Cyril of Alexandria

Cyril of Alexandria (c.378–444) was a church father and a prominent figure during the council of Ephesus in 431(the fourth ecumenical council) His early arguments were against Arians and in support of Nicaea, but he is best known for his vehement disagreement with and arguments/writings against Nestorius.

Original Sin

Sola Fide

Justification by Faith is the Key to Understand Scripture and Distinguish Between Law & Gospel

The Lord's Super

The Naming and Circumcision of Our Lord

In Matthew 1:21, the Angel who visited Joseph told him to name his son, Jesus, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Because Abraham was given a name with his circumcision, Israel gained the custom of naming their children at the circumcision.  So, when Jesus was eight days old, being the Seed of Abraham, he was given the name Jesus at his circumcision, thus fulfilling the law and the prophecies about him.

Why Circumcision?

Circumcision was a way that God wrote his covenant permanently onto the bodies of his people. Into the very organ which made him as a son, was the sign that he was a son of the Father. Circumcision also showed to man that his flesh was sinful and that every child born from his union with a woman was born in sin, as David confessed in Psalm 51. Bodies matter to God. Today, when baby boys and girls are little, they are “circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, in which they are also raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised Jesus from the dead,” (Colossians 2:11-12). No longer is one tiny part of the body cut away, but the liquid blade of baptism cuts away the old sinful nature. For if anyone is in Christ, he is reborn righteous and a new creation. It is no longer we who lives, but Christ who lives in us, and we who live in Christ.

Why the name of Jesus?

Jesus has three offices: prophet, priest, and king. People with equivalent names to Jesus in the Old Testament were a prophet, a priest, and a king, being types for the coming one who would fulfill all three roles perfectly.

In His public ministry Jesus was a prophet urging Israel to repent and being rejected just like the old testament prophets (John 1:11). The Lord Himself affirmed that Hosea was a man of symbol. He instructed the prophet that his wife's desertion of her family for a life of whoredom pictured Israel's unfaithfulness to Jehovah. Just as Hosea bought his wife back from prostitution (Hos. 3:1-3), so Jesus paid the price to redeem His people from bondage to sin.

In His death, after Israel had rejected Him, Jesus was the high priest offering His own body as a sacrifice for sin. Joshua, the Old Testament high priest was shown to be a forshadowing of the great high priest (Zechariah 6:11-13)

When He comes again, Jesus will be the King of kings. Moses couldn't lead the people into the Promised Land, because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded, so Joshua took over for him.  Likewise, the beatings of the Law can’t bring us into the Promised Land. The Law that Moses gave can’t bring us into heaven. Against opposition from powerful enemies on all sides, this Joshua led the people of Israel into their promised land, the land of Canaan. So also, Jesus the King will someday lead all the redeemed into their promised land, the land of paradise. Only Joshua can lead us into the Promised Land; only Jesus can save us from the bondage of the Law.

God's Will (references)

Last Post I showed a diagram of God's Will and how everything comes in pairs. This post, I am showing my references, both to Bible verses and previous posts discussing the topics.

God's two types of will
Declarative [Genesis 1]
Prescriptive [Exodus 20]

God’s two categories of will

Hidden [Deuteronomy 29:29a]

Revealed [Deuteronomy 29:29b]

Two kinds of revelation

General [Jeremiah 33:25]

Specific (Scripture Alone) [1 Tim. 3:16, Hebrews 1:1-2]

Two kinds of general revelation

Knowledge of God and some about Him [Psalm 19:1-4]

Knowledge of Morality (Natural Law) [Romans 1:20]

Two doctrines in Scripture

Law [1 Tim. 1:8]

Gospel [John 3:16]

Two Tables/Commandments of the Law

Love God [Mark 12:30]

Love your neighbor [Mark 12:31]

Two Functions of the Law [convention]

Negative (Informed by general revelation)

Positive (Informs outcomes of subjective justification)

Two Negative Uses of the Law (God's Alien Work)

Curb (Informed by Natural Law) (1st use of the law) [Romans 1:28-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10]

Mirror(Informed by knowledge of God) (2nd use of the law) [1 John 1:8, John 3:20]

Two kinds of sin

Original [1 Cor. 2:14]

Specific [Galatians 5:19-21]

Two Positives of the Law

Ruler (3rd use of the law) [Psalms 1:1,2; 119:1,35,47,70,97]

Earned Righteousness (Merit) of God in Jesus only. Jesus is the law fulfilled [Hebrews 7:26-27]

Two sides of the Gospel

Mercy (Not getting what we deserve) [Psalm 123:3]

Grace (Getting what we don’t deserve) (God's Proper Work)  [2 Corinthians 12:8-9]

Two kinds of justification

Objective (through universal atonement from God’s grace and Jesus earned righteousness) [Colossians 1:21-22, Hebrews 10:10]

Subjective (applied individually, through the Holy Spirit) [Philippians 1:29, Titus 3:5-7]

Two Outcomes of Justification

Righteousness [Romans 3:21-22; 10:3]

Sanctification [2 Timothy 2:21]

Two kinds of righteousness

Vertical, Imputed [Romans 3:10-11, 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30]

Horizontal, Incipient (Informed by the 3^rd use of the law) [Galatians 5:22-24]

Two kinds of Sanctification

Wide sense, being set apart as holy [Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 10:10,14; Hebrews 13:12]

Narrow sense, progressive (Informed by the 3rd use of the law) [1 Thessalonians 4:3]

Two Means of Grace

Word [Romans 10:17]

Sacraments [convention]

Two Sacraments with physical elements

Baptism [1 Peter 3:21]

Lord’s Supper [Matthew 26:28]

God's Will (a diagram)

I have had many posts about man's will and free will, but it is important also to remember to dicuss God's Will. God's will is very clear in the Bible, but what is interesting is that describing it, topics always come in what I call the law of twos. See here for an explanation of the meaning of the number 2.

Secondary Bible Themes 6 - Kingdom of Heaven, God's House

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. On of them is the Kingdom of Heaven, God's House.

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."  -Matthew 13:52

Jesus Established His Kingdom Within the Faithful

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. -Matthew 12:28

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  -Matthew 16:19

nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." -Luke 17:21

And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,  -Luke 22:29

We Should Seek His Kingdom, Serve It, and Preach It

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.  -Acts 28:31

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."  -Luke 18:29-30

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.  -Matthew 11:12

The Heavenly Kingdom

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 8:11

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."  -Luke 23:42-43

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."   -John 18:36

It is Eternal

But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever-yes, for ever and ever.'  -Daniel 7:18

…his kingdom will never end."  -Luke 1:33b

The Kingdom Will Come to the World in the End

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.  -Daniel 2:44

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  -Matthew 6:10

and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  -Matthew 3:2

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.  -Mark 15:43

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.  -Matthew 24:14

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, … Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. -Luke 17:20-29

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."  -Revelation 11:15

Other Details

How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.  -Daniel 4:3

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.  -Luke 11:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.  -1 Corinthians 4:20

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe  -Hebrews 12:28

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,  -Romans 14:17

Who Gets In and Who Does Not

strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.  -Acts 14:22

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  -Galatians 5: 19-21

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God  -Ephesians 5:5

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is [Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  -Mark 10:23-25

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 18:1-4

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. -1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:14

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.  -Matthew 23:13

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 5:19-20

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 5:3

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:10

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."  -John 3:3

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  -John 3:5

He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."  -Luke 9:59-62

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'  -Matthew 7:21-23

For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."  -Matthew 19:12

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  -1 Corinthians 15:50-52

The Kingdom of heaven Is like…

New and Old Treasures

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” -Matthew 13

Unmerciful Servant

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of ours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."  -Matthew 18

Workers in the Vineyard

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'  -Matthew 20

Two Sons

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. -Matthew 21

Wedding Banquet

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  -Matthew 22

Ten Virgins

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.  -Matthew 25

The Great Banquet

"A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.  -Luke 14

Spying in the Bible 6 - 1446 BC to 1444 BC

Parting of Ways (and Waves)

After Moses asked Pharoah to let his people go into the wilderness for three days, Pharaoh responded that he did not want to lose his workforce for that long, so he denied their request. Moses and Aaron then said that if they did not do it, God would kill the Israelites for disobeying and then Egypt would lose its slave labor workforce forever. Of course, this was a bluff because God had no intention of destroying his people. The Pharaoh still refused the request and continued to do so through a series of plagues that God brought upon Egypt. Pharaoh finally decided to let them go after the last plague of death to every firstborn son in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s own son. Indeed his son that later took the throne was Thutmosis IV, who was not his original heir and crown prince (Exodus 12:29-31).

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.

The Angel of Death that killed all the firstborn sons passed over the doorways of the houses that had the blood of a sacrificial lamb on them. This was later commemorated as the Passover, or Pesach. And so, in c. 1446 BC, the Israelite people left their residence and bondage in Egypt. They left in such a hurry that they did not have time to add yeast to their dough. The Festival of Unleavened Bread later commemorated the first seven days of the Exodus out of Egypt. During that time, Pharaoh’s spies must have been keeping tabs on the Israelites because Pharaoh found out right away that they were running away and then went after them to not lose his nation’s workforce (Exodus 14:5-6).

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.

The Israelites did escape though, through the parting of the sea, which also swept away Pharaoh’s army. They then spent three months traveling to Mount Sinai. On their way, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, thinking they were easy prey to plunder, but the Israelites defeated them and vowed to fight them throughout the generations. When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with the people to preserve them and they made the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant contained the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments along with a jar of manna and later Aaron’s rod, the first Torah scroll written by Moses, and probably the first Book of Kings. The Festival celebrating the covenant with God’s people and the giving of the Ten Commandments was called Pentecost, or Shavuot. In modern times Pentecost is celebrated around the month of May and so it is also marks the beginning of the harvest and the dedication of the first fruits.

However, the Israelite people resisted Moses’ attempts to unify them and lead them, even though he was the most qualified leader due to his upbringing. Moses’ response to their rebellion against him and God is that he had his loyal spies kill three thousand dissenters within their own ranks so that foreign spies would know the Israelites were a real army and not a “laughingstock” (Exodus 32:25-28).

Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.

The Israelites then continued on their way for two years, during which time they were organizing and receiving training in both spiritual and secular law as well as military training. During the giving of the law, the Feast of Trumpets, (Yom Teruah) was established. This festival involves the blowing of a ram's horn, or shofar, to call the people to prepare for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Later, the Feast of Trumpets became the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and is celebrated in September. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is the most solemn day of the Jewish year. On this day, the High Priest sacrificed sin offerings to atone all the sins of the people and entered the Most Holy Place in either the tabernacle or the temple to offer incense.

The Israelites were organized into twelve tribes, which were defined by the descendants of the twelve sons of Israel. Each tribe had its own tribal leaders who had essentially full control over their own tribes. Moses was the overall leader of the tribes, but only got involved in societal matters of extreme importance and by the request of the tribal leaders.

At last, the Israelites arrived in the Desert of Paran, just south of the Canaan, the Promised Land. The first thing Moses did to prepare for his move against the southern border of Canaan was to get the order of battle of his troops (the size and condition of his army). This was done by taking a census and is recorded in the book of Numbers. That is why the census results were reported in men who were able to serve in the army. The next step in the campaign was to get the order of battle for their enemy, which was done by sending twelve spies into Canaan. That campaign is the first detailed description in written history of a full intelligence operation.

Two Kinds of Righteousness

1. Vertical, Imputed, Passive Righteousness established by and receive from God during justification [Romans 3:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30].
• Relationship before God to which we can't contribute (Coram Deo).
2. Horizontal, Incipient, Active Righteousness of Sanctification (Informed by the 3^rd use of the law) [Galatians 5:22-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Ephesians 5:21-33]
• Relationship with people and the world, which can contribute to through our vocations. (Coram Mundo).

"It is also correctly said that believers who in Christ through faith have been justified, have in this life first the imputed righteousness of faith, and then also the incipient righteousness of the new obedience or of good works.... But these two must not be mingled with one another or be both injected at the same time into the article of justification by faith before God. For since this incipient righteousness or renewal in us is incomplete and impure in this life because of the flesh, the person cannot stand with and by it [on the ground of this righteousness] before God's tribunal, but before God's tribunal only the righteousness of the obedience, suffering, and death of Christ, which is imputed to faith, can stand, so that only for the sake of this obedience is the person (even after his renewal, when he has already many good works and lives the best [upright and blameless] life) pleasing and acceptable to God, and is received into adoption and heirship of eternal life" (FC SD III.32).

Tattoos

Lately it seems like Christians like to talk a lot about tattoos for some strange reason. The most often quoted verse is:

"You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord." -Leviticus 19:28

This verse talks about marks on your body in general, like decorative scarring. i think it is safe to say branding and other permanent marks fall into the same category. However, the question is if we should follow this verse or not. The first thing to do is to look at the immediate context. Doing this, we see that we follow the verse before, but we don't follow, verse after we do. This makes it clear that we must look at the broader context of the Livetical law. The reason for the Levitical law was to guide the people of Israel and set them apart from their pagan neighbors. Therefore, the law is no longer applicable to us. I have heard it said that the moral law is still God's will, but the ritualistic law was just for the nation-state of Israel.

More importantly, though, we need to look at the even broader context of the scripture s a whole and God's plan throughout history. We must recognize the Christ came to fulfill the law, so that we are no longer a slave to it. This Christian freedom means that our salvation and standing before God has nothing to do whatsoever if we have tattoos or not. Even our preoccupation with this question is missing the point. We are too focused on if it is okay or not (if something is a sin or not). Its not about what we do, but about what Jesus has done for us.

There is one more thing to keep in mind. Why would a Christian want a tattoo? What is the motivation and the purpose. That is what is potentially sinful. Our bodies are not our own, to do with whatever we want. Out bodies are temples for God. Yes, we are free in Christ, but that does not mean that we should do whatever we want. If we are doing something permanent with our bodies we should ask if it is selfish, or causes a stumbling block to other, or does it help spread the Gospel and build up others? 

Our Disposition Toward God

First of all God's disposition toward us is what is most important, and it is defined as Grace. However, the Bible and the Lutheran confessions also talk about our disposition toward God. One aspect of our disposition is our "moods" toward God. In his Small Catechism, Luther frequently begins his explanations with, "We should fear, love, and trust God so that..." When I was little, I used to wonder about the fear, just like many, until it was explained that fear is related to awe of power and submission to authority. This concept really sank in when I saw a chart of moods in a class I took.  As I noticed all of our disposition toward God was on one side of the mood chart and really all of those together make sense.

Genesis 11:1-9 - The Tower of Babel

Chapter 11 starts with the comment that the whole earth had one language (v.1).  The people migrated from the East and settled in the land of Shinar, an ancient name for the land of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, known to us more familiarly as Mesopotamia or Babylonia (Isa 11:11). There is a single group of people here who are migrating together as a large family.  They have "one language... the same words" (v.1), yet fear being "scattered" (v. 4).  The tower portrayed in this story is not itself unusual culturally. Yet God acts so that they will be "scattered" (v.8).  These people decided to build a city and a "tower." The idea of building a city was not new (note 4:17) and may simply have represented the movement from nomadic to sedentary culture. Since there is no real hint in that direction in the text, it should not be read as any critique against urban life or the development of technology (note 4:17-22). The issue here is not the building of the tower itself, but the reasons for building it. The first goal was to "make a name for ourselves," with the longer range purpose that they would not "be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth" (v. 4).

 

The concept of having a "name" in the ancient world was close to what we mean by the same expression. A person’s name not only represented the person and their reputation, but it also communicated something about the character of the person (cf. Prov 22:1).  The implication here is that the people are depending on themselves to define who they are, and what they are about in the world. This stands in stark contrast to God’s promise to Abraham in the following chapter: "I will... make your name great" (12:2). The implication is that God is the one who should make their name great (cf. 2 Sam 7:9, 23; I Kings 1:47). This introduces an element of self-sufficiency and self interest here.

 

Their intentions were also in direct contrast to God's command to spread and fill the earth. They instead decided to stay there "lest we be scattered" (v4). The people were afraid of division. Their solution? Take matters into their own hands. They proposed a project: A city, a tower, a name. And yet, since early in the creation story, this has been God’s stated purpose for humanity: that they would "fill the earth" (1:28, cf. 9:7).

 

The next part of the passage is from the perspective of God. There is a certain sarcastic tone in verse 5 that serves to highlight their arrogance: "The Lord came down to see the city and the tower." They intend to build a tower to reach into the heavens to make a name for themselves. The irony is that God can’t even see this tower. He must come down and find this puny tower that the mortals had built. From high above in the heavens, God had to stoop low to see how their little project was progressing. The implication here is that these people aren’t ever going to become gods. 

 

God sees that they are "one people... one language" (v.6). Their unity was real. It had limitless potential. There was only one problem. It was all man-made. As is obvious from the response of God, the problem here is not unity itself. The telling theological commentary of verse 6 provides the crux of this passage: "this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them." This reveals that the issue here is not unity, but is really one of arrogance and pride.  The unity of these people is not something positive, because they are unified around the wrong center. The focus of their unity is their own ability to establish themselves in the world apart from God (note the same idea in a scathing prophetic denunciation in Habakkuk 1:11, 16). Here echoes the same problem that was evidenced in the Eden story: they aspire to become like God, themselves establishing their place in the world and implementing their own rules by which they live in that world.

 

At this point, God entered the picture and confused their language so they could no longer communicate with each other (v. 7). The very thing they feared most, division, dispersal, a half-built city, not a trace of a tower, and a name that means “confusion.” What man makes, God unmakes. Man-made unity, God-made division. Fear of division (real or imagined) is a terrible reason to unite. It will never produce anything more than a man-made unity. True unity isn’t the product of man’s proposals, but of God’s promise. He disposes of our proposals, plans and projects. He leaves us with nothing but his promise and his unity.

 

But this does not necessarily mean that God will intervene directly in history every time humanity poses a new threat by our own selfishness and sin (that issue was addressed in the flood story, 8:21-22, 9:11).  On one level, it is a judgment from God on a self-centered arrogance that wanted to ignore God’s purposes in the world. And yet, on another level, that scattering is a fulfillment of what God had wanted humanity to do, to fill the earth.  That suggests another dimension to the story not yet told in this text that will explain how the scattering can be a fulfillment of God’s purposes for his creation. That part of the story will begin in chapter 12 on the upbeat of grace. There God will call Abraham to begin a journey that will take him into a future he does not know, to places he has not yet seen, and will begin a new scattering that will not reach its climax for many centuries.