"But I
am afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve,
your minds
might be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity in Christ." -2 Corinthians 11:3
Christianity
Is All About Christ
The New Testament declares in various places and ways that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the revelation of the Father. This means that
we approach God properly by seeing Him in Jesus Christ. To bypass Jesus in
approaching God is to approach God in an unauthorized way—in a way that is not
good. It is the worship of a false God. Do you agree?
Christianity then is simply the label for proper worship of
God, whatever that means. This label is rooted in the name and title of our
Lord. Jehovah is the name God declared for Himself for the first time to Moses
at the burning bush. Jehovah is good and is the creator and sustainer of life.
Jesus means Jehovah brings resolution. Christ is not Jesus' last name as I was
self-deceived to believe for much of my Christian life. Christ is Jesus'
title and means anointed one. What was he anointed for? In the gospel of Isaiah
we see that the theological meaning of Christ is: Jehovah is my righteousness.
Thus Jesus Christ as the revelation of God is full of meaning with His name and
title reflecting who God is.
It should be natural then to see that the person, Jesus
Christ, is Christianity. When we declare with the apostles various statements
that they made, or quote Jesus as having made, we are declaring realities of
the universe; we are not merely using words. Words can and do have various and
shifting meanings. Words do not determine meaning. Words are simply identifiers
used to identify or tag objects. The words: present, gift, bribe, and reward
each signify or tag something different. Each of those different things is
real. And I suggest that we have been much tricked to drain the
meaning out of words. The statement that Jesus is the way, the truth and the
life is reality and not merely a doctrinal statement. Paul's statement
that Jesus is a person's holiness, righteousness, redemption, and wisdom from
God is a statement of reality not merely wishful thinking or sentimentality.
Peter's declaration that God commands complete holiness now with Jesus as the
standard of evaluation, is not flowery overly optimistic language, or a goad to
get Christians to work harder, but is reality. The question that I (you) need
to continually ponder is: what is the reality behind the words that I am using,
reading or hearing? Since I (and all of us) am easily tricked into shallow or
confused thinking, it is not good for me (all of us) to just assume that I or
others know what words mean. I see this as the center of the spiritual battle—heavenly wisdom versus worldly wisdom (James 3) —truth versus lies—spirit versus
flesh—real versus
counterfeit authority—perfect love
versus manageability—worship of
the true God versus idolatry—honoring
others versus dishonoring them.
In the past few years the above scripture has moved to the
center of my thinking and theology as I have begun to scratch the surface in
understanding the reality behind the words we Christians use.
"But I
am afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve,
your minds
might be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity in Christ." -2 Corinthians 11:3
What
is the simplicity and purity in Christ?
Do
you agree with Paul's statement that what is in Christ is simple and pure? Do
you share Paul's great concern that Christians can be corrupted away from this
simplicity and purity? Is it possible that you may have been corrupted away
from this simplicity? This is true for me and is my constant spiritual battle.
Do you see this corruption to be about the mind or do you see it as about
something else such as behavior, commitment, or dedication? If it is simple and
pure, then it is possible to explain it as simple and pure. If I can't do it,
then the implication from this passage (assuming or trusting that the
passage is true) is that either God is confused or I am. I assume that I,
in my thinking, am always the problem. How would you explain this simplicity and
purity? Ponder it a moment. Here is my explanation:
Perfect love.
This simple phrase is full of meaning which shines brightly in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The words perfect and love are both full of meaning. Jesus always saw the world through eyes of perfect love, which has two aspects. 1) Jesus always saw, thought, and spoke that which honored the reality that only perfection is good. 2) Jesus always saw, thought, and spoke that which honored His death on the cross as the only place where sin (violation of goodness or rebellion against perfection) is taken care of.
Do you see the simplicity of perfect love? Perfect love implies that:
1.
Imperfect righteousness is unrighteousness.
2.
Imperfect holiness is unholiness.
3.
Imperfect obedience is disobedience.
4.
Love is a way of seeing (thinking, perceiving, reckoning) that honors
perfection.
God is and commands perfect love ALWAYS—no compromising of goodness. Do you agree that God ALWAYS calls you: to ALWAYS love perfectly, to ALWAYS be COMPLETELY holy, to perfect obedience, and to perfect righteousness? If you don't, then by what authority do you compromise the reality that goodness is perfection?
The Opposite of
Simplicity and Purity
The
opposite or alternative to perfect love is not perfect hate, but rather
manageability. Manageability is the compromise of perfection. It declares that
God doesn't really mean perfection now—that goodness is about striving
not about success at being morally flawless. Manageability is the big lie of
Satan. It is THE counterfeit. It is the polluting and defiling thing that Jesus
and the apostles continually warned against and criticized. Manageability is
the leaven that defiles. It is the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. It is the log in
the eye that hinders one from seeing clearly the speck in one's brother's eye.
It is the flesh—human strength and wisdom at its
best—which bears such ugly fruit. It is
spiritual blindness. It is what causes stumbling. It is walking in the
darkness. It is hard-heartedness. It is what the prophet's called the people to
circumcise their hearts of. It is what defiles the flesh and spirit. It is
spiritual slavery. It is the wide gate and the broad road to
destruction. It is the rocky soil. It is the eight demons that made the Israel
of Jesus' day to be far worse than the Israel that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. It
is worldliness, irreverence, and unrighteousness. It is quenching the Spirit.
It is the source of all counterfeit spirituality. It is the demonic or
worldly wisdom that James warns about. It is the object of all temptation. It
is the draw to honor human performance rather than God's goodness. It is
looking away from Christ. It is lawlessness—the dishonor of the law. It
is the heart of idolatry. It is a way of thinking that mocks God's goodness,
but God will not be mocked. Manageability cries out that since it is good
to do good, all people need to try to do good. And it is the only thing
that Jesus hated, and he hated it so passionately that He died to create a way
of life free from it.
Perfect love versus manageability is the titanic spiritual battle which we all are part of every waking moment. The Holy Spirit always cries out for perfect love and always points to the finished work of Christ. Manageability always cries out "do what is right but don't be concerned about perfection."
The Application of
this Simplicity
At
conversion every person receives the perfect love of Jesus. It is poured out in
the heart by the Holy Spirit (See Rom. 5:5). Have you ever wondered why this
love flows out of you and me so inconsistently? If perfect love is the
simplicity and purity in Christ, then the reason for this inconsistency is
simple. Here is a simple example.
Think of the last time that you were impatient, irritated, or angry with a Christian. While you were irritated, impatient, angry, etc., what were you thinking about? Were you thinking that the person was dearly loved by God, covered by the blood of Jesus, fully forgiven, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ? No you weren't. Guaranteed. You were thinking about the behavior or words that you reacted to. Why were you thinking that way? Now let's say that later today you are praying for that same Christian and thanking God that the person is fully forgiven, delighted in by God, covered by the blood, and righteous in God's sight. Now let's say that while you are thinking and praying this, that person sneaks up on you and does that action that you reacted to previously. While you are thinking and praying this way, will you have a bad reaction toward that person? I have asked this of many dozen Christians over the years and all have said the same thing with different intensities and varying humorous comments.
I
asked it recently of some BIOLA students who were on campus witnessing. One
woman laughed and said she often gets impatient with her friends. She spoke in
a way that indicated that her recent impatience was still vivid in her mind.
She said that in that moment she was not thinking of her friend's identity in
Christ but of her bothersome behavior. To the big question she responded as if
her mind was slowly opening to a new reality. At first she hesitatingly stated
that while she was praying this way she didn't think she would have a bad
reaction. This was obviously a new train of thought for her. She slowly gained
confidence, eventually smiling and declaring that seeing a person in their
identity in Christ would make bad reactions impossible for her—while
she was thinking that way. I have had this basic conversation many times. And I have even had it many time with non-Christians. All have been
surprised about how considering or forgetting to consider the love of God so
consistently affects them.
The critical question is this. Why did this Christian declare to me that it would be impossible to have an impatient reaction while seeing a person through identity in Christ? One dear Christian friend who has suffered much from long term depression told me that it would be impossible for any Christian to have a bad reaction while seeing the violator through identity in Christ. How does he know this about you and every other Christian?
The testimony of these Christians is what I see in the scriptures. 1) When you see a person through eyes of perfect love—that perfection is required now and that perfection is provided as a gift now and always in the death of Christ—while and only while you are seeing that way—it is impossible for the works of the flesh (bad reactions, evil, sin) to come out of your heart toward a person who is mistreating you, even while you are being mistreated. Actually not only do bad things not come out, but good things overflow naturally from your heart, and in abundance. 2) All your sinful reactions are a result of you seeing life through eyes of manageability. Point one is walking in the Spirit and point two is walking in the flesh. It is that simple.
The surprise in the Christian life is twofold: 1) that what is in Christ is simple and pure, and 2) that we all are too weak to do anything except resist the work of God in our hearts. His work is always perfect love and it is His work not ours. We are called and commanded to maintain and grow in a razor sharp vision of perfect love. The one and only way that you can resist perfect love overflowing right now from your heart is to get distracted from a vision of perfect love. That distraction is by definition manageability. It has a multitude of forms.
If
you doubt my words that it is actually this simple, I suggest an
application for you. The next time you are irritated, impatient, or angry with
a person you think to be a Christian, ask yourself what you are thinking
about. Is it God's viewpoint of perfect love or some form of
manageable behavior? Try this experiment many times to confirm it to yourself.
If
you are convinced that my words are true and you are discouraged at how easily
your get distracted from this vision of identity in perfect love, I would
suggest an application for you. Today begin thanking God for details of
your identity in Christ. Feel free to thank Him often for this. Then as other Christians come to mind, thank God for some aspect
of their identity in Christ. Pray for the Christians by name. Especially
do this with the Christians who tend to rub you the wrong way. The
more you do this the faster your mind will be renewed. As you do this often,
you may be surprised at how quickly your mind runs to identity when you
see a Christian fail. This is not about minimizing
moral failure, it is about maximizing it, about considering it God's way, through the eyes of Christ—that only His death resolves sin. You may find yourself surprised that you actually like the other Christians and are happy with them even while they are mistreating you. It is not that you are dismissing their sin, but you are no longer playing judge. In that moment, you are their advocate and are delighting in them because of Christ's work and not their own good behavior.
moral failure, it is about maximizing it, about considering it God's way, through the eyes of Christ—that only His death resolves sin. You may find yourself surprised that you actually like the other Christians and are happy with them even while they are mistreating you. It is not that you are dismissing their sin, but you are no longer playing judge. In that moment, you are their advocate and are delighting in them because of Christ's work and not their own good behavior.
Summary
God
calls all people to always to do what is good. Let's agree that this is perfect
love. This perfect love was poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit at
conversion (Romans 5:5). We are called to continuously set our hope totally on
the grace (perfect love commanded and provided) revealed in Jesus
Christ, (1Peter 1:13) and to be continually renewed to that new
simple vision of life (1Peter 1:14). We are called to goodness, to in every
waking moment have the mindset of perfect love. Having this mindset in the
moment makes behavior in the moment to be fitting and beautiful. This
simplicity is what holiness is. Thus the call to perfect holiness NOW in
all behavior is THE good, simple, easy, natural, beautiful-fruit-bearing call
to see (consider) life in the current moment through perfect love (1Peter 1:15). We
all live in the current moment.
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