PASSING
THE BATON
I recently attended a funeral of
a brother in Christ whereupon I again came to a conclusion that we all
have made: Life is short and time is swiftly passing. At this funeral
were many people with whom I had not spoken to in many years. My
family had moved from the locations where I first came to know these
people, but I still remembered them well. Somewhere in the mix of
conversations, I had to ask myself, “Where did the years go?”
Children I remembered playing with after services were now grown with
families of their own. Others looked like completely different people,
due to the passing of time and declining health. During the funeral
service, I looked at the brothers sitting on the benches ahead of me.
I remember looking up to many of these men when I was younger and even
on to this day. I realized their time would come to leave this world
before too long, although I disliked the thought. These elder men were
devoted members and leaders of the Church. Most congregations have
elder members who carry much of the load for that congregation.
What’s to become of the congregations when these elder members
leave?
In
Hebrews 12:1-2, our life on this earth is compared to a race:
“Wherefore seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God.”
As
Christians it is our duty to run this race. In the Church this race is
like a relay race. In a relay race, one runner carrying a baton
completes a portion of the race and then hands the baton to the next
runner. After the first runner has finished his portion of the relay,
his race is completed. The elder members are the ones carrying the
batons right now. Soon their race will be done, and they will pass the
baton to the next runner. However, the elder members must complete
their races, running with patience as stated in Hebrews 12:1.
To
the elder members in the Church today, your race is not done. You have
to continue leading by examples, preparing those young members who
will one day receive the baton. Prepare young members of the Church as
parents are told to in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not
your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord.” Remember, it is in the last
stages of a race that a runner runs fastest. Provide an example much
like Paul did: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1)
The
elder members must continue to study:
“Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.”
(2 Ti. 2:15).
As
much as elder members have learned from the Bible, there is always
knowledge to gain. While at the funeral, I received news of a brother
in Christ who even my own father before me had greatly admired. At
ninety-seven years of age, this brother in Christ continues to study
the Bible every day. I had the pleasure of visiting him and his wife
recently, and during the visit he quoted Colossians 3:2:“Set
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” It
is with this attitude that elder members and younger members must run
their race, “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith.” At the end of our race, we want to be able to look back on
our run and feel as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:6-7:
“For I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith:”
To
the young members in the Church who will one day run with the baton
passed on to them, learn all you can from our elder members. A relay
race is won or lost in the exchange of the baton from one runner to
the next. Young members of the Church, don’t wait on the baton.
Reach out and eagerly grab the baton. For a brief moment the runner
passing the baton and the runner receiving are running together. This
is so that the runner to receive the baton can be up to speed with the
runner passing the baton. In a similar manner, the young members in
Christ must strive to follow the examples the older members set.
We
do not know when our race will be called to an end:
“For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1 The. 5:2)
The
elder members of the Church must be ready to pass on the baton at all
times. Likewise, the young members of the Church must always be ready
to take that baton and run with it themselves. We never know when God
will call on us to pass that baton.
Yes,
life is short. Time is passing, and we nearly lose count of the years.
The race we run is quickly coming to an end. Whatever you do, don’t
drop the baton.
BEN
APOLOGIA
In our last article we dealt with
a question concerning Ephesians 5:18. The question asked about the
meaning of the phrase being “filled with the Spirit.” In this
month’s Apologia we would like to continue to address this issue. We
will entitle the article “Be filled with the Spirit” part 2.
In our article last month we
pointed out that the passage under consideration is extremely
important to living the Christian life. In fact it is the key to
living the life that God expects of His people. Being filled with the
Spirit is really about being controlled by the Spirit. It is this
control that provides the means by which we walk worthy of the
vocation of which we are called.
In that article we pointed out
that the phrase is not a statement of fact but rather is an
imperative. This means that it is a command that requires our
obedience. Thus to be filled with the Spirit depends upon our action.
It is something that we do and not something that God does for us.
The application presented in the
last paragraph has been greatly misunderstood by Bible students over
the years. Most view the phrase “be filled with the Spirit” as
something we ask for rather than something that we do. In fact not
only is it something that we do but something we do continuously. As
God’s people we are to be continually filled with His Spirit.
It was noted that God has
provided the resources to be filled with the Spirit. We are filled
with the Spirit when we choose to surrender ourselves to Christ and
become a Christian. We are filled with the Spirit when we spend time
studying the word and allowing the word of Christ to dwell in us
richly with all wisdom. We are filled with the Spirit when we stand in
the presence of Christ in prayer. Living in the Spirit means that we
will live every moment in humble submission to His will and every
moment for His glory. It is all about Christ consciousness and
Christ-likeness. We must not only live in the Spirit positionally (one
who is born again) but also practically (how we live our life).
In addition to the meaning of the
phrase, it is also necessary to examine the consequences of being
filled with the Spirit. What are the indicators that my life is under
the Spirit’s control?
The first indicator is given in
verse 19. Note what Paul says.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord”
(Eph. 5:18-19)
It is interesting that the first
indicator that Paul mentions is that of singing. Singing is for the
most part a neglected topic in many of our lessons. We know we must do
it and we spend a great deal of time ensuring that people understand
that it is to be done without the use of mechanical instruments. But
it is my personal opinion that we are sometimes remiss in
understanding that singing is an expression of the emotion of a soul
that is controlled by the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit
we sing!
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him
pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” (
Jam.
5:13)
Our singing originates in our hearts where the Spirit dwells. If the
heart is not right then the song is lacking! When we are under the
Spirit’s control we sing to ourselves and to fellow believers. It
profits us mentally, physically, as well as spiritually. It includes
Psalms (generally the songs written by David), hymns (songs of praise)
and spiritual songs (testimonies to the truth of God).
Now that we have seen the inward
result of being filled with the Spirit we look now at the upward
result.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another
in the fear of God.”
(Eph. 5:18-21)
In addition to singing we find
that when the Spirit controls us we will see evidence of gratitude. We
will be thankful, and note not just thankful for good things but for
all things. We will continually in prayer give thanks to Him who has
redeemed us and in whose hand our lives are secure.
We live in a day and age of
grumblers. We hear a lot of whining and complaining. But such should
not be from those of us who are God’s people. There is nothing more
disgusting and despicable than a complaining child of God. What a poor
testimony we give to the world when we fail to be thankful.
The Spirit filled believer gives
thanks to the Lord for everything. David writes,
“ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His
name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth
endures to all generations.” (Psa.
100: 4-5)
A thankful heart sees beyond the
difficult circumstances of life in a fallen world and views even the
difficulties that we face from the perspective of God’s sovereignty.
Note the following:
“And we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to
His purpose.”
(Rom. 8:28)
We can be at rest with the fact
that no matter what circumstances we might be facing in life, if we
love the Lord, He will work it for good. Give thanks for all things!
As we look at Ephesians 5:18-21
we can see a theology of thanksgiving. Paul tells us to be always
thankful. This means after a trial, during a trial, and before a
trial. We are to give thanks for all things. We are to be thankful in
the name of the Lord. This indicates that we know that Christ is
always working out His perfect will in our life.
In addition to the inward
evidence of the Spirit’s control (singing), the upward evidence
(thanksgiving), there is also an outward result, submitting to one
another. This involves esteeming others better than us and being
willing to serve and love one another.
We hope that this study has
adequately covered the topic. Let us all seek to be filled with the
Spirit of God to His glory!
SAM
DICK
Cave City
,
KY
