I would like to introduce you all to a good blog. It is called Mississippi Musings, and it is the mostly-good words of a good friend of mine, who I respect very much. Most of my respect for him comes in the form of my brother, who is truly a letter of recommendation for this man. The Spirit worked through him to show my brother things of the Lord and the evidence is legit.
Click here to go to the most recent post. It is an excellent exposé of some dynamics of the Body that I noticed significantly while in Auburn. And coming from a Presbyterian Youth Pastor who is rumored to have almost joined the Catholic Church, I think these are some wonderfully encouraging thoughts. Read away.
I have been pondering lately about television. First off, I am not condemning anyone in this post, only myself for allowing everything but television (including this blog) to become an idol in the absence of a television. But nonetheless, I have been pondering how much television has become an idol all over the world.
What got me thinking about this? Well first of all, I have lived in a house without at TV (with exception of the 2.5 month stay at my parents house) for almost 2 years now. It is much easier to see the negative (and positive) effects of something when you do without it for a while. Also, over the past 2 weeks here in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo, I have been asked by at least 3 people, “Why don’t you have a TV?” in a tone that was not inquisitive, but shocked.
This article put out by the Gallup poll shows some very interesting, and yet completely believable data. Those people that have televisions are happier than those without. So lets do a little bit of interpretation of data.
I. That could mean that people with money are happier than people without it.
II. That could mean that people are seeking satisfaction in material things.
III. That could mean that people are seeking satisfaction in being virtually social.
IV. That could mean that people are seeking and finding satisfaction in being anti-social.
V. That could mean that gaining information through reading and talking socially is becoming obsolete.
Another article, put out by the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that, “already there are nearly 2 billion television sets in use, with an average of over 1.3 sets in each home having access to electricity.” That article was posted in May 2009, over 6 months ago. Here in Kinshasa, there are thousands of families who struggle to put food in their children’s stomachs, and yet they have a TV to watch as they go to sleep hungry.
I know that attacking television as an idol has been done before, and is not received well by believers or non-believers alike. I just want to introduce the idea. I am not trying to convince anyone that he is being idolatrous when he turns on the TV. But it is something to think about.
So what is a Biblical model of idolatry?
Exodus 20 (better known as the Ten Commandments) says you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Then God says, “for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.” At the end of the Ten Commandments idolatry is warned against again, “Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold…If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.”
Leviticus 19 says, “Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.”
In Numbers 33 the LORD commands destruction of a non-Israelite land because of their idol worship.
Deuteronomy 4 says it is bowing down and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Moses then goes on to warn the Israelite people of what punishment waits them if they turn to idols instead of the LORD. The whole book of Deuteronomy contains warnings against idol worship.
The books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles all give warnings and examples of the hopelessness of worshiping idols made of metal or carved images.
In Psalm 31 David says, “I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.”
Isaiah says the peoples’ “land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.” Later, he gives and example of a man with wood, “Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.’ From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, ‘Save me; you are my god.’”
There are hundreds of warnings against idols made in the image of created things in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, the prophets of God to Israel.
The book of Acts recounts Paul’s voyages to many lands that worshiped idols, and Paul being first distressed by their idol worship, and then telling them the good news of Jesus Christ, of His death burial and resurrection and the faith available through grace. The faith that makes all idols worthless and powerless.
The New Testament is full of warnings to converted Gentiles and Israelites (who should have known already) against eating food sacrificed to idols. Could entertainment be considered food? Could entertainment on television be considered food sacrificed to idols?
Colossians 3 gives what appears to be a new definition to idolatry. I think it is not a new definition, just an expansion of the heart-condition of idolatry. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Do we see sexual immorality on television? Impurity? Lust? Evil desires? Greed?
Praise the Lord that there is hope! In Christ Jesus we (most of us being Gentiles who would certainly be worshiping idols if not for hearing the good news of Christ) have been given the good news of redemption in Christ. Because Jesus, being God, came to earth as a man and fulfilled the Law that God had given men, and he took the wrath of God against all idolatry on Himself, and rose again, we can be forgiven of our idolatry. I Thessalonians 1 gives us an example of that: “they tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
Peter tells us of what our life should look like after we have departed from idolatry: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”
John pleads with us as dear children to abstain from the idols that we have been replaced by the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
That brings us to the oft quoted Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Note: It is not only liars that have a place in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
So can television be an idol?
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Parts 1 2 3 4 5 and 6 of the series can be found by clicking the link.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Lifting of The Veil
“Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” -IICorinthians_3.16-18
What a promise! When we turn to the Lord, the veil of mystery that hid the glory of the LORD for so long is taken away. Now we can behold the glory of the Lord, through the Spirit, who dwells both inside of us and shines through us. The Spirit also gives us liberty from the law, which was fulfilled in us through Christ. Paul mentioned earlier in this passage about our new “boldness of speech” that comes with the knowledge of eternal glory. When the veil is lifted the joy of our knowledge of the good news, and our faith in that good news, compels us to speak boldly to those who are still living under the veil. They must know that the veil is lifted (or torn) only in Christ.
Another important thing we learn from this passage in IICor, is that now, with our unveiled face we are beholding the image of the unveiled Lord and being continually transformed into His infinite glory. When we turn to the Lord, we begin to be transformed. We no longer have to try to transform ourselves by our own striving as we did under the Law. Note that in Romans 12:2 the same passive language is used. This concept of being transformed has a meaning that is often lost: if you are not being transformed, if you are not becoming more like Christ, then you can be assured that your faith is in something other than him. Is it in your own striving? Is it in what you think he promises you in this life (money, health, safety, etc.)? If your faith is in any of those things, then your faith is not in Christ alone, and you will not be being transformed into His image, from glory to glory. He is a jealous Bridegroom and will not tolerate unrepentant adultery, but He does offer forgiveness, to those who turn from their adulterous ways. He will lift the veil of those who turn to Him.
The concept of the veil in a marriage is very much the similar. When the veil is lifted, the bridegroom beholds the bride in all of her beauty. She is his, and he is hers. All of the wonder and the mystery of what true affection and oneness of flesh and spirit becomes mystery no longer. He no longer has to worry about breaking the marriage law with her, because the marriage law has been fulfilled in her, and vice versa for her. They know that even with all of their falls and struggles and failures to fulfill the commitment they made to each other, that redemption was found at the moment that veil was lifted. I don’t know it yet, but it seems to me that I will be very bold of speech in letting other people know that my wife is my wife. I have hope that she will have the same boldness of speech.
As for the being transformed from glory to glory part of the passage, I believe this is very applicable to marriage also. When the marriage law is fulfilled at the ceremony, the man and woman only have known the type of affection for each other that was passing away, and it is now gone. Now, with unveiled face, they see each other fully and completely, in a totally different light. They see each other as in a mirror. When they look into the face of their spouse, they see their own self, for they are one flesh, and are bound to each other in spirit. They begin at that very moment to become more and more like one another, becoming more like one flesh and one spirit every day, until death do they part. That can only happen if they are willing to continue offering redemption for the failures of their spouse. They know that their spouse is jealous for them, and that they have no reason to adulterate themselves to someone else, for the marriage law has been fulfilled in their spouse, and no one else.
The lifting of the veil of the ministry of death reveals the Spirit, which gives liberty from the chains of the Law. The ministry of the Spirit begins to transform the faithful from glory to glory, for eternity. The lifting of the veil of engagement reveals the beauty of the bride, giving liberty from the pains of the law of engagement. The marriage begins to transform the faithful couple into one flesh, from one level of affection to another, until death do they part.
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Parts 1 2 3 4 and 5 of the series can be found by clicking the link.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Veil
When Moses covered his face with the veil while administering the Law to the Israelite people, that action represented all of the mysteries that were a part of the Old Covenant. There were many different “types” of Christ in the Old Testament, but no one knew exactly what God would do to redeem His people. Eventually, the prophets would tell of a coming Messiah, but God’s people would reject even those accounts, and God’s plan of redemption would remain shrouded in mystery until Immanuel came and fulfilled every dot and every iota of the law and word of the prophets.
The veil that Moses wore hid the glory of God reflected in his face from the unrighteous Israelites. They complained about his face shining so brightly that they couldn’t look at him, so Moses covered his face with a veil whenever he was around the Israelites. Whenever he went up to the mountain to talk to God, he took it off.
There was so much mystery inherent in the ministry of death, but some of God’s people had faith in His future redemption. They didn’t know how He would do it, but they had perfect confidence that He certainly would. They knew they could not live up to this Law; all the Law did was promise their death. They couldn’t even look at Moses when he delivered the Law, because of their sinfulness. But they knew that God had promised His people redemption every time they were in trouble before. They had faith in His gracious redemption, as shrouded in mystery as it was.
The marriage veil represents the purity of the Bride to be wed. It also hides her beauty from the bridegroom until it is lifted. The glory of the affection that is present in engagement is at its height when the bridegroom sees his bride with the veil over her face for the last time. He doesn’t see her full beauty, but his affection for her is all in faith of what is to come. There is a huge sense of mystery represented in the veil of the bride. The bridegroom knows his transgression of the marriage laws. The bride knows her own transgression. But they both have faith in something that is to come. They have faith in a double gracious redemption, as unlikely as it should be. I heard it said once that a good marriage is when both people think they’re marrying up. I guess that’s Biblical. We just have to remember there’s a lot more too it than that.
The marriage veil represents a mysterious beauty in the bride, and hides the glory of that which is to come from the bridegroom until the time of redemption. The bridegroom sets his hope on only one thing: the fulfillment of the marriage law, and the lifting of the veil which reveals the one who he will be joined to as one flesh and one spirit.
The veil that Moses wore represented the mystery of the true glory of God as represented by the Law: the mystery of God’s perfect redemption and yet impossibility of attaining his glory through the Law, the ministry of death. The veil hid the beauty of God from the unrighteous Israelite people. The faithful Israelite set his hope on only one thing: the fulfillment of the Law, the lifting of the veil, which reveals the Spirit.
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Parts 1 2 3 and 4 of the series can be found by clicking the respective links.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
I have to pre-apologize for the length and seeming jumpiness of this installment. It is the most important part of the whole thing, and I think it deserves the lengthiness.
The Necessary Gracious Redemption
So now we come to the part of the story that is all about some awesomeness. Without this part, there would be no salvation, no indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and no godly marriages.
First, let us look at the gracious redemption necessary for the ministry of the Spirit. Under the ministry of death, mankind was given a set of laws, written on tablets of stone, telling us how we could be like God. The requirement to meet God’s righteous standards was laid out for us on tablets of stone. That is all we have to do. Unfortunately for all of us though, we are all like our father Adam, who disobeyed the one law he was given. We are given a law that we know is the only way to be righteous before God, and still our natural tendency is to disobey that law. Our eyes are blinded to the ways of the Lord. So that leaves us, mankind, with a way to get to God, but an inability (in and of ourselves) to follow that path. And so our just penalty is God’s wrath. What we deserve, because of that first time we ever broke the Law of God, is eternal death apart from God. God is righteous, we are not, by our own choosing. What comes next is that which we cannot naturally choose. It is the ministry of the Spirit.
The fact that Jesus Christ came and lived on the Earth as a man and died a gruesome death is not debatable. The fact that He was raised from the dead is almost not debatable, and there is no legitimate argument against it. Almost everyone in America believes Jesus rose from the dead. Here’s the kicker: believing that doesn’t get you saved. Only trusting in the fact that His blood will be enough to fulfill God’s righteous requirements in the Law for you, and His resurrection will defeat your sentence of eternal death will cause your salvation. That is redemption. He took on the punishment that we deserve to redeem His people from eternal separation from Him, and make possible an eternal life with Him. Even the demons believe God is one (and of course they know he came to earth, died and was risen: they actually saw it with their own eyes). The demons don’t have the faith in redemption that is made possible through Jesus Christ. For those that have faith in Jesus’ redemption, that faith will not disappoint. There is no way for us to realize the righteousness of God without Jesus Christ. He fulfilled every requirement that God’s righteous demands. Through Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, we are able to have that sort of faith. Faith that is by grace. Faith that changes your life here on earth, because suddenly, the burden of the Law has been lifted. Righteousness has filled you up, and that righteousness’ Name is יהוה His Name is God the Father, His Name is Jesus, and His Name is The Holy Spirit. Yes, your future sin has been forgiven also, but your future sin will be contrary to your new nature, your new righteousness. You have experienced righteousness, and anything less will leave you dissatisfied.
The gracious redemption necessary in marriage is a different type of redemption all together. Because a man and a woman are just that: men and women, they both come to the marriage table stained by iniquity in each other’s eyes. During the time of engagement, they will both have lusted after someone in their heart, even if it is their own fiancé. They committed to each other, and then broke that commitment. When they both come to the marriage ceremony, they both must forgive each other by grace. The marriage law has been broken, but by gracious redemption, on that very day the relationship may be redeemed between that couple, and they may become one flesh. If this is a true spiritual union, then no other man or woman will be able to take the place of either party. Because there really isn’t two parties. There is one flesh. One flesh cannot tolerate being adulterated by someone else attempting to satisfy half of the one flesh union.
We must be careful to note here that any, “what shall we say then, shall we go on sinning that grace may abound?” attitude here is missing the point. We acknowledge that the same amount of grace (an infinite amount) is necessary to forgive an adulterer in the flesh as is necessary to forgive an adulterer of the mind. We also acknowledge that the same amount of grace that is necessary to save those two is necessary to save the 10 year old who realizes his need for a Savior. The issue is how much pain was suffered by the Redeemer for each of those people. The bachelor/bachelorette party attitude of, “this is my last chance, I need to lust after as many other women/men as possible before I get married,” is totally missing the point. It is true that your husband or wife, if he or she has experienced the grace of God, will forgive you no matter what you do. But why pain your redeemer more than you already have? Why go on sinning when you know that Jesus endured every bit of punishment for every single sin you have and will ever commit? Why cause your husband or wife any more pain in gracious redemption than is necessary? The reality is that pain must be suffered in gracious redemption, but it is not suffered by the one who should suffer it. The pain is suffered by the redeemer. But what comes after redemption is the truest joy available. It did not feel good for Jesus to take your punishment. In the same way it does not feel good to know that your fiancé is an adulterer of the law of marriage, but forgive them of that transgression. But He endured the pain just like a husband or wife endures the pain, for the joy that was to come. For the lifting of the veil.
Gracious redemption is necessary and beautiful in eternal salvation, and in life long marriage.
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Parts 1 2 and 3 of the series can be found by clicking the link.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Glory of That Which is Everlasting
The ministry of the Spirit and marriage are both everlasting in their own time frame, and it is important that we distinguish between the two time frames. The ministry of the Spirit is everlasting in the most real of senses, because it is everlasting on earthly time and everlasting in heaven where there is no time. Marriage is everlasting only in the earthly time-line sense.
When we say, “till death do us part,” we literally mean we will be one flesh, until death. At that point we are God’s alone. As hard as it may be to accept, Jesus Himself said that upon resurrection we, as saints, will not marry or be given in marriage. I am convinced that marriage and earthly family will not be important then, as we will all be children of God, and your family will be just as dear to me as my family. We will all be children of God together in unity.
Having thus established the respective eternalness of both the ministry of the Spirit and of marriage, let us examine the glory inherent in each. Good sentence eh?
The ministry of the Spirit is glorious because of two reasons mentioned by Paul in this passage. First, because it is the ministry of righteousness. Through Christ Jesus, all who have faith in His redemption will be made righteous on the day of Judgment. It is this righteousness of God, who is the Spirit, that fills each one of His people with His glory. The ministry of the Spirit is also glorious because it is everlasting. There is now nothing left to be fulfilled in the Law, seeing as Jesus has completed all of it. Therefore we know that the redemption that is found in the Spirit is once and for all time. I love the statement Paul makes is verses 10 and 11, mostly because it is so true, and somewhat because it reminds me of limits problems in Pre-Calculus class: “For what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away is glorious, what remains is much more glorious.” It is a well known mathematical fact that in limits problems, anything finite is considered to be zero when compared to anything that is infinite. That is exactly the point Paul is making here. Even though that which was (ministry of death) had glory, that which remains and is everlasting (ministry of the Spirit) has so much more glory that the ministry of death seems to have no glory at all. This is only reality for those who abide in the Spirit and not in the Law.
For the marriage analogy, I am only expressing my faith in what marriage will be like, since I obviously don’t know right now. We have talked about the glory of engagement and affection before marriage, but marriage must be a totally different type of affection. Everyone I’ve talked to that is in a godly marriage tells me that everything changes when you get married. “You don’t really know what love is until after you get married,” some of them say. I think it is just a totally different level of love, one that is not focused on some finite goal (marriage day), but a life-long journey. So once a couple makes it past the thrills of engagement and the marriage day, a whole new kind of love is opened to them. Physical affection is obviously a new concept in a godly marriage, but spiritual affection must be a totally new thing also. A man and woman becoming one flesh, having children, and loving each other unto death is a type of glory no one can know until they are actually experiencing it. The “law” or promise, of engagement is fulfilled, and now a totally different level of glory is available. This level of affection so far outweighs the one that was present before that it seems like there was no true love before.
So next installment we will take a look at the gracious redemption necessary with both the ministry of the Spirit, and marriage. Stay tuned!
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Part 1 and Part 2 of the series can be found by clicking the link.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Promised End of That Which is Coming to an End
The ministry of death, as Paul describes it, was written & engraved on stones. It was what Moses brought down from the mountain in Exodus. We know what Paul is referring to as the Mosaic Law, including the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, though the most prominent and “sought after” part of the Law, were not the whole law. However, even the Ten Commandments, when expanded upon by Jesus (exposing the true essence of the Law), are impossible for any human to uphold. The Law is called the ministry of death because it points to one thing for all men and women: the eternal wrath of God. Because of the fact that we all fall short of the Law, we all are promised death by the Law.
“But God, being rich in mercy… even when we were dead in trespasses and sins…made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him…in Christ Jesus, that…He might show…His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (If you’re wondering why I left out some of the best parts, I’m waiting for the installment about gracious redemption).
So that passage contains a lot of mention of Jesus Christ when it comes to our salvation. Not much mention of us, except in a passive context. That is the key. No man except the Man, Jesus Christ, ever kept the Law perfectly. In Christ’s blood, which was shed by us and for us, the Law was fulfilled for all peoples of all nations for all time. Mary and Zacharias knew that and proclaimed it even before His birth. Simeon and Anna proclaimed it just after His birth. He was the promised end of the Law. The end of the ministry of death.
Though the analogy of marriage fails in comparison to the epic-ness of the coming of Jesus to fulfill the Law, it still has similarities that I want to point out. The engagement of a man and woman is a type of law. The couple commits to save their spiritual and physical affection for each other until the day of a lawful — or in a traditional culture, a traditional – ceremony. Besides the commitment to stay pure, the main focus of most engagements, and probably the main term of engagement, is that that couple commits to indeed marry each other when the day of ceremony comes. In a Biblical engagement (or betrothal), in light of Paul’s words to the Corinthians to let their “yes” be “yes” and their “no” be “no,” and apart from a breaking of the purity commitment by either party involved, personally I believe that there should be no reason to break an engagement. So, we see the promised end of the engagement is the marriage ceremony, where the law of engagement and the law of marriage is fulfilled by both the man and the woman. This secures their relationship to each other, and they are, “joined to become one flesh,” both spiritually and physically.
So now, I hope, we can see the full parallel between the ministry of death and an engagement. Good news: the things that are promised to end are ending!
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
Part 1 of the Series can be found here.
Remember:
ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Glory of That Which is Coming to an End
The ministry of death and the concept of marriage engagement both come with a promise. Both of them are promised to end. The promised end of the ministry of death is God’s promise to send a Messiah who would fulfill the law. The promised end of an engagement is the marriage day, where the two people are lawfully, physically, and spiritually bound to each other.
The fact that Moses was forced to veil his face when coming down from the mountain to deliver the old covenant proves that the old covenant had a glory of its own. The law is from God, and the law reflects the glory of God because it shows man the requirements he must meet to be like God.
Similarly, a man and a woman experience a type of glory upon engagement to each other. Before spiritual marriage there is a type of affection that can be acquired by man and woman; that affection, when taken by itself, has a certain glory of its own. The purest form of this affection though, is not physical at all. The glory abides in the promise that which is to come, spiritually and physically.
The affection that comes before marriage is founded on the terms of engagement: that both people will commit to be pure from anyone else, and even each other, until the marriage comes. Of course, considering the sinful state of mankind, everyone has failed to keep himself or herself pure until marriage (considering Jesus’ words in Matthew 5, I think everyone can agree that no one is completely pure). We will see the need for gracious redemption in marriage in a later installment. That is the reason God set up the marriage laws: so that people that are acting apart from the perfect plan of God may see what they are doing wrong. Since the affection that is felt before marriage seems so great, many people get stuck on it, and never even get to experience the essence of true spiritual marriage. The same is true for the ministry of death. Some have gotten so stuck on the fact that the ministry of the law came with the glory of God that they refuse to accept that glory which surpasses it. Their eyes have been blinded by the glory of that-which-was-coming-to-an-end so much that they cannot see that-which-is-everlasting. That issue will be addressed more when we get to the part about the veil.
The main point I want to make in this section is that the ministry of death and the concept of engagement both have a promised end, and both come with their own type of glory. The glory of an engagement is the type of affection a man and woman have for each other, with the promise to keep themselves pure for each other until marriage. The glory of the ministry of death is that fact that the law is a type of the image of God, in that God is perfectly righteous; fulfilling the law would make a man completely righteous as God is righteous. There is bad news in both of these types of glory though, as we will see.
Read II Corinthians 3. Now, read Ephesians 5:25-33. I am about to tread onto soil that I admittedly know very little about, but bear with me; those that know more than I do about this topic, feel very much free to comment/correct me. The overarching goal in this is not to define marriage, but to draw out the gospel in something to which we all relate. Defining marriage is secondary, and it is solely for my personal thought process, not to be taken as what I think everyone should agree upon.
This passage in Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth comes just after Paul has given all sorts of explanation, encouragement, and exhortation to the church. At the beginning of chapter 3, Paul states, “such is the confidence that we have though Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Same as Paul, none of my sufficiency to understand this text comes from myself, only from God. What I want to focus on, in these posts, is the link between the Old Covenant, the New Covenant, the veil, and the institution of marriage. Marriage is not a topic derived implicitly or explicitly in this passage, so know that this will probably be mostly isogesis instead of exegesis. For everything there is a season.
What correlation, you ask, could there be between the Mosaic Law, the Spiritual Covenant confirmed in Jesus Christ, and marriage? I admit that I probably would not have even stumbled upon this thought process had it not been for the mention of the veil of Moses when he came down from the mountain with the law, and the imagery of that veil being lifted. All of that imagery and allegory forced a comparison in my mind between the ministry of death, the ministry of the Spirit, a man and a woman’s relationship before marriage, and their relationship during marriage.
We will see marriage defined implicitly below, but I must start with a swift Biblical definition of marriage. Click on the links to see the Bible references (links highlighted red). Marriage was instituted by God upon creation as a spiritual and physical relationship between one man and one woman. Marriage was secured lawfully in the Ten Commandments. Lawfully, punishment was established for desecration of marriage. As you read in the above link to Ephesians 5, marriage is also an allegory to Christ and the church.
That said, I am about to embark on a mission to try to put thoughts, which have been swimming in my head for a few days, to type. Forgive me where I lack attention-grabbing skills.
First, let us behold what II Corinthians 3 is talking about. It is addressing various degrees of glory, and using the example of the Old Covenant, or the “ministry of death” and the New Covenant, or the “ministry of the Spirit.” These two ministries are both forms of one love relationship: God and man. In a loving relationship between man and woman, I see two distinct phases: friendship/engagement and marriage. This is the basis for the analogy I am trying to create. Behold, in SAT form, ministry of death : ministry of the Spirit :: engagement : marriage
The Two Ministries
Just as there are two ways man could theoretically be justified in his relationship with God, there are two components to marriage. There is the lawful binding of marriage, which is strictly physical, and there is the spiritual covenant of marriage, which is both physical and spiritual. A man and a woman may call themselves married if they are lawfully married, but the case may be that they are lawfully married and not spiritually married. In Genesis the spiritually physical marriage was initiated, but because of the Fall, a marriage law was necessary so that man could see exactly what marriage is supposed to look like, despite the cloudiness of the institution that is caused by sin. So God’s plan is for the law of marriage (which encompasses much very much– engagement, government, covenants, rules) to point to the purity of spiritual union (holy matrimony, if you will).
The ministry of death was strictly physical, but it directed God’s people to put their faith in His coming Messiah, who would fulfill the Law. The ministry of the Spirit is not strictly spiritual. It is founded on the faith that Jesus physically and spiritually bore the wrath of God for a person before the foundation of the world, and that His blood will physically and spiritually wipe away our sins at our coming Judgment. The importance of the ministry of death is that it was always coming to an end. Jesus Christ fulfilled everything that the law had ever required of man. It is important to remember that Jesus’ death was not God’s second-try at the redemption of man, but the ministry of death was necessary in order for the ministry of the Spirit to be adequate to redeem man. In the same way, lawful marriage is a representation of the perfection of spiritual marriage. Man and woman can pretend to be spiritually married, acting out all the physical aspects of marriage, but never truly be married in the way that God planned marriage. Fulfilling part of the law, but not all of it, is still disobedience. Certainly fulfilling none of the law is also disobedience. Disobedience to God’s will is never glorifying to God, or blessed by God.
So we see why the ministry of death is the ministry of death. Because disobeying part (one iota) of the law is punishable by death, and the wrath of God for all eternity. In the same way, a couple trying to fulfill only the lawful requirements of marriage is certain to fail. I have confidence in this fact because I am am male, and Jesus said that if I have ever looked at a woman with lust (doesn’t differentiate between unregenerate and regenerate man) then I have committed adultery with her in my heart. So there we have it, I have already broken the law of marriage between myself and any woman, therefore I lawfully deserve to never marry.
It is a good thing that there is a ministry of the Spirit. And a very good thing that it was promised before hand. Otherwise the Israelite people would have had no hope of redemption, and I would have no hope of a wife.
I started this post with the intention of briefly covering seven parallels that I see between the covenants of God with man and the covenants of man with woman. Because this first point was so long, I have decided to break it up into different installments, so be on the lookout for these coming up:
The Glory of That Which is Coming to an End
The Promised End of That Which is Coming to an End
The Glory of That Which is Everlasting
The Necessary Gracious Redemption
The Veil
The Lifting of The Veil
Don’t be too overwhelmed. There is a distinct possibility I will try to cover two in one day sometimes. I will also post the links on Facebook.
If you read this far, you’re a pal. Thanks for listening!
Fear Not! said he, for mighty dread had siezed thier troubled minds.
Andrew Peterson has supplied the content of my 12 days of Christmas, and I want to show you his blog post yesterday (Christmas) morning. It is a beautiful insight into his thoughts, and shows that he truly believes what he is singing about — a quality lost among some artists today. Here is Andrew’s blog post.
It harps on the fact that fear is eliminated through our faith in Christ, which is such truth! I cannot put to words how true that is in my personal testimony, but it is definitely the top defining aspect of my new life in Christ as opposed to my life before Christ. All fear is truly gone, about tomorrow, about death, and mostly about the coming judgement. In all of those things I have faith that the Jesus Christ has made my way straight, though narrow. If ever it is foggy, it is because of my own disobedience, and if ever it seems wide, I can trust that either I have strayed from the true path, or He has made it wide for His glory alone. Just read Andrew’s post. He is the best storyteller I know, and the great thing is that his stories are mostly true stories from his own life.
