Fulfilling the Law: Acts 2:44-47 & Acts 4:32-36 Are Not Temporary

Illustration by Judith Clingan

"When Jesus said, 'The poor you will have with you always,' He was quoting Deuteronomy 15:11, but he expected his disciples and us to think about the whole passage."

Ben Irwin continues his insight into interpreting Jesus' quote of Deu. 15:11:

"When Jesus said that there would always be poor people in the land, it was a concession to Israel's likely failure to obey the law requiring them to protect its most vulnerable citizens. Sure enough, that's pretty much how the story plays out in the rest of the Old Testament."

"There would always be poor people because Israel would not prove as generous as they were meant to be. There would always be poor people because Israel would not cancel everyone's debts like they were supposed to."

"Deuteronomy 15 commanded ancient Israel to cancel each others debt every seven years. Interesting to note that no distinction was made between responsible and irresponsible debt; no matter how people fell into financial distress, they were to be given a clean slate every seven years."

"The passage ends with the statement quoted by Jesus centuries later: there will always be poor people among you. Which is precisely why laws protecting the poor were needed in the first place: 'There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.'"

"What's more, to the writer of Deuteronomy 15, persistent poverty was anything but acceptable. Back up a few verses, to Deuteronomy 15:4-5:

There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands...."

An Introduction to the Tour De France: Review of the 2014 Official Guide

Photo by Tim De Waele

The Tour De France begins this Saturday and lasts for three weeks (July 5th--27th). The 2014 Official Guide is on shelves now, and gives an overview of cycling's most anticipated annual event. Reading the guide will give anyone an appreciation for how grueling an event Le Tour De France really is.

I was surprised to learn that the Tour actually begins its first three stages in England. And while most stages stop and start from the same cities, there are two flights: one from England to France and another to the final stage in Paris, as well as, two rest days.

Most of the daily rides are a minimum of 100 miles, and of the 21 stages overall, 9 are considered flat, 5 hilly, and 6 mountain stages that include 5 summit finishes. There is only one time-trial stage near the end of the race. 

The degree of difficulty in addition to the 100 miles of distance each day comes from climbs, or elevation gain. Being a novice cyclist for only two years, myself, and even having completed an IRONMAN, the endurance needed to complete, much less compete in, the Tour is quite impressive.

Misinterpreting Prophets in 1 Cor. 14:29-40

Illustration by Judith Clingan

Paul says:

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged."

"The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the assemblies of the Lord’s people."

"Wives should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a wife to speak in the church..."

"If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 

If we limit the definition of a prophet to miraculous situations or only to those who foretold the future then we are leaving out vital information.

Paul says:

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged."

So, we have here a "revelation" comes to someone who is sitting at the Lord's Table. There is no need to insist this must be miraculous anymore than "instruction" and "encouragement" must be miraculous. All three can be non-miraculous and for the purpose of edifying the church (1 Cor. 14:1-40). Prophets were more "forth-tellers" than future "fore-tellers" anyway.

Also, why would anyone need to "weigh carefully what is said" God's "plain truth?" The way we do things, they should just "submit" to the "authority" of what is said. The way Paul says do it, there is equal function among all.

I've always liked this quote from John Mark Hicks:

"While the prophets of Israel peeked behind the scenes and saw the future in some cases, their main function was to prosecute, rebuke, and confront the people of God. They called Israel to renewal and recommitment; they called them out of their injustices and idolatries."

Historically, our people have been conditioned to define "Bible words in Bible ways," but we really don't do this in action when it comes to prophesying in the assembly. We have created the position of "gospel preacher" in churches of Christ which is a synonym for Protestant pastor, and have relegated the role of prophets in our assemblies down to one man.

He has become the "spokesman" (only prophet) for the local congregation and/or elders and they (GPs) themselves have evolved into a class of people since we made that position an employee of the church. In our model, "truth" is viewed as a settled package to be repeated weekly, and "elder expediency" reduced it to one man.

What we do is not what Paul wrote. Not even close. And that ain't good for those who make as bold a claims as some coCs make! In fact, it's a solid step in the direction of cultish behavior among congregations.

The kingdom of God is about power:

"But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power." (1 Cor. 4:19f)

And we need to continue challenging (weighing carefully) the powers that be for everyone's good.

Fellowship Meals During Worship: The Early House Churches & Wives at the Lord's Table-Symposium

Robert Banks writes,

"At first sight, Paul’s endorsement of women praying and prophesying in church seems to conflict with his statement that “the women should keep silence” in the gatherings (1 Cor 14: 34). Attempts to overrule his earlier endorsement by this statement or to elide these later verses from the text should both be avoided. There is no justification for the former and scarcely any manuscript support for the latter, and an appreciation of the wider and immediate context of Paul’s advice renders such solutions unnecessary."

"The injunction is the third in a series (14: 20ff.), all of which are directed against the existence of chaos in church, first through all speaking in tongues at the same time and second through all jointly prophesying. The precise nature of the offense of the women (more strictly of the wives) becomes clear in the following verse: “If there is anything they desire to know,” he says, “let them ask their husbands at home (14: 35, RSV)."

"The wives have been interrupting the meeting with questions about things said within it. If more than that were involved, then Paul would not single out this one problem without any reference to others. The injunction to “keep silence” does not itself necessarily possess an absolute sense and must always be interpreted by the context in which it occurs. The situation presupposed by Paul’s remarks is perfectly understandable."

"Women for the most part did not receive any substantial education in religious matters, yet in Christian gatherings they could be present throughout the whole meeting and also contribute to it in a number of ways. Particularly in a church like that at Corinth, where Christian liberty was prized so highly, it comes as no surprise that wives felt free to query things they did not understand. In advising against this, Paul reminds them again of its contravention of prevailing custom (14:35)— in Greek cities it was only the hetairai, courtesans, who engaged in public discussions with men— and of the practice of other churches (14: 36) and even of the OT (14: 34)."

BANQUET & PASSOVER

Rabbi Prof. David Golinkin, President of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, writes:

"The Jewish people throughout the generations did not live in a vacuum; it absorbed much from its surroundings. But it did not absorb blindly. The Sages absorbed the form of the symposium from the Hellenistic world, but drastically changed its content. The Greeks and Romans discussed love, beauty, food and drink at the symposium, while the Sages at the Seder discussed the Exodus from Egypt, the miracles of God and the greatness of the Redemption. The symposium was meant for the elite, while the Sages turned the Seder into an educational experience for the entire Jewish people. Indeed, this pattern repeated itself throughout Jewish history."

"... the stunning similarity between the Greek banquet known as a symposium and the Passover Seder. Few Jews realize the Seder is a rabbinic invention. The rabbis instituted the seder to standardize practice after the destruction of the Temple. The Haggadah is an outgrowth of that standardization. And the Seder mirrors a Greek Symposium in many ways..."

"The Greek word epikomon means "after meal entertainment" and likely (again per Wikipedia) refers to the "games, songs, flute-girls, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainments" that followed the discussion and the food. When the Sages said "one may not add an afikoman after the paschal lamb” they were referring to (and outlawing) this practice... We close each segment of the seder with a cup of wine. At the symposia the same custom was followed."

"... the rabbis took a common secular practice, widely popular in the Hellenized world, and cleaned it up a bit, removing the raunch and using the order to tell the story of Passover."

Luke 14:1-24 reveals the banquet setting among Jews in the first century: