PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS (45)
Analytical Commentary on Romans
THE FIRSTFRUIT LIFE OF TRANSFORMATION (3)
The Seven Gifts of Romans 12
Copyright © BRI/IMCF 2018 All Rights Reserved Worldwide by Les Aron Gosling,
Messianic Lecturer (BRI/IMCF)
CAUTION: BRI Yeshiva notes are not available to the general public. They are not for distribution. They are not for reproduction. The notes may also bear little or no resemblance to the actual audio or video recorded BRI Yeshiva lecture.
"God is not an uncle. He is an earthquake" -- Yiddish Proverb
"True humility is really an inner knowledge or awareness of WHO we really are -- of WHAT our strengths and weaknesses are" -- Rebbe
"Humility is the immediate effect of self-surrender to God" -- Edwin H.Gifford, D.D.
We concluded the previous lecture with this appraisal:
"I beg of you, therefore, please brethren, in view of the aforementioned mercies of God, to offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical Temple worship for you. In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the present world system. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed" (Rom 12.1,2).
This summation of Romans 12.1,2 is compelling indeed. Alva McClain, Kenneth Wuest and Marvin Vincent all recognise the real truth of the matter.
(1) The basis of holy living is revelation.
(2) The method of holy living is consecration.
(3) The consequences of holy living is transformation.
That is the GOAL, not just for the Firstfruits in God's plan of Salvation, but for the entirety of the universe -- TRANSFORMATION back from sheer illusion of MATERIALISM and into the Divine Consciousness of God.
We begin this current lecture by quoting the prophet Isaiah.
"And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yeho'vah, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God" (Isa 62.3).
Speaking of Zion and the city of Jerusalem we see that FatherMother God Anochi views HisHer servants as people flowing with royal blood -- a bloodline that is extremely precious in His sight. And, indeed we are. Yes, God is revealing His heart toward the Jewish people, but it is also in the context of surrounding Gentiles (verse 2) and because "God is not a respecter of persons" (Acts 10.34; Rom 2.11) then the principle in verse one applies to us all as His children. Remember the principle always applies when it comes to the nature and character of God.
After all, we have been bought by God, purchased by God with His precious Son's shed blood, and thus we are called His jewels (Mal 3.17; Zech 9.16). Isaiah the prophet tells us that we shall also be "a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord. And, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."
As such, we must view the future POSITIVELY, not negatively.
I love reading accounts in the classics of Alexander the Great. I have mentioned this proclivity of mine a number of times in my lectures over the past 40+ years. He had immense faith in his own abilities. His example left indelible impressions on all who met him. So much was he self-magnified he was thought of as a living god by the troops who so loved to serve him. One account pictures Alexander as possessing an always victory-mindedness.
As Dr Ken Chant, a one-time mentor of mine, has written, "When Alexander the Great faced the vast Persian army some of his advisers were seized with fear. What are we against such an immense multitude, they cried. But Alexander retorted, Is the butcher afraid, though he stands alone before thousands of sheep? Then another complained, When the Persian archers loose their shafts, they are so many they obscure the sun! But Alexander laughed, It will be more pleasant fighting in the shade!
"I like that! [wrote Ken Chant] It is small wonder Alexander conquered the world. He faced each conflict, and saw in it only victory. He turned every barrier to his own advantage. He refused to capitulate to fear or doubt. He recognised only the ability of his own triumph.
"And that is exactly what the scriptures call us to do. Whatever problem or need may be facing us, whatever conflict we may be engaged in, we should calmly declare that we are, and shall be, and can only be, more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:31,37).
"No army is ever finally defeated until it actually admits defeat and surrenders to the enemy. But such an admission, such a surrender, is unthinkable to the man of faith."
It is in this articulation that Chant mentions something that stunned me when I first heard him state it from the first epistle of the apostle John. I had read it innumerable times of course, but it suddenly was driven into my awareness -- into my consciousness -- taking on a new comprehension. What he wrote was...
"Do you realise that faith can never be defeated? Why? Because faith is victory! (1 Jn 5:4). Faith is not, and never can be, defeat. It is simply not possible for faith to be overcome.
"If we are overcome by the world, it indicates only that we have moved away from faith. We may be defeated personally, but faith is invincible.
"If it appears sometimes that faith has been defeated, then the appearance is deceptive. Either real faith was not present at all; or the apparent defeat is just a stage on the way to a marvellous triumph of answered prayer.
"Real faith is is victory guaranteed. Real faith is a weapon against which neither this world nor Satan can raise any lasting defence. Faith looks at the world and laughs, exulting in its own strength, turning every situation to the glory of God, seeing victory in every circumstance, knowing that nothing can hinder its ultimate triumph" (Ken Chant, Faith Dynamics, Studies in the Power of Belief, 1991, 12,13).
Members of the IMCF above all else need to be FAITH-filled in our walk before HaShem. In contrast to Alexander the Great who did not possess God's holy Spirit God can and does do great things through successful individuals who are dedicated to Him. Alexander the Macedonian was dedicated to himself, and that really was the only difference between him and us. He was self-obsessed, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, narcissistic to a fault. We are (or should be) God-obsessed, God-absorbed, God-indulgent, and working toward selflessness and self-emptying -- our NEW identity.
If Romans 12 teaches us anything it is primarily that we are to experience self-emptying by channeling our wills into the awesome will of the Creator. God desires to work His will in each of us, a will that is GOOD, ACCEPTABLE (satisfying) and PERFECT (able to succeed). As I have written, God can do great things through successful people who are dedicated to him -- people who are DEEPLY CONSCIOUS of their being called in Grace, chosen in Grace, elected in Grace, redeemed in Grace, and saved by Grace.
The cynic cannot save the world -- that's a reason I'm not the Saviour.
The doubter cannot share faith, hope and love.
I am asked somewhat frequently, Is there anything the BRI/IMCF needs especially at this time? Well, yes there is!
This WORK OF GOD needs all the success it can get!
We ought not hide our faces, our opportunities, our resources, our good intentions from GOD.
We need above everything else to be people of a living FAITH. Particularly so as we see the day of crisis coming on the earth. If we are of a royal bloodline (and God views us as such) then...
FAITH ACCEPTS SUCCESS AS NOBLE.
Add to this fact that faith PURSUES SUCCESS WITH ENTHUSIASM.
Faith WELCOMES SUCCESS WITH GRATITUDE.
Faith also SHARES SUCCESS.
Faith USES SUCCESS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS as exist in ourselves and our influential sphere. We can learn to solve the problems we see about us as we first exercise our faith beginning with that exercise IN the ekklesia of God, the Community of Faith.
We cannot escape the reality that we have problems. We all have problems. Even Christians are not quarantined from travail.
Christians have problems.
Paul told us that it is imperative that we go through difficulties and traumas in order to inherit the Kingdom of God. And not just difficulties and traumas, but "MUCH TRIBULATION" (Acts 14.22). The CEV translates this as "We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God's Kingdom" (Contemporary English Version).
Over the decades I've known personally a number of Christian people who, possessing a Messiah complex, have left brethren destitute after running off to save the world due to embracing the false social gospel. I could even name two of them -- both happened to be women in this case -- who were attending our ekklesia having been truly exposed to the real Gospel of the biblical revelation! Believe it or not! Yes, we ought to be conscious of the needs of our fellow man. But the needs of our immediate family, and God's people, must come first.
It's high time we gave serious thought to our measure of faith. How do we value ourselves? BY HOW MUCH FAITH has been given to us as God's gift.
"Develop a sober estimate of yourself [or, rate your ability] based on the standard which God has given to each of you namely, faith [or, better, based on the degree of faith that has been apportioned to you]. For just as there are many parts that compose a physical body, but the parts don't all have the same function; so there are many of us, and in union with the Messiah we comprise one body, with each of us belonging to the others. But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to the Grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your faith; if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching; if you are a counselor, use your gift to comfort, encourage and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully and with joyful eagerness" (Rom 12.3b-7).
THERE IS A RULE OF MEASURE
We are given sound advice from Alva McClain: "There is a rule of measure. God has provided this for each [person]. You may question God's will in dealing with you in this way, but remember that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect. The measure of His dealing with you is according to your faith. You may depend upon it that if you are His child, He has given you just as great a gift, just as high a position as your faith could stand. It would be a terrible thing to be judged as if we were standing in other peoples' shoes. We could not discharge that responsibility. He knows what we can stand. He knows the capacity of our faith, because He has given us our faith" (Grace, 210).
Yes, God has given us our faith. This ought to create within us an authentic confidence (trust) that exemplifies our calling in this life. Our FAITH given by God as His GIFT to us serves as an example of what God can do and does do for each one of HisHer children. In the ekklesia (unlike the world) there is no Barbarian or Jew. There ought to be no racial conflicts within the Community of Faith. But there has been... A Croatian member of our Community (who humorously termed himself "a New Croatian") left in uncomfortable disgust when we welcomed a Serbian into our ekklesia. The divisive rivalry and intense hatred of the former Yugoslavian states toward each other, and its aggressive unrest, continues to haunt people politically to this very day.
We all should be content and entirely satisfied with the place God has given us. It is part of His gift of Grace to us. Such is authentic humility. But if we deprecate ourselves then we are indulging in false humility. Christ said to his disciples, "Occupy until I come" (Lk 19.13) -- do business until I return. That's what "occupy" means when taken back to its Greek original. But it is an exhortation to do God's business on His behalf with the SPIRITUAL GIFTS he has bestowed on us.
The Jewish Rav now moves in his Letter to the Roman Christians from one's membership in the Community of God to the actual gifts He has bestowed on each individual gifts that need to be utilised to and for the benefit of all concerned.
What are these gifts? There are seven of them. They are PROPHECY, MINISTRY, TEACHING, EXHORTATION, GIVING, RULING, MERCY.
PROPHECY.
When I sojourned for a time in the Assemblies of God (AOG) I was inundated with people who took to themselves the supposed gift of prophecy. I would get cornered when I entered the church building with so-called prophets trying to convince me that they had a word from God for me.
"Brother Les, brother Les, God wants you to know..."
In our AOG assembly the chief pastor was finally forced to creating an arrangement concerning which a team of young men would bar the doors of the meeting hall preventing a group of travelling prophetesses from entering and disrupting sermons. These women, ranging from a half dozen to a dozen in number, would irregularly storm church meetings demanding to be heard with messages from the Lord aimed at particular Pentecostal congregations with which the Lord had issues. It was all complete idiocy and "Showtime" for these aggrandising women and when they were excluded they would no doubt self-sympathise, considering themselves "persecuted for righteousness' sake"!
Many of our students here would have the same contemptuous opinion as me in regard to self-appointed prophets and prophetesses and other individuals like this. But the holy Spirit is in agreement with our attitudes in respect of Sunday morning and Sunday evening church prophets. [Even though these specific texts relate to the people of Israel in the end of the age, the Jews will be reflecting the exact same situation that will exist -- and already exists -- in the modern Christian communities. The principle, remember, always applies.] Look at what the Spirit had to say through the mouth of Jeremiah.
"This is what the Lord of Legions says: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; [isn't this precisely what certain ministers regularly accomplish in the lives of those over whom they shepherd and rule? They strut around like little Napoleon's dictating their demands and diminishing even the normal natural self-confidence of their congregants] They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, The Lord has said, You shall have peace; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, No evil shall come upon you... In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings... I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed! How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart" (Jer 23.16,17,20,21,22,25,26).
And Ezekiel!
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say you unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!... Likewise, you son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy you against them, and say, Thus says the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes [ie., comfortable teachings] and make kerchiefs [bonnets] upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! [to save them] Will you hunt the souls of my people, and will you save the souls alive that come unto you? And will you pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, [soup kitchens] -- to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live" -- attempting to save the world -- "by your lying to my people that hear your lies? Wherefore this is what the Lord God says; Behold, I am against your pillows,[comfortable teachings] wherewith you there hunt the souls to make them fly, [or better, ascend i.e., to meet the Lord in the air at his advent] and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that you hunt to make them fly. [to give them salvation at the second coming] Your kerchiefs [bonnets] also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted [to be saved]; and you shall know that I am the Lord. Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: therefore you shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and you shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 13.1-3,17-23).
In ancient Israel and surrounding nations false teachers (usually women as brought out in this Ezekiel text) would place a magical bonnet-like veil over the head and eyes of the seeker of enlightenment into the mysteries of God as their spiritual captors talked soft spirituality to them. In fact, God shows us plainly that because their eyes are covered with bonnets they have hidden their eyes to truth! William Booth unwittingly and unknowingly restored this ancient practice because he totally misunderstood the issue of salvation! He created the Salvation Army along with soup lines and soup kitchens to give God's Word in a perverted form to the lost, hungry and needy of society.
Admittedly, Booth was sincere in his belief that men and women needed to accept Christ now otherwise they would be doomed to hell for all eternity, and that people would respond to Christ's representatives if they had their daily physical needs met. Listen! He was sincere, but sincerely wrong. As God himself stated, "Will you pollute ME among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread"?
The Salvation Army female military ranks all wore black bonnets as well as uniforms as they shared street sermons, collected money from passersby, and hunted souls for Christ. They still do. And as much as they do good for other human beings God does not have a high opinion of them at all.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORTHTELLING AND FORETELLING
When it comes to individuals with swelled heads who deliver personal prophecies to other people with all the available Special Heavenly Pronouncements of a virtual Boxing Day Sale, we are told by Paul to take a back seat in humility. WHEN and IF God speaks its usually silently and powerfully with the planting of a "Word in season" into the human heart. And, more often than not it will be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses which is expressed as such in the Mosaic Torah and in Paul's writings. If that especial message is to be directed to some one else there is an overwhelming desire on the part of the one who has received this direction to shrink from sight -- certainly not to become self-exalted! Not by any means. And what most receivers fail to get is the fact that the Message to be delivered is intended not just for the ultimate recipient, but it was equally applicable to the one to whom God originally planted His mail. Let's not forget this fact, for it is a fact. I have seen it apply more times than I care to remember. I have seen the will of the Spirit work this way in others, and I have witnessed it in myself.[/b]
When one has been granted by God's Grace with a gift of prophecy it really means, not so much a vision of what is impending for either a good outcome or a bad one but rather it is usually a spirit that announces something that is in accordance with the will of God or the interpretation of that will. In other words a forth-telling of what is on the mind of God at any particular moment. That's a forth-telling, not necessarily a foretelling.
Certainly in the first century those who received a Word from God received it according to the measure of faith. In other words they spoke in harmony with what had been spoken already. McClain explains: "Men [and women] who come today and prophesy not according to this Word are not prophets according to the marked out proportion that God has already given" (211). I cannot agree more with McClain up to this point. Unfortunately, lecturer Alva McClain goes beyond this simple and wise counsel and permits a tragic mistake to enter into his theology! More on this in a moment.
Paul has expressed the importance of possessing a humble and appropriate self-view if we have obtained by Grace any one of the gifts of God's Spirit (Rom 12.1-3).
While it is true that the gift of prophecy involves primarily a forth-telling of God's will (think Paul being told by the Spirit through other Christians and prophets in the ekklesia on a number of occasions to stay away from Jerusalem) it is at this juncture that I disagree with Alva McClain who states resoundingly: "That gift [of prophecy] was given to the men who wrote God's Word. We do not have that gift today" (Romans: The Gospel of God's Grace, 1973, 211).
Actually some of us DO have "the spirit of prophecy." I was early given it as my wife and family and professional others in the medical world can readily testify. From being a medical intuitive to seeing events ahead of time particularly as related to family and to close friends I do not make an issue of it, and usually keep it all under close personal scrutiny and under wraps. My sometimes precognitive awareness is not something I sought after, nor did I ask for such a gift from heaven. I did not seek it. Certainly there was a period of my life when I was virtually given over to such memorable occasions of foretelling. I must confess that although it was a gift I thought of it more of a curse because I was powerless to prevent the outcome of that which I foresaw. This ability almost ran riot, happening every other day. On rare occasions it still just happens. There are times I have dreams that come to pass with astonishing accuracy, and I receive knowledgeable imprints in advance of events as well. One day I might bore all my students into slumber by taking some time out to relate a few weird and wonderful moments that are forever etched in my spirit and perhaps ought to be shared not out of a vaunted self-image or for a deep narcissistic need for the acclaim of anyone -- FatherMother God Anochi knows my absolute sincerity in this matter -- but to show clearly that the spirit of prophecy IS readily available from and through the POWER of the Ruach HaKodesh and has been for 2000 years. For McClain to dismiss it out of hand is sorrowful for me to read.
Greek scholar Marvin Vincent has this to say about prophecy in Romans 12.6-8. "Prophecy in the New Testament, as in the Old, the prominent idea is not prediction, but the inspired delivery of warning, exhortation, instruction, judging, and making manifest the secrets of the heart."
Note that Vincent doesn't exclude predictive awareness but lays stress on the prominent idea of warning, exhortation and instruction.
Incidentally, if your version has (in Rom 12.6) the words "Let us prophesy" (as in the AV) even though they are appropriate and/or implied in the Greek original please delete them as they are added by translators and are not in the text. This also applies in verse 7 (AV) where the words "let us wait on our" should be deleted as well. They are not in the original.
THE SERIOUS NEED FOR A PROPER SELF-IMAGE
There are four reasons why we all must have a sober or realistic opinion about ourselves. Dr Ken Chant shares those four reasons.
First, because whatever we have that is good, God has given us of his own kindness -- "For what maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou hast not received? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" (1 Cor 4:7).
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father†(Ja 1:17).
"Second, because God deals out his gifts by measure, and according to his own Grace -- "But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Ep 4:7).
"To every believer Grace is given, that we may be of mutual help to each other. To every minister gifts are given; but to some a greater measure of gifts, to others a less measure. It is a tragedy that these differing gifts have frequently been a cause of strife in the church, and have brought about factions.
"But each gift is given by the Grace of God; it is therefore designed for the best benefit of the church. Each gift is given by measure, according to the need of the church, and according to the ability and endowments of the recipient. Every gift is given in such a measure as seems best to the Lord to give it. All the members of the body of Christ owe every gift and Grace they possess to him. They ought to love him more for these gifts, and in love use them more for the help and comfort of each other. Remember the Lord... who had the fullness of God without measure (Jn 3:34), yet he was meek and lowly. How much more, then, should we be so.
"Third, because God has given gifts to others, for he has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
"Fourth, because God has chosen us all to be differing members of the same body (Ro 12:4-5).
"Believers are all bound together in the body of Christ who is their Centre and their Head. It is apparent then that individual believers, being members of the whole, are less than the whole, and are bound to consider the welfare of all the other members before their own. It is folly for an eye to attempt to be an ear, or for a hand to attempt to be a foot. God, by his own sovereign will, has set us each one in our respective places in the body. Being set in that place, we are expected to work there. Being set in the body, and having an appointed ministry to fulfil, the Holy Spirit will manifest in us those gifts that will enable us to serve God perfectly in harmony with every other member of the body.
"The best gift, then, is that gift which will best enable us to do properly the work God has given us to do within the body of Christ. To each member is given the gifts and Graces needed according to their various functions. It is therefore expected of us that we each perform the task given us, and not presume to take to ourselves the work of another" (Dr Ken Chant, The Holy Spirit, 1992, 24,25).
It is imperative to understand and appreciate as to the issue of our prophesying that it must only be according to the MEASURE [or, proportion] of FAITH (Rom 12.3).
As a human being called, justified, sanctified and saved by God's GRACE has a GIFT from the holy Spirit and we must use every single talent and ability, our every capacity granted to us from heaven itself setting all possible FAITH behind every word spoken (Chant).
Chant goes on to admonish, correctly in my own personal view: "As we must not on the one hand be wrongfully proud of our talents, neither on the other hand may we bury them. It is reprehensible to draw back from the service of God as it is to press in to areas beyond the limits of his call. The false pride that leads people to attempt more than God has called them to attempt, and the false humility that causes them to attempt less than he has called them to attempt, are equally obnoxious to God. We must neither think ourselves too high nor too low, but have a sober and honest understanding of our calling, and make sober and honest use of the gifts that belong to that calling" (25).
In summary then of Paul's great argument:
1. We must labour to the limit of our strength and ability, always trusting God to supply what we lack
2. Since God has given us gifts, we should use them, and not hide them away
3. We have differing gifts according to the Grace that is given us; yet they are all of God; therefore, whether our gifts be great or humble, many or few, let us use them all in love and consideration for each other.
In our next lecture we shall look attentively at the other six gifts mentioned by Paul in Romans 12 Ministry, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Ruling, Mercy before proceeding to the most misunderstood chapter in the Bible.
THIS CONCLUDES LECTURE 45
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