Lately,
while I have been reading my Bible I have been surprised by the number of
superlatives it contains, you know, words which cannot be bigger, words like:
eternal, every, and its derivatives: everyone, everything, everywhere, also:
always, boundless, full and fullness, and perhaps the biggest: "all".
"All" means "without exception". Years ago we regularly had
a preacher who would say “all” means “all”, and then give us the look!
In
my favourite Bible, above Colossians Chapter 1, I have written ALL in big letters and marked verses 15
to 20 as being special; they are so wonderfully descriptive of my hero brother
and Lord, Jesus.
"The Son is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. And he is the head
of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the
dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness
dwell in him, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:15-20). (The word “all” appears seven times in these few verses; Jesus surely is the “all” of God, and of all the Universe!)
This
is the same Jesus who came to the Earth as a human to "destroy the works of the
evil one" (1 John 3:8), and redeem all humanity from their sins. Here was God,
incarnate on the Earth, Creator, Saviour and Head. I see His humility as a big
part of the "all" that He is. Glorious God humbled even to death on a
cross for us, fallen humanity, (Philippians 2:8). The cross was the worst death the ancient Roman Empire could devise. Our Jesus submitted Himself to it for me, and for you.
No-one
else in all of history could do what Jesus has done, praise God. "Then comes the end, when He delivers
the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority
and power. For he must reign until he
has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
What
a mighty God we serve. It's not surprising that Paul rejoices that he is able
to preach the "boundless riches of
Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). And later in the same book to declare that
our mutual ministries, our sharing in Jesus' work on the Earth, will grow each
and every one of us "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). These are among my favourite Scriptures,
just packed full of superlatives!
Early
in our Christian walk my wife, Trish (who indeed was Christian but I was not
there yet), and I were taught about Spiritual Gifts, and that Christian life
includes serving our Lord God, and also other Christians in the church and the people of the world. I found
this very daunting. It seemed like a very
big ask. I have heard others say the same thing adding things like "God will
want me to marry an ugly girl and go live in some drought ridden, threadbare,
corrupted country thousands of miles from anywhere; and besides, what can I do?
What skills do I have as a preacher or missionary? I'll likely just get in the
way". Then the person will smile and begin to tell about the miracles, and
how beautiful and (nearly) perfect his wife is, and the delightful children
they have been given and are privileged to raise together, and the exciting places they have been
to, and the amazing people they have met and worked with and helped, and how Jesus has
always, (another superlative), gone before!
Spiritual
gifts enable us to do God's work despite the many shortcomings of our abilities
and skills, our patience and endurance, our wealth or experience, our knowledge
of Scripture and Christian doctrine ..
Paul's
letters to the Christians at Corinth address his
concern over the rampant immorality
associated with the paganism, (godlessness), of the people there
Then,
in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 Paul details to us some of the ways we become "a new creation" (2
Corinthians 5:17) when we are “born again”
(1 Peter 1:23). At the moment of salvation we are brought into the person
of Jesus and become part of His family and of the church on Earth. Scripture
refers to the church as the ecclesia
or gathering-of-the-people (not as an institution or building!) and also as "the body of Christ"
(Ephesians 4:12), and "Christ's
body". There are many parts to a human body and the parts each serve
the purpose or function for which they were designed and included; in the same
way, in Jesus’ Earthly body each and every one of us will have a unique role:
"For we are God's
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for [each of] us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
Likewise
each of us is Jesus' earthly body today (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus' human
body is in Heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, ruling and reigning.
We are to be His physical manifestation here on the Earth. His Holy Spirit
fills us and binds with our now awakened human spirit to teach, guide and help
us.
Much
of Paul's purpose in writing 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 was to show us how Jesus'
mighty power can still be used to do His work here. He gives us gifts, by His
Spirit. These are called "spiritual
gifts", (in some translations "spirituals")
(1 Corinthians 12:1), because they are given by Holy Spirit and add to our
spiritual abilities. Paul makes it plain that he wants us to understand the
kinds of gifts Jesus gives, and their purpose and their power.
All the gifts are to help people.
They enable us, as week and powerless as we may be, to do the "greater works" Jesus promised (John 5:20).
All the gifts are to help people.
They enable us, as week and powerless as we may be, to do the "greater works" Jesus promised (John 5:20).
There
are many kinds of gifts:
"Now there are
varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:4).
The
gifts enable us, in Jesus, to serve people:
"and there are
varieties of service, but the same Lord" (1 Corinthians 12:5).
Every
Christian is included in this gifting and enabled to hear from God, to pray,
speak, act, heal and help others:
"and there are
varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in
everyone"
(1 Corinthians 12:6).
The
variety of gifts are given so that, through the whole body of Christ, all
Jesus' work on Earth can be accomplished:
"To each is given
the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7).
Here
are some of the gifts:
"To one there is
given through the [Holy] Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge
by means of the same Spirit, to another
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in
different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of
tongues. All these are the work of one
and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he
determines"
(1 Corinthians 12:8-11).
God
decides who will receive the different kinds of gifting. But remember, by
prayer we can ask Jesus for anything;
so if your heart desires a particular gift, ask God, perhaps you will be able
to bless many people: "do not be
anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 4:6-7). God always looks at our heart (1 Samuel 16:7), but He also
loves our obedience (Deuteronomy 5:33), Psalm 119:96 says "To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are
boundless" .. "boundless",
with no limit, another superlative)!
One
of the great joys of this time of Bible reading has been all my surprises, the
number of passages I've read many times before and suddenly discover that in
His Word, right here, Jesus inspired His human author to use the maximum word, the superlative, to really nail down what He wanted to say.
I've
touched on just a few examples in this piece, but there are a great many. We
can enjoy our Bible, after all it is
another face of Jesus who is the “Word of
God” (John 1:1). Another face: He is every aspect of the "full", (another superlative), "armour of God" (Ephesians
6:10-20); "finally, be strong in the
Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the
full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes".
And,
Jesus is fully the content of the 13th Chapter of 1st Corinthians. This is
known as the “love” chapter and is sandwiched between the two chapters which
teach us about the spiritual gifts. If you read this through, and where you see
"love", read "Jesus", you may get a new and fuller
understanding of love. I did and I was humbled; for many years I've thought of
"love" as being a "doing" word, a verb, and not so much an
emotion. Now I see it as more all-encompassing and reflective of what Jesus is doing in me (Philippians 1:6,
Ephesians 4:13, 1 John 4:16).
"He will not always
accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our
iniquities. For as high as the heavens
are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far
has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:9-12).
From The Beginning
"In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). "After six days the Creation was completed. God saw all that he
had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning -
the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31). "Thus
the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array"
(Genesis 2:1).
So
at the very beginning of time, and matter, and life, "all" was "very
good", I think that God likes superlatives; He does not want to do
things half-hearted or in a lackadaisical way. He is our God of the
superlatives and full of lovely surprises.
And Into The Future
"Now to him who is
able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power
that is at work within us, to him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever
and ever! Amen"
(Ephesians 3:20-21).
Yes!
Amen!
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Praise Jesus.
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