Knowable Word

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Satisfaction is God’s Design Part 3: Redemption

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To find satisfaction, we must follow God’s example and receive his provision.  But that’s not enough.  Here’s a third reason for looking to the Lord for satisfaction

3.  In redeeming all things, God became wisdom.

God’s example and God’s empowerment are wonderful things, but they are not enough to satisfy us with wisdom.  If God merely demonstrated and disbursed wisdom, it would be bad news for sinful people; God’s example would crush us, and his empowerment would condemn us.  So he didn’t leave it there.

Instead, he became wisdom for us.  The eternal God entered the world as a man, Jesus Christ, and he did for us what we could not do for ourselves: find and keep wisdom.  He showed us wisdom, he gave us wisdom, and best of all, he became our wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).

Jesus lived without a trace of foolishness and should have been rewarded with long life, riches, honor, pleasantness, and peace.  However, consider what he got:

"At the cross I bow my knee" by Demi-Brooke (2009), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Demi-Brooke (2009), Creative Commons

  1. Instead of gaining long life, he died a premature death in our place.
  2. Instead of keeping riches (a close relationship with God), he was abandoned on the cross by his heavenly father.
  3. Instead of receiving honor, he experienced great shame in the physical nakedness of his crucifixion and the spiritual darkness of his substitution when he became sin for us.
  4. Instead of finding pleasantness (a straight path to God), he was cut off from fellowship with the one he loved most.
  5. Instead of enjoying peace, he was attacked by God and men.

Yet in dying our death, he brought us life: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).  After God accepted Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, he raised Jesus up:

  1. He came back from the dead, acquiring an indestructible life.
  2. His relationship with God (true riches) was restored, and he took his seat at God’s right hand.
  3. His shame gave way to unprecedented honor, for every knee will bow at his name.
  4. The pleasantness (unhindered straightness) of his way to God was restored.  And this restoration is not just for him, but also for all who love him.
  5. As was foretold at his birth, he brought glory to God in heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.

In short, Jesus lived wisely, and we could not; so he took our place.  Upon doing so, he suffered the consequences of our foolishness, so that we who are fools could reap the satisfying rewards of his wisdom.  Such is wisdom: Accept God’s rescue.

Seeing Jesus in Daniel

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Knowable Word LogoWe contend that the whole Bible is about Jesus.  That’s why we should be able to see Jesus in any passage.

And we delight in showing you that we’re not the only ones who think this way.

To that end, we recommend you check out a post at The Gospel Coalition by Matt Smethurst.  Smethurst recently interviewed professor Sidney Greidanus about his book Preaching Christ from Daniel.

Greidanus speaks helpfully about the main point of Daniel, the historical context, and the centrality of Christ.

Check it out!

You are Now Approved to Study the Bible

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Sometimes people don’t study the Bible because they feel unqualified.  I’m here to tell you that you’re ready.  You’ve graduated.  You’re accepted for the position.

I just finished a 41-part series on how to study the Bible, but that’s not the source of your credentials.  Your qualifications go much deeper.  Consider Paul’s exhortation to Timothy.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15, ESV).

Observe Paul’s command: “present yourself to God as one approved.”  The main verb is “present,” not “approve.”  We make all kinds of mistakes when we get this wrong.

Mistake #1: Present yourself to God to get his approval.

Sometimes we think we need to be qualified before we can approach the Lord (even through Bible study).  Paul says you’ve already been approved, so present yourself accordingly.

Mistake #2: Fail to present yourself, fearing God’s disapproval.

This mistake is the ugly stepchild of the first one.  Sinners who think they need God’s approval eventually stop trying to get it.  They keep failing, so they give up.

Mistake #3: Present yourself to men as one approved.

This is the classic mistake of religious people.  We think that if others respect and appreciate us, we must have arrived.  Either we seek people’s approval, or we act superior as those already approved.  In either case, we focus on the wrong thing – ourselves.

Mistake #4: Present others to God as one approved.

We make this mistake when we find our worth in the success of those we lead.  The Judaizers in Galatia were guilty of this error (Gal 6:13), as am I.  Every week in my 5-and-6-year-old Sunday school class, we sing a song with the names of the books of the Bible.  Subsequently, parents express amazement at how well their children know all the books.  It must mean I’m a great teacher, which must mean I’m gaining God’s approval for my service…

The Challenge: Present yourself to God as one approved.

You don’t need to get approved.  You are approved.  Notice what Paul wrote to Timothy earlier in the chapter:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1).

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel (2 Tim 2:8).

[The elect] may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Tim 2:10).

Remind them of these things (2 Tim 2:14).

Paul repeatedly draws attention to the fact that we can’t earn God’s approval.  Our reconciliation with God is initiated by grace, accomplished by Jesus’ death and resurrection, and accompanied by eternal glory.  Timothy must constantly remind his people of these things.

He must constantly remind himself.  We must remind ourselves.  “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.”  It’s hard work to remember these things.

So I remind you.  Don’t study the Bible to get approved.  Study it because you’re already approved.

Jesus died and rose for you to qualify you for a position close to God.  Now, do your best to remember it.  As you remember it, you’ll be ready handle the word of truth rightly because you’ll see this message of grace on every page.

Miss the message of grace, and you’ll no longer handle the word rightly.  But if you trust in Christ you’re still approved, so you can keep trying each day to get it right.

See How to Study the Bible for help along the way.

Remember Jesus in Your Application

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Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, was about to die.  He had fought the good fight; he had run the race; he had kept the faith.  The crown of righteousness was awaiting.

But he had a few final instructions to pass on to his main man Timothy.  One of the most important ones went as follows:

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains like a criminal.  But the word of God is not bound!  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Tim 2:8-10, ESV).

"At the cross I bow my knee" by Demi-Brooke (2009), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Demi-Brooke (2009), Creative Commons

It’s hard to imagine such a mature Christian needing to say something so apparently frivolous.  How could Timothy possibly forget about Jesus?  Isn’t Jesus the reason he became a pastor?  Isn’t Jesus the one who put the “Christ” in “Christianity”?

But Paul knows what we so often ignore, that one of our primary temptations as Christians is to forget Jesus.  Especially when it comes to studying the Bible.

Isn’t it so easy to think we needed Jesus before we become Christians, but now we need more discipline?  We delight in Jesus and his saving work that rescued us from our past sins, but now we live as though it’s up to us to please God.

We come to the Bible as a book of hope for sinners who can find eternal life by knowing Jesus.  But over the years, we change.  We begin treating the Bible as a book of rules, and we bludgeon ourselves and others into following those rules out of a sense of guilt or duty.  We bind the word of God, and we burden the elect with ethical or doctrinal chains.

I’ve already written about the importance of interpreting every Bible passage through the lens of Jesus.  Now, I highlight the importance of remembering Jesus even in our application.

When studying a Bible passage, you might make a theological connection to Jesus, but your work is not yet done.  Your application must also connect to and derive from Jesus and his saving work: “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them” (Heb 13:9).

In other words, nothing gets up your gumption for serving the Lord more than grace, grace, and more grace.  You can’t drum up more faithfulness from the inside.  You must be broken by God’s unbelievably high standard, and you must rest in Jesus’ death in your place and obedience on your behalf.  Every day.  Then, you’ll walk the straight and narrow.  And before you know it, you’ll be ready to pass the torch to a new generation.

Here’s what I mean.  Once I served as an elder in a church that hired a young new pastor.  This guy was a fine preacher, and he had been well-trained to preach Jesus.  He got in the pulpit his first week and preached with boldness and clarity.

But he made a few mistakes.  He stumbled over his words.  He got nervous and said a few things that, frankly, were pretty naïve.  After the service, he was discouraged by his failures, and he expected me to hammer him for them.  After all, preaching is important business.  You can’t mislead God’s sheep, or you’re in big trouble.

We evaluated the sermon together, and he braced himself for some well-earned criticism.

I did not ignore the mistakes.  I didn’t approve of them.  But I reminded him that Jesus had already died for them.  Because the gospel was true, this guy was free to make mistakes, even big ones.  I encouraged him to make more such mistakes in the future.  I preferred that he give it his all, making a few mistakes in the process, than that he hold back out of fear of imperfection.  He was free to live his calling as a preacher with confidence that he was accepted by God and already approved.

He had learned all about how to interpret the Bible with a focus on Jesus, but he had to practice applying it with a focus on Jesus.

So, let’s study (and especially apply) the Bible with such great confidence in Jesus that we can “sin boldly,” as Martin Luther advised his student Philip Melanchthon:

Martin LutherBe a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2 Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign.

Jesus Understands Your Disappointment

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We feel disappointed when our expectations are not met, and then we tend to blame either others or ourselves.  But God came to earth to rescue us from slavery to disappointment.

"Cemetery Cross" by Joel Kramer (2011), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

“Cemetery Cross” by Joel Kramer (2011), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

He sent his Son, Jesus, to live among us and experience our disappointment.  The night Jesus was betrayed, he expressed his great disappointment to his closest companions: “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death…My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me…[Friends,] could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matt 26:38-40, ESV).  On the cross, his disappointment climaxed: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46).

But Jesus’ disappointment didn’t turn him away from his father.  He didn’t blame himself for expecting too much from a dark, dark world.  He didn’t bend the situation to his own will, coming down from the cross or calling platoons of angels to fight for him.  No, rather than running away from God, Jesus let his disappointment bring him closer to God.  His dying words were: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

As Hebrews puts it, Jesus was a son who “learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb 5:8-9).  In other words, because Jesus drew close to God through his suffering and disappointment, he opened the way for you and me to do the same.  He died to bring us salvation, and he lives to bring us close to the Father, despite our disappointment.  But how?

How to See Jesus in Any Bible Passage

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Jesus is the main point of the entire Bible.  He said so himself (John 5:39, Luke 24:44-48).  Philip saw it (John 1:45).  Peter recognized it (1 Pet 1:10-12).  Paul knew it (2 Cor 1:20).

Do you?

Now, in seminary I was told that we have to be very careful here.  Apparently, some ancient Christian interpreters thought they saw Jesus in every detail of the Old Testament.  So Rahab’s red cord (Josh 2:18) was treated as a prophecy of the flowing blood of Christ that would save her and her family.  Or, Abraham’s servant’s 10 camels (Gen 24:10) were understood as the 10 commandments which would be fulfilled in Christ.

Not every passage of the Old Testament is a direct prediction of the life or death of Jesus Christ.  Some passages tell stories of what happened long before Jesus’ birth.  Other passages contain songs or prayers or rebukes or instruction.

So what did Jesus mean when he said that all the Scriptures were about him?

Luke 24:46-47 provides a helpful template.  Every passage of Scripture reveals Jesus by explaining at least one of the following truths:

  1. The Messiah would suffer (die).
  2. The Messiah would rise from the dead.
  3. We must repent of our sin and be forgiven.
  4. This message (that the Messiah’s death and resurrection make forgiveness possible) must be preached to all nations.

Here’s the key point: we must first understand the main point of an Old Testament passage before we can connect it to Jesus.

We shouldn’t look for Jesus in every detail.  Jesus isn’t necessarily in every detail.  But his message is there.  The message of the whole Bible is a unified message that boils down to those 4 points from Luke 24:46-47.

For example, the call of Abram in Genesis 12:1-9 is about how God chose one man to be the focal point of blessing the whole world.  What’s the connection to Jesus?  His message is for every nation.

Here’s another example: when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only beloved son (Gen 22), he was showing Abraham (and us) how the Messiah had to die and rise from the dead.

When innocent Daniel was tossed into the lion’s den and came out unharmed (Daniel 6), he demonstrated the Messiah’s death and resurrection.

When Moses and Solomon wrote Laws and Proverbs, God was showing us how high his standards really are.  He had to expose our inability to perform so we might learn to repent of our sin and be forgiven.

Please try this at home.  When you read the Bible (especially the Old Testament), always ask which of Jesus’ 4 points is being addressed.  Decent interpretation depends upon it.

Listen to Wisdom

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It’s critical for us to understand that wisdom is readily available, and we have only to listen.  Wisdom already took initiative with us and came to us, not in a set of ideas, but in a person.  Our duty is not to get everything just right and be perfect, but rather to set our hope in the one who got everything just right and was perfect for us.  Jesus gave up everything and became nothing for us, so that we who deserve nothing might gain everything in Him.

Jesus our Wisdom offers us a choice between self-destruction and security:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Mat 7:24-27, ESV)

All we have to do is hear, and then do, what He says.  The main thing he has said is that we can trust him.  He has made himself available.  Will you listen to him despite your love of being simple?  Just do nothing, and you’ll ruin everything.

Why OIA is the Best Bible Study Method

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A few days ago, I outlined the OIA method of Bible study that we follow.  In short, it stands for Observation, Interpreation, and Application.

I’ve already made one audacious claim: that everyone has a Bible study method.  Today I’d like to make another: that OIA is the best method one can use to study the Bible.  Let me support this claim with three reasons.

1.  It works for any person anywhere of any age

It can be taught to PhDs and other “professionals” and get quite complex and profound.  It can be taught to 3 year olds just learning to talk.  Anyone in between can use this method to great profit, understanding the main ideas of what God has communicated and becoming more like Christ as a result.

2.  It’s the way God designed all communication to work

OIA is nothing new or innovative.  It is simply an attempt to outline the steps by which any human being communicates with another human being (observing what was communicated, interpreting the meaning, and responding appropriately).  God made communication to work this way, so of course the Bible works the same way.

Let me illustrate.  If I met you on the street, you might observe me walk up to you, smile, and stick out my hand.  You would interpret that I mean you no harm and simply want to greet you.  You would apply the gesture by reaching out your own hand, taking my hand with yours, and saying “hello” or some similar sentiment.  Communication has now taken place.

Let’s say I ask you a question.  You might observe the raised inflection at the end of my sentence (the question mark), a resultant silence, and raised eyebrows on my face.  You would interpret these signs to mean that I want you to answer the question.  You would apply the interaction by answering the question, frowning in thought, holding up a finger to request more time, or running away in terror.

We simply cannot escape OIA.  We do it all the time.  We should employ it when we study God’s Knowable Word.

3.  It’s how Jesus interpreted the Bible

Jesus is the Lord (Phil 2:11) and the author of Scripture (1 Peter 1:11).  We should learn from him how to read Scripture.

Look at Matthew 21:42-44 as an example.  Notice how Jesus observes the Old Testament text in verse 42, interprets it in verse 44, and applies it in verse 43 (implying that his listeners should believe the truth and make some changes in their lives).

Jesus often references Scripture, giving us a window into his understanding of it, but he rarely is as clear as in Matt 21:42-44.  Usually, he assumes or implies the Interpretation, and states the Observation and Application explicitly (for example, see Matt 13:10-17 or Mark 12:35-37).  One place where he Observes and Interprets but doesn’t explicitly Apply is Luke 4:17-21.

In suggesting that OIA is the best method to use, I’m not saying that there’s an easy one-size-fits-all way of plugging every text through an equation.  I’m merely saying that we have a valuable and clear way by which we can understand what God is communicating in his Word.  Our study of the Bible is not arbitrary.

Why We Study the Bible

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Why should we study the Bible?  Couldn’t we just listen to God’s voice inside us?  Even if we ought to use the Bible, shouldn’t we just read it, expecting the meaning to become apparent?  Doesn’t all this “Bible study” stuff get in the way, slow us down, quench the Spirit?

Let me give some reasons why it’s important that we learn how to study the Bible:

1.  Knowing Jesus is eternal life

Jesus said it himself in John 17:3.  He wants what’s best for us, and what’s best for us is for us to know him.  He prayed accordingly the night before he was killed.

2.  The whole Bible is about Jesus

Jesus said it in Luke 24:44-47.  Phillip realized it early on (John 1:45).  Peter declared it much later (1 Peter 1:10-11).

3.  The Bible was written that we might know Jesus and have eternal life

Romans 15:4, John 20:30-31, 1 Peter 1:11-12, Rev 1:1.  It’s an old book, but it was written with you and me in mind!  It wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us.

4.  God thinks it’s noble when we examine the Bible to know Jesus better

Paul explained the main point of the Bible in Acts 17:3.  Some Thessalonians rejected this message (Acts 17:6-7), but the Bereans eagerly searched it out in the text of the Bible (Acts 17:10-11).

5.  It takes hard work to understand the Bible

Some parts are hard to understand, and those who are untaught or unstable will distort them (2 Peter 3:16).  We must be taught well and given a stable foundation if we are to understand the Bible and know Jesus.  Granted, many parts of the Bible are abundantly clear (John 14:6, Acts 4:11-12), yet they, too, are commonly twisted.

6.  We need God’s Spirit to understand the Bible

Our sin and rebellion against God infects everything about us, even our thinking.  No amount of hard work and no foolproof method will guarantee that we interpret the Bible rightly.  Countless universities have courses taught by learned professionals who miss the whole point (see #1-3 above).

But when we trust in the Jesus revealed in the Bible, we receive God’s Spirit, who helps us to know Jesus better (1 Cor 2:6-16).  Those who believe have access to the very mind of Christ because they have his Spirit.

On this blog, we want to help you know Jesus.  We do that by helping you learn to study the Bible.  Let’s keep working to master the methods, but above all, let’s keep our focus on Jesus as we do so.

How’d You Do That? (5/3/12)

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Everybody loves show and tell.  It’s that time in elementary school when you get to show all your friends something that really excites you, and then explain why it’s so exciting.

That’s why some of our blog posts will be given to showing you how to study the Bible, and others will focus on telling you how to do it.  Our hope is that by frequent showing and telling, you will be encouraged to practice these skills in your own study of God’s Knowable Word.

On Thursday, I began a series of posts on the Wisdom of Proverbs.  Even though Thursday’s post was a broad introduction, it still involved some weighty Bible study techniques. So I want to briefly comment on the key principles of Bible study demonstrated there.

1.  Know what the Bible says about the Bible.

We should read the Bible the way God wants us to read it.  Therefore, as we approach any passage of Scripture, we ought to know what the Bible says about the Bible.  On Thursday, I referred to 2 Timothy 3:16, which tells us that every passage of Scripture is useful.  Thus any Bible study we do ought to provide some sort of practical instruction, correction, or training in righteousness.  A Bible study that fails to provide practical help is incomplete.

Also, Jesus himself clearly stated in Luke 24:44-47 that the entire Bible was about Him.  He specifically referenced four components: his death, his resurrection, the forgiveness of sins, and the proclamation of these things to all nations.  So every Bible study ought to lead us to Jesus by illuminating one or more of these four areas.  If we haven’t seen Jesus, we haven’t rightly understood the text.

These two things are not all that the Bible says about the Bible; they’re just the two points I focused on in Thursday’s post.  Please feel free to leave a comment below about other sections of God’s Word that can help us in our study of any passage.

We’ll pick up two more principles tomorrow.