The underlying theme of many New Testament books, such as Ephesians, 1st Timothy, Titus, and 1st Peter, is alarmingly different then what many of us have been led to think (by others or by ourselves). Rather than letters written to twenty-first century, married me, each of the NT authors is speaking to God’s people in the first century AD, and through them the Holy Spirit has spoken to His people through all times since. There is a simple reason that explains how this amazing reality is possible: the truth of what the Gospel has to say to God’s people stays the same, and is relevant to all people in whatever circumstance life can throw at them. Culture and geography changes, but human nature and God’s nature stay the same.
When you open to the books of Ephesians, 1st Timothy, the Corinthians, and so forth, be careful. When you read the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and the parables, be careful. What will make the text applicable to you today is not cleverly finagling a 1st century Jewish social situation into your own context, or trying to make your particular relational and social structures match that of the examples given in the Epistles. What will make Jesus’s parables and teaching applicable to you is not putting yourself or somebody you know at the center of His teaching, making yourself and others the focus of themed moral lessons.
If we aren’t careful, we will read through Paul and and Peter’s letters to the churches in Ephesus, Crete, Rome, etc.. with the intent of learning how to be a better Christian. Actually, we will read through the whole Bible this way, from start to finish, starving for answers to our lifestyle and lifeline questions. We desperately want to be better Christians. We want to do life in the church right. We want to do life in the home right. We want to be holy. We will go right to the Gospel expressed throughout the Bible, and we will twist it into a moral guidebook for ourselves and others. Picking and choosing our legalisms, we will take passages on freedom and flip them into heavy burdens. Hear me. The Bible has plenty of discussion on morality. Many passages directly address sin and exhort us to run from it. Many passages vividly illustrate what our hearts produce when we pursue the world and live in our own strengths apart from Christ, and contrast that to what life in the Spirit produces in and among us.
The more I read the Bible, the more my eyes are opened to how flawlessly connected and consistent its words are. From the first verses to the last, God’s Holy Word to us explains and illustrates the how, what, when, where, and why of His new creation story, and this is applicable to every one of us, in every situation. We don’t need to know how to do our story perfectly, we need to know that His story is true, and we need to know how we fit into His story as we live life on this earth.
God organized His creation in the beginning. He created human relationship in His image. He formed Adam of the earth and Eve of Adam. Eve was not like the animals, she was of Adam, taken from his very substance and united with him in design and purpose. The Spirit of creation did not rest from His labors until he had Eve to complete Man. Only after Eve had been formed of Adam was the new creation complete. The new reign of Man was inaugurated as God gave them the invitation and decree to flourish and be fruitful, and to spread this flourishing throughout the whole earth. The Scriptures are holy, they are whole and united in their message to us: The Spirit hovers over the dark waters of our hearts, and will not rest until His labors are complete. We all long for the day when Jesus’s bride will be fully formed of His substance-reborn and made new through His wounds. We long for the day foreshadowed throughout the entire Bible, the day when God’s people will be united with Christ, when we will spread life and flourishing throughout the new earth instead of death and darkness. There is a sense in which this is already happening here now, but when redeemed mankind is lifted from the darkness of death by Christ in the new day, this reality will be fully realized!
The creation account isn’t about your marriage. It’s about Jesus, His World, and His purposes. Hear what I’m saying: those New Testament texts directed to elders, husbands, wives, servants? I would argue that they aren’t ultimately about how to structure churches and families. Those passages aren’t about your marriage, or your kids, or whether or not you should be talking in church. They don’t tell us which laws to obey and which to break under corrupt worldly authorities. I don’t think they are delineating new commandments for Christian worship and culture structure. Those passages are about being of Christ in whichever situation or role you find yourself in. Those passages tell us how each of God’s children can endure their temporal relationships and social situations, regardless of how frustrating, unfulfilling, or ugly they may be, and how we can bring glory to God in every relationship and social role we bear.
We love instructions. Good, practical, personal application. What do we do with our lives if we want to bring glory to God? How do we live acceptably in our contemporary culture?
The first questions that we should ask isn’t what to do or how to do it. The Biblical letters don’t start with how. They start with who, and why. We can endure because Jesus, our Creator, Sustainer, and King, who reigns over all rulers and authorities both spiritual and human, who rules over all creation, yet who chooses to be our servant and to wash our feet, died to give us new life. He died and opened his wounds to the hands of the Holy Spirit in order that we might be formed of His righteousness, made new of His substance, raised from the darkness of death in Him to life with Him in the new creation. We can endure hardship, distress, sorrow, and disappointment, because we are one with Christ and will inherit His inheritance with Him- the new heavens and new earth, eternal life and holiness, worshipping from hearts and bodies made whole.
Whether you find yourself in a position with power over other people, or in a position of little or no power, whether you are a teacher or a student, parent or child, husband or wife, if you are in hunger, in chains, or despair, Jesus is real and the Gospel is true. Because of this hope, which is sure, we can endure. And how do we do this? With humility, gentleness, kindness, perseverance, and prayerfulness, letting the love of Christ fill our minds, hearts, and actions through to the end of every task and trial. God’s Word isn’t focused on the how and what to do, but on the Who and What’s Been Done. With that in mind, go read the Bible. Read the exhortations and instructions of Paul, Peter, James, and John. Remember that their directions and corrections can be summed up in this: may your life and the way you relate to others be expositions of the Gospel.
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