Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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An Astonishing Meal

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This meal is both simple and astonishing. It is simple in that it is made up of simple and common things, a loaf of bread, a cup of wine set on a folding table covered by a nice white tablecloth. But we really should be astonished in considering this simple meal. Many traditions try to jazz up the simplicity in order to make the sign itself astonishing. But we must look at this simplicity by faith, and see that it is what the sign signifies which takes your breath away.

The astonishment is two-fold. First, God guarantees that in drawing to this table in true faith, we draw near to feast with Him. Here we dine with the Divine One. We are seated at the cosmic VIP table. We are made guests of honor in the heavenly banquet hall. We––who were once scandalous sinners, who were treacherous rebels, who defied the God who made us––are welcomed here by the Father, because of the Son’s redeeming blood, and by the new life which the Spirit has given us. This really is astonishing. You, a sinner, are brought here to dine with God.

But there is a second astonishment found here. The reason we can feast here with God as righteous and redeemed saints, is because Christ took upon Himself our damnation. The One who had known no fear or faltering, the only One who was never morally inconsistent, was broken like bread, and crushed like the fruit of the vine. He did this for you, and there is nothing left for you to do in order to obtain this great gift. He simply calls you to believe all this, and so receive all this. He comes to feast with sinners, and these sinners can come as righteous saints because Christ was made accursed for You and for me. 

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

You’re Not Worldly Enough

You’re Not Worldly Enough

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Sermon begins at the 52 minute mark.

Introduction

You aren’t worldly enough. I realize I’m being a bit coy in saying that. But one of the besetting sins of modern Christians is that of embracing the doctrine of escapism. The attitude towards the things of this earth is that its enjoyments aren’t for us and its engagements are none of our concern. This has caused one witty skeptic of the faith to quip that Christians are “haunted by the fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” Make no mistake, you are obligated to “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.” That duty is in force, however, precisely because the Risen Christ is Lord of this earth, and all of it is His.

The Text 

The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psalm 24:1

Summary of the Text 

This Psalm was likely composed by David for the bringing of the Ark of Covenant into Jerusalem (Cf. 2 Sam. 6). It is, in other words, an enthronement Psalm. This was easily incorporated by the early church as a Psalm for commemorating the Ascension of Christ to the Father’s right hand. Additionally, the language of verse two is reminiscent of the creation of the world. Hold those three moments together: the creation of the world, the bringing of the Ark into Jerusalem, and the Ascension of Christ.

First, the earth which was made by the Lord is His lawful possession, this includes all its inhabitants. Yet in David’s time, very few of earth’s inhabitants served the One True God, even the chosen people had their dodgy moments. In this Psalm, David insists that in the covenant worship of God, the Lord is not only acknowledged as the rightful King of His people, but He exercises His reign over us entirely. Right worship, then, cannot be confined to the public worship of God, for in our worship God makes a claim of Lordship over the fulness of the earth and its citizens. 

This is where the Ascension of Christ comes in and ties together the creation imagery and the enthronement imagery. Christ ascended bodily to the Father’s right hand. In so doing, He asserts that His New Creation work has begun and He is the lawful King over every aspect of this New Creation. The right worship of the Living God cannot be separated from His works of creation and re-creation, nor can it be separated from His lawful governance over all things.

Paint Thinner Piety

The application of this verse is simultaneously plain as the day is long, and exhaustive. If the whole of the earth is the Lord’s (as its Maker and Only Redeemer), then its inhabitants owe Him obedience in all spheres of human existence. The application of this text runs in two directions, that I want to touch on. First, this reality changes how you as a redeemed saint ought to relate to “the things of earth.” You might call this “thick vs. thin piety.” Secondly, it ought to comfort you in regards to Christ’s relation to this earth. You might call this a “narrow or broad circumference” for Christ’s governance.

In the broad evangelical world there is a tendency to pour the paint thinner of piety into the enjoyment of this world. We are suspicious of the pleasures found in this world. And certainly, the modern world has many instances of unrestrained hedonism. But Christian’s have often responded to the carnal lusts of this world by attempting to float three inches above the ground. “No lips that touch liquor will touch mine,” and similar sentiments are downstream from a overwrought pietism overreacting to ungodliness. However, the solution to ungodliness is not to water down earthly blessings. As one playwright once quipped: “Mrs. Baker is a woman who has managed to find a little misery in the best of things. Sorrow and trouble are the only things that can make her happy.”

Rather, returning to our text, if the earth is the Lord’s, and if Christ is the redeemer of it, we should not confine our worship to a few tunes each Sunday. Your worship of the world’s redeemer is displayed in your lawful enjoyment of and subduing of this world. Christ is Lord of the world. You have trusted Him. He is making all things new. This means you are to receive it all with gladness. It is not more pious to pray long prayers than it is to build a useful app, plow a field, change a diaper, cook a glorious feast (Mk. 12:40, Col. 3:23-24). True piety is thick as those fluffy Sunday morning pancakes. Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, and therefore, in reverent service to Him worship Him gladly in true faith. 

Have you trusted in Christ? All your sins are forgiven. Have you been baptized into Christ by faith? Then you have received the Holy Spirit as the earnest of your inheritance. Your inheritance is the redemption of your body and the remaking of this earth. The meek shall inherit…what? Euphoric feelings up in a disembodied fourth dimension? The meek shall inherit the new creation.

With all this in mind, what should be your posture to the gifts which God has given? Gifts like wealth, children, sunburns from long hikes in the Colorado Mountains, intimacy with your spouse, wine, double bacon cheeseburgers, Sunday afternoon naps, family movie nights, and above all the gift of Word & Sacraments each Lord’s Day. These gifts are to all be received with grateful faith. Without a twinge in your conscience. If you feel guilt about receiving these gifts it means you either are guilty of ungodly indulgence, which you should repent of, or you have fallen into the pietists trap of despising the good gifts of the Lord, which should also be repented of. The earth is the Lord’s, so subdue it (Mt. 28:20, Gen. 1:28) and enjoy it (1 Cor. 10:26).

The Circumference of Christ’s Lordship

While evangelicals have tended to thin out the blessings of God, they’ve also tended to narrow the scope of what we mean by saying, “Christ is Lord of all.” Often that statement is confined to some future event. For now, He is just Lord of the warm fuzzies you feel during a nice worship song, or a comforting passage of Scripture during your daily Bible reading. But when Scripture speaks of Christ’s Lordship, it speaks in universal terms.

You’ll often hear folks claim to be Christ-centered or Gospel-centered. Ironically, this is often used as a way to wriggle out of applying the Gospel in all directions. No creed but Christ is a common cliché, but that is, itself, a creed. Ask yourself, what is the right circumference for the extent of Christ’s dominion? Does it stop at the end of your morning coffee and Bible reading? Is it confined within the walls of the church? Is it not allowed in the halls of Congress? Do Swiss banks get to stand outside the jurisdiction of Christ’s Lordship? What about research labs in Wuhan, do they have to comply with the laws of justice which the Word of God lay down for us?

Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand assures us that all authority has been given to Him, and He has bequeathed to us the duty of discipling the nations to obey everything our King has commanded. Church, State, and Family government are all to arrange themselves and salute when the King draws near. In both our public and private worship, we celebrate the enthronement of Christ over all things. This being the case, we are not only compelled, but also empowered by His indwelling Spirit to order all things in submission to the covenant word of our Lord. No exceptions. No loopholes. No carve-outs. For this earth and its citizens are the Lord’s, every square inch of it.

The Trinity & You

The Trinity & You

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Introduction

The Trinity is the central doctrine of the Christian faith because it is the doctrine of God Himself. Getting it wrong renders all other theological pursuits nonsensical. It’s sorta like attempting to learn scuba-diving in the middle of the Great Sand Dunes. It might feel like a complicated doctrine, but we ought not to be intimidated by this doctrine. It’s not as if you won’t be let into heaven if you once were teaching a Sunday School class and used eggs as a metaphor for the Trinity. Just don’t do it again. This is one doctrine where charity should be shown in the articulation of it; severe strictness should be shown to someone who is in error and then doubles down on his error after being shown his error. St. Augustine once hedged his entire book on the Trinity with this, “If herein I am foolish, let him who knows better correct me.” To which I reply, “Ditto.”

The Text 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:11-16 KJV

Summary of the Text

While our systematic theology ought to begin with this doctrine of the trinity and unity of God (what we generally would refer to as the ontology of the Trinity), it is striking that the clearest Biblical teaching on the Trinity is in the context of our salvation (what we commonly refer to as the economy of the Trinity). We see that here in this passage. The duty to love one another is rooted in God’s love toward us (v11). God’s love, as we will see shortly, is triune. John explains that the invisible God is not the same thing as the unknowable God (v12). If believers love one another, this is only possible because God dwells in them, perfecting His love in them and through them (v12). How do we know that this love towards each other is the fruit of the triune God’s love toward us? Because God gave us His Spirit (v13), which is what our baptism is a promise and seal of (1 Jn. 2:20). 

Though we cannot see God, the Apostles had seen the Son. This Son had been sent by the Father. The Son was sent by the Father in order to be the Savior of the World (v14). In confessing that Jesus of Nazareth is the eternal Son of God, you are assured that God dwells in you (by His Spirit), and you dwell in God (v15). John places our knowledge and belief in God in the context of this love which God showed to us. That love is the united love of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father set His love upon His elect, the Son was sent to save the elect, and the Spirit seals the elect with that love. To dwell in God is to dwell in love (v16). To experience the love of God is to experience the triune love of God. Apart from the Trinity you not only do not, but cannot, encounter God’s love.

Comprehending the Incomprehensible

As we consider the Trinity, we are not simply considering a doctrine. We are considering God Himself. He is holy, holy, holy; meaning, He is utterly unlike anything else you can consider. Furthermore, you can’t consider Him without also considering your relationship and duties to this God. This is the pinnacle of applied theology. Who is God? What is your duty to Him? To do otherwise would be like studying oxygen molecules while trying to hold your breath indefinitely. To be a human is to live in relation to Your Creator. You are either in fellowship with Him through Christ’s saving work, or you are cut off from Him due to your sin and rebellion.

Considering the Trinity is considering a mystery. However, that’s not the same thing as saying that He cannot be apprehended by faith. The whole of Scripture leaves us with two realities regarding God. First, there’s only one God, while three distinct persons are all referred to as God. Each divine person is equal in essence, power, and glory; yet still somehow distinct from the other two. God in His fullness is incomprehensible to us (Ps. 139:6). Yet, God has given His fullness to us in Christ (Jn. 1:16). The work of redemption revealed in the NT gives us a trinitarian order: the Father sent the Son to be our Savior, and the Spirit gives you eyes to see this.

The Error of Subordination

All errors in thinking about God lead to errors in morality. You cannot be fully human without faith in this God who is one God in three persons. This is simplifying tomes of orthodoxy into a simple statement, but all trinitarian errors are really some form of importing subordination into the God-head. Ancient heresies often subordinated the Son and Spirit to the Father. Modern Pentecostals tend to fall into the error of modalism, which subordinates the Father and Son to the Spirit. Throughout history people have exalted various virtues so high that they come to believe God must be subordinated to that virtue. For instance, the mushy progressive wants love (or their sappy and spineless version of love) to govern what God is like. Likewise, Islamists want justice (or their definition of it) to handcuff God. But in both of these instances, God is made subordinate to a particular one of His attributes.

However, there is either unity in the Godhead, or there is warfare. It is a ridiculous thing to try to conceive of such conflict within God. It isn’t as if the Father wants to save Mr. Jones, but the Son and Spirit are a bit skeptical that they can pull that off. Rather, we should see that in the economy of salvation we have God’s love to sinful man displayed in brilliant trinitarian glory. 

To contemplate the Trinity is to contemplate the Gospel. God the Father determined to save you, before the foundation of the world, despite all your transgressions which He foresaw you would commit against Him. He did so not because you deserved it, but because He is love, and delights to show mercy. He showed this love by sending His Son to take on human flesh, and then die and rise again in your stead. The Father and the Son have sent the Spirit to dwell in you, so that you can enjoy the love of the Father towards the Son and the Son towards the Father. 

In Augustine’s triumphant masterpiece on the Trinity, he gives wise counsel when it comes to approaching this doctrine: “And if this is understood with difficulty, the mind must be purged by faith, by more and more abstaining from sins, and by doing good works, and by praying with the groaning of holy desires; that by profiting through the divine help, it may both understand and love (Augustine, On the Trinity, Book IV, Chap. 21, Sec. 31).” In other words, if you’re having trouble understanding this, then trust God, stop sinning, go serve others, and pray some more. Very sensible counsel.

Coming Unto God 

The whole reason you were made is the contemplation and enjoyment of God. To put it another way, you exist in order that you might come unto God. Heaven will be the perfect enjoyment of God, unobstructed by sin and corruptible bodies. God made you, but He did not then go off and hide.

Rather, your very being is itself a witness to your reason of two things: that God is and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The highest good for your body is to serve God. The highest good for your soul is to believe in God. The highest good for your mind is to think upon God. Since He is three-in-one this means this is how you must serve Him, what you must believe about Him, and how you must think about Him. You were made to come unto God. But come unto Him as He is––trinity in unity––not as you imagine Him to be.

You were made to know, believe, and love the Living God. Everything you do is to be done before the face of this God who is one in power and glory and majesty, and who is also Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. So then, contemplate the Father’s generosity towards you giving you life in the first place, and then giving you new life through His Son. Consider that Christ took on flesh, in order to share in your humanity in order to take it down into death and raise it up into immortal life. Cherish the glory that you have received the Spirit of God to confirm you in this fellowship with the Triune God.

Charge & Benediction

Remember what the application is that John supplies for us in our text. In considering the work of salvation––the Father sending the Son to save us, and the Spirit applying that salvation to us––we are then led to love one another. Look at the Father’s love for His Son, and the Son’s love for His Father, and see in that love the Spirit Himself; and so then, love one another as God the Father, Son, and Spirit has loved you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14

Pentecost & You
The Ascension and You
The Nuts & Bolts of the Birds & the Bees

The Nuts & Bolts of the Birds & the Bees

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Each parent knows the time will arrive when they will need to have a certain delicate discussion with their child. There might be a sense of dread and foreboding as you think about having the birds and the bees talk with your kids. A Christian parent knows that it is their duty to teach their child about such things, but they might secretly wish that somehow it could be more like an overnight software update. I’d like to offer a word of counsel as to how to go about having this discussion with your kids.

First of all, it is important to go ahead and correct something I said in the previous paragraph. I referred to a singular discussion. This is one of the most common errors that many parents make in regards to teaching their kids about sex and intercourse. It shouldn’t be a singular discussion. Rather, I would like to propose that you should approach this topic as if you were building a pyramid.

In their early years (probably between 1-3yo) you need to help your child know what their private parts are called and, more importantly, that they are private. Two things are worth underscoring here. First, You ought not to use nicknames or code words for the private parts, as predators commonly will use code words so as deny culpability. If little Jimmy says, “Uncle Bob asked if he could touch my weeny,” Uncle Bob can simply laugh it off and say, “No, I was joking about stealing his hot dog.” Second, you are creating important categories for your little child: private/intimate & public.

This leads nicely into the next stage (roughly 1-5yo), which is to teach them right touching and wrong touching. Your child should learn to not allow anyone to touch his privates, be made to touch anyone else’s privates, nor any sort of showing or being shown privates. And of course, your child should be taught not to do such things to others. There are obvious exceptions, like a doctor’s visit, or a parent wiping a toddler; but those exceptions are very few. 

At a more superficial level, your children should not be obligated to give hugs or kisses (intimate actions) to anyone (even close family and friends) if they’d rather not. You need to teach them to kindly and cheerfully say, “No thank you” to such things. Now, if your child is standoffish towards everyone, that can become problematic on a different front. You do want them to be able to show appropriate affection in various relationships. To close family, quick hugs and kisses are generally appropriate. Physical affection towards the general public is what a kind smile is for, or a firm handshake, or a salute. Such things are all actions that are appropriate physical expressions of love, appreciation, or respect; Scripture encourages, and in some instances requires, these sort of respectful displays (Rom. 13:7, 2 Cor. 13:12). This is teaching them to order their loves rightly, while also teaching them that they do not need to nor ought they to give unquestioned physical affection to anyone who asks. That’s just setting yourself up for bigger headaches come their teen years.

After laying this groundwork, make sure to frequently reiterate these principles (6-10yo). After the foundation is laid, it is important to have a hawk-eyed readiness for taking advantage of circumstances that can provide the next layer of instruction. Here are some examples of teachable moments: perhaps it is someone wearing a skimpy bikini at the pool, or a couple at the playground who really ought to get a hotel room, or maybe it is the transgender barista at a coffee shop. Those all are a “buy low sell high” opportunities to invest in your child’s understanding of sexuality. Explain why the immodest women is not necessarily ugly, but she is displaying her beauty in a manner that cheapens her beauty. Point out that the unmarried couple who can’t keep their hands off each other are disregarding the importance of marriage vows. 

Which reminds me of something I probably ought to have stated earlier on. Your marriage ought to be the model for your children to understand what intimacy is for. Your children ought to see both husband and wife pursuing and giving physical affection to each other. Kids need to understand that mom & dad have promised to only be “smoochy” with each other ’til death does them part. Explain what covenant vows are, and what you as their parents have vowed to each other. This really can be explained and exhibited pretty early on.

Now, as they near puberty, you need to be deliberately pursuing your child with information they will soon need to know and be aware of. The way you ought to approach this is not a one time information dump. If you read through the Proverbs after dinner you’ll come to the adulterous woman passage, and there you go, a segue into discussions about why intimate touch is only for one’s spouse. But never teach that without also explaining why intimacy is so good and glorious when it is kept within marriage, but quite dangerous outside it. There will be discussions that can be had as a family (like the aforementioned study of Proverbs); but other conversations ought to be more gender (and age) specific. Don’t explain menstruation and copulation to the toddler. Rather, as you intentionally discuss things with each individual child, it is crucial, in fact I think it might be the most crucial thing I will say in this post, to let them know two things. First, you ought to let them know that there are more things they will soon need to know but don’t need to know yet; and secondly, if they ever have any questions about anything they see or hear they are always welcome to ask you or your wife about it. With daughters it’s wise for a father and mother to be present for such moments.

Eventually, for most kids, sometime before puberty you will have furnished them with a sufficiently robust understanding of both the purpose and function of their sexuality. They need to understand that the desires which they have in that direction are not evil, in fact they are made by God and are to be enjoy unto His glory. It is the misuse of those desires, or directing them in unlawful ways (fornication, porn, homosexual, adultery, masturbation, etc.) which is sinful.

Thus, in their prepubescent days you are laying out a pyramid of understanding. Think of the capstone as their wedding night. You are preparing them to know their spouse. They should therefore understand what goes where, where babies come from, and why that should only take place in the circumference of marriage vows. Additionally, this means that your child should also realize, from pretty early on, that their future spouse is probably alive out there. Your kids should hear you pray for their future husband or wife. They should understand that their sexual desires are all for that end. Regularly blessing your children with Scriptural blessings provides a biblical fence around their fertility, “Children, may you be like abundant olive trees around my table.” They should have heard you pray for your “children’s children”, meaning their children. 

All of this should be done with love for your child, their future spouse, and your future grandchildren. You are a character in your child’s love story, so serve everyone involved by making it the sort of story that glorifies God all the way through. Approach these conversations with a matter of fact manner. In all this, it’s only awkward if you make it awkward.

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The Spirit Over the Water

The Spirit Over the Water

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At creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters of the unformed world, and thus began the six days of creation. By the Father’s will, the Son’s Word, and the Spirit’s light the heavens and earth and all things visible and invisible were called into being. 

The Spirit still hovers over the water, but now His work is that of a New Creation. That which is dark will be brightened. That which is unformed will be shaped in accordance with His will. We ought not to think of baptism as merely the possibility of the Spirit working. As our confession explains, the Spirit not only offers the grace of God in baptism, but He really exhibits and confers it. The Spirit moves as He sees fit. So we shouldn’t tell Him that He can work mightily elsewhere, but not here at the baptismal font. Why would we think that the Spirit who worked so mightily at the creation of the world would work less vibrantly here?

So welcome our sister to Jesus Christ…

The AI Echo Chamber

The AI Echo Chamber

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There is a great deal of excitement surrounding the technological advances of AI. As such, it’s incumbent upon Christians to not be swept off by the spirit of the age into the particular sins and follies that arise with any new technological development. Whenever a new innovation arrives, it takes five seconds before evil men use it to pursue carnal desires. New tools inevitably are put to use to kill one’s enemies, take liberties with your neighbor’s wife, pilfer the possessions of others, or blaspheme God.

AI is just the latest thing. It has great capacity for usefulness, productivity, and further innovations. But along with it comes dreadful and soul-destroying follies. AI avatars are already being put to use to function as therapists, digital harlots, and loyal companions. Embracing such digital fellowship is not harmless. It’s effectively locking yourself in an echo chamber. Everything in the servers is derived from human language and understanding. There’s no transcendence there. It isn’t a digital tower into heaven.

AI also offers a perverse illusion of easy shortcuts. It holds out a shortcut to sexual satisfaction by AI girlfriends. Or, it allures with the opportunity to skip the duty to think long and hard about a topic, offering a cheap answer spit out by the algorithm. All this appeals to our sloth and ungodly desires.

The Spirit of God which hovered over the waters, and by Whose light the first day was lightened, has been given to You. You are an image bearer of Almighty God, and this demands that You bear yourself in such a manner. You are a lord or a lady of the Kingdom of God; not a slave of 0s & 1s. Don’t be enticed into submitting to chains of subservience, when God has made you free by His Spirit.

Pentecost & You

Pentecost & You

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Introduction

Say a teenage boy is hired to do some landscaping work. He shows up promptly at 7am with his sunscreen on and water jug full, ready to make some money for his college fund. He is told by the owner of the property that he needs him to clear out a few overgrown acres. What he beholds is a veritable jungle of thistles and thorns. Some of the plants look extraterrestrial. Then, to make things worse, the owner informs him that the only tool he has is a pair of finger-nail clippers. Clearly, the job that needs doing and the tool to do the job are mismatched. However, when it comes to the task which Christ has assigned to the church and what is necessary to accomplish that task, there is no deficiency.

The Text 

Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
Isaiah 40:13

Summary of the Text

Sin has so darkened man’s thinking that he really acts as though he ought to tell God how to run the world. God should sit down, get out His pen and paper and take notes from us. We have a thing or two to bring Him up to speed on. But this really is the height of pride and folly. Ask yourself the question, really ask yourself, “Who gave the Spirit of God advice?” Think of all the smartest, most luminary thinkers you can and consider whether they could really give the Spirit of God advice on how to keep electrons and protons from wandering off from each other;  or how to make a global ecosystem; or what the right dance steps are for stars. Do you really have anything to say? Perhaps you should take your seat, cover your mouth, and learn the lesson.

But what is that lesson? The end for which this world was made is for the glorification of the God who made it (Ps. 19:1; Is. 43:7). All things were made for His glory (Rom. 11:36; Rev. 4:11). Although sin brought this world into a fallen state of evil (Rom. 5:12), Christ, by His resurrection, has confirmed that it will glorify its Maker (1 Cor. 15:20-22; Rom. 8:19-21). This is the way it is. This is the way it shall be. This is the end of all things: the glory of the Triune God. This is what Isaiah great song teaches us.

Agnostic Man

Although this is the case, it is also true that rebellious man has embraced the posture of the agnostic. The Apostle Peter describes man’s condition before redemption as being fashioned according to lusts in your ignorance (1 Pt. 1:14). The word there for ignorance is agnoia, where we get the word agnostic from. Man, in his rebellion, has adopted the position that it is possible to live as if the proposition of the existence of God is unknowable. This leads him to pursue his lusts.

Scripture is full of descriptions of this sort of agnostic insanity. God is not in the thoughts of the wicked man (Ps. 10:4). He says in his heart that God will forget, God is out of the picture, God won’t see what the wicked does (Ps. 10:11). God won’t judge me (Ps. 10:13)! The fool says, “There is no God (Ps. 14:1).” Pharaoh asked, “Who is the LORD (Ex. 5:2)?” Eliphaz asked, “How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud (Job 22:13)?” One Hebrew idiom captures this well when it depicts the rebellious as “throwing God behind your back” (Ez. 23:35, 1 Ki. 14:9, Ps. 50:17). As if you even could do that!

But this is pure madness. The unregenerate man lives in a world made by God and then tries to live as if there is no God, or if there is one He doesn’t care what you do, or if He does care He can’t do nothing about it. But this is what Isaiah’s wonderful line refutes. Do you really think you can give the Spirit of God advice? The Spirit of the Lord is on a warpath to fulfill all the divine counsels of Jehovah, and He says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Is. 46:10).” Isaiah also tells us what the Lord’s pleasure is: “I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory (Is. 46:13).” 

Power, but for What?

Now, what does all this have to do with Pentecost, and further, what does pentecost have to do with you? The Spirit of the Lord, which hovered over the waters at creation causing all things to come into being, and the Spirit which raised up Jesus from the dead ushering in a new creation (Rom. 8:11), is the same Spirit which was poured out on the disciples at Pentecost. But this pouring out was not limited to just those present in Jerusalem on that day. Rather, this pouring out of the Spirit is promised to all those who believe and are baptized. This is an immense gift.

Furthermore, the gift of the Spirit is a gift of power. To which another question immediately comes to the mind, power for what? Often we assume that the power was for the miraculous sign gifts that were present in the early church. Those were signs of the power which had been given, but that was not what the power was given for. In Acts 1 we are told that the disciples were instructed by Christ at His ascension to not immediately go off and tell everyone.  Rather, they were to wait in Jerusalem until they received power. But that power was for what end? It was for the power to bear witness unto Christ and all He had done. His life of righteousness obedience in your stead. His death for Your sin. His resurrection to secure for you everlasting life. His ascent to His Father and God, in order that His Father and God is yours. 

Isaiah also foretold that with the coming of the anointed Servant, God would make his people witnesses in all the world that God is God. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour (Isa 43:10-11).” There you have the task: bear witness unto the risen and ascended Christ and the new creation He has ushered into the world. But in order to do this, you need power. This is what the Spirit brings to you.

Witnesses

You have received the Spirit in order that you might bear witness unto Christ. The scope of this witness is not narrow, either. You are empowered to be a witness of the certain dominion of Christ over all things. You do this in concentric circles. First, by the Spirit you are both convicted of sin and strengthened to then confess and overcome your sin. Second, by the Spirit you are enabled in your various vocations to shape this twisted world into alignment with the Word of Christ, making crooked ways straight. Third, by the Spirit you are equipped to boldly herald the crown rights of King Jesus to all the earth. You are endued with power, by the Spirit, to make this world, every last inch of it, subject unto Christ. 

This starts in your own inner life. However, it does not and will not stay there. At Pentecost, the Spirit came as tongues of flame and with a mighty rushing wind. The Spirit is a firestorm of perfect holiness which will one day engulf and transform this whole world into the glory for which it was made. The world will one day live gladly in perfect submission to the counsels of God. That is what the Spirit is working towards. That’s what He is working to bring about in you. The task is to bear witness unto all creatures and in all spheres of the rule and reign of Christ. The power for that task is supplied by the Spirit of Christ which dwells in you.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION 

Christ has commissioned His disciples to spread the testimony of His triumph over death and hell throughout every square inch of this world. That being such a great task, He has not left you powerless. He has given you His Spirit to enable you to do what He’s called you to do. So the charge is this: get to work! As the old hymn says, “All I have needed, thy hand hath provided.”

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

Ben Zornes