Fighter Verses

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:3-10]

The beatitudes promise many wonderful blessings, but when do we get them? If we only get them after we become holy or when we reach heaven the beatitudes offer little encouragement for us now. If all the blessings come to us right now  the beatitudes offer little hope to broken and suffering souls.

The first and last beatitudes give us a clue to when the blessings will come. These two identical promises of the kingdom of heaven form a bookend around all the promises of the beatitudes. We should pay attention to this promise.

Jesus is clear that the kingdom came when he did. Before preaching the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, see also 9:35, 12:28, and 23;13). Jesus also talks about the kingdom of heaven as the inheritance of the saints when the Son of Man comes in his glory (Matthew 25:34). So the kingdom is already here, but not yet fully manifest.

This leads to three implications:

1. We already have the kingdom of God and all the blessings of the beatitudes in Jesus Christ. Paul says: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).
2. Christ identifies himself and his rule as the kingdom (see Matthew 12:28). So as we conform more and more to the image of Christ, and submit to his rule, we will experience more blessing.
3. One day we shall enter the kingdom of heaven in the fullest sense, and enter into the deepest reality of these promises. The kingdom of heaven will be ours, “for if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12 ). “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

We have already received the blessings of the beatitudes—gospel blessings—and we we eagerly wait to receive more of them. This protects us from moralism, gives us a hope for today, and an eternal hope that is indestructible from any suffering or set back. So come before God with thanksgiving, armed with these promises. And set your hope on these promises, so that you can endure being reviled and persecuted and slandered, with joy.

*For more on the already/not yet nature of the kingdom of heaven see the sermon series by John Piper “Are Signs and Wonders for Today,” especially the 4th,5th and 6th messages. I also found the book Gospel of the Kingdom by G. E. Ladd helpful.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
[Matthew 5:11-12]

“Blessed are you.”

Jesus doesn’t say “Blessed you will be.” There’s a word for that in Greek, and he doesn’t use it.

No, the verb is in the present tense; and what it communicates is that there is a present blessing upon the followers of Jesus.

What is that blessing? Obviously not the praise of men. Jesus makes it clear that quite the opposite is true of his followers: they will be reviled, mocked, and falsely accused of evil on this earth.

To identify what the blessing is, we must simply observe what Jesus points to as the proof:

1. He says that those who follow him already have reward—great reward—in heaven. “For your reward is great in heaven.” (We’ll learn later in the Sermon why treasure in heaven is so much better than treasure on earth.)
2. He says that those who follow him into persecution join the ranks of the prophets. They become like the great saints of old who, though they saw trouble, did awesome deeds for God and gained eternal glory. “For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Think of Elijah on Mount Carmel and going to heaven in a chariot of fire [1 Kings 18; 2 Kings 2], and all of Hebrews 11.)

These two statements show us that Jesus considers his disciples blessed now because of where and what they are headed to and whose experience they are entering. He considers them so blessed, in fact, that he commands them, “Rejoice and be glad!”

So despite the increased difficulty of life here on earth (which Jesus teaches us in this passage to expect), Christ’s followers can still have joy in the midst of it all, even today. That’s because we have faith—ah, there’s the key—that what Jesus says of us is true: we are in the shoes of the great saints of old, and we have a substantial and sure reward in heaven.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
[Matthew 5:10-11]

D. A. Carson points out an important parallel between verses 10 and 11 of Matthew 5:

The phrase “because of righteousness” (5:10) Jesus now parallels with “because of me” (5:11). This confirms that the righteousness of life that is in view is in imitation of Jesus. Simultaneously, it so identifies the disciple of Jesus with the practice of Jesus’ righteousness that there is no place for professed allegiance to Jesus that is not full of righteousness. (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, 30)

If you’ve been following this blog for more than a month—or if you ever visited our “Who We Are” page in the past—then you would know that originally there were 3 regular authors: Tyler (me), Johnathon, and Phil.

As we rolled into 2010, it seemed good to keep the blog going. Sadly, it also seemed best—in light of life circumstances—for both Johnathon and Phil to step down from the routine.

The good news today is that another brother has come on board as a new member of the Fighterverse blogging family.

Ryan Golias (who has contributed two posts here already and also runs his own blog) is a friend and coworker of mine. He is also a deep and insightful reader and teacher.

So, needless to say, I look forward to following his posts this year. Thank you for following too!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:3-10]

Notice what kinds of people are not mentioned here. Not those who memorize their Bibles or who pray every day. Not those who give away their money or who keep their chastity. Not those who honor their parents or who help the sick.

Sure, happy consequences can result from doing the above things—and we should do them—but Jesus isn’t going there, at least not yet.

Jesus begins his sermon by intentionally distancing himself from any talk about external prerequisites for getting God’s blessing. Instead, he goes straight to the heart. He focuses on the humble characteristics of a heart that is truly blessed by God.

Why? There were those in Jesus’ day who wore the outer garment of godliness and obedience but who lacked any real humility of heart. They did “holy” things not from a sincere love for God or for others, but from a proud desire to justify themselves, a motive exemplified in the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20).

So Jesus spoke the Beatitudes, and Matthew wrote them here, because the same temptation that corrupted the scribes and Pharisees threatens God’s people in every age.

We must beware of thinking that God’s blessing will come to us because of how well we obey the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus puts the Beatitudes at the beginning of his message to make it clear that the descriptions of righteousness that follow can only be lived out as the natural expressions of a heart that has already been humbled—and, in that sense, already blessed—by God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
[Matthew 5:8]

These are astounding words. They are devastating. Such a sweet promise, but such a hard condition. Jesus’ listeners would have been familiar with Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

When I read this beatitude I think of my heart, and it sounds impossible. A number of sins come quickly to mind. There are images in my mind, and affections for doing evil, that don’t seem to die. Could my heart ever be pure, truly pure from all those things? Who can truly be pure of heart?

Here is Martin Lloyd Jones’s answer:

The way of the Scriptures is rather this. All you and I can do is to realize the blackness of our hearts as they are by nature, and as we do so we shall join David in the prayer, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me’… You can start trying to clean your heart, but at the end of your life it will be a black as it was at the beginning, perhaps blacker. No! it is God alone who can do it, and, thank God, He has promised to do it. (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 98)

Here is David’s bold hope and prayer:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
[Psalm 51:7-10]

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:3]

Does poverty of spirit mean that Christians don’t make resolutions or, at times, evaluate their growth in holiness? Does poverty of spirit mean we are too humble to make bold plans to memorize three chapters from Matthew?

No. We do these things, and we should. The Sermon on the Mount makes a radical call for believers to live holy lives, and Jesus still preached it after telling his disciples they must be poor in spirit. So poverty of spirit does not mean complacency with sin.

It is important that this beatitude come at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; it puts the gospel into all of sanctification. Poverty of spirit doesn’t change the standard of holiness or our need to pursue it, but it does change the way we go about it.

The apostle Paul sought holiness with a strong poverty of spirit, and he exemplifies what it should look like in us:

Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.
[Philippians 3:4-9]

In the economy of God’s holiness we will always be bankrupt. Poverty of spirit is seeing, after we examine our progress and growth, that even our very best efforts and brightest moments are worth nothing.

All of our work to live out and obey the Sermon on the Mount will never be worth boasting about—it will always be pathetic. I can hardly hope to be more righteous than Paul, but I can hope to know Christ. And all of our attempts at obedience must aim at this: to know Christ and his righteousness.

A year ago I recommended the 7×7 Scripture memory strategy. After failing to keep up with it myself in 2009, I decided to revise it for 2010 and make it a little more doable.

So this year I’m trying the 6×6 strategy (PDF). It’s just like the 7×7 method, but with a built-in day of rest each week.

Wanna join me?

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding…”
[Daniel 2:20-21]

Nebuchadnezzar had a bad dream, and he wanted to understand what it meant. So he called all the wise men of Babylon together to interpret it for him. He was serious about getting it figured out:

[I]f you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. [2:5]

They couldn’t do it. Likely out of fear and frustration, they smarted back to the king,

There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand … no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. [2:11]

This, of course, made the king very angry, and he made plans to destroy all the wise men of Babylon—which included Daniel and his companions. Daniel hears about this, and he shows “prudence and discretion” [2:14] and makes an appointment with the king to interpret his dream for him.

Daniel did not yet know the dream, nor its interpretation. How could he take such a risk?

Daniel believed in God, and he believed in prayer. After making the appointment, Daniel went immediately home to inform his companions and to tell them to “seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery” [2:18].

The Lord was quick to hear their cries for mercy—”The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night” [2:19]—and Daniel responds by breaking forth in a prayer of praise (the first half of which is our fighterverse).

How does this story apply to us? It demonstrates that Daniel’s words are true: God “gives wisdom to the wise.” That is, he gives wisdom to those who ask him—just as he promises elsewhere in Proverbs 2:1-6 and James 1:5. Prayer is the supreme act of wisdom, and God honors that wisdom by giving more.

Therefore we should not neglect doing risky things for God just because we’re lacking in wisdom or knowledge. We should trust God, pray, and, if we still sense that he is calling us to act, believe that he will provide everything we need to do them.

Happy New Year, everyone! With the start of a new year comes the start of a new set of Fighterverses.

In 2010, we will be memorizing and studying Set E (HTML, PDF). Except for the first and last weeks, the content of this set covers the entire Sermon on the Mount. What a great passage for us to spend 50 weeks of time and thought on!

Also new is the banner on the website. It’s another painting of Paul by Rembrandt—like last year’s was. Notice the swords in both paintings. Rembrandt saw Paul as a fighter!

I added the words from Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:7—”Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding”—as a reminder that God means for us not only to memorize his word, but to think over it as well.

That is the renewed hope for this blog in 2010: that it would be a place of accurate and penetrating thought about God’s word, and that the Spirit would increase our understanding of God through it as we surrender all of it to him in prayer.