How to Think about Kingdom Authority

This is a continuation of my thoughts on Mark 1:21-3:19. How should we think about authority in the kingdom of God? First, we should understand that the word that we translate as “authority” from Mark’s account is akin to power. Here’s a snippet of from a Greek study:

(From: http://greattreasures.org/gnt/main.do)

It’s important to recognize that the authority that Mark is talking about is akin to the idea of “power.”

Second, I think it’s critical to point out that Jesus was, in all of this display of authority and power, operating as a human being. He was operating as the kind of human being that could be mimicked. I opine that Christians too often look about the amazing things that Jesus was doing and say, “Oh, well, I guess that was an instance of him working through his own divine power.” Just because you have failed to wield authority and power on this level does not mean that it is inhuman to do so.

The story of human authority and power suggests that a truly human human would be wielding said authority and power as the norm. So, yes, I’m saying that “you are probably not normal.” Jesus is the normal human, or, we might say, the epitome of a truly human human. He was a human that obeyed God’s original commandment without the sin that devastated Adam and Eve's normal human potential, that devastated their opportunity to live the truly human life. The command that I’m thinking of follows:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 ESV)

Jesus was doing this kind of stuff when displacing evil and dominating natural events. He wasn’t necessarily doing Jesusy stuff, he was doing truly human stuff.

Understand that authority wielded by a truly human human is not his own. We see that in the example; Jesus did not wield authority and power as it were his own--though he could have. He wielded it like humans are supposed to wield it. Consider these three passages and contemplate how he wielded authority and power:

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” (John 8:28-29 ESV)

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (John 5:19 ESV)

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. (John 5:30 ESV)

Now contemplate how you should wield authority and power for the sake of the kingdom present and coming.

Humans were created to wield authority and power in the world. They were to do it in conversation with God, not as their own. Adam and Eve’s decision at the tree of knowledge was to choose for themselves what was right and wrong without the conversation with God. God limited human potential after that with a curse on the earth (Gen 3) so that the earth was subject to futility (Rom 8) rather than subject to man.  

Authority and power should not be feared. It should be sought after in the context of a relationship with God. The true purpose of authority and power is to make sense of our lives in the world we live in. Evil, sickness, hunger, oppression, broken relationships, and exploitation are types of senselessness that kingdom authority and power resolves.

Andy Crouch’s comments about power (in Playing God: Redeeming the gift of power. InterVarsity Press, 2013.) resonate with this passage in Mark:

“Power is the ability to make something of the world.” and “power is simply (and not so simply) the ability to participate in the stuff-making, sense-making process that is the most distinctive thing that human beings do.”

We should not be content without the authority and power it takes to turn senselessness into sense. This is a kingdom of God function. This is something that truly human humans do. Jesus restores our power to subdue and take dominion in the context of right relationship . . . to be truly human.

The Holy Spirit Language Is . . .

One of, and I contend the most usual, languages of the Holy Spirit with His humans is “good things,” “wisdom,” or “understanding.”  One aspect alone of understanding this is to look at how the passages in this graphic run parallel in thought:

I brought up Luke 11:13 a few days ago to emphasize God’s unwavering desire to give his Holy Spirit . . . to communicate with us.  You can see that Matthew recounted a sermon of Jesus wherein He just said “good things”.  James pretty much  plagiarized; he used the same idea as “wisdom.”  And I think we can look to the whole of Proverbs 8 to see that this is not new thing in the New Testament.  I have a lot to say about the Matthew and James passages.  A lot that I think will help with understanding how wisdom is a good thing and is a primary Holy Spirit language.  These passages of Scripture help us to understand how to function in the non-stop experience of communication with the Holy Spirit.  But blog-length writing can’t accommodate all of that in this post.  Next time.

Holy Spirit Language

When we talk to somebody and listen to somebody, we have to do so in a language we understand.  For me, that’s English.  I anticipate syllables formed by sounds; words formed by syllables; phrases formed by multiple words; and sentences formed phrases.  Some of us are pickier than others when it comes to grammar and syntax.

Whether or not you speak and comprehend in English, you generally expect people to form their sounds in Human.  What I mean by that is that, no matter what language, humans form their words in combination of labial, dental, and velar sounds.  Try this: Say “B” without bringing your lips together . . . that a labial sound; Say “T” without touching the back of your front teeth with the tip of your tongue . .  that’s a dental sound; Say “R” without using the back of your mouth near your throat . . . that’s velar or guttural.

Here’s my point: The Holy Spirit doesn’t have lips, teeth, a tongue, or a throat yet you may expect Him to speak English . . . or at least Human.  I’m not saying the the Holy Spirit is incapable of speaking English or Human, but you shouldn’t suppose that this would be the normal language system.  You may hear a booming voice from heaven or a whisper after the fire that sounds like English, but, Scripture and my experience (for whatever that’s worth) do not point to these as a norm.

Now you know that the Holy Spirit absolutely does want to speak to you and that you should be open to a different kind of language . . .  that is to say different than Human.  It’s a language that is more integrated with our being than our physiology.  If you’re imposing English or some other human language as the only legitimate language, you’re going to miss out on regular and non stop communication.

“I Don’t Hear the Holy Spirit”

I’ve heard statements like this many times from committed Christians.  I recently sat in the back of an adult Sunday School class, most attendees had been Christians for decades, who one after the other, with angst, expressed concern that the Holy Spirit doesn’t speak to them or that they just don’t hear them.  The Holy Spirit speaks to you whether believer or not.  I intend to address this confusion, one aspect at a time, in short blogs.

The first aspect is this: You should take God at his Word.  

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13 ESV)

Jesus assured us that the Father wants to give us the Holy Spirit.  He will not fail to do so.  With the above statements Jesus is basically saying that you are a real knothead if you persist in thinking that the Father might not want to give you the Holy Spirit.  He wants so much to give it that I think He will overcome quite a lot of hindrances to do so.  

Are you concerned that you are a believer, but do not hear the Holy Spirit? If so, first, get this into your heart and head . . . take him at his Word: The Father wants to and will give you the Holy Spirit.  This is the Spirit that is relational and communicative.

HisStory (Mark 1:1-13)

HisStory

Mark 1:1-13

Intro--You are a part of HisStory today. How? You are here to hear the culmination of HisStory. You are here to enter into the blessed implications of this culmination.

Read Mark 1:1-8

A.     It’s God’s history . . . it’s HisStory. He told it before hand through the prophets. He spoke of the redemption of peoples through his prophets from long before the part of the story that we read here in Mark and shows it’s culmination in what John the Baptizer himself speaks.

B.     It’s God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.

C.    It’s God’s identification with man needing salvation.

HisStory is not mere words, tall tales, or theories--it’s grounded in the real events of a prophet preparing the way, the event of a real baptism, the event of real temptations.

I.  God’s HisStory

           

A. Why “HisStory” rather than merely “history.”

           

God planned the redemption of peoples from the beginning of HisStory. This Good News that culminates in the preparation of John the Baptizer and Jesus’ life is not just some kind of good news; it’s THE Good News as revealed by God historically through the prophets, experientially through the history of Israel, and now culminating in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus’ own baptism parallels Israel’s baptism into Moses in the Red Sea Crossing (1 Cor 2) and his triumph over 40 days in the wilderness and temptations parallels Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. He had been revealing it for hundreds of years. Right here, Mark demonstrates historical continuity through John the Baptizer’s arrival with mention of three prophets and Jesus’ triumph where Israel had failed. Note the three connections to prophetic fulfillment with John the Baptizer:

1)  First through Malachi (in 3:1) who prophesied 600 years before John the Baptizer.

2)  Second through Isaiah (in 40:3) who prophesied 800 years before John the Baptizer.

3)  Elijah’s coming (in 2 Kings 1:8, Mal 4:5, 6).

So, you see, God said this prophet, John the Baptizer, would arrive. No surprises here, right? There were long years of teaching us the truth of what was to come through the voice of the prophets and the redemptive experiences of the Israel. It can’t be said that the event of Jesus’ arrival is accidental . . . coincidental . . . or circumstantial--it was planned. It is the beautiful culmination of HisStory.

B. John the Immerser’s Role

Israel had always had a messianic hope. What do I mean by “messianic hope” you ask. Messiah means “savior.” God had taught Israel to hope for a savior, somebody who would build a bridge for people to gain access to God’s presence. He also had taught them to teach the rest of the world this hope as well.

Israel’s consciousness or awareness of this hope ebbed and flowed throughout HisStory, but it was always present at some level, even if for relief from the oppression of foreign nations rather than spiritual. John’s role was to heighten consciousness of this hope. It was to get people ready to see it when it arrived and ready to respond to it when they were given opportunity. His job was to kind of go around and shake people by the shoulders and say, in not such a quiet voice, “After me comes he who is mightier than me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have immersed you with water, but he will immerse you with the Holy Spirit!” He is fanning the messianic hope into a roaring flame.

Here’s how people respond to the “get ready” message: They are immersed in repentance. What does immersion mean? . . . it simply means to be consumed by it. What does repentance mean? . . . it means to have a change of mind . . . in this case, to agree with God, to agree with God about what is right and wrong and to do it. In The Gospel of Luke, John says it like this, if you have two shirts, share with somebody who doesn’t have one; if you have food, do the same; if your job is tax collecting, don’t rip people off, if your job is protecting the public  as a law officer, don’t use your position to exploit people. So, he is essentially saying “act in ways that accord with the Character of God.“

When we repent, we respond to the Good News and receive the benefit of the Good News. The benefit: he will immerse you in his own Spirit. Can you imagine that? . . . being immersed in God’s own Spirit . . . living in it so that it’s the atmosphere you live in? Yes; of course you can if you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It’s effects your decisions, your countenance, your purpose, your ability to live a life pleasing to God, your ability to become like Jesus . . . it changes everything. John was about clearing out the rubble and building anticipation to get people ready to respond to this miracle.

Are you ready? I’m going to tell you two startling things today.

II.  God Came to Men as a Man

Read Mark 1:9-11

A. How He came.

We know, especially according to what He tells us in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Now we need to understand how God, who is Spirit, chooses to reveal himself to us. He has revealed Himself to us in creation . . . yes. We look around and see that HE IS. He reveals himself to us through the prophets like Malachi and Isaiah . . . yes. But He finally reveals Himself to us most fully in a life lived. Jesus is not another God. Jesus is not something other than God. Jesus is God. Jesus is God revealing Himself to you and me in the life lived. We learn this in Jesus’ baptism, we see that this is where God by His own Spirit dwells, in the person of Jesus, among us . . . to love us in a specific way that has eternal consequences.

Illustration: The best way to reveal yourself, your true intentions, and your motives to people is to become one of them . . . to enter into their situation. When I was in college I had a beta fish. I thought it would be cool to have a pet, but found it was really just a hassle. He lived in a little bowl with a hollowed out ceramic log in the bottom of it. Every time I approached the bowl to feed him his little piece of frozen shrimp fishy food, what do you think he did? Some types of fish race to the top to grab a bit. Not him. He swam to his log as fast as he could in fear. He misunderstood my intentions. He probably thought something like “big scary monster coming to get me” or something like that. Can fish brains think like that? Anyway, I could have become a fish for a day, maybe I could have finally explained my intentions. God became man for a time, and finally explained his intentions.

In the life of Jesus, God most fully reveals what He wants us to know of Him and, at the same time, what He plans for us to become . . . that is that we are to become like Jesus. What is Jesus like? The rest of the Gospel According to Mark tells this story.

B. What does He accomplish by revealing himself in this way?

1)  Tearing open the barrier

Here we see the genius of Mark at work.  This is the first place we see this genius that shows up in so many places in Mark. Note how the heavens are “torn” open. Mark uses a different Greek word here than does Matthew or Luke. Mark makes a front bookend so-to-speak. It matches the word that he, and the other gospel writers, uses at the end of the story (15:38).

[σκιζομένους (1:10) and ἐσχίσθη (15:38) are both forms of σχίζω.]

Here God is tearing open the heavens as if to demonstrate that he himself breaks through the barrier between men and God to come and to identify with man. Now God can be with men. [Spoiler Alert!] . . . At the end of the story, he tears through the temple veil—the same Greek word—that represented the barrier that kept men form coming into the presence of God. Now men can be with God. This is an ingenious method to make these profound theological statements.

2) The first of many beloved children

Here Jesus hears the voice of a father saying: “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased.” This is a summary of the Gospel I think. Every person who is immersed into the Spirit immediately lays claim to this same statement from God. “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” This is amazing is it not? Many of us need to hear this. As much as we long for this from our earthly fathers, only God is able to authenticate the conditions that truly please. I don’t expect to hear this from my earthly father. Why? Because my life is riddled with things that have displeased my earthly father. To be sure there have been pleasing things that he can speak to and affirm, but to say flatly that I am “well pleased” to the extent that there’s nothing about you that I find displeasing would be an unauthentic statement. However, this is patently the the kind of “well pleased” God is with us as we repent and are immersed in His Spirit. Two things authenticate this “well pleased” statement:

1)  First, in Jesus Christ, he authentically removes all things that displease. We’ll have to leave the greater explanation of that to the story that plays out in the rest of the Gospel of Mark.

2)  Second, though there be mistakes along the way, this is not a fiction, because, by His Spirit, he makes us able to live and progressively become like Jesus. In increasing measure, He transforms us into the likeness of Jesus who is the standard for God’s intentions for the genuine human experience.

I have heard this for myself: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” This is enough for me . . . it’s the good news I need today.

Is that true, did Stacy Abernathy hear this today? Yes; it’s true. I hear this every day and believe it, because God Himself creates the necessary conditions, authenticates the reality of it, and longs for me to believe it.

STOP for a moment here. Read this statement out loud, putting your own name in the blank:

_________, you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.

Have you heard it today? You have heard it, and it’s true if you are in Christ Jesus. This truth has been the most overwhelmingly profound realization in my own life.  

III.  God Identified With Man

A. What he accomplished in the temptations.

Illustration: One of my vocations over the past decade of my life has been to minister to the Lord’s church. A big part of my vocation, or job (if you will), is helping people in their life’s difficulties. More times than I can say, my offer for help has been rejected. Rejection often comes for reasons like these:

1)  You don’t really care; you’re just doing it because you’re a minister.

2)  You don’t understand, you haven’t experienced what I have.

3)  What you’re suggesting can’t be done.

Some of this is true. I haven’t experienced every difficulty that every other person has experienced. Thank you God. And all of those people haven’t experienced every difficulty that I have. Thank you God.

However, it seems to me that if I had experienced everything that every one of you has experienced, and had come out triumphant on the other side ahead of you, you all might just be more willing to listen to any advice that I might have. You might just be willing to follow my lead.

Read Mark 1:12-13

This portion of the story is about Jesus Identifying with each of us. By God’s choice he experienced difficulties, trials, and temptations like we do. He was hungry; he was tempted to grasp at power; he was tempted to strive after the affirmation of men. He was tempted and tested in every way yet was without sin. He experienced life and came through it triumphant. He has dissolved these excuses:

1)  You don’t really care . . . wanna bet . . .  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

2)  You don’t really understand . . . wanna bet . . . For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17, 18 ESV)

3)  What you are suggesting can’t be done . . . wanna bet . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

As a pastor, a minister, I cannot identify with you in every trial. I have not preceded you triumphantly in everything. And, though I do authentically care, I cannot love you in the same measure that God has loved you through Jesus Christ. This I can assure you: God chose to identify with you in every necessary way, in every temptation, every need, every desire, every joy and every hurt. He knows. He understands. Not that he didn't know and understand before, oh but what lengths has gone to show you. Do not think that you cannot turn to Jesus and not be understood or helped.

B. Yes, you still have trials.

You might assess your situation and say, “okay, where is he now?” The angels did not stop the tests and temptations from happening; they did not completely drive the wild beasts from his presence  . . . they ministered to him in the midst of it. If you are in Christ today, I think he is saying this to you now, “my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased, I understand, I hurt with you, I rejoice with you, I am with you in the midst of your trial ministering to you.”

Close--Will you be written into HisStory?

Could you entrust your life . . . for all of eternity . . . to this Jesus who has humbled himself to identify with you in every way?

He will immerse you in his own Spirit to make you able you.

He has identified with you.

Will you now identify with him through your own repentance and baptism?