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Is Christ our example? |
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Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation . . .
I Peter 1:5
How is it, that when Jesus Christ walked the earth, he could calm the seas, walk on water, heal the sick, and even raise the dead? The Bible lets us know. It was by the power of God, through faith.
So when Jesus went to the Cross, to pay for our sins, did he do it as God flaunting his power . . . or as a man, demonstrating the ultimate walk of obedience and faith?
Not as God (although he is that) but as a man, and as the second Adam, within a fallen world, to redeem a fallen humanity. In other words, he assumed mortality, with the complete ability to die, while also demonstrating the power of a perfect faith, in an almighty God. We know this to be true because of Paul's explanation to the Philippian church, that Christ, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
This basic truth, lets us know that while Christ is One in essence with the Father —he also did not count his Deity as something that was stolen, or unusual—much in the same way a man does not think it strange, or excessive, to declare his superiority as a man, over an ape. In the same way, Christ didn't think his position in the Godhead over all creation, to be strange, or excessive.
—And yet, Christ did humble himself, to walk as a man and, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Phil. 2:6,7) Yes, this is basic: that Christ came into the world, as a man, fully equipped with a mortal body, so that He could go to the Cross, and pay for my sins (forgive my making it so personal)!
Is this the only reason Christ came (it is enough!)? No, our Lord also came as a model of the very person he would make it possible for us to become. This is
obviously a serious point. For if Christ were weak and willy nilly, then his followers could never hope to rise above that same standard. If he manifested no demonstration of the supernatural, then all of Christendom would be forever doomed to the position of religious philosophers, and theologians: forever speaking of the power of God, but never able to demonstrate it.
Is this not so? Who in the other religions of the world ever hopes to see blind eyes opened, as part of their normal observance of worship? Did Buddha, or Mohammed, perform such feats? Are his followers admonished to do likewise (Mk 16:15-18)??? For it is evident that the standard by which we measure ourselves, is also our expected limit. This is true, even though our Lord modestly proclaimed to his followers that we would
perform feats greater than he, himself, performed (which, is also true, given the numbers of believers, with this power, now available). Yet, it is also true that the disciple is not above his master. We cannot measure up to, or go beyond, our standard of perfection.
Even so, our opening text assures us that, all of Heaven's power (i.e. God's power) is available to the one who walks with faith in God.
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Luke 17:5,6
Faith need only be as "large" as a mustard seed. Such seeds are so small, as to be shaken out of a large spice shaker (as shaking out pepper and salt). Yet, even this smallest amount of faith, the Lord tells us, is sufficient to unleash the full power of God. How is this so?
Because real faith, is so solid, as to be able to be touched by both God and man, and yet, it is here that we must be careful to limit our terms, and define the underlying
ingredients of faith, in such a way, that we may utilize it's awesome power, within our own lives. First, consider this truth: that the man exercising faith in God, is dependent upon God.
What on earth does this mean?
We are ""kept by the power of God, through faith,"—in this statement is the secret of Christ's ministry to us on earth, and of unlimited Christian potential, in this present age. Notice, the secret is not in "faith" alone, but in the power of God through faith. In other words, faith—in and of itself—is not the source of power. The power is not in ourselves.
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Matthew 6:24-26
Notice how Jesus said that men can not control even their own physical condition, by simply "taking thought." In other words, the power is not resident within ourselves. Faith is a channel, not the source, of the believer's power. (Demons, following the original temptation in the garden, would have us believe that we have the power. This is false, since even in the case of witchcraft, such power is channeled from another spiritual source (i.e. the demonic) allowing the sign, or wonder, may be performed. Since such signs are powered by lying spirits, they are also "lying wonders," (II Thes. 2:9).)
While basking in the light of our Lord's wonder and glorious truth, please also notice our earlier point: that the Christian believer, walking in a living faith, is truly dependent upon God. This is what our Lord beautifully, and simply, shared by his illustration of the birds in the field. "God feeds them," our Lord is saying, "cannot you trust him to feed you, as well?"
Ah, there's the catch! We don't want to trust in God for the necessities of life. We prefer to handle such things, ourselves. For this reason, although it is (at first glance) so simple a command from our Lord, we will let this point lie, while exploring another area, so that we may consider its truth, later.
What is faith?
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6
Strong's (Greek) concordance lets us know that the Greek from which the word "substance" is translated (pronounced hupostasis) comes from two other words: hupo -~ the place beneath; and stao ~ that which is beneath, or under. In other words, a valid faith stands under, and undergirds a valid hope.
In this sense, when we have true faith, we have something to stand upon, before God. We see a demonstration of this, when the children of Israel were overthrowing the
Canaanites, as their enemies sought to "gang up" on the children of Israel at Gibeon. They did so, by making an alliance between five kings, to drive Israel out of the land. The only problem was that these kings were not merely fighting against an ethnic group.
They were fighting against God.
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
Joshua 10:8
Joshua knew where his power lay: it was in God, himself. He'd learned this, the hard way, when an Israeli soldier broke covenant, and took of the spoils of war, after the miraculous defeat of Jericho (when the walls fell down flat). Surely, it would not matter, if someone took a handful of the spoils of the battle, to satisfy his personal lust! After all, it had been a long trek through the wilderness, up to this point. A man deserves a little reward, doesn't he?
No, he did not.
God is a holy God. This is “lesson one” in any walk with God. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar, and quite dangerous (run, don't walk, in the other direction!). Yes, it is true that we are imperfect, and that all our righteousness acts before him, are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6). Yet, our faith does not rest upon our own short comings, but upon his perfection, and upon our obedience to him. When we rest in his righteousness, by faith, and walk in obedience, he maps out the way, before us.
Achan (the disobedient Israelite) would now have to die for his sin.
It was only after the purging of their disobedience, that Joshua could walk on, in obedience. Although a painful illustration, this fact of life must be true in every real believer's life. All exposed sin, which we know displeases God, must go. No further walk of faith, is possible, until this is accomplished.
[Put to death] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Colossians 3:5,6
In other words, if we allow these lusts to run around inside of us, unchecked and uncorrected (and unkilled) they will kill our faith in God. This is one reason, I believe, that Christ continually pointed out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his day: their endless rules, and regulations, so bound up the people in useless legalism, that their consciences were hindering them from free and unfettered access to God. If they followed one rule, they were snared by another. Then, with the people in total legal bondage, they became dependent upon the whims of the priests, to give them peace.
But such was a false peace.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
. . .
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one [follower], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Matthew 23:13,15
God had commanded Joshua, quite plainly, not to touch any of the spoils of war, after their battle at Jericho. It was a simple requirement, but one which Achan chose not to follow. For this disobedience he forfeited his life.
Now, Joshua was on the way to a new victory. The enemy hosts thought that they would certainly defeat Israel by their vastly superior numbers, but they had failed
to come to terms with the God of Israel. Not only did the Israeli soldiers out fight, their enemies, but God himself, started to rain down large stones, from the sky. "and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." (Josh. 10:11). —And then, the Lord allowed an unusual miracle to be performed, one which no modern dabbler in false religions would ever attempt—the sun stood still! Why? Because Joshua spoke the word, and commanded it to be so (vs 12)! Note, carefully, God's part, in all of this.
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
vs 14
In other words, Joshua had done as Jesus said we will be able to do, by faith. Jesus said that we might command a tree to be plucked up from the roots and be cast into the sea. Joshua commanded the Sun to stand still. —And it obeyed! How was this possible? He had faith, upon which his hope, could stand in God's Presence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
And God backed him up.
Faith is a channel, through which God's power may flow. This is exciting! Let's go out, and do it!
Do what? Walk with God, by faith.
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Ephesians 5:1,2
When I think of such things, I want to hit the street! Every action that I take, may now become an expression of faith. Every person I meet, and have opportunity to tell of the love of God, or hand a tract to, becomes an expression of faith. And every time I fail to help my neighbor, it becomes a lost opportunity to demonstrate faith in God, often because I refused to open up my pocket to them, by faith. (Ah, now we begin to see the practical side of our Lord's illustration of the birds, in the field!)
Jesus, being the perfect man, with God's heart, while laying aside his glory, could walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead. He cleared the path for you and me, by wiping out our sins, upon the Cross. Through him, the Father purchased the church of true believers, with His own blood (Acts 20:28 nkj). God's blood: that’s what Jesus shed upon Calvary. For sin would keep us from fellowship with God, and sin is against God, himself. No longer was he able to back us up, when we spoke, nor able to empower us to live the holy life, by faith.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Psalm 51:4
Tell me, since sin is against God, himself, who in all this vast universe could pay the penalty for sin, but God, himself? If a dog bites another dog, we slap the dog, and go on. If he offends by biting a man, however, we may put him to sleep (death). He has offended against one higher than himself.
If a man offends against his neighbor, by taking his life, he may pay for it with his own. Yet, what about offending against one higher than ourselves? What about offending . . .God? Ah, you begin to see what I mean. Mere death is not sufficient for paying back an eternal God. We would have to die, over and over, and over again! Our mortality can never pay an adequate penalty for offending God's endless eternal nature.
Only God could pay for such a crime, and yet, he chose to . . . because of love.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8
Can we not trust God, with all of life? Then we may trust him, with our very souls. As I step out, and trust him the first time, I wait on him to support me. It is this step of faith, which becomes the first of many.
The Christian walk does not end at the altar,
but it certainly begins there.
Come, let us walk with God.
†
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