Michael Cooper

And the Bell Rang -- "Change, Change"

A Godly Grip on Life

I once met a man who was frustrated in seeking a new career. He had gone to dental school to become a dentist, but after spending time and money getting the education, he discovered he lacked the dexterity to be a good dentist. For whatever reason, he lacked the strength and skill in his hands to use the dental instruments.

This problem can affect a person in numerous other endeavors. You can learn all about carpentry but lack the ability to hammer a nail straight. You can learn a sport and not have the ability to perform it well. The coach will tell you, "I cannot put in what God left out; no matter how much you want to play."

Singing, the arts, and a number of other things can be loved and desired, but never attained because certain natural abilities are missing.

The law was given through Moses but the law did not provide the ability to perform the principles it demanded. It left the devotee frustrated and defeated. Paul's frustration with the law is indicated in Romans 7:18 (KJV):

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." [emphasis mine]

Paul wanted to paint the picture of the glories of God's precepts, but he lacked the artistic talent. He wanted to score high in the competition against his base nature, but he was uncoordinated and unskilled. The "how to perform" element was missing.

He lacked a grip on the law of God.

Jesus was also a law-giver, establishing a new covenant. However, distinct from Moses, along with His truth He provided grace. In Christ, truth or law is complemented by grace. In Christ, there is a resource by which truth can be performed. That resource provides the ability to grip truth and to live it out.

If we use the analogy of a sword for truth, then grace provides the grip to wield it effectively. Grace provides the strength and the skill to victoriously use truth in the battles of life. The ministry of the Spirit that Jesus inaugurated enables the truth-seeker and the lover-of-the-law to grip truth for life and living. When we hear the sermon, read the Bible, or read a book with important biblical principles, we can grip the truths that we received and begin living by them. We need not be frustrated by a loose or slippery grip.

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." Hebrews 2:1 (KJV)

For Paul, God's grace was more than something given, idly sitting somewhere; it was something at work within him. He indicates this when he stated,

"... by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10 (KJV)

It was God's grace that gave him the ability to grip God's calling and purposes, holding onto them and laboring by the grace of God.

Memory may slip and character may be weak, but the grace of God will give you the grip you need on His truth — the truth that sets you free and overcomes the bondage of Satan's lies.

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Our Worship - His Wounds

I have known worship to bring joy to the heart of God. I have known worship to be a sweet-smelling odor in his temple. But I had not conceived of worship as healing his wounds.

It was a typical Sunday evening worship service except it brought together all the congregations of our multi-campus church. As we were worshiping I envisioned the Lord's response to our worship. I saw joy and contentment on his face. It seemed that the multiple languages and cultures were pleasing to him. Our unity, in diversity, was precious and joyful to him. But as I meditated on this scene it seemed his joy was different from pleasure, as I normally think of it. It seemed to be the pleasure of relief, a relief from discomfort. The pleasant expression on his face was the restful joy of relief from pain. Then I saw wounds, the strips on his back, healing. It seemed the wounds were healing as though I was seeing it in time-lapsed photography. Our worship was healing to his wounds.

Scriptures began to come to mind confirming a ministry of healing to His wounds through our worship. I thought about the passages in Hebrews that state "for the joy set before him" he endured the cross and apostasy opens his wounds and re-crucifies him "afresh" (

OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

; 6:6). The familiar Scripture in Isaiah, "by his stripes we are healed," follows the statement, "the chastisement of our peace was upon him." In seeing his wounds come together and heal, it was a visual image of "the punishment for our peace" that brought healing - physically, emotionally and relationally.

Communion followed and the minister's Devotion emphasized examining our hearts and lives for unforgiveness. I thought about the play on words that changes "remembering" to "re-membering," or putting Christ's Body together. The wounds of severed relationships stripe his back.

As the service continued with water baptism I kept thinking of his wounds and our worship. The young people, being baptized, celebrated like it was an initiation rite into some club; rather than a baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Discipleship cycles through crucifixion and resurrection, something they will come to understand. The problem for many young people (as an observer) was misguided or inappropriate emotional responses - immaturity. The problem for many adults was a lack of emotional responses - apathy. At the cross some made light of it and others made nothing of it. The apathy of the soldiers is stark when after "struggling" over his clothes Matthew states, "sitting down they watched him there" (

).

Theologians use the word "anthropomorphism" for language in the Bible that illustrates God's attributes or activities using the human form, such as "the eyes of the Lord" or "the arm of the Lord." This "anthropomorphic scene" of the wounds of Christ being healed through our worship, indicates Christ still bears wounds in his Body, something we know from his post-resurrection appearances. There is also the implication that our ingratitude, unforgiveness, unbelief and open sins, bring pain to those wounds. In contrast, our passionate praises make his "passion" for us worthwhile and bring pleasure to his heart. "He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied . . . for he shall bear their iniquities" (

).

Perhaps our corporate praises enter into His passion for us, bringing Him the pleasure of comfort, the joy of healed relationships; and also, as in the case of the Philippian jailor and his household, our faith that embraces His gift of salvation washes His wounds.

Michael

Cooper

Contributing Writer

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