who are in fellowship with God (and one another), their sins are forgiven through the blood of Christ. This may be the Elder's way of reaching out to heal the rift with those who have rejected his doctrinal authority. The sin of the separatists can be healed by their rejoining the fold and ascribing to the teachings of the Elder whose teachings are what have been heard from and seen in Jesus. But what if the separatists (or any Christian) say they have not committed any sin by breaking the bond of fellowship and going their own way? They (we) are deceiving themselves. He adds that "the truth is not in [them]." By "truth" the writer means the way people who walk in the light of God act. Those that have broken fellowship have not acted in "truth" and so are not walking in the light of God. 

The chapter closes with a reprise of the outcome of two opposite positions: Those who confess their sin (of separation) will be forgiven by Christ and restored to righteousness. Those who do not will in effect blaspheme against Christ by making him a liar thus clearly demonstrating that the "word of [eternal] life" is not in them. Christ will be made a liar because the separatists will have rejected the declarations of the elder and broken the bond of fellowship and in Christ there can only be unity. We will recall Paul's admonition to the Corinthians with whom there were divisions (party spirit) among believers according to who had baptized them. As Paul writes, Christ cannot be divided. There can only be one Gospel and one faith rooted in the one Lord. This is what Christ brought to the world and anything else is not of God.

Breaking fellowship within church communities is still a problem for Christianity. The proliferation of denominations and sects derived from denominations - or the latest sectarian spiritual movement, is evidence that fellowship is not always one of Christianity's highest achievements. We might generally agree that when differences arise an amicable separation might be less painful than a doctrinal war. When we invest so much energy in being the right party we have little motivation to seek common ground and healing with those who have taken another course. We experienced this in the 20th century with the rise of the charismatic movement in Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Some churches were able to embrace the differences through co-existence while others disowned those that stressed certain spiritual gifts. Within one major denomination such communities were discommended as were those who chose to allow women to serve as ordained clergy. As for the United Methodist Church we - in principle, accept that pluralism exists in all congregations. One person's catalog of doctrinal beliefs may be different from another's. We do not require, as some churches do, an oath of allegiance to a certain set of dogmatic statements. We do not insist on perfect homogeneity. We embrace one another and seek the common ground of being disciples of Jesus Christ. We strive to fulfill the mandate of loving God and neighbor in the framework of living a moral/ethical life in fellowship with one another. If people of the church cannot in good conscience take each other's hand and be about the work of God in a hurting world then we will have failed to be the extension of Christ, the light of the world, serving the world.

September 20, 2014 2nd Peter Chapter 3

2nd Peter Chapter 3

Originally posted Friday November 14, 2008

2nd Peter, Chapter 3: The Promise of the Parousia

Peter has reminded the churches of Asia Minor of the basis of their "call and election" as believers. He has warned them of false teachers coming into their midst offering "destructive opinions" regarding the Parousia. They are "accursed children," "waterless fountains" and like "irrational animals" who have turned away from the "straight road." Now the writer turns to the primary subject of the letter: a defense of the doctrine of Christ's return.

The writer notes that this is his second letter to the churches. He has written to arouse their "sincere thinking." He reminds them of the words of the ancient Prophets (Amos 9:10; Mal. 2:17) and the commandments of Jesus (MT 7:15, 24:11) regarding false teachers and prophets. These are the words preached by the apostles who established their churches. He has already promised that he will "keep on reminding" them of this rich heritage (2:12-15) and Chapter 3 is a fulfillment of that promise.

What has happened with the coming of false teachers was a prophesied expectation of the last days. The "scoffers' (those who reject religion and morality) have arrived with their mocking questions aimed at creating doubt that the promised Parousia will ever occur. It has not happened even though at least three generations of Christian ancestors have died (a generation would have been about 30 years). There is a bit of truth in the scoffers' charges of deception and they no doubt used it in their argument. There were numerous Old Testament prophecies of the Day of the Lord when God would intervene in history on the side of Israel, judge and destroy her enemies and restore David's kingdom. Also they certainly were aware of MT. 16:28 and parallels which refer to Jesus' words and from which an expectation arose that Jesus would return before the first generation of Christians had died. The expectation was a misunderstanding of what Jesus meant but nonetheless it fed the misguided hope of an imminent return in each succeeding generation (to this very day!). If that was not enough, there was the added tradition (rumor?) that  Christ would return before or near the time when the last of the original twelve apostles died. That would have occurred between four to six decades before this letter was written.

The writer does not refer or respond to the scoffers' arguments from the past. Rather he appeals to an understanding of time by comparing time in transient human terms to God's eternal time. God is not restricted to the constraints of chronological time. The name of God, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh" has the quality of timelessness - "I am that I am" and "I will be what I will be." Peter presents the vast expanse of time from the creation of the heavens and earth through God's word to their fiery end. By that same word they will pass away in fire on the Day of Judgment and the "destruction of the ungodly." (Destruction means an annihilation in which the ungodly cease to exist - entering nothingness). For God, time is endless and unmeasured. It is as if a thousand years were but one dayand one day were a thousand years at the same time (adapted from Ps. 90:4). The readers are urged not to think of the passing time as proof of the scoffers' false teaching against the Parousia. Nor should they think of it as God's slowness or lack of concern for the believers' suffering. Rather they should understand the delay as God's patience, God's desire that no one perish but that all will repent.  Yet, the delay cannot cause a dullness of "sincere thinking" to lead them into lowering their guard against sin. The "Day of God" will come as Jesus said, "Like a thief in the night" (MT 24:43-44and parallels).

The writer's vision of the "Day of God" is one of fire and the dissolution of the heavens and earth (not Paul's or Isaiah's understanding of renewal through transformation). That which passes away is to be replaced by new heavens and a new earth (the typical scenario in a number of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings from 200 BCE to 300 CE).

If this is the future, the events of the Parousia and judgment, how should the believers live their lives? Briefly put, because the new heavens and the new earth will be a place where "righteousness is at home" the believers' lives should reflect that new reality. As they wait their lives should be examples of holiness and godliness, befitting their new home to come. Indeed, the writer declares that by living such lives they will actually hasten the "Day of God." This is not unlike the Pharisees' concern in teaching the Jews to live lives of holiness according to the holiness code. The more holy Israel became the sooner God's Messiah would appear.

2nd Peter, Chapter 3:14-18 Final Exhortation and Doxology

As the believers wait for the "Day of God" they are urged to be "found by [Christ] at peace, without spot or blemish" (the required condition for a sacrifice to God). They should appreciate Christ's patience in returning as an opportunity to prepare for salvation. In the only mention of Paul outside of Acts and Paul's own letters, the writer credits him with a similar perspective on the "Day of God," "according to [Paul's] wisdom" (Rom. 2:4, 8:18-19). He rightly comments on the occasional difficulty of understanding Paul's reasoning as the "ignorant and unstable" have done by forcing false interpretations from his words. Note that the writer refers to Paul's words as "scripture. By the end of the first century Paul's letters had been collected in codex form and distributed throughout the Christian world (2 Tim. 4:13).

It is probable that the false teachers have taken Paul's words - as they did with other scripture, and distorted them for their own deceitful uses. This seems to be the sense of vs. 17 in which the ignorant and unstable persons who misuse Paul's writings are a threat to the readers of this letter. They are warned not "to be carried away" by the "error of the lawless (false teachers) thereby becoming just like them.

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Note

Peter makes an interesting and useful point about his intention to continually remind the readers of their heritage. This heritage includes an understanding of the scripture which consisted of the Greek Old Testament and most of what we call the New Testament that would eventually become the authoritative canon. It is to the detriment of any church when Biblical literacy is low. The richness of scripture requires dedicated study in order for it to become a word of address that fashions our lives. It is one thing to read scripture for the sheer enjoyment of the reading. It is quite another to study the scripture as a source for entering into the disciplined life of a follower of Jesus. We need to understand and not just read our heritage. We can do this on our own but such an approach will never be quite as effective as the guided group study which allows for measuring our own understands against that of others. There are times when lives are changed by an "aha" moment of enlightenment, when a single word of the text comes alive or when an understanding of the culture or history behind a text brings clarification. Study is important, perhaps critical, if our desire is both to grow spiritually and to invest that growth in the world God has called us to transform.

  

September 19, 2014 2nd Peter Chapter 2

2nd Peter Chapter 2

Originally posted Thursday November 13, 2008

2nd Peter Chapter 1:16-21 Eyewitnesses of Christ's Glory

This first passage serves as an introduction to the larger body of text in Chapter 2 relating to false teachers. The basic understanding of the believer's call to and confirmation of faith and election as virtuous members of the household of God has been established (1:3-15). That call and election is now under attack from outsiders and perhaps some within the churches who have fallen under their influence. The preaching of "everything needed for [eternal] life and godliness" came "through the knowledge of [God]." What has been introduced by the false teachers is considered by "Peter" to be heretical lies meant to convince believers that the apostolic teaching of the Parousia was based on "cleverly devised myths." Unfortunately we do not learn the identity of these teachers. However, based on the main subject of Chapter 3 the delay in Christ's return was certainly a factor as it was in the continuing development of a variety of teachings surrounding the Parousia and its delay. We have already read of the introduction of "myths and speculations" related to the resurrection in 1 Tim. 1:3-7and 2 Tim. 2:16-18 written at least four decades earlier. Later, in the letters attributed to John, we will read of other heretical teachings regarding the human nature of Christ. What is evident is that these writings were from a time in which many offshoots of Christian thought were forming. The post-Pauline letters we have been studying represent the side of so-called apostolic orthodoxy. Those promoting this orthodoxy were fighting to develop and maintain a common understanding of the earthy life, resurrection and return of Christ, salvation through faith and God as the architect of it all.

The basis for what the believers have been taught regarding the doctrine of the Parousia did not arise from "cleverly devised myths" as the false prophets have charged. Citing the Gospels (MT. 17:1-5 et al) the writer (by way of Peter's presence on the mountain) claims the story of the Transfiguration as an eyewitness account of the future glorified Christ. In the prolepsis vision the "majesty" of the glorified Christ was seen. God's affirming voice of approval of Christ as the Lord of the coming age was heard from heaven (Ps. 2:7). This visionary experience was considered to be a prophetic message not just for those present on the mountain but also for the readers of Peter's letter. The prophecy is from Holy Scripture and not from human interpretation as charged by the false teachers (who think their interpretation of scripture is as good as anybody else's). All prophecy comes through and is verified as true by the Holy Spirit, the conveyer and interpreter of scripture. The Transfiguration story is "a lamp shining in a dark place" meant to be a cherished reminder of what is yet to dawn on the last day (the flame is a symbol of the spirit).

Vss. 19-21 contains a significant change in the Christian understanding of what constitutes Holy Scripture. Here-to-fore "scripture" in the New Testament always referred to the Old Testament spoken through the Holy Spirit. This was the basis for New Testament writers' claim that what was written under the old covenant of Israel spoke to the Christian experience, particularly regarding faith in Christ and the hope of salvation. Here for the first time "scripture" is referring to a New Testament text, the story of the Transfiguration. The change may have begun with Paul who on occasions would quote what were purported to be the words of Jesus (though they cannot be located in the New Testament!). Jesus' words did take on the character of "words of authority" but not yet truly scripture. The very mention of a New Testament text in 2nd Peter gives us some insight into the earliest (by 130 CE) acceptance of the Gospels (or at least a Gospel) with the same sense of being sacred - of the Spirit, as the Old Testament.

2nd Peter, Chapter 2:1-22 False Prophets and Their Punishment

The writer begins his condemnation of the false teachers with his own bit of prophecy: As there were false prophets among the people of Israel there will be false teachers among the Christians (see other NT scriptural references MT 24:11; Acts 20:29). They will "secretly bring in destructive opinions" (and have already begun doing so), exploiting the gullible to satisfy their own greed. By their deceit they will deny their savior, Christ, and many will follow them to their "swift destruction," "pronounced against them long ago." This destruction is "not idle and...is not asleep" as they might think because they believe their own false teachings of Christ's return.

Referring to a series of Biblical events the writer elaborates on the punishment to be inflicted upon the false teachers on the Day of Judgment.

1) According to later Jewish tradition (Talmud haggadic) the lustful angels (Watchers) of Gen 6:1-4who had children with the "daughters of men," were cast into the deepest dungeons of Hell to remain in chains until the Day of Judgment. On that day they will be destroyed and cease to exist.

2) In the story of Noah the entire population of the world (descendents of the Watchers) is drowned (to be held under judgment) except for the righteous Noah and his family).

3) Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with all their inhabitants as an example to the ungodly, yet God saved the righteous Lot who, like the readers of this letter, was "tormented day after day" by the evil that he witnessed.

The double lesson of these three stories is that God knows how to keep the righteous safe from trial and the unrighteous "under punishment" until the Day of Judgment. Apparently the false teachers "who despise authority" are included in those who will be kept "under punishment." They are so "bold and willful" that they slander the weakness and sinfulness of the evil angels (Watchers). By contrast the good angels will not bring a charge of slander from God against the false teachers (the ancient world had a fascinating view of the heavens and its celestial beings). 

The writer indulges in a series of imaginative, self descriptive epithets against the false teachers too extensive to relate. Like irrational animals born to be killed, they will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment in the same way as the evil angels whom they slander yet do not understand. They are all together a despicable lot -accursed children, straying from the "straight road." Having once been sanctified and forgiven for their sins, they have become "entangled in their defilements and overpowered," falling back into sinfulness, their second state being worse than the first. They are an appropriate example of Prov. 26:11 like dogs returning to their vomit, to their old sins. Therefore, "for them the deepest darkness has been reserved."

September 18, 2014 2nd Peter Chapter 1

2nd Peter Chapter 1

Originally posted Wednesday November 12, 2008 

2nd Peter, Chapter 1:1-2 Salutation

In addition to the interesting theological content of this small letter is its late date of writing. Written near 130 CE it is the latest of all New Testament writings. As such it serves as a bridge between the end of the apostolic period and the developing "Catholic" Church. The recipients are probably the same as for 1st Peter, the major provinces of Asia Minor. They, like Peter, are blessed with a "precious faith" from "God and of the Savior Jesus Christ." He evokes both grace and peace "in abundance" as given in and through their knowledge of God and Christ which each received when they became believers.

One of the key issues of the time was the delay of the Parousia. Paul thought it would occur during his life time. The people of 1st Thessalonians needed reassurance because some of their fellow believers had died and Christ had not yet returned. Later writers continued to offer reassurance that the last days were very near. Decade after decade the waiting expectation continued. In the middle of the 9th decade Revelation tapped the anxiety of the churches of western Asia Minor, proposing that the violent end of the world of evil was on the horizon. In every case there was disappointment. 2nd Peter will do its best to continue to point to the Parousia as an inevitable event of history, but with a much lower emphasis on its imminent appearing.

The author, writing from and with the authority of Peter as a servant and apostle of Christ, uses the Greek form of his Hebrew name, Symeon. This is the name used by Jesus' brother James when he accepted Peter's suggestion that Gentiles be permitted to become Christians without the need for circumcision (Acts 15:13-14). The name is derived from Symeon, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is also the name of the righteous old man who blessed Jesus in the Temple where he had been brought for circumcision (LK. 2:25-34).

2nd Peter, Chapter 1:3-15 The Christian's Call and Election

In preparation for the later warning about false prophets, the writer puts forth three essential elements in a brief homily. They are God's role in salvation history; exhortation to godly behavior in preparation for the future; salvation and judgment on the last day.

Salvation History: Just as grace and peace in abundance comes through the believers' knowledge of God and Christ who called them to faith, so does all that is necessary to sustain the godly life. By faith the believers have received God's "precious and very great" saving promises in Christ. By faith in these promises they have abandoned their corrupt past and exchanged sinfulness for the hope of sharing in the divine nature of Christ (their promised heritage with the glorified Christ).

Godly Behavior: Invoking the divine imperative, "must," the writer uses a typical progressive series of exhortations (efforts) to be engaged by believers in support of their faith. With faith at the summit, the writer gives a series of virtues, each supporting the one before. Seen collectively they are descriptive of the Christian life. Beginning with faith at the summit, the entire supporting structure is undergirded by love ("...for the greatest of these is love (1st Cor. 13:13). Living these virtues and nurturing their growth within the community of faith will keep the believers effective and fruitful Christians. Remaining firm in the knowledge of Christ (which has taught them this life) will keep the believers mindful of God's sanctification. At their baptism their sins were forgiven and they were welcomed into the household of God.

The Future Kingdom: The first two elements serve to confirm the possibility of the third. Through knowledge of God who brought the promised future in Christ and with willing fulfillment of the virtues of the Christian life, the believers confirm God's call and election.  Remaining firm in their faith built upon love they will realize the promised kingdom of Christ.

The writer stresses the importance of what he has written, promising to continue his exhortations on every occasion even though his readers know them and live by their truth. Writing as Peter, he promises to "refresh [their] memory" as long as he lives. Even after his death and by this letter the community will be able to have his words as reminders of the way to Christ.

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Verses 16-21 are connected by context to Chapter 2