A Prisoner of Christ

Sample of Book: The Promise of the Gospel (1:2-6) 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: Think about how important men and women are introduced today to an audience. The audience is immersed in the speaker’s achievements: degrees, status, office, or position. This is done in order to bring to the message or words being heard an air of authority or finality. This is where the humility of Paul shines forth, as he continues the treatise of the gospel, and instead of beginning with what most of us are accustomed to, raining accolades on the speaker, he points to the Holy Scriptures. Paul had many reasons to boast, and instead of pointing to what most men would consider to be worthy of praise, he points back to Christ and not to his education, citizenship, or office as an apostle. Consider when Paul addressed the Philippian church as he presented his physical pedigree: Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. (Php. 3:4-7) Paul was not boasting here; in fact, the Philippian church needed correction. Some men had come to the church and tried to convince the believers that unless they were circumcised, they could not follow God. Paul presented his physical lineage and reasoned with the Philippians that all this is nothing if you do not have Christ. God does not save men because they are Jews, he saves them when they realize their sin and need of a Savior: “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11). Repentance does not have a racial or ethnic requirement, it is commanded by God for all men, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Act 17:30). Some have tried to make the gospel a gospel of genealogy, of birth right, gender, or national citizenship. This ideology has crept into the Church as well, the phenomenon of Christian by birth, the same idea that Paul rejected about Israel’s belief of being entitled to God’s salvation because they were God’s chosen, therefore, saved from God’s coming judgment and given automatic entrance to the coming kingdom of Heaven. The idea of “Christian by birth” has a long history, ever since the conversion of Constantine to the faith in 312 AD. Constantine made Christianity a religio licita (a licit religion) in the Edict of Milan of 313 AD. This edict opened the door to mass conversion; tax cuts, the building of cathedrals, the acquisition of land by the Church, and the repossession of land and property that was lost in past persecutions. In other words, it became beneficial to become a Christian. When worldly accommodation or accolades replace the true object of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ and his finished work, the gospel will always lose its power to save and transform fallen humanity. The mark of a true messenger of Christ is one that displays the scars of Christ as his only treasure, his blood as his only hope, and the resurrection as his only power. The good news of the gospel is not new; it was a mystery hidden within the message of the prophets, a message hidden in the eternal purposes of God progressively revealed to man. Paul, in these verses, points to the promised seed, David’s rightful heir. King David is the most revered King in the history of Israel. He united the kingdom, defeated Israel’s enemies, and desired to build a house for the Lord to dwell in. Because of this desire, God promised him an heir that would sit on the throne forever (2 Sam. 7). In other words, Christ’s claims as the anointed one has its origins in God’s promises through the prophets and the law. It was Christ and Christ alone that met the requirements of the promised seed of woman, the ark of salvation in the times of Noah, the one like Joseph that would save his people from death and famine, the prophet like Moses that would save his people from slavery and sin, and the rightful judge and king of Israel. The concept of establishing the lineage of the Messiah has profound implications for salvation. Many had come saying that they were the promised deliverer of Israel, as attested by Gamaliel in the book of Acts: “And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody… After this, Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, drew away many people after him…” (Acts 5:35-37). All these false messiahs had their origin in human desire and zeal, and after their death or imprisonment, their movements failed because they rested in human understanding and strength, and in human wisdom and knowledge which could never save or bring deliverance.