Somebody pointedly asked me “Can God have a plan B?” as his coup de
grace ending the discussion that everything happens because God
purposefully makes it happen. His main thrust was that the Fall of Man
was a good thing because aspects of God would never have been seen if
it weren’t for the fall and thus God wouldn’t have been receiving that
due glory. Now that got me thinking.
I have to make some sort of amends for my post regarding the
tinted glasses on Ephesians. If anything, the humor sparked some serious
considerations on Ephesians chapter 2?one of which spurred by my brother in
Christ, Doug from Coffeeswirls. Together we embark on a look at Ephesians 2,
not to spark debate, but merely in an effort of learning and mutual
edification. Perhaps this will count as penance for my humor?mia culpa, mia
culpa, mia maxima culpa.
How does one go about explaining something that is so different from us? To try to explain such a thing is to traverse the road of potential major error, this is why we approach the subject at hand with reliance on the Lord for guidance and patience in our weaknesses.
The trinity is a broad subject that would definitely cover more than a single post, book or even library. When one tries to study God in all his greatness and otherness, one sometimes falters at trying to express his attributes and repeatedly one may find him or herself relying on church councils or confessions or doctrinal statements. Those statements are extremely helpful in that godly men studied the word and came up with a concise thought on what they had gleaned.
Error drove the forming of such councils and confessions because they had to respond to what others were saying. So it is the case that the driving force behind some of these confessions would be to prove how another thought was wrong. It is a valid way to progress in the things of Christ?but sometimes we must be careful in relying solely on those councils, catechisms and confessions. Whereas those men sat together and inquired of the Lord in the matter and found themselves fully convinced not one of them had the Lord Himself speaking in their ears or face to face. In other words, these men were interpreting the Word of God just as much as we are?so a study in the trinity must be reliant on the Word of God and not of Men for who knows the inner workings of God but the very Spirit of God?
…no longer walk as the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind? – Eph 4:17
The time of the Judges was a time where the children of Israel were living in the Land by the rule of their own lives. They did not yet request a king, but they found themselves being judged by people who God had raised up.
This particular illustration is from the third captivity of the People of God (Judges 4 and 5). If you remember, the Children of Israel would disobey God and backslide into some form of sin and subsequently one of their enemies would come up and oppress them. Holding the People of God under captivity and oppression, these gentile nations would hold them underfoot until the day God would raise up a judge out of the People of God. These Judges would be God?s hand to lead the Children of Israel out of captivity.
Sisera, a commander and chief of King Jabin?s, army enforced this third captivity. Sisera lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles (hagoyim). It is curious that the Holy Spirit has decided to label these Canaanites as ?Gentiles? when we know that the other captivities were also by Gentiles but they were not labeled as such.
Steve Hulshizer
What comes to mind when we think of the word holy? Dictionaries
have great difficulty attempting to define it. Usually it is associated with divinity, but
never really defined. Of course the religious world makes great use of the word, but as
with many Biblical words they are but part of their jargon and empty ritual.