Who is Your Head Pastor?

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." (Luke 2:8-15)

There has been much written over the centuries speculating as to why these shepherds around Bethlehem were the first to hear about the birth of the Messiah on that first Christmas evening. Historical documents seem to suggest that shepherds were among the lower cast of society during those days, being considered dishonest “shady characters” along with the Jewish tax collectors of the day. But one thing we can see from the text in Luke, is that they responded to the message of the angelic host in faith, and went to Bethlehem to see the baby that was born in the line of the great Old Testament shepherd, King David, and that would one day fulfill all the prophecies and become the great Shepherd of the flock of born-again believers.

In our English translations of the Bible, we have two words that mean the same thing and are translated from the same word in the original Greek language. Those words are “shepherd” and “pastor.” The term can refer to someone who is occupied tending livestock such as we see in the Christmas story in Luke, or it can refer figuratively to rulers and leaders. In secular classical Greek, for example, Homer, Plato, Socrates and others used the term metaphorically to refer to leaders, rulers, commanders, and others. In other ancient texts among the Sumerians and Babylonians the concept of pastor is used figuratively of both rulers and divinities, with the people under their rule being their “flock.”

In the Old Testament portion of the Bible the LORD God is often referred to as pastor, although the English word almost always used is “shepherd,” such as Psalm 23, one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Likewise in the New Testament, the only person to be referred to as “pastor” by name is Jesus, the Messiah and heir to the Davidic throne. The term is used 18 times in the New Testament, and most of the time it refers to Jesus or God. In Hebrews 13 Jesus is referred to as the “great” (Greek word “megas”) Shepherd:

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

The exceptions where the term “shepherd” does not refer to Jesus are Luke 2, the shepherds in the fields at the time of Christ’s birth (see above), and Ephesians 4:11. In our English translations of the Bible, only in Ephesians 4:11 is the word “pastor” used:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4:11-12)

In all the other references “shepherd” is chosen. In our modern day English, the term “pastor” is usually associated with a religious leader in a church organization. But as we have already seen, in the Bible the term was used almost exclusively for Jesus. The use in Ephesians 4:11 does not specify an office or official position in the church. It is linked together with “teacher.” The leaders described in the New Testament churches were described by different words: elders (also translated "overseer" or "bishop") and deacons. Specifications are given for the offices of elders and deacons (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1,) but never for “pastors.” Pastor is never attached to anyone’s name outside of Christ, leading one to believe that it was more of a function than a title.

I think we can learn a lot about the term shepherd/pastor in Jesus’ great discourse in John chapter 10:

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:1-16)

It seems to me that Jesus is very clear here: there is one flock and there is one shepherd. So what about the reference in Ephesians 4:11? Maybe we can get a clue from Jesus’ words to Peter just before he left the earth and ascended to heaven: Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." (John 21:16)

Who do the sheep belong to? Jesus said “Take care of my sheep.” We belong to Jesus. He is our head Pastor. There is only one flock, and only one shepherd/pastor. In John chapter 10 Jesus refers to the others who tend the sheep as either thieves and robbers, or “hired hands.” The thieves and robbers in Jesus’ day were the religious leaders who opposed Jesus because he threatened their power base. “Hired hands” or employees don’t usually look after affairs with the same care that the owner does.

But when we are reborn into Jesus’ Kingdom, we become co-heirs with him. (See Galatians 4:1-7 and Romans 8:14-17) We are no longer employees or slaves in God’s Kingdom, but adopted sons. We have a new motivation to serve Christ, our head Pastor. We represent him in our service to the flock. It is true that the verb form of “shepherding” or “pastoring” was used of the church leaders: the elders and deacons. (See Acts 20:28 for an example.) But the job of shepherding is not limited to only leaders in the church. There is only one Pastor, and all shepherding is done under his leadership.

So why did the angels first appear to these Jewish shepherds around Bethlehem that first Christmas night when Christ was born? We probably cannot fully know the answer to that question, but who else would recognize and understand the significance of the birth of the “mega-Shepherd” than those who were shepherds by profession and responsible for the food of the people? They may have been outcasts in their society, but they heard the angelic message and responded in faith – the first ones to do so that Christmas night so long ago.

Today, we are in dire need of true leaders who will shepherd Jesus’ flock. As elders in the church are called to shepherd just as Peter was, one of the things we see they are responsible for is caring for the sick. According to James, the brother of Jesus and one of the elders serving in the church at Jerusalem, elders are to pray and care for the sick:

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16)

Who will accept the call of Jesus, the head Pastor over the one true flock, and tend to his sheep? Who will pray in faith with the power and authority that Jesus offers to affect true healing for the multitudes that are suffering in the 21^st century? Who will deal with the disease and effects of sin and receive the forgiveness from Jesus that cleanses and heals? The great Shepherd, our one and only “head Pastor,” came into the world on Christmas, and the world has never been the same. The power that created the world humbled himself and entered the flow of human history as a helpless baby, but he was only recognized by a few humble shepherds, while he lay in a simple shepherd’s manager. Who will recognize the head Pastor today? Will you?

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Do Doctors Really Heal?

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. (Mark 5:26)

To answer the question “Do doctors really heal?” one must first define the term “health.” As we saw in the article last week, the concept of “health” was understood very different among the ancients in biblical times. Among the people of faith, health was defined in terms of a proper understanding of truth, and a restored relationship with God through the sacrifice of Jesus. So if we understand health the way ancient people in the Bible understood the term, the answer would be that most modern day doctors who are licensed physicians and practice medicine generally are not healers in terms of helping people to understand the truth of God, and come into a restored relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

As we saw in the last article when we compared how modern English understands the word “health” with how people in biblical times would understand the same concept, so too the word “doctor” or “physician” in modern English takes on a completely different meaning from what people in biblical times would understand when using words that are today translated into “doctor” or “physician.”

Starting with the verse above from the Gospel of Mark, we see that the term “doctors” is used negatively in terms of being able to heal someone, while faith in Jesus brought about healing:

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, "Who touched me?'" But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (Mark 5:24-34)

What the “doctors” could not do for 12 years while taking all of her money for their services, Jesus accomplished in a moment through the faith of the woman - free of charge.

So who were these “doctors?” How was this title used in biblical times? When we use this word today in English, we automatically imagine someone in a white coat at a clinic or hospital who examines people and prescribes medicine or other medical procedures designed to deal with physical sicknesses. We would not think of a “doctor” as someone who looks at spiritual issues in addition to physical issues, and tries to find remedies through invoking certain spirits, through incantations, spells, or magic. We would not imagine someone working in a temple offering up sacrifices to “gods” as bearing the title “doctor.” No, we would not imagine “doctors” like this today in the “modern” world. Since the days of “enlightenment” and since the time of Darwin and the new age of evolutionary science, such practices have for the most part ceased to be a part of popular western culture.

When you see the English word “doctor” or “physician” in the biblical literature, however, this is just how the word was understood in those days. They bore some resemblance to the doctors people pay to see today, in that they accepted money in exchange for “health” services or products. But the types of services and products were vastly different in the ancient world. Dealing only with the physical realm is a recent development in human history, particularly post Darwin and the theory of evolution. In the ancient world, if you went to see a doctor you would most likely be going to some pagan temple where sacrifices were made to appease the spirits or gods that were causing the illness, and trying to get on the good side of the spirits or gods that supposedly had the power to heal you. There were also physical remedies that were used in the physical realm, as the Greeks were strong in empiricism and rationalism and used empirical examinations to find causes and effects to problems. But they combined this with their belief system in their gods, especially Apollo who for a period of Greek history was considered the mediator of healing between men and Zeus, one of the highest Greek gods. When Paul and Barnabas conducted a healing in the name of Jesus in the Roman town of Lystra on one of their missionary excursions, the people were so impressed with the healing that they concluded the Greek gods themselves, whom they associated with healing, had come down to visit them, and they called out the town priest to offer the appropriate sacrifices.

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. (Acts 14:8-13)

Understanding then how “doctors” performed their healing arts in ancient times, it is easy to see why the nation of Israel was forbidden to participate in the healing arts of magic and witchcraft which called upon the spirit world. They were to only worship the one true God and depend solely on him. So when we read about what King Asa did when he was crippled in his feet and how he went to the physicians instead of to the LORD, we may be tempted to think “What was so bad about that?” given modern day Christians' acceptance and high regard of the current medical profession. But what was more than likely happening was that the King of Israel was running away from God and was seeking a pagan priest with his magic, spells, and potions instead of seeking the one true God of Israel through the Levitical priests:

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. (2 Chronicles 16:12)

This was considered idolatry, and something that God hated. Israel’s belief and service to the one true God was what separated them from all the other pagan nations around them.

These sins of idolatry are also prohibited in New Testament in the Christian writings. One of the more interesting Greek words that is usually translated as “witchcraft” or “sorcery” in English is pharmakeia, from which we get the English word “pharmacy.” Outside of the biblical texts, it would probably most often be translated into English as “medicine.” It is used in Galatians 5:20:

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

Can you imagine using the English word “medicines” in place of “witchcraft” in the list of sins in the verses above? Obviously the modern translators of the English Bible could not, and yet that was the word the ancients would have used for our modern day word “medicine.” It is also used in the book of Revelations in a couple of places:

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)

In this verse the word pharmakeia is translated “magic arts.” It is used below in referring to Babylon:

The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. (Revelation 18:23)

Here the word pharmakeia is translated “magic spell.” Again, “medicine” did not seem appropriate to the translators in these verses, because of the current acceptance and understanding we have in the word and concept of “medicine.”

When we look at the word group for “physician” in the New Testament, we see the verb form of that word was used quite a bit for the activity of Jesus, such as:

And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. (Luke 6:19)

The verb “healing” here comes from the same root word used in the noun “physician” in Mark 5:26 above.

Interestingly, it is in Luke’s writings where this verb form of the word was used most often to describe the healing ministry of Jesus. Could this be because Luke was at one time numbered among the pagan physicians, but now had turned to the true healer and had become like Jesus in looking after men’s souls? When Paul referred to Luke as a “physician” he qualified it with the word “beloved,” no doubt to distinguish him from the commonly understood meaning of that word among the pagans who practiced magic and witchcraft: “Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings…”(Colossians 4:14) I think Luke chose this particular word to describe Jesus' healing ministry to distinguish him from the professional physicians of his day who could not accomplish true healing.

Who are you trusting in today for your healing? Do you hold on to a belief system based on evolution that sees “health” as purely a physical condition? Or have you come to understand the biblical definition of health which defines health in terms of our relationship to our Creator? There is only one physician who brings true health, and that is Jesus. Physical health may have some value in the short term during this life time, but by itself it holds no value for the future when you enter eternity through physical death and meet your Creator. All the lies of evolution and modern-day science will prove worthless then.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Related articles:

What is Health?

Who do You Run to When You are Sick?

Who is Responsible for Providing Healthcare?

Life and Prosperity or Death and Destruction: Which will You Choose?

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What is Health?

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 1:2)

When we use the word “health” in the English language today, we think primarily of physical health, and how our body is functioning. If we want to communicate something besides physical health, we generally add another word as an adjective, such as “mental health” or “emotional health.” But the word “health” itself is mainly used in terms of physical health, and the domain of “health” in western culture today is the domain of a large medical system which is called “healthcare.” It is an extremely influential and powerful system in most countries, controlled by pharmaceutical companies and licensed physicians, and regulated by the government.

Such a concept of “health” however, is a recent development in human history. So when we read ancient texts such as the Bible, and read the English word “health” which is used to translate words from the original languages of ancient cultures, it is very helpful to study how these words were understood in the original languages and cultures. Otherwise we read our own cultural understanding of English words into ancient texts, and that can result in an inaccurate or incomplete understanding of the meaning of these ancient texts.

The passage above in the third letter of the apostle John is a good example of how the term “health” was understood in the day of the biblical writers around the time of Christ. In the salutation that John uses, the word “prosper” is used twice, and he makes it clear in the second usage that he is referring to more than worldly or physical prosperity. He is also referring to those spiritual things that cause the soul to prosper.

So what about the word “health?” From this letter by John we can see that in the context of the following verses, he is linking the concept of health to “walking in the truth:”

For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. (3 John 1:3-4)

Within this context, physical health is not the main concern. The later writings of the New Testament deal with a lot of problems in the church, particularly false teachings and false believers, and there is a lot of emphasis on correct teaching (or “doctrine”) about Jesus and the gospel message. Health then is connected to correct thinking about God and Jesus, and the lifestyle that results from such correct thinking and belief.

The Greek word here that is translated “health” is found in 23 other passages in the New Testament in either its noun or verb forms, and it is not always translated “health.” For example, in Paul’s letters to Timothy he uses this word to refer to correct teaching, or doctrine, and it is usually translated in English as “sound.” Some examples:

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. (1 Timothy 1:8-11)

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions… (1 Timothy 6:3-4)

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

The word translated “sound” in these passages is the exact same word John uses in his third letter, which is translated “health.” But because the English word “health” or “healthy” has such a narrow meaning in our culture today, it was not considered a proper word to use in translating these verses dealing with doctrine.

This word is also used in the famous story of the prodigal son who returns home to his father:

And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” (Luke 15:27)

The word is translated here “safe and sound,” because there is nothing in the text that would suggest that the prodigal son was sick in the way we normally define “sickness.” He had left his father’s household with his inheritance and squandered it all on a sinful lifestyle. Coming back to his senses, he returned to his father’s house and was restored to his position as son in the family. His “health” in this situation is defined in terms of his relationship to his father and his place in his father’s household.

Of the 23 occurrences of this word in the New Testament, there are some uses where physical health is involved. These occurrences are in the gospel records of the life of Jesus, and also in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and describe their healing ministries. Some examples:

So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)

Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. (Matthew 12:13)

In the first passage in the gospel of Matthew which is describing the ministry of Jesus, the word is translated “restore” in relation to “the crippled.” Again, the English word “health” or “healthy” does not seem appropriate here, as healing a cripple is not something that can generally be done with medicine. Same in the second passage where a man with a “withered” hand is healed. To translate the verse as “it was restored to health” seems awkward to us, as we think of health as something being restored from an illness with medicine, or other remedies. So it is translated as “normal,” i.e. the way it was before it became deformed.

In Acts 4:10 we do have the word translated “health” in one translation as Peter describes the healing of a man who was lame:

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health. (Acts 4:10 NASB)

But more modern English translations of the Bible choose to translate this verse slightly different:

then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. (Acts 4:10 NIV)

“Healed” seems more appropriate for our modern day English as it has a broader range of meaning that can exclude medicine or cures, such as setting a broken bone or putting a dislocated joint back in place.

There are other Greek words that were used in the Bible for “health” other than the one we started with in 3 John 1:2 (hygiaino), and if we were to study their usage we would also see that they were used and understood quite differently from our modern day word “health.” The concept of health in the biblical documents did not have the narrow meaning that our culture gives it today, where it generally refers to physical health and the domain of medicine and doctors. It started with correct thinking about the truth and the way we think about God and Jesus. And like the story of the prodigal son who returned home to his father “safe and sound,” health was seen as having a right relationship to God through Jesus, by accepting Jesus' sacrificial death for our sins, which allows us to be reborn spiritually and begin a relationship with God as his adopted child. We come home to God, just like the prodigal son did. This is where true health begins, and it cannot be purchased from drug companies or doctors. It is the realm of God, and he gives it to whomever he desires as a free gift. Are you truly healthy today?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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What is Your Attitude towards Sickness?

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. (Galatians 4:13-14)

The apostle Paul was a great missionary who had a ministry of taking the good news of Jesus to places where people had never heard about Jesus before. His ministry was often conducted with miraculous signs. One of the miracles frequently seen during his ministry, similar to the ministry of Jesus and the other apostles, was the miracle of healing. His ministry of healing people was so powerful, that even articles of clothing that touched his body were used to perform healings:

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. (Acts 19:11-12)

But this ministry of healing did not exempt Paul from experiencing sickness himself, as the verses in Galatians above state. While Paul could see God work through him to heal others, what was the reason Paul himself sometimes suffered sickness?

While there may be many reasons that we cannot fully know, one thing we do know from these verses is that Paul’s sickness resulted in him having to stay among the people of Galatia, where he may have only been passing by and had not intended to stay. As he stayed among the people in his weak and sick condition, he found the opportunity to preach the gospel (good news about Jesus) to them, and apparently many became believers in Jesus. A church was stared there, where previously there was none. Later he would need to write a letter to this church covering key doctrinal issues, and that letter became one of the foundational writings of the New Testament in the Bible. All this happened because Paul got sick and had to stop there, and because Paul had a positive attitude towards his illness.

We can make some interesting observations about this event in Paul’s life. First, he was human just like us and got sick, even though he saw others healed through his ministry. Second, when he got sick and it interrupted his schedule, he did not stop carrying out God’s purpose for his life and start feeling sorry for himself because he was sick. His sickness disrupted his schedule, but it did not prevent him from accomplishing God’s purpose for him. He did not focus his attention completely on himself, but instead focused on the people around him and took care of their spiritual needs, while they took care of his physical needs.

Now of course God could have gotten Paul’s attention in many other ways and directed him to preach the gospel to the people in Galatia without him having to suffer an illness. Previously, for example, God had spoken to Paul directly in a vision about a location he was to travel to and preach the gospel:

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:9-10)

We cannot possibly know all the reasons God may have allowed Paul to be sick in this situation when he was passing through Galatia, but we do see one other reason Paul suffered sickness from another situation he wrote about in his second letter to the Corinthian church:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was some kind of physical weakness or sickness that God was not willing to remove. Notice the reason that Paul gives for his sickness: “to keep me from exalting myself!” Paul was a great leader in the church, and in the previous verses he recounts how he received a special revelation in heaven. Satan attacked him through a messenger, and God allowed it to apparently keep Paul humble, so that he would rely on the power of God through God’s grace, and not his own strength. This was apparently the key to his miraculous life and ministry. So just as he saw his sickness that caused him to stop in Galatia as something positive, so too he saw this “thorn in the flesh” that he asked God three times to remove as something positive. He did not allow physical weakness and sickness to prevent him from accomplishing God’s purpose in his life. In fact, it made him more powerful as he was more dependent on God’s grace in his weakened condition.

Are you facing trials through sickness today? How are you handling it? Can you look at it in a positive light as Paul looked at his sickness, and find some reasons why God may be allowing you to go through these trials? Or do you look at your sickness the way the world does, the way people who walk in darkness with an evolutionary basis of life view sickness? In this view, God’s plan and purposes are not even considered, and sickness is seen as strictly a physical condition caused by natural forces that can only be cured through the purchase of medicine or medical services. This humanistic view of sickness and disease based on an evolutionary world view believes that man can overcome sickness through counter-acting the natural processes, and that there is no intelligence guiding either the sickness or the cure. The resulting attitude is often one of helplessness and depression, being self-focused on one’s unfortunate condition. The belief is that health can be purchased via medicine and doctors as man advances in the evolutionary process and finds cures for everything, one day eliminating even death itself through his science and technology. If the science or technology has not reached a stage yet where the specific cure for an illness can be accomplished, the condition is often diagnosed as “terminal” and all hope is lost, resulting in despair and self pity. Belief in God and his purpose in sickness is replaced with only a faith in doctors and medicine, which has its limitations and disadvantages. How sad!

The Bible does not teach any kind of blueprint or laws to affect healings, and there is no single cause of sickness taught in the Bible either. God has a specific plan and purpose for everyone in life, and the trials and difficulties we all must walk through are unique to that specific plan and purpose that God has for us.

But there is a blueprint given for seeking the answers to our problems and sickness:

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:13-16)

Our first course of action should always be prayer! God made you. He put you together. He upholds the universe by the power of his word. Nothing happens that he is not aware of, and all roads in life lead to a final destination that he has already determined. So shouldn’t he be the first person you consult? And if you are having problems understanding or communicating with him, the next step is to consult with those who know God and can also pray for you. These actions are the actions of people of faith, who believe that God created us, and that he loves us and has a wonderful plan for our life.

One of the reasons God allows us to become sick is to humble us, like he did Paul, and remind us that we are dependent upon him for our health. If we believe that he loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives, we will see the times we get sick as new opportunities for God to accomplish some purpose in our lives, even though they interrupt our schedule and often seem to prevent us from doing the things we wanted to do. But as we saw in Paul’s life, his sickness did not prevent him from accomplishing God’s purpose for his life at all. On the contrary, it made him even more powerful in his ministry. He maintained a positive attitude with his faith that positively affected the people around him. What is your attitude towards sickness today?

…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:23-32)

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Why is there Thanksgiving?

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:11)

Paul was an apostle in the early church, and we are blessed to have many of his writings in the New Testament to read. The word “apostle” is not an English word, but a transliteration of the Greek (the original language of the New Testament portion of the Bible) word apostolos. Sometimes this word referred specifically to the 12 men who followed Jesus during his earthly ministry, but at other times it was used in a more general sense. The word means “one sent out,” like a messenger or ambassador. In the Christian context its best translation is probably “missionary.”

Paul had a skill and trade that he used to participate in the economy of his day, and it was the business of making tents. He was also a scholar among the Jews and from the strict sect of the Pharisees. When he became a Christian, Jesus sent him out as a missionary to the non-Jews, the Gentiles. Much of his activity as a missionary to the Gentiles was preaching and teaching them the gospel message about Jesus (gospel means “good news.”) Whenever he could, he would do this full-time, traveling about from city to city spreading the good news about Jesus and God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

During the course of his traveling ministry, he sometimes had to take time out and practice his trade of making tents to support himself and his ministry team. So as new churches were planted in various places where he had visited, he would ask the believers in these churches to contribute to the needs of spreading the gospel message to places where the people had not yet heard about Jesus and God’s love for them.

In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he writes some very interesting principles about investing in the kingdom of God by contributing to the needs of those who are preaching the gospel and planting churches. Here is what he wrote:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:6-15)

Notice some of the principles of giving that Paul wrote here.

1. The more generous you are, the more blessings you will reap from participating in God’s work.

2. We should give cheerfully as God has directed us, and not under compulsion.

3. God’s grace is the basis for our wealth which is given to administer for his purposes.

4. As we learn to give generously and be faithful in managing God’s resources, our wealth will increase.

5. Our giving from the wealth God has given to us through his grace results in thanksgiving to God!

While there are many things that we could be thankful for, the things that make us most thankful are the things we receive that we did not earn or deserve. Since we cannot earn it, the only thing we can do once we receive it is give true thanksgiving, from our hearts. This gives great joy to the one who is the giver. We can experience that joy ourselves through giving generously, and as Paul wrote above, it can result in grateful people praying for us!

The greatest gift of all of course, is God’s gift to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and his sacrificial death for our sins. We can’t earn that, and we don’t deserve it. That is the true reason for why there should be thanksgiving!

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

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Are You Truly Sorry?

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

There are two types of “sorrow” in life; two kinds of sorrow that lead people to say “I’m sorry.” One is a Godly sorrow that leads to life and spiritual health, and one is a worldly sorrow that leads to sickness and death.

We see the worldly sorrow all the time. It is a story all too often seen. It usually starts like this: “I am sorry, but…..” followed by an excuse for the behavior causing the offense. A professional sports player makes some critical comments of his team members or his coach, for example, that get printed in the media. He is forced into a public apology that goes something like this: “I am sorry my words caused hurt feelings, but I am a very competitive person and I just want to win...” Or sometimes we get angry and we say something to the person we are angry with that we know hurts them, and we go to them later after we have calmed down and say something like this: “I am sorry for the things I said to you, but you really made me angry by [enter excuse here about why the other person caused you to be angry.]”

These are examples of worldly sorrow. In such situations we are feeling sorry for ourselves, and we excuse our behavior. We don’t want others to think badly of us, and we may even feel embarrassed by our outburst of anger, so we “apologize.” But there is no true repentance. If the same situation happens again, we are likely to react in the same way, if we cannot restrain our actions or words.

The word “repentance” does NOT mean that we completely change the way we act. It does not mean that we stop being “bad” and start being “good.” The word repentance actually means “to change one's mind” about something. It means we stop thinking that something we hold as true is correct, and change our mind and start thinking that it is not true, and not correct.

In the situations where we get angry and say or do things that hurt others, we need to stop thinking that we have a “right” to be angry when others hurt us or do things to make us angry. We need to instead think and believe that our appropriate response is to love and forgive the person hurting us, seeing their needs and the reason they did what they did as more important than our own needs. This is the way God acts, and as his children we are to act the same way. Only by changing our thinking, our beliefs, can we see a real change in behavior. Then we will truly see that what we did was wrong by God’s standards, rather than excusing our behavior. Then we will be truly sorry for the way we behaved. That is Godly sorrow.

Godly sorrow and repentance starts with the way we think about ourselves in relation to God. If we believe that God is not fair, that he has given us a “raw deal” in life, or “bad luck,” then we will tend to feel sorry for ourselves and the circumstances in our life. We see ourselves as “victims” who deserve better. This is the worldly sorrow that leads to sickness and death.

Godly sorrow believes that God is perfect and just. It believes that we are the ones who are sinful and imperfect, and that we don’t deserve anything good. God is good. God loves with a perfect love. He is also gracious, and gives us his love when we don’t deserve it. We are not good, because our life in these current bodies has a sin nature, and our natural tendency is to be selfish. We are the ones who have to change, and it begins with changing our thinking about God and about ourselves.

The process of renewing our minds to think the things that are true about ourselves and about God, rather than the things that are false, begins with the spiritual rebirth.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:9-10)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

People who never start this process face a very dark future, when they leave their earthly bodies and face their Creator. They tend to live lives that are full of anger and bitterness, because their thinking is not true about themselves and about God. They feel sorry for themselves and completely miss out on the love that God has for them, until it is finally too late.

Is God speaking to you today? Does he want you to repent, to change your way of thinking, so that you can receive all of his love and blessings that he longs to give to you? Are you truly sorry for the way you have lived the life he has given to you? Or are you only sorry for yourself and all the bad things that have happened to you in life – a worldly sorrow? The worldly sorrow leads to death. Not just physical death, but spiritual death and separation from God. He is patient, and waits for you to change your mind. But that patience will some day come to an end, and it could be today!

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:12-13)

Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7)

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Your Purpose in Life

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:5)

Since God created you, he has a specific plan and purpose for your life. Each one of us is created uniquely in God’s own image, and each one of us has a unique role in God’s master plan for life. While God does not always reveal all the details of his plan for us that are to occur in the future, there are some truths about the present and the future we can know for certain, because they apply to all of us.

2 Corinthians chapter 5 gives us some great insights into these truths from the apostle Paul. First, our current bodies are temporary houses for us. Who we are as created by God is not limited by our current lives inside these mortal bodies. These bodies are imperfect due to the presence of sin, and they are decaying and wearing out. They will not last a long time. When our time of living in them is over, we have a permanent body waiting for us in Heaven made by God.

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

Having this knowledge about our future affects the way we live our life in the present. We have the ability to endure the pain and suffering our current bodies are going through, knowing this wonderful truth about our future. This gives us confidence and faith.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

Our overall goal in life then is to please God in all things, both in this life while we live in our decaying bodies, and also in the life to come.

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (2 Corinthians 5:9)

God is pleased when we receive his love and forgiveness, and then develop a relationship with him through his Spirit. His presence in our life is the “deposit,” the “down payment” for the life that he has for us in the future.

Once we receive God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our own spirits are reborn and we become new persons: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) We then become so full of God’s love, that we find our true meaning and purpose in life, and we desire to share that love with everyone else.

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again…. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

Are you fulfilling God’s purpose in your life today? While only God can communicate to you the specific details of the path you must walk each day (and you need to put aside some time each day to spend with him so you can know this), God’s ultimate plan and purpose for you is to receive his love and forgiveness offered as a free gift through Christ. Once we receive that, we are given God’s Spirit who comes to reside inside these sinful decaying bodies. God’s Spirit (not our own human strength) then gives us the power to fulfill his plan for our life, which includes being his ambassador to the people around us who also need to be reconciled to God and receive his love and forgiveness. There will be a judgment regarding how we lived our lives in these temporary bodies. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) We don’t want to appear before that judgment seat without having been reconciled to God through Christ. Christ’s love should compel us to warn others of the coming judgment, and share with them the love of Christ that is available to them through the ministry of reconciliation. That is our main purpose in this life! All of God’s other purposes for your life, including your career, your family, your finances, your physical health, etc. – are all secondary and to be intertwined with God’s main purpose for your life.

Do you need a fresh perspective on your day to day circumstances? Are you so caught up in the day to day activities of life, that you are forgetting the main purpose for which God created you? Today is the day that you can experience God’s love and purpose for your life. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So make the most of your opportunity today to know God, and understand his purpose for your life.

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

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The New Standard for Love

How could Jesus say to his disciples that “loving one another” was a “new” commandment? This commandment, after all, was firmly established in the Law of Moses:

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)

In fact, Jesus said in another place that the entire Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament were summed up in loving God, and loving one another:

And He said to him, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND." This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

So what was new? The new part of this commandment as Christ gave it, is the standard of love, or the quality of the love as it was demonstrated by Christ himself: “even as I have loved you….”

Jesus’ love for his disciples, and for the rest of the world, was something no one had ever seen before. It was (and still is today!) a love that prior to that time was not humanly possible. No human being born within the stream of human history had ever loved with the kind of love that Jesus did.

Jesus took the command of the “Golden Rule” to love someone as you love yourself to a whole new level. He loved others MORE than he loved his own life. He treated others as MORE important than himself. He gave up his very life for the sake of others – the most extreme expression of human love possible.

The apostle Paul wrote what are probably the most eloquent words ever penned describing this new standard of love in his letter to the Philippi church:

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:1-8)

Jesus is the Creator of the world, and did not have to love or serve anyone. But he humbled himself and did anyway. That is a kind of love that the world just cannot understand.

But it doesn’t stop with Jesus’ new standard of love, and how he showed it to the world, and how he continues to love us today. This new standard of love is now available to us, to love others with the same standard of love that Jesus has loved us.

This standard of love, however, is NOT something someone can try to do in their own strength. It is impossible to follow a “law” of love and try to measure up to its standard, especially this new standard of love that Christ has demonstrated to us. To love others with this new standard of love, one must first receive that love from Jesus, through the rebirth process and receiving the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit in our lives. The presence of God’s Spirit in our life is the sign that God has adopted us as his children and made us members of his family and his kingdom. The evidence of that new birth experience is our love for one another. This is the evidence that we have left the kingdom of darkness that the rest of the world walks in, and have now begun to walk in the spiritual Kingdom of Light where Jesus rules. The apostle John wrote:

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:7-11)

As we learn to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit each day, we learn how to deny our own natural desires which are self-centered. We stop complaining about how terrible our life is because the world and the people around us do not meet our needs, and we stop trying to manipulate people and circumstances to please us. Instead, we become so full of God’s unconditional love for us, that it overflows in our life and we want to share it with others. We see the world and the people around us with new eyes – we see their needs and we have a desire to help them also know the love of God. Instead of standing up and fighting for our own rights, we stop thinking so much about ourselves and start to consider others as more important than ourselves, with the same kind of standard of love that Jesus had.

So the evidence that the Spirit of God is living in someone and that they are walking in the Kingdom of Light is the observation of this kind of love. It is totally contrary to the ways of the world and their definition and standards of love.

Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:13-24)

So is there anything in life that is more valuable than knowing the love of God? No, nothing! If you are pursuing things that are centered around yourself, such as health, wealth, or other relationships, you are missing out on God’s ultimate purpose in your life, which is to know him and his love for you. Then once you know God’s perfect love and possess it, his Spirit will fill you and empower you to live by the new standard for love which considers others as more important than yourself.

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

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