I have a natural inclination towards fighting and it seems like I have been doing this all my life as evidenced by the fact that I have been in over 22 altercations that have led to physical fights, two in which I have been jumped or stabbed resulting in serious injury. I consider myself an above average fighter and when I look at my record (unofficially) I can say that I have come out on the winning side of the conflict more often than not.

I am currently serving in the US Army as a Signal Captain and have had the opportunity to box at Army boxing events in which I have earned a victory on four separate occasions without suffering a defeat. I can also claim the title of Infantry Officer Basic Training “Pugil Champion” as a result of me winning a Pugil Tournament which consisted of some pretty stiff competition. It is safe to say that when it comes to conflict I don’t shy away from it, however it has been an eye opener for me to come to the realization that in my walk with Jesus Christ that I have been passive when it comes to fighting against the principalities and powers that are a reality.

I currently operate a web based Non-denominational Christian Ministry by the name of giveyourwitness.com and I realize that in order for my ministry, to the lost, to be as effective as possible, I need to be just as tenacious in my prayer life that I am when it comes to physical confrontations. It is through prayer & fasting that God is influenced to act. More is accomplished through prayer than any other activity that we can accomplish on our own; “He can do more in a tiny fraction of a second than I can accomplish in years. He can do it better, bigger, and more permanently than I can ever imagine.” The current date is 09 MAY 11 and I will be praying for the salvation of God’s people in the upcoming days with a consistency and fervency that I have demonstrated on rare occasion, I unfortunately have to admit.

In addition to praying for the salvation of God’s people fervently, I will make a concerted effort to minimize sins in my life in order that my prayers will be heard by God; “1Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59: 1-2). Another factor that hinders believers from receiving what they desire is the fact that they do not ask God for what it is that they would like to receive in an unselfish manner, rather often Christians pray for things that they personally might benefit from; “Prayer may properly be offered—will be properly offered for many wholly personal things; for physical strength, healing in sick-ness, about dearly loved ones, money needed; indeed regarding things that may not be necessary but only desirable and enjoyable, for ours is a loving God who would have His dear ones enjoy to the full their lives down here. But the motive determines the propriety of such requests.”

The third thing that I will focus on, in order to ensure that the success of my ministry is secured, is eliminating any spirit of unforgiveness that I may have towards anybody or anything.

PERSONAL APPLICATION

As I stated earlier I have had my fair share of physical altercations and I am no stranger when it comes to having to deal with conflict and fights, in fact I have always handled these situations with the appropriate amount of force to mitigate the cause of the problem; however I have sorely ignored the very real fight that is taking place in the spirit realm and as a Christian we are told that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.“ (II Cor 10:4). As Christians we war against three things; our Flesh, the World and Satan himself; “The subject of aggressive spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil is becoming increasingly important.

Many are giving themselves to rampant abandonment and indulgence in fleshly sins. The glitter and appeal of the world system keeps pressuring for conformity. Satan and his kingdom relentlessly press their battle against believers and all of God’s program.” The passage below captures the fact that as Christians there can be an under appreciation for praying; “I am going to say something this morning that you won’t believe. This year, 1964, I have been a Christian nearly thirty-two years. I have just come to the conclusion that the weapons of our warfare are not physical. According to the Bible, some of the things Christians think are important in serving God don’t mean one thing.”

Many people believe that they are fighting the good fight by going to church regularly or by observing a custom of some sort, but without prepping the battlefield for whatever it is that we would try to accomplish, through prayer, our efforts will not be met with as much success as they would if we had taken the time to pray. I will keep in mind what we read on page 139 of Bondage Breaker; “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).

God’s Blessings in Christ Jesus

Brother Bush

The poem captured below was shared by one of my favorite unit Chaplains as he departed to his next duty station. I thought I would share it with all my brothers and sisters. I think it speaks to how God renews a believer’s strength….

Anxiety races through my body with every beat of my heart.

Bewildered I search for answers.

Confusion captures my brain and

discouragement suffocates my spirit.

Embarrassed, I hide from my loved ones,

frightened by events that I cannot control.

Gloom envelopes me like a cloud.

Hopeless, I cry out and no one answers.

Isolated by pain, I am

jealous of evil men whose cunning has made them rich.

Knowledge eludes me.

Loneliness is my only friend.

Mountains loom before me, too high to climb.

No one cares – no

one. I am

powerless to change and my

questions go unanswered.

Repulsed by my pain, people look away.

Suffering surrounds me.

Tired and weak, I lay in bed day after day

uncertain as to my future;

voiceless to tell my story;

worthless to friend or foe.

Xanax offers escape. I

yearn to die,

zealous to be buried;

BUT

Awed by God’s word and

buoyed by His love, I

courageously fight back.

Daring to hope that God would love me,

enthusiastically I cry to Him,

“Forgive me, Father,

grant to Your servant peace.

Hold me in the palm of Your hand.

Immeasurable, the love You have for me.

Joyfully, I praise You.

Knowledge of Your love is what changed me.

Lovingly, You take me into Your arms

murmuring words of encouragement.

Never once have You forgotten me.”

Optimistic of the future,

peace replaces the anxiety and I am filled with hope.

Quietly, I abide in His presence,

resting in His unfailing love.

Surprisingly, I make new friends,

touching people by faithfully obeying,

utterly dependent on God.

Valleys and mountains still surround me.

Wherever I go, though, God is with me,

Expanding the barrier of time and space,

yearning for me to live with Him.

Zest for life now fills me!

God’s Blessings in Jesus Christ!

Brother Bush

After taking the ministry gifts inventory, I have discovered that my three highest areas of aptitude when it comes to ministry are; Evangelism (People with this gift have a strong desire to share the Gospel with nonbelievers), Mercy (Persons gifted in this area have immediate compassion for those who are suffering physically) and Teaching (Persons gifted in the area of teaching have the ability to explain God’s truth so that others can understand it and apply it to their lives. Initially I was a bit skeptical in believing that the “Ministry Gifts Inventory” would identify the areas of ministry that best suited me, but I must admit that after taking the inventory, the areas that were identified as best suiting me for ministry seem to actually fit me well.

In the Bible we learn that Jesus Christ came to call sinners to repentance as communicated in Mark 2:17 – On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” In Mark 2:17 it appears that God is communicating that Christ came to call sinners to repentance. In other parts of the Bible we are exhorted to be like Christ and be witnesses to those who are without the light of the Gospel. I enjoy evangelizing and have started a Ministry by the name of “Giveyourwitness.com” a Christian Non Denominational ministry that has the main purpose of allowing those who have been saved and blessed by Jesus an opportunity to give praise in the form of a personal testimony. There are also articles on the site that are meant to edify and build up the body of Christ. In this way I am fulfilling the call to evangelize the unsaved people of the world and it is a true blessing to be used of God in this manner.

The next gift that was identified as being one of my highest ministry gifts was mercy. When Jesus Christ was here he ministered to many by lightening the burden of those who were stricken with physical ailments or in need of something by healing them or providing them with whatever it was that was in need by them, whether it be food or the turning of water into wine. When I think of the blessings that God has bestowed upon me and how he has forgiven me for things that I have done I can’t help but feel compelled to forgive others for the things that they have done which are wrong. I would like to ease the physical and spiritual needs of people as a testimony to God’s goodness. The ministry giveyourwitness.com will generate revenue from advertising that I will reinvest into the ministry to eventually provide for the needs of people, all to the glory of God. There is a part in the bible where we are admonished to be careful when entertaining strangers because often some have entertained angels unaware. This communication could be interpreted as; In other words you never know what your actions will result in.

The last ministry gift during the inventory was the gift of Teaching. I enjoy teaching immensely and feel obligated to share the truth of God’s word in a day and age where many are not proclaiming the full council of God’s word. Overall the Ministry Gifts Inventory was an effective tool to help identify your strength when it comes to ministering to the world and God’s people.

The book “Working the Angles” by Eugene H. Peterson is a work that causes the reader to take a look at their spiritual life and make an assessment based off of three identified aspects or angles of being a spiritual leader, that being; Prayer, Scripture and Spiritual Direction. The premise behind the book “Working the Angles” is that if you have these three areas of your life in order then you are equipped to be a better Pastor or Spiritual Leader. We all need tools that will help us combat the principalities and powers that exist in this world and that run contrary to the things of God, “Working the Angles” provides these tools.

Prayer life is an essential part of the Christian experience according to what is communicated in “Working the Angles” and when you really stop to think about prayer and what is actually taking place, it is no wonder that it plays such an important role in the life of the spiritual leader who is prepared to give sound direction and guidance based off of God’s word. Working the Angles communicates that “Prayer is an act in which I bring myself to attention before God”, (Peterson, pg 3). Prayer is given a position in the Bible by God that is primary. Before Jesus began to execute his earthly ministry he was in the wilderness fasting and praying to God the Father. If we are to follow the example of Christ then we will be in prayer over the things that are most important to us as well as things that are considered ordinary needs as we are commanded to do in Ephesians 6:18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Prayer is the way in which we communicate with God and we should not be, as Working the Angles communicates, so hasty to utter just anything while in the presence of God. Ecclesiastes 5:1 echoes the idea about being careful while in presence of God via prayer: Ecclesiastes 5:1 ”Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.” In Mathew 21:13 Jesus is chastising those who have turned God’s house into a den of thieves instead of what is intended, that being a house of prayer: “And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” We are in the presence of God when we pray and the spirit of God which lives in side of every believer communicates to God what words cannot: Romans 8:26-27. If it is true that we are in the presence of God when we pray then I am in agreement one hundred percent with Eugene H. Peterson when he states in “Working the Angles” that Spiritual Leaders should deny the request for common prayers as a way of preparing for the more important events or main events of the evening.

There are few things more important than communicating with God through prayer and when we treat prayer as an afterthought we are in danger of being in violation of the principles that God has laid out for prayer. As I take an introspective look at my own prayer life I can say that it is in need of a lot of maintenance if I am to be successful in finishing the race as a Christian. We all pray in times of crisis, even the non-religious types, but God communicates in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” I need to give prayer more of a priority in my life especially if I am to lend spiritual counsel or advice to others. How can I show someone how to have a successful prayer life and the spiritual benefits of true Bible based prayer if I have not implemented this into my own Christian walk.

The second Angle discussed in “Working the Angles” is “Scripture”. Mr. Peterson makes the point that when we read scripture that we must remember that before there was the written that there was the oral means of communicating and that we must not mistake the practice of reading scripture with the act of listening to God. Only when we read the scripture with obedience in mind are we truly listening to what God is communicating in his word. As I read this section of “Working the Angles” I must admit that at times I am guilty of this very act of just “reading” as opposed to the more desirable “listening” that should be taking place. There is a difference between listening and reading and most people would prefer reading because there is not all that much involved, as far as the level of attention that is required, as opposed to listening which will be apparent to others if you are not doing so actively because of your lack of responsiveness to what is being communicated. Often I will read a verse or a chapter in the Bible and feel as if I have fulfilled a requirement of some sort by the mere fact that I read the text. After being presented with what Eugene H. Peterson communicates in the second angle (Scripture) of “Working the Angles” I will be more mindful of the application factor.

Mr. Peterson makes the point that even though we have more access to the scripture because of the printing press and technology this fact may be counterproductive because of the misunderstanding between reading and listening. People listened more in the past when they had to be more attentive to God’s word or run the risk of being accused of the act of not listening to God’s word because of their lack of responsiveness. Reading is not listening, thank you Mr. Peterson for making that clear to us all.

The last angle that completes the “Working the Angles” triangle methodology that Eugene H. Peterson presents us with is that of being a “Spiritual Director” and makes the point that as we accept the responsibility of being a Spiritual Leader that we will need to be prepared to give sound Spiritual Direction. Spiritual Direction does make demands of those that are receiving it. Spiritual Direction is given in the effort of providing guidance to those who are in need of it. There is a distinction that is made between Spiritual Direction and advice that masquerades as Spiritual Direction that Spiritual Leaders and Pastors are cautioned to be mindful of, point noted here.

God’s Blessing’s in Jesus Christ….

Brother Bush

Augustine was perhaps one of the greatest contributors when it came to apologies of the Christian faith in the early years of the Church. His areas of expertise included Latin and Philosophy which contributed to him being able to articulate points that were of significant interest to the church on a grand scale. Augustine’s contributions to the faith include; more than 95 works in which he explains the circumstances and settings of his day, which influenced his theology. Additional sources of material from Augustine are available in the form of writings and letters. Of the works of Augustine that are available today, the most significant body of work is Augustine’s “Confessions”, which is the first spiritual autobiography in Christianity.

Confessions is such an appealing body of work because of its analysis of sin and human nature and can be described in three ways; a confession of sin, a profession of faith, and as a praise of God. Augustine was born in Tagaste, which is a small commercial city in North Africa, the son of a Christian mother who was a saint and a pagan father who was baptized into the faith shortly before his death. During his early student years Augustine was fascinated by philosophy and took up the cause without gravitating toward any specific area. Later on Augustine would point his interest in the direction of Manichaeism before becoming attracted to what Astrology and Magic seemingly had to offer, ultimately returning back to his Christian roots after going to hear Bishop Ambrose preach.

Augustine’s conversion did not actually occur until, while in a garden contemplating his moral failure, he heard a young child in a nearby house voice the words in a song “pick up and read” which led him to pick up a book of the letters of Paul. In the book he read instruction on how to live a Holy life before God, namely Romans 13-13-14: “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature”. Augustine had an epiphany of sorts and at that moment was converted. What can be learned about and from the conversion of Augustine, who is one of the most contributing of the Apostolic Fathers, is that genuine faith and salvation is well described by the analogy within scripture of the kingdom of heaven being like a seed which is sown that is watered until it sprouts yielding fruit in due season.

Augustine’s faith was given by God after being ministered to by Bishop Ambrose and the presbyter Simplicianus setting the conditions for the events that took place in the garden. In other words Augustine’s conversion happen in due season and on God’s timetable as is the case with all conversions, some soon than later and vice versa. The seed was sown from a very early age with his mother being a Christian and the influence that this surely would have brought, which is another contributing factor to his conversion.

God’s blessings in Jesus Christ

Brother Bush

MARGIN

Life is filled with goals, expectations and accomplishments and the pursuit of these things, however if these things are not placed within the proper context of eternity then there is a tendency to think that everything must be accomplished as fast as possible because we only have a limited amount of time to work with right? Haven’t you heard the expression “Time is money”? However when time is not placed within the proper constraints of eternity and when the right utilization of time, as God intended, is lost now we have a situation that Richard A. Swenson describes in his book “Margin” as being a life that is overloaded and has exceeded Margin. What is Margin? Swenson gives an illustration of what Margin is in his book and introduces the term “Marginless” to serve as a contrast to Margin. Margin means to place limits on things. For example when you write a letter the left and right Margins serve as the limits. In life there are Margins placed on the amount of tasks that a human being can take on.

If you exceed the Margins you run the risk of overloading yourself. When two people get married I am sure that they never plan to overload themselves but on occasion this occurs when you add in children, careers, and mismanagement of time, finances and other resources. A lack of proper understanding of Margin is and how Marginless living can make its way into a person’s life and marriage. Currently when evaluating my life’s Margins I must admit that I have in the past have been very ambitious and as a consequence have taken on a lot of tasks that have caused stress within my marriage and family life. I am not saying that any of the goals that I have been fortunate enough to obtain have not been worth the sacrifice, only that I am sure that they have contributed to the nearing of the margin in my marriage and family life.

Education is a big issue for me and I take the time I need to become educated. The question is? At what expense? Do I pour all of my energy and efforts in to education to the neglect and detriment of my family? Swenson states that this would be unwise and that it would be far better to understand the proper place of education in the context of time that is also a creation of God. In Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 God states: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. I would think it a fair statement that “this applies to time and its proper utilization as well”. Pain has been experienced in my marriage because of tasks that me and my wife have taken on that overloaded our lives.

Presently, I strive to ensure that we are not taking on more than we can handle as a married couple in order to stay within the margins of marriage. As far as margin in emotional energy is concerned I believe that if not controlled that emotional energy can cause a marriage to spiral out of control and to control this I will attempt to establish clear lines of communication that allow for expression of concerns before these concerns manifest themselves in the form of undesirable behavior.

FAITH FORMATION

Hebrews 11-6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Romans 4-16: Therefore it is of faith, that it might be grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

In the above verses it appears God is saying that in order to please him the individual who is attempting to please God by taking an action has to believe that he is God and will be rewarded for seeking him. It is not enough to do a good work in an attempt to draw near to God as is communicated in Romans 4. A man is not justified by an act that he takes before God if he does not bring it before God in faith. The work is not what justifies an individual but it is the faith, which is God given, in Jesus Christ. The Bible goes on to communicate in Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance (substance) of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is not wishful thinking.

Formation of faith in a leader occurs when he or she hears the word of God as communicated in Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” God makes commitments and then sets the conditions to allow individuals to be in a position so that they are receptive to the message of the Gospel. Once an individual has been given faith by God’s grace, he is a new creature in Christ and is expected to grow in the grace and knowledge of God, not an overnight process by any means. The scripture communicates that we should order our conversation in accordance with the will of God. There are four things which are essential in the growth of the Christian’s faith: 1. Spending time in the scriptures, 2. Looking for the evidence of God’s work in your life and world, 3. Getting close to the Lord, and hanging out with his people and 4. Waiting on the Lord to fulfill his promises.

I can see how this process of faith formation has played out in my life in the fact that at the age of 14 I came under the hearing of God’s word by reading a book by the name of Beyond Death’s door which contained the story of the Gospel and by which God gave me the faith in Jesus Christ that saves. My life was changed as far as what I believed. I always knew there was a God but now I knew God personally through Jesus Christ. The evidence of the new found life was a change in my grades in school dramatically. I struggled with the walk during the early years of being a Christian, many doubts of salvation along the way, but have been waiting on God (Jesus) who is the Author and Finisher of my salvation as communicated in Hebrews 12:2. I have learned patience by experiencing personal and professional trials in life. God communicates in his word that the trying of one’s faith has benefits as far as the lessons learnt and that he chastises his children like a father does a son and that we should not despise the chastising although it may be unpleasant while going through it. Mature faith formation is a process that does not occur overnight.

“Learning Theology with the Church Fathers”, a book written by “Christopher A. Hall” is a body of work that seeks to uncover the veil of Biblical interpretation that was prevalent in the early history of the Church. During this book review we will be looking at how Christopher A. Hall goes about the business of giving readers an appreciation for the unfolding of events that led to the formulation of various doctrines by delving into the minds of Apostolic Fathers such as; Augustine and the question of “what is the true relationship of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit”, related to the Trinity, Athanasius and his defense of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit being unbegotten from everlasting to everlasting, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega and finally, Basil and his position that no syllable or letter is of trivial concern when it comes to interpreting scripture (related to doxologies used in Traditional Greek speaking Churches and non Greek speaking Churches).

AUGUSTINE

One of Augustine’s most significant contributions to the faith is found in the lessons that he taught on the relationship of “God the Father” to “God the Son” and “God the Holy Spirit” which can be found in the body of work entitled; “The Trinity”. This body of work can be both [1] “illuminating and intimidating which has daunted and discouraged more than one reader”. The time frame in which Augustine’s theology on the Trinity was formulated consisted of uncertainty regarding the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [2] Augustine used the Baptism of Jesus, by John, in the Jordan as an example of the three persons of the Trinity being present at once; “Here then we have the Trinity in a certain sort distinguished. The Father in the Voice,–the Son in the Man,–the Holy Spirit in the Dove…. The notice of the Trinity is here conveyed to us plainly and without leaving room for doubt or hesitation.” While Augustine takes the position that there is nothing that the Father can do that the Son cannot and that the Father does nothing without the Son and the Son without the Father, which may have been derived from biblical text as found within John 5:19: “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”, he also makes it clear that the Trinity consists of Three distinguishable personalities that together make up the God who created the Universe and provides the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ.

ATHANASIUS

In response to the assault on the relationship of the Son and the Holy Spirit to the Father, by Arius and his followers, who claimed that there existed a hierarchy beginning with the Father implying the Son and the Holy Spirit were subordinate and begotten, Athanasius took up the cause to defend the authority and place of the Son and the Holy Spirit as being equal to that of the Father by making the argument [3] “An eternal Father, in short, demands an eternal Son”. Athanasius used the example of the Sun and it’s radiance to illustrate the point that at any time that the Father existed, typified by the sun, that the Son had to exist, typified by the radiance of the sun by pointing out that when there is a sun in existence there never ceases to be a radiance from it from the time of it’s very inception. Once the Son has been established as being begotten , and by implication subordinate to the Father, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to place the Holy Spirit in a position below the Son creating a Hierarchy which according to Athanasius would not be supported by scripture.

Athanasius believed that Arius and his followers err in their theology when they tend to think of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son in time and space as we find is the case between a human father and his biological son, however, Athanasius argues, God is not governed by the same rules and laws that we are governed by on this earth. [4] “The Arians are guilty of a serious category error. They have applied human categories to God in an inappropriate and illogical fashion. “God”, Athanasius insists, “is not like man.” In sum Athanasius believes that the Arians err when they began to ask such questions as: [5] “Why is the Word of God not like our word? How is the Word of God from God? How is he God’s radiance? How does God beget? and what is the manner of his begetting? Which is unlike asking questions: Where is God? Why does God exist and What is the nature of the Father?” All of which can be considered displays of reckless impiety and borderline blasphemy.

BASIL

Basil was an Apostolic Father who felt that the very letters that make up a word were subject to scrutiny and that it was not of an insignificant or petty nature, when it came to forming theological positions, if we were to examine them; [6] “We can frame the basic problem Basil addresses as a controversy over doxologies, a disagreement that at first glance seems to be theological nitpicking but that, on closer examination, reveals key theological presuppositions about the nature of Christ and the Spirit.” The theological position of Basil that [7] even the small seemingly insignificant steps of exegetical and theological reasoning, built on key grammatical distinctions, are of significance because it is through these “key grammatical distinctions” that issues are framed from that determine doctrines.

Initially the controversy began because Basil introduced a doxology in the church at Caesarea that was not familiar to the Greek speaking Church, namely the replacement of the more traditional doxology “Glory to the Father through [dia] the Son in [en] the Holy Spirit” with the unfamiliar doxology “Glory to the Father with [meta] the Son together with [syn] the Holy Spirit”, because of the latter’s more accurate use of grammar in describing the relationship between the members of the Trinity.

CONCLUSION

Augustine, Athanasius and Basil are examples of Apostolic Fathers who had great influence during the early church years of the Christian faith. Christopher Hall does a remarkable job in offering us exegesis and theology from the perspective of the aforementioned Apostolic Fathers.

INTRODUCTION

When it comes to people of faith, they normally have a source or a document that is revered as being sacred or holy, in the eyes of a faith’s respective believers, as it is in the case of the Christian. Christians believe that God’s reflection and creative genius is visible all around and can be found in the beauty of the creation; however we also believe that God has given mankind a written set of instructions and a guide by which we are to govern our life by. This written word of God is commonly referred to as the Bible. Often you will hear human beings wonder why they are created, especially when confronted with a situation that is hostile or that could be considered a crisis; I believe that the answer to the question of “why were we created?” can be found within the pages of the Bible. Within the pages of the Bible, God has given a written account of the purpose of mankind to include the creation, fall and redemption of man, which was accomplished by and through the collaborative work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (God not being responsible for the fall of man, obviously).

This book, the Bible, is comprised of 66 books and spans from the beginning of creation, which can be found in the book of Genesis, all the way up until the end of the world as we currently know it, as described in the book of Revelation; following the return of Christ and the rapture of the saints. In between the beginning of the world and the end of it, can be found the historical account of the people of God and their salvation, captured in the Old Testament, (which looked forward to the coming of Jesus the Messiah) and the New Testament (which captures the life ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Messiah). Of the 66 books that have been canonized (recognized by councils as being legitimately the word of God), 39 can be found in the Old Testament and 27 found in the New Testament. The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years and has over 40 different authors that wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which undoubtedly contributes to its amazing cohesiveness, unmatched or paralleled by any other document on the face of this earth.

2 Peter 1:21 speaks of prophecies contained within the pages of the Bible and their origin being ultimately from God and not man; “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”, (2 Pt 1:21). Another scripture that indicates that the bible was ultimately written by God can be found in the verses of 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”, (2 Tim 3:16-17). With such an important book as the Bible being in existence, as pertaining to the Christian faith, obviously the meaning and interpretation of the words of this book would become and is a matter of great significance. As communicated earlier the Bible is both a historical book of record as well as a book that can be considered prophetic in nature, since it foretells of future events and herein can be found the point of contention between those that would argue the literal interpretation of scripture versus the allegorical interpretation of scripture.

Where there is no denying that the Bible is a book that uses figurative language, even by those who would support a literal interpretation of scripture, the dissention or disagreement arises between the extremities when we are confronted with the question of when to apply the hermeneutic of allegorical interpretation, some would say that the scripture should be interpreted plainly, unless it is explicitly communicated otherwise, while others argue for assignment of parabolic meaning to passages, considering the Bible is a spiritual book, utilizing the Biblical principal that one cannot understand the true meaning of scripture without the assistance of the Holy Spirit which serves as the guide and light. There have been many theologians over the course of history that have weighed in on the controversy at hand. This paper will examine an Apostolic Father who speaks to the very heart of the matter of how the Bible should be interpreted. The Apostolic Father of whom I speak is no other than that of Origen.

Origen utilized a method of exegesis, outlined in his body of work “On First Principles 4” that consisted of a triple hermeneutic describing three levels of interpreting scripture literal (historical), moral (psychic or soul), and spiritual (pneumatic). I will be assessing the validity of Origen’s exegetical procedure of going from the “linguistic meaning” to “the meaning hidden under the letter” and will be providing arguments that I believe support the validity of the claim being made by Origen, which I believe to be an accurate hermeneutic.

LIFE OF ORIGEN

[1] “Origen, whose full name is Origenes Adamantius was born in Alexandria about A.D.182. He died at Caesarea Maritima around 252 and is considered one of the most distinguished apologists of the early church. He was a scholar, theologian and prolific author.”

Origen was born to and raised by Christian parents until his father Leonides, who was especially devoted to the faith, was martyred. Origen wanted to join his father Leonides in Martyrdom but was prevented from doing so by his mother who hid his clothes, leaving him naked and precluding Origen from leaving the house. Origen’s father trained him in various areas of knowledge, to include the Bible. As one of the older boys in the family, Origen’s childhood was believed to be a much disciplined one. Roughly around the year 200, the Severus persecutions began and Origen’s father Leonides was killed leaving the family without resources, which in turn led Origen to travel to Alexandria in search of income. Upon arrival at the school of Alexandria, Origen was hired as the trainer of the candidates for baptism. Origen was able to obtain the job as trainer for candidates of baptism after impressing bishop Demetrius who had taken over as bishop for Clement, directly related to bishop Clement fleeing during the Severus persecution.

In 211 Origen traveled to Rome to advance his studies consequently discovering that Rome offered nothing that would help him further his understanding of the faith due to the apparent lack of discipline and devotion he encountered while there. Origen would return to Alexandria with a newfound motivation to teach. Origen’s passion for teaching contributed to the re-establishment of the school of Alexandria as a premiere institution of learning and can be directly attributed to the increase in enrollment which caused Origen to enlist the help of Heraclas, the brother of Plutarch (one of Origen’s best students). After a series of discussions, Origen was able to convert Ambrose of Alexandria to Christianity from Valentianism, which is a form of Gnosticism. The relationship between Ambrose of Alexandria and Origen would prove to be of importance in the production of many of the works that Origen would scribe in the future, because it was through Origen’s relationship with Ambrose that he was able to finance the publication of these works.

In 215 Origen escaped to Caesarea, when the school of Alexandria was forced to close, due to civil unrest, returning in 216 after the conflict subsided. There are many accounts of the life of Origen that communicate that he was the frequent target of heretics and used by bishops within close vicinity of Caesarea to combat heresies. [2] “Aggressive persecution broke out in the year 250, and Origen was captured and tortured for his faith. He did not die immediately but lingered for two years, suffering from his horrendous torture.” Origen is credited with being one of the first classic theologians in the Hellenized church and is one of the leaders of the allegorical school of interpreting Scripture. One of Origen’s more significant contributions to the Christian faith include the body of work entitled; “Hexapla” which was a translation of the Old Testament containing six columns, one column in original Hebrew, one column in a Greek translation of Hebrew with the remaining four columns consisting of unique Greek translations of the Old Testament.

In addition to the “Hexapla” Origen wrote commentaries on the Bible, an apologetic work by the title of “Against Celsus” (directed against pagans) and produced a body of work entitled “On First Principles”. On First Principles was specifically written with the advanced students at Alexandria in mind. [3] “Origen’s allegorical approach to Scripture, in which he attempted to find “hidden” meanings behind text” is discussed at length within the previously mentioned body of work “On First Principles” within book 4 and it is now that we will turn our attention to this and the claims that are made by Origen related to how we should interpret God’s word.

ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4

[4] “For Origen the scripture always had a non-literal meaning, except when the scripture spoke anthropomorphically, about God, legislated irrational laws, or recorded impossibilities in the historical narrative.” When Origen’s writings were reviewed it was determined that there was a fourfold meaning of scripture: historical (literal), moral, allegorical (doctrinal), and analogical (eschatological). The Jews favored the historical interpretation of the scripture; however it was this error in Jewish theology that, according to Origen, we can attribute to the Jews not being able to recognize Jesus the Messiah when he actually came. A proper understanding of the scripture took into account the previously mentioned methods of interpreting scripture; [5] “This balanced method is based on a tripartite anthropology. The same way the Greeks viewed the human being as having a body, soul and spirit the scriptures are viewed with having a literal, moral, and spiritual sense. Origen does imply that the task of skillful exegete is to “identify the heavenly realities” of a passage carefully. The “simple minded” miss this fact, like the literalist Jews who could not get passed the misunderstandings of the messianic prophecies.”

Moral values and lessons could be gleamed from scripture, according to Origen, and at times it was necessary to assign heavenly properties to language in the Bible (allegorical). Origen adopted the belief, from Certain Gnostics of Origen’s day, that there could be made a distinction between those Christians that took God’s word literally from those that had more of an allegorical interpretation of passages in the Bible, finally there were those Christians that had understanding into the deep mysteries of the scripture; [6] “Although Origen rejected much of what he heard there, he adopted the Gnostics’ distinction between literal Christians, who understood only the literal sense of the Bible; psychic Christians, who went beyond this to consider the spiritual meaning of Scripture; and perfect Christians, who understood and followed the deepest meanings of the Bible.”

Historical interpretation versus Allegorical interpretation is what is at view here. Once again there is no denying the historical value and accuracy of the Bible, but can we justifiably assign values to words and verses within scripture to come to a deeper understanding of what is being communicated, even when there is no explicit reference to the need to understand a passage in any other way than the literal sense? The answer to this question is yes and the justification for this type of hermeneutic can be found within the pages of the Bible; 1 Corinthians 2:13-14: “13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”, (2 Cor 2:13-14). In the above verses it appears that God is communicating that natural man can not truly understand things that are spiritual and from God because they are spiritually discerned. In other parts of the Bible Jesus can be found speaking in parables and when asked why he did this? He communicated in Mathew 13: 11-15;” Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. . . .Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. . . . lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them”, (Mt 13:11-15).

There are examples of historical events in the bible that occurred that have been types or shadows of things that would be fulfilled literally or spiritually in the future. One example that comes to mind is the sign of the Passover kept by the Jews. The Jewish people who were brought out of Egypt, by Moses through God’s protective hand, kept this ceremonial holiday in remembrance of the occasion when blood was placed over the doors of each Jewish individual’s house allowing the spirit of death to “Passover”, however the true significance of this Jewish ceremonial law was spiritual! The Passover had a literal historical significance without question, but within this historical event, that has occurred on earth, there lies a greater spiritual truth, which is the argument that Origen makes concerning allegorical interpretation being the primary method of understanding the scripture; (everything that we find in the bible is ultimately related to God and the salvation of his people, we are to look for the hidden meaning under the letter and this hidden meaning relates to the Gospel message; the question should always be asked, how does what I am reading relate to Jesus Christ and the Gospel?).

The true significance of the Passover, that was and still is observed by those of Jewish faith to this day, is both a literal one, where Jesus Christ physically died on the cross as the Passover lamb (this historical fulfillment of the “Passover”, a ceremonial law, is unrecognized by those of Jewish faith today), and even more significantly a spiritual one in the sense that this physical act at the cross externally represented and demonstrated the fact that Jesus Christ would cover the sins of his elect as the Passover lamb of God, (Christ was crucified on the Passover). I must communicate that Origen did not necessarily agree with this allegorical interpretation of the Passover being related to Christ’s passion; however, it serves as an example that many hold to be an accurate allegorical interpretation; [7] “ The Passover, Origen writes, “is indeed a type of Christ, but certainly not of his passion” for the simple reason that the dissimilarity between these events is too great: whereas righteous people killed the first paschal lambs, Jesus was put to death by criminals and sinners.”

The Passover is one example of the hidden meaning behind the letter within the Bible; however the Bible is filled with countless other examples once we realize that everything in the pages of the Bible that, has historically occurred has been used by God to communicate something that ultimately relates to the center piece of the Bible; that being Jesus Christ and God’s salvation program for his elect. Once we began to see the Bible in the light of Jesus, we can understand that the things that we count as reality and of an enduring nature; God counts as temporal, mainly our life physically on this earth; 2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”, (2 Cor 4:18). The spiritual reality of life is what is unseen by the natural eye. The events captured within the Bible have a significant meaning in a historical sense, especially to the individuals who experienced the circumstances and lived during the times in which these events occurred, but more often than not; I would dare to say, they always ultimately point towards the message of the gospel once we add up the sum of the parts.

One other example of a historical event that serves as an allegory and that is explicitly mentioned as being an allegory within the pages of the Bible, has to do with the two covenants of God; that being the covenant that was given under the law, pertaining to the historical and physical Jerusalem and the Old Testament, and the covenant that that was given by grace related to faith and Spiritual Jerusalem, which is the enduring reality of the whole matter, spoken on by the author of Galations, quite possibly Paul, who refuted the desire of some members of the Galatian church to implement Old Testament customs into New Testament worship, within Galations Chapter 4:21-26; “21 – Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 – For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 – But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 – Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 – For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 – But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”, (Gal 4:21-26). [8] “Examples of Origen’s allegorical Scripture interpretation abound in his writings, particularly in his commentaries and homilies. For instance, in his 27th homily on the book of Numbers, he describes growth in the spiritual life based on the 42 stopping places of Israel in the wilderness mentioned in Numbers 33. Origen begins by asking why the Lord wanted Moses to write this passage down: “Was it so that this passage in Scripture about the states the children of Israel made might benefit us in some way or that it should bring no benefit? Who would dare to say that what is written “by the Word of God” is of no use and makes no contribution to salvation but is merely a narrative of what happened and was over and done a long time ago, but pertains in no way to us when it is told?”

CONCLUSION

It must be said that Origen’s allegorical method of interpreting scripture was for the most part opposed to the standard of the day which favored more of a literal translation and that it was for this reason that he was at odds with the early church community; however this fact does not negate the significance of his contributions to the faith taking due care to understand that a majority rule does not necessarily constitute a correct hermeneutic process.

God’s blessings in Christ Jesus,

Brother Bush

ME: I have considered myself a Christian or at least someone who has known of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ since the age of 14, I am now 34 years old. I guess it is in your best interest (the sooner the better) for individuals (Christian and Non-Christian) to come to the realization that while in this world there will always be issues and problems that have to be dealt with. The Christian hope is that we will overcome these trials and tribulations like our savior Jesus Christ did. Life can throw you some curve balls and possibly knock you off of your feet. When the pressures of life are all about the question I always ask myself is; where is my trust and my faith? Is it in me? Or is it in God? If my Salvation depended on my 100% faithfulness to God’s word then I would have serious concern, but I am grateful that if I indeed am a Child of God that my salvation is secured through God’s promises as communicated in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” I am confident that although I may fall that I will get up on my feet because of the faithfulness of God. This is the Hope of the Christian (The faithfulness of God).

WE: The faithfulness of God is why the Christian should never give up, even when it seems that all hope is lost and life has you on the ropes. God is behind the scenes engineering circumstances for the Christians good and can use situations that are a result of actions that we have taken to teach us valuable lessons and bring us closer in our walk with him. We should persevere as Christians and know that if we are down that the fight is not over based off of God’s faithfulness. I pray that we remember this fact and all of the historical examples that God has provided of his faithfulness throughout the years to encourage us in our walk on this earth.

GOD: God has a lot to say about his faithfulness in the pages of the bible:

Lamentations 3: 22-23:
It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is your stability and faithfulness.

1 Thessalonians 5: 24
Faithful is he who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and he will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

Psalm 36: 5
Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.

2 Timothy 2: 13
If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.

The above verses all speak to the faithfulness of God and there is one in particular that is very re-assuring as a Christian. The verse that gives the Christian tremendous re-assurance to me is 2 Timothy 2:13 where God basically is saying that even if we are unfaithful and untrue to him, as people who he has called and begun a work in , It is not in his nature to turn his back on us. God will remain faithful and loyal. Not that it will be a walk in the park but God says that he will discipline and restore his people:

Hebrews 12:11 –
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

YOU: If you are going through a hard time in life at the present and are considering giving up on your belief in God, you can be assured that God will not give up on you. You should appreciate and recognize the chastising and disciplining that God will give you as a blessing to restore you to a good standing in his sight. Wait on God and know that he will move in his time to turn circumstances or your current state of being around.

WE: Should not put our faith in ourselves or in anything besides God because he has demonstrated his faithfulness to his people through historical example after historical example and this is the hope of the Christian that God is faithful even though we are unfaithful at times.

God’s Blessings in Christ Jesus…

Brother Bush

After reviewing the scriptures; Luke 2:52, Daniel 1: 3-20, Psalm 78:72, Acts 6:3-4, Acts: 9-10, Mathew: 7:15-27 and Luke 6:40, I have the come to the understanding that “a Christian Leader’s life is important” because as a Christian we are called to be a light in the darkness that the world is. If you do not examine the life that you live as a leader your testimony and the effectiveness of your witness for Christ can be damaged by things that you struggle with that could have been brought under the power of the cross, if it had been brought to Jesus. In Mathew 7 verse 15 God places emphasis on the importance of watching the actions of would be Christian leaders because there are false leaders that come in to lead astray God’s people: “15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. God tell us in Mathew 7 verses 16-17 that we can distinguish between false leaders and those that are on the right path concerning God’s will by watching their actions:

“16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” In the above verses God seems to be communicating that as Christians we are called to examine our Leaders to make the distinction between false leaders and those that are in God’s will in order to not be led astray. We are called to be Christ like and Holy as we wait for the return of our Lord and to crucify those things that take away the effectiveness of our witness. The life that a leader leads is an apologetic and witness to the genuineness of the faith that he or she holds, not that he or she will ever be perfect before the day that Christ returns, but there should be a notable difference between the lifestyle that they lead and that of someone who is unredeemed.

God’s Blessings in Christ Jesus…

Brother Bush…