Friday, February 28, 2025
The Miracles Of Our Lord A mini-series in Matthew 8 and 9
Jesus' Messiahship Qualifications
We come this morning to two chapters that focus on some of the miracles that the Lord Jesus did. Matthew is purposeful in his writing his gospel; he intends to show us how the Lord Jesus fulfils the prophecies about the miracles he would do to authenticate His claims to be the Messiah!
In establishing Jesus' messiahship Matthew demonstrated
His legal qualification through His genealogy,
His prophetic qualification through the fulfillment of prophecy by His birth and infancy,
His divine qualification by the Father's own attestation at His baptism,
His spiritual qualification by His perfect resistance to Satan's temptations, and
His moral and theological qualification through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Matt 7:28,29 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
John Macarthur writes "In chapters 8 and 9 Matthew dramatically sets forth still another qualification: Jesus' divine power. Through the miracles of these two chapters, Matthew shows beyond doubt that Jesus is, in fact, the very Son of God, because only God could perform such supernatural feats. In an astounding display of power, Jesus cleansed a leper, healed two paralytics, healed a fever immediately and instantly, calmed a storm at sea, cast out demons, raised a girl from the dead, gave sight to two blind men, restored speech to a man made dumb by demons, and healed every other kind of disease and sickness. Matthew recounts the miracles and then reports the Jews' response… Jesus' miracles were the supreme proof of His divinity and the irrefutable credentials of His messiahship. Matthew's purpose in recording the miracles, like Jesus' purpose in performing them, was to confirm His deity and His claim to be the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. In many ways this section is the heart of Matthew's message."
Matthew's gospel was primarily written for Jewish people to understand Jesus' credentials. That He truly is the Messiah. It is confirmation to us Gentiles that Jesus is Who He claimed to be. That He connects the Old Testament promises to us Gentiles so we can have a portion in the eternal salvation He has wrought for us.
He fulfilled the prophecy we read earlier today "the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them—just as Isaiah had prophesied (Isa. 35:5; 61:1).
Miracles are Messianic signs.
Miracles are often parables of salvation.
Deity Miracles .Jesus Demonstrated His Power Over
Disease Disasters
Disorders
Death
Demons
2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
The first three miracles reported in detail by Matthew (cf. 4:23-24) all involve the healing of physical affliction. In New Testament times disease was rampant. If a person survived a serious disease it was usually because the sickness had run its course. Imagine being in a place without chemists, no panadol, no antibiotics.
The first three miracles reported in detail by Matthew (cf. 4:23-24) all involve the healing of physical affliction. In New Testament times disease was rampant. If a person survived a serious disease it was usually because the sickness had run its course. Imagine being in a place without chemists, no panadol, no antibiotics.
When Jesus healed, He did so with a word or a touch, without gimmicks. He healed instantaneously, with no drawn out period of waiting or of gradual restoration. He healed totally, not partially, no matter how serious the disease or deformity. He healed everyone who came to Him and even some who never saw Him. Most dramatically and powerfully of all, He even raised the dead.
In the first three miracles of Matthew 8 the Lord healed a leper, a paralytic, and a woman with a fever.
We will only look at the first one, healing the man with leprosy.
Ancient leprosy was virtually the same as Hansen's disease, leprosy today. It is still found in some countries and is terribly debilitating.
This severe form of leprosy was the most feared disease of the ancient world, and even today it cannot be totally cured, though it can be kept in check by proper medication. Not that long ago there were leprosy sanitariums in most countries in the world. In School we learnt of Father Damien's leper colony in Hawaii.
Leprosy was much more communicable in ancient times. Spongy, tumorlike swellings would eventually grow on the face and body, and the bacillus would become systemic and affect internal organs, while the bones would begin to deteriorate. Untreated in ancient times, it produced a weakness which made the victim vulnerable to tuberculosis or other diseases.
In order to protect His chosen people, God gave strict and specific regulations to Moses regarding leprosy, Leviticus 13. Lepers were mainly isolated and washings were used to stop transmission of the disease. When a person was found to have the serious form of leprosy, his clothes were to be torn, his head uncovered, his mouth covered (to prevent spread of the disease), and he was to cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" wherever he went to warn others to stay clear of him. Lepers were legally ostracized and forbidden to live in any community with their fellow Israelites (Num. 5:2).
They are acts of mercy, they conspicuously speak of redemption. They are parables of grace.
I want you to see how this leper came to Jesus.
This man came to Jesus on his own.
No one helped him along. No one advised him it would be a good idea. Many today have nobody to lead them to Christ. Nobody to pray for them. Nobody to persuade, encourage, or teach them. But they can still get going and come to Jesus. He knew if he didn't go to Jesus then there was no other place he could go. And in some ways that is pretty good. It tells us you can come to Him at any time. You don't need someone to help you. He wants to help you. He wants you to come to Him on your own.
This man came to Jesus as he was.
This man knew in himself that his case was a terrible one. There was no cure.
The leper was dreaded by everyone. He is called the leper. Perhaps everyone had forgotten his name. Perhaps he once had a nice life, a wife and family, a job.. but.. now he was fearwed and loathed by everyone. Just "the leper!" others gave him up as hopeless. No one could or would take him to Jesus. He was too foul to be touched, too far gone to be the subject of hope.
He knew that now, at last, he had come to the last stage of his illness, for Luke describes him as "full of leprosy." He had come to the final stage and the disease was conspicuous on him. His skin was foul and his joints were rotting. Very likely his fingers, his teeth and hair were gone and soon he must die. "Behold, there came a leper to Him." But he was not kept back by the fact that he was hopelessly and loathsomely diseased.
Are you perhaps conscious of sin, horrified of yourself? And yet you too may now come to Jesus! Though the leper feels the foul disease within him and fears that it has come to its worst, yet may he be emboldened to approach Him who can at once make him clean!
Many of us now present can assure you that, "This Man receives sinners," for He received us.
Furthermore, this man had no promise. Jesus never said, "Come unto Me, all you lepers, and I will heal you." I do not know that any of His Apostles had been sent forth to preach, saying, "Come to Jesus, all you lepers, and He will cleanse you."
Jesus Himself was the promise. He in Himself was obviously the One the leper should come to. It was clear that He was kind and merciful. He obviously sensed a love and tenderness in Jesus that allowed him to approach Him without fear of rejection.
The leper did not shout to Jesus from a distance, as he was supposed to, but he approached Him directly and without hesitation. He knew his great need and of Jesus' ability and willingness to meet that need. So he came to Him! So should you!
This man came to Jesus with reverence.
When he reached Jesus he bowed down to Him. Proskune (from which comes bowed down) literally means to prostrate oneself and is most often translated "to worship" (see Matt. 2:2; 4:9,10; John 4:20-24; Acts 7:43; Rev 4:10; 19:10). From the reverential nature of his request it seems that the leper addressed Jesus as Lord not simply in the sense of "Sir," but as an acknowledgment that Jesus was indeed God the Son, the Messiah, the One who was coming to save us from our sins. He felt he was in the presence of God and that therefore Jesus could heal him of his terrible disease.
The leper came to Jesus with humility.
Lord, if you are willing. He asked to be healed only if it were the Lord's will. He did not claim to be worthy or deserving, but left himself in the Lord's hands to do as He would. The implication seems to be that the leper was quite willing to remain leprous if that were the Lord's will. Obviously he wanted to be healed, but he did not explicitly ask Jesus for healing, almost as if that were too much to presume. He simply acknowledged Jesus' ability to heal him. This man claimed no rights. He came as he was, poor wretched and sick.
The leper came with faith.
You can make me clean. He literally said, "You have the power to make me clean." The leper came with confidence because he believed Jesus was compassionate, with reverence because he believed Jesus was God, with humility because he believed Jesus was sovereign, arid with faith because he believed Jesus had the power to heal him.
Mark 1: 41 Moved with pity, Matt 8:3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Σπλαγχνισθεὶς -splanchnistheis, "moved with compassion"
Did you ever see a man overcome with emotion? His heart seems to swell. His bosom heaves and tears burst forth. In our Lord's case His whole being was stirred. The depths of His spirit were agitated. He was moved. Even thus our Lord's personal touch of us heals us! His touch, in effect, said to the leper, "I do not loathe you–I will not keep away from you. I will come very near to you.
immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Jesus did not need to heal in stages, although at times He chose to do so (Mark 8:22-26; John 9:6-7). When He touched defilement it went away. The scene on this occasion must have been startling—to see a deformed, shriveled, scaly, sore-covered, derelict suddenly stand upright, with perfect arms and legs, with his face smooth and unscarred, his hair restored, his voice normal, and his eyes bright. The marvels of modern medical science pale beside such miraculous restoration.
This man had no invitation. Our Lord had not called him. He had never said, "Come, you lepers; come, and be healed." There was nobody to command or persuade him to come. There was nobody to encourage him to come, much less any to compel him to come! Of himself, constrained by a Divine impulse unknown to anybody else, this leper resolved to come and found himself welcome though he had not been specially invited.
But there is an invitation for you to come to Him. "Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden." Matt 11.
Acts 16 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." "Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out"? The doctrine of Election doesn't stop you, for all who come are elect! The Truth of the new birth does not stop you, for he that believes is born again!
And you may come. The invitation is for you to come to Him.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:37-40
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.38
Come to Him
Come to Him as you are
Come to Him as you are now
# posted by Groseys messages @ 11:37 AM
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Your Judge Can Be Your Saviour
MATTHEW 7:12-23 THE DIFFERENCE IS KNOWING GOD
Jeremiah 31:31-36 Matthew 13:24-43
This week we have had NSW State Government Ministers fail "The Pub test" The pub test? There is a greater test than the court of ublic opinion. It is the court of God the Most High Judge. Pub Test? Court Test? No! The Day of Judgment test!
Many will say to Me in that day." He used no other words–"in that day"–that terrible day–that Last Great Day–that day for which all other days were made–that day by which all other days must be measured and judged.
What is the chief objective of your life? Will you think as much of it "in that day" as you do now? "In that day," when the glare of this world's lamps shall have died out and the glitter of its pomp shall forever have passed into the eternal darkness, how will your pleasures look then?
Sometimes the day of Judgment comes early for folks. I remember sitting in a hospital waiting room at midnight, called in by nursing staff, to sit with the family of a 45 year old, who was dying of cancer. A deacon in my church had witnessed to him often in his work place in a car yard. We had talked briefly of him opening his heart to receive the Lord Jesus but he had put off the urgings of my dear friend for years. And now he sat there in the hospital bed at midnight and called out repeatedly "My heart is too hard."
That day came for him to face the Lord. And he knew he was unprepared. He cried out for hours until he passed away early that morning. For others of us, we await the day, the day of judgment, and we know it may come at any point when the Lord Jesus returns suddenly in glory. That day.
Here were persons who made an open profession of being Christians. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven." They called Christ, "Lord," so they virtually declared that they were His disciples. They said this plainly, as though they were not at all ashamed of it and were, indeed, even proud of it. They said it twice over, zealously, frequently, "Lord, Lord." They said it as if the saying of it were so sweet to them that they could not say it often enough. They said it in all sorts of company.
But here are three sorts of people to whom the Lord says,
And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
There they were, preaching, teaching a Sunday school class, distributing the bread and wine at the Communion Table, going about among their fellow members, actively engaged in Christian service and everybody saying of them, "What good people they are! "Yet the Lord Jesus Christ knew that they were not!
There is a problem. Actually there are three types of problems.
Our Lord shows us some of the false and wrong things on which men tend to rely. He gives us a list of them.
Being a preacher won't save you
Being powerful won't save you
Being prominent won't save you.
Being powerful won't save you
Being prominent won't save you.
- PASSIONATE WORDS DO NOT BRING ETERNAL LIFE.
Correct orthodox belief will not give us eternal life. This is not to say that correct belief is not necessary for salvation—it is. Paul makes that clear in Romans 10:9, 10: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." A man who refuses to say "Lord, Lord" will never enter the kingdom of heaven. All true Christians say, "Lord, Lord." But not all who say "Lord, Lord" are true Christians!
DMLJ `Lord, Lord'. He is referring to people who are right in their doctrine concerning His nature and about His Person, to people who have recognized Him, and who come to Him, and say `Lord, Lord'. They say the right things to Him, they believe the right things about Him. Our Lord is not criticizing them for that. What He is saying is that not everyone who does say that shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Intellectual orthodoxy does not indicate saving faith. You can be absolutely correct in your belief about Christ's nature and person, his substitutionary atonement, his resurrection, and his return, you can have even fought against heretics, and yet not be truly saved.
Furthermore, zeal and fervency do not bring eternal life. Saying orthodox things with emotion is not enough.
DMLJ "But the alarming and terrifying thing which our Lord says is that not everyone who does say `Lord, Lord', shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Those who do go in say it; anyone who does not say it can never enter into the kingdom of heaven; but not all who do say it shall enter in."
DMLJ These people may not only be believers of the truth, but also fervent and zealous. You notice the repetition of the word `Lord', they do not merely say `Lord', they say `Lord, Lord'. These people are not intellectual believers only; there is an element of feeling; emotion is involved. They seem keen and anxious and they are full of fervour. Yet our Lord says that even that may be quite false, and that there are many who thus zealously and fervently say the right things about Him, and to Him, who still shall not enter into the kingdom of God. The emotional type of person is always more liable to weep when he prays, but it does not mean of necessity that he is more spiritual. Our Lord, then, is emphasizing that though they say `Lord, Lord', and are fervent and zealous, it may be nothing but the flesh. Great enthusiasm in these things does not of necessity imply spirituality.
These professing believers say, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name . . . ?" Prophesying, preaching, does not prove anything. Balaam gave an accurate message but was a hireling and a sinner (Numbers 22—25). Saul was used by God when he was under the spirit of prophecy, but he himself was lost. Fervent proclamation of truth does not prove spiritual reality. A preacher can be fervent simply because he likes his outline and likes to move people, but it does not prove anything about the man himself. These are sobering thoughts. The Lord does not want anyone to miss the point of all the great teaching that he had given in the Sermon on the Mount.
2. POWERFUL WORKS DO NOT BRING ETERNAL LIFE.
These professing believers also say, "Lord, Lord, did we not . . . cast out demons in your name?" Is it possible for a person to do that and yet be outside the kingdom? Yes, for the New Testament clearly says Judas had such power (Luke 10:17). Our Lord may allow power to course through a man though the man himself is lost.
There were exorcists who cast our demons who were of the Pharisees, and in Acts we read of seven sons of one Sceva a high priest, who attempted to cast our demons. There are may who attempt great things, and God may permit them to do great things in the spiritual realm who may not necessarily know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some professing believers may say, "Lord, Lord, did we not . . . do many mighty works in your name?" How can it be that these are lost? Jesus explains in Matthew 24:24, "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." Paul notes a similar phenomenon in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9: "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders." In other words, a man may be able to do great things and get great results, but that says absolutely nothing about his salvation. We need to hear this well in a day when there are thousands who are claiming that in Christ they have supernatural powers. People say to me they have heard of some bizarre thing going on and will comment that it is okay because the individual uses Jesus' name every time he does it. Using his name does not prove anything.
Satan is still "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2), and he will do anything to keep people under his bondage, even if it means getting them to say "Lord, Lord" and endowing them with evil supernatural power.
Jesus says that orthodoxy, zeal, and spectacular displays of spiritual power do not prove a thing.
Now notice He says "many" at the beginning of Matthew 7:22. There will not be a few, but many who do these things to whom he will say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (v. 23). Sadly, multitudes of evangelical Christians are not born again—they are lost.
If you are to stand on that day, the great day of judgment, before God's Great White Throne of Judgment, you must truly Know Christ.
Jeremiah 31:31- "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Why a new covenant? Israel, and all of us, fail under the old covenant. We failed! Everyone of has failed! If it up to you to get you into heaven? You have failed already and you are lost forever under God's judgment.
BUT!
God Sovereignly and graciously makes this covenant with you. See how throughout He keeps saying "I will make this covenant." I will put my teaching within them …, I will be their God,… For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.."
God guarantees forgiveness.
God changes our hearts.
We shall know this God and Saviour.
THIS IS SOMETHING PERSONAL GOD OFFERS YOU TODAY IN JESUS
THIS IS SOMETHING PERSONAL GOD OFFERS YOU TODAY IN JESUS
The one thing that matters is our relationship to Christ. He is the judge, and it is what He thinks of us that matters. It is He who will say to these people, `I never knew you', and that word `knew' is very strong. It does not mean that He was not aware of their existence. He knows all things, He sees everything; everything is naked and open to Him. `Know' means `taking a special interest in', `being in a particular relationship to'. `You only have I known of all the families of the earth,' said God to the children of Israel through Amos. That means that He is in this peculiar relationship to Israel. What our Lord will say on the judgment-day to these self-deceived people is that they have done all these things in their own power and energy. He never had anything to do with it. So the most important thing for all of us is not to be interested primarily in our activities or in results, but in our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we know Him, and does He know us.
THIS IS SOMETHING POWERFUL THAT GOD OFFERS YOU IN JESUS.
John 17:1-3. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
THIS IS SOMETHING PERVASIVE THAT GOD OFFERS YOU IN JESUS.
John 17:1-3. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
THIS IS SOMETHING PERVASIVE THAT GOD OFFERS YOU IN JESUS.
Hos 6:3, Let us strive to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land. 6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven
Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven
CONCLUSION
Notice how these people found out their fatal mistake. They found it out from what Christ said. He said to them, "I never knew you." Not passionately, or angrily, but in stern, sad, solemn tones He said, "I never knew you." "But we used Your name, good Lord." "I know you did, but I never knew you, and you never truly knew Me." I can almost imagine someone turning around, "in that day," and saying to some Christians who used to sit in the same pew, "You knew me." "Yes," they will reply, "we knew you, but that is of no use, for the Master did not know you." I can picture some of you crying out to your minister, "Pastor, did you not know us? Surely you recollect what we used to do." What can he reply? "Ah, yes, sorrowfully do I acknowledge that I know you, but I cannot help you. It is only Christ's knowing you that can be of any use to you."
JI Packer wrote "The entire New Testament is overshadowed by the certainty of a coming day of universal judgment, and by the problem thence arising: How may we sinners get right with God while there is yet time? The New Testament looks on to "the day of judgment," "the day of wrath," "the wrath to come," and proclaims Jesus, the divine Savior, as the divinely appointed Judge.
The judge who stands before the door (Jas 5:9), "ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Pet 4:5), "the righteous Judge" who will give Paul his crown (2 Tim 4:8), is the Lord Jesus Christ. "He is the one who has been designated by God as judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42 NEB). God "has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed," Paul told the Athenians (Acts 17:31); and to the Romans he wrote, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares" (Rom 2:16). Jesus himself says the same. "The Father . . . has entrusted all judgment to the Son. . . . And he has given him authority to judge. . . . A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (NEB has "will rise to hear their doom") (Jn 5:22, 27-29). The Jesus of the New Testament, who is the world's Savior, is its Judge as well."
Jesus the Lord, like his Father, is holy and pure; we are neither. We live under his eye, he knows our secrets, and on judgment day the whole of our past life will be played back, as it were, before him, and brought under review. If we know ourselves at all, we know we are not fit to face him. What then are we to do? The New Testament answer is: Call on the coming Judge to be your present Savior. As Judge, he is the law, but as Savior he is the gospel. Run from him now, and you will meet him as Judge then—and without hope. Seek him now, and you will find him, and you will then discover that you are looking forward to that future meeting with joy, knowing that there is now "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1)." Knowing God. The Judge
# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:18 AM
Monday, February 10, 2025
Earth has no sorrow
"Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish; Come, at God's altar fervently kneel; Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish: Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal"
2 Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, in mercy saying,
"Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot cure."
3 Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing
forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast prepared; come, ever knowing
earth has no sorrows but heaven can remove.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 8:05 PM
Thursday, February 06, 2025
John Piper writes about Athanasius
The church father Athanasius has been dubbed Athanasius contra mundum — "Athanasius against the world."
The title comes from Athanasius's lifelong battle to explain and defend the deity of Christ when it seemed that the whole world was abandoning orthodoxy. Athanasius stood steadfast against this overwhelming defection from orthodoxy, even though the dawn of triumph appeared only at the end of his life.
Arius's Heresy
The war was sparked in 319. A deacon in Alexandria named Arius, who had been born in 256 in Libya, presented a letter to Bishop Alexander arguing that if the Son of God were truly a Son, he must have had a beginning. There must have been a time, therefore, when he did not exist.
Athanasius, who was born in 298 in Egypt, was a little over 20 when the controversy broke out — over 40 years younger than Arius (a lesson in how the younger generation may be more biblically faithful than the older). Athanasius was in the service of Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria. Almost nothing is known of his youth.
In 321 a synod was convened in Alexandria, and Arius was deposed from his office and his views declared heresy. Athanasius at age 23 wrote the deposition for Alexander. This was to be his role now for the next 52 years — writing to declare the glories of the incarnate Son of God. The deposition of Arius unleashed 60 years of ecclesiastical and empire-wide political conflict.
Eusebius of Nicomedia (modern-day Izmit in Turkey) took up Arius's theology and became "the head and center of the Arian cause" (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, xvi). For the next 40 years, the eastern part of the Roman Empire (measured from modern Istanbul eastward) was mainly Arian. That is true in spite of the fact that the great Council of Nicaea in 325 decided in favor of the full deity of Christ. Hundreds of bishops signed it and then twisted the language to say that Arianism really fit into the wording of Nicaea.
The Empire's Flash Point
When Athanasius's mentor, Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, died on April 17, 328, three years after the Council of Nicaea, the mantel of Egypt and the cause of orthodoxy fell to Athanasius. He was ordained as bishop on June 8 that year. This bishopric was the second in Christendom after Rome. It had jurisdiction over all the bishops of Egypt and Libya. Under Athanasius Arianism died out entirely in Egypt. And from Egypt Athanasius wielded his empire-wide influence in the battle for the deity of Christ.
Within two years after taking office as Bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius became the flash point of controversy. Most of the bishops who had signed the Creed of Nicaea did not like calling people heretics, even if they disagreed with this basic affirmation of Christ's deity. They wanted to get rid of Athanasius and his passion for this cause. So Athanasius was accused of levying illegal taxes. There were accusations that he was too young when ordained, that he used magic, that he subsidized treasonable persons, and more. Constantine did not like Athanasius's hard line either and called him to Rome in 331 to face the charges the bishops were bringing. The facts acquitted him, but his defense of the Nicene formulation of Christ's deity was increasingly in the minority.
Eventually, Athanasius was condemned and fled in a boat with four bishops and came to Constantinople. The accusers threw aside their previous indictments and created another with false witnesses: Athanasius had tried to starve Constantine's capitol by preventing wheat shipments from Alexandria. That was too much for Constantine, and even without condemning evidence he ordered Athanasius banished to Treveri (Trier, near today's Luxembourg). Athanasius left for exile on February 8, 336.
Seven-Year Absence
Constantine died the next year, and the empire was divided among his three sons, Constantius (taking the East), Constans (taking Italy and Illyricum), and Constantine II (taking the Gauls and Africa). One of Constantine II's first acts was to restore Athanasius to his office in Alexandria on November 23, 337.
Two years later, Eusebius, the leader of the Arians, had persuaded Constantius to get rid of Athanasius. He took the ecclesiastical power into his hands, declared Gregory the bishop of Alexandria, put his own secular governor in charge of the city, and used force to take the bishop's quarters and the churches. Athanasius was forced to leave the city to spare more bloodshed.
This was the beginning of his second exile — the longest time away from his flock. He left on April 16, 339, and didn't return until October 21, 346. Constantine's other two sons supported Athanasius and called the Council of Sardica (now Sophia in Bulgaria), which vindicated him in August 343. But it took three years until the political factors fell into place for his return. Athanasius was finally restored to his people with rejoicing after seven years away.
From the Devil's Jaws
On January 18, 350, Constans was murdered. This freed Constantius to solidify his power and to attack Athanasius and the Nicene theology unopposed. The people of Alexandria held off one armed assault on the city by the emperor's secretary Diogenes in 355, but the next year Constantius sent Syrianus, his military commander, to exert the emperor's control in Alexandria.
On February 8, 356, soldiers broke into Alexandria's largest church as Athanasius prepared the worshipers for communion the next morning. While the soldiers entered, Athanasius took his seat and told the deacon to lead the congregation in Psalm 136. Each time the congregation responded back, "for his steadfast love endures forever," the soldiers advanced toward Athanasius, who refused the bishop's pleas for him to flee until all the people were safe. A group of monks and other leaders finally seized Athanasius and removed him from the scene amid the confusion of the crowd. He would remain away from his people for the next six years.
But at the darkest hour for Athanasius and for the cause of orthodoxy, the dawn was about to break. This third exile proved to be the most fruitful. Protected by an absolutely faithful army of desert monks, no one could find him, and he produced his most significant written works: The Arian History, the four Tracts Against Arians, the four dogmatic letters To Serapion, and On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia. It is one of the typical ironies of God's providence that the triumph over Arianism would happen largely through the ministry of a fugitive living and writing within inches of his death.
Athanasius returned to Alexandria on February 21, 362, by another irony. The new and openly pagan emperor, Julian, reversed all the banishments of Constantius. The favor lasted only eight months. But during these months Athanasius called a synod at Alexandria and gave a more formal consolidation and reconciliation to the gains he had accomplished in the last six years of his writing. It had a tremendous impact on the growing consensus of the church in favor of Nicene orthodoxy. Jerome says that this synod "snatched the whole world from the jaws of Satan," and Archibald Robertson calls it "the crown of the career of Athanasius" (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, lviii).
The rallying point that this synod gave for orthodoxy in 362 enabled the reuniting forces of Eastern Christendom to withstand the political Arianism under Emperor Valens, who reigned from 364 to 378.
End of the Exiles
But in October 362 Athanasius was again driven from his office by Julian's wrath when the emperor realized that Athanasius took his Christianity seriously enough to reject the pagan gods. Again he spent the next fifteen months among the desert monks. The story goes that he was freed to return by a prophecy by one of the monks that Julian had that very day fallen in battle in Persia. It proved true, and Athanasius was restored to his ministry on February 14, 364.
A year and a half later Emperor Valens ordered that all the bishops earlier expelled under Julian should be removed once again by the civil authorities. On October 5, 365, the Roman Prefect broke into the church in Alexandria and searched the apartments of the clergy, but the sixty-seven-year-old Athanasius had been warned and escaped one last time — his fifth exile. It was short because a dangerous revolt led by Procopius had to be put down by Valens, so he judged it was not time to allow popular discontent to smolder in Athanasius-loving Alexandria. Athanasius was brought back on February 1, 366.
He spent the last years of his life fulfilling his calling as a pastor and overseer of pastors. He carried on extensive correspondence and gave great encouragement and support to the cause of orthodoxy around the empire. He died on May 2, 373.
Out-Rejoice Your Adversaries
What then may we learn about the sacred calling of controversy from the life of Athanasius?
Athanasius stared down murderous intruders into his church. He stood before emperors who could have killed him as easily as exiling him. He risked the wrath of parents and other clergy by consciously training young people to give their all for Christ, including martyrdom. He celebrated the fruit of his ministry with these words: "in youth they are self-restrained, in temptations endure, in labors persevere, when insulted are patient, when robbed make light of it: and, wonderful as it is, they despise even death and become martyrs of Christ" — martyrs not who kill as they die, but who love as they die (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, 65).
Athanasius contra mundum should inspire every pastor to stand his ground meekly and humbly and courageously whenever a biblical truth is at stake. But be sure that you always out-rejoice your adversaries. If something is worth fighting for, it is worth rejoicing over. And the joy is essential in the battle, for nothing is worth fighting for that will not increase our everlasting joy in God.
Courage in conflict must mingle with joy in Christ. This was part of Athanasius's battle strategy with his adversaries:
Let us be courageous and rejoice always. . . . Let us consider and lay to heart that while the Lord is with us, our foes can do us no hurt. . . . But if they see us rejoicing in the Lord, contemplating the bliss of the future, mindful of the Lord, deeming all things in His hand . . . — they are discomfited and turned backwards. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, 207)
Athanasius would have us learn from his life and the life of his heroes this lesson: even if at times it may feel as though we are alone contra mundum, let us stand courageous and out-rejoice our adversaries.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:32 PM
Saturday, February 01, 2025
Why do some folk dislike the NIV translation ?
It had to do with Rupert Murdoch buying Zondervan. He vowed to update the NIV with greater emphasis on altering the text against honest translation from Greek particularly with the gender neutral issue. He also would have been seen to be more in favour of LGBTI issues. These public vows to update the theology of the NIV caused the SBC to consider making their own translation the HCSB. Murdoch retreated from his position and permitted the updates to be conducted by conservative translators.
If you take the time to see who translated each book of each translation you will find many of the translators worked on more than one translation.
NIV does have some translation issues where theological beliefs of the translators seep into the translation (as does Packer's ESV btw). Sometimes the English word choice is not inaccurate but may not carry the same force or impact as say NASB or ESV word choice. Translation is hard work. Translators should be admired for their work.
In contrast to KJVO folk, it is only the original documents in Greek or Hebrew that are verbal and plenary inspired. Translators must therefore be accurate, and sometimes directing the reader to the translator's theological position for ease of interpretation (doing the reader a "favour") may not actually be doing them a favour, as there is a need for each of us to do the hard intellectual work of thinking through our faith ( which may be why the Greek or Hebrew may be harder to translate).
If you take the time to see who translated each book of each translation you will find many of the translators worked on more than one translation.
NIV does have some translation issues where theological beliefs of the translators seep into the translation (as does Packer's ESV btw). Sometimes the English word choice is not inaccurate but may not carry the same force or impact as say NASB or ESV word choice. Translation is hard work. Translators should be admired for their work.
In contrast to KJVO folk, it is only the original documents in Greek or Hebrew that are verbal and plenary inspired. Translators must therefore be accurate, and sometimes directing the reader to the translator's theological position for ease of interpretation (doing the reader a "favour") may not actually be doing them a favour, as there is a need for each of us to do the hard intellectual work of thinking through our faith ( which may be why the Greek or Hebrew may be harder to translate).
# posted by Groseys messages @ 7:49 AM
