All, Every, and Not One
We live out our Christian lives in a place between Egypt and the Promised Land. We have been justified but not yet glorified—we have been delivered safely through the Red Sea but have not yet forded the Jordan and arrived on its far bank. We may not physically wander as did the Israelites of old and we may not actually follow pillars of fire and cloud, but we no less make a pilgrimage and we are no less dependent upon the goodness, the grace, and the guidance of our God. We are no less reliant upon his promises to sustain us when the path is uncertain, when our enemies rise up, when the way before us seems to stretch on interminably.
The Israelites were prone to doubt God—to doubt his strength, his power, his intentions. They were prone to doubt that he would prove true to his promises and lead them to the land that flowed with milk and honey, the land that would be their home and their rest.
In so many ways the story of the Pentateuch is the story of God proving his faithfulness over against his people’s faithlessness. It is for good reason that so few who saw God parting the sea between Egypt and the wilderness were permitted to see God parting the river between the wilderness and Promised Land. There were consequences for their doubt and for its many manifestations in grumbling, rebellion, and idolatry.
But then, as promise gives way to fulfillment and winter gives way to spring, the Pentateuch gives way to Joshua. And now we see the mighty warrior at the head of a great army. He leads the people across the Jordan where, fighting in the strength of the Lord, they experience victory after victory. Bit by bit and battle by battle they stretch the boundaries and expand the borders until war at last fades to peace. By chapter 21 we read a stirring summary of their success and, even more so, an inspiring summary of God’s faithfulness. Here is what we find in its many superlatives:
Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. (Joshua 21:43–45)
God drove out the inhabitants, he protected his people, he gave them a home and a land of their very own. In short, he did all he said he would do. He proved true to his every promise. Not one word was broken, not one was left unfulfilled. He showed himself to be truly, perfectly, sublimely reliable.
As God made many promises to his people, he makes many promises to you and me. Just as he promised to lead his people to the safety of the Promised Land, he has promised to lead us safely to heaven. Just as their clothes did not get full of holes and their shoes did not wear out, so the Spirit will preserve us with joy intact, character intact, godliness intact.
The day will come when the history of our lives will be summarized with just such superlatives. One day it will be said of me that the Lord gave to me all that he had said he would give and that he delivered me to the sweetest and fullest rest. One day it will be said of you that not one of the good promises God made to you in his Word failed, but that each and every one came to pass. One day it will be said of all those who are his that God was faithful to his every word and true to his every promise. And together we will praise the name of the Lord our God.
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A La Carte (August 8)
Good morning! Grace and peace to you on this fine day.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number of excellent titles from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: Prayer That Pleases God)
Luxury Beliefs
This is a very interesting article about “luxury beliefs.”
Not Now: The Surprising Joy of Waiting on the Lord
“As a society and culture we don’t like to wait. Like Ms. Salt, we want what we want, and we typically want it sooner rather than later. Yet, we miss surprising spiritual benefits and blessings when we fail to head God’s imperatives and call to wait on Him.”
God’s Gallery (Video)
“It has been said that ‘nature is the art of God.’ When looking at our planet from 200 miles above its surface, the truth of that observation comes into magnificent focus. This unforgettable video is a celebration of Earth’s natural beauty and the artistry of its Creator—as photographed by the astronauts of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.”
Reject the Algorithm
This one, which is not written from a Christian perspective, has some great things to say about rejecting the algorithm.
Twenty-Eight
I enjoyed this celebration of an anniversary. (Speaking of which, Aileen and I are celebrating our 24th today!)
The Distress and Delight of Preaching
“No preacher worth his weight enters the pulpit without some distress. There is a heaviness to delivering the word of God that is unlike anything else. Even if the preacher is naturally jovial, the man moved by the Spirit of God will tremble under the gravity of what he is doing.”
Flashback: Beware (and Embrace) the Power of Story
If we are going to respond well to the new cultural ethos, we need to know God’s Story—his plan for humanity, sexuality, and marriage. We need to be fully convinced about why it matters so much. We need to be willing to suffer loss to uphold it.One of the great challenges for the Christian church is knowing the difference between a church and a crowd. —Albert Mohler
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A La Carte (March 27)
Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include a selection from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Corporate Confession of Sin)
Does God Read Every Thought?
John Piper was asked whether God knows our thoughts. “The short answer is yes, but what’s really important, as I have thought about this, are the implications of that answer, and they are many and really significant.”
The Wisdom of Avoiding Strife
“Conflict is hard. By ‘conflict,’ I’m referring not to everyday disagreements, but to the sort of disagreements that look like knock-down, drag-em-out fights, that turn people into enemies of one another. The book of Proverbs refers to such situations as ‘strife.’”
The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook” Now Available from Lithos Kids
A faithful retelling of the story of God’s kingdom from Genesis to Revelation. Fully illustrated Old and New Testament volumes for ages 2 to 11. (Sponsored Link)
Could Jesus Come Back Tonight?
He sure could!
Trusting Visible Giants to Our Invisible God
“David was victorious over Goliath because he trusted the invisible God with very real and visible and impending problems. But remember this! It is easy to look at someone else’s successful battle, after the fact, and take for granted the outcome.” Isn’t that the truth!
Lyman Beecher’s Prodigal Son: The Story of a Runaway Who Came Home
“In a family of pastors, Charles Beecher (1815–1900) was the black sheep.” Obbie Tyler Todd tells about how he ran away from the Lord and how he returned.
Sex and Christ Crucified
“In our culture, sexual relationships are where Scripture seems most contrary to the majority opinion, and the majority opinion affects us more than we realize.” Ed Welch explains.
Flashback: Get to Know Yourself
To know myself, I need to look outside of myself. My best assessment of self does not come from within but from without. It does not originate with me but with God.Everyone, almost, can be thankful in prosperity, but a true saint can be thankful in adversity. —Thomas Watson
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Counsel for the Church: Following the Biblical Model for Invisible Pastors
Today’s post is sponsored by BJU Seminary and written by Greg Stiekes, professor of New Testament and Theology. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.
Christian authors who have an intriguing ability to take the pulse of the church and discern its health have been warning for some time now about the tendency pastors have to become the local attraction of their churches—ministerial superstars, the CEOs of their own kingdoms, or the rock stars of their own venues.
To be sure, pastors should be respected both inside and outside their congregations (1 Tim 3:2–7), and we should celebrate God’s sustaining grace in the life of a faithful, diligent shepherd, whose wisdom and ministry in the Word should be an example for younger pastors. But should those pastors be promoted and known as local celebrities? Should they be the center of attention in their churches? Should people commonly identify the name of the church by the name of a single pastor?
Intriguing Biblical Data
It seems to me that the pastor is practically invisible in the NT. I mean, try naming one man in the NT who had a pastoral title.
You may say, Timothy and Titus, the addressees of the “Pastoral Epistles.” But while these men likely fulfilled some of the duties associated with pastoral ministry, they are not referred to as pastors but were merely appointed by Paul to ordain them.
We may discern that James, the half-brother of Jesus, was an elder in the church in Jerusalem. (Talk about bragging rights for a church!) But when James writes to his scattered congregation, he does not call himself the “brother of Christ” or even an elder, but the “slave” of Christ (James 1:1). That’s the kind of humility that makes the NT pastor invisible.
There are two men who actually refer to themselves as elders. But these are the apostles Peter and John (1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1), so it is unclear whether they are actually “elders” in the sense of holding the pastoral office we think of today.
So, while a large number of elders were certainly ordained in the NT (Acts 14:23; 2 Tim 2:2; Titus 1:5), and the apostles addressed them in the aggregate (Acts 20:17–38; 1 Pet 5:1–4), and their qualifications were established (2 Tim 2:2; Titus 1:5), we struggle to name them! They are ubiquitous, yet virtually invisible.
Five Takeaways
First, we need to reflect seriously upon the critique of authors like John Piper that the pastoral office has become “professionalized.” While the office itself is honored in the NT, pastors are called to humbly fill that office sacrificially, as Jesus did. They are not called to be the center of attention in their churches.
Second, the practical invisibility of the pastor should encourage the congregation to serve. We can criticize a congregation for letting its pastor do all of the work himself. But I wonder whether pastors actually invite this kind of culture by putting themselves at the center of their ministries, rather than serving with their people as they equally depend on Christ, the Head and Chief Shepherd.
Third, the concept of the invisible pastor easily coincides with a shared-leadership approach to pastoral ministry. The church that does not exalt a single leader is able to appreciate the ample NT evidence for the plurality of pastoral leadership in the local church, even if one of these pastors naturally serves as a “lead” pastor.
Fourth, the invisible pastor is better able to focus on the work that God has called him to do. In today’s world of social media, it is too tempting and too easy for pastors to seek recognition for their accomplishments by putting their lives and ideas on display. But the invisible pastor is satisfied with ministering to his own congregation, performing the thankless tasks of a servant, even if no one will ever see, or know, or care.
Finally, pastors must be invisible so that the congregation sees clearly the Lord, honored and magnified. The church should never love and follow its pastor more than they love and follow Jesus himself. Jesus must increase; all others, including the pastor, must decrease. When people look at any church, they should not particularly notice the pastor first. But they should see a body of people devoted to the Lord and seeking to make him visible to the world.
