OOD NEW. Editors: Paul A. Porter and Robert C. Cooper FEBRUARY y!!{on f4.{[en

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1 OOD NEW (AUSTRALIA) Editors: Pul A. Porter nd Robert C. Cooper FEBRUARY 1988 No.5 cnristin!freedom # 1 l T \ I...,, I 6y!!{on f4.{[en L I n his book The Gui~ Archipelgo. Alexnder Solzhenitsyn detils the horrid excesses of the Soviet interrogtors lmown s the Blue Cps. These men hd sufficient personl uthority to frighten their fellow Russins into signing confessions of guilt. This with the effect of their being bnished to the Archipelgo, most of them never to return. Here is n excerpt: "In fct, there's no reson for you to feel shy with nyone. And if you like the brods - nd who doesn't? -you'd be fool to mke use of your position. Some will be drwn to you becuse of your power nd -- others will give in out offer. (c_c.. So you've met girl somewhere nd she s cught your eye? She u belong to you, never fer; she cn't get wy! Someone else's wife hs cught your eye? She'll be yours toot Becuse fter ll, there's no problem bout removing the husbnd. No indeed!" To lmow wht it ment to be Blue Cp one hd to experience it. Pride grows in the humn hert like lrd on pig. Solzhenitsyn goes on to reflect tht this disgusting buse of power nd privilege ws n ll too fmilir mnifesttion of the pride tht exists in humns generlly: "Pride grows in the humn hert like lrd on pig." When Pul wrote his first letter to the church t Corinth, evidence of this pride ws to be seen in the behviour of mny of its members. Well skilled in the gospel, they hg begun to buse their Christin prtvileges. There ws sying, which they used: "All things re permissible for me." Or in other words, "I m free to do wht I plese," or "I hve the right to do ll things." Thus did they ssert their Christin liberty. And in so doing they justlfled ll kinds of behviour, including their prticiption in the hethen prctice of temple prostitution. "power" or "right." The words "right" or "uthority" cpture the sense best. An exmple of the use of the word in other plces is to be found in the well-lmown words of Jesus in John 1: 12: "Yet to ll who received him, to those who believed in his nme, he gve the right to become children of God." Another exmple is Mtthew 28: 18: "All uthority in heven nd on erth hs been given to Me." The individul with EXOUSIA is free to ct by reson of certin privileges. He hs the right! This is wht the Corinthins re climing. "I hve the right to do ll things." I Cor 6: 12. Yet to ll who received him, to those who believed in his nme, he gve the right to become children of God. By his power God rised the Lordfrom the ded, nd he will rise us lso. Do you know tht your bodies re members of Christ himself'! The slogn, "All things re permissible for me," indictes tht their licentious behviour ws comptible with their view of Christinity. Pul's letter ws n ttempt to correct this perversion. He does so in wy tht does not deny Christin freedom but ffirms it, crrying it forwrd much further thn even the Corinthins might hve expected. In 1 Corinthins the Greek word for "freedom" is EXOUSIA. It cn be vriously trnslted s "liberty." "freedom." "uthority." But Pul counters this perversion by insisting on genuine doctrine of Christin liberty. In the reminder of this rticle we will obseive Pul's view tht Christin freedom is bsed on the EXOUSIA of Christ himself. "By his power God rised the Lord from the ded, nd he will rise us lso. Do you not know tht your bodies re members of Christ himself'? Shll I then tke the members of Christ nd unite them with prostitute? Never!" 1 Cor 6: These verses demonstrte the impossibility of 1

2 seprting the resurrection of persons from the resurrection of the Lord himself. Christins nd the Christ re in dynmic union with one nother. Believers hve dignity in glory becuse they re toined to tlie S!lorifled Lord. l>urs view olthe church is stounding. The church is not ttched to Christ; not nnexed to Him. Christ nd the church re body corporte. Wht is true of Christ is true of His people. For who hs known the mind of the Lord tht he my instruct him? But we hve the mind of Christ. The Spiritul mn ls not subject to ny mn's Judgment Let's look t nother pssge. "'Ibe mn without the Spirit does not ccept the things tht come from the Spirit of God, for they re foolishness to him nd he cnnot understnd them becuse they re spiritully discerned. The spiritul mn mkes judgements bout ll things, but he is not subject to ny mn's. judgement. For who hs known the mind of the Lord tht he my instruct him? But we hve the mind of Christ." 1 Cor 2: There re two seprte humnities: the spiritul mn nd the nturl mn. The spiritul mn is the mn in whom the Spirit of God. lives - the Christin. The nturl mn is the non Christin - bereft of the Spirit. Pul resons tht while the mn without the Spirit is unble to understnd the spiritul mn, (becuse spiritul things need the spirit to discern them), the spiritul mn cn discern ll things becuse he mysteriously prtkes of the mind of God. "We hve the mind of Christ." It is bold ssertion. The Christin shres in the divine by reson of solidrity with Christ. The rights of Christ re the rights of the believer. It ls the Lord who Judges Tke nother exmple: "I cre very little if I m judged by you or by ny humn court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is cler but tht does not mke me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." 1 Cor 4:3,4. The postle fiere exhibits holy 2 disrespect for the tribunls of men. He rules out the judgements of his fellow Christins nd even discounts his own conscience s mesure of his rel sitution before God. "It is the Lord who judges me." This reflects Pul's view of Christin uthority. It rests squrely on the Lord's judgement which tkes plce for him in nd through the person of Christ. It is seprted bsolutely from the relm of humn opinion. It consists only in God's verdict. Christ himself is Pul's uthority. A finl exmple occurs in 1 Cor 10:25,26. "Et nything sold in the met mrket without rising questions of conscience for the erth is the Lord's nd everything in it." Pul's purpose in reminding his friends tht the erth is the Lord's is to help them recognize their ril!bt to et the food plced before them. The mening is, tht if the erth is the Lord's nd everything in it exists for him; then evecythtng in the erth is there for the Cii.ristin s well. This sme thought is implicit in the erly Christin confession, "Jesus is Lord." :from tfii/ 'Etfitors 'Welcome to tlie secontl 1988 issue of (jootf?{f.ws!jlustrfi. 'Ifiis is God givesfreedom your mgzine, ntf we Fi.ope, freedom to be member tlirougfwut tlie yer, to pu6cisli of Christ. Christin freedom cn only ever be your rticfes. So tfon 't 6e sfow in n expression of Cfuist. coming forwrtf. 'We t!esperte{y neetfstorks from people wfw A Derived Freedom And so, the Lordship of Christ, so confidently ffirmed by Pul in hve livetf. If you re lettuce, 1 Corinthins, undergircfs his frmer or jock.._ey, ntfyou ffirmtion of Christin freedom. Christ determines those who sometliing to sy, we stiu wnt belong to him. If there is Christin to lier it.?our liufjfiy is n freedom for believers it is derived freedom. It is not condition inveterte 6oozer? 'Ilien fww oflimitless utonomy. It is stnding which cn only be defined 6out n nonymous rticle on theologiclly. Christologiclly. The fww you've copetf? Just imgine: position tht Jesus hlos in the universe is the key to n under'tjtiirty 7trs 'Witli!JI. ~tf-?{sjse stnding of Christin rights. God gtves uthority to his people - but '1Jr!f[y.!Jfopefu1 y, we've nuufe only through Christ. God gtves ourse{ves cler. (jootf {uck/.9ln believers liberty - but only Christ is its sum. God gives freedom if you 're neroous 6out writi.ng, freedom to be member of Christ. Christin freedom cn only ever just sentf in rougli tfrft, ntf be n expression of Christ. Aprt from Christin freedom there is we wif{ lie{p you witli tlie rest. IUJ) 11 only the lesser freedom exercised by the Blue Cps. 0 Next month: Christin.freedom in prctice. Februry 1988 *

3 R renting teengers is not without its trums: bent crs, lte nights, incessnt phone clls, nd no money, just to nme few. And like mny prents in my resolved issues. Our eduction system ppers nxious to dmpen their hopeful enthusism by burdening them with the perplexities of life. This is where.i find tht the Those Terrible Teengers? by Neville McKenzie position, I wonder if the dys of trnquility will ever return. Perhps our teengers sk the sme question! Still, s I h~ve contemplted in the few quiet moments I sometimes mnge to slvge, there re lso gret privileges in the experience of ( ~ Young close proximity to those on the ~People threshold of dulthood. Qffer chllenge to recpture ~he zest The Enthusism of Youth The typicl dolescent's enthusism for life, his spontneity nd uncomplicted hope re wholesome chrcteristics which mny of us J ~':. hve lost. Young people offer their ltvtng. seniors chllenge - the chllenge to recpture the zest for living. This vluble qulity is frequently lost strngled out by the cres of life tht seem to constntly invde our wking moments. The young people closest to me hve reminded me of gret truth: life is for living, not just for mking living. For this I m their debtor nd thnk God tht he hs given me the privilege of being the f, fther of these young dults. ~ Surely God never creted mnkind to ge nd bow down under the uncertinties nd fers of life! We were intended to live forever with the enthusism nd energy of youth. Perhps, then, your teenge children re more norml in the eyes of God thn we re! A sobering thought isn't it? The Unresolved Issues I hve enjoyed discussing with my son the questions tht rise from his study of English literture. Mny of these uthors re studied becuse the issues they rise re timeless. They hve to do with relity - the common lot of mnkind. This relity, however, is often disgustingly strk nd too frighteningly rel for comfort. Strident questions re sked, but stisfctory nswers re scrce. Our children re left to ponder the un- scriptures, (if not the church), re ble to ddress questions bsic to our existence in wy tht gives hope, yet does not deny the relity of our imperfect world. I once red, "A fool cn sk question tht the wisest of men cnnot nswer." And so I conclude tht the riddles of life will never be resolved by continully rising questions! The Uncertinties of Life If we dwell too much on the uncertinties of life we my become discourged to the point of despir. This cn esily led to grnd "copout" where life is squndered in the fst lne. On the other hnd, if we re too cutious, we cn become so preoccupied with the quest for security tht life becomes drery burden nd we become boring people. Rel joy, then, is not found in nice home, lrge bnk blnce, good shre portfolio, or secure income. These could ll be lost overnight, s mny hve recently discovered. Perhps when Christ sid we were to be like children, he ws upholding before us mny of the good ttributes we see in our children nd youth. Things like enthusism, spontneity, openness nd trust in prentl love which gives freedom from the fer of insecurity. Added to this, joyful peer reltionships which move in the direction of unconditionl cceptnce nd love the essence of true community. Become More Like Children Finlly, I think when Jesus tught us to ddress God s our Fther he ws lso telling us tht mny of the ttributes we see in our children nd youth re more plesing to God thn the skepticl sophistiction typicl of the dult yers. My I suggest, then, tht we should seek to mke ourselves more like our children, rther thn mke them more like us! O Seek to mke ourselves more like our children 3

4 L ASf MONTH I sid tht there re two kinds of crnks nd crckpots in the Bible: the genuine fools nd the smrt eccentrics. Wouldn't it be nice if the kooks ' ' ' ""'"".,.,. :::::::/''{\: : : : : : : : : : : : '...,... tht it is only Noh nd the nimls who listen to the voice of God. Nobody else does! It's s if the nimls re smrter thn the rest of the humns. And in some wys, they re. Intellectully, of course, we humns hve outstripped the nimls by fr. But in other respects, the sitution is quite the reverse. Tke child."::=. tt'e:+:::::: buse, for exmple, :.:,;:.:\iii@<> nd think of the cows ::::::::::::::.~:::::::::)!f~~r= you sw the lst time '.' ' '.. you visited diry. Do zj!m'l!!.l.6~.- \ :.,~. J!,{61! k':.f~:.!~":s~';rte...': :.: '..; '. the mothers from their,.,...: : :.....,.,...,..,..,.,,., :...,...,,, '. ' '' '.,. ;::::::;.;.-: : : : : : : ;: : :;: : : : : : : : =:tj/{}f{{{:;~~jff clves? Sometimes cow will smsh gte in your locl church were ll of or brek fence if her clf is on the other side. Beutiful, the ltter sort? Unfortuntely, cows! Cn you bumble-footed they probbly ren't. We re, strting cow imgine in fct, ll bit btty most of were there only If wr? nucler the time we re wke. "'Ibey in or House White the in cow re ll queer except me nd the Pentgon! thee, my der; nd even thou rt little queer, I fer." How And so the Noh story true! reminds us tht in times of world peril, the Tilis month. I wnt to tlk my hve nimls bout Noh, who comes cross stronger s bit of n oddbll, no sulvivl,instinct mtter which wy you look t thn the him. At the behest of God, humns. Noh builds huge, If we rmshckle bot to sve the to wish nimls from flood. We unscthed move generlly smile when we red into the twentythe Noh story. Sometimes we first century, sing bout it: perhps we tke should The nimls wlked in two by nother two, look t the There's one more river to cross. The elephnts nd the kngroo, story of There's one more river to cross. Noh. t~k~./~~\ But the interesting thing is 4 i '-~-- Februry 1988 to be continued.

5 'Ifie!First Mirc{e 6y Muriel ~erris C OMFORfABLY NIBBLING my wy through Mtthew Remy's commentry of the Gospels, I lmost crcked my teeth on n unexpected nugget. Let me shre it with you: As soon s Christ begn to prech he begn to work mircles for the confirmtion of his doctrine, nd they were "'----;, such s intimte the design nd tendency of his doctrine, which ws to conquer Stn nd cure sick souls. Did you get it? Jesus, the mircle-working Physicin, ws more thn mere dispenser of kindly deeds. He ws lso techer- the Techer. And his works confirmed his words. Think, for exmple, of the noblemn who cme with the reservtion: "If he hels my son, I will believe he is the Messih!" First of ll, the Techer puts his finger on the fther's doubt: "Unless you see mircles," he retorts, "you won't believe!" And then the Physicin sends him on th~ rod of fith in the Unseen: ( \.ieve nd you shll see!" "'<ivj:y I then suggest tht Jesus' first nnouncement of his teching corresponds with his first recorded mircle? Mrk, you will recll, introduces Christ s precher who comes with the messge: "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is t hnd." Mrk 1:15. John, on the other hnd, understnds tht the Word is to be seen s well s herd-tht the One whom his hnds hve hndled, his ers hve herd nd his eyes hve seen-must be clerly recognized. And ccording to John, the first mircle of Jesus occurs t wedding fest. If you or I were to lunch the 1 _,_ ' Mster's ministry with mircle, which one would we choose? The trnsftgurtion,perhps,orthe giving of the Lw? The stilling of the tempest? The mind boggles t the possibilities. But John, with Spirit-indited skill, pictures his Lord t wedding! Wht better wy to portry the Word mde flesh mong his people? Here, t this simple festivl, is God pitching his tberncle mong the tents of men, shring their joys nd providing their needs. Now the light overtkes the drkness. Now there is beuty, joy nd prise. Turning the wter to wine, Jesus relieves his embrrssed host nd confirms the fith of his infnt disciples. Picture, if you will, the guests' fces s they delight in the sweet flvour of the new wine; the scrcely conceled pride of n dmiring mother; the governor's udible remrks; the servnts' wed whispers nd Christ's silence! And then the questions. Like the rising of the morning, light shines on the disciples' wistful hopes nd drems: "The Cretor's hnd is here! He who turns the sunshine nd rin into the purple juices of thousnd vineyrds is in our midst!" Instinctively they recll the words of the Pslmist: Bless the Lord, 0 my soul! 0 Lord my God, thou rt very gret! God wtereth the hills. He sendeth springs into the vlleys. He cuseth the grss to grow for the cttle, nd herb for the service of mn, tht he my bring forth food out of the erth, nd wine tht mketh gld the hert of mn. "The time hs come! The,'.f'' Messih hs come!" Turning bck to Mrk, Jesus' first sermon contins the directive: "Repent n4 believe the gospel." Is the mircle t Cn lso cll to repentnce? Writers such s F B Myer believe so: In the entrnce hll, six wterpots re stnding. Their superstitious dred of unclenness mde it necessry to hve lrge supplies of wter on hnd. Without wshing no one te; the feet of ech guest were wshed on rrivl, the wshing of utensils went on ll dy. Here we hve the symbol of tht religion which consists in externl rites, nd is content if only these re mintined... And here our Lord in this striking mircle seems to sy: "The dys of ceremonilism re pst; the system which ws sent to tech spiritul ides by mteril substnces nd externl rites is t n end" The Gospel of John, 49. The Wter le Blood t Clvry Finlly, is this the long-wited cry: "Ho, everyone tht thirsts... come buy wine nd milk without money nd without price"? If so. there is sombre undertone: the wter nd the wine t the wedding lso remind us of the wter nd the blood tht freely flowed t Clvry-wter for the wshing of regenertion nd blood tht will pcify the conscience nd refresh the soul. Here t the cross, the Sviour treds the winepress lone before plcing the cup of life in the hnds of his redeemed. And so this, the first of Jesus' mircles, declres him to be the Son of God, the Sviour of the world. Here lies his glory- the glory of the only begotten of the Fther. D <- 5

6 Down Cpers #5 S USUAL, the Down fmily st down to brekfst just s the sun slid from under the horizon. Mo rose t the tble nd begn to stng: "Wr Sigm Tild, Wr Sigm Tild, Yool cumm Wr Sigm Tild wimme... " There ws n udible gron from the rest of the fmily s they endured the monotone drone. "Why do you hve to sing the ntionl nthem every morning?" grumbled Stn. "Isnunner your business wd-eye do," cme Mos' retort. "Yes, it is prt of my business," Stn nswered, "becuse we ll live together nd whtever one person does ffects the rest." Tht tr:tggered fther Downs' memory. "I hd weird drem lst night," he sid,... bout very stem-looking ngel in long blck clok who kept jbbing his A finger t me... nd he kept telling me wht to do nd wht not to do. One thing I remember him sying ws, Thou shlt not use geltine nd bking-sod in your cooking." "Sounds like me flt-mite in Sinny," chipped in Mo. "He ws Fetchterin nd ws lwys telling me not to et irmen pickle semmitches." Fther Down rised his voice. "Another thing the ngel sid ws, Thou shlt wer hiry growth on thy chin nd upper lip if thou wtst to be pdre." "Now, tht sounds suspect," Id Down chuckled. "Tht would llow only the men into the ministry.... Well, most men." But fther Down continued. "Then the ngel sid, Thou shlt not swim or rise perspirtion on the Sbbth dy becuse ll Sbbth exercise must be t mble pce without much plesure nd while wering sombre-looking Sbbth necktie." "I cn understnd the bit bout swimming," Stn dedpnned. "It's very hrd to tell how much you're perspiring when sw:tmmtng." "E scone office rocker," muttered Mo. "It's hrps ite lredy. We're lite for work. Let's go." "I only told you the drem to entertin you during brekfst," dmitted Fther. "I don't plce ny stock on drems. I believe in helth principles nd ccepted customs nd Sbbth-keeping, but I'm not one for leglism. Surely Christins cn express their Christinity in vried hues nd mke some ethicl decisions for themselves. We wouldn't wnt to be like Chinese tunics ll grey every dy. Even though Christ mintined the highest stndrds, he expressed very few Thou Shlt Nots. He mjored in the positives- "Blessed re the pecemkers, blessed re the... " ;}. /