When Good Is Not Good Enough

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel. – Leviticus 21:16-24 ESV

God placed high expectations upon His priests because they served as His emissaries and mediators. Their everyday involvement in His Tabernacle required that they be holy and pure. In a sense, God was demanding of them what He demanded of Abraham.

“…walk before me, and be blameless…” – Genesis 17:1 ESV

This divine decree from God, spoken to Abraham in his 90th year, was not a call to perfection or sinlessness; it was an invitation to live a wholehearted, fully transparent life as a His servant. God demanded that Abraham not live in hiddenness or secrecy. There were to be no areas of his life that were off-limits to God. There was to be no compartmentalization or secular-sacred split when it came to his behavior. God wanted all of Abraham and the same thing was true of Aaron and his sons.

When reading this section of Leviticus, one might reach the conclusion that God is discriminatory and disparaging of the physically disadvantaged. But that would require reading the text in a superficial manner and only from a human perspective. It is important to remember that the entire book of Leviticus highlights the holiness of Yahweh. The giving of the law and the Book of the Covenant, the construction of the Tabernacle, and the institution of the sacrificial system were all intended to highlight the holiness of Israel’s God. All these things were meant to point to His perfection and moral purity and the need for His people to live in a way that reflected His glory.

So, when God issues the command that any defective, disfigured, or deformed priest was banned from ministering in His presence, it was meant to remind the Israelites of His holiness. There were to be no concessions, compromises, or shortcuts. If it was inappropriate and unacceptable for them to offer an injured, disfigured, or diseased animal as a sacrifice, why would it be okay for a “blemished” priest to participate in the very same ceremony?

Those priests with permanent disfigurements were permanently banned from serving in the Tabernacle. If their injuries or illnesses were temporary, they would be prohibited from serving only until they were healed.

“Disqualified priests still participated in other priestly functions and could still eat the portions given them in the sanctuary. They just could not serve as sacrificing priests in the holy place.” – Allen P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus

God provides a comprehensive but not exhaustive list of disqualifying conditions, including blindness, lameness, disfigurement, deformity, broken limbs, defective eyes, skin sores, scabs, and damaged testicles. God also excludes the “hunchbacked or dwarfed” (Leviticus 21;20 NLT). In all of these cases, the “defects” of the individual would have been readily apparent to everyone. The evidence of these conditions would have been difficult to hide from the rest of the community. So, if a priest who suffered from either a temporary or permanent defect was allowed to minister before God in the holy place, it would have sent a very strong and wrong signal to the people of God.

It’s difficult to read this passage and not consider the words that God spoke to the prophet Samuel concerning his search for the next king of Israel. God had sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in order to find a replacement for King Saul. As the first king of Israel, Saul proved to be a disappointment because he had disobeyed God. As a result, God rejected him as king and vowed to replace him with “a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT). So, when Samuel arrived at the house of Jesse, he had his host bring in each of his sons, one by one. When he saw Eliab, the firstborn, Samuel responded, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” (1 Samuel 16:6 NLT). To Samuel, this young man had all the outward characteristics of a king. He looked the part. But God warned Samuel that he was focusing on the wrong thing.

“Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT

Eventually, Samuel examined all of Jesse’s sons without receiving divine confirmation regarding any of them. That is until David showed up.

And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” – 1 Samuel 16:12 NLT

Yes, the text states that David was “dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes” (1 Samuel 16:12 NLT), but that was not the reason God chose him. The Book of Acts records that “God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22 NLT).

So, this raises the question: Why does God seem to place so much emphasis on outward appearance when it comes to His priests? Is this a case of inconsistency on God’s part? The logical answer is no, because “The LORD is righteous in all his ways” (Psalm 145:17 ESV). Everything He does is right, good, perfect, and without contradiction or inconsistency.

The men who served in God’s Tabernacle were required to be physically without defect. He had already provided the means for taking care of their “heart defects.” There were sacrifices they had to make for personal atonement before they could serve in God’s house and minister on behalf of the people. Any interior “imperfections” would be taken care of through this process. But their physical flaws and defects were another matter. These outward conditions were visible for all to see and would have sent an improper message to the rest of the faith community if these men were allowed to enter the presence of God in their flawed and imperfect state.

This is not to be construed as some kind of statement regarding the diminished spiritual status of those with birth defects, diseases, deformities, or disfigurements. God was not declaring such people as spiritual outcasts or damaged goods. He was simply emphasizing the need for His priests to be both spiritually and physically “unblemished” to serve in His presence.

“Physically inferior priests were not necessarily inferior spiritually, but the priest’s duties and office required completeness since the priest stood between God and people.” – Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Leviticus, 2023 Edition

God makes His intentions perfectly clear. He is not degrading these men for physical character traits over which they have no control or say. He is simply stressing the importance of their role as His representatives and highlighting that any physical flaws they may have could end up diminishing His glory and holiness before the people.

“…because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy.” – Leviticus 21:23 NLT

God wanted Aaron to understand that there were to be no concessions made when it came to God’s holiness. That included the holiness of God’s house, the sacrificial system, and the men who served God’s priests. Those who came into His presence must be physically and spiritually blameless and unblemished. There was to be no unsightly skin disease covered by the white, flowing robes of the priesthood. No lame, blind, or disfigured priest was allowed to offer sacrifices before Yahweh. These kinds of conditions were visual evidence of the effects of the fall. Sin’s entrance into God’s creation brought death and disease and served as constant reminders of the damaged relationship between God and all that He had made. He alone remained holy and pure, free from contamination, and completely flawless in every way. Yet, He had chosen to dwell with those who were “damaged goods.” He had come to earth and set up residence among a people who were blemished both inside and out. But their sinfulness, as evidenced by their damaged hearts and physically flawed bodies, would be a constant barrier to their relationship with Him. That’s why He gave them His law, His Tabernacle, and the sacrificial system. And it’s why He established the priesthood as a means of providing His people with spiritual leadership, intercession, and instruction. But for these men to do their job, they would have to be “without defect.”

In God’s economy, good is never good enough. He has higher standards. He places demands upon His people but also provides the means by which they can live up to those demands. He expects holiness. And while He knows His people will never be able to measure up to His standards in this life, He never lowers the bar or cuts corners. As He declared to Moses, “I am the Lord who makes them holy” (Leviticus 21:23 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Be Holy

19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 18:19-30 ESV

God not only commissioned Moses to lead the people of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt, but to take them all the way to Canaan, the land He had promised to give as an inheritance to the descendants of Abraham. As the Israelites stood at the base of Mount Sinai, they were roughly halfway to their final destination, but they were far from ready to conquer the land that God had destined to be their home. During their four-century-long absence from Canaan, the Israelites had taken on many of the moral and social customs of their Egyptian captors. They had adopted the Egyptian gods as their own. They also ended up lowering their moral standards by assimilating many of the depraved sexual vices of the Egyptians into their daily lives.

While they may have left Egypt behind them, they were still carrying a lot of these depraved and destructive practices with them as they journeyed to Canaan. And they would soon discover that the land God had given them as their inheritance was filled with sinful people who made the Egyptians look like rank amateurs. And how did these nations develop their disposition for sin? According to the apostle Paul, their sinful behavior was a direct result of their rejection of God. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul describes the downward moral spiral that took place after the fall.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. – Romans 1:18-27 ESV

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul points out the moral decline of humanity after sin entered the world. At one point, all mankind had an awareness of God, as His divine attributes were evident all around them in the created world. But in time, these very same people began to worship the creation instead of the Creator. In an effort to make sense of their place and purpose in the world, human beings began to speculate and experiment with all kinds of things that might provide them with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. But in their unwillingness to honor God, they ended up rejecting or replacing Him with gods of their own making. As Paul puts it, “they traded the truth about God for a lie,” and God allowed them to do so. He abandoned them to their shameful desires.

The book of Genesis reveals that the moral decline of humanity was quick and quite comprehensive. Mankind’s fall from the pinnacle of God’s creative order was dramatic and surprisingly sweeping in its impact. According to the book of Genesis, the sinful state of the world became so perverse and pervasive that God was forced to take action.

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” – Genesis 6:7 NLT

This determination by God led to the worldwide flood that destroyed all humanity, except for Noah and his family. When the floodwaters subsided, God began again with Noah and his three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Along with their wives, these men were commissioned by God to repopulate the world, and they did as God told them to do. Genesis 10 reveals the nations that came from the three sons of Noah, and ends with the following statement: “These are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood” (Genesis 10:32 NLT). 

But despite God’s gracious gift of a second chance, mankind simply repeated the pattern all over again. They turned their backs on God, replacing Him with lifeless idols made by human hands, and making the pursuit of pleasure their highest priority. Paul describes such people in stark and degrading terms.

They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. – Philippians 3:19 NLT

At one point, Paul warned his young protege, Timothy, about the sorry state of the world in “the last days.” He described the people of their day as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4 NLT). And this was not just his opinion regarding the unsaved and unchurched. Paul was warning Timothy that, as the end draws near, even the people of God would be guilty of these things, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5 NLT). 

And Leviticus 18 reveals that God knew the Israelites would be just as susceptible to adopting and adapting the ways of the world. That is why He spends so much time warning them to avoid the sexual sins of their past and future neighbors.

These taboos were far from arbitrary or puritanical; they were purposeful and practical. God knew exactly what He was doing and why He was doing it. He had chosen the people of Israel to be His royal priesthood and a holy nation. These strict social and sexual standards were designed to illustrate what true human flourishing should look like. Sexuality had been God’s gift to mankind. It was through the union of one woman and one man that God had planned to fill the world with more of His image bearers. But with the entrance of sin into the world, humanity’s ability to mirror the image of God became distorted. Seeking to satisfy their own desires, human beings began to push the boundaries of God’s divine decrees and, in doing so, revealed their true intention to “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5 ESV). In other words, they wanted to be the determiners of their own fates. They wanted to decide what was right and what was wrong. They wanted the freedom to determine what was true and what was false. And their relentless pursuit of autonomy had led to idolatry and every imaginable form of moral depravity. God’s moral order had been turned on its head, with men having sexual relations with men and women with women. Even the practice of bestiality had become commonplace and completely acceptable among the nations of Canaan.

But God had a different standard for His people. Their lives were to reflect their status as His chosen people. So, when they arrived at the land of Canaan, the Israelites were to avoid the mistakes of the land’s current occupants. The whole reason God was preparing to replace the Canaanites with the Israelites was that they had defiled the land. In the 400 years since Jacob had left Canaan, the various nations who remained behind had defiled themselves and the land.

“Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out.” – Leviticus 18:25 NLT

“All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become defiled.” – Leviticus 18:27 NLT

Everything God declared to be off-limits to the Israelites was considered acceptable behavior to the Canaanites. What was considered common and kosher to the Canaanites was to be recognized as unholy and unacceptable to the people of God. The status quo was never to be the determiner of godly behavior. The ways of the world, no matter how prevalent and permissible, were never to dictate the behavior of God’s people. They were to be holy, just as He was holy. And while His ways may not always make sense or appeal to our fallen natures, they are always right and just. As God told the prophet, Isaiah:

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

That’s why God told the Israelites, “So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:30 ESV). None of this was up for debate or discussion. God wasn’t asking for their opinion or permission. His ways were better. His methods were holy, just, and right. They were His chosen people, but to enjoy all that He had prepared for them, they would need to live in keeping with His perfect will.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Deadly Influence of Death

24 “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 25 and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27 And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 28 and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

29 “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32 And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. 33 And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. 34 Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. 36 Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, 38 but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.” – Leviticus 11:24-38 ESV

In these 15 verses, God uses the word “unclean” 22 times. His repetitive use of this word provides ample proof of just how seriously He took this matter. The Hebrew word is טָמֵא (ṭāmē'), and it refers to someone becoming ceremonially defiled or impure, rendering them unfit for participation in the household of God but, more importantly, making them unholy and incapable of coming into God’s presence. It was not that this “infection” involved actual contagion from harmful bacteria or disease but that the one deemed unclean had violated God’s ban.

All of these restrictions deal with an individual having contact with the dead bodies of particular creatures. The issue had less to do with the species of the animal than its lifelessness. Death was the mitigating factor in the prohibition. God makes it clear that touching the dead body of any of these creatures would render the individual defiled and in need of purification.

“The following creatures will make you ceremonially unclean. If any of you touch their carcasses, you will be defiled until evening.” – Leviticus 11:24 NLT

That the defilement did not involve an actual life-threatening contagion is made clear by the temporary nature of the individual’s isolation. The defilement or uncleanness was ceremonial in nature. The point that God seems to be making is that death, while inevitable and unavoidable, was also antithetical to His nature. He is the God of life. Death entered His perfect creation as a result of mankind’s sin. In the beginning, God breathed life into the body of the man He created.

…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. – Genesis 2:7 ESV

God is the creator and sustainer of all life. The book of Nehemiah records the people’s declaration of God’s role in giving life to all creatures, human and otherwise.

“You alone are the Lord.
You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down before You.” – Nehemiah 9:6 NASB

Death was an anomaly, caused by the entrance of sin into God’s pristine and perfect creation. And the apostle Paul makes it clear that death was a byproduct of man’s rebellion against God.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. – Romans 5:12-14 NLT

Adam’s sin brought death into an atmosphere that had been marked by life and light. So death, like sin, was unacceptable to a holy and righteous God. And yet, death is not outside the sovereign will of God; it is the result of His justice and righteousness. God had told Adam that if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die (Genesis 2:17). Death would be the judgment for Adam’s disobedience to God’s command. As the apostle Paul points out, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 ESV). Death is the God-ordained penalty for sin. The very presence of death in God’s creation is a constant reminder of the reality and pervasive nature of sin. Without sin, there would be no death. And, ultimately, death is God’s curse on all creation due to mankind’s rebellion against Him.

“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” – Deuteronomy 32:39 ESV

The curse of death has infected all of creation. Animals, insects, birds, and plants all suffer eventual death. Even the universe itself is in a constant state of atrophy. And the apostle Paul describes this unavoidable process of decay and decline in stark terms.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. – Romans 8:20-22 NLT

The apostle John states that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Death is a symbol of the darkness caused by sin. Death is a destroyer and the ultimate source of alienation from God. To die is not only to cease from living but to be separated from the God of life. So, God placed restrictions on His people that were intended to regulate and mitigate their contact with death while still living. The primary point is that death rendered one unholy and unworthy of entering God’s presence.

“The main point of Moses’ instructions was for the people to avoid touching corpses when possible because dead bodies conveyed ritual contagion through contact. This made the person or thing unfit to remain in the camp. Only after the proper ritual cleansing was the person or item reintegrated into the life of the community.” – Kenneth A. Matthew, Leviticus: Holy God, Holy People

Coming into contact with dead animals or people was inevitable. Death was an unavoidable part of life. But even mere contact with death would separate the Israelites from their life-giving God. Touching the carcass of a dead animal would render someone unclean before God. Even an ordinary object that came into contact with a dead animal was to be considered unholy and defiled until properly cleansed.

The repeated use of the word “unclean” also emphasizes the importance of cleanliness or purity. God expected His chosen people to understand their need for purity at all times. The slightest contact with death would deny them access to God and place them outside the community of faith.

Jesus Himself emphasized His Father’s life-giving nature. When confronted by a question from the Pharisees regarding the reality of the resurrection, Jesus alluded to the fact that even Moses believed in the resurrection because he described God as “the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Luke 20:37 ESV). Then Jesus went on to elaborate that His Father is the author of life, not death.

“Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” – Luke 20:38 ESV

This section of Leviticus is meant to emphasize the life-giving nature of Israel’s God. It emphasizes the reality of death and the inevitable and unvoidable impact it would have on the people of Israel. But God provided a means for mitigating its divisive and destructive nature. His people could receive cleansing and have their separation from God restored. But it was essential that they understand the seriousness of sin and the deadly influence it could have on their relationship with God. Every day would be filled with reminders of sin’s presence and their need for purification from its infectious influence. Yahweh was the God of life and death was a reminder of humanity’s sin and its need for His cleansing and forgiveness.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faith in Action

4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. 7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people. – Philemon 1:4-7 ESV

It’s not hard to recognize Paul’s intense and sincere love for Philemon. These are not the pious-sounding platitudes of a pastor, but they are legitimate expressions of love from a close friend. And Paul tells his friend that news of his faith and love causes him to offer up prayers of thanksgiving to God. Paul is grateful for the tangible expressions of life change that have become evident in Philemon’s life. His faith in Jesus Christ’s love for him has resulted in visible displays of selfless love for the people of God.

The apostle John used this same combination of faith in Jesus and love for others in his first letter.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. – 1 John 3:23 NLT

And John went on to call for a consistent and persistent kind of love that would reflect the believer’s new relationship with their gracious and loving Father, who is the source of all love.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7-8 NLT

John emphasized that the believer’s capacity to love others was evidence of their newfound relationship with God and was made possible because God had loved them enough to send His Son to die in their place as the payment for their sins.

We love each other because he loved us first. – 1 John 4:19 NLT

Paul complimented Philemon for his love of others. But you can sense that Paul is setting Philemon up. He is lovingly preparing his friend to hear some news that will likely prove difficult to receive. It will involve Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus.

Paul begins by explaining to Philemon the content of his ongoing prayers for him: “I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ” (Philemon 1:6 NLT). Paul has already complimented Philemon for his love for others. But he wanted Philemon to know and experience the full impact of the Gospel in his life. Paul deeply desired that his friend’s faith would grow in depth and intensity so that he might know and experience all the fulness of joy promised to him in Christ. Jesus had told His disciples:

“Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:9-13 ESV

Paul wanted more for Philemon. He was not content to allow his friend to rest on his laurels or to become complacent in his faith. While there was obvious evidence of fruit in Philemon’s life, there would always be room for further growth. And Paul wanted Philemon to understand that God’s transformative work in his life would never be complete in this life. It would be ongoing and never-ending. And Paul made it a habit to pray for the continual spiritual enlightenment of all those he loved and to whom he ministered. 

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 1:18-20 NLT

Paul wanted Philemon to know that his love for others was contagious, having spread far beyond the confines of their local faith community. News of Philemon’s love had reached the ears of Paul, as he sat under house arrest in Rome. And Paul told him, “I have derived much joy and comfort from your love” (Philemon 1:7 ESV). But why? What was it about Philemon’s actions that caused Paul to rejoice and be encouraged? Paul provides the answer:  “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you” (Philemon 1:7 ESV).

As an apostle, teacher, and fellow Christ-follower, Paul found great joy in watching believers live out their faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. When he was able to witness the body of Christ functioning as intended, he couldn’t help but be encouraged. Unity and true community within Christ’s church was important to Paul. That’s why he told the church in Philippi:

…complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:2-4 ESV

Philemon had no idea what was coming. As he, Apphia, and Archippus read this letter together, he must have been deeply encouraged. But the other shoe was about to drop. Paul was preparing to test Philemon’s faith in a profound way. His concept of what it means to love others was going to be stretched. His ideas regarding justice and mercy were going to be challenged as never before. His secular and sacred worlds were about to collide, causing him to reconsider his faith in a whole new light.

Philemon had a blind spot. But he was not alone, and this is probably the reason Paul had included Apphia and Archippus as recipients of his letter. The topic Paul was about to bring up was going to be controversial for each and every member of the local congregation who met in Philemon’s home. They would have known about Philemon’s runaway slave. And most, if not all of them, would have been familiar with and agreeable to Philemon’s legal rights as a master. But Paul was about to rock their collective world.

While the early church seemed to have no problem with slaves coming to faith in Christ and even attending their local fellowships, a social stigma remained. There was a lingering sense of separation and segregation. And Paul addressed this issue repeatedly in his letters to the churches. He was out to tear down the societal standards of his day that were creating division within the body of Christ. In their place, he called for a sense of oneness in Christ.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NLT

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:26-28 NLT

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. – Colossians 3:11 NLT

While the world outside the doors of the church was practicing segregation, enslavement, and every conceivable form of social prejudice, Paul was calling the body of Christ to practice “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 3:3 ESV). There was no place for division and disunity in God’s family. Everyone stands as equals at the foot of the cross. And as Paul reminded the believers in Rome: “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11 NLT).

No, in God’s Kingdom, all share the unique and undeserved privilege of adoption as His sons and daughters, regardless of race, creed, color, or social standing.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. – Ephesians 3:4-6 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Presence of God

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV

Paul makes it perfectly clear that there is no place for boasting in the presence of God. No one can claim to have access into God’s presence due to their own merit or efforts. And if you recall, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they were cast from the garden and away from the presence of God. Their disobedience resulted in the forfeiture of their right to enjoy unbroken fellowship with their God. Their sin brought about shame and guilt, causing them to attempt to hide from God. They even tried to cover up their nakedness, somehow ashamed of the very form in which God had created them. And the Genesis account tells us that “they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8 ESV). But their hiding proved ineffective. God saw them and knew exactly what they had done. While they vainly attempted to cast blame and shift responsibility, God held them both accountable for their actions.  And He placed a curse on they and their future descendants, eventually banning them from ever entering the garden again.

…therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. – Genesis 3:23-24 ESV

The Bible goes on to record that the interactions between God and sinful man were few and far between in the time immediately after the fall. Only on rare occasions did God reveal Himself to men. He did so with Cain, immediately after his murder of his brother Abel, but only to pronounce yet another curse due to sin. God told Cain. “You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12 ESV). And Cain, fully understanding the import of God’s curse, responded, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:13-14 ESV). Cain was driven from the presence of God.

And things continued to get worse. Just a few chapters later in the book of Genesis Moses records just how bad things got on the earth.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. – Genesis 6:5-8 ESV

The sin of mankind had reached epic proportions, prompting God to vocalize the just and righteous penalty for such rebellion against Him: Death. He warns that the sins of men made them deserving of their annihilation. But God had a plan already in place. A man named Noah, whom Moses describes as having found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

And God revealed Himself to Noah, providing insight into His divine plan for mankind.

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” – Genesis 6:11-13 ESV

Once again, God issued a decree concerning mankind’s rampant wickedness. This time, He determined to wipe them from the face of the earth. But He chose to spare a remnant, vowing to keep Noah and his family alive so that they might repopulate the earth when the coming worldwide flood receded.

Noah enjoyed the presence of God and he proved to be obedient to God. He did all that God commanded him to do, building the ark and filling it with all male and female creatures just as God had told him to do. And God kept His covenant promise to spare Noah and his family.

But it wasn’t long before sin entered the scene again. And the next major event recorded by Moses was the tower of Babel, where the descendants of Noah determined to build a momument to their own self-importance. Disobeying God’s command to fill the earth and subdue it, they instead decided to remain in one place and build a great city. So, God dispersed them again. Not only that, He created languages that made it impossible for them to communicate with one another.

So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. – Genesis 11:8-9 ESV

It seems that the further they got away from Eden, the further they found themselves from the presence of God. And it would not be until God revealed Himself to Abram that man would enjoy intimate communication with his maker again. God visited Abram in Ur and said to him:

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3 ESV

God chose Abram and made a covenant promise to him. God was going to bless Abram and make of him a great nation. Not only that, God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abram and his descendants. From Abram would come the nation of Israel, a people whom God would call His own.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV

God made them His own and He promised to reestablish His presence among mankind by dwelling among the people of Israel.

“I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God…” – Leviticus 26:11-13 ESV

The people of Israel enjoyed the presence and power of God. In the wilderness, God had appeared to them as a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day. When they built the tabernacle, His presence dwelt in the Holy of Holies. In the land of Canaan, God revealed His presence through miraculous victories over their enemies. He led them, fed them, guided and protected them. He gave them the sacrificial system so that they might receive forgiveness for their sins and maintain a right relationship with Him. But the people of Israel proved to be disobedient and ungrateful. They ended up taking God’s undeserved presence and power for granted, and the day came when God removed His presence from them. He abandoned them to their own sinful desires. Their wickedness resulted in their defeat at the hands of their enemies, sent by God to punish them for their rejection of Him. And they found themselves living in exile, once again cast from the presence of God and unable to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him.

And even when God graciously returned them to the land of Judah, they continued to disobey Him and live in open rebellion to Him. Their lives would end up marked by moral darkness and spiritual blindness. But the apostle John tells us of the day when the darkness was penetrated by the light of God. The very presence of God came to earth in the form of a man named Jesus.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. – John 1:9-13 ESV

With Jesus incarnation, God came to dwell among men. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us. He took on human flesh and dwelt among men. And while many refused to accept Him for who He claimed to be, John states that “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” And as Paul reminds us, those who become children of God also enjoy access to the presence of God. Not because of anything they have done, but because they have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Faith in Jesus brings with it wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Belief in the Messiah provides sinful men all they need to be restored to a right relationship with God so that they might once again enjoy the power and presence of God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson