Smoodock's Blog

It seems obvious, at least to me, that mankind was created to be the helper of God (Genesis 1:27). If we are to image God, as we rule over creation, that means God wants us to execute our authority over creation in a manner that takes responsibility upon ourselves to behave like God, vis-à-vis act in the character of God (cp. Hebrews 1:3). In the past good men have sought to help God, while acting in their own wisdom, and they failed to accomplish what they intended to do. For example, Abraham sought to help God keep his promise to give him a son, but all he was able to do was produce Ishmael. Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, sought to serve God through his own wisdom, but, although he thought he did well and rejoiced in the work of his hands, he failed to image God (Acts 7:41). David sought to give God a house to dwell in, but God doesn’t dwell in houses made by the hands of men (Acts 7:48). Peter sought to understand how he should act in an effort to free Jesus, but his good intentions ended up denying his Savior (Mark 14:66-72).

From the very beginning of his ministry,[1] Jesus taught his disciples how they needed to act, if they ever hoped to follow him (Matthew 4:19; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21; John 10:27; 12:26; 21:19), vis-à-vis image him (Genesis 1:27). Not everyone who sets out to help Jesus will succeed in doing so, because they act out of their own wisdom (Matthew 7:21-23), and in the end they are only able to work iniquity (cp. Exodus 32:1-4, 7).

How, then, could the disciples of Christ serve Jesus, and help him in accomplishing the will of God? Jesus once told his would-be disciples that the “work of God” is to believe him, whom he sent (John 6:29). Believing isn’t an end in itself. In fact, later James would write that the evidence of faith/believing is the work that we do (James 2:18). Jesus would tell his disciples that he gave them/us an example, saying thus we would follow him (John 13:15; 1Peter 2:21; 3:17-18). Our worship of and commitment to Jesus is wrapped up in what we say and do, and unless what we say and do comes from something other than our own wisdom, we’ll fail to image God, which is our prime directive (Genesis 1:27; 1John 2:6; Hebrews 1:3).

It seems safe to say, then, to be filled with the Spirit of Christ (Ephesians 5:18; cp. Romans 8:9) is to be poor in our own spirit (Matthew 5:3). In other words, in being filled with the Spirit of Christ, we have become poor in the flesh and ready agents of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is good to mourn over the works of the princes of this world, which energize the children who are in rebellion against the Lord (Ephesians 2:2), because in mourning, we shall be comforted by the Lord (Matthew 5:4), as he uses us to speak truth to this rebellious authority (cp. Revelation 11:15, 18). Moreover, we, who patiently wait upon the Lord, shall reign with him, in changing hearts and minds of unbelievers, helping Christ’s influence to cover the Earth (Matthew 5:5; cp. 2Timothy 2:12; Revelation 20:6), because hungering and thirsting to be set apart by the Lord for his use, is its own reward of a fulfilled life (Matthew 5:6).

If we are merciful to the enemy, to folks who don’t believe, if we treat them like we would like them to treat us (Matthew 5:44; 7:12), then the Lord will treat us, vis-à-vis use us in the manner in which he was treated by the Father (Matthew 5:7). In other words, if our hearts are clean and our spirit is renewed after the Spirit of Christ (Psalm 51:10), we shall see our God, vis-à-vis understand his will and purpose (Matthew 5:8), because, in pulling down the strongholds of men’s wisdom and knowledge, which he acquired without God (Romans 1:28), thus exalting itself against God (2Corinthians 10:4-5), we bring peace into the hearts of the rebellious, as we bring them back to God. In doing so, we shall be known as God’s own children (Matthew 5:9).

The scriptures teach us that we, who do the will of God, must suffer like Jesus suffered (1Thessalonians 3:3-4; 2Timothy 3:12; 1Peter 2:20-21; 3:14; 4:12-16; 5:9-10). Thus, imaging Jesus in his suffering, witnesses to the world that we are the agents of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:10). Thus, suffering so is, in fact, a reason for our rejoicing (Matthew 5:11-12), because, as he is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17). The Beatitudes, as such, were never meant to be a rule of life, practiced in private, away from the world. No! They are designed to be the method of Christ’s reign over the Earth, which is done through his children, as we confront the powers that be and change the world, thus, expanding Christ’s influence across the globe.

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[1] Those, who are following this study series, are involved in a study of the Jesus we see in N.T. Wright’s book, Simply Jesus. Dr. Wright claims that those who practice the Beatitudes are the type of folks Jesus would use to accomplish his will. I’ve zeroed in on this idea and expanded on it in this, my, interpretation of Dr. Wright’s book.