my pursuit of Truth

I think it to be a bit uncommon to talk about the discipline of God. It is often a neglected part of God’s sanctification in us. But if we think about it and read what the bible says about it and meditate on it, we can find faith and joy to endure and repent.

what’s the difference?

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good,that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. - Hebrews 12:5-11

The main difference between discipline and punishment is the purpose. The purpose of punishment is paying back while the purpose of discipline is bringing back.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus has paid fully for all our sins, past, present and future. So when we are suffering after we sin, we are not paying back the wrong we did. Rather, it is God’s mercy and grace that is bringing us back to the straight and narrow path of righteousness that leads holiness.

remember the purpose of life

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. - Ephesians 1:4

The purpose of our lives is to live in a way that honors and worships God. That was God’s original design before the fall: for us to live without sin, in perfect harmony with him. And that is what God is working in us to complete (Phil. 1:6).

When Adam brought sin into the world, it infected all of mankind, causing us our nature to be sinful (Rom. 5:12, Ps. 51:5). And because of our ability to choose, which God honors, we must choose everyday how we should live.

sowing and reaping

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. - Galatians 6:7-8

The principle of reaping and sowing is often limited to finances. While that has it place, reaping and sowing is much more vast in regards to our lives.

We see here in Paul’s letter to the Galatians that this principle is primarily dealing with our way of life. Where we sow from (the Spirit or the flesh) determines what we reap (the fruits of the Sprit that lead to eternal life or corruption that leads to destruction).

If we makes choices from our flesh, we will reap corruption. Using that logic, if we continually make choices in the flesh, we would become increasingly corrupt and ungodly, thus, reap eternal separation from God.

a holy purpose

God doesn’t allow his children to grow in corruption, just as any good parent would not allow their children to sway from their way.

He allows the consequences of our actions (good or bad) to come about so that we may learn to not just feel bad for sinning against him, but to have a taste of where sin leads to, a taste of where good leads to and to repent from our ways and sow from the Spirit, that we may bring about the completion of his holy work to be a holy people before him (2 Cor. 7:10).

When we see and feel our suffering after we sin, we should remember the grace of God; that he is leading us back to his way for us; that he is pleading for us to turn back from our sin and not forget who he has called us to be.

Yes, we suffer when we sin. And yes, it is difficult to endure. And yes, it is difficult to see what we are to become (and already are!). But we mustn’t forget that it is an act of grace for a holy purpose.

I’ve been reading this older book called “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” by Donald Whitney. It’s been a really eye opening book thus far and I’m sure it will prove to stay that way.

Since I started this book, I’ve been pondering on the idea of being spiritually disciplined. 

I think every Christian knows about God’s ordained means of grace - that is, bible reading, praying, fasting, giving, community, etc. We know that we should be engaged with these biblical disciplines on a daily basis in order to maintain and deepen our relationship with God.

However, one thing I’ve noticed about being disciplined in this manner is our (at least my) tendency to find my joy and righteousness in being disciplined.

In other words, the discipline becomes an end to itself. Sure we would love to hear from God through his Word or find comfort in prayer, but as long as we just read the bible or pray, that is enough for us to find peace and joy. And what happens is we begin to base our relationship with God on our works instead of the works of Jesus under the guise of being disciplined.

Then when we hit the seasons where we don’t read or pray or fast, we feel that we are at odds with God because we haven’t done our duty. We think that we may not be forgiven or our prayers may not be heard because of our works or lack thereof.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do believe that when we are engaged with God’s ordained means of grace we are more joyful and more peaceful and growing in Christlikeness. But those effects are not from the act itself but from what God does through the act.

The same could is true when we don’t engage with God. We lack joy and peace and Christlikeness when we are disconnected from the source of them.

My point is this: if we are truly saved, our righteousness is secure in Christ and nothing can change that. We should never believe that our works - even good and godly ones - are what bring our righteousness. It is in Christ alone.

So why do we discipline ourselves? First Timothy 4:7 has that answer:

Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.

We discipline ourselves to grow into what we are becoming and already are in the eyes of God - holy. It’s a magnificent thing to realize, rest in and work from.

The legalist works for the purpose of righteousness. The disciplined works for the purpose of godliness.

If you’re like me, chances are you’ve never really considered Ascension Day. It often gets lost after Good Friday and Easter. Here is a great article that was posted at Desiring God titled “More Than an Afterthought: Six Reasons Jesus’s Ascension Matters”:

Have you marked your calendar for Ascension Day on May 9? How many of us have even heard of Ascension Day? Or perhaps just a sermon about Jesus’s ascension into heaven? It is impossible to overstate the importance of Good Friday, when Jesus died for our sins, and Easter Sunday, when he was raised from the dead — but Jesus’s earthly ministry did not stop there.

After the resurrection, Jesus taught his disciples about God’s kingdom for forty days (Acts 1:3) and then he was “taken up” to heaven (Acts 1:2, 11). The cross and empty tomb are at the very heart of the gospel message proclaimed by Jesus’s followers throughout history (see 1 Corinthians 15:1–4). However, for many evangelical Christians and churches,Jesus’s ascension is simply an afterthought to Easter and Good Friday.

Here I want to highlight six aspects of Jesus’s ascension or exaltation, in hopes that this significant and climactic event in Jesus’s life will no longer be an afterthought for you.

1. Jesus continues to work after the ascension.

In Acts 1:1–2 we read, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up…” The small but important wordbegan signals that Jesus’s ascension does not mark the cessation but the continuation of his work as Lord and Messiah. That’s what Luke’s second book is all about, the “Acts of the risen Lord Jesus,” which he works from heaven, through his people, by the Holy Spirit, for the accomplishment of God’s purposes.¹

2. The ascended Lord Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to his people.

After his resurrection Jesus told his followers, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).² In his Pentecost sermon Peter explains, “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:33). God promised in Joel 2:28, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,” and this promise is fulfilled by the exalted heavenly Lord Jesus. The ascended Lord sent the Spirit to be present with his people (John 14:16), to empower them for worldwide mission (Acts 1:8; 4:31), and to transform believers to live new lives reflecting their king (Romans 8:9–11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

3. Jesus’s ascension is his heavenly enthronement as King.

At Jesus’s ascension he is installed as the true king of the world. According to the Apostles’ Creed, he “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Jesus is taken up to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9–11), and Stephen declares that he sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). These texts suggest that Jesus’s ascension fulfills the important prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14:³

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus’s kingdom cannot be destroyed and will not pass away! According to Revelation 3:21Jesus conquered and sat down with his Father on his throne, where he receives unending praise (Revelation 5:6–13). Jesus will reign at God’s right hand until all enemies are subdued under his feet (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34–35; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:13). Thus God’s kingdom has been inaugurated through the enthronement of Jesus, who now sits on heaven’s throne and will return to consummate his kingdom on earth as in heaven.

4. Jesus’s ascension is his return to his Father.

Before and after his death and resurrection Jesus declares that he was sent by his Father and must return to his Father:

I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. (John 16:28; cf. 13:1, 3)

Jesus said to Mary, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

There has been no sweeter reunion in the history of the world than Jesus’s return to his Father! Perhaps the closest analogy is a courageous, wounded soldier returning to his loved ones after a hard-fought victory. Jesus fully accomplished his mission and glorified the Father on earth, and at Jesus’s ascension the Father glorifies the Son in heaven (John 17:4–5). Take heart that Jesus’s homecoming to his Father prepares the way for ourhomecoming to be with Jesus forever (John 14:2–4).

5. The ascended Lord Jesus is our heavenly mediator and high priest.

Jesus is the unique mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). His death and resurrection secure our forgiveness, justification, and reconciliation with God (Romans 4:25–5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:18–21). Note also that the exalted Lord Jesus is now in heaven interceding for his people as our true high priest and advocate (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:3;7:25; 8:1; 1 John 2:1). During his earthly ministry Jesus’s work was geographically limited — he didn’t teach in Ethiopia while healing in China. But now he is at work everywhere and able to hear and respond to his people’s prayers no matter the time or place. He sympathizes with our struggles and promises to do whatever we ask in his name (John 14:13–14; Hebrews 4:15–16).

6. The ascended Lord Jesus will return as King and Judge.

In Acts 1:11 two angels explain to the disciples, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Jesus’s heavenly reign will one day be fully realized on earth (Revelation 11:15; 19:10–16; 22:3). This is the very thing we ask for when we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). At his return, the Lord Jesus will execute divine judgment, vindicating his downtrodden people and judging his enemies.⁴

What It Means for Our Lives

To sum up: Though often overlooked, the ascension completes Jesus’s earthly mission and signifies his enthronement as heavenly king. Jesus has completed his Father’s mission and he now rules with all authority and intercedes with all sympathy as our mediator and high priest. I close with four implications of Jesus’s ascension for our lives.

1. Remember that Jesus is presently reigning as king and remains active and engaged in our world and our lives.

2. Therefore live boldly, confidently, and strategically as servants of the exalted king of heaven. Know that your labors in the Lord Jesus are not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

3. Sufferers, take heart that Jesus is not indifferent to your struggle. He has endured great suffering and is thus the most merciful and sympathetic counselor and mediator. Take your cares to your ascended Lord who hears your prayers and can respond with all heaven’s authority.

4. Finally hope in a glorious future. The ascended Lord will return as judge and king. He will abolish injustice, end suffering, and destroy death and set up his kingdom of truth, righteousness and love. Best of all, we will be with our king forever.

I remember years ago when I first started to learn lead guitar riffs. I was so pumped. (If you’re a musician, you know what I’m talking about.) I wanted to do them every chance I could – and I did. Every vocal break or musical transition or interlude, you would hear a cool riff from yours truly. I thought it was great. And solos? Don’t get me started. I loved to solo.

But as time passed, I began to mature in my guitar playing. (At least I think did.) I started to be able to distinguish when to play and when not to play. I started to be able to hear the music as a dynamic unit and notice what each instrument and vocal harmony brought to the song. I began to determine what the song needed and how my guitar playing could enhance the music as a whole. 

I think it’s safe to say that I began to be quick to listen and slow to speak. I began to think of others as more important that myself. I began to see music as a body with different members. I began to see the different gifts being utilized for one purpose.

Sound familiar?

I come to realize that the message of the gospel has more applications in even the most common communal activities than we think. It’s just a matter of us being led by the Spirit and seeing with gospel-centered eyes, hearing with gospel-centered ears, speaking with a gospel-centered mouth, thinking with a gospel-centered mind, feeling with a gospel-centered heart and doing with gospel-centered hands, all for a gospel-centered purpose in every area of life, not just the church.

This truth applies to our workplace, our sports team, our book club, our school clique, our band, our scout troop or anything that involves a community of people, whether believers or not. Of course, this should be especially true of believers in the church.

The gospel has private implications with public applications. It wasn’t meant to be kept sheltered Monday through Saturday and then let out on Sunday at church or at various church events or bible studies.

That doesn’t mean we have to preach to everyone all the time, but rather we should constantly take the focus off ourselves and put it on others around us, right where God has placed us, to meet their needs through the means we’ve been given.

And we should also realize that because of God’s common grace, it is okay to appreciate and admire the gifts, talents and abilities of unbelievers. All things good come from God, even through non-Christians. This humbles us and helps us to show them value.

We live in an age where more value is placed on deed than word. People need (and want) to see what Christianity is all about, because they think they already know. So because of the numerous presuppositions in society, our words will often go in one ear and out the other. In order to speak the truth, we must live the truth.

However, the point is not to be known for “getting it right” or “redefining Christianity,” but to give God glory through the ways he commanded us to in Scripture.

We should pray earnestly for God to show us how to we can apply his Word to our lives so that no moment is wasted. God desires to make himself known to all the world and he has chosen to do so through people. It is a humbling and honorable thing to realize that God has called us out, gave us power and sent us in the world to do his mission. Let us not waste the only chance we’ll get to do this.

One of the ultimate dangers for young Christians today is to be satisfied with just learning and knowing about God, but not applying that knowledge and experiencing God in life.

I’ve noticed in my life and others around me an unbiblical disconnect between knowing God and living based on that knowledge.

One factor I think is that in light of the previous generation of Christians who seemed to be all about experiencing God in strange ways, often times at the expense of biblical truth, we young Christians have nearly swung the pendulum the other way.

We now find the phrase “experiencing God” to be tainted and unbiblical, so we try to stay away from that “weird stuff” and just stick to the bible. The ironic thing is that the bible is full of men and women experiencing God in life!

Additionally, pride and the fear of man is running rampant in our culture to a point that we don’t express our beliefs in life through love as we ought. We shrivel up as if man were God. We let culture define what is normal.

Growing in knowledge and understanding is very biblical (2 Pt. 3:18, Phil. 1:9, Prov. 18:15). We should always use our ability to think and know and understand and analyze in our relationship with God. That is part of loving God with all our mind. And it is necessary to live according to the Scriptures.

But the dangerous thing about this process is that we can find a incomplete sense of growth in God in our knowledge of God. God doesn’t just want us to know about him, he wants us to know him. Mental growth doesn’t equate to spiritual growth.

I know that when I learn something new about God, it makes sit back, look up, take in a deep breath of truth, exhale a word of praise and be silent. It’s a beautiful thing. That alone can be enough for my spirit. But I don’t believe that is not the fullness of growing in our knowledge of God.

Growing in our knowledge of God doesn’t mean to just know more about God, but also to experience that truth in life.

For example, we know that God supernaturally guided the first church in the book of Acts. We can see chapter after chapter of the Spirit guiding and leading and speaking so that the gospel may be spread.

We know that because we can read that. But do we know that in our own lives? Do we desire that in our lives? Do we even read the bible for anything other than information?

It is good and necessary to know God mentally. (I myself am one who seeks to know much about God.) But it is also good and necessary to experience what we know about God. 

That is how testimonies are formed. That is how the supernatural is expressed. That is how God reveals himself to us and through us for the world.

We should be careful with our knowledge that it doesn’t lack love (1 Cor. 8:1). And when God reveals himself to us through his Word, our lives should be lived to reflect that truth as if it were true.

Here is an excerpt from a blog post at Desiring God by Joe Rigney about learning to deal with jealousy from John the Baptist:

Thankfully, the Bible is fully aware of platform envy and addresses it head on. In the Gospel of John, the disciples of John the Baptist come to him with words that seem tailor-made to provoke envy and resentment. “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness — look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him” (John 3:26). John’s response is worth its weight in envy-fighting gold.

First, he remembers where all blessing, success, and opportunity come from. “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” I still remember, as a college student, hearing J.R. Vassar preach from this passage and say, “Don’t seek an achieved ministry. Seek a received ministry.” We kill envy when we remember that whether we succeed or whether someone else does is ultimately given from the God who reigns from heaven. And how dare we assault his wisdom by murmuring about the opportunities and success of others.

Second, John remembers his role. He is the friend of the Bridegroom, the groomsman, not the Bridegroom himself. And the groomsmen rejoice greatly when they hear the voice of the Groom. Now most of us aren’t jockeying to replace the Bridegroom. But we sometimes act like we’re in a competition to be the best man. Which is why it’s so important to labor to rejoice greatly when we hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the voices of our fellow groomsmen. What are we saying about our joy in Christ if our reaction to his presence and hand on a fellow brother is to grumble, complain, or dismiss him?

Finally, John’s joy is complete when the Bridegroom arrives and surpasses him. Where Christ increases, John is content to decrease. But are we? Are we content to decrease, when Christ increases through the ministry of another? Do we even acknowledge that Christ is increasing in the ministry of others? Or do we attribute their success to some other factor: their ambition, their compromises, and in our worst moments, to the efforts of the devil?