1 Peter 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (NIV).
This is the second time that Peter has said that Jesus Christ is going to be revealed, having said it recently in 1 Peter 1:7. Has not Jesus already been revealed? For starters, many celebrate His birthday every December 24th. He was a baby born in a manger. He was a Jewish carpenter. What is Peter talking about? Peter was thinking of us when he wrote this. Peter was an eyewitness of the glory of Jesus. Being inspired, he realized that his future readers were not eyewitnesses, yet all of us have the full revelation of Jesus to look forward to.
For example, Peter was an eyewitness of the transfiguration. As Jesus had light beaming from his face, Peter saw it. And Peter saw the resurrected Jesus. Peter knew the glory of Jesus. I personally have not seen Jesus in the flesh. I follow someone I have never seen. On the surface, that does not seem to make sense. Yet I follow someone who people like Peter did see. And Peter is encouraging you and me that Jesus Christ is going to be revealed to even a fuller extent than when His glory was shown on the mountainside with Moses and Elijah.
Regarding his warning about conformity, I can reflect personally. Before I was a Christian, I did things that did not seem bad by the community’s standards, but I look back and realize they were wrong, and thus hurtful. I had much anger, and it was hurting me first and foremost. I consider other evils that I have known people to struggle with. Sometimes they learned such behavior from their earthly dad or mom. Followers of Jesus have a Father in heaven who is holy. I assure you, it is a whole different way of life than I knew before I was a Christian even though I considered myself to have good parents, and even though many considered me to be a goody two shoes.
“Be holy, because I am holy.” I love that. Admiring the ministry of John Wesley, I am in disagreement with him that perfection can be reached in this world before the return of Christ. However, perfection in Christ should be the daily desire of any Christian. Of all of the countless times I have gone to church in the last twenty years, I have heard few sermons specifically on holiness. I think that is sad. Peter was telling about salvation, and then he naturally moved into telling of holiness. Justification and sanctification; the latter always follows the former. Every day, the call of God is to be more like Jesus. What do we need to do to be holy? Be obedient to Jesus.
Going back to justification for a moment, Jesus said in Matthew 5:20 that in order to be saved, a person needed to be righteous in a manner that surpassed the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Yet the Pharisees were the “religious guys.” What were they doing wrong? My answer may surprise you, since it is one that is so often missed. The wrong doing of the Pharisees was their acts of creating their own legislation rather than submitting to the Mosaic Law. This is the reason that the woman who was caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. It was a trick situation. The reason is that the Jewish people were no longer adhering to the Mosaic Law, which called for the punishment of death by stoning for a couple caught in adultery. “The law of Moses is explicit in the mention of those crimes to which the punishment of death was to be awarded, but the Rabbinical statutes limited its execution in various ways. In fact, every legal device was employed to avoid this unpleasant necessity…” (1) Note also how the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees only brought the woman, whereas both were supposed to be stoned. If Jesus would have said to stone the woman, there probably would have been a public outcry against such a barbaric act in that culture. Yet Jesus, who fulfilled the Law, and who also furthered the Law, furthered the Law right on the spot at that time, shifting the privilege of judging from people, who had a poor record of properly judging in Israel under the Mosaic Covenant, to God, who is the perfect Judge.
Back to the subject of legislation, Pharisees were playing legislator. They should have been acting in obedience to the Mosaic Law instead. Now the Mosaic Law was only for the people under the Covenant between God and the Israelites, as given by Moses. No one else was under that Law. Yet moving ahead, as I said, Jesus furthered the Mosaic Law, and now all people are under the Law of God, and now all people are eligible to be in a covenant with God, thanks to Jesus, what is referred to as the New Covenant. What is coined the “Sermon on the Mount” contains the Law being furthered by Jesus. First of all, the “Sermon on the Mount” convicts me that I cannot obey the Law without help from Jesus! If a person has not been justified, there is no opportunity for sanctification. Read the “Sermon on the Mount” and then ponder the question of whether you think this teaching by Jesus logically leads to a conviction that a human being has a need for a Savior. Secondly, we can learn that holiness starts in the heart, rather than emanating from good deeds. Thirdly, with enablement from Jesus, I desire my heart to be changed so that I live for being obedient to His commands. And doing so leads to holiness.
Holiness includes living without anger, without lust, without greed, and without fibbing, as Jesus taught. Read Matthew 5:21 through Matthew 5:48, the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus knew holiness! Jesus knows holiness still. And we can also by learning from Jesus. Holiness is caring about everyone.
When I was a young Christian, one day on a subway coming home from work, I read Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (NIV). This verse gained my attention. I thought to myself, “That is impossible.” But then as I looked out the window thinking, I considered the fact, “If it was impossible, why would Jesus command it?” As a baby Christian, I was intrigued. Over time in following Jesus, I learned the only way to begin and continue on in the perfection process is to allow Jesus to change your heart. Jesus is the One who perfects; the One who is Holy. That is the secret of the pursuit of holiness: get help daily from Jesus. It is as straightforward as that. The path to holiness comes by relying on Jesus every single day. Every single day that I have been following Jesus, I have needed His help to be the person He wants me to be. That fact remains.
Writing about holiness is easy. Living it is tough. I have written in my journal many times, “The perfection process is a painful process, yet the perfection process leads to goodness.” Holiness does not come from a “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not come from doing more a few more good works than anyone in your average helpful non-profit organization. (Not knocking non-profit organizations, considering I have been an employee of several non-profit organizations, including some churches.) Holiness does not come from giving more money away than your neighbor gives to her or his favorite non-profit organization. Holiness does not come from being genuinely emotional for one hour at a church worship service. Holiness comes from having a heart willing to love Jesus, willing to submit to Jesus; to be obedient to the Holy One. The mark of a child of God is someone who is willing to undergo the drastic change of being made holy. For those who have been obedient to Jesus in history, there we have had loving lights in utter darkness. And for those who are doing so now, here we have the true love of Jesus in this very day and age.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Alfred Edersheim, History of The Jewish Nation: After the Destruction of Jerusalem Under Titus (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1954), 373.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
1 Peter 1:10-12
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things (NIV).
Yesterday I did something I have not done in quite awhile; I attended a wedding. My friend from Colorado Christian University, Jamie, was married, and the wedding ceremony was beautiful!
I normally do not get nervous about such events, yet yesterday I was a little nervous about the event because I knew how much it all meant to my dear young sister-in-Christ. As I was getting ready, my hair looked good, but I noticed that since my last haircut, some hair had grown over my ear, so I decided to trim the hair so I looked prime. In doing so, I cut my ear. It hurt! Yet it was only a small cut.
All four of the "Gospels" tell of the event of a disciple cutting off the ear of a servant of the High Priest at the time when people had come to arrest Jesus. Only John identifies the disciple who cut off the ear as Peter, the author of the epistle we are examining. In two descriptions it is told that it was the right ear, but in the other two descriptions the specific ear is not specified. The details all make me wonder if the ear was what Peter was aiming for. If he was aiming to kill the servant of the high priest, doing so would have caused an all out brawl. If he was aiming to simply scare the mob by cutting only an ear, he sure had good swordsmanship. I do not know his aim.
Then there is the curious fact that in only in the book of Luke is it told that Jesus healed the ear of the high priest. If such a small cut on my ear yesterday hurt, I imagine how horrible it would be to have my entire ear cut off. And if in the midst of such horror, Jesus of Nazareth placed my ear back on my head and miraculously healed it, I would be ever grateful. I would be telling people about how special Jesus was even though He was considered by my people to be a vagabond.
The irrational intent of the mob to arrest Jesus is affirmed right there during the arrest. Here Jesus performs a healing miracle before the mob, yet they still arrest Him. There was nothing He could do or say to thwart their intent on arresting Him. One thing Jesus did say: "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:54 NIV). So Jesus said Scriptures told of His physical tragedy, and that is what Peter is saying here in this verse! Peter is saying that the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, informed prophets of the suffering of Jesus years before it happened. But where?
Isaiah 53:5 states: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him..." (NIV). This "servant" was the Messiah.
Whoa Nealy. People in churches are so quick to read this during the time of the Lord's Supper, however I learned in my first year at CCU that many Bible scholars are quick to say that these uneducated or miseducated pastors are taking things out of context, and that the prophets were mainly talking about stuff going on at the present time, and not actually predicting what was to come with the Messiah. (A minority of them might go on to say that God does use it now as a double entendre, which is a dangerous practice since people can start interpreting things to mean whatever they want.) So which is it?
Many Bible scholars say Isaiah is all about the state of Israel at the current time, and the authors (many scholars think three people wrote Isaiah; I disagree) are discussing kings of Israel and Judah solely, and are only talking about the near future rather than the distant future. The reason that a vast majority of Bible scholars think that most of the Old Testament is "forthtelling" rather than "foretelling" is because they are failing to understand the unusual writing style of the Hebrews. It was an incredible light of revelation for me when I figured out in my Interpreting the Bible class that the reason that Hebrew prophets sometimes seem to switch gears so abruptly is because they were following a set pattern common in Hebrew writing.
My textbook for Interpreting the Bible was Michael Gorman's Elements of Biblical Exegesis, a superb book. He explains these Hebrew writing methods, and I recommend reading about this topic.(1) One pattern of structure is called the concentric pattern. It takes a form such as ABCBA. This is often applied to Hebrew poetry, but it was even done in long writing by the prophets. For example, the prophet may start with what I will label "A," talking about the state of Israel and Judah as a whole, then he will move to "B," talking about a specific king of Israel. And then he moves to "C," giving a prophecy of what is going to happen in the distant future involving a Savior, and then he goes back to "B," and then concludes with "A." So what on the surface seems like muddled writing suddenly makes sense if you understand the structure. And rather than the prophet being a bad writer, or having a bad editor, as many Bible scholars think, the prophet is actually inserting hope into the midst of his writing during hopeless situations. Often a prophet is preaching to people, not because everything is peachy keen, but rather because things are a mess. So the author is telling of the problems with Israel, and the author moves to giving specifics going on with kings, and then just when you think those Hebrews are done for, the author, someone who knows of something of the future because God has told him, tells of the blessing of a Messiah that God is going to give in the future. Beautiful.
The Thursday after Ash Wednesday in 2004, I went with a number of people from my church to see the movie, The Passion of the Christ. It was one of the few times I have cried in a movie theater, and I cried much. The movie is so violent, it is a movie I could only see once. In our passage here, Peter speaks of the Spirit of Christ working in prophets. I can tell you that the Spirit of Christ hit me with a wave of conviction when the Scripture verse from Isaiah came up on the screen at the beginning of the movie. I have never felt such power in a movie theater. I think the conviction was even greater since I was a guy who saw a few "R" rated movies before I was a Christian, and even in the immediate wake of my conversion, which had evil violence and lustful stuff.
Now Peter said prophets in the plural, and there are other example of prophets telling of the suffering of the Messiah. Zechariah tells of the one who was "pierced," in Zechariah 12:10, and how the result is mourning. The one that was pierced was Jesus.
Then there is the incredible time specification by Daniel. "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing" (Daniel 9:26). If you ever want to do further reading on this, I recommend what I think is one of the greatest books in the world, Betrayed, by Stan Telchin.
Now I have been talking about the suffering of Christ that Peter mentioned, but Peter also mentioned the glories that the Christ brought as told by the prophets. Yes, there is a glorious part. For example: "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David" (Isaiah 55:3 NIV). Out of the suffering, love is available!
And from Zechariah: "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity" (Zechariah 13:1 NIV). Cleansing from sin is available!
In order for salvation to be available to human beings, the Messiah (the Christ) had to suffer! Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of all people. Yet now the glory is that any person has the opportunity to receive what Christ's gift of forgiveness, and by believing, which is receiving, Jesus Christ, the person is saved from eternal spiritual death. May we the saved continue in gratitude to Jesus for the suffering He carried out for us, may we relish the glory of salvation we have in the present, and may we preach the Gospel to folks, in ways that fit our particular gifts, relying on the Holy Spirit, just as disciples of Christ were telling the Gospel in manners that fit their particular gifts back at the time that Peter wrote this letter.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Michael J. Gorman, Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2001), 78-87.
Yesterday I did something I have not done in quite awhile; I attended a wedding. My friend from Colorado Christian University, Jamie, was married, and the wedding ceremony was beautiful!
I normally do not get nervous about such events, yet yesterday I was a little nervous about the event because I knew how much it all meant to my dear young sister-in-Christ. As I was getting ready, my hair looked good, but I noticed that since my last haircut, some hair had grown over my ear, so I decided to trim the hair so I looked prime. In doing so, I cut my ear. It hurt! Yet it was only a small cut.
All four of the "Gospels" tell of the event of a disciple cutting off the ear of a servant of the High Priest at the time when people had come to arrest Jesus. Only John identifies the disciple who cut off the ear as Peter, the author of the epistle we are examining. In two descriptions it is told that it was the right ear, but in the other two descriptions the specific ear is not specified. The details all make me wonder if the ear was what Peter was aiming for. If he was aiming to kill the servant of the high priest, doing so would have caused an all out brawl. If he was aiming to simply scare the mob by cutting only an ear, he sure had good swordsmanship. I do not know his aim.
Then there is the curious fact that in only in the book of Luke is it told that Jesus healed the ear of the high priest. If such a small cut on my ear yesterday hurt, I imagine how horrible it would be to have my entire ear cut off. And if in the midst of such horror, Jesus of Nazareth placed my ear back on my head and miraculously healed it, I would be ever grateful. I would be telling people about how special Jesus was even though He was considered by my people to be a vagabond.
The irrational intent of the mob to arrest Jesus is affirmed right there during the arrest. Here Jesus performs a healing miracle before the mob, yet they still arrest Him. There was nothing He could do or say to thwart their intent on arresting Him. One thing Jesus did say: "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:54 NIV). So Jesus said Scriptures told of His physical tragedy, and that is what Peter is saying here in this verse! Peter is saying that the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, informed prophets of the suffering of Jesus years before it happened. But where?
Isaiah 53:5 states: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him..." (NIV). This "servant" was the Messiah.
Whoa Nealy. People in churches are so quick to read this during the time of the Lord's Supper, however I learned in my first year at CCU that many Bible scholars are quick to say that these uneducated or miseducated pastors are taking things out of context, and that the prophets were mainly talking about stuff going on at the present time, and not actually predicting what was to come with the Messiah. (A minority of them might go on to say that God does use it now as a double entendre, which is a dangerous practice since people can start interpreting things to mean whatever they want.) So which is it?
Many Bible scholars say Isaiah is all about the state of Israel at the current time, and the authors (many scholars think three people wrote Isaiah; I disagree) are discussing kings of Israel and Judah solely, and are only talking about the near future rather than the distant future. The reason that a vast majority of Bible scholars think that most of the Old Testament is "forthtelling" rather than "foretelling" is because they are failing to understand the unusual writing style of the Hebrews. It was an incredible light of revelation for me when I figured out in my Interpreting the Bible class that the reason that Hebrew prophets sometimes seem to switch gears so abruptly is because they were following a set pattern common in Hebrew writing.
My textbook for Interpreting the Bible was Michael Gorman's Elements of Biblical Exegesis, a superb book. He explains these Hebrew writing methods, and I recommend reading about this topic.(1) One pattern of structure is called the concentric pattern. It takes a form such as ABCBA. This is often applied to Hebrew poetry, but it was even done in long writing by the prophets. For example, the prophet may start with what I will label "A," talking about the state of Israel and Judah as a whole, then he will move to "B," talking about a specific king of Israel. And then he moves to "C," giving a prophecy of what is going to happen in the distant future involving a Savior, and then he goes back to "B," and then concludes with "A." So what on the surface seems like muddled writing suddenly makes sense if you understand the structure. And rather than the prophet being a bad writer, or having a bad editor, as many Bible scholars think, the prophet is actually inserting hope into the midst of his writing during hopeless situations. Often a prophet is preaching to people, not because everything is peachy keen, but rather because things are a mess. So the author is telling of the problems with Israel, and the author moves to giving specifics going on with kings, and then just when you think those Hebrews are done for, the author, someone who knows of something of the future because God has told him, tells of the blessing of a Messiah that God is going to give in the future. Beautiful.
The Thursday after Ash Wednesday in 2004, I went with a number of people from my church to see the movie, The Passion of the Christ. It was one of the few times I have cried in a movie theater, and I cried much. The movie is so violent, it is a movie I could only see once. In our passage here, Peter speaks of the Spirit of Christ working in prophets. I can tell you that the Spirit of Christ hit me with a wave of conviction when the Scripture verse from Isaiah came up on the screen at the beginning of the movie. I have never felt such power in a movie theater. I think the conviction was even greater since I was a guy who saw a few "R" rated movies before I was a Christian, and even in the immediate wake of my conversion, which had evil violence and lustful stuff.
Now Peter said prophets in the plural, and there are other example of prophets telling of the suffering of the Messiah. Zechariah tells of the one who was "pierced," in Zechariah 12:10, and how the result is mourning. The one that was pierced was Jesus.
Then there is the incredible time specification by Daniel. "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing" (Daniel 9:26). If you ever want to do further reading on this, I recommend what I think is one of the greatest books in the world, Betrayed, by Stan Telchin.
Now I have been talking about the suffering of Christ that Peter mentioned, but Peter also mentioned the glories that the Christ brought as told by the prophets. Yes, there is a glorious part. For example: "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David" (Isaiah 55:3 NIV). Out of the suffering, love is available!
And from Zechariah: "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity" (Zechariah 13:1 NIV). Cleansing from sin is available!
In order for salvation to be available to human beings, the Messiah (the Christ) had to suffer! Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the forgiveness of all people. Yet now the glory is that any person has the opportunity to receive what Christ's gift of forgiveness, and by believing, which is receiving, Jesus Christ, the person is saved from eternal spiritual death. May we the saved continue in gratitude to Jesus for the suffering He carried out for us, may we relish the glory of salvation we have in the present, and may we preach the Gospel to folks, in ways that fit our particular gifts, relying on the Holy Spirit, just as disciples of Christ were telling the Gospel in manners that fit their particular gifts back at the time that Peter wrote this letter.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Michael J. Gorman, Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2001), 78-87.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
1 Peter 1:8-9
1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (NIV).
A friend and I were talking today in the CCU library. In the midst of a theological discussion, he asked me, 'What is it to believe?' Tough question! "Believe" is used frequently. Often around playoff time for any professional sport, the camera shows someone in the audience with a sign which says, "I believe." They are trusting their team can bring victory. And maybe there is a commitment to share in the victory or defeat.
Believing in Jesus talked about here is more than simply believing He exists. Judas Iscariot believed that Jesus existed. And this believing is more than an intellectual conviction that Jesus is Lord. I use to believe that in my youth, but such an intellectual attitude did not illicit any change or response for me. Truly "believing" in Jesus is a full trust with heart and mind; trust in who Jesus is - the Messiah (Christ).
Martha, in John 11:27, stated, "...'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world'" (NIV). Martha believed! And it was a heartfelt belief. That is why the same woman who had been preoccupied with kitchen duty was, in her grief, going outside the village to met Jesus. Believing goes even one more step in committing your heart, which can be done by someone who trusts.
I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1989. Skipping details, it was on April 15, 1990, that I believed in Jesus in the full sense of the word; I gave my heart to Him. Again, skipping details, about one year later I got involved in a church singles group, a special group in my opinion. I soon befriended a guy in the group, Rae. Rae, like myself, graduated from Virginia Tech, though he is older than myself, and I did not know him at Tech. He told me of an occasion when he was a student walking either to or from class. At Virginia Tech there is a corridor that goes through a long academic building which is like going through a tunnel. He went through that, and just as he was about to walk out of it, a person jumped from the outside edge of the tunnel right in front of him and said loudly, "Are you saved?" Rae wanted to say, 'Yes I am saved. Are you crazy?" We both agreed that startling strangers is not an effective method of sharing the Gospel.
On the flip side, I find it sad that I have been in churches where little is said of salvation. It is not even a big conversation item at CCU. Students are more likely to talk about other subjects than soteriology. Peter does talk about salvation. Peter says salvation of souls is the goal of faith.
May you know that Christianity is not a game. Personally I enjoy some sports for entertainment, and I am not cutting down sports. Yet when Virginia Tech wins a football game, I share in the victory, and when they lose, I share in the defeat, however, either way my life does not change. Whereas believing in Jesus by an individual results in eternal life. That is all you need to do to be saved!! Praise be to God. Do consider that doing so will mean your life will never be the same, because you will be bonded with the Holy Spirit, and you will be in an additional family. Turning away from Jesus results in spiritual death. Neither you nor I have seen Jesus in the flesh. Peter did. May we join Peter in trusting Jesus who does bring the joy of salvation!
Hunter Irvine
A friend and I were talking today in the CCU library. In the midst of a theological discussion, he asked me, 'What is it to believe?' Tough question! "Believe" is used frequently. Often around playoff time for any professional sport, the camera shows someone in the audience with a sign which says, "I believe." They are trusting their team can bring victory. And maybe there is a commitment to share in the victory or defeat.
Believing in Jesus talked about here is more than simply believing He exists. Judas Iscariot believed that Jesus existed. And this believing is more than an intellectual conviction that Jesus is Lord. I use to believe that in my youth, but such an intellectual attitude did not illicit any change or response for me. Truly "believing" in Jesus is a full trust with heart and mind; trust in who Jesus is - the Messiah (Christ).
Martha, in John 11:27, stated, "...'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world'" (NIV). Martha believed! And it was a heartfelt belief. That is why the same woman who had been preoccupied with kitchen duty was, in her grief, going outside the village to met Jesus. Believing goes even one more step in committing your heart, which can be done by someone who trusts.
I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1989. Skipping details, it was on April 15, 1990, that I believed in Jesus in the full sense of the word; I gave my heart to Him. Again, skipping details, about one year later I got involved in a church singles group, a special group in my opinion. I soon befriended a guy in the group, Rae. Rae, like myself, graduated from Virginia Tech, though he is older than myself, and I did not know him at Tech. He told me of an occasion when he was a student walking either to or from class. At Virginia Tech there is a corridor that goes through a long academic building which is like going through a tunnel. He went through that, and just as he was about to walk out of it, a person jumped from the outside edge of the tunnel right in front of him and said loudly, "Are you saved?" Rae wanted to say, 'Yes I am saved. Are you crazy?" We both agreed that startling strangers is not an effective method of sharing the Gospel.
On the flip side, I find it sad that I have been in churches where little is said of salvation. It is not even a big conversation item at CCU. Students are more likely to talk about other subjects than soteriology. Peter does talk about salvation. Peter says salvation of souls is the goal of faith.
May you know that Christianity is not a game. Personally I enjoy some sports for entertainment, and I am not cutting down sports. Yet when Virginia Tech wins a football game, I share in the victory, and when they lose, I share in the defeat, however, either way my life does not change. Whereas believing in Jesus by an individual results in eternal life. That is all you need to do to be saved!! Praise be to God. Do consider that doing so will mean your life will never be the same, because you will be bonded with the Holy Spirit, and you will be in an additional family. Turning away from Jesus results in spiritual death. Neither you nor I have seen Jesus in the flesh. Peter did. May we join Peter in trusting Jesus who does bring the joy of salvation!
Hunter Irvine
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
1 Peter 1:3-7
I Peter 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (NIV).
Back in 2006, I studied this entire book of I Peter for months. I have entries galore in an old journal. Yet as I study I Peter afresh here for the second time, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I find this passage alone to be overwhelming, because it encompasses the whole shebang: past, present, and future. I like rock music. One of my favorite songs is “Don’t Look Back” by one of my favorite groups, Boston. I think there is a good point to that song about progressing to a better way of life, yet each and every individual is still impacted by his or her past, even if she or he is trying to forget it. The past is important to God.
Then there is the present. Sometimes I make the mistake of be willing to make the most of the present as soon as my present involves a wife, a better car, and a number of other things. Then there is the ever coming future, which seems uncertain. Fortunately for anyone who is willing to listen to the message of God even in this passage of Peter, there is no need to be overwhelmed. As we are immersed in the past, present, and future, there is a hope in it all; Jesus Christ. In the past, Peter is telling us that Jesus was raised from the dead! In the present, we can have new birth. This new birth is spiritual, and the result is enabling hope for perseverence towards a glorious future, even if there is horrible suffering in the present. Finally in the future, there is heaven, being with Jesus in full forever, for the faithful.
I spent time earlier focused on the importance of Peter being an apostle. Apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Thus we are reliant on their God inspired witness to strengthen our faith as we experienced the living Christ day by day. Because of what took place almost 2,000 years ago, a follower of Jesus can celebrate Easter every day proclaiming, “Christ is risen; the Lord is risen indeed.” And how do you become a follower of Jesus, considering that you cannot even see Him now? Interesting how I have heard much about the teaching on salvation coming by grace through faith as taught by Paul. Yet Peter is saying the same thing here. The Father raised Jesus from dead, and we can be incorporated into the fruit of that resurrection by faith in Jesus. “I believe in Jesus!”
Then we have new spiritual birth! Being born again is a spiritual event, involving being bonded with God, reason to praise God for the rest of our days. Yet to get personal, I can note how when I turned to Jesus in 1990, I went through what I would call a “honeymoon” period, where I was simply elated to be in a relationship with Jesus. But then a time of hardship came in my life, namely having to do with the start of my dating life, which was severely lacking. (Yes, even though I started dated when I was older and more mature, I still did not get a girlfriend.) Even amidst the hardship there were blessings from God, but sometimes I did not “feel” born again. Sometimes I felt like I was having the same problems as everyone else. Yet spiritual rebirth is only a starting point, and growth in Christ involves challenges and pain. Yet a person willing to do God’s will is improved all along. And reason remains all along to praise God.
On top of growing pains, then the possibility is presented that there may be suffering solely due to be a Christian. If you were ever passed up for a raise when you would have received that raise had you not been an enthusiastic Christian, then you have suffered because of being a Christian whether that was evident or not. There is much subtle suffering by Christians in this day and age. In Peter’s time, the suffering taking place due to persecution was horrendous. Peter brings up the subject of suffering, and he will discuss this in depth later on in this letter. For now, may we keep in mind that persecution of Christians by certain Roman emperors in the early period of Christianity seemed relentless. In reading Ecclesiastical History, sick persecution kept coming in waves. A great miracle to be seen from early Christian history is that Christians kept flourishing in spite of opposition which only God could thwart. God was there at every juncture to thwart tidal wave opposition. And keep in mind we are reading a letter by a man who would soon have to watch his wife be crucified(1). And then he himself was crucified upside down(2).
And then there is the future. Peter speaks of an inheritance in heaven. Such talk always seems to be a rough transition, going from the tangible nature of this world to the intangible “heaven.” Some people see heaven as more of fantasy thinking. Yet not for Peter, since Peter is focused on Jesus. Recall that Peter is One who realized that Jesus had come from heaven (Matthew 16:16), and Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus ascending into heaven (Acts 1:9). Peter had reason to trust the promise of Jesus that a disciple will gain the inheritance of eternal life in heaven.
I mentioned the rock band Boston earlier. Shifting from rock music, I grew up with my mom being a giant John Denver fan. I have seen John Denver in concert eight times, and a number of those times I was with my mom. Having seen many music concerts, I rank John Denver’s concerts as some of the best, for the reason that every time John Denver was performing, I got the conviction there was no other place in the world John Denver would have rather been at that moment than on a stage playing guitar and singing. He totally loved it. Once at a concert at an amphitheater in Maryland, John was talking between songs. He spoke of how you need to have hope. Then he continued on saying you even need to have more than hope, you need to have faith. His statement made an impression on me, because he made that vague statement with such conviction.
In reflection, the words are not the key issue, rather the key issue is the subject. Hope in what? Faith in who? Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Peter, an Apostle of Jesus, was a witness of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Peter, baptized with the Holy Spirit, is assuring us that the salvation of Jesus is reason to praise God in the present. Eternal life in Jesus is going to be a reality in the future. Peter is preaching Jesus! This is not blind faith! We have reason to have faith in Jesus right now, because of what He has done in the past, and what He has promised for the future.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers; Translations of The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1885; repr., Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 2:541.
(2) Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 67.
Back in 2006, I studied this entire book of I Peter for months. I have entries galore in an old journal. Yet as I study I Peter afresh here for the second time, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I find this passage alone to be overwhelming, because it encompasses the whole shebang: past, present, and future. I like rock music. One of my favorite songs is “Don’t Look Back” by one of my favorite groups, Boston. I think there is a good point to that song about progressing to a better way of life, yet each and every individual is still impacted by his or her past, even if she or he is trying to forget it. The past is important to God.
Then there is the present. Sometimes I make the mistake of be willing to make the most of the present as soon as my present involves a wife, a better car, and a number of other things. Then there is the ever coming future, which seems uncertain. Fortunately for anyone who is willing to listen to the message of God even in this passage of Peter, there is no need to be overwhelmed. As we are immersed in the past, present, and future, there is a hope in it all; Jesus Christ. In the past, Peter is telling us that Jesus was raised from the dead! In the present, we can have new birth. This new birth is spiritual, and the result is enabling hope for perseverence towards a glorious future, even if there is horrible suffering in the present. Finally in the future, there is heaven, being with Jesus in full forever, for the faithful.
I spent time earlier focused on the importance of Peter being an apostle. Apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Thus we are reliant on their God inspired witness to strengthen our faith as we experienced the living Christ day by day. Because of what took place almost 2,000 years ago, a follower of Jesus can celebrate Easter every day proclaiming, “Christ is risen; the Lord is risen indeed.” And how do you become a follower of Jesus, considering that you cannot even see Him now? Interesting how I have heard much about the teaching on salvation coming by grace through faith as taught by Paul. Yet Peter is saying the same thing here. The Father raised Jesus from dead, and we can be incorporated into the fruit of that resurrection by faith in Jesus. “I believe in Jesus!”
Then we have new spiritual birth! Being born again is a spiritual event, involving being bonded with God, reason to praise God for the rest of our days. Yet to get personal, I can note how when I turned to Jesus in 1990, I went through what I would call a “honeymoon” period, where I was simply elated to be in a relationship with Jesus. But then a time of hardship came in my life, namely having to do with the start of my dating life, which was severely lacking. (Yes, even though I started dated when I was older and more mature, I still did not get a girlfriend.) Even amidst the hardship there were blessings from God, but sometimes I did not “feel” born again. Sometimes I felt like I was having the same problems as everyone else. Yet spiritual rebirth is only a starting point, and growth in Christ involves challenges and pain. Yet a person willing to do God’s will is improved all along. And reason remains all along to praise God.
On top of growing pains, then the possibility is presented that there may be suffering solely due to be a Christian. If you were ever passed up for a raise when you would have received that raise had you not been an enthusiastic Christian, then you have suffered because of being a Christian whether that was evident or not. There is much subtle suffering by Christians in this day and age. In Peter’s time, the suffering taking place due to persecution was horrendous. Peter brings up the subject of suffering, and he will discuss this in depth later on in this letter. For now, may we keep in mind that persecution of Christians by certain Roman emperors in the early period of Christianity seemed relentless. In reading Ecclesiastical History, sick persecution kept coming in waves. A great miracle to be seen from early Christian history is that Christians kept flourishing in spite of opposition which only God could thwart. God was there at every juncture to thwart tidal wave opposition. And keep in mind we are reading a letter by a man who would soon have to watch his wife be crucified(1). And then he himself was crucified upside down(2).
And then there is the future. Peter speaks of an inheritance in heaven. Such talk always seems to be a rough transition, going from the tangible nature of this world to the intangible “heaven.” Some people see heaven as more of fantasy thinking. Yet not for Peter, since Peter is focused on Jesus. Recall that Peter is One who realized that Jesus had come from heaven (Matthew 16:16), and Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus ascending into heaven (Acts 1:9). Peter had reason to trust the promise of Jesus that a disciple will gain the inheritance of eternal life in heaven.
I mentioned the rock band Boston earlier. Shifting from rock music, I grew up with my mom being a giant John Denver fan. I have seen John Denver in concert eight times, and a number of those times I was with my mom. Having seen many music concerts, I rank John Denver’s concerts as some of the best, for the reason that every time John Denver was performing, I got the conviction there was no other place in the world John Denver would have rather been at that moment than on a stage playing guitar and singing. He totally loved it. Once at a concert at an amphitheater in Maryland, John was talking between songs. He spoke of how you need to have hope. Then he continued on saying you even need to have more than hope, you need to have faith. His statement made an impression on me, because he made that vague statement with such conviction.
In reflection, the words are not the key issue, rather the key issue is the subject. Hope in what? Faith in who? Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Peter, an Apostle of Jesus, was a witness of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Peter, baptized with the Holy Spirit, is assuring us that the salvation of Jesus is reason to praise God in the present. Eternal life in Jesus is going to be a reality in the future. Peter is preaching Jesus! This is not blind faith! We have reason to have faith in Jesus right now, because of what He has done in the past, and what He has promised for the future.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers; Translations of The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1885; repr., Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 2:541.
(2) Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 67.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
1 Peter 1:1-2
I Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance (NIV).
In my second job after graduating from Virginia Tech, I started out as a Legal Research Assistant, and I had the opportunity to do some writing, which I enjoyed. My supervisor was a graduate of the University of Virginia, and since I am a Virginia Tech grad, we had some entertaining talks. He would tell me about a professor he liked, giving his favorite quote from that professor, which he said slowly. The quote was: “Who is this evil nemesis ‘they?’”
Here in the first sentence of I Peter, I have the opposite question: Who is this downright fortunate group “the elect?”
My last semester at CCU, I had to take "Contemporary Approaches to Theology." I gave a class presentation comparing the theology of Rudolph Bultmann with Karl Barth. Now Bultmann’s theology is flawed, and I argued against his basic proposition, which is another subject, yet I have much admiration for Karl Barth. Concerning genuine evil, sometime after Adolph, (and I do not even like to say his full name), gained power in Germany, professors at German universities were required to give that evil salute. Karl Barth refused!(1)
Getting fired from the University of Bonn was the result. Yet God got Karl Barth another university teaching position in his home country of Switzerland!
I bring Barth up here, since the required Barth reading for my presentation was his famous piece on “election.” Karl Barth argued that Jesus is both the “Elector” and the “Elected.” Thus in the Bible when people are being referred to as the “elect,” they can be called such since Barth is saying that Jesus incorporates people into that position as He incorporates people into Himself. This makes sense, yet more importantly, it is supported by 1 Peter 1:20 as you take that verse in the context of chapter one of 1 Peter. The problem that I and some others see with his writing on this subject is that there is a suggestion that all people are incorporated into being the elect, since the “men” who are “elected” are the men who are the “rejected,” which is all people, who were “elected” only because of Christ’s substitution. “Being elected ‘in Him,’ they are elected only to believe in Him, i.e., to love in Him the Son of God who died and rose again for them,…” But this is wrong because people are not elected to believe in Jesus, or indeed all people would believe in Jesus by Barth’s reasoning.(2) Rather, people who chose to believe in Jesus, the "Elector" and the "Elected," become the elect thanks to their Savior, whom they are bonded with.
I think Barth saw the flaw of “double predestination” which was the norm in the Reformed community of which he was a part. That doctrine which claims people are predestined by God to either heaven or h-ll is wrong, since the atonement by Jesus was not limited. The atonement made on the Cross by Jesus was unlimited. We are going to see this later on in this great epistle in the verse, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (I Peter 3:18 NIV).
But then Barth started to slide, or slid, into the wrong doctrine of “universalism.” There have been others who have realized the doctrine of limited atonement is wrong, but then who have erred by claiming universalism. I do applaud that Barth understood what Christ did on the Cross was to be the substitute for the sins of all people! Yet all people were not elected. People have a choice regarding incorporation. What is the method of gaining status as the elect? Believe in Jesus. Jesus made this clear in passages such as John 3:16, which is so well know.
Now Dr. Aaron Smith, my professor in that class, and a Karl Barth scholar extraordinaire, stated it is possible Karl Barth may have simply been staying positive, not wishing anyone to go to h-ll, since on one hand Barth said he did not teach universalism, but on the flip side he said he did not teach against it. This may be true, but then that is lacking theology, since telling the complete truth about salvation and damnation is covering the teachings of Jesus in full. Have you ever warned young children about staying out of a road? I have. I gave that talk to two great kids I was babysitting for my close friends when they were young. I sure did not want them to go in the road and get hit by a car. When I was around five or six years old, a girl ran in front of a slow moving ice cream truck on the road right by my house and was hit. Fortunately she was not seriously injured, but that sight impressed on me not to run into the road. Now in talking to kids about staying out of the road, my intention is not to scare them! My intention is to simply tell them the worldly reality of cause and effect, and to be serious about it, so that they can grow up safe, even when that day comes years later when the soccer ball goes into the street, and the first reaction is to dash out and get it.
I add that “God’s elect” were chosen with God’s foreknowledge, through “the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ…” Thus being chosen here involves sanctification, as well as what comes first, justification. Peter, just as his fellow apostle Paul sometimes does, is stating things in reverse order. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables a person to be sanctified, which means to be changed to be like Jesus. Preceding that is justification, which means to be forgiven of wrongdoings, both of which are possible because Jesus died as the atoning sacrifice, which is what the sprinkling of His blood is referring to.
Note how this introduction includes all three Persons of the Trinity! (Speaking of Barth, he championed the Trinity in a time when Trinity theology was being degraded.) Lastly, some people think the elect in this introduction were Jewish Christians spread out in those various countries as a part of what was known as the Dispersion. The Dispersion started when Assyria conquered the ten northern tribes, Israel, and continued after the Babylonian exile. I do not think Peter was singling out Jewish Christians, rather he was addressing Christians who were both Jewish and Gentiles. For example, I Peter 2:10 indicates more of a Gentile audience. Yet either way, the messages of Scripture are always key, because a primary attribute of Scripture is that the immediate context is critical for interpretation, yet that interpretation also provides a message from Holy Spirit meant for all people until Christ returns. So I Peter is a letter meant for even us.
Hunter Irvine
Footnotes:
(1) Stanley J. Grenz & Roger E. Olson, 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1992), 69.
(2) David F. Ford & Mike Higton, eds., The Modern Theological Reader
(Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), 17.
I bring Barth up here, since the required Barth reading for my presentation was his famous piece on “election.” Karl Barth argued that Jesus is both the “Elector” and the “Elected.” Thus in the Bible when people are being referred to as the “elect,” they can be called such since Barth is saying that Jesus incorporates people into that position as He incorporates people into Himself. This makes sense, yet more importantly, it is supported by 1 Peter 1:20 as you take that verse in the context of chapter one of 1 Peter. The problem that I and some others see with his writing on this subject is that there is a suggestion that all people are incorporated into being the elect, since the “men” who are “elected” are the men who are the “rejected,” which is all people, who were “elected” only because of Christ’s substitution. “Being elected ‘in Him,’ they are elected only to believe in Him, i.e., to love in Him the Son of God who died and rose again for them,…” But this is wrong because people are not elected to believe in Jesus, or indeed all people would believe in Jesus by Barth’s reasoning.(2) Rather, people who chose to believe in Jesus, the "Elector" and the "Elected," become the elect thanks to their Savior, whom they are bonded with.
I think Barth saw the flaw of “double predestination” which was the norm in the Reformed community of which he was a part. That doctrine which claims people are predestined by God to either heaven or h-ll is wrong, since the atonement by Jesus was not limited. The atonement made on the Cross by Jesus was unlimited. We are going to see this later on in this great epistle in the verse, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (I Peter 3:18 NIV).
But then Barth started to slide, or slid, into the wrong doctrine of “universalism.” There have been others who have realized the doctrine of limited atonement is wrong, but then who have erred by claiming universalism. I do applaud that Barth understood what Christ did on the Cross was to be the substitute for the sins of all people! Yet all people were not elected. People have a choice regarding incorporation. What is the method of gaining status as the elect? Believe in Jesus. Jesus made this clear in passages such as John 3:16, which is so well know.
Now Dr. Aaron Smith, my professor in that class, and a Karl Barth scholar extraordinaire, stated it is possible Karl Barth may have simply been staying positive, not wishing anyone to go to h-ll, since on one hand Barth said he did not teach universalism, but on the flip side he said he did not teach against it. This may be true, but then that is lacking theology, since telling the complete truth about salvation and damnation is covering the teachings of Jesus in full. Have you ever warned young children about staying out of a road? I have. I gave that talk to two great kids I was babysitting for my close friends when they were young. I sure did not want them to go in the road and get hit by a car. When I was around five or six years old, a girl ran in front of a slow moving ice cream truck on the road right by my house and was hit. Fortunately she was not seriously injured, but that sight impressed on me not to run into the road. Now in talking to kids about staying out of the road, my intention is not to scare them! My intention is to simply tell them the worldly reality of cause and effect, and to be serious about it, so that they can grow up safe, even when that day comes years later when the soccer ball goes into the street, and the first reaction is to dash out and get it.
I add that “God’s elect” were chosen with God’s foreknowledge, through “the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ…” Thus being chosen here involves sanctification, as well as what comes first, justification. Peter, just as his fellow apostle Paul sometimes does, is stating things in reverse order. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables a person to be sanctified, which means to be changed to be like Jesus. Preceding that is justification, which means to be forgiven of wrongdoings, both of which are possible because Jesus died as the atoning sacrifice, which is what the sprinkling of His blood is referring to.
Note how this introduction includes all three Persons of the Trinity! (Speaking of Barth, he championed the Trinity in a time when Trinity theology was being degraded.) Lastly, some people think the elect in this introduction were Jewish Christians spread out in those various countries as a part of what was known as the Dispersion. The Dispersion started when Assyria conquered the ten northern tribes, Israel, and continued after the Babylonian exile. I do not think Peter was singling out Jewish Christians, rather he was addressing Christians who were both Jewish and Gentiles. For example, I Peter 2:10 indicates more of a Gentile audience. Yet either way, the messages of Scripture are always key, because a primary attribute of Scripture is that the immediate context is critical for interpretation, yet that interpretation also provides a message from Holy Spirit meant for all people until Christ returns. So I Peter is a letter meant for even us.
Hunter Irvine
Footnotes:
(1) Stanley J. Grenz & Roger E. Olson, 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1992), 69.
(2) David F. Ford & Mike Higton, eds., The Modern Theological Reader
(Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), 17.
1 Peter 1:1 - Introduction
First Peter: A Commentary
by Hunter Irvine
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
I Peter 1:1(a) Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,... (NIV).
The first time I ever began a study of the book of I Peter, I had a sense of awe realizing I was studying Scripture which was written by the Apostle Peter whose enthusiasm, outgoing nature, and leadership gifts put him at the forefront as an apostle in the narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Being at the forefront was not always a positive. Yet even in his worst hour, the hour when he lied and said he did not know Jesus, Peter soon responded by weeping “bitterly.” And we get to see a transformation of Peter. From a man swift to act according to his emotions, carrying out acts such as cutting off an ear of a servant of the high priest at the arrest of Jesus, Peter becomes a man who preached the Gospel with steadfast conviction after believers in Jesus were baptized with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Though Peter is a person with a major focus in the first twelve books of Acts, the author, Luke, then completely shifts his attention to the ministry of Paul. This was soon after Peter grasped the fact that the gospel of Jesus is for Jewish people and everyone else also. Peter stated: “…that everyone who believes in [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43 NIV). Thus Luke was probably flowing with the theme of how Jesus came to be the Savior and Lord for Jewish people and Gentiles, people who were not Jewish, by shifting to a focus on the immediate ministry work of Paul to Gentiles. And how important to remember that the Gospel of Jesus today is still for Jewish people and everyone else. So after Acts 12:19, no more is said of Peter. What did happen to Peter? Luke does not tell us. Fortunately, I Peter does. Written by Peter years later, we can learn of what was on Peter’s heart first hand. Other Scripture gives narrative about Peter. In his two letters, we learn straight from the man himself.
Now before Peter ever wrote I Peter, he had already influenced the production of Scripture. The book of Mark bears the witness of Peter. Early Christians make it clear the author of Mark was a companion of Peter. Personally I have the rare view that Mark was a physical son of Peter, (I add I had the wrong name written here for years, which was an unfortunate typo. I apologize for that!), based on I Peter 5:13. If you really want to know about my unique thesis on that, I outlined my thesis within my overview of the book of Mark in 2008:
https://hunter-ntintro.blogspot.com/2008/09/mark-background.html
However most think the author of Mark was the person in the Bible called ‘John Mark.’ Early Christians state Mark wrote down much from what he heard from Peter. Apostolic authority was acknowledged to the book of Mark because of Peter.
https://hunter-ntintro.blogspot.com/2008/09/mark-background.html
However most think the author of Mark was the person in the Bible called ‘John Mark.’ Early Christians state Mark wrote down much from what he heard from Peter. Apostolic authority was acknowledged to the book of Mark because of Peter.
I think my interest was increased considering the two epistles by Peter seemed neglected in the churches I was a part of during for years as a Christian, probably since many of us Protestants, as my Roman Catholic friends would surely agree, are a tad leery of the apostle. Reason for hesitation by some Protestants is based on a theological argument which has gone on for around 1800 years concerning whether or not Peter was the vicar of Jesus. He was not. A commentary on Matthew would be a place for an examination of this issue. Instead I will start this introduction by saying what Peter was: Peter was a man who went from being a fisherman to being a man who was a minister for Jesus as an Apostle of Christ for around thirty years. Yes Protestants and Catholics on the whole agree on precisely what is written in this epistle; Peter was an apostle. For thirty plus years he served the Messiah in this world! Jesus had told Peter that if he followed Him, then he would be made into a fisher of people. Peter did follow, and a fisher of people he became indeed, just like the other apostles, minus Judas.
What is an apostle? The word means “sent forth.”(1) “The Jews so called those who carried about letters from their rulers.”(2) This definition comes from a classic Bible dictionary. It dispels the idea that an apostle is some sort of ruler. Instead, an apostle has a message from the King, who is Jesus. And regarding a specific attribute of an apostle: “It seems to have been essential to this high office, 1. That they should have seen the Lord, and have been eye and ear witnesses of what they testified to the world (John 15:27; Acts 1:21).”(3)
Before I dive in, I have to affirm the authenticity of this book of Scripture by early Christians. Both Irenaeus and Papias quoted or referenced I Peter according to Eusebius.(4) Papias was an early disciple of Christ, who knew people who had interacted with certain apostles. I can tell you where I was when I first read a quote of Papias, which was given by Eusebius. Listen to what Papias said: “But if I met with anyone who had been a follower of the elders anywhere, I made it a point to inquire what were the declarations of the elders. What was said by Andrew, Peter, or Philip. What by Thomas, James, John, Matthew, or any other of the disciples of our Lord. What was said by Aristion, and the presbyter John, disciples of the Lord; for I do not think that I derived so much benefit from books as from the living voice of those that are still surviving.”(5) Papias! I like this guy! He wanted to talk with the people who had talked with the Apostles. He wanted to hear the stories first hand. He was after the truth. Now Papias wanted to talk with people face to face, and I think he would dislike email if he were living in this day and age, but even he recognized the value of books, writing a book in five volumes himself, according to Irenaeus from an account by Eusebius. Unfortunately all of those book volumes have been lost. Boy would I love to read just one of those volumes. Yet we have something better before us. We have the writing of Peter, an apostle of Jesus, who was inspired by God to write this letter. This personal epistle can be read with such interest as you would read any letter from a friend who is willing to make an attempt to walk on water. Yet it should also be read with reverence and discernment, looking for the messages of the Holy Spirit, which we can listen to right here and now.
Hunter
Footnotes:
(1) Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Co.,
1901), 20.
(2) Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Co.,
1901), 20.
(3) Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Co.,
1901), 20.
(4) Eusebius, Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 164 and 106.
(5) Eusebius, Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 104.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
One more fun Colorado Christian University story!
I renew this post at a later time, and writing in retrospect, I consider that graduating from Colorado Christian University was the most challenging dream I have ever carried out! Remembering the immense amount of work, week after week, it is a blessing to remember a simple fun memory like this one:
My final semester at CCU, I took “Worldviews,” which covered the philosophical core of atheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Near the end of the semester, we were discussing Judaism, and the professor asked the class, “Who can recite the Shema?” I immediately blurted out, “I can!”
In my four and a half years at CCU, I spoke out in my classes often! Since I was studying at CCU with the hope that good grades and graduation would give me the credentials to teach the Bible in the future, I wanted to fully participate in all of my classes. Yet as my time went on at CCU, professors knew I was committed to my studies, and I did not need to go overboard to impress them.
Yet an even greater reason for me speaking out much was due to my passion for the Bible. Because of my passion, I was naturally engaged in all of my classes. And being an interactive learner, I learn far more when I actively participate in the learning process. So it was natural for me to interact in discussions with professors.
However, being an older student, I gradually abstained from giving numerous answers in any given class in order to give younger students a chance to answer questions. I wanted them to interact also!
Thus, after my sudden response to the Shema question, I quickly thought of the fact that the question was an easy answer some younger student could give. So I then said to Professor Murphy, “Oh, I am always opening my mouth in this class. Someone else can answer the question.”
There was silence in the classroom; utter silence. It was near the end of the semester when students were overloaded with papers and preparations for finals, and apparently some students had not carefully read the long reading assignment for our class that day. Silence continued. Dr. Murphy was looking around the classroom.
The silence was only filled when Bre, the student who sat next to me, spoke: “Hunter, open your mouth.”
I did. If sister Bre tells me to do something, I do it. I have much admiration for Bre.
The Shema is found in Deuteronomy 6:4 – “Hear, O’Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (NIV). The Shema originally was only Deuteronomy 6:4, which was consistently recited by worshipers who are Jewish, though it is often expanded in current day Jewish liturgical worship.
Deuteronomy 6:5 is really a continuation of the purpose of Deuteronomy 6:4. It states: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (NIV). In the Scripture passage of Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus answered the Pharisees by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, and He also added the command found in Leviticus 19:18.
Love God! Love people! These are the core commandments of God.
I give glory to God that because of His work in my heart for years, during my years at CCU I truly did love my fellow CCU students!
Hunter Irvine
Scripture Love Blog
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