(continuation of meditation 68)
In meditation 68 we saw that the Greek version of the Old Testament (i.e., the Septuagint) and the Greek New Testament both use several words for ‘worshipping God’, which portray “the priestly ministry of worship by which the bringing of a sacrifice is implied.”
We also realised that the figurative way of speaking about the priestly ministry of worship in the New Testament stands entirely in the context of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple service. It is beyond the scope of our meditations to look more deeply into the Old Testament use of sacrificial language.
However, let me give you one beautiful example from the Old Testament of someone who expresses his love for God in the figurative use of sacrificial language. David says to God: “Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.” (Psalm 141:2)
Central to all New Testament use of sacrificial language stands Jesus’ self-sacrificing love. The apostle Paul encourages Jesus’ followers in Ephesus to follow His example: “... live a life of love, just as [in the same way as] Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
(Ephesians 5:2)
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verse 14 we read:
“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” This is all ‘sacrificial language’:
1. Jesus offers Himself to His heavenly Father as the perfect sacrifice of love;
2. It is God’s Spirit who leads Jesus to provide that sin offering for us;
3. Jesus’ sacrificed blood will liberate our hearts from the bondage of sin;
4. The aim of Jesus’ self-sacrifice is to empower us by the Holy Spirit for the priestly ministry of worshiping God. In this Spirit-empowered ministry of worship we are called to bring to God our life as a daily sacrifice of Christlike love.
In meditation 68 we saw that Paul beseeches the Christians in Rome (and us!) to sacrifice their bodies as an act of priestly worship to God. God’s Spirit moves us to such self-sacrifice in love as a response to God’s self-sacrifice for us: “... I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
The apostle Peter points to whom we really are as followers of Jesus: “... you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him [God] because of Jesus Christ.”
(1 Peter 2:5)
Actually, Peter says that God has anointed my local church to be a Spirit-empowered community of priests. And it is my church’s priestly ministry to bring Spirit-empowered [spiritual] sacrifices to God.
But what are spiritual or Spirit-empowered sacrifices? The Epistle to the Hebrews explains that to us:
“With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
As we just saw, the Epistle to the Hebrews calls those Spirit-empowered sacrifices “sacrifices of praise”.
The Old Testament and specially the book of the Psalms are brimful of texts that summon all of God’s people to bring sacrifices of praise to Him.
What’s more, the Levites who assisted the priest in the service of Salomon’s temple, were specially ordained to bring daily sacrifices of praise to God:
“The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants [the priests] in the service of the temple of the LORD ..... They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts.” (1 Chronicles 23:28 and 30)
God announced through His prophet Isaiah (ca. 700 BC) that one day the Messiah - the Saviour of the world - will come. First of all He will redeem Israel, His rebellious people, and breath new life into them. God's Spirit will revive the entire nation so that it will solely live to proclaim God's praise. (see Isaiah 40:1-44:5).
God says: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people [Israel], my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." (Isaiah 43:18-21)
In the book of Acts we see that this prophesy of Isaiah is starting its fulfilment! These Jews, as the beginning of God's messianic, reborn people of the new covenant, find the true reason for Israel's existence. Through the inner transformation by God's Spirit they become the people which solely live for the proclamation of God's praise: “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts [...] praising God..." (Acts 2:46)
Then, the apostle Paul shows in his letter to the Christians in Rome that according to God’s plan, not only reborn Jews would be the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophesy. Far from it!
Paul writes that Jesus the Messiah is indeed the Saviour of the entire world! Therefore, all the nations will ultimately join in the sacrifices of praise to the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ: “... he came so the Gentiles [non-Jewish people] might also give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: « I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name. » And in another place it is written,« Rejoice, O you Gentiles, along with his people, the Jews. » And yet again, « Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; praise him, all you people of the earth » (Romans 15:9-11)
Important questions emanate from this meditation:
-- What does it practically mean that God has ordained my entire local church to be a Spirit-empowered community of priests?
-- Are my local church and its leaders aware of the fact that God has ordained us to that priestly ministry?
-- We read in Hebrews 9:14 that one of the aims of Jesus’ self-sacrifice is to liberate my local church from being self-centred, so that God can use us for the priestly ministry of worship. In how far has God’s Spirit liberated my church for that ministry?
-- Does my church realise that the true reason of its existence is to be a people which solely lives for the proclamation of God's praise.
-- Is my church committed to the priestly ministry of worship?
-- Does God’s Spirit urge the members of my church to offer themselves to God as living and holy sacrifices of Christlike love?
(Romans 12:1)
-- What are Spirit-empowered sacrifices of praise? That will be the theme for our next meditation.
(to be continued)
Ephesians 5:2, Romans 12:1, 1 Chronicles 23:28.30-32, Acts 2:46 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
68. CORPORATE, CHRISTLIKE LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND HIS SON ( f ) : the priestly ministry of worship
(continuation of Meditation 67)
Does God’s Word use other expressions for ‘worship’ which speak of our love for God the Father and for His Son, Jesus Messiah?
Yes indeed, there are several words for ‘worshipping God’ in the Greek version of the Old Testament (i.e., the Septuagint) and in the Greek New Testament, which portray “the priestly ministry of worship by which the bringing of a sacrifice is implied.”
Our English bibles often offer a rather meagre translation for these rich and meaningful words:
• either with verbs like ‘to serve (God)’, ‘to minister (to God) ‘to worship (God)’;
• or with nouns like ‘(priestly) service’, ‘(priestly) ministry’, ‘(priestly) worship’ or ‘(religious) ceremony’.
We find an early example of this when God sends Moses back to Egypt to deliver His people from bondage: “Then God told him, "I will be with you. And this will serve as proof that I have sent you: When you have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, you will return here to worship God at this very mountain." (Exodus 3:12). This verb ‘to worship’ implies in the Septuagint not only prayers of adoration, but also the priestly ministry of bringing sacrifices.
Another classic example is in Joshua 22:27: “... we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.”
At the background of its meaning as “priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, Moses is able to use this verb (‘to worship’) figuratively when he says: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.”
(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
This text speaks of God’s standard for life. It says that worshipping Him wholeheartedly implies the bringing of the daily sacrifice of our lives to Him.
The apostle Paul picks up the figurative sense of this Greek verb ‘to worship’. He uses it in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome and applies it to their daily lives. Because of God’s great love for them, Paul beseeches the Roman Christians, saying: “... I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Paul actually says, that their priestly ministry of worship implies the sacrifice of their bodies. But how could they bring their bodies as a sacrifice to please God? Would they need to be willing to die for the Lord? That might be needed in times of persecution. However, I think that Paul first of all wants to make the link to the ‘ministry of worship’ of which Moses speaks in Deuteronomy 10:12-13.
Yet, how could I worship the Lord wholeheartedly if my heart by nature is filled with prideful sin and disobedience to God and His Word?
Using the same Greek verb, the apostle Paul answers that question in his letter to the church in Philippi: “... we who worship God in the Spirit...” (Philippians 3:3)
As we saw, Moses spoke figuratively about “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, when he said: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Paul shows in Romans 12:1 and Philippians 3:3 that such priestly ministry of worship, as Moses described, is only holy and pleasing to God when we are reborn and guided by the God’s Holy Spirit.
In Romans 12:2 the apostle adds a practical application:
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
In Acts 13:1-2 the evangelist Luke describes a practice in the early church of Antioch in Syria: “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called ‘the black man’), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them.’” (Acts 13:1-2)
The original Greek verb, of which ‘worshipping’ in Acts 13:2 is a translation, comes from the same language group that speaks of “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”.
These leaders of the church in Antioch did not have a short prayer time with many requests at the beginning of their church council meeting. On the contrary, they met with God for the ministry of worship! They brought to God the sacrifice of their wholehearted love and the sacrifice of their time. They even fasted for that occasion to set themselves apart for fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit as mediator! From the text one does not get the idea that this was a one-off occasion. It seems rather that this was part of their normal church life.
Not only the leaders of the church regularly took time for the ministry of worship. Of the entire early church in Jerusalem it was said: “They devoted themselves to ... prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
In Meditation 66, we wrote about the church’s unconditional and persistent devotion to prayer as an indication of its wholehearted love for God.
We need to close this meditation with some questions for reflection:
-- Is my church devoted to the the priestly ministry of worship by which it brings the sacrifice of its time and its wholehearted love to our triune God?
-- Does my church know what the place of God’s Spirit is during its priestly ministry of worship?
-- Does my church have regular prayer meetings? How do they proceed? How much time is there for worship? How much time for prayer requests? How much time for the exchange of prayer issues and for discussion?
-- Do the leaders of my church set times aside for the priestly ministry of worship as described in God’s Word? How does God’s Spirit speak during those meetings?
-- After this and earlier meditations, do I feel that a change in my church’s prayer ministry would be necessary to grow closer to the Lord?
(to be continued)
Joshua 22:27, Romans 12:1, Acts 2:42 are quotes of the New International Version. Deuteronomy 10,8 is a quote of the New King James Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Does God’s Word use other expressions for ‘worship’ which speak of our love for God the Father and for His Son, Jesus Messiah?
Yes indeed, there are several words for ‘worshipping God’ in the Greek version of the Old Testament (i.e., the Septuagint) and in the Greek New Testament, which portray “the priestly ministry of worship by which the bringing of a sacrifice is implied.”
Our English bibles often offer a rather meagre translation for these rich and meaningful words:
• either with verbs like ‘to serve (God)’, ‘to minister (to God) ‘to worship (God)’;
• or with nouns like ‘(priestly) service’, ‘(priestly) ministry’, ‘(priestly) worship’ or ‘(religious) ceremony’.
We find an early example of this when God sends Moses back to Egypt to deliver His people from bondage: “Then God told him, "I will be with you. And this will serve as proof that I have sent you: When you have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, you will return here to worship God at this very mountain." (Exodus 3:12). This verb ‘to worship’ implies in the Septuagint not only prayers of adoration, but also the priestly ministry of bringing sacrifices.
Another classic example is in Joshua 22:27: “... we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.”
At the background of its meaning as “priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, Moses is able to use this verb (‘to worship’) figuratively when he says: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.”
(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
This text speaks of God’s standard for life. It says that worshipping Him wholeheartedly implies the bringing of the daily sacrifice of our lives to Him.
The apostle Paul picks up the figurative sense of this Greek verb ‘to worship’. He uses it in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome and applies it to their daily lives. Because of God’s great love for them, Paul beseeches the Roman Christians, saying: “... I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Paul actually says, that their priestly ministry of worship implies the sacrifice of their bodies. But how could they bring their bodies as a sacrifice to please God? Would they need to be willing to die for the Lord? That might be needed in times of persecution. However, I think that Paul first of all wants to make the link to the ‘ministry of worship’ of which Moses speaks in Deuteronomy 10:12-13.
Yet, how could I worship the Lord wholeheartedly if my heart by nature is filled with prideful sin and disobedience to God and His Word?
Using the same Greek verb, the apostle Paul answers that question in his letter to the church in Philippi: “... we who worship God in the Spirit...” (Philippians 3:3)
As we saw, Moses spoke figuratively about “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”, when he said: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the LORD's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Paul shows in Romans 12:1 and Philippians 3:3 that such priestly ministry of worship, as Moses described, is only holy and pleasing to God when we are reborn and guided by the God’s Holy Spirit.
In Romans 12:2 the apostle adds a practical application:
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
In Acts 13:1-2 the evangelist Luke describes a practice in the early church of Antioch in Syria: “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called ‘the black man’), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them.’” (Acts 13:1-2)
The original Greek verb, of which ‘worshipping’ in Acts 13:2 is a translation, comes from the same language group that speaks of “the priestly ministry of worship which implies the bringing of a sacrifice”.
These leaders of the church in Antioch did not have a short prayer time with many requests at the beginning of their church council meeting. On the contrary, they met with God for the ministry of worship! They brought to God the sacrifice of their wholehearted love and the sacrifice of their time. They even fasted for that occasion to set themselves apart for fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit as mediator! From the text one does not get the idea that this was a one-off occasion. It seems rather that this was part of their normal church life.
Not only the leaders of the church regularly took time for the ministry of worship. Of the entire early church in Jerusalem it was said: “They devoted themselves to ... prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
In Meditation 66, we wrote about the church’s unconditional and persistent devotion to prayer as an indication of its wholehearted love for God.
We need to close this meditation with some questions for reflection:
-- Is my church devoted to the the priestly ministry of worship by which it brings the sacrifice of its time and its wholehearted love to our triune God?
-- Does my church know what the place of God’s Spirit is during its priestly ministry of worship?
-- Does my church have regular prayer meetings? How do they proceed? How much time is there for worship? How much time for prayer requests? How much time for the exchange of prayer issues and for discussion?
-- Do the leaders of my church set times aside for the priestly ministry of worship as described in God’s Word? How does God’s Spirit speak during those meetings?
-- After this and earlier meditations, do I feel that a change in my church’s prayer ministry would be necessary to grow closer to the Lord?
(to be continued)
Joshua 22:27, Romans 12:1, Acts 2:42 are quotes of the New International Version. Deuteronomy 10,8 is a quote of the New King James Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
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