... in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord
Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury
of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every
impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen.
The
Epistle
Romans 1:8-17 (authors
translation)
8First one. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of
you, because your conviction is proclaimed in all the Universe: 9for
my witness is God, Whom I serve in my spirit, in the good message about His Son,
how ceaselessly, I make remembrance of you, already 10always begging
upon my prayers if, how, already, when,[1] I will be given a good
road, in the will of God to come to you: 11for I long to see you, so
that I might share some spiritual joy with you all, for you to be upheld.
12Two. This
is to be mutually encouraged in you, through the in one-another-ness[2] of conviction, both yours
and mine.
13Three. Brothers, I do not wish you to be unaware that
previously, I planned many times to come to you and was forbidden until now, so
then I also might have some fruit in you all,[3] just as in other nations. 14I am a debtor to both Greeks and
barbarians, wise and unknowing, 15thus [I am][4] ready (by my own
standards)[5] to evangelize also all of
you who are in Rome:
16For I am not ashamed of the good message: for
it is the power of God to salvation to all being convinced, both Jew and Greek:
17for the justness of God is revealed in it[6] of conviction into conviction,
just as it stands written,
Four. The
just will live by conviction.[7]
The
Gospel
Luke 8:26-39 (KJV paraphrase)
They arrived at the
country of the Gadarenes, which is on the other side of Galilee. When He [Jesus] had landed, He
encountered a man from the city, who was possessed by devils for long time, who
was unclothed, and who slept among the tombs, rather than in a house. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down
before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son
of God most High? I beg You, do not torment
me?” (For He [Jesus] had
commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man: for it had frequently caught
him; so that he had been kept bound with chains and in fetters, which he broke;
and was driven into the wilderness by the devil.)
Jesus asked him, “What
is your name?” He replied, “Legion”:
because many devils possessed him. These
[devils] begged Him not to command them to go out into the abyss. There was a herd of many swine there, feeding
on the mountain: so they begged Him to let them enter the swine, which He permitted. When the devils left the man, and entered the
swine, the herd ran violently down a steep bank into the sea, and drowned.
When the swine herders
saw what happened, they fled, went, and reported it in the city and in the
countryside. When people came out to see
what had happened, they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the devils
were cast, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed, and in his right mind; then they
were afraid. Witnesses also told them how
the demon possessed man was healed. Then
the whole multitude from the country surrounding the Gadarenes begged Him to leave:
for they were overcome with great fear; so He got into the ship, and left.
Now the man from whom
the devils had departed had begged to follow Him; yet Jesus had sent him away
saying, “Return to your own house. Show what
great things God has done for you.” So
he went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus
had done for him.
Theme
We suggested in “Framework” that
this section of Romans 1 contains a sub-frame:
†
Paul is thankful, especially for their conviction. (8-11)
†
Conviction brings the power and reality of one-another-ness. (12)
†
Paul treasures the Greco-Romans as brothers and sisters, seeing in them
a broader meaning for evangelism: far beyond simply leading people to
Christ. (13-15)
†
Paul sees conviction as the core issue of life. (16-17)
Covering this sub-frame is a tapestry
of interwoven threads. One of the more
important of these threads is Paul’s longing to meet the Greco-Roman Christians
in person. The Church does not exist in
an invisible vacuum. Nor can one attend
The Church in the woods, or even in the privacy of ones “prayer closet.” The Church consists of the vital interchange
of conviction (faith, if you prefer) among its members. This interchange builds up The Church.[8]
†
“Begging … if, how, already,
when, I will be given a good road, in the will of God to come to you. (10)
†
“For I long to see you.” (11)
†
“I planned many times to come to
you.” (13)
The continuation of this motif
leads to tangible results.
†
There is a real effervescence of “spiritual joy,” which Paul will
receive, as well as give. We uphold one
another. (11)
†
There is a real functional “mutual” encouragement of brothers and
sisters up-building one another. (12)
†
There is a real developing “one-another-ness of conviction.” (12)
†
Paul will have fruit in them, and they will have fruit in Paul. (13)
†
Paul is indebted to all other Christians. (14)[9]
Paul does not come with a truck
to dump a load of truth on the Greco-Roman church. He comes in the spirit and power of the Holy
Ghost,[10] to meet a congregation
filled with the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. It is this Holy Ghost, working through many
human spirits, Who communicates the good message of God within them all. Their conviction is already proclaimed
throughout the Universe.[11] The Church is already gifted by God to become
an effective apologetics and evangelism team with Paul’s leadership. Paul comes to share, not to impart. The result can only be described as:
†
An Empire for Christ’s Imperial majesty.
†
A Kingdom for the King of all.
†
A Bride adorned for her Groom.
†
A Body fit for a Royal Head.
†
A living Temple, built from living stones, for the Living God.
†
A gathering of ex-sinners, who still stumble in sin: yet are no longer
in the business, practice, profession, or purpose for life of continuing in
their former sins.
†
They are washed.
†
They are sanctified.
†
They are ambassadors of evangelism.
†
They have become the hands and voice of God in this world.
†
An Army ready for spiritual battle.
God is in control of this
process.
†
Paul had a plan. God had a
bigger plan.
†
Paul thinks himself ready. God
thinks otherwise.
†
Paul attempts to go. God
restrains and prepares him.
Central to all these motifs is
the good message of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the Evangel, evangelism, the
foretold message (2): for one cannot have evangelism without the Gospel, they
are one and the same word.
†
Evangelism is more than leading the lost to Christ.
†
Evangelism is the embodiment of this sharing, developing,
one-another-ness, spiritual growth of The Church.
†
The Church gathers to be what it is, the voice of Christ in worship,
the living Gospel, led by the Holy Ghost.[12]
†
The Church abides in the presence of God to be healed, reenergized, and
strengthened by what it is, the voice of Christ in worship, the living Gospel,
led by the Holy Ghost.
†
The Church departs to heal and rescue as what it is, the spiritual Army
of the living God, the voice of Christ in worship, the living Gospel, led by
the Holy Ghost.
†
The Church does not need an evangelism program. The Church needs life in the Holy Ghost in
worship, because The Church is God’s evangelism program, the living Gospel.
†
The Church cannot be distinguished from the Gospel.
The motto of Romans is. “The just will live by conviction (or
faith).” By what conviction shall we
then live? Only by the conviction that
Christ has risen from the dead; conquered sin and death by death; healed us of
our dread disease, which is sin; while the Father fills us with the Holy Ghost,
so that we might actually experience life.
This is the good message of God.
This good message of God if filled with power for salvation, because
the Holy Ghost brings that power.
Salvation does not look at us from the perspective of our conversion; salvation
rather observes from the perspective of our final arrival in heaven at last.
This good message of God reveals God’s justness which centers on
showing mercy, rather than on judgment.
We receive this revelation, this awareness from our growing convictions
(our faith), which is to say that, as God leads us through the pathos of life
and death, we learn to trust Him more and more each day. Hence, our convictions lead into more and
stronger convictions as God proves Himself to us.
The just will live by conviction.
[1] It
is tempting to translate this string of adverbs out of existence; we didn’t do
that, because they have a sort of poetic lilt, in the sense of free verse. Their very awkwardness conveys Paul’s sense
of frustration and urgency. He strains
at the harness to leap ahead to Rome. He
champs at the bit to be underway. His
Master is not yet ready for him to go, because he is not yet ready to go, he is
not sufficiently groomed for the task, the time is not yet ripe.
[2]
While this is built by mutual encouragement, the outcome is far more than
mutual. The Church is a complete
organism, the body of Christ, for which each has an invested interest in every
other. In mutual behavior, we may
scratch one another’s backs. In this
relationship we become like Siamese twins, even though our lives are distinct,
they are never separate. Without each
other, we cease to live, which is why the fragmentation of The Church is so
terrifying.
[3]
The fruit flows from the one-another-ness. Both the Romans and Paul will yield more
fruit because of his visit. The life of
conviction is not one way between brothers and sisters. I cannot possibly help you, without you also
helping me.
[4]
This is repeated from the previous phrase for clarity, and continues its
action, all of which are implied by and included in the word thus. “I am
a debtor … thus ready.”
[5] It
literally says, “according to the standard of me;” by my own abilities. Had God thought that Paul was adequately
prepared; doubtless, Paul had already arrived.
However, human preparation and divine preparation are distinctly
different matters. Paul is not yet
ready, and subtly suggests that this is the true case.
[6]
The antecedent is good message, which is neuter; rather than Jesus or Son,
which are masculine.
[7]
This puts an end to the contention that the Bible has nothing juridical to
say. Habakkuk 2:4
[8]
Hebrews 12:22-29 is the only definition of The Church I have to offer.
[9] There
is no indication that pagans are addressed in any way, or that pagans are
present in the worship services. Characteristically,
meetings were private, held behind locked doors. Pagans were admitted for baptism,
chrismation, and catechizing only after a sponsor had vouched for their genuine
and sincere interest. Every effort was
made to exclude spies through a strict vetting process. As long as Christians could be executed for
their convictions, they took appropriate security precautions.
[10] I
prefer the term Holy Ghost over Holy Spirit; because, for me, it emphasizes the
person of the Third Person of the Trinity.
That being said, there is nothing magical about the term Ghost. Spirit is fine as long as we don’t start thinking
of the Third Person as some sort of cosmic force. Nor is this an overture to break out in
speaking tongues.
It is an open confession that what we may learn and teach from
the Bible, is the gift of the Holy Ghost, a secondary revelation, a בּת
קול (Bath
Kol: daughter of voice or revelation), so that we may take no credit for it. “The Holy Spirit bears witness with our [human]
spirit… (Luke 11:9-13; John 16:13-15; Romans 8:16; Hebrews 10:15; 1 John 4:1-3)”.
Some “conservative” churches have become cold and lifeless by
denying this ministry of the Holy Ghost.
Some “liberal” churches have ceased to be churches by not attending to
His teaching. While still other churches
have launched into unbelievable fantasies by exaggerating these precious gifts.
The voice of the Spirit within me is my personal
meditation. Occasionally, it may have
benefit for teaching. Only as is finds
the agreement of all of The Church does it take on real significance. So the function of such secondary revelation
is that together we hope to learn more about Jesus, learn more about His holy
will, and come together as One Voice in Christ.
In spite of all these observations, or possibly because of
them, the teaching ministry of The Church would be impossible without secondary
revelation. This is the sum of spiritual
gifts with which Christians minister to each other and to the world (1
Corinthians, Chapters 12-14).
[11] Verse
8 is not hyperbole. The Greco-Roman
concept of the Universe was not unlike our own.
Nor is there any reason to doubt that angels attend to human behavior,
especially within The Church.
[12]
This and the next two points are a crude summary of the teaching of Fr. Alexander
Schmemann.
[13] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. They are
designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely
given. No other permission is required
for their use.
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