Not Knowing Whither pt.3

I realize that the blog has been barren as of late and I hope to get more blogs posted in the future.  Having said that I want to give an update about where we are and what we are doing.

To be to the point, we are moving to Santa Barbara to oversee a new Bible College as part of the ministry of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara.

A few months ago I received an email from friend and former boss David Guzik.  In short what the correspondence led to was an invitation to come and oversee this new work that the church was launching.  I had had some inklings that we would end up there, and was also of the impression that we would be in the States.  I must say that when I first felt the impression (maybe over a year ago) that Santa Barbara might be in the mind of God for us I was opposed to it.  But having prayed and visited the church just confirmed that it was an open door from God.  It was less dramatic then the decision to leave Germany, but had God’s fingerprints on it none the less.  So we confirmed and accepted the invitation and are moving in May or June.

It will be an exciting time and opportunity and I really feel that God is going before us and that is the best feeling in ministry because you feel less burdened and sense clearly that it is His work through and through.  It will be a blessing as I will be directing/administrating the school and Beste will be serving as a registrar.  It will be stretching as well!  Especially the move back to the States and readjusting to american culture and life.

As we leave Turkey, Beste’s mother’s situation continues to be unstable, health wise and living wise, but we are trusting God and know He will take care of her.  Yet, please pray for that, as well as the move and the school and all that goes with that.

The blog may be used for my students at some point but I am sure it will be useful for all as well.

Thanks for all the prayers and for those of you in Germany you have been on my heart immensely as of late and I miss the church deeply.  I would love to come and visit before we move, God willing, we will see.  To those here in Turkey you are all loved and leaving will be good in that we follow God, but hard in that you are dear to us.  To those stateside, we look forward to continuing our relationship and reconnecting and experiencing new seasons of joy and fellowship in the Lord together.

Prov. 3:5,6

blessings

Keith and Beste

If you are willing: Prayers of faith and God’s Sovereignty

I have bee involved in a discussion lately about the need to define terms.  Faith was one of those terms that it was seen to be necessary to define when talking about Biblical topics.  Especially when it comes to prayer and healing.  The prayer of faith can save the sick according to James and thus we find encouragement to bring our sicknesses to God that He may heal us.  I intend to walk the middle line avoiding two extremes.  So rather than say that God does not heal us when we pray in faith, or that He always does heal us when we pray in faith I would urge that a Biblical view is much more balanced.

Defining Biblical Faith

Faith is expressed in many ways by all of us in different situations.  For instance I had faith the chair I sat on would not break when I sat on it.  In other words I put my trust in the chair.  So faith can be seen as trust, a trust that commits itself to that to which it is placed in.  Now faith can either be rational or irrational, yet in the end it is essentially trust.

Biblical faith is not an abstract hope or wishful thinking.  Biblical faith is trust in what the Bible has revealed.  In short it is faith in what God has disclosed in His personal revelation.  The children’s song we all sang captures the essence of faith quite succinctly, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.  This I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Biblical faith has certain parameters that constrain whether ones faith is Biblical or not.  For instance if someone says God lives on pluto in a green hut, but they cannot qualify that statement with “for the Bible tells me so”.  Faith for the Christian is defined by the word of God.  So faith is faith in God’s word.  Faith comes be hearing and hearing by the word of God.  As Christians we never decide what we are to place our faith in, rather our faith is in what has been revealed to us in Scripture.  So faith for the Christian is that which corresponds to truth, and truth is that which corresponds to reality.

So when we discuss praying in faith for healing we must be careful that we have a correct definition of faith.  Faith again is in the Bible, and must be in line with what is expressly taught therein.  This is why we need to know and interpret our Bibles carefully so that our faith is not in the Bible simply  because the content of our faith is “found” in the Bible, but that it is what is clearly taught by the Bible.  We cannot take a verse out of context and expect to draw sound doctrinal teaching from it, otherwise we could read word’s like “there is no God”, which is uttered by the fool and extract a theology that is diametrically opposed to the message of the Bible.

Divine Healing

The Bible is very clear that God heals, that He loves to heal and when we ask Him to heal us we should trust that He has the power to do it.  There are abundant examples where God heals throughout the Bible, especially in the Gospels where the earthly ministry of Jesus is recorded.

The particular story I want to look at is in Matthew 8:1-4.  It is a small and simple miracle story where Jesus graciously heals a leper. The leper asks for cleansing mercy, but prefaces it with the words ‘if you are willing”, did He doubt His power?  By no means at all!  He calls Him Lord.  He has absolute faith that Jesus can heal him but is submitted to the freedom of Jesus to heal who He wants when He wants.  Such submission should accompany all such requests.  Granted, knowing that God might not heal can lead one to doubt that He will, but none the less as long as one does not doubt that Jesus can I would argue that he still has faith and a very Biblical one at that.  I love people of faith.  I live a life of faith.  Yet it must be constantly submitted to the sovereign pleasure of God.

Divine Sovereigny

Anyone who prays for healing is acknowledging that God is sovereign.  That He is sovereign over their ailment and that He has sovereign power to omnipotently intervene.  Yet that same sovereignty is a free sovereignty.  A Sovereignty that is not free is no sovereignty at all.

So putting it all together, is it wrong to say things like “Lord, if you are willing”?  Is that a sign of lack of faith?  Does the freedom of God in His healing activity discourage faith?  Maybe, but not Biblical faith.  My concern is that we are Biblical and balanced.  Pray!  Pray fervently, and if you pray with faith that God can heal but might not, that is okay, it is a very Biblical faith.  If you never pray for healing because God does not always heal, then that is no Biblical faith at all as well.

Keith Fortenberry

The Coming of Christ: Why He Came

In this final post about the coming of Christ I want to look at the reason He came, or “why He came:.

Why He Came

Again, we are dealing with a subject that anyone with any church experience or background should be able to answer.  We are all aware that Jesus came on a mission, a rescue mission to be exact.  Using the names that Matthew uses for Christ in his birth narrative I want to stress two reasons that He came (they are not separated but can be appreciated when looked at in isolation).

to reveal God to man

In Matthew 1:23, he quotes from Isa. 7:14 and states that Jesus fulfilled that Messianic prophecy.  Two key items in the details of that prophecy should be highlighted.  The first and foremost is obviously the virgin birth “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son..”.  The second item is the name of this child, “Immanuel”,  which is translated “God with us”.  We noted earlier from John that God dwelt among (or tabernacled) among His people in the person of Jesus Christ, for He is indeed God eternal in human flesh (Jn.1:1-3:14).  Going back to Matthew we see the same incarnational concept  employed.  That baby Jesus was not just “from” God, or a “sign” from God, but God Himself with His people.  The Christology is high here!

If we were engaged in a systematic study of Christology we would find such profound descriptions of the person of Christ throughout the Bible.  Take Colossians 1:9 for example “For in Him (Christ) all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily”.  Christ is the full expression of God to man, for He is both God and man!.  In a letter chiefly concerned with demonstrating the superiority of Christ in all things, the writer of Hebrews opens up by saying that though God has revealed Himself in times past, He has fully and finally revealed Himself in His Son Jesus Christ,  the express image of His person (my short paraphrase of Heb. 1:1-3).  All throughout the gospels you see Jesus revealing the Father, so much so that He could say “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).  Jesus’ mission was in part to reveal God to man.

to reconcile man to God

The other feature of His coming as seen in His names regards His redemptive mission.  The angel told Joseph that the child in Mary would be named “Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt.1:21).  The overarching purpose of Jesus’ coming was that is was a rescue/redemptive mission.  Hence He came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28).  So Paul elaborates and says He was born of a woman, under the law, to redeem those under the law (Gal. 4:4,5).  Born as a human, just like humans “under the law’, to fulfill the law on their behalf and then pay the price for their trangressions of that law and by His death for those sins, and resurrection that demonstrates that God accepted that payment He gives them forgiveness for those sins along with them very righteousness of the law that He earned.  All by repentance and faith towards God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Modern culture has a distorted at best and perverted at worst view of who Jesus is and why He came.  He was not just a moral teacher and miracle worker.  He not only taught about ethics and how to be right with God.  He certainly did not teach us how we could be good enough for God by virtue of our own works in any way whatsoever.  He is primarily and preeminently a Savior and Lord.

This begs the question, Savior?  Save from what?  Well, Matthew tells us, from our sins (1:21).  He came not to merely point the way to God, but to provide the way to God by His redemptive achievements.  Man needs a Savior, and that is what Jesus is!  He came to seek and save that which is lost!  He came to mend the breach between man and God caused my man’s rebellion and sinfulness.

That is what Christmas is all about.  No wonder the angels said “glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luk. 2:14).

That is what His coming has done.  Brought God the highest glory, and on earth peace and good will toward men.  And the two go hand in hand. So it serves a heavenly as well as an earthly purpose.  The ultimate end in His coming was to glorify Himself, and salvation, or “peace, and goodwill toward men” is how He is accomplishing that end.

Merry Christmas

The Coming of Christ: Who He Came To

In continuing to examine some of the details concerning the coming of Jesus, I want in this post to briefly think about who He came to.  Any one who has been to Sunday school, or watched a football game for that matter knows that Jesus came to the world for the world.  But, while recognizing and rejoicing in that, before I cover that I want to look at who He came to in the more immediate contexts of the Biblical narrative.  Namely His family that He was born into, and the people to whom His birth was announced to in one way or another.

Who He came to

poor parents

That baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph in a cave we all know.  But when we consider that Mary and Joseph were very ordinary people, not the societal elite, and though they were of David’s lineage they had  no political power or prestige or royal affiliation whatsoever.  We do not tire to say that Jesus was an unlikely hero from an unlikely family.  Perhaps you remember at one point as He was in His hometown of Nazareth the people, though astonished by His teaching and works were ultimately “offended” at Him (Matt.13:55), and said is this not the carpenter’s son?  Don’t we know His family?  Who does He think He is.  Some scholars now believe that Jesus actually came from a middle class family, yet they were poor enough to offer doves as sacrifices because they could not afford sheep.  None the less, they were not in the upper-echelon of society, religious or political.  Jesus had no official rabbinic training, He was just a normal guy from a normal family as far as they were concerned.  Isn’t it interesting that the King of the Jews was not raised in a palace?  That He did not come from they royal family of the time?  Would not that have removed some of the apprehension for the people to accept Him as their King?  Well, we know that Davidic lineage was far more important than being a son of Herod (and safer!), but none the less in also being true to the ancient prophecies, Jesus showed that His king-ship was not measured by worldly standards.

stinky shepherds

Luke’s story of the angels announcing the birth of Christ to the Shepherds in the fields is not only memorable  but very moving.  We love those words ‘for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luk.2:11).  What is fascinating is that the announcement was made to Shepherds, who were marginalized and despised.  The announcement was not made in Herod’s palace, or in the temple for that matter, but to lowly outcasts who tended their sheep by night.

mysterious magi

Perhaps no other group of people in the Bible have been so misunderstood.  We often assume that there were three because there were three gifts that they gave to Jesus, but in reality they would have numbered much more than that.  Perhaps there is so much confusion because they are a mysterious lot indeed.  Most likely they were Persian astrologers.  They may have even been aware of Israel’s prophecies, having learned these things when Israel was in exile.  Remember that Daniel served in high office in Persia when some of His prophecies were made.  Suffice it to say, through Hebrew influence in those times they may have been aware of the Messianic prophecies and expectation.  What we do know for sure is that they saw a star from the east and concluded that it was from God to lead them to Jesus the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2), and they had come to worship Him!  Gentile pagans!  Yet God graciously led them to worship Jesus.

conclusion

In all these things we can see that Jesus came for the lowly, outcast and religiously unclean.  In commenting on the birth of Jesus  being announced to the Shepherds Craig Blomberg says:

“It was to such lowly people and not to the emperor or his court that God sent still more angels to proclaim, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” *

From the humble house He was born into, to the lowly recipients of the angelic proclamation, we can see that Jesus came for the lowly, outcast and despised.  We learn also from the story of the Magi that the Jewish Messiah was to be a Savior for all.  Blomberg calls the story of the Magi “another hint at the universal impact of the Gospel” *

So when we say that Jesus came for the world, we can see that it is  all inclusive.  He came for the poor, lowly, dirty and outcasts, those not wanted by worldly standards.  In other words, He came for sinners.  People like you and me.  No one ever has to wonder if Jesus came for them.  No one ever has to feel they are beyond redemption because of who they are or where they come from.  You can rest assured that He came to give you life, life life abundant life.  ”For God so loved the world..”

*Blomberg, Craig L. (2009-08-01). Jesus and the Gospels (p. 241). B&H Books. Kindle Edition.

*ibid. (p. 235).

 

The Coming of Christ: Where He Came

In a previous post I mentioned that not only was Jesus human, but that He is a very specific human.  He is the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world.  One of the Messianic requirements concerned the place of His birth. In other words, the Messiah had to be born in a very specific place.

Where He came

was no accident

As noted above, Christ’s birth in Bethlehem was no accident, but was by Divine design.  In Luke’s account of the birth of Christ he gives the details from a human perspective about how all this “came to pass” (Luk. 2:1).  While Matthew tells us that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:5) , Luke tells us how it all came about.  So Matthew tells us why and Luke tells us how. Lets look at some of the human features that went into the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.

a royal decree: Luke tells that Augustus issued a decree that all the world would be registered.  This meant that everyone had to go to their hometown to register.

a royal lineage:  Because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David (Luk. 2:4), he left Galilee and brought Mary to be registered in Bethlehem.

a woman in labor: ”While they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered” (Luk.2:6).  While they were still in Bethlehem Mary went into labor and gave birth to Jesus (v.7).

All of this looks very natural, very human.  And it is, but over and above it all is the hidden hand of God bringing His ancient prophecies to pass through the actions of human agents.  We call this God’s providence. That is, that He rules His world and governs His world and brings His plans to pass.  Even by very ordinary events, and unwitting humans.  God is guiding human history bringing His infallible purposes to pass.  Have you ever wondered why Augustus just happened to command that decree at that particular point in time?  Was it a coincidence that it was the same time that Mary was pregnant with Jesus?  While the events are remarkably human and normal, the Biblically trained eye sees something much bigger happening here.  It sees the overarching plan of God coming to pass.  It sees the hidden hand of God in the king’s decree.  It finds no coincidence whatsoever in the story.  Rather it sees a Sovereign God working through human beings, whether they know it or not to bring His plan to pass.  Surely God is in control of our lives as well!

was no surprise

Everyone knew that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, or at least those steeped in the Scriptures did.  When the Magi came to Jerusalem to find the King of the Jews, the scribes and the chief priests informed Herod that the Christ would come out of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:4-6).  God did not only bring it to pass, but He had planned it in eternity past, and prophesied it in ancient times (Mic. 5:2).  So when we look at the guiding hand of God active in the seemingly normal affairs of man in Luke, we are assured of a Divine plan in Matthew that is the reason these things were the way they were.

Micah’s prophecy is wonderful indeed.  Out of lowly Bethlehem will come a Ruler, who will Shepherd God’s people Israel.  Like David before Him, David’s greater Son the Messiah would emerge from an unlikely place, and be an unlikely hero.  There in that manger, in what was most likely a cave, was the Ruler of Israel.  The Shepherd of God’s people.

When we read this story we are struck at the wonders and works of God.  He is a big God indeed!  Marveously brining His eternal plan to pass on an earthly stage.  It is a wonderful thing to know that God tends to His world, His people, and guides our lives by His loving eye.  He provides with His loving and tender care.  He leads us when we don’t even know it.  He is in full control of our lives

Yet, the truly marvelous thing is Christ’s deep humility.  To come to this earth full of enemies and rebels.  Yea, to come as a dependent baby in absolute weakness.  To come in the most undesirable of circumstances.  When the King of the Jews came He was not born in a palace, but in a lowly cave, to lowly parents in a lowly town.  Because He is a lowly servant though He is a King.

The Coming of Christ: When He Came

In this post I want to Briefly consider the coming of Jesus under the heading: When He Came

When He Came

at the right time

Luke is more specific than Matthew in the dating of Jesus’ birth.*  Jesus was indeed a historical figure, and all the events around His birth are historically demonstrable.  Luke places Jesus’ birth in a very specific time frame (2:1-7).  When we read Luke, we should not only appreciate his historicity, but also his theology.  We call Luke “the historian”, and rightly so, but we should never limit him to his historical features, as outstanding as they are.  For Luke there is no dichotomy between history and theology.  I would even argue (as I am sure would Luke) that all history (not just Biblical history) is theological.

I want now to draw from Paul about the coming of Christ in relation to the topic of when He came.  Paul in writing to the church in Galatia says that Jesus came “in the fullness of time”.  Jesus came at just the right time, the appointed time of the Father.  At the right time the eternal Son of God stepped onto the stage of human history as the drama of redemption unfolded.  James Boice says :

“these are wonderful words, because they show that the entry of the Christian message is at the same time the turning point of history”

Let us consider briefly just a few ways in which the time was “full”…

culturally

As a result of the military campaigns of Alexander the Great, Greek culture was ubiquitous.  Even in the Roman empire the main language was Greek.  This is why the New Testament was written in Koine, or “common” greek, because it was the common spoken language of the day.  This made the spreading of the gospel easier.  Basic language barriers were not an issue.  Communication between states was easier because of this.

politically

Under the rule of Rome there was considerable stability.  Economically and politically the empire was considerably stable.  The vast road system with guards stationed along the way made travel safer and easier than ever before.  This of course would serve the spread of the gospel in marvelous ways.

spiritually

1. Jews were restless, and eagerly anticipated the coming of the Messiah.  They had forsaken their idolatrous ways in Babylon, developed synagogues, rebuilt the temple, and were extremely zealous for the Scriptures.  There was a very real excitement and eager expectation and anticipation for the Messiah.

2. Gentiles were wrestling with the emptiness of their pantheon, they longed for something real, something satisfying.  For this reason, they would be proselytes to Judaism.  Some would not want to embrace the entire yoke of the law (namely circumcision), these were called God-feares.  They found Jewish theology to be far superior to their paganism, polytheism and superstition.  They were half converts.  Imagine the joy of Gentiles who had much admiration for the Jewish monotheism, but who were hesitant to embrace all the legal restrictions of the law when they heard they could be saved by grace through faith apart from works of the law (and circumcision!).  Suffice it to say, the Gentile world was interested in the God of the Hebrews.

3. The law had served it’s purpose and prepared the way for Christ who had come to fulfill the law, to redeem  those born under the law.  Those under the law were not just the Jews in this regard because the law condemned the whole world.  It demonstrated the righteousness of God and that the world was guilty and needed a Savior.

scripturally

All of this was done perfectly in accordance with what God had spoken.  Matthew sees Jesus’ birth as fulfilling a number of prophecies (Isa. 7:14; Mic. 5:2).  Daniel had prophesied about the coming of Messiah in his prophecy of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9).

Christ came at just the right time.  The appointed time.  I love to sing “long lay the world in sin and error pining, til He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth”.  Long lay the world… til the right time, when He appeared.

* For those interested in the supposed problems of Luke’s dating I would recommend they consult either Gleason Archer’s “encyclopedia of Bible difficulties”, Norm Geisler’s book on “Bible difficulties”, or Craig Blomberg’s book “Jesus and the Gospels”.  Each one gives at least possible, logical solutions to the problem.

The Coming of Christ: How He Came

This is the first installment of a series of posts that will center around the birth of our Lord.  Seeing as it is not only fitting for the season, but the incarnation is a cardinal doctrine of our faith, and it also happens to be one of my favorite truths to contemplate as well.  Using the Bible I will focus on the manner, method and mission of His coming, and to serve that purpose I will to gather my thoughts around the five headings of how, when, where, who, and why.

How He Came

Himself 

I suppose to begin any consideration of the coming of Jesus one must first recognize that He did indeed come.  The word “came” itself implies existence in a previous location, or in other words that Jesus was somewhere before He came to the earth.  The fascinating thing is that when He came it was through the process of conception and birth of a child.  All humans have a beginning, yet this human baby “came”.  We speak of course of the pre-existence of Christ, or His eternality (Jn.1:1-3).  His existence did not begin at Bethlehem or even in Mary’s womb for that matter.  Rather He exists from all eternity in splendid triunity with the Father and the Holy Spirit in full Deity and majestic glory.  Yet He chose to “come” to the earth.  He came!

He came Himself.  He did not send an angel to do His work.  He did not commission an upright human to set the cosmos back in order.  No.  He came Himself.  If you could picture the heavenly court, the constant praise, the noble beings all around Him ready to do His bidding.  Yet as He looks at the plight of man, the curse of sin and the hopelessness of His creation He takes action and comes Himself.  Even though surrounded by a mighty host of angels, had He sought one to do His will, none would suffice.  The Lamb who was slain from before the foundation of the world was the only one who could right the wrong, who could redeem the world.

As God

God’s relationship to His creation is a mysterious phenomenon in and of itself.  How an eternal Spirit interacts with time bound creatures.  How God who is immaterial dwells with His material people.  I have read a particular author who has suggested that God was in the garden in physical form.  Perhaps, but I am not sure.  What I am sure of is that He was there in comprehensible presence, in unbroken fellowship where man and creator interacted in innocence and bliss.  Yet when sin interrupted that relationship fellowship was broken, the harmony was gone, man had become separated from his creator.  Throughout the rest of the Bible the results of this breach and the plan to restore this relationship is the dominating theme.  How can God dwell among sinful people?  There are gracious accommodations throughout the Bible where He gives visible signs of His presence to His people.  From the accompanying cloud in the wilderness, to the tabernacle and the temple, in all things God was assuring His people that He was indeed with them.

John, under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit views Jesus’ coming in no less of terms.  He makes His case for the eternality and Deity of Jesus (Jn. 1:1-3), and then when speaking of the incarnation (1:14) he says that when the word became flesh, “He dwelt among us”, or tabernacled among us.  What John is saying is that just as God visibly dwelt among His people in the tabernacle, He has done so now and even more profoundly in the God-Man Jesus Christ.  In other words, Jesus was not just a human who was so inspired to by God that God used Him and adopted Him as His Son by virtue of His achievements.  Nor did His coming as a human strip Him of His Divine status in any way.  To use a pauline phrase “certainly not!”.  Jesus in assuming humanity was not any less God than He was prior to the incarnation.  Rather He took on full humanity and in so doing was “Immanuel, God with us”,  which is what Matthew brings out in his birth narrative.  What I am keen to stress here is that we must never think (regardless on any moderate kenosis theory) that Jesus was somehow lessened in His divinity in any way by the assumption of humanity.  Nor, should the twin error be made that His deity somehow detracted from the fullness of His humanity.  He was and is fully man and fully God in every sense.

As man

When we think of Jesus’ birth, we recognize that birth is a phenomenon that belongs to the created order.  I am not here speaking of immaterial things such as angels, but of humans, the center of God’s creative activity and purposes.  So in short, humans are born, God is not.  When one thinks of all of the ways that God could have chosen to come, He came as a human.  Not a mere manifestation of a spirit as a human, but a real human indeed.  John is certain of this in his words “the Word became flesh”.  In the incarnation the human and the divine were forever united in one person.  Two natures, one person, unmixed, un-separated in mysterious union and fullness.  Theologians call this the hypostatic union.

All of the experiences and emotions of humanity were now His.  Birth, infancy, adolescence, growth, disappointment, sleep etc.. to name a few.  Hebrews tells us that in so doing He is our Great High Priest who can sympathize with us in our weaknesses and temptations (Heb. 4:15).

Not only did He come as a human, but as a baby at that.  He subjected Himself to fetus form, birth and dependence upon two fallible humans.  Rather than come in full human form and fully developed, He came in utter weakness, as a baby.

He was also a very specific human.  He was the Messiah, the Son of David, the fulfillment of all of Israel’s ancient prophecies and hopes.  He was the very theme of her sacred history, the very hope that she held on to, the very deliverer she so eagerly anticipated.  Jesus, who would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).  But in order for Him to be this person, He had to meet very specific requirements.  The Gospels are keen to point this out not only in their genealogies(Matt. & Lk.), but also in their respective birth narratives.  He met each and every requirement.  His lineage was of the house of David (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 2:4).  He fulfilled Messianic prophecies (Matt. 1:23; 2:6).  He is not just a human, but a very specific and unique human.  The Messiah, the Son of God.

Miraculously

When the angel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus she was puzzled and asked how she, a virgin could do such a thing.  The angel’s response was that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, overshadow her and conceive the child in her womb (Lk.1:35; cf Matt.1:20).  The importance of the virgin birth is of paramount importance.  It shows the supernatural character of Jesus’ life, and demonstrates the duality of His natures, though gloriously united in one person.  Wayne Grudem lists several key  elements concerning the importance of this doctrine:

1. Salvation must come from outside humanity, or more precisely from the Lord.  Grudem says “The virgin birth of Christ is an unmistakable reminder that salvation can never come through human effort, but must be the work of God himself. Our salvation only comes about through the supernatural work of God, and that was evident at the very beginning of Jesus’ life…”   .  Because man needed a Savior he is himself unable to be that Savior, hence God must act.  There must be a foreign redeemer, yet this foreign redeemer became one of us in order to bring salvation to pass.

2. It made possible the uniting of Deity and humanity.  With God as His father, and Mary as His mother, Jesus is in every sense man and God.  Fully both without either nature detracting from the other nor mixing with the other, existing together in undiminished fullness in one person.

3. It makes possible that Christ could be born as a human without inheriting sin.  By virtue of being conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was not conceived the way all other children of Adam are, and because of that “the child will be called holy” (Lk. 1:35).

Contrary to much of our cultural Christmas focuses, Christmas celebrates a profound and precious event, the coming of God to the world in human form.  This Christmas let your heart be filled with awe at the wonders of God’s works, and the mystery and majesty of Jesus’ person.  Immanuel, God with us!

Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic theology: An introduction to biblical doctrine (529). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

Christmas and Church Councils

Being in Turkey during Christmas is an interesting affair.  Turkey is obviously an islamic nation and culture, a reality which is clearly evidenced in daily life.  The calls to prayer, the ubiquity of mosques and in certain neighborhoods the predominance of head scarves and full body burqas all testify to the prevalence and priority of  islam in modern day Turkey.  The other day I was in one of the more conservative areas for breakfast and afterwards we exchanged my wedding ring for a better fitting one (bargaining of course!), and then I got a shave.  During my shave the TV was on and from what I gathered the channel that was on was the Turkish version of C-Span.  One of the men speaking seemed to be a bit longwinded, and during his speech I heard him use the word “Isa” a few times.  Beste began to translate a bit  and said that the man was giving a some sort of history of Christianity and demonstrating that Christianity had become corrupted and had embraced paganism.  His diatribe included a rebuttal of basically all Judeo/Christian beliefs that do not square with Islam’s reinterpretation of them.  While I don’t know Turkish, it was clear from some of the words and from what Beste interpreted for me.  Turning my eyes from the TV towards the mirror I was confronted with more Islamic dominance, a large payer plaque.  On top of that some clients came in and greeted with the traditional arabic/islamic greeting “As-Salāmu `Alaykum”, the barber’s response the proper “Wa Alaikum Assalam”.  While I don’t have to read religious overtones into the greeting, it is hard not to deduce them.

Ironically enough, Christmas trees and other decor fill the malls and gas stations and stores, all except the nativity scene.  Jesus is not the the theme at all.  In light of all this I can’t help but think of the church councils and creeds that have been formulated right here in Turkey that defend the Biblical doctrine of Christ.  For instance we are not far from ancient Chalcedon, where the hypostatic union, or the dual natures of Christ was confessed.  Or the council of Constantinople , or Nicea which both affirmed the Deity of Christ.  What a contrast to the view of Christ in the same land today.  Christianity far outdates Islam in Turkey, and the first churches were in what is now modern day Turkey.  Yet not only is Jesus not accepted as Lord and Savior, but any teaching that affirms the Deity, Lordship and supremacy of Christ is foreign to popular belief, religious and secular.  Yet here in this very land the battle was fought long ago and the Biblical doctrine of Christ was defined, defended and documented.   A stark contrast indeed.

Yet there remains a remnant in Turkey, a pocket of believers who affirm the Biblical doctrine of Christ, who worship Him, receive Him as the final prophet, rely on the Bible as their one and only guide to faith and living, who rejoice in Christ as living Savior and Lord.

Not Knowing Whither pt.2 : the prequel

My intention in this post is simply to explain why it is that we have left Germany.  I realize that this should be pt.1, hence the title “the prequel”.  Knowing that quite a few will read the previous post without the background of the situation, and thus will be left with a huge “what?”  ”why?” “where?” etc…

When I came to Heidelberg, the original plan was to be there a minimum of two  years, and a maximum of three.  When that time was up I was going to step out, and while at the time it seemed I would develop a work in Neuwied (near Koblenz where the Rhein and Mosul meet), in providence it did not turn out that way.  God has wonderfully provided for the special saints there and there is what seems to be a church in the making.  Suffice it to say, our future was wide open.

Many of you know that our pastor and his family left Germany to go to Texas for some mission work.  So my commitment would thus be over two years, and at-least until they were back.  It was a wonderful and growing time.  As they were back we had a lot of time to seek God and sort of step back and survey everything.  Our only goal/intention was (and still is) to discern what God was leading us to do.  We had sensed that He was leading us to leave Germany for some time, but were uncertain.  We love Germany, and certainly love CCHD, but wanted to have hearts and lives that God could guide for His purposes.

So there we were, sort of unsure about what to do, sensing it was time to leave, but asking God to make things concrete.  One day I was out running in the beautiful fields of Eppelheim (our village) , which I will spare you my poem about   and after I ran I just walked and prayed.  I was essentially saying “God, it really seems that you are leading us on, but you are silent”.  I began to wonder if we should just plan on leaving not knowing where to go and trust that He would guide us.  Then Abraham came to my mind, and I asked God to have someone share that verse with me (yes, I know, that is not normal, and is a bit mystical and highly subjective, and not the standard way to know God’s will), then I imagined hearing it from someone that has no discernment etc.. and that it was just a sort of shaky thing to trust as being God’s voice.  I promptly qualified my request and asked God to show Beste and I together.

When I got home (having completely forgot about my prayer) Beste was listening to a message from John Piper.  She then wanted to show me a short clip of him from another sermon.  Now Beste was reading though the Bible in a year, and she happened to be in Habakkuk, and this led her to some research on faith.  This ultimately landed her on this clip of Piper ( I will put a link below).  In the clip he described faith, and wouldn’t you know it, he used Abraham as an example (from Heb.11).  His main point was that faith is “not knowing”, and held up Abraham as a model by “obeying God and going out, not knowing where he was going”.  My heart dropped.  Beste was crying, and I tried to play it cool and ask here why she showed me that.  She said it spoke to her about trusting God, and acknowledged it is okay if she does not know, as long as God does.  I then shared with her what i had just prayed, and saw that as a clear  response from God, and from that moment we took that as God’s command to us to make plans to leave Germany, not knowing where exactly we will go, and He will graciously show us and lead us.  So that is what we did.

So here we are.  We had thought that He would speak to us before we left Germany, but His timing seems to be other than ours.  Not knowing exactly what to do, we took the step to come to Turkey b/c if we end up going to the States there is a good flight from Istanbul, and also b/c no matter where we go would come here and see Beste’s mother.  So we are here.  Right now we are helping Beste’s mother with her apt. (a very unstable situation), and a number of other things.  We are not sure still where we will go, so we are here, helping Beste’s mother.  We want to be sure that she is taken care of before any big moves are made.  We met here, so we know a lot of people, and see them and meet with them.  I am trying to use the time to also get a good deal of studying done.

The question.. what is next?  We are not sure.  It seems that two places make the most sense.  Either America or Turkey.  We are open to what God wants.  Right now we are here, and if God wants us here long term we want Him to show that to us.  If He wants us in America or somewhere else, we want Him to show it to us.  Nothing is certain yet, so we are still in between the first call and the next.  I have read what others have said about this (in the Bible, oswald chambers, J. Sidlow baxter etc..), but experiencing it is quite another thing.  I plan on updating, although I sense it will be more devotional/teaching in nature, and personal in what God is doing in our hearts in this season.  He may be backing me into a corner, and if that is the case please pray with me that He gets what He wants from me and does what He wants in me/ us.

In the days to come I will start a 4 or 6 piece blog/study on Christmas.  They should be all done by Christmas.  I generally do not expect people to read my blog three times a week, so do not feel obligated, but I will probably do about two a week to get them done in time.  They will center around the birth of Christ as drawn from the birth narratives in the Gospels.

here is a link to the sermon I preached about our decision to leave: http://www.cchd.de/MP3/Keith_Fortenberry_20111016_1030.mp3

and the one from John Piper:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjLrXtBIVXA

blessings

Keith

Not Knowing Whither pt.1: A foggy flight and a foggy future

As we as what seemed endlessly taxied to the runway in the heavy Frankfurt fog, I could not help but remember a picture that some one had for us as the church prayed over us just two nights earlier at our going away party.  The picture was that we were surrounded by fog, but in due time God would lift the fog and speak and guide us into the harbor of His choosing (the harbor bit is my addition   ).  I could not help but see the striking similarities between the physical and spiritual circumstances of our leaving Germany.  Foggy.

On that long taxi I realized that a good and wonderful season of my life was over.  Germany has been a very big part of my life and will continue to be as long as I live.  God proved Himself to me here, graciously condescended to use me here, immensely blessed me here, led me to my wife through being here.  It is one of the moments when words don’t do justice, because words seek to put limits and boundaries on things in order to explain them.  oder?  And in trying to plumb the depths of my/our experience verbally is as Qoholeth said “grasping for the wind”.  It was too deep, too blessed.  It has a depth that will have to be responded to with thanks to God.  A depth that will be tapped as God draws out of me/us in forthcoming circumstances what He graciously poured into me/us in previous experiences.

As I left the church on Sunday night, I was moved by the genuine and deep tears.  It was odd to leave and realize I wont be back during the week.  We had been so busy the last weeks (and right up until our flight actually) that it had not hit home, but Sunday night it did, and even more so Monday evening.  To all those in Germany from Siegen to Neuwied to Heidelberg, thank you and we appreciate your faithful and continual prayers.  I wont talk about the weather in Turkey, that would be cruel…..

Keep in touch!