Mutual Faith

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. (Romans 01:11-12, NKJV).

The world often unites against Christianity in mockery or slander, and most often this happens in group settings. It's relatively rare for such attacks to occur one-on-one. Usually, there is more than one perpetrator, and each one seems to draw strength, encouragement and boldness from the others.

Why then do we think it strange that this same encouragement and emboldening is to happen inside the faith? I have heard it said, and you will likely hear it too, that all “we need is Jesus”. That is not strictly true, for He designed His church to need not only Him, but one another.

Granted, and without doubt, He is the chief cornerstone, the foundation, and without Him there is neither hope nor purpose in anything, let alone a functioning and vibrant church. But He has made us for fellowship with Him and with each other.

That word fellowship is fascinating. It is koinonia (koy-nohn-ee'-ah) in the Greek, and may have first been coined in New Testament writings. Interestingly, the thing about Hebrew and Greek, the two primary languages of the original manuscripts of the Bible, is that new words are easily constructed by stringing old words together. The result is not just a compound word, like “somehow”, but a brand new word with potentially richer meaning than any of its components.

Koinonia is one of those instances. It takes a lot of English word to convey the full sense of its meaning: fellowship, communion, communication, distribution, contribution, association, community, joint participation, share, intimacy, and collection.

In short, it is that special relationship we have with Jesus Christ, and each other, fueled by a potent mixture of faith and love. It is unique to the church. It was meant to be.

And like all things in our human arsenal of spiritual survival in this life, that fuel must be replenished on a regular basis, not because it runs out or gets depleted, but because we leak. That is part of the price we pay in our spiritual battle between our flesh (the old fallen nature), and our new nature in Christ.

Now, Jesus made it pretty simple for us in this regard. Through prayer, immersion in His Word, and fellowship with each other, our tanks are refilled.

That is why in Hebrews we are exhorted not to neglect the assembling of ourselves together in order to stir up love and good works... and be encouraged by our mutual faith. (By the way, that phrase “stir up”, is also the same Greek word used to describe a bubbling volcano, which is a whole other study!)

It is not that we need an “echo chamber” of chants and magical incantations to invoke our faith, which is often how those outside the church think of us. No, it is in fact, the diametric opposite (complete and utterly different – like the two opposing points on the diameter of a sphere).

We need the encouragement of our mutual faith so that the cacophony (loud and chaotic noise) of our own flesh and the world, is subdued by the triumphant chorus of like-mindedness in Christ. It is not ritual, incantation, or litany that we seek, but the quiet testimony of lives lived in loving submission to our Lord and Savior.

In 1^st John, one of the benchmarks of being in the faith is that we “love the brethren”. This is John's way of saying that there is something about believers that bind us together beyond the ties of blood, or custom, or geography or ethnicity (common national or cultural traditions). And that something occurs almost instantly in many cases.

We who love and believe in Jesus have something so fundamentally powerful in common, faith in the Lord, Himself, that it transcends every other conceivable difference, and knits us together like cells and organs in a physical organism.

That is why the Bible calls us “the body of Christ”.

Remember this when your mood, or your circumstances, or your sin, or your doubts, incline you to remain isolated from other believers. That is a mistake.

It is like treating an illness by exposing yourself to greater concentrations of the infecting agent. In this case, our own fallen nature.

We are designed by our Creator to first need Him, and then each other.

Love,

Dad

A Spiritual Gift

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. (Romans 01:11-12, NKJV).

There has been much controversy (argument) over the centuries regarding the topic of spiritual gifts, ranging from what they are, are they still extant (continue to exist), who can get them, Who gives them, and what are their purposes?

The old saying goes is that if you get three theologians in a room discussing these things, you will, if you listen long enough, hear at least five different opinions; some of them mutually exclusive.

The Apostle Paul will deal with spiritual gifts in greater detail in Chapter 12, but we are a long way from there, so his mention of them in the focus verse above is an opportunity to provide a brief introduction.

First, the Bible teaches that spiritual gifts are given by Christ to His people, as He wills, in order to benefit His church, and to affirm His loving oversight.

Depending on how systematically you choose to organize them, there are several broad categories of gifts listed in the New Testament, among them are the gifts of miracles (supernatural acts), teaching, healing, prophecy, mercy, administration (leadership), knowledge, exhortation (firm correction or guidance), helps, hospitality, angelic language (tongues), and encouragement.

If you expand your study into the Old Testament, the list becomes much broader, especially in the context of the divinely inspired construction of both the Tabernacle and the Temple of ancient Israel.

There you will find that God gifted a wide variety of artisans (skilled trade workers in the fields of metal or cloth), craftspersons (artists expert in various media), and construction workers (miners, builders, and architects) to exactly reproduce these two places of worship according to God's blueprints, delivered to Moses on the mountain (for the tabernacle), and then some 400 years later to King David (for the temple, which his son Solomon subsequently built).

Perhaps the most contentious question about gifts can be summarized by the debate that takes place even today: what gifts, if any, are operative in the modern era?

In a kind of hot-button subtext (an idea underneath a larger subject), are specific issues about the gift of tongues.

Much detail could be written about the human arguments swirling around these topics, but like many such things, the answer lies in the authoritative Word of God, and not in the minds of fallen men.

What does the Bible say? Spiritual gifts will exist until they are no longer needed, which will not occur until Christ ushers in the New Heavens and the New Earth at the end of the Millennium (the 1000 year reign of Christ that takes place after the Tribulation).

These are granted to Christ's people as He sees fit when He deems they are needed. Some of the more astounding manifestations (evidences or actions), like miracles, special knowledge, prophecy, and supernatural healing, appear to take place mostly in areas of the world where the Bible is not prevalent (widespread). Missionary reports from these areas contain many such instances.

This fits perfectly with the historical accounts in the New Testament, where we are specifically informed that these “signs and wonders” follow the preaching of the gospel in order to confirm its reality.

Once the Canon (officially recognized collection) of Scripture was closed (at the end of the 1^st Century), the only gift that ceased to be was the Gift of Special Revelation given by God to the 12 Apostles to form the written foundation of Christian Doctrine.

In other words, with the completion of the Bible, no new doctrinal (formal teaching) revelations were ever needed again, since the complete faith was once delivered to all the saints.

Aside from that, the other gifts, including speaking in angelic tongues, continue to operate where and when God sees fit. For more specifics also read 1 Corinthians 12 through 14.

Now some believe, incorrectly, that certain gifts must be evident as proof of salvation (being saved), but in truth, according to Scripture, there is only one spiritual proof necessary, and that is the Source of all the other gifts: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Himself.

From Him comes all the other manifestations of a changed mind and heart, and a life walking with Christ that bears the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). Without these, no other “spiritual” manifestation, however sensational, has any meaning.

One final thought. Paul's desire to impart to the Roman believers some “spiritual gift”, as he writes above, aside from whatever else he had in mind, is a recognition that the ONLY gifts that will endure for all eternity are those pertaining to the spiritual realm.

All other bestowals (gifting) are temporal and material and will thus fade away. It is only those things that the Book of Hebrews says cannot be shaken - in other words, those things that originate and are maintained in the realm of the spirit - that will remain.

What therefore is the greatest gift? The Bible makes it unequivocally clear (without doubt or possibility of argument). It is agape love (1 Corinthians 13).

The same love that motivated God to create us, even though He knew our existence would require the death of His beloved Son on the Cross for our sins.

The same love that compelled Christ to go to that Cross as our substitutionary sacrifice.

It is the love that only God can pour out in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Without faith in Christ, that love is not humanly possible.

So then what is the greatest gift that can be given by anyone, to anyone, especially a parent to a child?

It is simply the love and knowledge of God that leads to faith in His Son.

Love,

Dad

Longing

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. (Romans 01:11-12, NKJV).

One of the most powerful human emotions in existence is longing. It can be described as the soul-deep, poignant (tinged with sadness and regret) desire for something that is heartbreakingly out of reach, like the company of a loved one who has died.

Or the missing of a child who has been taken away or is no longer present.

It is a powerful human emotion because it is a powerful divine emotion, for we are made in the image of God in the realm of emotions perhaps most of all. We are emotional beings because He is. We love because He is love.

We long for the company of those we love because He does, and it is that depth of feeling that the Apostle Paul expresses here, bearing his deepest thoughts so that the recipients of this marvelous letter can know the depths of his love for them; and by extension, the depth of God's love for them (and us), as well.

For our Heavenly Father longs for our company and fellowship, as amazing and incomprehensible as that may seem. He created us for His good pleasure, the Bible tells us, and He desires for us to be with Him.

That is why Jesus came to die so horribly on the Cross for our sins, so that afterwards, where He is, there we may be also... forever.

As your earthly father, I understand a bit more of this godly longing for your presence than I ever could before God gifted me with you and your sisters, and I have a far greater appreciation and depth of astonishment for how God expresses His love for us.

Think of it!

He who made all things and has all power and majesty and honor and glory is not satisfied until we miserable sinners are members of His family. To make that possible, He sent His Son to cleanse us and make us worthy of existence in Heaven; to transform us from our lowly earthly selves into creatures fit for an eternity in His presence in the new Heavens and new Earth.

It is impossible not to be utterly amazed at that truth if viewed in the light and clarity of Scripture.

There is something about us that God will not do without.

I cannot say with authority what that thing is, but I can with absolute assurance tell you that the Father sees us as a great and special treasure, a pearl beyond price, and as worthy inheritors of all the blessings that are His to bestow. And since He is God, He can (and will) give to us irrevocably (without possibility of loss), and for all eternity, all that is just and good and lovely and pure and joyful.

This is true not because of who we are, but because of who He is, and because of what we are in Jesus, His Son. The Apostle Paul affirms repeatedly in His Holy Spirit-inspired writings that for us to be recipients of God's grace and mercy, to enable Him to fulfill His longing for us, we must be transformed.

He must change us from sinners into saints.

We are completely helpless in this regard. There is no amount of good things that we could do to make us worthy of Him, for it is in our inherent nature (part of our essential make up) to sin, and God cannot abide nor look upon sin.

Yet, His longing for us has provided a means to overcome that helplessness and to take away our sin, but only at that great price of the death of His Son in our place.

Jesus sacrificed Himself to enable us to be with Him, not as sinners in the hands of an angry God, but as beloved members of God's family.

There is something indescribably noble and heroic about Christ's willingness to pay the price of our sin; for He who knew no sin to become sin for us so that we could become His righteousness.

In that one act of filial (family) obedience to the Father, He has brought us to God as a gift that satisfies the divine longing for our fellowship.

Unlike our own human longing, which is tainted by our selfish sinful nature no matter how pure we may think it to be, God's longing is solely for our good. He desires for us to be with Him, not because He needs us, but because we need Him.

And that is the motive behind Paul's expression of longing in the focus verses above. His longing for the believers in Rome was for their benefit.

We will look at what he specifically desired to give them in the next study. For now, just reflect upon the wondrous truth that God's longing for us is so powerful that He sent His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Love,

Dad