“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”
1 Timothy 3:14-15 ESV
There’s oh so much to unpack here. Let’s dive in.
First, Paul “hopes” to go see Timothy in Ephesus. This is significant because we must understand even though the most remarkable thing ever to happen has happened to us – salvation through faith alone – we aren’t going to get what we want all the time. In fact, we’re often going to be frustrated. This is a life of limits in a sin-sick world and the easiest way to give the Devil a foothold on your life is to leave the door, not only unlocked, but cracked open. What door is that exactly? The door of false expectations, presumption, and laziness. By being easily frustrated and expecting ease at every turn, we set ourselves up for grumbling and complaining. There’s so much depression in this world because of two primary things:
– forgetting or diminishing God’s sovereignty so that you feel adrift in a foreign world
– forgetting or diminishing the fact that your salvation includes sanctification and this means we’re “traveling” in a world full of sin’s troubles that will both test and strengthen our faith
You see, Paul didn’t always get what he wanted. In Romans he spoke of how he “longed to come to you.” When, in fact, he finally got to Rome he was jailed and executed. Jesus was a man of sorrows. Christian life is one of joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Outwardly we often have struggles and trials everywhere. We need to stand on our guard. We need to keep our hands up lest we take a shot on the chin from the world,the flesh, or the Enemy. The lazy Christian isn’t a Christian. The prosperity gospel and the effeminate nonsense taught in so many churches has made a bunch of faithless weaklings tossed to and fro by every circumstance of life. Jesus said, “stay dressed for action” but modern Christendom has turned faith into a sissified sentimentalism.
No. You aren’t going to get what you want all the time. In fact, like any great athlete, the stronger in faith you become, the more pressure you can endure. Yes, we’re saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone. Christians – especially Christian men – should be known for their faith muscles. Instead we have see too many flabsters with the spiritual muscle mass of a coffee table, unable to even help with the luggage of life, much less do any real lifting. They should be in the gym of life, learning and training, getting stronger and stronger.
Second, Paul, in his frustration, does what he can. He wrote a letter to Timothy because he knows the younger man is in a fight. And so are we! And the point not to miss is that we’re told something rather important. We’re told “how to behave in the household of God.” That’s the church…the body of Christ. We’re told that this whole thing is about Him, not us. There are no Lone Ranger Christians. The body of Christ will have no useless members because they’re dedicated to the realization of grace in their lives.
The church is God’s household. When we read the parables of Jesus, start looking at them this way. A vineyard owner goes away…the master of the house leaves for a journey…a man invests talents in his managers…
Get it?
That’s us. You and me. We’re not sitting around waiting. We’re flexing the muscles of faith on this journey to the promised land.
He kept saying it over and over but, like little children in the back seat of the car, fighting amongst ourselves over every petty little slight, we often lose our focus. We’re in the household of God and it’s God that sets the rules. Those rules are glorious and life-giving and obeying them brings blessings – here in this life and truly in the age to come. But, again, we’re a chosen nation, a royal priesthood. His church is an amazing thing, purchased by His blood. Shall we then live shabbily? Shall we live in laziness?
Let’s look at Israel after God brought them across the Sea, drowning the forces of evil behind them in power. Are they not like us? They were delivered from the physical slavery of Egypt. We’ve been delivered from the spiritual slavery of sin. Our baptism was a sign not only of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection but also as the true Israel, crossing through the Sea. And like them, the Promised Land lies ahead. It’s a promise indeed and we can’t see it with our own eyes, nor could they. For who hopes for what he can see? But we wait for it and are motivated by it. This is the life of the Christian.
They followed Moses and the Shekinah cloud. We follow Christ and His holy word/law. They had officers and we have elders and deacons and pastors and mentors…all pointing to Christ. They were given manna from heaven, we have His word! They had water from a stone, we have the Holy Spirit pouring God’s love into our hearts. They looked upon the serpent in the wilderness and we look to Christ on the cross.
So, no, we weren’t left without instructions. This is how we’re to live for God in His household. Did thousands perish in the wilderness because of their grumbling and complaining? Yes. And this is all recorded so that we’ll know that we live in the new law of the Spirit, not according to the flesh but that this doesn’t mean there’s literally no law. God forbid! Where do we get such nonsense? There’s the law of faith that we live and abide by. And the law of faith follows the entirety of Scripture – not just the red letters or the New Testament – but all of it…in faith.
Romans 3 and 4 make this plain. There’s no discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. We don’t have a grumpy dad on the left side of the Bible and an older, kindly grandparent of a god on the right. Sin is so bad and God’s righteousness so incomprehensible that only Christ can redeem sinners and this is a gift received by agreeing with Him. Faith is the conviction that what God says about life, mankind, and Himself is true. And sanctification proves the reality of this conviction by disciplined living in humble gratitude toward Him. We’re in His household. The church is His just as Israel was His.
Recent Comments