A mediator is sometimes needed to help two parties in conflict reach an agreement. When a brother in Christ has sinned against me and will not listen to me alone, Jesus instructed me to get one or two more to arbitrate in the matter (Mt. 18:16). 

The book of Philemon presents an occasion where Paul functioned as a mediator between Onesimus, a slave, and his master, Philemon, so that their relationship would be that of beloved brothers (v. 16). Onesimus had not left Philemon’s house on good terms; he was an “unprofitable” servant (v. 11) and may have wronged his master or stolen from him in some additional way (v. 17). Leaving Philemon, Onesimus eventually came in contact with Paul in prison. Paul converted Onesimus to Christ, and then sent him back to Philemon with this letter preserved for us in the New Testament in which Paul appealed to Philemon to receive Onesimus back (vv. 10-12). Paul wanted Onesimus to stay with him, but desired Philemon’s consent first (vv. 13-14). Paul had confidence that Philemon would not only receive Onesimus—which would be fitting in obedience to apostolic teaching in regard to the forgiveness of sins—but would do even more than what Paul had said (vv. 8, 21). Perhaps the greatest expression of Paul’s mediation is his statement in verses 17-19 of the epistle, “If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.” Paul was so desirous of peace between the two that he puts the debts of Onesimus on his own account and promises to repay, even though he could have demanded that Philemon owed him.

In regard to our relationship to God, the Bible clearly teaches, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). Our sins cause us to be at odds with God (Isa. 53:1-2; Rom. 3:23). Jesus is the mediator who is both God and man; He understands both parties (Jn. 1:1-3, 14; Phil. 2:5-7; Heb. 2:14; 4:16; 5:1-2). The debt we owe to God because we have wronged Him with our sins was placed on Jesus’ account at the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). Similar to how Abraham offered up Isaac in his heart before the act was ever carried out (Gen. 22:10-12; Heb. 11:17-19), God has allowed man to be reconciled to Him throughout time based on the fact that in His mind sins would be placed on Jesus’ account (Rom. 3:24-26; Gal. 3:13). The preaching of Christ as this great mediator was “testified in due time” when the apostles proclaimed it at the inauguration of the Christian era. No doubt Paul had learned to seek reconciliation with those at enmity because of the great love He saw in God bringing man back to Himself through Christ: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19). Jesus, as the Mediator of the New Testament (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) continues to function as the go-between to continually give us peace with God through His blood so that we are on speaking terms with the Father. That God’s love has provided such mediation in Jesus should compel us to live righteously, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

–Mark Day

To the young Thessalonian congregation, recently planted by Paul, he wrote, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). The grouping of these brief exhortations show that they primarily concern the exercise of miraculous gifts in the first-century church.

While one can quench the Spirit’s influence by pursuing a lifestyle that is contrary to God’s word—by hardening one’s heart with sin (Hebrews 3:13)—the context in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 seems to indicate they were smothering the miraculous activity of the Spirit; the next exhortation against despising prophecies refers to the Spirit’s working in a miraculous context. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul addresses these miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit; one was prophecy (v.10), a gift that some, but not all, had in the first-century church (vv. 28-29; cf. 14:2-5). Prophecy was the means by which God revealed His message and served to edify her members (1 Corinthians 14:29-33). To first-century congregations such as Thessalonica, who did not yet have a complete, written New Testament, prophets foretold the message of God (the mystery of the Gospel of Christ) that had been hitherto kept secret (Ephesians 3:3-7). Sometimes a prophet of God would foretell events to come (Acts 11:27-28). 

However, there were also false prophets who claimed to have messages from God, but were liars (Acts 13:6; 2 Peter 2:1; 2 Corinthians 11:13; Revelation 2:2). When Paul was with the Thessalonians, he warned them about false prophets who would try to deceive them leading to a great apostasy from the faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3-5). With false teachers running amok, it is possible that some in Thessalonica had the tendency of putting all who claimed to be prophets of God in the same pigeon hole as false teachers and thus despised some true prophets of God. Do we not see people who have a similar attitude in regard to religious groups today? There are those who think that all religious groups advocate abandoning reason, manipulate emotions, and prey on the gullible to make lots of money. There are individuals who, upon hearing I am a preacher, have said to me, “Oh, your all about getting money out of people.” It is similar to Nathanael’s initial criticism concerning Jesus’ hometown, when he said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Jesus was the exception. Likewise, though there were false prophets, that did not mean there were no true prophets.

Since there are both true and false prophets, the proper response Paul advocates is to, “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). This is much like the admonition of 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

It seems that Paul had to leave the congregation at Thessalonica after only three weeks (Acts 17:2, 10). His two letters to them soon after his departure, which we have preserved for us in the New Testament, were written to more fully instruct them and encourage them to grow in Christ. Those who had the miraculous gift of prophecy in the infant church of the first century would aid new congregations like Thessalonica by messages from God just as Paul’s letters aided them.

While the miraculous gift of prophecy is no longer extant in the church today since we have the entire Bible: the complete revelation of God (1 Corinthians 13:8-10; James 1:25), we must still examine what a preacher says to determine whether it is true or false according to God’s revealed word. The teaching that is good should be embraced and practiced rather than despised and discarded.

-Mark Day

            Last month we examined the importance of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. We noticed that the right hand was a place of equal power, authority, and honor. Christ is God. God the Father and God the Son are equals; one is not greater than the other. The fact Jesus is sitting indicates He has completed His task. He accomplished His objective at the cross and now He sits in Heaven next to God. Yet, an interesting scene is presented at Stephen’s death. As the Jewish council prepared to stone him, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:54-55). Stephen said, “Look! I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:56). This is the only place in the New Testament where Jesus is recorded as standing next to God. Since Luke was guided by the Holy Spirit and a physician by trade, it should not surprise us that he was meticulous about writing every minute detail. There is a reason Luke wrote this account as he did. In this article, the 2 most likely reasons will be considered.

            When royalty stands, it is either out of anger or honor for the person before him. The Bible, in several places, validates this statement. King Ahasuerus arose out of anger when Esther revealed Haman’s plot to kill the Jewish people (Est. 7:1-7). Out of anger, Jonathan arose from the table while he argued with his father Saul concerning David (1 Sam. 20:34). When Isaiah was preaching to Judah about their sinful living, the prophet described the Lord as standing up to judge them. God’s anger caused Him to arise and judge those who were living in wickedness (Is. 3:8-15). On the other hand, royalty also will stand when they wish to honor someone. When Jonah’s message of Nineveh’s destruction reached the Assyrian king, he arose and humbled himself before God (Jonah 3:4-10). When Josiah ordered the Law to be read to all the people of Jerusalem, he stood beside a pillar at the temple and made a covenant before the Lord (2 Kgs. 23:1-3). These verses illustrate that royalty stood either out of anger or out of respect, depending on the person. Jesus standing at Stephen’s death may have been both out of anger and honor. Jesus may have stood in anger against those who stoned Stephen, certainly their wicked action would have displeased our Savior (Acts 7:57-60). Jesus may have stood out of respect for His faithful martyr who had preached His Gospel without fear (Acts 7:1-53).

            The second possible reason Jesus stood at Stephen’s death was because He was standing as a witness on Stephen’s behalf. The proper posture for a witness was standing; an example of this can be found at Jesus trial when his accusers stood up to give their false testimony (Mk. 14:56-59). Therefore, Jesus was standing as an advocate to the Father on behalf of Stephen. Stephen was confessing Jesus before men and Jesus was in turn confessing Stephen before God. Those that hold to this view find a real-life example of Christ acting on His promise (Matt. 10:32-33). Without a doubt, Jesus is the Christian’s advocate to the Father if we confess our sins (1 John. 1:9-2:2). The imagery of Jesus standing to defend Stephen should warm the Christian’s heart and give he/she hope that Christ will do the same for us if we stand up for Him in this life.

            We cannot know with certainty why Jesus stood in Stephen’s vision. The reasons given were possibilities, not certainties. This article was written to draw attention to how important it is to notice the small details. It is beneficial to read your Bible, but it is even more beneficial to study it deeply. May the Lord bless you in your deep study of His Word.     –Brandon Foresha

As Jesus was preparing to die on the cross and leave His disciples, He prayed to His Father (Jn. 17). He prayed that the apostles would be one (Jn. 17:11), and those who would believe on Him and become His disciples through the words of the apostles would be one (Jn. 17:21-23). Jesus’ prayer is that unity may exist between His disciples akin to the unity that exists between Him and the Father. Jesus did not pray that His disciples would eventually become one, but “that they all may be one” (present tense). A continual oneness is Jesus’ prayer. The Father and the Son are continually one by their nature (deity) and purpose. Christians are to continually be one because of shared faith and relationship to the Father and the Son.

This unity is not cloning. It is not to make each Christian a cookie-cutter replica in every respect. There are differences in roles and abilities. The Father and the Son are one, yet we are able to distinguish one from the other; likewise, Christians being one does not mean that one Christian is completely identified as another. While there is distinction in the roles of the Father and the Son, the Father can still be said to be in the Son and the Son in the Father (Jn. 17:21). The Father gave glory to the Son to share His message and do His works; similarly, Jesus is in Christians as they share His message and do His works so the world can see that they have been adopted into this loving unity that exists between the Father and the Son (Jn. 17:22-23).

Christians have one resolve, one goal; they have a unity of affections. The unity Jesus prayed for goes beyond mere outward organizational forms such as calling ourselves by the same name. Jesus wants Christians to have oneness of emotion in rejoicing and weeping together (Rom. 12:15 cf. 1 Cor. 12:26). We are to have one mind (Phil. 2:2). We share the same will—to do the will of the Father in heaven—and the same aim: to go to heaven (Mt. 7:21; cf. Phil. 3:15-20).

After Jesus prayed this prayer for unity, He did what was necessary to lead to its fulfillment. Jesus’ prayer was accompanied by action. He died on the cross to demolish the barriers between Jews and Gentiles and reconcile them to God in the one body, His church (Eph. 2:14-17). He left the apostles, but sent the Spirit who came and guided them into all truth (Jn. 16:7-15). Through the Spirit, Christ gave miraculous gifts to men to reveal His will through the books of the New Testament (Eph. 4:7-8). These gifts were given “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Our desire for unity among Christ’s followers must not only be in word, but also must be accompanied by action. By what the Spirit has revealed, we must continually be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). As Christians, let’s be reminded: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6). Let’s be guided by the Spirit’s teaching in the Bible to be conformed to the Lord’s will rather than twisting and distorting the Bible to conform to our will. May this be our continual endeavor.

-Mark Day

In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. In the parable, the master hires laborers for his vineyard early in the morning and agrees to pay them a denarius for the day’s work (vv.1-2). As the day progresses, the master hires additional laborers at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours (in our way of reckoning time 9am, noon, 3pm, and 5pm respectively) from those who had been standing idle in the marketplace (vv. 3-7). When evening comes, the laborers are paid beginning with the last hired to the first (v. 8). The eleventh-hour laborers received a denarius, and the ones hired early, expecting to receive more, complained when they likewise received a denarius (vv. 9-12). However, the master was simply being generous. He likely realized that no man could feed a family with a small fraction of a day’s wage, and so in his graciousness he blessed those who had worked only a short time. His response to the complaints of those hired early was, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?” (vv. 13-15).

This parable is used by Jesus to rebuke His opponents who complained about God’s grace to sinners. Matthew places this parable in an interesting spot in his gospel account. At the end of Matthew 19 is the account of the rich, young ruler who thought he was good enough to inherit the kingdom of heaven (vv. 16-20); however, when Jesus exposed how his heart was with his riches instead of God (vv. 21-22), the Lord went on to point out the impossibility of salvation by means of riches or any other human means (vv. 23-24). When asked who can be saved, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (vv. 25-26). Peter expressed his commitment to follow Jesus and asked what the disciples would receive (v. 27). Jesus responded by speaking of the esteemed place the twelve would be given and the tremendous blessings God would shower on all those who follow Him, both in this life and the life to come (vv. 28-29).

Jesus capped off this discussion (Mt. 19:30) with the same thought He would use as a conclusion to the parable of the laborers (Mt. 20:16) that the last would be first and the first last. In the first-century church (who read the book of Matthew), there were those who felt superior to others and thought themselves deserving of the first seats. The believing Pharisees thought the Gentiles to be behind them in the kingdom of God and tried to impose the requirements of Judaism on them to bring them up to their level (Acts 15:5). But these Pharisees needed to learn that their background in the old covenant did not make them superior to others in relation to Christ.

When those of us today who have been longtime members of the Lord’s church read about Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees, we should not be quick to feel too comfortable. We can look back over a lifetime of work for the Lord and be grateful for entering His vineyard early in life, but let us not look down on others who have lived many idle years outside of His service. God is gracious and gives eternal life as a gift (Rom. 6:23). All of our labors are the least we can do for Him who freely saved us; the result of our labors being that many souls may be saved, even late in life, should the part in which we rejoice.

-Mark Day

When the apostles were placed before the Sanhedrin, who reminded them about the council’s command to not teach anymore in the name of Christ, Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:29-31). In his bold preaching to these religious leaders, why didn’t Peter simply say “you crucified him” rather than using the more cumbersome phrase he does about hanging on a tree? Evidently, Peter wanted to conjure up in the minds of these Jewish leaders the connotations of Deuteronomy 21:22-23:  “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.”  His audience, familiar with these words, would draw the inference that Jesus Christ was the Messiah who died under God’s curse. Not only the original audience but all people should reach this conclusion in their hearts: “Jesus took my place on the cross.” It seems Luke maintained Peter’s particular phrasing here so that readers of Acts may draw this inference about the significance of the cross as well.

In his first epistle, Peter again employed the image of a tree in regard to Christ’s crucifixion, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). In addition to the tree language of Deuteronomy 21:22-23, Peter uses phrases from the description of God’s suffering servant in Isaiah 53; on the tree Jesus bore our sins and by his stripes we are healed. Readers of the Hebrew scriptures must understand the Messiah came to save us by His suffering. We were all under the curse of God, but Christ took the curse for us.

In dealing with Judaizing teachers, who were requiring all men to keep the law of Moses to be saved, Paul, recalling the curse of Deuteronomy 27:26, wrote, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Gal. 3:10). There is no way to get out from under the curse of God on our own. The only way for us to be saved is for Jesus to take the curse for us. We avail ourselves of this blessing in following Him by faith. Paul went on to write: “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’ Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them.’ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’” (Gal. 3:11-13).

Thus, while Peter was very bold to point out that the members of the Jewish council before whom he stood had murdered Jesus, he invoked the language about the tree to show that Jesus took even their place that they may be given the opportunity for repentance and remission of sins (Acts 5:30-31). God wants all men to be saved, even those who in their spiritual blindness are vehement enemies of His Son (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8-10; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Let us be reminded that Christ took the curse for every person and pray that even our enemies would repent and receive forgiveness of sins.

-Mark Day

Throughout much of the New Testament, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of God. At Jesus’ trial, He told the Jewish leaders that He would be seated at the right hand of God (Lk. 22:66-69). Mark recorded that after His ascension into heaven that Christ sat down at the right hand of God (Mk. 16:19). Paul expressed that Jesus was sitting at the right hand of God (Col. 3:1). Those who complete a detailed study of the book of Hebrews cannot help but notice the writers continued remembrance of Jesus sitting on the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). There is deep meaning in the fact Christ is now, and forever, seated at God’s right hand.

The highest place of honor was given to those who sat to the right hand of a king in ancient history. When Solomon became king of Israel, he prepared a seat for his mother on his right (1 Kgs. 2:19). Furthermore, we see the importance of the right hand when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh. Manasseh should have been blessed with Jacob’s right hand as was his birthright. Jacob instead put his right hand on Ephraim. Joseph assumed that this was a mistake from his father because of his dim eyes, but Jacob made it clear that it was no minor mishap. God would bless the tribe of Ephraim greater than Manasseh (Gen. 48:10-20). As was stated previously, the greatest seat of honor in ancient times was the right. Those who sat on the right hand of a king had equal honor, dignity, and power as the one that sat them there. Jesus sitting on God’s right hand does not mean He is lesser than God in any degree; but that they are equal in all aspects (Eph. 1:19-23). Jesus Christ is God and let us never forget this truth (John 1:1-4)!

Emphasis of Christ sitting on His throne demands us to recognize two things; Jesus has completed His task and is ruling now. Jesus came to this earth to complete a task; that task was redeeming mankind from their sins (1 Cor. 15:1-3). Jesus’ death on the cross achieved total victory and the task was complete. The continued remembrance that Jesus is sitting shows that He finished what He set out to do. Is there time to sit for someone who has work to do? May we thank Christ each day that He bore our sins and completed His task! For now, He sits down; waiting for the Judgment Day when He will arise from His throne and return for His faithful Church (1 Cor. 15:22-26). Be thankful that Jesus completed redemption and sits on His throne, but also be ready for His return for we do not know when that shall be (Matt. 24:42-44). Do not lose sight that Jesus sitting on His throne also expresses that He rules now! The person that sits on the throne is the one who rules. Christ’s kingdom is His Church (Matt. 16:16-18). Jesus is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22). His kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost when Peter first preached the Gospel (Acts 2). His Church is an eternal kingdom that will never be destroyed and shall stand forever (Dan. 2:44-46). He is king now; His title is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:11-16). Jesus is sitting on His throne, watching and ruling His Church as a mighty king ought (Rev. 1:17-20).

Jesus has all honor, dignity, and power. He has completed the task He set out to do; redeeming mankind of their sins. He sits on His throne to the right of God ruling His kingdom now and forever. If you are not a part of His Church you have no part in His kingdom. One day, every knee will bow to the King and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Why not take care of this while on earth and receive a reward, instead of waiting for the Judgment Day when it will be too late.

The bulletin article next month will be a study of Jesus STANDING on the right hand of God when Stephen was being stoned (Acts 7:56).

– Brandon Foresha