Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook

Jesus’ Humility

     It is only natural that the subject of Jesus’ humility be discussed after examining His position as the Suffering Servant. W. H. Griffith Thomas notes:

"In the Old Testament our Lord is called “the Servant of Jehovah,” and in the New Testament He is described as having taken “the form of a servant.” In order to do the will of God and redeem mankind, it was necessary for Him to humble Himself and become a “Servant,” so that along the pathway of service He might come to that Cross which was at once the exemplification of devoted duty, redeeming grace, and Divine love."[1]

     Matthew records Jesus’ mental attitude of humility when He said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt 11:29). The word humble translates the Greek adjective tapeinos (ταπεινός), which denotes being “lowly, undistinguished, of no account.”[2] Jesus’ mental attitude of humility was in contrast with that of the world which regards the virtue of humility in a negative way. Moisés Silva notes, “In the Greek world, with its anthropocentric approach, lowliness is looked on as shameful, to be avoided and overcome by act and thought. In the NT, with its theocentric perspective, the words are used to describe our relationship with God and its effect on how we treat fellow human beings.”[3] For Jesus, being humble meant He was more concerned with doing the Father’s will than that of the world around Him, or even His own will (Luke 22:42). And there was no greater act of humility than Jesus being obedient to the point of death on the cross. Paul wrote that Jesus “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). Wiersbe states, “His was not the death of a martyr but the death of a Savior. He willingly laid down His life for the sins of the world.”[4] Homer Kent notes, “He was so committed to the Father’s plan that he obeyed it even as far as death (Heb 5:8). Nor was this all, for it was no ordinary death, but the disgraceful death by crucifixion, a death not allowed for Roman citizens, and to Jews indicative of the curse of God (Deut 21:23; Gal 3:13).”[5] And Earl Radmacher comments:

"Jesus came to the earth with the identity of a man. Here the word appearance points to the external characteristics of Jesus: He had the bearing, actions, and manners of a man. He humbled Himself: Jesus willingly took the role of a servant; no one forced Him to do it. Obedient: Although He never sinned and did not deserve to die, He chose to die so that the sins of the world could be charged to His account. Subsequently He could credit His righteousness to the account of all who believe in Him (2 Cor 5:21; Gal 1:4)."[6]

     As stated before, Jesus was not forced to go to the cross, but willingly went to the cross and bore our sin (Isa 53:4-11; John 10:17-18; 1 Pet 2:24). As God, He could have avoided the cross altogether, or even stepped down from the cross if He’d wanted. Jesus died on a cross to accomplish the Father’s will. To be an atoning sacrifice for our sins, so that we could receive forgiveness and eternal life and enjoy heaven forever with Him. His being humble to the point of death was for our wellbeing. He died for us, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Walvoord notes:

"No one else has ever come from infinite heights of glory to such a shameful death. If there had been a better way or another way by which the sin of the whole world could have been taken away, surely God would not have required His beloved Son to submit to such a death. This was the only way. There had to be a perfect sacrifice, an atonement of infinite value. This could be accomplished only by a person who was both God and man, who was without sin and yet was truly a man representing the human race. No other could take the place of Christ, no act of devotion, however unselfish, no act of ordinary man, however courageous, for  sin. As we contempla

Introduction

     In the previous pericope, we saw where God worked providentially to connect Cornelius, a Roman Centurion living in Caesarea, with Peter, who was living in Joppa (30 miles south). Cornelius is described as a God-fearer (Acts 10:2, 22). God-fearers were Gentiles who were drawn to the simplicity of monotheism and the high morality offered through the Mosaic Law in Judaism. The Greeks and Romans were polytheistic and their fickle and violent gods were often at war with each other. Their gods were little more than amplified representations of humanity, and the multiplicity of gods made their whole religious system unstable. As a God-fearer, Cornelius showed signs of positive volition, and he sought the Lord in prayer and through acts of kindness. Prayer and acts of charity in an unbeliever have no saving value; however, in the case of Cornelius, they demonstrated positive volition toward God, so the Lord sent him gospel information so he could believe in Christ for salvation (Acts 10:24-44). Cornelius was not saved, but he would be, after hearing and responding to the gospel of grace (Acts 11:13-14). What follows is the account of God’s providence to orchestrate an evangelistic opportunity.

Text

     Luke tells us, “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray” (Acts 10:9). We observe these events occurring in time and space as Luke employs the words day and hour, city and housetop. Cornelius’ servants had traveled the 30 miles south from Caesarea to Joppa in a day, which either meant they were on horseback, or travelled all night. The sixth hour was about noontime and may have reflected a pattern in Peter’s prayer life. Other godly believers had a habit of prayer at certain times of the day (Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10). The Lord would use this situation to teach Peter a theological truth. 

But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance, 11 and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean” (Acts 10:10-14)

     In the vision, Peter saw the sky open up and saw what appeared to him something like a great sheet descending to the ground. On the sheet was a variety of animals, crawling creatures and birds. Peter heard the Lord’s voice instruct him, saying, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” (Acts 10:12b). The Lord’s directive was a command with two verbs in the imperative mood (θῦσον καὶ φάγε). The Mosaic Law distinguished between clean and unclean animals, and if one touched or ate an unclean animal, one became ceremonially unclean (see Lev 11). The primary reason for the vision was to teach Peter that he was now to accept the Gentiles as equal in the body of Christ, and that he “should not call any man unholy or unclean” (Acts 10:28). In the Church Age, God has declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19; Rom 14:14; Col 2:16; 1 Tim 4:4). But old habits die hard, and Peter was challenged to conform to the new standard, and this was not the first time Peter resisted the Lord (Matt 16:22). Ultimately, God was teaching Peter that He has declared Gentiles and Jews equal in the body of Christ, and that the wall of division had been removed (see Acts 10:28; cf., Gal 3:26-29; Eph 2:14-16). God used repetition for emphasis as well as to seat the matter in Peter’s mind.

     And God was gracious and persistent, as Luke tells us, “Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky” (Acts 10:15-16). The timing of the vision was intended to prepare Peter for

It is in the understanding of the suffering and death of Christ that the sinner appreciates God’s great love and the price that was paid for our salvation. Christ suffered in our place, bearing the penalty that rightfully belongs to us. Scripture tells us that “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18a). Perhaps no section of Scripture in the Old Testament bears greater testimony to this truth than Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, in which the prophet reveals the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53 is mentioned several times in the New Testament as specifically referring to Christ (Matt 8:17; John 12:38; Acts 8:30-35; Rom 10:16; 1 Pet 2:22-25), so that there is no mistake in the minds of the New Testament writers that the passage points to Jesus.

At a point in time, the eternal Son of God added humanity to Himself, simultaneously becoming God and man, Creator and creature, the unique theanthropic person (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 10:33; 20:28; Col 2:9; Heb 1:8). Jesus is the God-man and exists in hypostatic union, as a single Person with a divine and human nature (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 4:2-3), both natures being distinct and preserved, not mixed or confused, fully God and fully man. The hypostatic union is forever, from conception onward.

Introduction

     After Saul’s conversion to Christ (Acts 9:1-19), he stopped persecuting the church and began to preach Jesus as “the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). This resulted in peace throughout the region. Luke records, “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase” (Acts 9:31). In the following pericope (Acts 9:32-43), Luke records the spreading of the gospel and Peter’s ministry outside of Jerusalem, specifically in the cities of Lydda and Joppa.

Text

     Luke, turning from Saul’s conversion, recounts an event with Peter in the city of Lydda. Luke wrote, “Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda” (Acts 9:32).[1]

     That there were saints (ἅγιος hagios) in Lydda shows that the gospel had been preached there and some had believed in Jesus as Savior. The word saint is a synonym for a believer in Christ, not a description of one’s character. All Christians are saints (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:1-2; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1). After Peter had arrived in Lydda, Luke tells us, “There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed” (Acts 9:33). That Luke described Aeneas as “a man” (ἄνθρωπος anthropos) and not a saint or disciple might imply he was not a believer. Luke tells us Aeneas had been paralyzed for eight years, which meant he was totally dependent on others for help. Aeneas, being paralyzed, could not sit up, dress, feed, or clean himself. Someone had to care him. If he were transported anywhere, someone had to move him and care for him along the way. Apparently the man had a support structure in place to assist him during his years of paralysis; most likely his family. Caring for others can bring great stress. First, there is the mental and emotional stress of caring for a loved one who is in a declining situation. The caregiver will experience states of mental frustration and emotional exhaustion. In addition, there are the ongoing physical demands of caring for them, a commitment to be physically present, the financial costs, and a loss of independence by the caregiver as he/she surrenders personal interests to care for their loved one.

     Luke recounts Peter’s interaction with Aeneas, informing us, “Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.’ Immediately he got up” (Acts 9:34). This account is similar to that of the Lord Jesus who had healed a paralytic in Capernaum, telling the man to take up his bed and go home (Matt 9:6; Mark 2:11; Luke 5:24), and also the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:8). This healing of Aeneas was done specifically in the name of Jesus Christ, which was intended to draw attention to Jesus as the living One who had authority over physical maladies. This healing was immediate and total, as Luke uses the Greek adjective eutheos (εὐθέως), which, according to Mounce, means “immediately, instantly, at once.”[2] The healing of Aeneas brought instantaneous health to the man, and also brought relief to his caregiver(s) who had provided for him over the eight years. Though this was certainly a blessing to Aeneas and his loved ones, God intended a greater purpose, which was the salvific healing of souls. Luke records, “And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord” (Acts 9:35). Lydda was the city, and Sharon was the coastal region where the city was located. All those who knew the paralyzed man now saw him in perfect health. The result was, “they turned to the Lord,” which is theological shorthand meaning they believed in Christ as their personal Savior. It may also connote they were obedient in baptism and became disciples. Thomas Constable notes:

The phrase “believed in the Lord” is similar to “turned to the Lord” (Acts 9:35; cf. Acts 11:21; 15:19). It is another way of s

God the Father is seen as the initiator, planner, and orchestrator of the salvation of mankind, and this because He is loving, merciful, and kind, and “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Salvation is necessary because of the problem of sin in the human race. All mankind is utterly helpless to bring about a remedy by human effort (Rom 3:10, 23; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16, 21; 3:21-22).

All three Persons of the Godhead are involved in providing salvation. Our salvation is said to be planned and initiated by God the Father, agreed upon and executed by God the Son, and imparted to each person by God the Holy Spirit.

Saved from God’s wrath

     Being saved from God’s wrath means we will never experience eternal separation from Him in the lake of fire. John wrote, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). And Paul said, “having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom 5:9). Also, When writing to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul assured them they would be saved “from the wrath to come” (1 Th 1:10). This last verse could refer to the eternal wrath all unbelievers will experience because they have rejected Christ as their Savior, which is the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). However, it could also refer to the wrath of the Tribulation (Rev 6-18), whereby God will judge the world after the rapture of the church (1 Cor 15:51-53; 1 Th 4:13-18). Christians living in the dispensation of the church age will be spared from both forms of God’s wrath, so there is no need to be concerned with this.

Saved from Satan’s domain of darkness

     As Christians, we are also saved from “from the dominion of Satan to God” (Act 26:18), and transferred from Satan’s “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13a) into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13b). This transference happens at the moment of faith in Christ and is a spiritual reality that is true for all Christians. The kingdom of Christ mentioned here does not refer to the future eschatological kingdom that will come, in which Jesus, a biological descendant of David, is prophesied to rule over the world in righteousness.[1] Rather, it refers to the current spiritual kingdom where God rules in the hearts of His people. Concerning this passage, Ryrie states, “It refers to the kingdom into which all believers have been placed (Col 1:13), and it is entered by the new birth. The Ruler is Christ; in this concept of the kingdom He rules over believers only; and the relationship exists now.”[2] And Fruchtenbaum adds, “The Spiritual Kingdom is composed of all believers, and only believers, of all time. The means of entering this Kingdom is by regeneration by the Holy Spirit. In the present age, from Acts two until the Rapture, the Spiritual Kingdom and the Church are synonymous, but only during the period between Acts two and the Rapture.”[3]

Saved from the coming tribulation

     Jesus, when speaking to the church at Philadelphia, said, “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 3:10). The hour of testing here refers to the time of the future Tribulation that follows the rapture of the church. Robert Thomas affirms this, saying, the hour of trial refers to “the future period of trouble just before Christ’s personal return to earth.”[4] Charles Ryrie adds, “The promise of Revelation 3:10 not only guarantees being kept from the trials of the Tribulation period but being kept from the time period of the Tribulation. The promise is not, “I will keep you from the trials.” It is, “I will also keep you from the hour of trial” (NIV).”[5] Fruchtenbaum states:

"In this passage, the Church is promised to be kept from the period of trial that is about to fall upon the whole earth. In the context of the Book of Revelation, it is the Tribulation found in chapters 6–19 that is this period of trial that is to fall upon the whole earth. It is from this period of trial that the Church is to be kept. This verse does not say that the Church will be merely kept safe during the trial, but it will be kept from the very hour of the trial, that is, from the very time of it."[6]

Saved from hell

     Scripture reveals we are saved from hell. Jesus talked about hell (Matt 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33), saying, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul

Introduction

     Previously, Saul had been persecuting Christians. But his efforts to crush them were frustrated, and the gospel spread further and further. In this pericope, Luke recorded Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-19). Paul gave personal accounts of his conversion in Acts 22:4-21 and 26:12-18. It was at Paul’s conversion that he personally saw the Lord Jesus (1 Cor 9:1).  

Text

     Luke opens this section, saying, “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2). Saul, contrary to his tremendous education, was spiritually blind and was serving as an instrument of Satan to attack the church. The believers here are called disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1) and belonging to the Way (Acts 9:2; cf., Acts 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). In this pericope Luke will also use the terms saints (Acts 9:13), and brother (Acts 9:17). Later they will also be called Christians (Acts 11:26).

     Saul thought he was doing God’s will in chasing down Christians and arresting them and bringing them back to Jerusalem. According to Warren Wiersbe, “Like many others of his countrymen, he stumbled over the Cross (1 Cor 1:23) because he depended on his own righteousness and not on the righteousness of God (Rom 9:30–10:13; Phil 3:1–10). Many self-righteous religious people today do not see their need for a Savior and resent it if you tell them they are sinners.”[1] Damascus was 135 miles north of Jerusalem and a seven-day journey. It’s thought that there were as many as forty Jewish synagogues in Damascus at this time. That there were Christians in Damascus shows how quickly the gospel message was spreading. The Christian gospel was proving effective.

     It was during the time when Saul was persecuting Christians that the Lord interrupted his life for the better. Luke states, “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” (Acts 9:3-4). Later, Paul described the light as occurring at noontime (Acts 22:6), and being brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13). Paul also said that when the Lord spoke to him, it was in Hebrew (Acts 26:14). The flash of light startled Saul and he lost his balance and fell to the ground. It’s true that God sometimes knocks us down so that we’ll look up. Saul then heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4b). This statement is theologically rich, for it shows that an attack upon a Christian is an attack upon the Lord Jesus Himself. This adds significance to the understanding that when we are spiritually baptized into Christ, we become part of His spiritual body, the church, and are one with Him. How we treat other Christians is how we treat the Son of God.

     Saul did not understand who he was talking with, “And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). Saul called Jesus Lord (κύριος kurios), which was more than a show of respect (i.e., sir), and meant he understood he was talking with God. What a shock it must have been for Saul to hear the words, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5a). This second reference to Saul’s persecution against Jesus reinforced His identity with Christians as part of His body. But rather than destroy Saul, Jesus treated him in grace and sent him on a mission, saying, “get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do” (Acts 9:6). Wiersbe states, “Some thirty years later, Paul wrote that Christ had ‘apprehended him’ on the Damascus road (Phil 3:12). Saul was out to arrest others when the Lord arrested him. He had to lose his religion before he could gain the righteousness of

The first and third aspects of our salvation (i.e., justification and glorification) are accomplished by God without any human assistance whatsoever. Concerning our justification, Scripture reveals that “God is the one who justifies” (Rom 8:33), and “who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5). This is a work of God alone. No works are required for the one who trusts in Christ as Savior (Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Concerning our future glorification, Jesus Christ is the One “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21), and “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2), and that “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). This means our future heavenly body will have no sin nature. This also is a work of God alone. However, the second aspect of our salvation, our sanctification, requires positive volition on our part. This is obvious by the use of NT verbs that are in the imperative mood (i.e., commands), which require the Christian to obey. As believers, we play a role in our sanctification as we learn and live God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), yield to God the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16, 25), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1). After being justified (and awaiting glorification), it is possible for the Christian to go negative to God, not learn or live His Word, and remain a carnal Christian (1 Cor 3:1-3). These Christians will be subject to divine discipline (Heb 12:5-11), even to the point of physical death if their sinful lifestyle becomes egregious (1 Cor 11:30; 1 John 5:16-17), and they will forfeit future rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). Paul, speaking to believers who will be present in heaven at the bema seat of Christ, said, “If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15). The work Paul refers to here is the lifetime production of the Christian who fails to live spiritually and advance to maturity. His work is the production of the flesh and not the Spirit, and such work will be “burned up” at the bema seat evaluation, and “he will suffer loss” of reward in eternity. Yet, this same Christian “will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15c). This is a worst case scenario for the Christian and one which fails to glorify God and bless others. The best case scenario is seen in the believer who lays hold of his spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph 1:3), daily learns and lives God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15; Jam 1:22), and advances to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1).

Dr. Steven R. Cook