Beloved: Enjoying The Place You Belong

BELoved KEITH HERSHEY JOSHUA HERSHEY Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Kin...

Author: Keith Hersey

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BELoved

KEITH HERSHEY JOSHUA HERSHEY

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

BELOVED

ISBN 940487-23-3 Copyright ©2013 Keith Hershey, Joshua Hershey Design: Gordan Kljucec, Carlo Krouzian P.O. Box 951060, Mission Hills, CA 91305 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Introduction

7 PART 1 BELOVED

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Be Loved The Two Robings of Joseph Ways to Be Loved

13 33 51

PART 2 OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW Chapter 4 Chapter 5

The Ten Realities of the New Covenant 67 Need An Upgrade? 93

PART 3 ACCEPTED IN THE FAMILY OF GOD Chapter 6 Chapter 7

He’s Got You Covered Adoption of Adaptation?

117 139

PART 4 WEDDING MERCY & TRUTH Chapter 8 Jonah & The Furious Longing of God Chapter 9 Miracles Grow! Chapter 10 The Dragnet

161 185 203

INTRODUCTION Be Loved! What an invitation. Do you know that you are

accepted in the Beloved? Do you know that your standing

before God has nothing to do with you? Your acceptance has everything to do with Jesus! Isn’t that good news? In fact, when you receive His love for you and rest in the

Beloved, you begin to awaken to the reality of your com-

pleteness in Christ. This book has been written to assist and stir you in believing and receiving the complete finished

work of Jesus Christ and the massive love of the Father.

The composition of this book began after a conversation

that I had with my son Joshua on writing a book together

on the love of God that has been burning in both of our

hearts for the last couple of years. Five of the chapters (1, 3, 5, 6, 9) are inspired from some of my past teachings, while

the other five chapters (2, 4, 7, 8, 10) draw their inspiration from teachings my son Joshua has given over the past couple

of years.

The material for the chapters were chosen as they related 7

to four topics that the book is broken up to: Being Loved, The New Covenant, Adoption in the Family of God, and

the Wedding of Mercy & Truth. In each of these sections, we have desired to unfold Jesus from the standpoint of the New Covenant of grace, and immerse ourselves with God’s

eternal and unconditional love for each of us.

My son Joshua has been the main writer and editor of

the book. In fact, Joshua has enhanced my original teachings

with more complete explanations and further commentary. As you prayerfully read this book, carefully listen as the

Holy Spirit unveils to you the beauty and blessing of being

loved. Enjoy the comfort of the Spirit as you take your place

in the Beloved! Keith Hershey

8

PART ONE

BELOVED “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” – Jesus

1

BE LOVED

Love! It really is what every human heart craves. It is what

everyone desires to experience and enjoy. People go to all kinds of extremes to sense and experience love, yet often

through the process they find themselves hurt, empty and

rejected. However, love is where you belong. This is where

you are accepted. This is the place that you find in Christ.

Jesus has come. He has changed everything in terms of

how you and I relate to God. His finished work on the cross has made manifest the eternal mystery of God’s saving

grace, and shown forth the vastness of the Father’s love (2

Tim 1:9; John 3:16). All of us have an invitation to rest accepted in the Beloved. In Him we are welcome. We are cel-

ebrated. We are filled with God’s love and can experience

the great joy that comes from knowing that love.

Over the years, in my honest desire to please God, too

often I have made my relationship with Him an effort to

love Him perfectly. I have felt good about myself when I

am loving Him in a way I felt was sufficient, and I have felt

miserable about myself when I have had moments, days, or 13

14 ! BELOVED

seasons when I haven’t felt like I was loving Him enough. If I (and those like me) were honest with ourselves, we

would admit that our life experience has shown us that we consistently fall short of the greatest command. Namely, to

love the Lord “with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind” (Matt 22:37).

Thankfully there is One who has loved with all His

heart, soul, mind, and strength! His name is Jesus! As the spotless Lamb of God, the Man of perfect love, He does for

us in His relationship with the Father what we could never do. Our faith in Him, allows us to rest in our acceptance in

the Beloved! We are in Him. He is in us. We can now risk being loved!

This really is the daily privilege of the believer—to be

loved. To accept the fact that we are accepted in Him. We

are called not to be consumed with ourselves, but rather to enter into the rest of His great love. Jesus said, “Come to

me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your

souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).

The Gospel assures us that our love for God is not

something that makes ourselves right with Him. Rather, our love is a natural response to Him because of what He, in

His great love, has done for us! It flows out of acceptance

BE LOVED // KEITH HERSHEY ! 15

and not for acceptance. The apostle John put it very simply

when he said,

“We love Him because He f irst loved us” I John 4:19

Think about this. Our love for Him is a reciprocal love.

It operates on the basis of our reception of His perfect love

for us. For our personal love-walk to work effectively we

must first willfully receive from the source of all love. C. S.

Lewis once wrote, “We were made, not primarily that we

may love God (though we were made for that too), but that

God may love us.”1 God’s primary desire is that we receive His one-way love. He knows that if that happens, our love

life will take care of itself. That is why He loves us at our

worst. As Paul put it, “God demonstrates His own love to-

ward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for

us” (Rom 5:8). It is not that our loving God somehow makes us lovable. Our belovedness to God (even in all our sin and

frailty), is what we must awaken to if we are to begin to love

Him the way we should.

THE HEAVENLY PRONOUNCEMENT

To settle in our belovedness we must look at the Gospel

story again. At our Lord’s birth we see why His coming is

such good news for us, and why it is good news for the

16 ! BELOVED

whole world.

On that night the Scriptures say, “Now there were in the

same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). God’s good

news was first delivered to some ordinary Joe’s who were

working a night shift on the Judean hills. Men with a normal life, going about their normal routine shepherding

under God’s beautiful display of stars with their sheep. Luke

continues the story by saying, “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone

around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9). Fear!

The initial response of most in the Bible when encountered

by one of the Lord’s messengers. I think, just like these shepherds, many people would cower in fear if a messenger of

God suddenly showed up in their living room in the mid-

night hour. Sin, and the strength sin had gained through the law (1 Cor 15:56), has caused humanity’s hearts and consciences to think that God must be out to destroy them. Fear

seizes mans heart in the midst of the utter glory, purity, and

holiness of God.

Yet man’s fear is met with God’s Word, “Do not be afraid,

for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10)! The angel announced some news

that transformed these shepherd’s perception of God. They

would go through a worldview shift. Jesus would later say, “No one knows the Father except the Son and those to


whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matt 11:27). Jesus

tells us that nobody really understands the Father except through Him. He came to reveal the Father. The Apostle

Paul further explains this mystery by saying Jesus is “the

image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), and that “it pleased

the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell” (Col

1:19). The book of Hebrews declares that Jesus is “the

brightness of His glory and the express image of His person”

(Heb 1:3). The shepherds had not yet met Jesus, and so they

drew back in fear. In a similar fashion, there are many people

on the planet that have a worldview of God that is not fully consistent with Jesus, and thus draw back from God in fear. A great missionary to India, E. Stanley Jones, wrote, “If you don’t see God in the face of Jesus, you see

some thing other than God—and different. Jesus is the self revelation of God…God is a Jesus-like

God…apart from Jesus your ideas of God become

strange and uncertain. When you lose Jesus, you lose God…the more I know of Jesus the more I

know of God.”2

Can you see why this Missionary had a zeal burning his

whole life? He was obsessed with Jesus, and thus obsessed with God! Jesus is the Autobiography of God!

18 ! BELOVED

A SAVIOR IS BORN

Notice that this announcement from the angel is good

news for all people! Rich people and poor people. Black peo-

ple and white people. Good people and bad people. Faithful

people and unfaithful people. Liberals and conservatives. Atheists and agnostics. Hezbollah and Hamas. All people!

God’s love knows no barriers! His love is not condi-

tioned by anything or anyone. The Father’s love, not man’s goodness or faithfulness, is the reason that Jesus became

flesh bringing us grace and truth ( John 1:16, 3:16). The well

known Christian martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote these words about the love of God,

“God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.”3 Look what the angel went on to say, “For there is born

to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ

the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Notice the angel did not say, “For

there is born to you this day in the city of David a Judge,

who is ready to annihilate the entire world population and start


over with you.” No! Many people’s idea of God is that He is

up in heaven closely evaluating our behavior, lightening bolt in hand, ready to zap us at the first sight of sin. That is a

fallen idea of God, not the heavenly graced truth sent from

the very bosom of the Father. Actually if you “Google” the

word God, one of the first pictures that appear is of Zeus in

the clouds with a lightening bolt in his hand. That is the

type of god that man creates. God didn’t send an angry judge bent on annihilation though. God sent a Savior—

Jesus Christ the Lord! A Savior’s job is to save. A Savior

saves because He is good. Just like a lifeguard who jumps into a pool to rescue someone who is drowning regardless

of His feelings toward that person, so God does the same.

The lifeguard saves based off of his good character, not the character of the one who is drowning.

The angel ends his message by joining the chorus of the

angelic host as they sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). The Fa-

ther’s gift of His Son would not immediately produce peace

and goodwill among men, but would immediately proclaim

peace and goodwill toward men. Among men Jesus, and His

Kingdom, produce contention. Jesus said, “For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her

mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’”

(Matt 10:35). Jesus says that people who stand on the side

of His grace and truth will bring contention amidst even

20 ! BELOVED

those closest to them. That there will be people who rebel

against the Gospel, who like Saul, are still “kicking against the goads,” and bringing havoc into believer’s lives. Peace

will only be fully realized among men after God “crushes

Satan under our feet” (Rom 16:20), Jesus destroys “the last

enemy…death” (1 Cor 15:26), and Jesus finishes His job at “making all things new” (Rev 21:5)!

Until then, God has guaranteed us of His peace toward

men. The angels said, “peace, goodwill toward men.” God is

not mad at you, He’s mad about you. The Father is so massively in love with you and He chooses to see you, not in all your

sin and frailty, but through your faith in the faithfulness of Jesus. Through Jesus Christ God has assured us of our

shalom with Himself !

Through Jesus’ obedience to death, sin has been forgiven

and overcome. We have been put “right” through Jesus.

Righteousness (being put right) is God’s gift (Rom 5:17). It’s not something that we do, but rather a gift given to us

and opened by our faith. Someone once put it like this, “When man is asked concerning his righteousness

or holiness or truth he can only point to his utter

lack of all these things and then at once point away from himself to his clothing or crowning with all these things, that is, to Jesus Christ.”4


Paul said Christ is our “righteousness and sanctification and

redemption—that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’” (1 Cor 1:30-31).

What good news! We are accepted before the Father

because He has willed our acceptance through His Son. We

simply reach out our hands and receive His free gift! The

beauty of believing is in receiving His life. Through His exceedingly precious promises we become “partakers of the di-

vine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). We are a new creation in Christ

because of what He has done on our behalf (2 Cor 5:17). The Spirit testifies to us what Jesus assured us of, “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” ( John 14:20)! THE LAMB OF GOD

The idea of salvation being a gift shouldn’t have been

new to the Jewish shepherds. Even under the Mosaic Law,

when a sinner broke the Ten Commandments or any other

part of the Law, God gave them a picture that His Son Jesus was the true answer for every mishap. He had within His

very Law a whole sacrificial system that was to serve as a

visible sign of His grace and mercy even in the midst of Israel’s failures. Just as the angel of death passed over the Is-

raelites in Egypt solely because the blood of a lamb was

sprinkled on their doorposts (Exodus 12), God’s Law made

provision for people’s sin through the sacrifice of a lamb. God was showing Israel that sin really is costly in that it

22 ! BELOVED

leads to death. God’s chosen people would be reminded that

their salvation rested not in and of themselves, but through

the shedding of the blood of the lamb that was slain because of their sin. In this sacrificial system, a spotless lamb (repre-

senting purity and innocence), or other spotless animals,

would take the full brunt of sin and be slain. As a result of these sacrifices, the Scriptures say, “the priest will make atone-

ment for the community, and they will be forgiven” (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35).

When Jesus came on the scene, John the Baptist said,

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the

world” ( John 1:29). John was making reference to Jesus as the ultimate Lamb of God that was not just exclusive for

the nation of Israel, but for the whole world. Paul wrote,

“Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us” (2 Cor 5:7, NLT). The book of Hebrews tells us,

“Every priest stands ministering daily and offering

repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one

sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are

made His foostool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb 10:11-14).


Jesus is our High Priest and Sacrifice. He has dealt with

the whole sin problem apart from us on His own. It truly is His finished work!

EXPERIENCING HEAVEN INSIDE YOUR TERMINAL CONDITION

One way I can explain being fully loved and accepted

not based on our own efforts is to share a story of a trip I

took with my friend to Beirut, Lebanon. To further illustrate my point, I am going to fabricate our travel experiences and change my friends name to Michael.

Michael had never been out of the country, and was

nervous about the Middle East with all the bombs, wars, and turmoil that one hears about in the news. Yet, the Mid-

dle East was not the only hectic place that he would face.

In order to get to the Middle East, we had to take three sep-

arate airplanes, which meant having to deal with three separate airport terminals.

I personally do not like airport terminals. I don’t even

like the word terminal. The word terminal is too often as-

sociated with negative things, like someone having terminal cancer. It gives the sense of hopelessness. That is the way I

feel in airport terminals. Long lines coupled with large

crowds of people and a shortage of seats at the gate where

your plane is taking off can be challenging. Not only that,

but the security you have to go through can be stressful. The

24 ! BELOVED

terminal is filled with men and women in uniform making you show this or that ID and asking you to take off your

shoes, belt, and everything else thought to be possibly suspicious.

In the terminal, you are a possible terrorist until proven

innocent. And just like traffic on a crowded highway, the

people in crowded terminals are often grumpy and in a rush. My friend Michael was told about all of the large airport

terminals that he would have to venture through on his way to Beirut. But I assured him, “I want you to follow me

through the terminal. If you follow me, you’ll have the time of your life. In fact, if you follow me, I’ll give you a very

pleasant experience in these airport terminals. You will be

able to be approved to enter into some nice executive lounge

clubs. These places are another world within a world. They

are a heavenly environment inside a terminal.”

Taking this illustration further, let’s say I serve as a rep-

resentation of Jesus, while Michael serves as a representation of humanity. Let’s say we are in the terminal of the London

Heathrow Airport getting ready to change planes to Beirut,

Lebanon. While there, we have a several hour layover and

Michael follows me. What’s interesting is when I come to

the executive lounge there are some large, expensive looking doors that keep out all the, noisy, frantic traffic of the ter-

minal. Once we approach these doors, and they open, we are immediately presented with a judge sitting behind a large


desk. Once inside the club, the judge immediately asks for

my membership card so that I can enter into the lounge. I

simply hand over the card they ask for, and they in turn inspect the list. They say, “Mr. Hershey. Welcome. You’re ac-

cepted. Please come on in.” I say, “Thank you very much.” Though I’ve been accepted, Michael has never traveled. He

doesn’t qualify on his own to get into the club. As Michael stands there next to me, I tell the person sitting behind the

desk, “This is Michael. He’s with me.” Their response is im-

mediate, “Welcome, Mr. Michael. Come on in and enjoy our

club.” They don’t ask for his identification. He was simply

accepted because he was travelling with me. They don’t see

him through his qualification, or lack of it, they only see him

through the qualification of Keith.

The Bible says the love of the Father not only will cast

out every fear, but that the love of the Father in you gives

you no fear of judgment (1 John 4:18). This is the Gospel:

we are fully accepted before God through our friend Jesus.

Jesus is inspected, we are accepted. When you have a clear un-

derstanding of the love of the Father, you will have the bold-

ness to follow Jesus. When you follow Jesus, you experience

free and unlimited access to his heavenly environment inside your terminal condition!

Imagine one of the shepherds working the nightshift

when the angel arrived. Let’s say that he didn’t always live a

life of perfect obedience. Like every other human being, he

26 ! BELOVED

missed the mark. Let’s say that one day he missed the mark, and came under judgment, the curse of the law being in full force. Yet, because he was instructed by the Law, he went

before the priest and took a lamb. The priests eyes would not have been fixed on the shepherd as he brought forth the

lamb. The priest never judged the sinner. The priest only

judged the lamb. The priest inspected the lamb and called

the sinner righteous. That lamb and priest are pictures of

Jesus. Jesus is the inspector and the inspected. We are the

accepted. He is the priest and the sacrifice. Faith is the

courage to accept that we are accepted in our worst state. It

is especially in our moments of failure when we need un-

wavering faith. We need to stand and know that we are

righteous in Christ, by fixing our eyes on the spotless Lamb

of God who has dealt with our sin, taken it away, and now

calls us accepted and free!

SEEKING AND SAVING THE LOST

Let’s expand the illustration of Michael following me

in the terminal of the London, Heathrow Airport. Let’s say

Michael began by keeping a close step behind me; but soon

was lured away by all the stores, and ammenities the termi-

nal had to offer. His eyes became distracted by the glitz and glamor all around him. Let’s say one of the larger duty free

shops catches his attention. Michael becomes captivated by the prospect of finding a treasure for himself then enters the


store forgetting altogether about me and enjoying my pres-

ence and the free amenities in the executive lounge. After

filling his basket with an assortment of gifts, Michael soon realizes that he has been in the store for almost an hour, and

he has lost sight of me. Panic begins to set in as he realizes

that he is lost and in trouble. His mind begins to harbor

worry, thinking about the prospect of having to spend the rest of the time in the terminal without me. He is hoping I

will not be mad at him when I meet him at the gate and will

even bring him a snack or two from the lounge for the long plane ride ahead.

Michael’s situation reminds me of a story Jesus told. I

like to call it the parable of The Searching Father & The Lost

Boys. The parable begins by Jesus saying how the Father’s younger boy had left and “squandered [the Father’s] wealth

in wild living” (Luke 15:13). This son had “spent everything”

and “began to be in need” (Luke 15:14). While out in the far country, away from his father, Jesus said, “no one gave

him anything” (Luke 15:16). The glitz and glamor of the

world had lured him away and made him broke, busted, and disgusted. He was just like Michael sitting in that duty free

shop, having lost sight of my companionship, and realizing

that he had just spent his last penny before even getting to Beirut on a no refund basis!

The young man in the parable doesn’t just wallow in the

mud the rest of his life though, he has an “aha” moment. The

28 ! BELOVED

story goes on to say, “When he came to his senses, he said, 'How

many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here

I am starving to death” (Luke 15:17, NIV). So the wasteful

son begins to practice a good repentance speech, hoping it

will qualify him to be in the ranks of his father’s servants. He said to himself, “I will set out and go back to my father

and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and

against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son;

make me like one of your hired men” (Luke 15:18-19, NIV). In a similar fashion, Michael has an “aha” moment that

maybe I will come bail him out of his trouble even if he isn’t able to get in the executive lounge anymore. Michael begins

to practice his own repentance speech. Finally after he

thinks he has all the right words and emotions in place he

gets out his phone and calls me up. He says, “Oh Keith, I’m

such a terrible person. I’m so sorry for leaving you and wast-

ing all the money you gave me.” What he doesn’t realize is that I’ve been watching him from outside the store this

whole time. He may have left me but I never left him! I say

to Michael, “Hey, my beloved. Shake off your worry and step outside. I’m right here. Let’s keep walking to the executive

lounge. This terminal is no place for you.” Michael doesn’t

understand that kind of kindness and underserved favor. He

needs to have faith in my utter graciousness to walk toward

me, and enjoy further celebration with me.

In the same way, the father in the parable Jesus tells us,


was watching for his son from his heavenly porch the whole

time. His eyes kept scanning the horizon day after day. The

story says the young son “arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had

compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him”

(Luke 15:20). The son was only then able to get out about

half of his practiced repentance speech before the father in-

terrupted him and said to his servants, “‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and san-

dals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is

alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be

merry” (Luke 15:22-24). The Father would not even listen

to the thought of his son becoming his servant. Even though he had counted him as dead, left him, and squandered his inheritance, he was still his son.

The even fuller story of the gospel is that God sent His

obedient Son, Jesus, into that far country to find you and

me who were trapped in the mud of life, trapped in a ter-

minal condition heading straight for destruction. Jesus came and was crucified by those rebellious sons who had squan-

dered their Fathers inheritance. Yet through it all he served as the sacrificial lamb who took that sin and rebellion upon

himself to take us to the Father. As the Father runs toward

us, He sees Jesus right there with us as our Advocate and High Priest.

30 ! BELOVED

If you don’t believe your God is that good, you will al-

ways believe your favor before Him depends on you. That

will cause you to have some long miserable nights. God

loves you completely! Our job in life is to point people to

the one who performed perfectly for us as God and man.

To point them to the one who’s the Inspected and the In-

spector. We are complete in Christ. We are righteous in

Christ.

Does that mean we can just sin, enjoy the glitz and

glamor of the terminal, and everything will be all right? Who would want to do that? Sin eats your lunch! It just

brings destruction and misery! What we need to do when we miss the mark is have the courage to accept our accept-

ance and get back on the track toward transformation. The

Bible teaches us that we are transformed through looking

at and following Jesus. “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being trans-

figured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor

and from one degree of glory to another, [for this comes]

from the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18 AB). We have to behold. We have to look. As long as we’re looking to Jesus and the fin-

ished work on the cross, we’ll change. We’ll get victory over

sin, over the flesh, over every little issue in life that isn’t Christ-like. It doesn’t come from our discipline of trying to

be good to qualify; it comes knowing we’re qualified in faith


and by beholding, by looking and enjoying the massive love God has for us. Our transformation can only come when

we look to Jesus.

The great missionary, Oswald Chambers, had this to say,

“What ups and downs we experience because we build not

on faith but on feeling, not on the finished work of Christ

but on our own work and endeavor and experience.”5 Jesus’

work worked. Can you see it? You are accepted while Jesus

was inspected! He is the Lamb of God who took away the

sins of the whole world. Enjoy your place in Him. God ac-

cepts you as you are, and not as you need to be. Have the courage to accept that you are accepted and be loved!

2

THE TWO ROBINGS OF JOSEPH

It is amazing how one’s life can be utterly transformed when

they simply choose to be loved by their heavenly Father. One

of the most fascinating stories in the Scriptures that has to

do with receiving the love of the Father occurs in the book

of Genesis within the story of Joseph (Israel’s beloved son). Joseph’s life more closely parallels with the life of Jesus than

any other person in the Scriptures. There are well over thirty

comparisons between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus.

The comparisons this chapter focuses on are two very important “robes” that were wrapped around their lives. THE ROBE OF LOVE

The story of Joseph begins in Genesis chapter 37.

Joseph was the first son of his father Israel, born of Israel’s

beloved wife Rachel. “Now Israel loved Joseph more than

all of his children because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors” (Gen 37:3). Some schol-

33

34 ! BELOVED

ars suggest that this tunic of many colors was a highly orna-

mented robe intended to show special favor and relationship.

It was most likely a long-sleeved robe extending to the feet, richly decorated with either a special color design or gold

threading. One who wore this robe was not dressed suitably to work and labor in the fields.

Joseph could have had a tough time accepting his fa-

ther’s gift. He had done absolutely nothing to earn it. He could have thought that proudly wearing such a beautiful

and ornate robe would anger some of his brothers whose

hearts were not rooted in love and decided not to wear it.

Many people have a hard time accepting gifts with no

strings attached. They either want to pay something for it,

or they feel obliged to return the favor in the future. Martin

Luther put it this way, “If God were willing to sell His grace,

we would accept it more quickly and gladly than when He offers it for nothing.”1

But Joseph did not hesitate to gladly receive and wear

the gift of his father. His brothers gave him a very tough time simply because Joseph had accepted his beloved position. Through the years I have heard Joseph presented as ar-

rogant and braggadocios in the way he wore his robe. But

reading the Scriptures for myself, I do not see him that way. What I do see is Joseph accepting the gift and the love of

his father. Joseph could have chosen never to wear the robe

of his father’s love, and disappointed his father. He could

THE TWO ROBINGS OF JOSEPH // JOSHUA HERSHEY ! 35

have chosen to view himself as less loved then he was, and attempted to work the rest of his life for his father’s love and

favor. Doing his best to not rock the boat and anger any of

his brothers who may not have been resting in love. But instead, Joseph chose to be glad in his father’s love.

Just as Joseph was given a beautifully ornate robe from

his father, so too, have we. Every son and daughter of our

Heavenly Father has been given the most beautiful robes

imaginable. In the book of Isaiah it says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God for He

has clothed me in the garments of salvation. He has covered me in the robes of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself in ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels” (Isa 61:19).

If you have been to a traditional wedding in the Middle

East, you know that the bride and groom can be completely

covered, from the top of their head to the soles of their feet,

in jewels and ornaments. It’s a very important and special

expression of love. Through the prophet Isaiah, God is saying in that same way, His people are completely clothed in

jewels and ornaments. He covers us with His salvation,

righteousness, and love, which in turn allows us to go through life with great joy. In similar fashion, the book of

Zephaniah says, “the Lord your God is with you. He’s mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will

quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with

36 ! BELOVED

singing” (Zeph 3:17). This is what Joseph’s father, Israel, had

done for Joseph. Israel had celebrated the life of Joseph. He loved him dearly, and Joseph received of his love.

Even as Joseph’s story publicly tells of him being clothed

in the garments of his father’s love, so Jesus’ story is given a mighty public proclamation of the heavenly Father’s love

for him. At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus came to his

cousin John to be baptized, and as He rose from the waters

a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son

in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). Jesus was not only

baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit, He was also bap-

tized in the presence and power of His Father’s love, knowing that His Father was well pleased with Him.

The word baptize is simply a transliteration of the

Greek word baptizo. A more appropriate translation of the

word is immerse. Jesus’ life was immersed in the love of his

Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. His baptism serves

as a picture of the baptism of the believer once they are brought from darkness into the light. Just like Joseph and

Jesus, the believer confidently can go through life as one who

has been drenched, in an irreversible way, in God’s love and

life.

That does not mean that life is a bed of roses for the

beloved. From the moment Joseph accepted his status as the beloved of his father, he faced persecution. The next verse

in the story of Joseph goes on to say, “When his brothers


saw how their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him” (Gen 37:4). Their hate for him was based on

nothing but the fact that their dad loved him. The anger in

their heart was so aroused that “they could not speak peace-

ably with him” (Gen 37:4). After sharing a God given dream

with his brothers they “hated him even more” and “envied him” (Gen 32:4,11).

One day, while his brothers were out tending the flock,

Joseph was asked by his father to go see if all was well with them. After heading out, the Bible goes on to say that his

brothers, “saw him in the distance, and before he reached

them, they plotted to kill him” (Gen 37:18). They said things

like, “Let us now kill him and cast him into some pit and

we shall say some wild beast has devoured him” (Gen 37:19). So they “stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe

he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern” (Gen 37:23-24).

What an interesting detail in this story! Joseph did not

come in just any old robe. Joseph came in the richly orna-

mented robe of his father’s love! He was not intimidated by

what other people thought of his beloved status. The first thing his brothers thought to do, because of their anger to-

wards him, was to strip him of that beloved status. In their hatred and resentment they went for the jugular hoping that

Joseph would have an identity crisis and never identify with

his father’s love again. A little later they would sell him as a

38 ! BELOVED

slave to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. Then they

dipped his richly ornamented robe in the blood of a goat,

to convince their father that a wild beast had killed Joseph.

Similarly, Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver,

stripped of His clothes, beaten, scourged, and mocked with

a purple robe. Then He had that blood-stained robe ripped

from his body, and was forced to carry his own cross to

Mount Calvary. Just as Jesus looked in faith to his Father

during this trial, so too, Joseph never lost faith in his father or his father’s God.

Though his brothers had attacked what they thought

was the most meaningful thing to him—the robe of his fa-

ther’s love and affection; the robe was only a symbol. Joseph

had already deeply internalized the love of his earthly father

as well as the love of his Heavenly Father. While his broth-

ers may have been able to take away the symbol of their fa-

ther’s love and affection, they could not take away what had

already found deep roots in Joseph’s own heart.

Having the love of the Father anchored in his heart was

crucial not just for the life of Joseph, but it is crucial for the life of every child of God. It is essential that we ever possess

deep, unshakable roots in the Father’s love toward us. The Apos-

tle Paul said that his prayer and desire for [us] was that our

“roots will grow down into God’s love and keep us strong”

and we would “experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully” (Eph 3:17, 19, NLT).


Once the interior of a life is rooted firm and deep in

God’s love, it no longer matters what is happening on the exterior. Brennan Manning has written, “My deepest aware-

ness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”2 What a pow-

erful statements to live by. This was the way Joseph and Jesus

lived, and it ultimately served to be a great blessing to their

lives.

Though Jacob may have loved the first son of his

beloved Rachel, in a special way, the Heavenly Father loves

the entire world with a fervent love ( John 3:16). He has a

“richly ornamented robe” crafted from the deep wells of His

love for each and every person that has ever lived (Isa 61:19). He wants His children to confidently wear that robe every-

day without fail, and simply be loved by Him. To wear it

even amongst people who don’t know how to receive the

Father’s love, and who may mock you for wearing the token

of your Father’s unconditional love, just as Joseph and Jesus

were mocked and hated. It takes courage to believe you are

loved even when those around you point out your flaws and

try to make you feel insecure. That is why understanding

that God’s love is unconditional is so freeing!

FACING TEMPTATION IN THE STRENTH OF OUR FATHER’S LOVE

After Joseph was sold in slavery to Egypt, he was bought

40 ! BELOVED

by Potipher, a wealthy master. Potipher saw that “the Lord

was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to

prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight,

and he served him: and he made him overseer over his

house” (Gen 39:3-4). Joseph allowed the love of God rooted

deep in his heart to demonstrate itself in faithful service to

his new master.

Not too far along into his new life assignment,

Potipher’s wife attempted to lure this young, handsome,

prosperous man into bed with her. The Bible says that

Joseph responded by saying, “How could I do such a wicked

thing and sin against God” (Gen 39:9)? Yet Pharoah’s wife

persisted “day after day” (Gen 39:10). Joseph was secure in the love of his father, and he wasn’t going to substitute that

for some quick depraved erotic escapade. The lure of the

love of the world was named for what it is (sin—missing

the mark). Joseph could live day by day not swayed by the advances of Potiphar’s wife because that type of love was

misplaced. It would be like going from the palace to the pig-

pen. It was somewhere he had no desire to go, and knew it was contrary to the Father’s love imbedded in his heart. He

knew his Heavenly Father’s desires, and knew that such actions were “wicked” and “sin against God.”

Eventually, Potiphar’s wife’s lust for Joseph completely

overwhelmed her as Joseph continually refused her advances

day after day. She decided to take matters into her own


hands, and caught him by the robe. Joseph knew he had only

one choice in this situation—leave his robe and run (Gen 39:12, 13). He fled the scene as Potiphar’s wife slandered

Joseph’s good character to her husband and had him thrown

in jail.

While Joseph did run, this story is not really about flee-

ing from temptation. Joseph was around Potiphar’s wife “day

by day” and did not heed her advances. Something like this

is only a temptation to someone whose mind is not renewed,

and who still has seedbeds of idolatry floating around in

their thought processes. The way to get rid of temptation is

not to try and identify every possible sin you desire to com-

mit and barricade yourself from any possible exposure to

them, but rather it is to flood your mind and entire being in the Father’s love. When we daily flood our soul and mind

with God’s life and love; getting rid of sin is no longer work, but becomes a natural response to who we are. A beloved

child, filled with the fullness of our Heavenly Father, having no desire for an idolatrous outlet.

The Tempter works in temptation by trying to strip

people of their “beloved status” and fill them with worldly,

idolatrous outlets. Just as Potipher’s wife attempted to lure

Joseph into sin early on in life, Satan also attempted to strip Jesus of his “beloved status” at the launch of His ministry.

Jesus began His public ministry with the affirmation

from his Father, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am

42 ! BELOVED

well pleased” (Matt 3:17). After which He immediately was

driven into the desert where the Tempter came to Him say-

ing, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt 4:3). Do you notice the strategy of

Satan here? He attempts to strip Jesus of His “Beloved Son”

title, leaving only the word “Son.” Jesus would not heed this

tactic of Satan! Jesus was immersed in the love of His Father, as Joseph was, and He came through the desert temptation

strong in the Spirit. Theodore Austin-Sparks wrote in his book The Spiritual Meaning of Service,

“The one object the Devil has in view is to raise a question, nay, to establish in you a question, as to

God’s love and your belovedness to God—that is,

personally. If we have any doubt about that, we are finished. This sense of what I have called ‘beloved-

ness’ is essential, not only to life, but as an assurance

and rest in service…To go on quietly, persistently,

assuredly, in peace, all rests upon this—the recognition that…I am beloved of God.”3

Unless we have this first robe of “belovedness,” the second robe will always disappoint.

THE ROBE OF PHAROAH’S POWER

Joseph’s life didn’t end in the dungeon prisons of Egypt.


His life continued to work empowered in the love of His

Father. After several years of service in the prisons he even-

tually made his way before Pharaoh, and gave counsel as to

how Egypt should respond to the fourteen future years of fruitfulness and famine that God had shown Pharaoh in a

dream. Pharaoh was very pleased with Joseph’s counsel and decided to promote him to second in command over all of

Egypt. Listen to the words of Scripture describing Joseph’s

exaltation from prison,

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you

over all the land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his

signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of f ine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride

in the second chariot, which he had; and they cried

out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ So he set him over all the land of Egypt” (Gen 41:41-43).

Can you imagine how extravagant this gold chain and

fine linen garments would have felt after being a servant and

in prison for thirteen years? Many people make it their life’s

ambition to get to the place where Joseph had gotten at that

moment. In Pharaoh’s eyes, and the eyes of everyone around

him, Joseph was set in high esteem. He was given power. He

was approved. He was one of the most powerful and impor-

44 ! BELOVED

tant people in the world. Yet this was not what drove Joseph

or gave him worth. What drove Joseph was believing and know-

ing the love of his father. It was that “richly ornamented robe”

of his father’s love that had been internalized into his very

being. That love was infinitely more important to him, allowing him to get to the place where he was that day.

Since Joseph was securely matured in the love of the Fa-

ther, the task he was entrusted with was not going to fail. While the “robe-ing” ceremony of the “gold chain and fine

linen garments” was not bad in itself, its power could easily have been abused. This was not going to be the case for

Joseph who already had the more important robing of the

Father’s love woven into who he was. What is most important

for anyone is not the robe of Pharaoh, but the robe of the Father. Fine linen garments and gold chains (symbolizing power

and wealth) should not be the life ambition of a Christian.

Even though they very well may come. The life ambition of

a Christian is to continually internalize the garments of sal-

vation (that richly-ornamented robe that shines forth with

the innumerable hues of His love and the rays of His grace

and mercy). Such is the clothing that lines the coatrooms of Heaven. This is where we are to rest satisfied and strength-

ened.


FACING HURTS WHEN YOU’RE SECURE IN YOUR FATHER’S LOVE

The story of Joseph does not end with him ascending

to the second most powerful position in Egypt. The story ends with a mighty message of reconciliation, weeping, cry-

ing, and holy hugs in love and mercy.

In Genesis 42, Joseph’s brothers had journeyed to Egypt

because of the famine throughout the land. However, they

didn’t recognize that the man from whom they were seeking

food was the brother they had stripped, beaten, and sold for

20 shekels of silver many years earlier. Yet, Joseph recognized

them immediately, and questioned them concerning his father and younger brother Benjamin, without revealing his identity. Joseph was eventually able to have his brothers

bring Benjamin to Egypt where he held a feast for them in his house. The brothers were amazed when they were seated

in order, from youngest to oldest, and Joseph made sure that

“Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs”

(Gen 43:34).

I think what Joseph had in mind when he gave Ben-

jamin five times more than everyone else was to demonstrate his own love for Benjamin, as his father had shown love to

himself. It seems likely that everyone else had plenty of food and were not going to go home hungry; but Joseph wanted

to see how his brothers would respond to another’s unmer-

ited favor again. Would they be angry? Were his brothers’

46 ! BELOVED

hearts finally okay with someone else being loved? Could

they celebrate in the love of another one?

After sharing a meal the brothers left for home, but were

brought back by Joseph, because he had decided to reveal

his identity to them. After commanding all the servants to

leave his presence, and weeping uncontrollably, so that even “the house of Pharaoh heard it” (Gen 45:2), Joseph stood

before his brothers and said, “I am Joseph. Is my father still living? But his brothers were not able to answer him, because

they were terrified at his presence” (Gen 45:3).

Can you imagine what his brothers were thinking at this

point? Probably something like, “What! Joseph’s alive! This

can’t be good news! He’s must be ready to repay us for every

wrong thing we did to him. He’s probably going to have us

beaten, thrown down a well, and sell us as slaves. We’re never

going to see our families or father again!” They were terri-

fied and cowered in fear when Joseph revealed himself to them. Joseph responded to their terror by saying, “Come

close to me. I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into

Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with

yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Gen 45:4-5).

What an awesome picture of a judge who is directed by

the love of his Father! I think that Jesus will say something

similar to the people who betrayed him. Perhaps as the sol-

dier who stood before the cross and saw Jesus die; who felt


the enormous earthquake, as the veil in the temple was torn

asunder, and cried, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). The soldier would probably be loathing with

shame, and disappointment after that dark afternoon. I

think Jesus would say to him and everyone else (all of hu-

manity), who was part of the process of nailing the Son of God to that tree, “Do not be grieved or angry with your-

selves because you sold me here, because God sent me before you to preserve life!”

Joseph’s response to his persecutors was, “But God sent

me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and

to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen 45:7-8). Then Joseph

“threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and

Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his broth-

ers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with

him” (Gen 45:14-15).

What happens when someone is secure in the robe of

his father’s love? Even if someone were to do something as

wicked as Joseph’s brothers had done to him, the person who is secure in love can still bring about heartfelt reconciliation

filled with kisses, tears, and love. The most hurtful and hateful of situations can be reconciled by the forgiving love of

God. There is no situation that is beyond restoration

through the power of God’s love. A 5th century man, Caesar

of Arles, once commented on Genesis 45:15, saying, “Joseph

48 ! BELOVED

embraced them one by one and shed tears over each one of

them, watering the neck of each one of them who feared

him, he washed away the hate of his brothers by the tears of his love.”5

Joseph would go on to provide his brothers with some

of the best pasture lands in Egypt, secure for them a great

job taking care of Pharaoh’s herds, and make them the chief herdsman over all Pharaoh’s livestock. This was Joseph’s response to the ones who had beaten him, and then sold him

into slavery for a couple of extra bucks instead of killing him. Joseph’s response is a glimpse of the compassion and grace of Jesus and His Father toward sinners!

BE CLOTHED IN LOVE

The Apostle Paul said to the Colossians, “Above all,

clothe yourselves with love” (Col 3:14). This is the clothing

of the Christian. It’s the clothing of the Father’s love for us,

and when we are clothed with that love, we will reflect that

love to others just as Joseph did in every situation he was in.

We can wear and be proud of the Father’s love, knowing that his love has nothing to do with arrogance or haughti-

ness. His love causes us to love others in our deepest

wounds. Just as the father of the prodigal son commanded

his servants to bring “the best robe” for his son, we are wear-

ing the best robe of our Father, and He never wants us to

take it off. He wants us to be confident wearing His best


robe. He wants us to internalize that robe and thank him. It would do us all good to heed the words of Rich Mullins, “I

think that of all the diseases in the world, the disease that

all humankind suffers from, the disease that is most devastating to us is not AIDS, it’s not gluttony, it’s not cancer, it’s not any of those things. It is the disease that comes about

because we live in ignorance of the wealth of the love that God has for us.”5

We must internalize our “beloved status” before God the

Father. We need to know that we are the beloved sons and

daughters of God Most High. If you are not certain of that

status, I would encourage you to read through the first half of all the letters of Paul. Also read and mediate on John 1317, 1 John 3-4, 1 Corinthians 13, Romans 8, and Ephesians

1-3. Talk with your Father and meditate on the finished work

of the Son (the demonstration of your Father’s love). Allow

the love of God to saturate your innermost being so that

you can be like Joseph and Jesus, and the temptations in life will soon lose their power, because you know who you are in Christ—the beloved of your Father.

3

WAYS TO BE LOVED

It is one thing to mentally ascent to the fact that God loves

you completely, but it is something altogether different to believe and experience the love that God has for you. The

Hebrew word for know, yada, does not just mean to have

head knowledge but it also means to have heart knowledge. To know you are loved by God (from the worldview of the

authors of Scripture), means not just to mentally ascent that

some abstract God up in the sky has fuzzy feelings about you; it means to be immersed in a personal experiential rela-

tionship with a love that has been demonstrated through His Son Jesus.

God’s love is not just talk. Evangelists, pastors, and

teachers are not just blowing a bunch of smoke when they

say that God loves you. They speak from the intimate

knowledge of a historical happening that took place 2,000 years ago, and with which the Holy Spirit has since minis-

tered and overwhelmed their hearts with today. It is called

51

52 ! BELOVED

the cross of Christ—the sure foundation of the knowledge

of God’s love for you.

The Gospel message proclaims, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still

powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely

will any one die for a righteous person, though for

a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While

we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8, NIV).

Jesus told his disciples, “There is no greater love than to

lay down one’s life for one’s friends” ( John 15:13, NIV ). Even though we were ungodly, unrighteous sinners, God

still counted us among His friends. He set in action the

greatest love display the world has ever known. This action

resulted in His death at the hands of the ones to whom He was bringing life, redemption, healing, joy, peace, and utter

restoration. “By this we know love, because He laid down

His life for us” (1 John 3:16). We know God loves us, not simply because the Bible says He loves us, but because He’s

demonstrated that love for us by laying down His life for

us.

The Book of Hebrews reminds us, “[God] has spoken

to us in these last days by His Son” (Heb 1:2). God’s speech

WAYS TO BE LOVED // KEITH HERSHEY ! 53

here was the action of living and dying as the Lamb of God

for the sins of the world. God is a God who sees the mess

and gets His work boots on, not afraid of getting messy in the process. He is not like the squeaky clean priest and

Levite in the parable of Jesus, who walk around the completely helpless, broken, bruised, and half-dead man lying

on the side of the road (Luke 10:25-37). God does not pass

anyone by, and he is not afraid to stoop down into the mud,

mess, and blood and lift them from the miry clay. God’s love

was demonstrated through death and resurrection in the

midst of our rebellion. He did not leave us without someone

to testify to that love either. God sent the Holy Spirit into

our hearts to testify to the love of Christ—you are not or-

phaned and his love is meant to be known and experienced

by followers from every generation.

Realizing then the depths of His demonstrated love—

that you are accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6), and given

righteousness as a gift (Rom 5:17). Now believe it, and allow that love to affect every part of your being. To really be loved

requires your faith in His work! It is simply accepting the

fact that you are accepted in Him! Faith is the courage to accept acceptance.

The great strategy of the devil is to get you to live out-

side the truth, outside the revelation that God loves you

completely. When Jesus says, “As the Father has loved Me,

I also have loved you; abide in My love” ( John 15:9), the

54 ! BELOVED

Devil always responds with, “Did God really say…?” (Gen 3:1). While man stands stained in the inability of his own

unrighteousness, he can either listen to “Satan standing at

his right side to accuse him” (Zech 3:1) or to the angel of the LORD declaring, “See, I have taken away your sin, and

I will put rich garments on you” (Zech 3:4).

If the enemy can make you feel like you have to perform

for your beloved position; that you have to work or merit

this love from the Father, the temptation he will give to you is always to perform for your acceptance. When you know

God’s love for you in Christ, and you accept your accept-

ance—then your faith is expressed in Him, and you take

your place where you belong, in the Beloved!

As was shown in the previous chapter, the devil wanted

Jesus to doubt that He was the “Beloved” Son of God. The

first temptation the Devil presented to Jesus was to try to

get Jesus to turn stones into bread for food because Jesus

was hungry (Matt 4:3). Why did the Devil choose stones for

the temptation? Many times in Scripture stone represents the law. Just like the Devil tempted Jesus to be nourished

by the law, so too, one of the main strategies of the Tempter

today is to get believers to find spiritual nourishment

through the law. Jesus was providing a new and living way—

where our approval with the Father is not based on us, but based on Him. Don’t let spiritual work to the law ever make

you work to qualify for blessing or spiritual food. You are


pre-qualified through Jesus’ finished work. You can rest in

His love for you. You are accepted as a beloved son or daughter of God.

WHAT IS YOUR WORLDVIEW?

Remember the Apostle John? He was the one who de-

scribed himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Think of that. This was his worldview. This was his opinion of God’s unconditional love for him. John must have practiced

being loved by Jesus. He must have renewed his mind to the

reality of his acceptance before God. Look at the way John

writes about himself…

“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” ( John 13:23)

John’s worldview greatly affected the way he saw him-

self. No longer was he just “John the son of Zebedee”, but

rather “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. He saw Himself

through the “lens of the cross” and was given a clear 20/20

perspective on the way that the Father and the Son viewed

him. C. J. Mahaney says, “If there’s anything in life that we

should be passionate about, it’s the gospel…passionate about thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it

to color the way we look at the world.”1 God desires for you

and me to have a divine perspective, to see things filtered

56 ! BELOVED

through the lens of His love demonstration, to be like the

disciple John and no longer be called, “Keith the son of Her-

shey,” but rather “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Understanding that, in the following pages are some principals on

how we can follow the Apostle John’s example and be loved by God.

PRINCIPAL #1 – BEHOLD HIM

The first way we can “be loved” is by always looking to

Jesus. Keeping our mind and heart’s focused on Jesus and

what He has done for us through His finished work on the

cross will cause the love level in our life to rise. The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages us to,

“Lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the

race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the au-

thor and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the

shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:1-2).

Look at what we see when we look to Jesus. First, we

see the One who is the author and the finisher of our faith. Do you know that your faith is a gift from God? The apostle Paul said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through


faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). When we see Jesus we see the One who is the perfect response to the Father on our behalf, for us, and

through us! When we look to Jesus we are awakened to the reality of what it says in Galatians, “I am crucified with

Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of

the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal

2:20, KJV). Looking to Jesus allows us to live through the

fullness of His faith, as we are astounded by the one who loved us and gave Himself for us!

The second thing we see when we look to Jesus is One

who “endured the cross” for “the joy that was set before

Him”. The joy that was set before Him was you and me restored completely in His love! When we look to Jesus we

can understand that there is no mountain too high or valley

too low that keeps Him from obtaining His joy and prized

possession. We see the One who was tortured, put to shame,

crucified, and buried that He might destroy the works of the

Devil and Sin and bring restoration to you and me! Looking to Jesus is not just some spiritual guesswork where we try

to conjure up in our minds what Jesus might look or be like. No! Looking to Jesus means seeing Him fulfilling His love

demonstration on the cross and seeing yourself as that joy

treasure that He was obtaining in the process.

The third thing we see when we look to Jesus according

58 ! BELOVED

to this passage, is Him seated “at the right hand of the

throne of God”. When we behold Jesus we are beholding His finished work! Inside the temple in Jerusalem there was

no place for the priests who ministered to sit down because

their work was never finished. If the sacrifices in the temple completely finished the work they would have ceased to be

offered and those purified would no longer be reminded and

conscious of their sins (Heb 10:2). It took Jesus “enduring

the cross” for the world to hear “It is finished” ( John 19:30), and that His sacrifice was “once for all” (Heb 10:10). Our great High Priest is not standing constantly making atone-

ment for our sins. Rather, our great high priest is sitting constantly reminding us that all atonement for our sins has

already been made. Not only that but “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in

Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). We are resting in His work.

When we look to Jesus and what He has done for us on

the cross we will always have a PLUS in every life equation. The cross (!) brings added value into our life as it empow-

ers us to live from a continually loved position. To really

enjoy the love of God, we must always feed on teachings

that are established in the cross—the finished work of Jesus. This is where we flourish in God’s love—in the New

Covenant of grace. It would be wise to take the advice of

Max Lucado, “Major in the grace of God. Focus on the cross

of Christ. Grow fluent in the language of redemption.


Linger long at the foot of the cross. Immerse yourself in the curriculum of grace.”2

PRINCIPAL #2 – BELIEVE HIS LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL

By believing that the God-kind of love is unconditional

we can always believe that we are loved completely. Even

during the seasons of life when we have not been perfect

and have done wrong, God’s love for us never changes! We

can never escape the power of God’s love for us. Remember

that it was when we were at our worst (powerless, ungodly, and sinners—Rom 5:6-8) that Christ demonstrated His

love for us. According to this verse then the only condition

to experiencing God’s perfect love is to qualify as being

powerless, ungodly, and a sinner. Thank God I think we all

make it! His love is constant when we do right and when

we do wrong! His love is sure when we have obeyed perfectly and when we have perfectly disobeyed! Just as the sons

in Jesus’ parable, whether we are His son working on His

farm, or His Son wasting our life in the far country, His love

for us remains constant (Luke 15:11-32).

Ninety-five years ago in Pasadena, California, Frederick

M. Lehman composed a beautiful song titled “The Love of

God.” In this song the theme of God’s immeasurable love

is powerfully driven home in the third stanza that Lehman had adapted from a Jewish poem written nearly a thousand

60 ! BELOVED

years ago. The stanza goes like this, “Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky”

If people would just believe that “God is love” (1 John

4:8, 16) they would begin to allow that eternal love relation-

ship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to encourage, uplift, and

strengthen them during the ups and downs of life. Believing

that His love is unconditional revolutionizes our capacity to

receive of His love.

PRINCIPAL #3 - BOLDLY PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOURSELF

A powerful way to experience the love of God on an on-

going basis is to continually preach the Gospel to yourself.

No one else speaks to us of this good news on a continuing

basis, so we have to be the spokespersons for His love. We

never will, and we never need to, spiritually graduate past the Gospel. I speak to myself when I’m feeling my best, and


I speak to myself when I’m feeling my worst. I tell myself

the truth when I’m disappointed in myself, when I make poor judgments, when I said something I shouldn’t have said

or did something I shouldn’t have done, or when I’m proud

of myself, make good judgments, and say and do things I should have done. I say, “I’m loved completely through the finished work of Jesus. Thank you for forgiving me and em-

powering me to walk in the constancy of your love. I’m a new creation in Christ and walk in accordance with newness

of life—fully loved where nothing can separate me from the love that is in Christ Jesus.”

One pastor put the importance of preaching the

Gospel to yourself like this,

“The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my con-

science), and so incredible (according to my timid

heart), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope

of it as I should. There is simply no other way to

compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the

condemnings of my heart, and the lies of the world

and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel.”3

We should continually encourage ourselves in the Lord

and preach the truth that we are loved completely and that

62 ! BELOVED

because of the cross and the finished work of Jesus we have

righteousness as a gift. The Apostle Paul prayed for Phile-

mon that the sharing of his faith would “become effective

by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you

in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 1:6). The Amplified Version

reads, “[And I pray] that the participation in and sharing of

your faith may produce and promote full recognition and

appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus [and unto His glory].”

Confess the truths of the Gospel. Acknowledge every

good thing that is in you which is in Christ Jesus. Confess

it. If we believe this in our heart, our mouth should be announcing the news (Rom 10:10). Be thankful. Worship

Him. Give to Him your praise. We can love Him because He first loved us! (1 John 4:19)

PRINCIPAL #4 – BE LIKE JESUS

The fourth principle to being loved is be like Jesus.

When we behold Jesus, believe His unconditional love, and

boldly preach the gospel to ourselves we start to be trans-

formed into His very same image. The Bible says, “But we

all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of

the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from

glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18).

As we receive His love we can now imitate and act like Him.


His nature is now our nature. His character is incorporated

into our livelihood. Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “Therefore be im-

itators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ

also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” The Message

Bible puts it like this,

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like

children who learn proper behavior from their par-

ents…Keep company with him and learn a life of

love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to

get something from us but to give everything of

himself to us. Love like that.”

PRINCIPAL #5 – BRING LOVE TO OTHERS

We are not loved because we bring love to others.

Rather, through the process of bringing love to others, the Spirit brings to our minds how much love God has already

brought to us. As you participate in the God kind of love that always gives, encourages, and strengthens, we in turn

will be encouraged and strengthened. We are called to see

people through the finished work of Jesus and to lavish them with love. This type of behavior breaks down barriers in peo-

ple’s lives. People do not understand this type of love. There

is nothing rational about it. The Apostle Paul described how

64 ! BELOVED

the love we bring to others should look, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not

provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, be-

lieves all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Cor 13:4-8).

This is the way that God loves us and it is the way that we can bring love to others to more fully experience and un-

derstand the love of God!

PART TWO

OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW “If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.” – The Apostle Paul

4

TEN REALITIES OF THE NEW COVENANT

What is “the ministry that brought condemnation” that Paul was talking about in the verse on the previous page? A few

verses earlier Paul talked about that same ministry as “the

ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone” (2 Cor 3:7). In this section of Scripture Paul is talk-

ing about the law—specifically the Ten Commandments

that God had written on stone for Israel (Ex 24:12, 31:18).

Interestingly, there are quite a few Christians in the world today that do not view the Ten Commandments as the min-

istry of condemnation and death. It just seems logical to

some people that a stricter adherence to, and a stronger

proclamation of the law, actually should produce righteousness and life in peoples lives. While a fuller description of

the purpose of the law will be described in the next chapter,

this chapter will seek to focus on the New Covenant, and

how the spirit ministers New Covenant realities to us today.

For the “Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6).

67

68 ! OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW

A common theme that one encounters when reading

the epistles of Paul in the New Testament is that many of

them have a common flow in structure. Toward the beginning of the letters, Paul begins by outlining certain realities

of the New Covenant that Jesus has ushered in through His life, death, and resurrection. This usually takes up the majority of the space in Paul’s letters before he gets into specific

instructions on how the people he is writing to are to live

out their lives in response to what Jesus has accomplished for them.

A good juxtaposition to the ministry of death (i.e. The

Ten Commandments), is reading the realities of the New

Covenant that Paul’s sets forth in the book of Colossians,

because there are roughly ten. As one looks at the New

Covenant realities outlined by Paul in Colossians a few observations can readily be made. First, all of the realities put

forth are written in the past tense. They are presented as a done deal. Secondly, they are true of the Colossians because of what Jesus has done, and it has nothing to do with the

effort of the Colossians their selves. While the law constantly reminded people that things were not all “put to right” and mans salvation was “not done”, the tune that con-

trols believers in Christ is what Jesus declared, “it is finished”

( John 19:30)!

TEN REALITIES OF THE NEW COVENANT // JOSHUA HERSHEY ! 69

REALITY #1

“You Have Been Qualified”

Paul lays out the first reality of the New Covenant to

the Colossians by saying, “giving thanks to the Father, who

has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col 1:12). The Greek word here

translated as qualified, hikanōsanti, can also be translated as

“who made us worthy” or “who made us fit.” Paul is saying

that it is the Father who has made us worthy, fit, and qual-

ified for our grand inheritance among those other saints who

have believed in Jesus and are co-heirs with Christ (Rom

8:17). While the Apostles initially believed that inheritance

was only for the Jews, Peter was shown through a vision that God has qualified all for the Father’s inheritance (Acts

10:15), and Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles to make

known to them this glorious inheritance that the Father had qualified them for (Gal 2:8).

This need of “being qualified” is found everywhere in

society. People must meet certain qualifications for things such as: schools, jobs, insurances, and loans. Just about every-

one can identify with something in that list that they have

failed to qualify for or couldn’t qualify for if they wanted to.

Whether it is to study at Harvard Law School or qualify for

$50 million dollar loan, many people don’t have the track

record to be approved. When it comes to a person’s right-

eousness and ability to “share in the inheritance of the saints


in the kingdom of light” nobody in and of themselves has

the track record to be qualified. Everybody is way under qual-

ified. As Paul said in the book of Romans, “There is no one righteous. No not one!” (Rom 3:19).

Let me illustrate mans impossibility with a simple ex-

ample. Many people are familiar with the process of trying

to qualify for a loan in order to buy a house. The bank wants

to know that you will be able to perform and pay back the

loan, so they look at your past track record, your foreseeable income and the over-all fiscal strength of you as an individ-

ual. Some people have transferred this thinking of how they qualify in life before men, into their spiritual life of how they

must qualify before God. These people believe that there are

certain hoops that one must jump through in order to be

qualified with God. The lists of qualifications can include

things such as: having a short list of sins on your track record

with quick debit confessions next to each sin, a stock pile of a conscious appeasing amount of good works, sufficient time

spent in personal prayer and Bible study, sacrificial allotment each calendar year for special 21 or 40 day fasts, ad infini-

tum. Ultimately, this list differs from person to person as

everyone seeks to do their best to be qualified before God.

While all of these things are great activities for the Spirit

filled life of a Christian, and things that our lives should be

immersed in as directed by the Spirit, they do not add one iota toward someone’s qualification with God.


Rather, this form of conscious easing, self gratifying ef-

fort is simply mans built in religious system that has a “zeal

for God” but has “not yet submitted to the righteousness of

God” (Rom 10:2-3) and the freedom lived in the realities of grace. Paul wants us to know that all “zeal for God” is not necessarily good zeal, but can be zeal that is misguided and misdirected. Zeal towards God that is attempting to qualify

for his good graces and inheritance is meaningless if one has not submitted to His free gift of righteousness.

The type of mindset that puts certain restrictions on

people before they can qualify with God was a major issue that Paul was battling against in the church at Colosse two

thousand years ago. Certain teachers were saying that the church must observe specific religious festivals, eating reg-

ulations and worship of heavenly beings in order to qualify

with God (Col 2:16-18). In contrast to these religious

teachers Paul proclaims, “You have been qualified for the in-

heritance in the kingdom of light” (Col 1:12). Your being qualified to be a child of God and an inheritor of the king-

dom of light has nothing at all to do with your past, present, or future track record. In fact, it has nothing to do with you

at all.

Paul says that the only thing that qualified one for such

a thing is Jesus. Through Jesus you have already been qual-

ified. It is a done deal. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “you

are accepted in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6). The Father stamps


the approved and qualified stamp on you because of His

great love for you through His Son. Paul wanted the Colos-

sians to not listen to the false teachers who were trying to

get them to qualify for something that God says they have already been qualified for. He says, “Let no one disqualify

you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going in

detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensu-

ous mind” (Col 2:18). “Let no one disqualify you” can even

pertain to yourself ! You must realize that you are qualified in Jesus. Wake up to reality.

REALITY #2

“You Have Been Rescued”

Directly after Paul admonished the Colossians that they

have been qualified he continued saying, “For he has rescued

us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col 1:13). The phrase “has

rescued” is the Greek word, errysato, and it means “to draw

or rescue a person to and for the deliverer” or “to snatch for oneself ”. Paul is saying that our deliverance from darkness

was not based on our ability or desire, but that we have been

rescued because the Rescuer has willed and desired our res-

cue! Once again Paul is emphasizing that the Kingdom that

we now belong to is a reality for us not because of anything we have done but because of something that God has done

on our behalf. Through Jesus, God has snatched us out of


the realm of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.

This was such an important thought to Paul that it be-

came a type of creed for him and the earlier believers, it became a trustworthy saying. In a letter to his young friend Timothy, Paul proclaimed, “Here is a trustworthy saying

that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the

world to rescue sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Tim

1:15). Sinners do not rescue themselves, that is God’s job. Amazingly God rescued us at our worst. It happened “when

we were still powerless…while we were still sinners…[and]

while we were God’s enemies” (Rom 5:6, 8, 10). Nothing on

our side (no matter how bad!) stopped God from sending

His Son, the “Heavenly Navy Seal” to do rampage to darkness, and deliver us into the realm of light.

A simple comparison from nature that demonstrates the

type of rescue that God brings about for us from the realm of darkness to the realm of light can be seen through looking

at the North Pole. The North Pole has six months of dark-

ness and six months of light. Imagine living where it is always dark and you have no power to create sunlight for

yourself. This would be the condition of man before the dawning of Jesus in their life. Once Jesus dawned from on

high there was “a thrill of hope. For yonder broke a new and

glorious morn.” The light of God was shown forth in the

face of Jesus and those who looked to Jesus had the morning


star rise in their own hearts. Just as people in the North Pole

are solely dependent upon the placement of the earth as it

revolves around the sun for their sunlight, so humanity is totally dependent on God’s action in Christ to revolve around our hearts and enable us to bask in his Sonlight. Your

rescue has already taken place. It is a done deal—past tense.

If the Morning Star has risen in your hearts you can bask in the eternal Son-light of his kingdom. Wake up to reality. REALITY #3

“You Have Been Redeemed”

With the very next stroke of his pen Paul writes, “in

whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14). The Biblical concept of the word “redemption” is that of an

unfathomably beautiful, worship-worthy picture of freedom. It is tied into the history of Israel being redeemed from the

land of Egypt and many other oppressors in their history. The word redemption here in the Greek is, apolytrōsin, and

it carries the idea of having all debts paid in full, and complete emancipation from the land of slavery where sin and

Satan once ruled. The debt owed has been “paid in full” and the tyrants that once held us in slavery have been over-

thrown.

This freedom is not presented as something that one

must attain in the future but it is presented as something al-

ready accomplished, it is written in the past tense. We pos-


sess redemption now in Christ. We have the forgiveness of

sins now in Christ. We have total freedom now in Christ.

Unfortunately, some people are uncomfortable with the

word freedom. These people usually have thoughts like, “Does that mean I can go out and do whatever I want?” Re-

ally just meaning, “Can I just go out and sin all I want to

now?” This type of thinking misunderstands that being con-

trolled by sin and sinful desires is not being free. While peo-

ple are programmed to think that freedom means autonomy, a truer sense of biblical freedom is being delivered from our

autonomous desires of good and evil, and into the freeing

power of His love. Being free is being controlled by His love.

Our freedom only really exists as we are abiding in God’s

love for us. The moment one begins to live outside of being

loved, is the moment that one begins to live as if sin was still

their master. It is the moment they begin to live in the delusion of the defeated devil, instead of the reality of the risen

Christ.

Every debt, of every sin, that has ever been committed

has been paid in full. Stop trying to pay a debt that is nonexistent. God has given the whole world a check signed by

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that says “FULL PAY-

MENT” on the memo line. It is called the blood of Jesus. Do not cheapen the blood of Jesus by discounting its com-

plete and perfect payment. God desires man to deposit that

payment into the treasury of their own hearts, rather than


to go on believing the lie that there is still some payment

left for them to come up with in their own ability and effort. There is nothing left to pay.

Under the law, when man fell into hard times and lost

his inheritance, he could gain it back by paying his own price

(Lev 25:25-28). Under the New Covenant, God has re-

deemed all of mankind who has fallen under hard times and

were slaves of sin and Satan free of charge. We must heed the

words that Paul wrote to the Galatians when he said, “Stand

fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal

5:1). Wake up to reality.

REALITY #4

“You Have Been Reconciled”

The fourth past tense verb describing a reality of what

God has done in Christ for us, is found a few verses later

where Paul says, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ's

physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Col 1:22). Once

again God is not commanding something from us, rather He is presenting a reality to us. While some of the false

teachers that were attempting to infiltrate the church in

Colosse would have taught reconciliation through angel mediation and other spiritual avenues, Paul makes sure to let

his audience know that it was through Christ’s physical body


that we were reconciled and stand holy, without blemish,

and free from accusation in His sight.

The word reconcile in the Greek, apokatēllaxen, means

to bring back to a former state of harmony. Just about every-

one in life has been in a place where there was disharmony. Where tension, fear, and/or animosity ruled in a relation-

ship. Quite often, people can go their whole lifetime without

being reconciled to their former friends. God makes sure he

takes the initiative in reconciling us back to himself. He wants us to experience the former state of harmony we once

had with him in the garden of His pleasure.

Unfortunately, many people think that they must do

something in order for God to respond with His reconciling

graces. With this type of attitude many people sign up for the religion club on how to become a better person and therefore make themselves more acceptable to God, and

more inclined to His reconciling favor. But once again we

see Paul saying that God’s reconciliation with us has been

accomplished completely independently of us, in our repre-

sentative Jesus. It is through His body that we have been reconciled. We are holy, without blemish, and free from

accusation not because we have stopped sinning and do no

wrong, but because we were reconciled to God though the death of Jesus. We are in Him. As it says in the book of Ro-

mans, “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom 5:10), and in the book of He-


brews, “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10). The word sanctified

there is the same word Paul uses in Colossians translated as

holy. Our reconciliation, holiness, and sanctification were all

perfectly brought about through the body of Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote something similar to the Corinthians, saying,

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting their sins against them” (2 Cor 5:18, NIV). While God has already reconciled the entire world two-thousand

years ago through His death, He is still looking for people

to receive His reconciliation, and accept His fellowship and friendship. That is why Paul says that Christians still im-

plore people to accept and experience their reconciliation to

God through simple trust and faith in Christ. “Now then,

we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading

through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). Be reconciled because you are recon-

ciled. Wake up to reality.

WHAT ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY?

Just as the Ten Commandments are usually broken

down between the first four commands (which have to do with our treatment of God), and the last six commands

(which have to do with our treatment of our fellow man), I would like to take a quick break here and take a look at one

of the most frequent objections to living in the freedom of


these new covenant realities.

In the very next verse Paul says, “If you continue in your

faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held

out in the gospel” (Col 1:23). Some people believe that Paul is reverting to a works based message in this verse. That Paul

is preaching a message that is conditioned by a person’s abil-

ity to stand firm (usually interpreted as moral obedience),

and be immobile (usually interpreted as never lapsing into unbelief ).

This interpretation does injustice to all the glorious re-

alities of the New Covenant that Paul has just been outlining, and will continue to outline for the next couple of

chapters. It throws the burden of ones salvation on their

back instead of on Christ.

A better understanding of this verse is that it is remind-

ing us once again that ones immersion in God’s glorious grace produces extraordinary faith. Do not get hung up by

one word in this letter as if it qualifies everything Paul has

said and is about to say. Faith is essential to experiencing life in Christ, but it is our assurance in His grace that produces

that firmly rooted faith. Paul says we need to “not [be]

moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col 1:23). He

is speaking of our confident assurance in the New Covenant

realities. This type of hope in the Gospel produces faith and

love that Paul says the Colossians already have in abundance

(Col 1:3-5).


Many interpreters of this text believe that the word “if ”

should actually be translated as “since” as many do in Colos-

sians 3:1. It is not that Paul is in doubt to their reconciliation, holiness, and blemish free status. This is the same

Apostle who said things like, “[I am] confident of this very

thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will com-

plete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6), and “[God]

who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blame-

less in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus

Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was writing to a bunch

of carnal Corinthians when made this awesome proclamation of faith.

We should not allow one word, in one verse, to deter us

from the awesome realities of the New Covenant Paul is lay-

ing out, and think that he is making some of the truths of the Gospel conditional on our effort and ability. Paul is not

expressing doubt that they will be moved from the awesome

hope/assurance they have in the Gospel. So he just continues to lay out the other awesome realities of the New

Covenant that are true for us because of what God has done in Christ.

REALITY #5

“You Have Been Given Fullness in Christ”

Paul says, “and you have been given fullness in Christ, who


is the head over every power and authority” (Col 2:10). The Colossians church had been infiltrated by a group of hereti-

cal teachers known as Gnostics that were trying to convince

the Colossians that there was something more to gain. They believed that there are always more formulas to follow, and more secret information to gather, that can bring someone

fulfillment, and promote them up the spiritual hierarchical

ladder.

The Gospel proclaims that in Jesus there is everything

one will ever need. The end of the prologue to the Gospel of John boldly proclaims, “From the fullness of his grace we

have all received one blessing after another” ( John 1:16, NIV). Once man accepts his place in Christ Jesus, his original hardwire is turned back on, and he can experience the

exhilarating life and love of the eternal relationship between

the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is fullness Himself.

He is other-minded, self-giving, unconditional love (1 John

4:8). He is where we can experience significance and fulfillment. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to

me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will

never by thirsty” ( John 6:35, NIV). There is no longer something out there that we must search for and jump through

the hoops in order to obtain fullness. We possess fullness in

Christ.

The problem with the lack of shalom (wholeness, well-

being) in our personal lives and in the entire cosmic struc-


ture of reality is that man has sought fullness somewhere

else than Christ. Eve reached for that “knowledge of good

and evil” instead of living in the unbridled joy-filled fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Man has become an

empty container always trying to fill himself through his new obtained knowledge of good and evil. Man has con-

cocted a whole variety of religious buffet tables to try to sa-

tiate his hunger and thirst for righteousness and fullness.

The problem is that the more man has eaten from the tables

of religion, the sicker he has grown, and the more calloused

he has become to the glorious Gospel of free grace, and

dying love. They have not supped at the table of the Lamb

and been warmed in the beauty and glow of grace upon

grace ( John 1:16, NKJV). The putrid fruit of that morality

tree still reigns supreme, and its toxic, unfulfilling makeup

continues to smokescreen the true fulfillment and fullness that one obtains in Christ and Christ alone. Wake up to re-

ality.

REALITY #6

“You Have Been Circumcised in Christ”

Paul continues in the next verse saying, “In him also you

were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands,

by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ” (Col 2:11, ESV). Paul constantly encountered men

throughout his mission journeys who were trying to tell be-


lievers in Christ that they must be physically circumcised. Paul told the Galatians, who were especially being attacked

by these teachers, “God forbid I should boast in anything

except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…For in Christ

Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, but

a new creation” (Gal 6:14-15).

What Paul does say about the believer is that their cir-

cumcision is of a whole different variety than the circumci-

sion given to Abraham. Their circumcision is known as “the

circumcision of Christ” which has to do with Him “putting

off the body of the flesh” (Col 2:11). The Greek word Paul

uses for “put off,” “denotes both stripping off and casting

away. The imagery is that of discarding—or being divested

of—a piece of filthy clothing.”1 In Christ the body of the flesh has been completely circumcised. Now all that matters

is that we are new creation (Gal 6:15, 2 Cor 5:17).

Paul said something similar when he wrote to the Ro-

mans, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has

died has been set free from sin” (Rom 6:6-7, ESV). Anders Nygren says about this passage,

“To [Paul] sin is not basically separate moral missteps; but sin is a power under whose bondage man

lives…That the Christian is “free from sin” means


to Paul that by Christ sin is cast down from its

throne…Freedom from sin is rather a fruit of the work of Christ; it is by Him that sin is cast down and vanquished.”

As Jesus put it, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever com-

mits sin is a slave of sin” ( John 8:34). Anders Nygren con-

tinues,

“[Paul] is far from the view that sees in sin an incidental expression of man’s free will. Sin is not a

matter which is at the disposal of man’s freedom,

so that he can assent to it one time and withhold

assent another. When sin is viewed as a power, that

means that it is not man who rules over sin, but sin who rules over him.”1

The way to experiencing freedom from the hostile

power of sin is through Jesus and Jesus alone. As Jesus con-

tinued by saying, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you

shall be free indeed” ( John 8:36). This is what was accom-

plished by the Son through our circumcision in him and the

putting off of the body of the flesh. The tyrant of Sin has

been dethroned and we have become slaves of Christ’s righteousness (Rom 6:18). As you “consider the members of your

earthly body as dead” (Col 3:5, NASB) you can ever more


express the reality of our circumcision in Christ and our freedom from sin. Wake up to reality.

REALITY #7

“You Have Been Forgiven of All Sins”

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircum-

cision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our sins” (Col 2:13). When Paul says that

God forgave us all our sins he meant what he said. There is

no sin that you ever have committed or ever will commit

that God has not already forgiven 2,000 years ago on the cross. God does not just forgive you for past sins and then

leave you on your own to be able to remember to confess every sin you will ever commit in the future in order to be forgiven. No!

When certain people in the first centuries of the church

began to believe that way, they would hold off baptizing

people until they were on their deathbed. The reasoning be-

hind this was that they could ensure themselves of having a

clean slate of all the sins they had committed in life, think-

ing that baptism was a sign of washing only past sins away.

The truth is that God has already forgiven you of all your

sin. If all of our sin has not been forgiven then Christ would

have to be continually sacrificed and we would be required to live with a sin-conscience, and in fear of judgment.

This is reason enough for dancing and celebration and


freedom from condemnation in life. Through the “once-forall sacrifice” we are to be “worshipers who have gone merrily

on our way, no longer dragged down by our sins” (Heb 10:2,

Message)! God did not need to be conditioned into forgiv-

ing our past sins, and He does not need to be conditioned into forgiving our future sins. He recognized all of the

worlds wrongs, and in full view of everything, He took it

into Himself on the cross and proclaimed His forgiveness toward men when they were at their worst denying him and

crucifying him on a tree.

When Jesus said, “Father forgive them for they know

not what they do”, he wasn’t crossing his fingers hoping that

the Father would do it! No, He was praying it to the Father

for our benefit! Jesus had already told His disciples that He

only did what His Father told Him to do ( John 8:28). Jesus

was revealing the forgiving heart of the Father from the

cross. The sins of the whole world were forgiven at the cross (1 John 2:2). All your sins have been forgiven. That’s the

Gospel truth. Wake up to reality.

REALITY #8

“You Have Been Removed From the Law’s Punishment”

“Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements

that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has

taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col

2:14). Vaughan says about this verse, “the reference is to the


Mosaic law; and whether it is interpreted as an official in-

dictment or as a bond of indebtedness, the thought is that

God has blotted it out so that it no longer stands against

us.”2 The book of Hebrews tells us, “By calling this covenant

"new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete

and aging will soon disappear” (Heb 8:13). The law has been canceled, taken away, and made obsolete.

Some of you may be thinking, “But doesn’t the Bible tell

us ‘We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.’ (1 John 2:3)?” Yes it does! But it also defines in

the next chapter what his commands are. John goes on to say, “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his

Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded

us” (1 Jn 3:23). Nothing about this command has to do with

the law that has been canceled, taken away, and made obsolete.

We are commanded solely to believe in Jesus and live

out the love life that we have in Him. As Jesus said, “A new

command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” ( John 13:34). Jesus’ love for

you is to the same degree and intensity that the Father has

eternally loved Him. As we remain in His love we can fulfill

his command to love the way He loves—free of condition

and command. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” ( John 15:9). A fuller discus-

sion of being removed from the law’s punishment will come


out in the next chapter. Until then, wake up to reality. REALITY #9

“You Have Been Raised With Christ”

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your

hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right

hand of God” (Col 3:1, NLT). Christ’s ascension was your

ascension. If ascending to heaven was something we needed

to accomplish on our own we would never make it. That is

what religion is all about, climbing the ladder to ascend to

God. The Gospel on the other hand is about God climbing

down the ladder (descending to us), so He can pick us up and seat us from a heavenly perspective.

In the book of Ephesians Paul describes our ascension

with Christ in even more detail. He says, “And God raised

us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly

realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). The priests in the Old

Testament always had to stand and minister because their

work was never finished. There was always something that

still stood against them and demanded sacrifice and obedience—the Law. Yet, when Jesus came as the end of the law (Rom 10:4), and when He ascended into heaven to the true

tabernacle, He sat down and made us sit with Him. The

Christian is called to rest in the finished work of Jesus.

There is nothing or no one who can tell you that you need

to do something to finish the work that is already done. You


have been raised with Christ. Wake up to reality. REALITY #10

“You Have Died & Your Life is Hidden with Christ in God”

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in

God” (Col 3:3, NLT). Many people live the Christian life as

if it is about rehabilitation toward better morals. As if our weak and feeble person is resuscitated by our gradual workouts and spiritual exercises toward godliness. While that

sounds pious and virtuous, the reality is that God is not so much into rehabilitation and resuscitation as He is into death

and resurrection. The only thing that qualifies you for new

life is your co-crucifixion with Christ, and co-resurrection

with Christ.

Through Jesus we have been brought into the very life

of God. Our life has found its true-life source once again—

the eternal love of the Trinity. The old man of sin and alien-

ation (that was running around in the darkness) has been

crucified with Christ and no longer has any attachment to us. While Satan may try to get us to live in his lies and walk

in the shadows of the old life that has passed away—that

old life has no basis in reality. The reality is that the old man

has died and we are completely new creation in Christ— hidden in His very life in God. Begin to open your eyes to

the beauty of your life hid with Christ in God. Wake up to

reality.


SINK INTO THE REALITY OF WHO YOU ARE

Paul has just told the Colossians that they are qualified,

rescued, redeemed, reconciled, given fullness, circumcised,

forgiven, freed from accusation, dead and alive in Christ!

Wow! In the Greek all of these verbs are in what is known

as the indicative mood. This simply means that they are indicating a state of reality. Another Greek mood for verbs is

called the imperative mood. These verbs are translated as

commands—“do” or “don’t.” In the New Testament you almost always see what I like to call indicatives of grace pre-

ceding the imperatives of love. When one fails to put the

indicative of grace before the imperative of love they are only left with an impossibility of religion. All forms of religion (in-

cluding many forms of Christianity) want to put the imperative before the indicative. They want to say “do this” in order to “be this.” The truth of the matter though is that the

Gospel says, “Because you already are this, you can do this.” So how do the Ten Realities of the New Covenant bring

growth and transformation in the life of the believer? How are we who have been caught up in all of these indicatives of

grace supposed to live? This is the subject that Paul talks

about in the second half of his letter to the Colossians. Most

English translations say the height of response to the reali-

ties of the New Covenant is to, “Above all put on love” (Col 3:14). The Greek allows for a little different rendering

though—one that is more in line with the idea of realization


over actualization. Of expressing what you already possess, as opposed to possessing something that you don’t already

have. The phrase “put on” in Greek is en duo and can actu-

ally be translated “sink into.” Paul’s desire was for the Colos-

sians to “Above all sink into love (agape).” He was saying

realize what has already been actualized on your behalf. Become aware that you actually have the God of pure Agape

Himself with all His benefits living inside of you and begin to manifest it. Love is no longer a work of trying to put

something on, but rather it is a choice to sink into something

that is already inside of you—the very love of God Him-

self !

As Paul put it when He spoke to the Galatians, “It is no

longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loves me” (Gal

2:20). The love walk and the faith walk of the Christian is

simply about sinking into Christ’s love and Christ’s faith and allowing that sinking to cause a spill over into everyone’s life

around you! The imperative to sink into agape love is to be

completely wrapped inside the indicative of who we are in Christ. Paul takes the rest of the letter to expound what that

agape love looks like amongst our family and work place.

He ends with his typical prayer requests, personal greetings, and admonishments. The vast majority of the letter though

is focused on the ten realities of the New Covenant. For Paul

believes to His very core and has witnessed the fact that only


by extolling Christ and proclaiming the Gospel of grace

(Acts 20:24) can the world ever be turned upside down (Acts 17:6). Wake up to reality.

5

NEED AN UPGRADE?

Have you noticed that everything related to the technology

world is always changing? Whether you have a cell phone,

computer, I-pad or any other device, the hardware and soft-

ware that run these remarkable pieces of equipment are al-

ways changing. To stay current, efficient, effective and

fruitful, you must continually get an upgrade!

In a similar fashion, many people live their spiritual life

through an old software program (not recognizing the pur-

pose of that software) and unaware of God’s latest and

greatest updated version. Let me explain. When God first

hardwired humanity, He formed them to live in dependence on His love and grace and to be fruitful in their fellowship

with Him in the beautiful paradise of Eden. Humanity

screwed up their hardware when they decided not to live in dependence upon God, but chose to partake of a virus which

the Bible calls fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Since humanity was never meant to live with the

93


burden of that virus (becoming their own judge), it prohibited them from flourishing in the original design they were

created for. Since that time everyone born into the world

has carried that virus with them and it has tainted their view

of God and their view of the world. God needed to show

man that they have been infected with a virus and how they

could experience life virus free. He did this by instituting two software programs—an old one and a new one. The Bible calls them covenants.

LIFE IN THE STONE AGE

Once man partook of the tree of knowledge and good and

evil they entered into a world of toil, thorns, pain, and sweat. During this time, God singled out a people group to whom

He could show the vastness of His mercy and grace and also

point out the seriousness of the virus they were living with.

Man needed a mirror to see their real condition, so after

God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt He gave them

His holy law. Altogether He gave Israel 613 commandments with ten that He wrote Himself on stone. Look what the

Scripture says, “When the LORD finished speaking to

Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the

Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Ex 31:18). The purpose of this software was to expose the

virus (i.e., sin). The Scriptures say,

NEED AN UPGRADE? // KEITH HERSHEY ! 95

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says

to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable

to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous

in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the

law we become conscious of sin” (Rom 3:19-20).

Israel was now living in a stone age. It was an age where

they were meant to have an increased consciousness of sin and be utterly silenced to their pleas of being virus free. This

is why the first software program God designed is called the

“ministry of death.” Before man could be resurrected to newness

of life he needed to be killed. “But if the ministry of death, writ-

ten and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children

of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because

of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing

away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glo-

rious” (2 Cor 3:7-8)? Though the software came with glory its purpose was to bring death and condemnation.

The reason the law brought death and condemnation

was because it was a system based on ones ability to obey.

The blessings the system would bring were conditional

based upon ones perfect obedience to every last jot and tittle

of its stipulations. In fact, this software program had a

penalty for failure called the curse of the law. Talking about

the stipulations to inherit a blessing under the stone age


software program the Bible says, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey

the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command

you today, that the LORD you God will set you

high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God” (Deut 28:1-2).

While the stoneage software has been fulfilled (Matt

5:17), taken away (Col 2:14), and deemed obsolete (Heb

8:13), many people are still living their spiritual lives based on this obsolete software. They need an upgrade. This

covenant was specially designed to exhaust you and increase

and expose sin. You cannot perform perfectly. So you continually feel condemnation and death if you really fully expose yourself to its ministry. Why? That is the result of the

ministry of the old stone age system. If you are still living

with this software and don’t feel condemned, then I would encourage you to immerse yourself more fully in it, and

make sure you are not cutting any corners! It will get the job it was designed for done!


LIFE IN CHRIST

An upgrade for the ministry that was written on stone

(the Ten Commandments), has been released two-thousand

years ago. It is the flesh and blood ministry of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” ( John 1:17). Once

Jesus came God’s people were no longer left with a software

program that told them how bad they were, but now they

would be given new hardware through the indwelling presence of the Spirit of grace (“if anyone is in Christ, he is a

new creation!,” 2 Cor 5:17). They would also experience the New Covenant software. Which entailed spiritual blessing

solely based on Jesus’ obedience (Rom 5:18). It also meant that the and the curse of the law based on man’s disobedi-

ence would be taken by Jesus Himself and done away with at the cross (Gal 3:13). Look at what the Scriptures say, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even

so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came

to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by

one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so

also by one Man’s obedience many will be made right eous” (Rom 5:18-19).

The Father sent the Son to plunge into the human condi-


tion, condemn that virus infected sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3)

through death and resurrection, and ascend back to the Fa-

ther to declare—“mission accomplished.” The virus has been

eradicated, and while the law still does it’s job of ministering

condemnation and death, the new update of the life of the Spirit has come to minister grace and truth. This is where

peoples lives begin to flourish.

The flesh and blood of Jesus, according to the book of

Hebrews, actually disqualified Jesus from being a minister

of the law. He was not born into the tribe of Levi but rather

the tribe of Judah. Throughout the book of Hebrew one sees

Jesus being presented as greater than everything, including

all the key figures of the Old Covenant. In chapters one and

two, Jesus is greater than the angels. In chapter three, Jesus

is greater than Moses. In chapter four, Jesus is greater than Joshua. In chapter five and seven, Jesus’ priesthood is greater than the priesthood of Levi who ministered the law.

The Scriptures say, “For the priesthood being changed,

of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb 7:12). The

whole reason for the comparisons between Jesus and

Melchizedek in chapter seven serve to set up this point!

Jesus does not qualify to serve as a priest of the law, his order of priesthood is completely different, and therefore a new law

must be instituted. The change of law is a reference to the commandments of Jesus. These commandments are simply

twofold: believe on Jesus and love one another like Jesus


loved us ( John 13:34, 1 John 3:23). A few sentences later in Hebrews it says, “The former regulation is set aside because

it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect),

and a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to

God” (Heb 7:18-19).

Part of Jesus’ mission was to accomplish the will of God

by taking away the stone age software and updating it with the new covenant ministry of grace and truth through His Spirit. Look what the Scriptures say, “He said, ‘Behold, I

have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second” (Heb 10:9). Jesus came

to do the will of God by “taking away the first” software program and install the new updated “second” software pro-

gram that would run the heart of the new man in Christ. The first program did it’s job at gathering sin to one people

group and eventually One person—Jesus Christ. Now, that

that program has run it’s course. As the saying goes, “out

with the old and in with the new!” What Jesus did for us al-

lows us to stop living with a software model that was never designed for us and has been thrown in the outdated parts

bin 2,000 years ago because it was “weak and useless” except

as a picture and pointer to Jesus and as a minister of con-

demnation and death.


THE PROBLEMS OF LIVING WITH SOMETHING OBSOLETE

Why does Jesus “take away the first”? The Scriptures

say he did it because it was faulty! The book of Hebrews

says, “For if the first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second” (Heb 8:7). God

actually says that he found fault with the first covenant. The

stone age software could not cure the ills of those who were

under it, as they continued to be disobedient and defiant. It could only point out their disobedience and defiance.

The answer to the problem was the instituting of a New

Covenant with the new law of God written on the hearts

of His people. The New Covenant was going to be “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in

the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant” (Heb 8:9). This time the covenant was going to

minister forgiveness and resurrection after the first covenant did its work in ministering condemnation and death.

The details of the New Covenant are laid out in the next

three verses of Hebrews chapter eight,

“This is the covenant that I will make with the

house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will

put My laws in their mind and write them on their

hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be


My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor,

and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for

all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their

unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb 8:10-12).

First, the New Covenant has to do with God’s laws

being written on Israel’s hearts. This is a reference to the

commandments of Christ. Jesus said, “A new command-

ment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved

you, that you also love one another” ( John 13:34). Paul said,

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the

fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10, ESV). John said, “And this

is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23). Second, the New Covenant

has to do with personal, intimate, experiential knowledge of

the Lord (Heb 8:11). God will not be confined to a book,

or a ceremonial system, but rather experienced in the very

depths of mans heart. Third, the New Covenant is about God being merciful to their unrighteousness and never re-

membering their sins and lawless deeds again. Talk about the opposite of ministering death and condemnation!

While the law is good, holy, and just, it was not God’s

ultimate plan to bring about the good, holy, and just in our


lives. Rather, it is a tutor that was meant to guide people

who believed in the God who gave it, into His very heart

displayed at Calvary. When God gave the “old/Mosaic/first”

covenant to the people of Israel He knew that it was a going

to function as a mirror that would reflect all their imperfec-

tions. God was not trying to solve Israel’s sin problem di-

rectly through the law, but rather indirectly through the law.

God did not find fault with the Law doing it’s job as being

a mirror that showed man to be flawed and unable to live a

righteous, pure, and holy life. Rather, he found fault with

the way that Israel was using the law not simply as a means to the end, but as the end itself. A mirror clearly can point

out a problem, but it has no inherent ability to clean up the

problem like soap and water can. It can only cause the on-

looker to drop dead out of horror and frustration.

The law was not faulty in the sense that God was caught

off guard by the effect it was going to have, rather it was faulty because people were utilizing if for something it was

not meant to be utilized for (namely, a means of righteous-

ness and forgiveness). God needed to bring man to the end

of himself through the law so that what had been broken

down could be raised up. People were attempting to live out their relationship with God by means of the law, but they

all failed. The law was not the only thing that was faulty, for

God “found fault with them…because they did not continue in My covenant” (Heb 8:8-9).


So it was the covenant people’s use of, and failure with,

the law that caused God to find fault with them and with

the law. “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy,

righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). Yet, the law has no power to make man holy, righteous and good. Only the grace of

God can do that. The Law functions as the “ministry of con-

demnation” and a “ministry of death” (2 Cor 3:7, 9). It is sup-

posed to be a tutor that leads people to Christ (Gal 3:24).

The law does accomplish its task when those under it see

that something is dreadfully wrong with them. Thankfully

God responds to His wayward people in the New Covenant saying, “I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their

sins I will remember no longer” (Heb 8:12). God’s heart was

always about when He would manifest His grace to the

world through His Son Jesus. He knew that the law could

serve as a tutor to lead people to Christ. For it pointed out

their need for Him.

The apostle Paul believed that going back to the law was

a grave danger and constantly warned believers not to go back to the law. He wrote that people who go back to that

system have “fallen from grace”. Paul exhorted the Galatians

to,

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ

has made us free, and do not be entangled again

with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you


that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit

you nothing. And I testify again to every man who

becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the

whole law. You have become estranged from Christ,

you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace”(Gal 5:1-4).

Some Galatians were only going back to one simple

program in the old system—circumcision, yet Paul said that even going back to one little stipulation of the law means becom-

ing a debtor to keep the whole law. Just this one dab of the law put a wedge back between the Galatians and Christ—“you have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be

justified by the law” (Gal 5:4)! Not only that, but their at-

tempt to justify themselves by one little aspect of the law also caused them to fall from grace. Some people have taken this phrase from scripture and used it completely out of its

correct context. They have warned sinners that their lifestyle

of too much sin has caused them to fall from grace, when in

reality this verse has nothing to do with living a lifestyle of

sin, but rather living as though Christ and His grace is not sufficient. Some of these preachers go on and preach the de-

mands of the law to people lest they sin and fall short from

grace, when in fact they should preach the gracious acceptance of sinners by God and the dangers of going to any as-

pect of the law which will cause them to stumble and fall


away from Christ and His glorious gospel. Falling from

grace is attempting to be justified by the law, not living a

lifestyle of sin.

DON’T SUPRESS THE LAW’S TRUE MINISTRY

Have you ever felt like you were being asked to do

everything under the sun except what you felt you were cre-

ated for? God has given different motivational and spiritual gifts to men and women and they feel most alive and joyous

when they are able to share and utilize their own unique

giftings.

When Joseph was sold as a slave to Potipher, Potipher

saw the gifting of God on his life and utilized it—he ap-

pointed Joseph to oversee everything in his household.

When Joseph was in the prisons of Egypt the warden also

saw the giftings of Joseph and did not suppress but rather utilized them. Unfortunately, unlike Joseph, many times in

life peoples giftings are not brought out. Their true ministry

giftings are suppressed and replaced with whatever functional fad the overseer sees fit to accomplish their purpose.

Unfortunately the true ministry of the law has been sup-

pressed and people have used it to try to accomplish a pur-

pose it was never meant to accomplish. People utilize the law to try to bring about sinlessness and godly fruit, when

the law has no ministry gifting whatsoever to accomplish

that task. According to Second Corinthians, the laws’ min-


istry is “the ministry of death” (2 Cor 3:7) and “the ministry of condemnation” (2 Cor 3:9). We must respect the laws ministry and not try to make it minister something it is not

competent or able to minister—life, grace, obedience, and fruit of the spirit.

LEARNING FROM LUTHER

Martin Luther felt that much of the church in his day

(16th Century) had departed from the truth of the gospel and had replaced it with the Mosaic Law as well as laws of

their own making. In what was known as the Heidelberg

Disputation, Luther expressed his theological concerns in

twenty-eight theses. His first thesis stated, “The law of God,

the most salutary doctrine of life, cannot advance man on

his way to righteousness, but rather hinders him.”1 The law does not increase righteousness but rather increases sin. The

apostle Paul multiple times expressed his awareness of this

phenomenon. In the book of Romans Paul said, “the law en-

tered that the offense might abound” (Rom 5:20). A few chapters later he would say,

“I would not have known what sin was except

though the law. For I would not have known what

coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not

covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of


covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead… when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died” (Rom 7:7-9).

Anders Nygren commenting on this verse has said, “Just as the sun’s rays call forth the possibilities that are

in the seed and bring them to full growth, so the law

calls forth the sin that slumber. Now it has opportunity to develop its inherent possibilities; and the result is conscious opposition to God. It is in re-

lation to the law, that sin grows powerful in man.”2 Yet the law does not always just increase sin by means

of immorality but it also increases sin by issuing man a bag

of good works whereby man attempts to pay for his salvation

rather than being able to receive it as a free gift. The

Lutheran theologian, Gerhard Forde, has accessed it like

this,

“The law is not a remedy for sin. It does not cure sin but rather makes it worse. St. Paul says it was

given to make sin apparent, indeed, even to increase it. It doesn’t do that necessarily by increasing im-

morality, although that can happen when rebellion

or the power of suggestion leads us to do just what


the law is against…[but also] the law multiplies sin precisely through our morality, our misuse of the law and our success at it. It becomes a defense

against the gift. That is the very essence of sin: refusing the gift and thereby setting the self in place of God.”3

This is one of the reasons people hold on to the law for

dear life! It brings out the best in their fallen nature. They

hold on for dear life to feel justified, strong, and like God as

it nourishes them from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Unfortunately, for these people the law has become

a builder of pride rather than a demolisher of pride (Rom 3:19-20).

Towards the end of the theses in his Heidelberg Dispu-

tation, Martin Luther sheds two more important lights on the truth of the Gospel. He says in his twenty-fifth and

twenty-sixth theses, “25. He is not righteous who does

much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ. 26. The law says, “do this,” and it is never done. Grace says, “believe in this,” and everything is already done.” This is re-

ally what this chapter has been detailing from the Scriptures. Righteousness is a free gift from God that is granted through the obedience of One Man, and the Old Covenant

says “do” while the New Covenant says “done.”

Just look back at Hebrews 8:7-13. There you find God


say “I will” six times. The new covenant is about what God

in the freedom of His grace has done through the obedience

of One Man irrespective of the goodness or badness of any

man. The old covenant written on stone says “you shall” twelve times (Ex 20:1-17). It was a system based on your

performance and its purpose was to expose man’s inability to perfectly perform. The New Covenant says, “For if by one

man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more

those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of right-

eousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ”

(Rom 5:17).

Many of us have heard the phrase, “cheap grace” but in

actuality grace is free! Cheap grace is just another subtle substitution for living by the law. It says that you only have to

do and believe points one, two, and three to get right with

God. Grace certainly manifested itself in costly dying love,

but once it is turned into something that is doled out for

certain behavior adjustments, charitable gifts to the church, or conscious adherence to hundred point creeds, one has reverted to the state of the early sixteenth century church that

Luther was living in.

We are simple “receivers” of the “abundance of grace and

the free gift of righteousness.” This is where victory is found—Jesus! Grace loads us on the front end to live the

love life, rather than being the earned wages of our feeble

attempts to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength.


Grace is God’s one way love that is unmerited and unco-

erced. It is there whether we chose to recognize it or not—it is

free! Don’t allow pride or humiliation to block you from re-

ceiving. Humbly accept the free gift ( James 4:6).

MOVING CAMP FROM MOUNT SINAI TO MOUNT TRANSFIGURATION

A great illustration of moving from law to grace is found

in account of Jesus’ transfiguration. This story is found in

Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In it, Jesus takes his three closest

disciples (Peter, James, & John) up a “high mountain” after

“six days” where he becomes “transfigured” and “dazzling

white” before them. While this is happening the disciples

see “Elijah and Moses” appear and they become “frightened.” Next a “cloud appeared and covered them” and a voice

thundered from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love, Lis-

ten to him!” At the end of the story it says, “Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them

except Jesus” (Mark 9:1-8).

Right from the get go one senses close parallels with one

of the most important stories from the Old Testament—the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:12-17). Both ac-

counts mention an interval of six-days, a high mountain, cloud cover for the mountain, Moses’ presence, something

shining, fear by the onlookers, and the Lord speaking up on

the seventh day.


One difference is that not only Moses appears on this

mountain with Jesus, but so does Elijah. Moses in the scrip-

ture represents the embodiment and giving of the Law ( John 1:17), while Elijah represents the living witness of the

Prophets (for he was taken away in a fiery chariot straight to heaven). Interestingly, Moses and Elijah appear for only

a moment before the thundering voice of the Father tells

the disciples to listen to Jesus while Moses and Elijah vanish. Moses actually prophesied about Jesus, and the need to listen to Him, when he said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your

fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deut 18:15). Once

that word was spoken by the Father we are told that “they

no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus” (Mark 9:8).

One thing this story is pointing out is that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and the

bearer of the New Law and New Covenant from on high.

The disciples were to begin to see Jesus in all the law and

the prophets. They were to fully embrace the signposts and

shadows of the eternal grace truth reality that was standing

right before them in all His glory! Their new life in Christ

would be characterized and be transformed by seeing Jesus only and listening to His Gospel truth. “The law was given

through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” ( John 1:17).

An interesting side note that may even further illustrate


the meaning behind the transfiguration is actually found in the names of Jesus’ closest disciples. John’s name means

“God graciously gave.” James comes from the Hebrew name

Jacob. If you can recall the story of Jacob in the Old Testa-

ment you will remember that he was the one who swindled

the birthright from his brother Esau and deceived his Father into giving him Esau’s blessing as well. He basically became

the replacement of his older brother. The meaning of his

name is actually, “he who replaces or supplants”. Finally, the name Peter is very important in the New Testament Gospels. When Jesus first saw Peter he said, “You are Simon

son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when trans-

lated, is Peter)” ( John 1:42). Peter means “stone.” So if you

put Jesus’ closest disciples names together you actually get a

picture into the ministry of Jesus. The names would read,

“God has graciously given, He who replaces stone.” This is

what was being pictured on the mountain of transfiguration,

as Jesus is the one the law tutored Israel toward, and now

they are no longer under a tutor for Jesus is the end of the law to those who believe (Rom 10:4).

GRACE NOT LAW LEADS TO TRANSFORMATION

Another beautiful insight into the story of Jesus being

transfigured on the mountain occurs in the account recorded

by Luke. There it says, “Peter and his companions were very


sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory”

(Luke 9:32). The word here for “saw,” eidon, is not the word

that is used for just sensual perception of the eyes, but rather a perception, experience, and insight of the heart. I think

that this gives us a great picture into man coming out of the foggy sleepiness associated with the law (remember they

were asleep basically the whole time Moses and Elijah were

present) and into the revitalized experience of seeing the

New Covenant of grace—Jesus!

Many people in and out of the Church may have seen

or heard with their physical eyes or ears about Jesus, but they

have not seen or heard with an experiential knowledge the

One who loves them immeasurably—even to His very death on the cross. They rather look for the glory of God some-

where outside of Jesus, they want to look past the cross, they

want to stay inwardly introspective of self. Yet the disciples

perceived, experienced, and knew, the glory of God right there in Jesus.

People who are still running on the stone age software

need to have laser eye surgery done on the eyes of their

heart. I remember the first time I ( Joshua) was given glasses after an eye exam in elementary school. I was amazed that

the world around me looked so different. I was amazed at

the differentiation between leaves when I looked at trees, or

the clarity with which I could see on the basketball court. It

was like I was living my previous life blinded to reality.


When we are seeing anyone other than Jesus (His glorious

person and finished work), life will ultimately be lived with

blurry vision and a handicapped ability to revel in the glories of His love.

Just as Jesus was “transfigured” on the Mount of Trans-

figuration, the Bible says that the believer in Christ can be

“transfigured by the renewing of their mind” (Rom 12:2).

In both cases the Greek word metamorphasized is used. “And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives

gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God en-

ters our lives and we become like him” (2 Cor 3:18, Message). Some people view Mount Transfiguration as a destina-

tion they are trying to reach in life through constant effort

and moral purification. For these people, the ledgers of

Christian spirituality and good-deed charts, play a big role

in mapping how far up the mountain they have climbed. On

the other hand the Gospel presents that the One transfig-

ured on the mountain has reached down to us and taken up

residence in us. We are no longer attempting to make it to

the top for the One on the top has already made His way down toward us! He is essentially saying, “Get ride of the

ledgers. Get ride of the charts. In faith receive My activity

in you. Allow My agape other-oriented love to flow. There is no more room for narcissistic pre-occupation. There is no

more room for self-condemnation. Become fully awake and

rest in Me. I am the end of the law to everyone who believes!

PART THREE

ACCEPTED IN THE FAMILY OF GOD “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” – The Apostle Paul

6

HE’S GOT YOU COVERED

Have you ever felt as if you were insufficient? Maybe you

go through your days nitpicking yourself to death, sorting

out everything you believe to be wrong and right with you.

Many people nitpick their lives not just from a natural perspective (family life, work, diet, relationships, etc), but also

from a spiritual perspective (am I doing enough to be right

with God?). The stress of keeping all of these lists in order can be exhausting and depleting and usually will lead a per-

son to a place of burnout and depression. Man truly desires

to “cover all the bases” when it comes to being able to live

the “good life.” The Gospel—too good to be true news—that

God heralds from heaven through Jesus is that even when

you don’t have all your “bases covered”—He’s got you covered!

Over the years, a friend of mine has occasionally sent

me a text message that simply says, “I’ve got you covered.”

What he is really saying is simply code language meaning,

117

118 ! ACCEPTED IN THE FAMILY OF GOD

“Keith, I’m praying for you.” What an encouraging and

comforting thought to know that somebody’s covering me.

It’s sort of like the feeling one might get when eating at a

gourmet restaurant with a friend. As they look down at the menu they immediately realize that this place is simply out

of their price range. As they are sitting there feeling a bit uncomfortable and frantically searching for the cheapest

thing on the menu, their friend leans over and says, “Oh, by

the way my friend, I’ve got you covered. You’re on me

tonight.” Immediately their stress level drops and they are at peace. They can look at the menu. They can partake and

enjoy their time with their friend with no fear of the impending bill. They can enjoy being who they want to be

without depending on their own ability, or their own resources.

Now imagine that Jesus was sitting in your midst. Imag-

ine that He leaned over, gave you a big hug, and whispered

in you ear, “Listen my son/daughter, I’ve got you covered.

I’ve got you covered before the Father and I’ve got you cov-

ered in the Earth. Everything is going to be alright.” In that

moment your heart would become baptized in assurance. The simple thought of being covered can change your whole

worldview of who you are before the Father and who you

are before man. It can allow you to partake and enjoy your

life from God’s resources rather than from your own feeble

resources.

HE’S GOT YOU COVERED // KEITH HERSHEY ! 119

Years ago, I used to always sing a song called “I am Cov-

ered Over”, and it still rings in my head at times. The song goes like this,

“I am covered over with a robe of righteousness That Jesus gives to me, gives to me

I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus And He lives in me, lives in me

What a joy it is to know my heavenly Father loves me so And He gives to me, my Jesus

When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be But He sees Jesus”

If we could really, honestly, believe that, we would live

different. We would not be so nervous and afraid. We would

not be such a spiritual basket case all the time about our identity, our position, or our fellowship with the Father. We

would rest secure in what Jesus has done for us.

THE HEAVENLY FONDUE PARTY

One thing I have really enjoyed over the years is fondue.

I like things that are covered. I like chocolate-covered raisins. I like chocolate-covered almonds. The Hershey fam-

ily loves things dipped, smothered, and overwhelmed with

the creamy delight that God gave us through that fantastic

cocoa tree.


Occasionally our household receives a special chocolate

covered delivery from one of the Mutual Faith leaders in

Central America. Recently he sent a gift of chocolate-covered strawberries. As we opened the box and began to pull

out the big white and dark chocolate covered delights, I

began to realize something significant. You don’t really know if the strawberry on the inside is damaged. You don’t know if

it was a perfect strawberry, if it had a little scar, or if it was fully ripened and red. You don’t know how it looks. But you

know what you do? You judge the value of it by its covering. My wife, Heidi, and I devoured the whole box! We enjoyed every single strawberry because we partook based on the covering!

Now, if somebody just sent me some strawberries that

did not look ripened, or they were too hard, or too mushy, then I would have made a judgment against them based on

what they really were. Yet, Jesus through the Father’s love

for us has covered us with Himself. We must understand that Jesus says, “I’ve got you covered.” If you choose not to

believe that, you will find life frustrating and unfruitful.

Another thing Heidi and I have enjoyed doing over the

years is a cheese fondue. One nation I preach in periodically

is Switzerland. The Swiss love their cheese so much that

they enjoy smothering their food from time to time under

a nice cheese fountain. Just like the chocolate-covered strawberries, when you have a fondue of cheese, it doesn’t matter


how damaged the bread, meat, or whatever else is being

dipped into the fondue is. It becomes covered, and gains a whole new identity and value.

The whole idea of being covered over, and accepted, is

deeply woven into the Gospel message as proclaimed in the Scriptures. Early in his book to the Ephesians Paul pro-

claims,

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have

redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He

made to abound toward us inall wisdom and prudence” (Eph 1:6-8).

We have been encased in Christ because of the awesome unmerited favor that the Father has caused to abound to-

ward us! The apostle John wrote, “If we walk in the light as

He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and

the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John

1:7). The verb cleanse, in the Greek, actually is in a present continuous tense, and can be translated as “continuously cleanses us from all sin.” His blood is ever cleansing and it

never loses it’s power. As the hymnist William Cowper put it, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Em-

manuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose


all their guilty stains.” Talk about a heavenly fondue party!

There is an ever-flowing fountain straight from the side

of Jesus that represents His ever pursuing, dying love, for you, me, and the whole world. Jesus simply asks that we re-

ceive the free gift of our acceptance, and begin to enjoy that

He is everything good about our life. A little later in his let-

ter, the apostle John continued by saying,

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you

will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an ad-

vocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous

One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and

not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole

world” (1 John 2:1-2, NIV).

What a beautiful thought to know that Jesus has us cov-

ered when we sin. To know that He is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world and that “God was in

Christ not counting our sins against us” (2 Cor 5:19). DO YOU “LIKE” YOUR STATUS?

God sees you as “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6),

and under the constant cleansing of the Lamb of God who

has taken away the sins of the world ( John 1:29). He loved us while we were yet sinners, naked, and destitute, and cre-

ated a covering of love and acceptance for us when all our


efforts at our own covering and religious makeup wasn’t

working (Rom 5:6-8; Gen 3:7, 21). Part of our problem is

understanding that God likes and accepts us as we are and

not as we should be. The other part is understanding that

we can begin to like and accept our acceptance before the

Father.

I’m not really that good with my Facebook and Twitter

accounts, but periodically I feel stirred to share some good

news. It’s always a joy to see when people can “like” and “accept” the good news that I am able to share about their relationship with God and how much he loves them. Every

now and then a story comes up on my Facebook feed that says one of my friends’ status has been changed. I have the opportunity to click the “like button” if it’s a close friend of

mine and I want to celebrate and share in their good news. If we could just understand that the new status that

Jesus gives us is not just some little covering that can be

ripped off from us through our failure, but that we are truly

righteous and holy before God, part of His New Creation,

we would click our own “like button”! We would be proud

of the solid, secure covering that the cross of Jesus Christ

has secured for all of us. We would shout hallelujah and our

worship would be focused on the Lamb!

Christians who have lived joyously baptized in the as-

surance of their Heavenly Father and Elder Brother have

been around in every century of the church. It seems that


people from time to time just need to reawaken to the joy

parade, and let people know that God’s Gospel truly means

too good to be true news. One Christian who lived late in the 2nd Century had this to say in his writings,

“When our unrighteousness was fulfilled, and it had been made perfectly clear that its wages—

punishment and death—were to be expected, then the season arrived during which God had decided to reveal at last His goodness and power. O, the

surpassing kindness and love of God! He did not hate us, or reject us, or bear a grudge against us;

instead He was patient and forbearing. In His

mercy He took upon Himself our sins. He Himself gave up His own Son as a ransom for us, the

holy one for the lawless, the guiltless for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the

corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. For what

else but His righteousness could have covered our sins? In whom was it possible for us, the lawless

and ungodly, to be justified, except in the Son of

God alone? O the sweet exchange, O the incompre-

hensible work of God, O the unexpected blessings, that the sinfulness of many should be hidden in one right

eous person, while the righteousness of One should justify many sinners!” 1


Isn’t it amazing that “the sinfulness of many should be

hidden in one righteous person” or as the apostle Paul put it

“you have been hidden in Christ with God” (Col 3:3). This

idea of a sweet exchange and hiding place of refuge, healing, and restoration is found all throughout the Bible. Paul put it like this, “…God was in Christ reconciling the world to

himself not counting their sins against them…He who

knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the

righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:19-21). I can’t think of a sweeter exchange than that!

ARE YOU FEARFUL OR FAITHFUL?

One of the examples in the Old Covenant of man being

hidden in Christ, and covered in the blood of the Lamb, is

in the story of the Passover. Look what the Scriptures say,

“Now the blood shall be assigned for you on the houses

where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when

I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex 12:13). Think about this for a moment. Some of these Israeli families must have been a

nervous wreck. I know that I would have been. My mind

probably would have been plagued with thoughts like, “I

wonder if my eldest son, Justin, is going to make it?” My

mind probably would wander toward all the check lists of my personal righteous worth, “Did I pray enough? Could I

have given bigger offerings? Did I attend church enough?


What could I have done more to guarantee that I will be

covered?” Yet, there was only one instruction that should have set all of these men and women’s minds at peace. Apply

the blood!

Those who were obedient to the command of the Lord

would have simply put the blood on the doorposts. It would have looked something like the sign of the cross. As they

went back into their house they could have chosen to face all types of emotional turmoil if they truly didn’t believe or

understand the protective power of the blood. Suppose that

everybody in one family was ticked off at one another, and blaming one another for the situation they were in. Suppose

there was a lot of yelling, crying, and angry backbiting going

on back and forth throughout the midst of the home. Sup-

pose some members of the family were falling on their knees

begging God for forgiveness while others were burning all their worldly idols and other sinful objects that they had

stashed away.

Think about the havoc of trying to go to bed on a night

like that. Imagine that my wife Heidi and I were yelling at

each other. Imagine that my son, Justin, is in another room

wailing at the top of his lungs, “Dear God, dear God, have mercy! Have mercy! Please let there be another child of my

father that’s older than me.” Whatever his prayer is, he is believing for a miracle.

Now that doesn’t sound like a family in a lot of faith.


But guess what happens that night. The blood was suffi-

cient. When the families woke up in the morning, whether

they were a nervous wreck, or whether they had perfect

peace, they all said, “Thank you Lord, the blood was sufficient!” The level of their faith or their previous track record

did not matter. The blood was sufficient. The covering is sufficient if we would just open our eyes to the gift and apply

into the depths of our heart by faith. It is the blood of Jesus

alone that saves you. It’s not the blood plus your understanding of all the revelation of Jesus in the New Testament. It’s not the blood plus your complete obedience at all times to

everything God has ever said. It’s not the blood plus your perfect church attendance and track record of giving. No, it

is the blood alone that saves you.

Yet when we consider this story, we also must keep in

mind that the Old Covenant was a miniature picture of God’s heart for the whole world. The lambs that were slain

on that day were only for the houses of Israel, whereas John the Baptist pointed out that the Lamb that has come down

from heaven “takes away the sins of the whole world” ( John

1:29). The cross has covered doorpost of the cosmos (Col

1:20, 1 John 2:2) as Christ has covered His flock from the

Adversary who seeks to kill and destroy. Man has three op-

tions in his journey. First, he can boldly walk in his assurance, acceptance, and love he has from God. His second

choice would be to cower in fear never entering onto the


dance floor in gratefulness knowing he is fully covered. But still staying in the household of the family receiving the

good news week after week until Christ is formed in his

heart anew (Gal 4:19). The third option is that he can scoff

at Christ, “trample his blood under foot” (Heb 10:29), walk

out the door and allow the angel of death to bring a continuation of misery, frustration, and death in his life.

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

Maybe some of you are still thinking that you need to

qualify in order to be worthy to partake at the banquet table

of the King. Maybe you think that you do not have a friend

that is good enough to lean over at the fancy restaurant and whisper, “I’ve got you covered.” Well let me share with you that you do have such a friend—His name is Jesus! Jesus

said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s

life for one’s friends…No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends” ( John 15:13, 15).

In the Old Testament there is a story of two friends who

made a covenant with one another. One of the men was the

son of the first king of Israel—his name was Jonathan. The

second man was the future king of Israel—his name was

David. Before David was set up as king in Jerusalem, he was

on the run from king Saul ( Jonathan’s father). During this time David made a covenant with Jonathan because of his

deep love for him. Look at what the Scriptures say, “And


Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself ” (1 Sam 18:3).

Eventually, both Saul and Jonathan died in battle, and

David was set up as the rightful king in Jerusalem. During

that time David began to drive out all the enemies that were in Israel’s territory as well as those who were still loyal to

the previous king, Saul. Some examples of David’s effort to

clean the land of all enemies are seen here,

“David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off

with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them

were put to death, and the third length was allowed

to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute” (2 Sam 8:2).

Later it says, “When the Arameans of Damascus came…David

struck down twenty-two thousand of them…He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites

became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went” (2 Sam 8:5, 14).

The enemies of David must have been cowering in fear and

running for their lives at this point. Yet, in the next chapter,


an amazing story of the covenant faithfulness of God ap-

pears.

Look at what the Scriptures says, “David asked, ‘Is there

anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness

for Jonathan’s sake’” (2 Sam 9:1)? An important thing to note

here is how the covenant would have been made between

David and Jonathan. In their time, people didn’t say they

were “making a covenant,” but rather “cutting a covenant.” Both Jonathan and David would have most likely made a cut in their arms, and while the wound was still open they

would have sprinkled bits of gravel in that open wound. This would have ensured that the wound would never heal fully

without an everlasting reminder of the covenant that was

cut. David could have been looking at the scar from the

covenant he had cut with his friend Jonathan when he

blurted out, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul

to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake” (2 Sam

9:1)?

COMING OUT OF LO-DEBAR

Look at the answer to David’s question, “Ziba answered

the king, ‘There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.’ ‘Where is he?’ the king asked. Ziba answered, ‘He is at

the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar’” (2 Sam 9:3-4).

I want to stop here for a moment and look at how this


man (later identified as Mephibosheth) is described. First

off, the name Mephibosheth means “one who scatters shame” or “big shame.” He was a prince destined for the

throne. A comparison into today’s world would be like a

Prince William of England who is the grandson of the

queen and second in line for the throne (except Mephi-

bosheth had more authoritative power). Yet his kingdom

was taken right out from under him at the age of five. Look

at what the Scriptures say, “He was five years old when the

news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he

fell and became lame” (2 Sam 4:4, ESV).

Just as this prince destined for greatness fell, and was

crippled, bringing in a long journey of shame and disgrace,

so too humanity fell when the heads of our race partook

from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, leaving

mankind crippled wallowing in disgrace and shame in the howling desert.

But the king calls for the disgraced Mephibosheth who

is in hiding. Ziba says that Mephibosheth is in Lo Debar. This was one of the most decrepit of the Samaritan slums

and where many of the rejected of society came to live and

where the outlaws of society hid. The name “Lo Debar”

means “no pasture” and attracted the losers of society who had no hope of a future. Yet just as the King of kings called

to Adam in the garden, “Where art thou Adam!” (Gen 3:9,


KJV), so king David called for Mephibosheth, “Where is

he?” Just as God wanted to bring Adam out of his hiding place and disposition of shame, so David called to “Big

Shame” Mephibosheth himself to come out of hiding!

Why wouldn’t Mephibosheth be in hiding? According

to his own mouth he was worthy of nothing but death (2

Sam 19:28). Not only that but he was a cripple (which many

in that day viewed as a sign of divine disfavor). Besides that

he was poor (another sign of divine disfavor in the day), he was a fugitive and enemy of the king, and he was apparently

forgotten (David did not know that he existed until he

asked).

Have you ever been there in life? Have you ever felt like

hiding because you know you are handicapped, poor, at enmity with God and man, and forgotten? Well I have good

news for you. Just as David sought out Mephibosheth so

Jesus taught us that God sweeps the whole house to find

every lost coin and He bounds over every mountain and

looks under every bush to find every lost sheep (Luke 15).

God sent His one and only son into the far country, into the Lo

Debar to find you and me! You are not forgotten! You are sum-

moned before the king!

SUMMONED BEFORE THE KING

The story does not end with the search but continues

saying, “So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from


the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth

son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor” (2 Sam 9:5-6). Imagine that scene!

Mephibosheth is carried before the presence of this mighty

warrior king in Jerusalem. A garrison of soldiers is probably

leading the way as they bring him before the throne of the

king of all of Israel. Not only that but for some reason he has been on the king’s mind! What must he have done in order to be sought out to have a public execution before the

king? How had his hiding place in the howling wilderness with the rest of the rag tag thugs, thieves, and fugitives of

society not gained him safe haven? Why would the king not just allow him to wallow in shame the rest of his life as the

“has been prince,” to relish in his glory days as a little boy in the palace gates?

As Mephbosheth was carried in front of David he was

probably cowering in fear as he remembered all of those be-

fore him who had died, and knowing well that he to de-

served nothing but death. Right in the midst of his fear,

worry, and thoughts of despair running to and fro through-

out his mind the king spoke up. Mephibosheth could do nothing but listen to the verdict of the king!

THE THREE PRNOUNCEMENTS OF THE KING

“‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will show you

kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore


all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you

will eat at my table” (2 Sam 9:6-7). What unbelievably, too

good to be true news!

The first thing Mephibosheth is commanded to do is

“fear not”! It is amazing how often God, or one of his rep-

resentatives, show up in Scripture and the first thing they have to tell the recipient of their news is to “fear not”! God knows that man has a fallen perception of who he is so that

they are always cowering back in fear. He first needs to fix their theology. Man is always hiding in the bushes trying to

sew together coverings of respectability for themselves. Man

knows that something is wrong with him, so why wouldn’t

their disposition to the holy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be

one of fear? Just as Mary, the shepherds, Mephibosheth, and

many others have been commanded to fear not, so we too need to learn to live under God’s fear not command! Once

that command is heeded the rest of the good news can begin to be received.

The second command given by David was, “I will show

you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.” He was

basically telling Mephibosheth, “There is a pre-existing

covenant and you are pre-qualified!” Mephibosheth was not in

the covenant equation. He was simply a recipient of the covenant

that was cut between David and Jonathan. David was telling him that he had cut a covenant with his father Jonathan be-

fore he was even born! David was telling Mephibosheth that


he wasn’t even part of the covenant equation, but that he

was included in the stipulations of kindness laid out in the covenant.

In the same way, according to the New Covenant, God

made a covenant with Jesus so that the covenant would be

firm and secure and free from continual unfaithfulness of man (see Heb 6:13-19, 8:8). God’s righteousness and justice

have been demonstrated through the faithfulness of His Son

and benefits all who believe. “Namely, the righteousness of

God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe”

(Rom 3:22, NET).

Finally the king declares to Mephibosheth, “I will re-

store all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul,

and you will always eat at my table” (2 Sam 9:7, NIV ). Everything that Mephibosheth lost as a prince destined for

the throne was going to be restored to him. Not only that, but Mephibosheth was going to switch residences from Lo

Debar to Jerusalem. The story goes on to say at the end, “So

Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet” (2 Sam

9:13). He was going to live in the blessings of the kindness of the king simply because of the love that the king had for

his father! What an amazing inheritance! Just to be sure that

the reader understood that Mephibosheth had done nothing

to earn his status the author adds, “And he was lame in both his feet!”


Mephibosheth had run no errands for God. In fact he was

utterly incapable of doing so. He was utterly incapable of

doing anything for David except simply allowing himself to

be carried to the king and accepting the verdict spoken over him. I suppose that Mephibosheth could have kicked and

screamed (or at least beat his arms, it was physically impossible for him to kick!) and let the people know he wanted

nothing to do with David. I suppose Mephibosheth could have written David off and said, “Long live King Saul” while

striking a dagger through his own heart. But he didn’t. Mephibosheth accepted the free offer of mercy, grace, for-

giveness, and favor.

BLINDED TO MY BROKENNESS

One other thing to keep in mind about Mephibosheth’s

eternal table fellowship in the king’s court is what happens when you pull your chair up to a table. You see when you

pull your chair up to the table you can not see your feet any-

more. Mephibosheth was blinded to his brokenness at the kings table and just obsessed with the presence and the

goodness of the king. The music group, Leeland, captures

this theme well in the story of Mephibosheth titled, Carried To The Table. I would encourage you to listen to it. We all

are carried to the table, captured in His love, blinded to our brokeness and healed by the presence of the King!


THE COVENANT MARKINGS

A man named John was given a glimpse of the glories

of heaven two thousand years ago. While he was there he

was told not to worry for someone who was worthy was

there to open the scrolls—“the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,

the Root of David, has prevailed” (Rev 5:5). At this moment

John may have had thoughts of a ferocious Lion in the heav-

ens. One about to devour his enemies and whom every one would back away from in fear. But the Scripture goes on to

say that John dared to look for this Lion! “And I looked, and

behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living

creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain” (Rev 5:6)!

Do you know that you have a friend in heaven named

Jesus, who continuously looks at his eternal covenant mark-

ings that he cut with his Father and is constantly proclaim-

ing, “Who can I show kindness to for the sake of my Father!” Do you understand the depths of the love of the

Father and the depths of the love of Jesus that they would

submit to the hands of sinful humanity go through the pains and agony of death, ratify a covenant through it all, and then

call for a carrying parade (the church) to carry the world before Him so that He can tell them, “Fear not! There is a pre-

existing covenant that was cut two thousand years before

you were born and you are pre-qualified! I desire to give you

all the inheritance that you have lost and sit you at my table


forever!” Can we the Church once again be about our Fa-

ther’s business of peddling the too good to be true news, through word and deed? Can we again get in the habit of

Gossiping about the Gospel? Can there be a twinkle in our

eyes when we share about the Man in heaven longing to see

people experience His kindness and everlasting table fellowship? I think we can!

7

ADOPTION OR ADAPTATION?

“Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than

our grasp of adoption.”1 Unfortunately, many Christians live as if they really don’t belong in the family of God. Some

people bring the baggage of a pagan worldview where God

is an angry old man up in the clouds who demands perfec-

tion and needs to be appeased by our right behavior and beliefs before he can embrace us. Others have adopted a

gnostic concept where they must travel up a spiritual hier-

archical ladder in order to eventually attain divine sonship.

The good news that Jesus brought is, though we were or-

phaned broken people in our own feeble ability and sin, God

has graciously adopted us through His Son and brought us

into His family. We have been carried to the table of the

King, and can rest secure in the loving arms of our Father free of charge, knowing it was He who paid the price for

our adoption and not us.

The idea that one needs to morally clean up their life

139


and shape up to be worthy as a child of God, is at least sub-

consciously hidden in the back of many Christians minds.

Their consciences testify against them, as they feel that their

imperfections have put a wedge between them and God. They believe they must make right what has gone wrong

before their embrace in the arms of the Father can occur. This mode of thought fits well with the word adaptation. It

is the idea that one must adapt or amend their ways before

they can be fit for a task—in this sense, before they can be

worthy of divine sonship. The word adapt means, “to un-

dergo modification so as to fit new circumstances.” Some

synonyms for the word adapt are: modify, adjust, alterate,

and comply. To adapt to something carries the idea that

something is missing the mark and must make the correct

adjustments in order to be on target.

The flip side to the concept of adapting, changing, and

complying before one can enter into a new circumstance is

the idea of being adopted. When someone is adopted, they

are chosen and embraced solely because the Adopter has

seen them as worthy of a new circumstance and new life.

Some synonyms for the word adopt are: accept, affirm, approve, embrace, endorse, support, choose, pick, and take in.

Thankfully, paternal adoption rather than humanistic

adaptation is the modus operandi by which we are brought

into the family of God and can rest in peace. The apostle

Paul proclaimed, “The Spirit you received does not make

ADOPTION OR ADAPTATION? // JOSHUA HERSHEY ! 141

you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit

you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by

him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Rom 8:15). The beloved disciple

John wrote something similar when he said, “See what great

love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). What

a relief to know that we no longer have to live in fear of God,

but rather can commune in the spirit of intimacy with our

heavenly Abba. Abba is a word in Hebrew that more closely

parallels the English word daddy than any other word in the English language. Unfortunately, many men and women

have not had good fathers or “daddies” in life and they proj-

ect the broken image of the father that they have had on to God the Father.

Therefore, one of the first things I would like to do in

this chapter is break down any bad images of the heavenly

Father that one might have so that we can live in the free-

dom that comes with being a child of the Daddy of Jesus. While it is very true that behavior and obedience are im-

portant topics in scripture, how they are arrived at can mean

all the difference of ones experience of the kingdom of

righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Thomas Er-

skine was on the right path when he said, “the obedience

which God asks is the free obedience of a child, not a merce-

nary negotiation for a deliverance from punishment.”2 We love God because He first loved us. We obey God because we


can trust that our Father has our best interests in mind. THE FAMILY OF GOD

Do you know that you were created out of love and for

love? It really is true. The beloved disciple twice proclaimed,

“God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). If you have ever attended a

theological seminar or read a theological book on the subject of creation you may have heard a person talk about how

God has created things ex nihilo or “out of nothing”. While

that doctrine may be a good corrective to Platonic ideas like

the pre-existence of the soul, taken alone, it ultimately does injustice to who God is, and gives too great of a sense of de-

tachment and estrangement from the God who has called us into being, and who is sustaining us by the very power of

His Word. George MacDonald, a man whom C. S. Lewis called his master, had this to say about the doctrine of cre-

ation ex nihilo, “I repent me of the ignorance wherein I ever said that God made man out of nothing: there is no nothing

out of which to make anything; God is all in all, and he made us out of Himself.”3

This does not mean that one should espouse a panthe-

istic idea here where God is everything and everything is

God. Rather, it reorients our understanding, so that we can see that creation is an overflow of the eternal love relation-

ship and thus is intimately connected to the God that be. We are not the afterthought of a bored God up in the sky


who suddenly was struck with a thought of how it might be

nice to have some other intelligent beings around to communicate with. Rather, God has always been fulfilled in and

of himself throughout all eternity in his passionate inward

relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His

creation is His desire for us to share in that relationship.

The Apostle Paul was aware of the fact that God was

passionately in love with all people. He understood that we

were created out of His love, and have divine fingerprints

all over us. He even quoted the pagan philosophers Epi-

menides and Phaenomena as bearers of truth when he said, “In Him we live and move and have our very being” and

“We are his offspring” (Acts 17:28). Paul went on to say, “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an

image made by human design and skill” (Acts 17:29). Paul was speaking to a bunch of Gentile pagans here. He was not

speaking to believers in the Gospel, he was not speaking to

Christians, and yet he was proclaiming the powerful truth

that God’s presence is everywhere (Psalm 139), and that all

humankind are offspring of His love. Human offspring are

the byproduct of a passionate love connection between a

lover and a beloved. They are the outgrowth and overflow of the mysterious mingling of the mysteries hidden in the

sacred inward parts of their parents. In a similar fashion,

God has always existed as a passionate love display from all


eternity which theologians have called the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and creation is a mysterious masterpiece that exists out of the overflow of that love.

Let’s look a little deeper into the assertion that “God is

love.” For love to exist there must be some type of loving exchange between a Lover and a Beloved. One of the most re-

markable facts that one sees when reading the Gospels is

the Father/Son love relationship. Until Jesus showed up on the scene, God was only called Father in Scripture a handful

of times. In the Gospel of John alone, Jesus calls God Father

over one hundred times. Not only that, but Jesus says things like, “I and my Father are one” ( John 10:30), “He who has

seen me has seen the Father” ( John 14:9), and “Before Abra-

ham was, I AM” ( John 8:58). One of His disciples, Thomas, on seeing his crucified and risen Master would fall at His

feet and proclaim “my Lord and my God” ( John 20:28).

Jesus left no room for doubt in the mind of His followers

that He was in fact the very presence of God invading earth!

As Christians began to meditate on the Gospels, they

began to marvel at the mystery of the Godhead. God was

now fully proclaimed by His Son (Heb 1:3) being the very

“image of God” (Col 1:15) so every previous revelation of

God must now be expounded in the light of Christ. There

is no other God standing behind the back of Jesus Christ.

Seeing Jesus operate by the power of the Holy Spirit, and

have a beautiful prayer life with His Father, all the while


being God, has given the church a greater glimpse into the

mystery of our Creator. One Christian catechism beautifully puts forth the doctrine of the Trinity,

“God’s very being is love. By sending his only Son

and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God

has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an

eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and he has destined us to share in that exchange.”4

Not only is God an eternal fellowship of love, but

He has also brought us into that fellowship! Look at how John opens his epistle, “We proclaim to you what

we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fel-

lowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father

and with His Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). What un-

believable fellowship is now ours! Look at how Jesus prayed for us before He was crucified,

“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…I have made you

known to them, and will continue to make you

known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” ( John 17:21, 26).


Even though all people “are His offspring” (Acts 17:28),

we are also all offspring of Adam who have counted our Fa-

ther as dead, squandered our inheritance on riotous living,

and are in need of a revelation that the Father still loves us. We all orphaned ourselves and were in need of a secure

adoption and rebirth into the very Family of God. So the

Father sent the Son into the darkness of our betrayal. In the

fullness of time,

“God sent forth his Son, born of women, born

under the law, to redeem those who were under the

law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into

our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal 4:4-6).

Wow! Talk about a fully Trinitarian experience. Talk about

the fiery love of a Father who won’t settle for anything less

than redeeming that which had been lost by sending His Son to redeem, and His Spirit to cry out Abba in our hearts! RELIGIONS MODE OF OPERATION —ADAPTATION

As was mentioned earlier, religion is ultimately an at-

tempt by man to transform itself in a way where they feel accepted by God. God is not interested in our religion. He


is interested in us sharing in His amazing love relationship.

One man put the Gospel this way, “The gospel of grace is the end of religion, the final posting of the CLOSED sign

on the sweatshop of the human race’s perpetual struggle to

think well of itself.”5 God’s ways are not man’s ways. As man tries to resuscitate itself to live a better life in and of itself and adapt, God works by death and resurrection! God works by replacing our efforts with His efforts (Phil 2:13)!

Jesus’ first miracle was all about replacing religion with

Himself. When a wedding that He was at ran out of wine, Jesus heeded the request of His mother and helped the hu-

miliated family out. This is what the story says, “At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people

for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they

must… Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water” ( John 2:6-7, CEV). First off, look how Jesus handles the situation. He doesn’t say, “Gather together all the empty

wine bottles and fill them to the top with water”, rather he points to a religious symbol at the wedding. He points to

six stone jars used for ceremonial washing and tells the servants to fill them up with water. Six is the number of imperfection and the number of man. Stone in scripture

represents the law and mans legislated performance. Thus

Jesus intentional pointed to the religious vessels that represented man’s imperfect performance at trying to cleanse and

wash himself. Jesus was teaching the people to move from holy


water to wedding wine, and from legalism to life.

As one looks at the Gospels one must concur with

Bruxy Cavey, “the primary mission of Jesus was to tear down

religion as the foundation for people’s connection with God

and to replace it with Himself.”6 Jesus was all about exchanging our feeble efforts with His finished work. All we

do is “work out” what we already have—“salvation”—for “it

is God who is at work in us both to will and do His good

pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13).

Never put the cart before the horse. The horse of God’s

acceptance of us based upon His adoption, performance, and

love always goes before the working out of the love qualities

in our life. No longer then is our change in life an adapting, but it is a natural response to who we really are on the inside—“new creation”, “saved to the uttermost”, and “children

of God”!

THE TRINITARIAN MODE OF OPERATION—ADOPTION

So how would the people of Paul’s day have understood

him when he said, “…that we might receive the adoption as sons…Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if

a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal 4:5-7)?

This is a very important question, and to answer it, it is nec-

essary to look at how adoption operated in the ancient

world—especially Rome. New Testament scholar, William


Barclay, outlines the four most significant consequences of

adoption in the Roman world.7

First, Barclay says, “The adopted person lost all rights

in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family. In the most binding legal way, he got a

new father.” The Romans considered the father to have ab-

solute power and authority over his family. No matter how

old the son was he was still under what was called the patria potestas—power of the father—which meant that the Father

had complete power, control and absolute possession of his

son. For this reason adoption was a very serious step. The

son had to be released from one patria potestas into another. Through the course of two ceremonies, the existing father would symbolically sell his son three times and only buy him

back twice thus breaking his patria potestas over him. Next

the adoptive father would take him before a Roman magis-

trate where he would be given patria potestas over his adop-

tive son. Now the previous father had absolutely no power

over his biological son and the son had lost all rights to his

previous family, while the adoptive father gained complete

authority over the son until he died. He was considered a son in the most binding of ways.

Second, concerning Roman adoption Barclay says, “It

followed that he became heir to his new father’s estate. Even

if other sons were afterwards born, it did not affect his

rights. He was inalienably co-heir with them.” The adopted


son was to be treated no different than his new brothers and

sisters. He was treated very much as if he was born in the

family. This is what the apostle Paul says about us as chil-

dren of God. We are “an heir of God through Christ” (Gal 4:7) and “if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs

with Christ” (Rom 8:17).

The idea of being an heir of God and co-heir with

Christ is amazing. The Bible shares a lot of things that

Christians are heirs of. Paul says, “Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life” (Titus 3:7, NLT). Eternal life is God’s

life. We become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4)

where we have a confident expectation of experiencing that vibrant, never ending life, with the Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit forever and ever.

The Bible also says that we are heirs of salvation. Talking

about angels, in the book of Hebrews it says, “Are they not

all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who

will inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14)? Salvation is not some-

thing that the Christian somehow obtains through one

means or another, rather it is something they inherit simply through being co-heirs of Christ and adopted into the Fam-

ily of God. Salvation is not just a synonym for eternal life.

The word salvation that is used here can mean a variety of

things such as: welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation,

and safety. It carries the idea of restoration for that has gone


wrong, and preservation through all that might go wrong.

A third thing the Bible says we are heirs of is God’s

righteousness. Later in the book of Hebrews it has this to

say about Noah, “By his faith he condemned the world and

became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb 11:7, NIV). Remember, righteousness is a gift. It is something

that you are heir of through your inclusion into the family

through faith.

A fourth thing Scripture says we are heirs of is the grace

of life. In 1 Peter 3:7, it says “Husbands, likewise, dwell with

them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the

weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life.” The married life is a gracious gift of God that a married

couple simply become an heir of.

Lastly, the scripture talks about how we are heirs of the

sufferings and glorification of Christ. Romans 8:17 says, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” In Philippians 1:29 Paul said, “For to

you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Participating in

the sufferings of Christ means suffering for the sake of the

Gospel. It means suffering the rejection from those that you love. It means suffering even potential physical pain, like

Peter, Paul, John the Baptist, and the rest of the disciples,

because of mans rejection of Christ. Jesus said, “If they per-


secuted me, they will persecute you also” ( John 15:20).

As Jesus was entering into Jerusalem about to experi-

ence the ultimate rejection of those whom he loved, by being sentenced to death by Roman crucifixion, he said, “O

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone

those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your

children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

but you were not willing” (Matt 23:37). Listen to the heart-

beat of Christ here. A major aspect of His sufferings was watching the rejection of the people He loved. It was be-

cause “Christ was a witness, or a representative, for the Father to humanity, and because that witness was a ‘living

epistle of the grace of God,’ Christ met with hostility, enmity, and hatred. On account of that, He suffered.”8 His

honoring of the Father caused men to dishonor Him, and His love toward others was repaid with hatred. As the

psalmist said concerning Jesus, “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to

take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psalm 69:20). Thankfully, suffering is not the last

word, but glorification is!

The third thing that Barclay says about Roman adop-

tion is, “In law, the old life of the adopted person was completely

wiped out; for instance, all debts were cancelled. He was re-

garded as a new person entering into a new life which the past had nothing to do.” What amazing parallels to our


adopted life in Christ! “I am crucified with Christ: never-

theless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal 2:20). “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that

the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we

should not serve sin” (Rom 6:6). “We are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died…Therefore, if anyone is

in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the

new is here!” (2 Cor 5:14, 17, NIV). “And you, who were

dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood

against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing

it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14, ESV).

No matter how miserable a person the one being

adopted was, no matter how much shame they had attached

to their old life, no matter how many millions of dollars of

debt they were in, once they were adopted into their new family all of that was completely wiped away and their new

life with their new father could start!

Fourth, Barclay states, “In the eyes of the law he was ab-

solutely the son of his father. Roman history provides an

outstanding case of how completely this was held to be true.” The Emperor Nero was the adopted son of the Em-

peror Claudius. Since he was crazy and wanted to marry the

daughter of Claudius, Octavia, the Roman senate had to pass special legislation because in the eyes of the law they


were brother and sister. Also, the adoption ceremony was

carried out in front of seven witnesses, so in case of doubt

of the status of the adopted child after the death of the fa-

ther, one of the witnesses could step forward and vouch for him, thus guaranteeing his full inheritance. There was no

such thing as viewing the adopted child differently then the

naturally born child. The adopted child was firmly secure in the family of his/her new father.

EPHRAIM—ADOPTED THROUGH THE BELOVED

One exciting parallel of our adoption into the family of

God occurs in the story of Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s sons. As was shared in Chapter 2, Joseph was the beloved son of

his father Jacob. He was in many respects a picture of Christ.

Look at what the Scriptures say about Joseph’s two sons

Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob speaking to Joseph says,

“And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land

of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are” (Gen

48:5). Jacob was basically saying that Ephraim and Manasseh (who were sons of Egypt—half breeds and part of a

people not of God) were adopted through His beloved son Joseph. He was saying, that Ephraim and Manasseh would get a blessing and inheritance in the same way Reuben and

Simeon would!


In blessing them Jacob said, “Bless the lads; Let my name

be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham

and Isaac” (Gen 48:16). If you go on to read the Old Testa-

ment you will see that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh

were both given an inheritance of land in the promise land along side of all of Joseph’s brothers. This is a picture of our

adoption in Christ! Look what Paul says, “he predestined

us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance

with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious

grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Eph 1:5-6). Though we were sons of Egypt, the Father has adopted

us through His Beloved Son. We are co-heir’s with Christ and

there is an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that

does not fade away, reserved in heaven for [us]” (1 Pet 1:4). The book of Hebrews says, “Both the one who makes

men holy [ Jesus] and those who are made holy [believers in

Jesus] are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb 2:11, NIV). Jesus is not ashamed to

call us His brothers and sisters. Our fellowship in the family of God is now full of joy unspeakable and secure through

our adoption through the beloved Son. We should heed the words of Peter Forsyth who wrote, “In so far as Fatherhood

should come to us at all it could only come by appropriating

the Son, and not by cultivating Sonship, not by repeating the Son’s experience.”9


FRUITFUL IN THE BELOVED

The Father loves fruitful lives. Jesus said, “You did not

choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you

should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” ( John 15:16). Earlier He said, “I am the vine, you are the

branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much

fruit; for without Me you can do nothing… By this My Father

is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” ( John 15:5, 8).

One of the awesome pictures of how we are fruitful in

the Beloved also occurs in the story of the adoption of

Ephraim through the beloved son Joseph. The name Ephraim means “fruitful.” Ephraim would live up to his

name and be one of the most fruitful tribes of the nation of

Israel. For instance, when the kingdom of Israel was divided

between the north and the south, the northern kingdom was

often referred to by the name Ephraim because of its precedence. The first king of the Northern Kingdom was Jer-

oboam, who came from the Tribe of Ephraim (1 King 11:26). Joshua the son of Nun was from the tribe of

Ephraim. When the twelve spies were sent into the land it

was Joshua who saw the fruitfulness and abundance of the

land and returned with a good report that they were more

than able to possess it. When one looks at the boundaries

of land that were given to Ephraim ( Josh 16:1-10) you can

see that it lay in the center of all traffic, from north to south,


and from the Jordan to the sea.

Another interesting fact about Ephraim is that the tab-

ernacle and ark were deposited within its limits Shiloh, where it remained for four hundred years. The tabernacle

and ark of the covenant represented the presence of God to

Israel. It is a picture of Christ abiding in the life of His fruitful children. Christ is source of all fruitfulness in the lives

of believers. The indwelling Christ in the life of the believer

is the most fruitful life that has every lived. We simply allow

His life to be expressed through us! The Chinese author and church leader, Watchman Nee, said, “There is only one fruit-

ful life in the world and that has been grafted into millions of other lives.”10

People who try to live a life and exhort others to live a

life of fruitfulness but do not point people to Jesus are simply headed down the road of religion again. Major W. Ian Thomas in talking about religious people has said,

“They are lamps without oil, cars without gas, and

pens without ink, baffled at their own impotence

in the absence of all that alone can make man functional; for man was so engineered by God that the

presence of the Creator within the creature is indispensable to His humanity.”11

Ultimately our fruitfulness of love, joy, peace, patience,


kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, forgiveness, mercy, etc. comes as we continue to rest in the Beloved Jesus

and have fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. This

is the place where we belong. Resting in the peace and assurance that comes through our adoption into new life

through Jesus and trusting Him to be our source of life in everything we encounter. As the missionary E. Stanley Jones once said,

“You are not called to get to heaven, to do good, or

to be good—you are called to belong to Jesus

Christ. The doing good, the being good, and the

getting to heaven, are the by-products of that be-

longing. The center of conversion is the belonging of a person to a Person.”12

PART FOUR

WEDDING MERCY & TRUTH “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” – The Sons of Korah

8

JONAH & THE HURRICANE OF GOD’S LOVE “Who did, who did, who did, who did, who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah?

Whale did, whale did, whale did, whale did, whale did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah.

Whale did swallow Jonah down!” The lyrics from this children’s song still ring in my mind

whenever I think about my favorite prophet from the Old

Testament scriptures. Jonah was the guy who tried to run away from God. Jonah was the guy who got swallowed by a

big fish that the Lord made especially for him. Jonah is the guy who was vomited upon the Mediterranean shoreline so

he could perform the task that God had called him to per-

form. Jonah was a rebel of grace. Jonah was a picture of every

man who is in rebellion to the grace of God and is being

chased down by the hurricane of God’s love. The four short

chapters that comprise the book of Jonah are jam packed

161

162 ! WEDDING MERCY & TRUTH

with a powerful message of God’s universal love and gra-

ciousness, and of a man’s intense refusal to participate in the

heart of God.

THE POPULAR PROPHET

The book of Jonah begins by saying, “Now the word of

the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me’” ( Jonah 1:1-2). The

book cuts right to the chase. Jonah the son of Amittai is

charged with an assignment from on high. What many people don’t know is that this was not the first word that Jonah

had ever received from the Lord. Actually, Jonah is mentioned earlier in the Bible in the book of Second Kings. So

it would do us well to get a glimpse at Jonah’s earlier history as a prophet in Israel. This is what it says;

“[ Jeroboam] restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah,

according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath

Hepher. For the Lord saw that the affliction of Is-

rael was very bitter; and whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel. And the Lord did not say

that He would blot out the name of Israel from

JONAH & THE HURRICANE OF GOD’S LOVE // JOSHUA HERSHEY ! 163

under heaven; but He saved them” (2 Kings 14:2527).

Jonah was able to accomplish a rare feat as a prophet of

Israel. He was able to prophesy good news that actually came to pass in his lifetime! He was able to tell those within

the borders of Israel (whether bond or free) that God was

going to deliver them from their affliction! That God was

not going to allow them to die but that He was going to save them! Talk about a message that Jonah was happy to deliver. The people most assuredly loved him for bringing the good news that even though they had been unfaithful, God

still remained faithful. They would have been overjoyed to hear that God was going to protect them from one of the

most wicked, and vile empires ever in existence. Everyone

was probably shouting things like, “Oh! Hallelujah, Jonah!

Thank you for this wonderful glorious message! You are an awesome prophet of God! Thank God that those mean As-

syrians are not going to blot us out from the face of the

earth!”

THE UNPOPULAR PROPHESY

Jonah’s prophetic days were not over though. God was

not going to allow Jonah to be the one cool prophet that

everyone liked without disturbing his heart with His uni-

versal, enemy-loving grace that extends to the worst of the


worst. After Jonah was given his assignment to go and preach to the Ninevites, the major sin city of the day, he runs

like the wind!

Look at what the story goes on to say. “But Jonah arose

to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” ( Jonah

1:3). Tarshish was basically the furthest known city away

from Nineveh. It was in the direct opposite direction of Nineveh, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Tarshish was way

over in modern day Spain, while Jonah was told to head for

the Middle East. Picking up the story again it says, “He

went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” ( Jonah 1:3). Al-

ready in one verse we are told twice that Jonah is attempting

to flee from the presence of the Lord. How stupid can a man

be to actually think that he can flee from God’s presence? Especially a prophet of Israel acquainted with the Hebrew

Scriptures. As the Psalmist questioned, “Where can I flee from your presence” (Psalm 139:7, NIV)?

An interesting thing about this story is, most people

who read the command that God gave Jonah—“Arise, go to

Nineveh and cry out against it for their wickedness which

has come up against me”—usually don’t think that means good news. Most people would assume that means bad news

for the person being cried out against. Yet, when Jonah heard

that news from the Lord, he was very upset, even though he


too, believed the Ninevites to be wicked.

The end of the book of Jonah tells us why he was upset

that God told him to prophesy against Nineveh. It occurs

in chapter four, verse one and gives us the key to being able

to comprehend the entire story of Jonah. After Jonah finally

gets to Nineveh, delivers the message, and the people repent, he begins to pout again like he did in the beginning of the story.

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he be-

came angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to

Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore

now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is

better for me to die than to live’” ( Jonah 4:1-3)!

Jonah tells us the reason why he fled. He said he fled

because he knew that God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness (hesed – grace). He

knew that God was going to forgive Israel’s enemies. He might of thought something like, “Oh no! God is going to

show grace towards the worst of the worst of the worst of

the worst. Oh no! The people in Israel are going to hate me


for it. Instead of God destroying Nineveh, I know that He’s

actually going to forgive and save them, because I know that

is His character, for He’s already done it for us Israelites.” THE JONAH COMPLEX

Jonah’s frustration is the frustration of many a man. We

want to be that special called-out person who is number one.

We want to remain the hero of our own story. We want to

stay in the popular place of receiving praise. We want to be

that popular prophet who speaks the things that people

want to hear. Because what people do not want to hear of is

an all-gracious God who puts everybody on the same level.

Rather, people want to hear something that stokes their

pride, something that stokes their ego, something that allows them to judge and thus place themselves above somebody else. No way should God be as merciful to the Assyrians as He was to the Israelites! That’s the mindset

that Jonah is dealing with.

Yet, God is no respecter of persons. God only chooses a

people group because He has also chosen their neighbor.

The purpose of Israel’s election was to set up a people group

that would be a blessing to the whole world! Yet people do

not like grace like that! Neither did Jonah! When an on-

slaught of grace begins to be heralded, many people are at

least subconsciously thinking,


“Restore to us, Preacher, the comfort of merit and demerit…Tell us, Prophet, that in spite of all our nights of losing, there will be yet one redeeming

card of our very own to fill the inside straight we

have so long and so earnestly tried to draw to. But do not preach us grace…We insist on being reckoned

with. Give us something, anything; but spare us the indignity of this indiscriminate acceptance.”1

The story of Jonah is about a rebel of grace. Jonah knew the

heart of God. Who in their right mind would try to run

away from a God they knew was gracious, merciful, loving,

and kind? I don’t know if anybody in his or her “right mind” would! We all have a fallen mind, and are in need of renew-

ing our minds to the mind of Christ. The fallen mindset is

the Jonah Complex.

In the field of psychology, Abraham Maslow coined the

phrase “Jonah Complex” to describe people who have an

evasion of growth and fulfilling one’s best talents. To refer

to people who fear their own greatness. I think that Maslow got the story of Jonah wrong at this point. The story of

Jonah is not so much about Jonah’s fear of greatness. He al-

ready was great in his own eyes and in the eyes of the people. Jonah actually was afraid that following through with the

Lord would cost him his greatness. The real “Jonah Complex” is a refusal to trust the Word of the grace of God over the


approval of man. It is being a rebel to unmerited favor. The

real Jonah complex is saying, “I may accept Your lovingkind-

ness, because I’m at least somewhat good. What I don’t want

You to do is to be giving handouts to just anyone and every-

one!”

Jonah was still caught in the trap of the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil. If you can remember, we already

talked about how “the law was brought in so that the trespass might increase” (Rom 5:20). The law does this in two ways—which is perfectly illustrated through the story of the

tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The law always tries to breed two things in our lives to keep us from the grace of

God. The first thing it tries to breed is called good. The sec-

ond thing that it breeds is called evil. These can also be

called pride and self-righteousness as well as immorality and

vileness.

It is interesting to note that the first sin Adam and Eve

committed after they ate of the tree was a “good sin.” Re-

member what they did? They sewed fig leaves around them

to cover their nakedness. They were trying to do something good, but ultimately God responded by basically saying, “No!

You are blocking the gift! Those fig leaves are not good

enough! Receive my free gift of costly death for you!” The Jonah Complex is also, in some ways, a good sin. It was

about nationalistic pride. The type of pride that says, “it’s all

about me and my country, and no one else deserves the favor


we have.” The type of pride that thinks you’re somehow

higher up and better than someone else. That you have con-

cocted the covering that God has accepted and that’s why He favors you.

The real Jonah Complex ( Jonah 4:1-3), is seeing people

restored and delivered by God, and responding like Jonah. “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became

angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Ah, Lord was not this what I said when I was still in my

country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful

God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkind-

ness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore

now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

What a sad state of affairs. How horrible it must be for

people who rebel against the grace of God. How horrible it

must be for people who want revenge on their enemies and

for God to pour forth his wrath like a mighty river. Jesus

taught us better when he said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell

you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that

you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his

sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the


righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:43-45).

Jonah was familiar with this gracious, loving Father

from being immersed in the texts of the Old Testament. I’m

sure he knew his Scripture where Moses asked to see God’s

glory,

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,

‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and

forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the

children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a

stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance’” (Ex 34:69).

Ultimately we know that God did lovingly carry that

stiff-necked people, and that God dealt with the punish-

ment for the guilty upon Himself at the cross. In the story of Noah, God says He will never flood the earth again, and

put a bow in the sky. God symbolized His peace by setting an instrument of wrath on the armory encasement of


heaven. Not only that, but the bow of wrath was not pointed at us but rather at Himself. The arrow of wrath towards the

immensity of human sin would now strike at the very heart of God Himself. He would take the full brunt and punish-

ment that sin brings by allowing Himself to be nailed to a tree by a sinful people and forgiving them through the very

process. He would conquer men through non-violence, and take

the violence of men upon Himself at the cross. As the Psalmist says, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to

anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His

tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:8-9).

So why did Jonah, and why do others, have hostility to-

ward the grace of God? The Apostle Paul may be giving us

part of the answer when he says, “There is no one righteous,

not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one

who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together be-

come worthless; there is no one who does good, not even

one” (Rom 3:11-12). Paul was saying that we are all brought into this world with a broken mindset because of sin. One

that is rebellious to the grace of God, which needs God’s

touch to be able to receive it and say, “Yes, I want that!”

That’s sort of what happens to Jonah in this story—at least

with God’s initial wallop on the back. But we’ll get to that later.

In the Gospel of Mark, we see God in the midst of sin-

ful man. Look what Mark says,


“…many tax collectors and sinners were eating

with Him and his disciples…When the teachers of

the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with

the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His dis-

ciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sin-

ners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not

the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have

not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’” (Mark 2:15-17).

What Jesus was doing here, is what God was doing for

the Ninevites in the book of Jonah. He was calling them to

repentance. Jonah should have happily gone to Nineveh, had table fellowship with them, and shared the God of all grace

and mercy with them that he knew in his heart. His only

charge by God was to “cry out against them” ( Jonah 1:2). Many think that might have been to label all their wicked

sins and tell them to start living holier lives. I think it meant

for them to hear the word of unconditional love, that God

has them on His mind, and that all their acts of vileness or piety are as dust to Him. He was calling Jonah to bring the

word of who He is: the Lord our Righteousness, the Lord

our Healer, the Lord our Peace, the Lord our Banner, etc.

He was to beg them to see the same God who had compas-

sionate mercy on the Israelites. As Jonah would cry out


against them by preaching the gospel, they would repent by

changing their minds about God. That is what repenting is

all about. If any of you reading have been changing your

mind at all as you read, you have been repenting. If you are

having your mind renewed to the goodness and the grace of

God, you’re saying, “I’m not going to be a rebel of grace,”

you are repenting.

Really the people who are sinners in the story of Jesus

eating with the tax collectors and sinners, are the Pharisees, just as much as anyone else. Most of the Pharisees, who ap-

proached Jesus, didn’t think they needed Him, so they were

not as kind to him as the other “sinners” were. Jesus had to break them of their pride. That’s really why good sometimes can almost be worse than evil when talking about the full

scope of sin. Thinking, “I’m so lovely and wonderful and

don’t need God’s charity” can be a mighty hindrance in life.

A mighty hindrance to the blessings of God, a mighty hin-

drance to receiving that you’re fully forgiven, favored, and

fruitful in the Beloved. A mighty hindrance to just being able to share the too good to be true Gospel with someone

else, because you’re not really sure, if it’s that good after all. A PARABLE ON HYPOCRISY

Someone who has the Jonah Complex is a hypocritical

person. They are critical of unmerited favor for others but

not for themselves. This is what God brings out to Jonah.


At the end of the story God acts out a parable in Jonah’s life

to expose Jonah’s hypocritical disposition. After Jonah just has gone on a rant to God about how he shouldn’t have

saved the Ninevites, Jonah may have thought there was still a glimmer of hope that God would listen to his point of

view. So he goes out on a hill to watch Nineveh, probably

praying that God will still destroy them. While there, Jonah

built a little shelter and God made a vine grow up to shade Jonah over night. The story says, “Jonah was very happy

about the vine” ( Jonah 4:6) that God has eased his discomfort with. Then overnight, God sent a worm to eat up the vine, as well as a scorching wind and blazing sun to beat on

the head of Jonah. For the second time in the book, Jonah

says, “It would be better for me to die than to live” ( Jonah 4:8)!

Look how God responds to Jonah, “‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’

And he said, ‘ It is right for me to be angry, even to death!’ But the Lord said, ‘You have had pity on the

plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and

twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand an their left—and much


livestock’” ( Jonah 4:9-11)? People, who have the Jonah complex and are hypocrit-

ical, don’t realize the blessings that God has already placed in their life. They don’t realize that it’s “in Him that we live

and move and have our very being” (Act 17:28). They don’t

fully understand that “Every good gift and every perfect gift

is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” ( James 1:17). They don’t think God should be a blessing to anyone else’s life, and don’t recognize all the blessings of

God in their own life.

God basically said to Jonah, “You are a fool! You are

pitying that little vine more than 120,000 people that are in

need of my love and grace! You are still a rebel of my grace! Submit Jonah! Give up Jonah!” Ultimately the story ends right there. We don’t know what Jonah does with God’s

rhetorical question. We don’t know if Jonah finally comes

around and says, “You are right God!” The reader is left to

say, “Okay, I’m going to be for the grace of God and God’s merciful actions toward everyone” or “I’m going to still stand

angry and have my guard against grace.”

It is like the parable that Jesus told of the workers in the

vineyard (Matt 20:12-15). The guys who worked all day

long were mad that everyone was given a full day’s wage!

The reasoning that Jesus gave for the master of the vineyard paying everyone the same wage was, “Don’t I have the right


to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious

because I am so generous” (Matt 20:15, NIV)? What an amazing verse when it is applied to God and his relation with

man! Jesus is basically saying, “Why are you putting God in a box?” Why do you set the parameters around what God

can and cannot do, around what God should, and should

not do? God has the right do whatever he wants with His

money, and if he wants to bless everyone with a full day’s

wage then you should rejoice! Why are you envious because

God is so generous!? God has right to do whatever He wants

according to His nature. He is bound to no law outside of

Himself. He does whatever is consistent with His eternal

nature of holy love, and what is true to the Gospel proclamation of His Son.

None of us should be too hard on Jonah because we all,

at times, tend to have the Jonah Complex. I once heard someone say, “The more I read the bible, the less I see great

men of God and the more I see a great God of men.” Isn’t that so true? All of the supposed “hero’s” of the bible were a bunch of sinners touched by the grace of God. Just start

going down the list of the most well known Bible characters.

What did Adam do? He listened to his wife instead of God

and got the whole mess of sin and pain started. What did

Noah do? Well, since the Bible loves to record the bad sto-

ries just as much as the good, it says that he got smashingly

drunk after his cruise ride, and humiliatingly had his naked-


ness uncovered. How about Lot, the one “righteous” man

from the city of Sodom. He also got drunk and fathered two children with his daughters. What about Abraham? He had

a son with his wife’s maidservant who ended up being the

perpetual enemy of Israel, and is the father of modern day Islam. What about Jacob? He deceived his Father, and stole

his brother’s birthright and blessing. Judah? He slept with

the first prostitute he saw after his wife died, not knowing it was his daughter-in-law. Moses? He killed a man. Elijah? He was a whining baby. David? Committed adultery and murder. Solomon? Broke every single commandment that

was outlined in the Law for the kings of Israel. Peter? Denied the Lord three times and then behaved in a hypocritical

manner in front of Paul. Paul? He called himself the “chief

of sinners.” The list could go on and on.

The Bible really isn’t about great men of God. Rather, the

Bible is about less than great men having a more than great

God. It doesn’t matter what anyone has ever done in their

life. It doesn’t matter how bad or how good you’ve been. All that matters is that you have a great God. You can stop being

resistant to the grace of God because you think you’re too

sinful, or you think you’re too great, and you can just open

yourself up and say yes. If God used all these “great men”,

he can use me. You see God ever pursues the person wher-

ever they’re at. When God saw Jonah leave to go to Tarshish,

he didn’t let Jonah alone. He got on Jonah’s nerves. He said,


“I’m not just going to let you flee Jonah. I’m going to go

after you.” I like to call it the hurricane of God’s love. It’s God’s

furious longing toward man in his resistance. As Brennan

Manning puts it, “The furious longing of God is beyond our

wildest desires…It cannot be tamed, boxed, captivated, [or]

housebroken…It is simply and startlingly Jesus, the efful-

gence of the Father’s love.”2

THE HURRICANE OF GOD

During my time in Tulsa, some of my fondest memories

are of the great thunderstorms, big winds, and occasional

tornadoes. I remember one night there was a giant storm. Every TV channel was tuned into the weather as the weath-

erman tracked the tornados across the whole Tulsa metropolitan area. Sirens were going off through the city warning

people of the high winds and possible tornado touchdowns.

Everything inside of me just wanted to run outside and see

how strong the 85mph gusts of wind felt like. It was to

beautiful and powerful a scene to want to pass up on. Jonah

however was not just up against some strong winds and a possible category one or two tornado. Jonah was up against a GIANT tempest!

Jonah boarded the ship to Tarshish trying to flee God’s

presence, “But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about

to be broken up” ( Jonah 1:4). Every sailor on the ship was


scared to death. This was a storm like they had never seen

before. They tried pulling all the religious tricks out of the

bag, because they knew their own efforts to try to make it

to land were useless, and that they were probably going to

die. Jonah knew that the storm was personal. Look what Jonah

tells them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the

sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tem-

pest is because of me” ( Jonah 1:12). At this point, Jonah fully realized the folly of trying to run from God.

Nevertheless, the sailors didn’t want Jonah to die and

have blood on their hands, so they continued to row, “…the

men rowed harder to return to land, but they could not, for

sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them” ( Jonah

1:13). Even in their greatest effort to attempt to get outside of God’s hurricane of love they couldn’t do it. It says that

they gave their best effort, but they could not get outside of God’s effort.

Thomas Erskine wrote, “What a blessed and glorious

thing human existence would be, if we fully realised that the

infinitely wise and infinitely powerful God loves us with an

intensity infinitely beyond what the most fervid human

spirit ever felt towards another, and with a concentration as if He had none else to think of !”3

On that ship headed for Tarshish, there was no possi-

bility of getting around God’s intensely personal hurricane

of love. Eventually the men picked up Jonah, threw him in


the sea, and the storm immediately ceased. “Then the men

feared God exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows” ( Jonah 1:16). These pagan sailors were more

responsive to who God is than Jonah was. It is kind of a

theme throughout the book. Everyone else besides Jonah

gets the message that God is great, awesome, good, and wor-

thy of all honor and praise.

While you and I may not be caught in a giant tempest

in our everyday life, God is still at work behind the scenes,

wooing us with His love. We must remember that God is always there to work good out of everything for us, and to

turn us on the right path of His graciousness, goodness, and

kindness. Sometimes he sends the hurricanes of his love in

all their bright splendor and glory, like he did for Jonah.

Other times He loves through the serene beauty of His

world all around us. But God loves sending His hurricanes

of love when people are not receptive of Him.

Another man that God sent his hurricane of love toward

was the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man who was blinded on the road to Damascus by the brilliant shining light of the

Lord Jesus. He was knocked off his high horse, blinded by

the light of God’s love, and given a vision that a man named

Ananias was going to restore his sight (Acts 9:1-12). Once Ananias came and laid his hands on Paul, “Immediately

there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received

his sight at once” (Acts 9:18).


It is interesting to note what the name Ananias means.

Ananias means “God is gracious.” What needed to fall from

Paul’s eyes were the scales that were blocking him from the grace of God. The first thing Paul saw when the scales fell

from his eyes was the grace of God. He saw Ananias. Just as God’s outrageous love caught up to Jonah so to it caught

up to Paul and forced him to see life in a new way—through

the grace of God. My wife, Kelsey, has written this beautiful

piece that alludes to this story. Here’s what she has to say, “As the scales begin to fall off my own eyes and I

am enlightened to the truth of Love and God, the unconditional grace and mercy they bestow is unsurpassable. Yet as magnificent as they are, I find myself scrambling on the ground collecting the

fallen scales in attempt to place them back on my

eyes. Ignorance was painful, but this divine ravish-

ing truth is unbearable. To remain unblind would

require something I’m unsure I am capable of, ac-

cepting a Love and a God that’s only requirement

of me is that I accept them as they are, as they un-

conditionally accept me as I am. It’s absolutely in-

conceivable and for my mind, such a simple truth,

but so complicated to comprehend.”

Kelsey was coveying that ignorance, at times, is more bear-


able, because understanding the love and grace of God

causes us to bow at His knee and say, “You are everything

and I am nothing. I am an unprofitable servant. It doesn’t matter who I am in life, or what I’ve done. Now you are

everything. Now my acceptance is based on you.” This truth

is so ravishing to me that it eats away at my very heart, every

last thing, every last bit of idolatry that is still hidden in me

that wants to give glory to anything other than the omnipotent grace and love of God.

It would be wise for us to heed God’s question to Jonah,

“Should I not pity Nineveh?” ( Jonah 4:11) We need to ask

ourselves serious questions such as: Do I despise others? Is my heart at times still in need of being tossed around in the

hurricane of God’s love? Who do I need to dazzle with the grace of God? Who do I need to show the love of God to?

My spouse? My kids? My parents? My co-workers?

Thankfully, as C. S. Lewis says, “[God’s love] is not wea-

ried by our sins, or our indifference; and therefore, it is quite

relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those

sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.”4 God has paid a tremendous price so we can get rid of all our bit-

terness. He invites us to come and leave it all, at the foot of

the cross.

SALVATION HAS COME TO NINEVEH

The last theme I want to mention from the book of


Jonah is the theme of death and resurrection. After Jonah was

thrown in the sea the story continues, “Now the Lord had

prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in

the belly of the fish three days and three nights” ( Jonah

1:17). Jesus made a reference to this in His teachings. He said,

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign,

and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and

three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the

heart of the earth…indeed a greater than Jonah is here” (Matt 12:39-41).

Jonah is actually a picture of Jesus. Just as Jonah was a

prophet from Gath Hepher in Galilee, so Jesus was from

Galilee. When the people said, “Search and see that no

prophet arises from Galilee” ( John 7:52), there actually was.

It was Jonah. Jesus ministry was in the line of the prophet Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and

three nights, so too Jesus was in the heart of the earth for

three days and three nights. When Jesus came out in resurrected

form, he brought the unbelievable too good to be true news of His victory for everyone. He brought salvation to His enemies. He

brought salvation to Nineveh. He brought salvation to you and me!

9

MIRACLE’S GROW

Have you ever had trouble rejuvenating your garden? Maybe a certain type of flower, vegetable plant, or fruit tree has not flourished as planned? Recently, one of the flowerbeds in

my backyard was really struggling. What was my ingenious

solution? Flood the soil with Miracle Gro! This is a product that’s purpose is to rejuvenate soil and kill pests that may be

preventing growth. While the solution for a dying flowerbed

may not always be with the soil (sometimes it may be with lack of sunlight, water, or right temperature and environ-

ment), the fact is that unless the plant is infused with the necessary nutrients it will never produce growth.

In a similar fashion, God desires for your life to be re-

juvenated and established in the right soil to make you grow and flourish. He wants His Son-light to shine over you, the

water of the Word to continually wash you, and for your

heart to be firmly established in His grace. Every pest,

shadow, and freeze that may come your way doesn’t stand a

185


chance when your life is in Christ, and you are being at-

tended to by the Master Pruner and Uplifter—the Father

Himself. When the garden of your heart is established in

His grace miracles grow!

GOD’S MIRACLE GROW

“Do not be carried about with various and strange doc-

trines” (Heb 13:9). Do you know that not only the world, but also the church, is full of strange teachings? While the church is supposed to be a place of freedom, unfortunately

it frequently has been in the habit of bringing people into bondage through the proliferation of strange doctrines that

are not based on Jesus’ finished work of grace. Speaking of

Jesus, John proclaimed, “the Word became flesh and dwelt

among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only

begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” ( John 1:14). The only way we don’t get carried off by strange and various teachings is to fix our eyes on Jesus—the One who is full of

grace and truth. The law is on the side of Moses, while grace and truth are on the side of Jesus ( John 1:17).

Hebrews 13:9 goes on to say, “For it is good.” The author

of Hebrews wants us to know that what he is going to share

is good for us! If we were completely honest, many of us do

not always like what is good for us, especially when it means

making a change or receiving correction. Just previous to this ninth verse, we were told how God disciplines us like a

MIRACLE’S GROW // KEITH HERSHEY ! 187

good father would a son, because the father knows what is

good for the son (especially a perfect heavenly Father). In the same way, the writer of this letter is now bringing some

correction to the strange doctrines that some of the people

were buying into. He says, “it is good that the heart be established in grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them” (Heb 13:9).

Think about that for a moment. The way that the

church can be free from judgment, condemnation, strange

teaching, quarrels concerning the type of food to eat, and get back to on track toward unity, love, and peace, is for their hearts to be established in grace!

This is the best Miracle Grow in the universe. The grace

of God is His unmerited favor, underserved kindness, lav-

ished love, and absolute ability working on your behalf. It is simply what Jesus is full of ! It is the DNA of the Triune

God—the give and take that has been upholding all creation

and all eternity. God is gracious, and when our hearts are

established in grace, we can expect and believe miracles to

grow!

The place of having your heart established in grace is

the place where you have died to the law, died to your selfeffort, been co-crucified with Christ, and are now resting in

His perfect and complete ability to live through you.

Through my thirty years of ministry, if I were really honest

with myself, I would have to admit that much of my hard


work and labor has been, of my own making, in my own

ability. It has been the cause of frustration and unrest, throughout many of those years. Fortunately, I’ve been rejuvenated with a shot of Gospel goodness, and the Lord has

set my heart at peace. Now, by the grace of God, and

through His ability, I can labor more abundantly. My world-

view can be that of Paul’s when he said, “by the grace of God

I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the

grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor 15:10). His grace re-

ally works! I now “live by the faith of the Son of God” (Gal

2:20), and renew my mind to the fact that “it is God who

works in me to will and to do His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). Paul also said, “I do not set aside the grace of God” (Gal

2:21), or as the old King James Version puts it, “I do not frustrate the grace of God.” To frustrate something means

to make it become void, or have no effect. You see, while

there may be a lot of people out there who put on a happy

face, and will even sing Amazing Grace, they do not really

believe the good news. They still believe that their righteous-

ness can be gained through the law, and that they have to

do something to gain approval with God. They still think

that it’s through their human effort that the Gospel prom-

ises come to fruition. They still think their obedience is what gets them in a righteous position, when actually it is solely

your faith in the finished work of Jesus that puts you in per-


fect position for miracles to grow.

Think about your heart as if it was the unproductive

flowerbed in my backyard. The soil of our natural life just

doesn’t produce what is necessary to experience life, and life

more abundantly. As Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand

it ( Jer 17:9, ESV)? Now think of grace as the “miracle grow”

that is scattered throughout the entire flowerbed and worked into every nook and cranny. Suddenly the soil is

brought to life and given whole new potential. Grace is the

spiritual fertilizer for your dead heart. It is the substance that your heart needs most.

The heart is the place where you believe from, the place

where you carry your life assignments, the place where your

whole outlook and worldview of life is formed. No wonder that “it is good that the heart be established in grace” (Heb

13:9). The word, establish, means to make firm, secure, sta-

ble, and steadfast. It also means to strengthen, which in turn

allows something to grow, flourish, and be fruitful. When

the heart is baptized in assurance, rooted in love, and stead-

fast grace, everything that God has placed in your heart and

created you for can begin to take off ! Miracles can begin to be manifested in your life, not according to your ability, but

according to His ability!


NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD

The story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a perfect il-

lustration of a miracle grown as a result of a heart being es-

tablished in grace. In the Gospel of Luke, we see the story

of a young girl who is suddenly interrupted by a heavenly

messenger from on high. It does not say Mary was some super saint, that she was fasting, praying, and perfect in all

her ways. Rather, she was a normal human like you and me,

probably going through her normal routines in life, when

an angel appeared and said, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women” (Luke

1:28). Grace comes not as a response to the goodness of man, but as a gift from the goodness of God!

The angel Gabriel gave Mary’s heart grace before he

gave her the promise that she would carry the Christ child. He knew her heart needed to be established in grace before

her assignment to be the mother of our Lord could flourish. Yet Mary, like so many of us, was not immediately convinced

of this good news. “But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this

was” (Luke 1:29). Grace frustrates people. We are ingrained

from birth with the idea that favor must be earned. Mary,

like most of us, needed another dose of assurance. The angel

responded to her by again reiterating the good news, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke

1:30).


Once Mary’s heart was established in grace she could

receive the word of promise. “And behold, you will conceive

in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Conception of a promise is not possible

until your heart is established in grace. Yet even after Gabriel

had given Mary a double shot of favor/grace, she still didn’t

understand how the promise was reasonable. Look what she

said, “How can this be, since I do not know a man” (Luke 1:34)? Just like Mary, many people try to think of how they

can conceive of the miracle. The angel responded by assuring her that God was going to be the one to bring forth the

promise. He said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and

the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore,

also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son

of God” (Luke 1:35). To convince her even further, the angel relays how her cousin Elizabeth has had a similar miracle

take place with her, “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative

has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren” (Luke 1:36).

People, who are not quick to believe in the miraculous

need to immerse themselves in the narrative of Scripture, and the narrative of the lives of those around them through

whom God has worked the impossible. Just as Mary needed to be told that the miraculous was happening to her old

cousin Elizabeth, we need to recall God’s miraculous deeds

of old. We need to remember Sarah who gave birth to the


promise child at the age of ninety. Samson, whose strength was renewed at the end of his life because of a simple request

to God. Brothers and sisters in Christ who have given testimony to the great work of God in their lives. We must

have the statement of the angel Gabriel at the end of his

speech ring loud in our heads, “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37)!

After hearing for the third time about the favor, grace,

and all-powerful God working on her behalf, Mary could

say, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me

according to your word” (Luke 1:38). “Let it be to me,” is a

response of faith of someone whose heart is established in grace. When grace is received in your heart truth can triumph.

Truth can be enlarged. Mary had to receive grace before her

faith could be activated and work effectively.

This is the key to miracles growing in your life. It’s not

so much about trying to find the promise, then working

hard at getting it to manifest in your life. It’s not all about

your love for Him that will cause His favor toward you to flow. Rather, the way for your heart to be established in grace

is for your energy to be focused on Him loving you. When your focus is on “receiving the abundance of grace,” by sim-

ply basking in His love, then you can begin to “reign in life”

(Rom 5:17).

Part of “receiving the abundance of grace” has to do with

also being able to receive “the gift of righteousness” (Rom


5:17). You must know, that you know, that you know, that

you know, that all your sins are forgiven and dealt with at

Calvary’s cross, and that there is a smile on God’s face in-

stead of a frown. You have to know it and believe it, before you can begin to reign in life and walk in your destiny. Even when you mess up in life you have to believe that you are

never separated from the love of God. God loves to hang out, strengthen, and help those in need.

LIVING WITH THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION

Let me help put all your conjectures about being able to

live a sinless life to rest. The Bible says, “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). As long as you live in this earth arena you are going to have those moments in

life where you do something that is not of faith. Whether it is a moment of covetousness, anger, pride, gluttony, or the

like, you will never be fully perfected until you are raised

from the dead and enter through the pearly gates of heaven. Thankfully, Jesus is full of grace and patient with us, and

He operates toward our sin with His gift of no condemna-

tion. Jesus always positioned Himself in life to move toward

sinners with the grace of God. Look at what Jesus said, “The

Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look,

a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Matt 11:19)! The religious people saw Jesus’ friend-


liness toward sinners and ridiculed Him for it.

Yet Jesus did not let the Pharisees’ judgment sway him

from His mission of compassion and grace. Jesus celebrated

people who needed to be rescued. Look at what He taught, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one

of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness,

and go after the one which is lost until he finds it” (Luke

15:4)? After Jesus does find that lost sheep, after they finally

begin to receive His grace (whether it was the first, second, or even third shot of grace—like for Mary), Jesus said there is a party in heaven (Luke 15:7)!

Why in the world was Jesus a friend of sinners? Why

does Jesus say he would leave ninety-nine sheep to go after

the one? One of the reasons is because once that wayward

heart is captivated and established in grace, they can gain

more victory over sin and experience more wholeness. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “For sin shall not have do-

minion over you, for you are not under law but under grace”

(Rom 6:14). Righteousness is the master of those whose

hearts have been captivated by God’s grace. Sin has been dethroned in the heart of man. It has lost its power because

the accusing force of the law has also been dethroned and it

has lost its sting because Jesus took its sting for us.

Sin never has dominion over people who have their

heart established in grace. Grace gives us the ability to have

victory over sin’s destructive strategy and the enemy’s voice


of condemnation. When your heart is tempted with sin or

you have given into sin, instead of extending judgment to

yourself via the law, extend grace. As you begin to receive

the abundance of grace then you will begin again to reign in life. You will begin to experience victory. Miracles will

begin to grow!

One well-known story of Jesus moving toward someone

caught in a rut of sin with the gift of no condemnation is

found in the Gospel of John. The story begins by saying,

“Now early in the morning He [ Jesus] came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down

and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought

to Him a woman caught in adultery” ( John 8:2-3). Jesus was already teaching His disciples, and now He was given a

golden opportunity to put His words into action. The ac-

cusers had come with all their judgment. They were ready

to see if Jesus would contradict so great a man as Moses. The scribes and Pharisees then proceeded to ask Jesus,

“Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say” ( John 8:4-5)?

As we have shared multiple times in this book already,

the law is the ministry of condemnation and death. Reli-

gious minded people, like the Pharisees pictured here, will always be throwing judgments from the law at people, de-

manding condemnation and death. Religious people get


upset about the supposed big sins. The ones they don’t com-

mit. The really bad ones. Yet it doesn’t really matter what sin

that was deserving of death according to the law that was

standing in front of Jesus. Whether it was an adulterer, a

murderer, a pedophile, or the like that deserved death ac-

cording to the law’s instructions, Jesus still would have used the situation as an opportunity to show forth the ministry

of grace. Actually, there are many death-penalty sins in the

Old Covenant which included things such as: kidnapping, cursing parents, witchcraft, bestiality, idolatry, defiling the

Sabbath, being a stubborn child who was keen toward drunkenness, gluttony, etc.

Jesus would not be taken captive by the tactics of the re-

ligious elite, and He saw this as a perfect opportunity to

teach His disciples through word and deed how to move to-

ward people with grace and no condemnation. Look at what the story goes on to say, “Jesus stooped down and wrote on

the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear”

( John 8:6). I think most people need to take an important

cue from Jesus here. It’s healthy to put a pause in your mind,

and not be wrapped up in the pollution of what legalism

tries to coax you into. To be still before the Lord, and be so

postured so that you don’t get taken over by the heart of those who are still established in the law, and the ministry

of condemnation. The Pharisees were probably perturbed

at Jesus at this point. “So when they continued asking Him,


He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without

sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first’” ( John 8:7). Jesus gave the Pharisees a taste of their own medicine. He essentially said, “If you’re going to use the Law as your rule

of judgment, those of you who have never committed a violation of the Law, you all get the privilege of throwing the

first stone.”

The story goes on saying, “Then those who heard it,

being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, be-

ginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left

alone, and the woman standing in the midst” ( John 8:9). Jesus knew that counteracting their judgments with the law would do its work. It convicted them of their own sin. When

the crowd of accusers began to take inventory, they realized

they didn’t meet the standard of sinlessness. James said,

“whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one

point is guilty of breaking all of it” ( James 2:10). Jesus was the only one qualified to be able to throw the first stone. He

was the only one left in the midst of the woman who was without sin.

So what does the righteous, holy, judge do? What does

Jesus the one unto whom the Father has entrusted all judg-

ment do ( John 5:22)? He says, “‘Women, where are those

accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said,

‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn

you; go and sin no more’” ( John 8:10-11). Jesus gave her the


gift of no condemnation! What a powerful point that Jesus

illustrates for us here. Grace, forgiveness, and no condem-

nation, are the ingredients that give us victory over sin. No matter what sins are going on in your life, Jesus is the only One who is holy enough to stand in your midst and pro-

nounce a sentence. His sentence is, “I do not condemn you.

Go and sin no more.”

Jesus loves you in your sin when religion hates you. Jesus

gives you grace when religion gives you condemnation. Jesus floods your dying flower bed with the “miracle grow” of His grace, so that your dying life can be lifted up, and your bro-

kenness in sin and shame can experience the liberation of his wholeness and wellness. The fertilizer of grace for your

heart has two effects—it eradicates weeds and produces deeds. Grace, not law, is what gives you dominion over sin. THE VINE & THE VINEDRESSER

Right before Jesus was arrested in the garden of Geth-

semane He gave His disciples an illustration of who He and

the Father were to be in their lives. He said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me

that does not bear fruit He lifts up; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit” ( John

15:1-2). Some of you may be thinking, my Bible says “takes

away” not “lifts up.” While some translations do say that, others translate the Greek word, airo, into English as lifts


up. Many Bibles give this alternative translation in their

foot/side notes.

The Father is a good Vinedresser and a good fruit inspec-

tor. A good vinedresser is one who doesn’t go about chopping off a bunch of branches from the grape vines just

because they have no fruit. No, He wants those vines to bear

fruit. He evaluates the situation of why they are not bearing

fruit. What He does do is lift up those branches that have

become trapped in the dirt or are hidden in the shade. He

wants the branches to be positioned in the right place for

the best sunlight in order to begin bearing fruit, and not just

whither away into nothingness.

Some of you may be thinking, “But what about verse six

where Jesus says, ‘If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast

out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and

throw them into the fire and they are burned’ ( John 15:6). Isn’t the Father presented here as someone who finally does

judge by our productiveness? Don’t we have to do something

to make sure we don’t get chopped down and thrown in the

fire?” If you are thinking this way, you have the wrong con-

cept of what Jesus means when he said abide. John the

beloved defined what Jesus means by abiding, when he said,

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

If you confess that Jesus is the Son of God then you are

abiding in Him! You have taken your place in the Beloved!


While everyone is connected to Jesus in a sense because He

has taken the whole world into Himself, only those who be-

lieve are those who are abiding in eternal life. The rest of

those who reject Jesus, and want nothing to do with Him,

seem to have their wish granted, and the Father disconnects

them from their source of life—the one in whom they had

been living, moving, and having their being in. The judgment

of being cut off from the source of life is not because of unfruitfulness but because of unbelief. Faith is crucial. We must believe

in the One who believes in us. Not confessing Jesus as the Son of God means not abiding in His life!

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

Thankfully, Jesus is not too quick to have those unbe-

lievers cut from his life so soon. He told another parable about His heart’s desire for those who were barren unbe-

lievers. He wants them to believe, have their hearts established in grace, and produce a life that gives glory to the

Father. He said, “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his

vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three

years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground’” (Luke 13:6-

7)? The owner of the fig tree was essentially saying, “My project with this tree in my vineyard has failed. Let’s cut it down. It’s just taking up space.”


In the Scriptures a fig tree many times represents the

nation of Israel. God, the owner of Israel, had expressed this sentiment many times before. Remember when he said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-

necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath

may burn hot against them and I may consume them” (Ex 32:9-10). Moses knew this was a test, and he reminded God

of His covenant he had with Abraham, despite the faith-

lessness and bad behavior of His people. Moses said,

“Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of

Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He

brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the

mountains, and to consume them from the face of

the earth?’ Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abra-

ham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You

swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will

multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven;

and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your

descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people” (Ex 32:11-14).


This is exactly what goes on to happen in the story that

Jesus tells. Look at what the Christ figure in the parable says,

“But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year

also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down’” (Luke 13:8-

9). Jesus was essentially saying, “Look. You decided to put this fig tree in your vineyard because for some reason you

have a special sense of joy about it, and everyone knows that.

Let me work with it for a while. I’ll get down and dirty and

dig around its roots. I’ll make sure its roots are established

in my grace. I’ll give it the best “miracles grow” possible. And

if by chance it still wants no part of my loving hands, then

you can cut it down.” Jesus wants to dung our darkness. Jesus wants to tenderize the heart that is hardened. Jesus does not

want the tree to be cut down. While we probably shouldn’t push the analogy to hard between the Father and the owner

of the fig tree, we can push the analogy of Jesus and the gardener pretty hard.

When Jesus rose from the grave he was first mistaken

as a gardener ( John 20:15). But, in a real sense He is. He is

the Gardener of the New Creation. Where Adam failed at

the task of “cultivating and keeping” (Gen 2:15, NASB) the garden of God, Jesus has taken his place to cultivate and

keep. He comes to us to dung our darkness and to fertilize our fruitlessness with the most powerful and productive miracle

grow ever manufactured—His dying pardoning grace, and living life of love. Do not be unbelieving but believing!

10

THE DRAGNET

Jesus’ main form of discourse in the Gospels is that of parable. So much so in fact, that at one point in Jesus’ ministry

Mark said, “But without a parable He did not speak to them”

(Mark 4:34). Speaking in parables was a way for Jesus to

share a truth through common everyday events people

would have been familiar with. Yet, even though the parables

many times were simple stories, the people did not always understand what Jesus was saying.

One must always keep in mind that when Jesus told

parables, He was not usually trying to explain things to people’s satisfaction. The goal of a parable was to ultimately get

the listeners to repent and change their way of thinking to-

ward God, and His operation in the world. The parables

that Jesus told were many times insulting to quite a few people, and they were guaranteed to get many people to fume

on the inside.

Jesus hid a lot of New Covenant truths within His para-

203


bles that would not be fully mined out until after the cross, resurrection, and sending of the Spirit. So it is important to

keep in mind as we approach Jesus’ parables, that our mind

is being confronted with the teachings of Someone who not only would have shocked the listeners of His day, but also

packaged His parables so deep with Gospel truths, that even

those of His day would not have fully understood what He

was saying until they were on the other side of His death

and resurrection looking back.

Someone once asked me, “Why did Jesus never tell a

parable on fishing? Wouldn’t it have made sense for Jesus,

seeing that many of his disciples were fishermen?” My response was, “He did! It was one of the most powerful short

packed parables he ever told!” So, let’s dig into Jesus’ parable

known as: The Dragnet.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet

that was cast into the sea and gathered some of

every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good

into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be

at the end of the age. The angels will come forth,

separate the wicked from among the just, and cast

them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 13:47-50).

THE DRAGNET // JOSHUA HERSHEY ! 205

FISHING IN ANCIENT ISRAEL

Jesus’ disciples would have been familiar with several

different fishing techniques. Though there were many forms

of fishing during that time, only a few are mentioned in

Scripture. One form of fishing mentioned is the use of hook and line. This technique is about as close as it got to the

modern day use of a fishing pole. The way it worked is that someone would drop a weighted string with sharp baited or

unbaited hooks attached to it in the hope of impaling several fish as it traveled through the water. This was the technique

that Jesus told Peter to use when Jesus needed money for

the temple tax. He told Peter, “lest we offend them, go to

the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that come up first.

And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece

of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (Matt 17:27).

Elizabeth McNamer gives a good explanation of fishing

in the first century,

“Several methods of fishing have been used for cen-

turies on the Sea of Galilee. Some fishermen caught with their bare hands, some used wicker baskets or

other kinds of fish traps made of nets or rope, some

used spears, arrows or harpoons. But by far the most popular kind of fishing is by net. There were three

methods of net fishing. The dragnet is the oldest


type of net. The bottom of the net had weights

with sinkers, and the top rope had cork floats…The cast net is circular, about 20 feet in diameter, with

weights of lead attached to the border…It required

great skill since it had to open completely when it landed on the water trapping the fish underneath it…The third method is the trammel net, which was actually composed of three nets.”1

While a few other fishing techniques are mentioned

here and there, by far the most common form of fishing was

the use of a cast net. This is the technique that the disciples

were using when Jesus first told them to follow Him. The

Gospel of Matthew says, “Jesus, walking by the Sea of

Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew

his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you

fishers of men’” (Matt 4:18-19).

While the cast net is by far the most common net men-

tioned in Scripture, there was also another net mentioned. The word for this type of net is only used once in the entire

Bible. It is the dragnet. In Greek, sagene. This was a giant net that would be able to cover the entire area they were

fishing, for it had weights to sink one end to the floor while

the corks kept the top afloat. These nets would then be

dragged through the sea and gather up everything in their


pathway. Nothing could resist the force of this net once they

were enclosed by it. It was going to bring up everything in its pathway. It didn’t matter what lay in front of it: fish, sea

weed, shrimp, trash, an old boot, or any living or nonliving

thing. The dragnet was going to drag everything to the shoreline.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A DRAGNET

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet” (Matt

13:47). Jesus is saying that the function of a dragnet is very

similar to the function of the Kingdom. The reason that the Kingdom is like unto a dragnet is that it “gathered of every kind” (Matt 13:47, KJV).

Some translations insert the word fish into this verse.

The problem with that type of translation is that the word

fish nowhere occurs in the Greek, and it fails to demonstrate

the all inclusive nature of a dragnet. The gathering of every kind most likely refers to much more than the gathering of

fish. Actually the phrase “every” can be translated as “whole”

or “all,” and the word “kind” can be translated as “offspring,

family, race, or nation.” So the net of the Kingdom is said to have gathered everything in its pathway. The Kingdom of

God touches every tribe, tongue, and nation. It touches all

the junk in its pathway, as well as all that is good. While it does gather fish, it also gathers much more than fish.


It doesn’t just touch souls, but it touches bodies. It

doesn’t just touch Jews, but it touches Gentiles. It doesn’t

just touch people, but it touches plants, animals, and all of

creation. Paul said, “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of

the children of God. For we know that the whole creation

groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Rom 8:21-22). The visions of the New Heavens and New

Earth in Scripture always include a universal Shalom: The

lion lies down with the lamb. The child plays with the ser-

pent. God is in the business of touching everything with the kingdom.

We must not just rush into the second aspect of judg-

ment in this parable. Rather, we must take the time to truly

ponder the first judgment that this parable communicates. For the beginning of the parable is truly about non-judgment. It is about the kingdom gathering up everything in its path-

way indiscriminately. There is absolutely zero judgment of what is good and bad before the net glides through the

water claiming its prized possessions. The kingdom of

heaven is largely a process of gathering up everything with-

out operating as the judge. It does not get into the business

of rejecting anything, but rather indiscriminately drags

everything to the heavenly shore. Jesus, talking about the

net work of His reconciliation through His crucifixion and resurrection said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I


will draw everyone to Myself ” ( John 12:32, Aramaic Bible in Plain English).

Before Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross,

while he was still among his disciples, many people were

constantly looking for His judgment to take place right

then. When James and John saw that the Samaritans didn’t welcome Jesus because He was just passing by and going to

Jerusalem, they asked Jesus, “Lord, do You want us to com-

mand fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did” (Luke 9:54)? The disciples wanted to see Jesus judge people with fire and brimstone. Jesus harshly re-

buked this mindset as Luke goes on to recount, “But He

turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not

come to destroy men’s lives but to save them’” (Luke 9:55-

56). Jesus said they were of a demonic spirit to suggest that

a judgment of that sort should take place.

Even after Jesus was resurrected, the disciples still didn’t rec-

ognize Jesus’ non-judgmental way of spreading out the dragnet

of the Kingdom. The disciples came to Him and asked,

“Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel”

(Acts 1:6)? They were basically asking, “Now are you going

to wipe out the Romans? Now are you going to give Israel its rightful place of power in relation to the other nations?

Now are you going to take your place on the throne with us

sitting at your right and left hands?” Jesus needed to correct


his disciples again so that they could understand that His

kingdom was like a dragnet. They were to be about indis-

criminately dragging in all nations, tribes, and peoples as a

graceful dragnet gathers everything in its pathway. He had to remind them that the final judgment season was solely

between the Father and Him, and that they needed to get

in the business of being a witness for Him. They needed to extend His Kingdom like a dragnet to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:7, 8).

Those in the business of the Kingdom should be about

imitating the action of a dragnet. They should be about

gathering, not about judging. The Church and Christians

are to be visible sings of an invisible kingdom. They are to participate as much as possible in the Kingdom’s business

of fishing up all men, women, and everything else in their

pathway. Remember, the Kingdom is not like a sharp-baited hook-line that only catches a handful of fish. It is not like a

cast net, that only touches portions of the ocean, but leaves

everything else untouched. No, the Kingdom is like a dragnet, and we are to be the visible sign of that invisible King-

dom!

OPERATING AS YOUR OWN JUDGE

Have you ever noticed that just like Jesus’ disciples loved

to judge, so our present day culture is consumed with judg-

ment? Just turn on your television during prime time and


what do you see? American Idol, X-Factor, The Voice, America’s

Next Top Model, America’s Got Talent, Chopped, and many

other television shows that revolve around people being

judged. If you turn the channel to a news station, you hear

the latest political analysts dissecting and judging every little detail about other political people of high power. If you turn

the channel to sports, you hear the sportcasters latest judg-

ments of every team, and high profile player. So why is the world so full of judgment? How did this ball of judgment

get rolling in the first place? Why do we act as the Judge on the heavenly shoreline, instead of as the dragnet?

Actually, the story of the fall in the book of Genesis has

to do with man taking the place as judge over God. The

story tells of how God had crafted a beautiful garden of

pleasure for Adam and Eve. We are told that, “in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:9, NIV). God warned Adam

and Eve about partaking of the second tree in the middle

of the garden. He said, “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you

will surely die" (Gen 2:17, NIV).

Isn’t it interesting how the center of Adam and Eve’s

pleasure-filled existence in the garden could have revolved around either the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or

the tree of life? Unfortunately, they chose to disobey God, and they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good


and evil. In that moment they immediately entered into a

world of judgmentalism, and they spread that disease like cancer to everyone else after them.

The first thing someone does whose heart is being fed by the

tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to judge themself. Look

at what the story says immediately happened after they ate

of that tree, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves

together and made coverings for themselves” (Gen 3:7, NIV). Once they become their own judges, they immediately made two wrong judgments. First, they wrongly as-

sumed that they must hide from God. Second, they thought

they could, in and of their own ability, cover their nakedness.

The second thing someone does whose heart is being fed by

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is judge others. This

was the way that man would now attempt to experience full-

ness. Mankind would do so by making judgments of others,

thus placing their own self above another. Our condemna-

tion of others, whether it be about a major lifestyle issue, or

a minor matter of appearance, gives us a momentary feeling of worth. It gives a sense of superiority, and fullness. That

is, at least for the moment, until we need to be fed again.

Look at what Adam’s first instinct to do is when asked

by God if he had eaten from the tree he was commanded not to eat from. He places the judgment on someone else


by saying, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me

some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Gen 3:12, NIV ). Adam immediately makes two accusations. First he says that

it was Eve’s fault, then he actually says that it was God’s

fault! How about Eve? Did she respond any better than her

husband? No! She did the same thing Adam did. She said,

“The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13, NIV). Eve in

effect was saying, “the Devil made me do it!” In both cases,

Adam and Eve were attempting to fill the emptiness in their

souls by not owning up to their fault, and standing under

the judgment of God. Greg Boyd has wisely observed that, “We have neglected the biblical teaching that the

origin and essence of sin is rooted in the knowledge

of good and evil. Consequently, we have tended to define sin as that which is evil, over against that

which is good, rather than defining it more prof-

oundly as that which is not in union with Christ…

we have sometimes promoted the very essence of the fall—the knowledge of good and evil—as though it were salvation!”2

Consequently, humanity has continued to partake of the

tree of the knowledge of good and evil trying to judge ourselves worthy, and better than others. We say or think things

such as, “At least I don’t do as much bad as so and so,” “Phew,


I can count at least a handful of girls who are uglier than

me at this party,” “That guy sure is dumb for not knowing

the answer to that question!” The list could go on and on, as many people constantly judge others and themselves

throughout their day. This is one reason why many Church’s small groups have a difficult time having people join in con-

versation. People are afraid of being judged!

Many people live and thrive off of making comparisons.

What are some of the results of this type of living? What

are some of the results of having our center nourished by

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, attempting to

gain fullness? First, when we judge what is evil, stand above

it, and share it with others, we enter into the realm of judgmentalism, gossip, and possibly slander (if we exaggerate to make ourselves feel even better). Secondly, when we judge

what is good, and realize we don’t qualify, we enter into a

realm depression, fear, and anxiety. Under this occasion, we

are either in a place to start eating from the tree of life (al-

lowing Jesus to be our judge), or we can frantically search

for someone or something which we can stand up over against in judgment, and be nourished for a while.

James said, “Do not speak evil of one another…There

is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are

you to judge another” ( James 4:11,12)? Who are you to judge?

You are simply supposed to be a visible sign of the invisible kingdom that operates like a dragnet. Let the Judge do the


judging.

There is one acceptable way we are told to judge. Paul

said, “We judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died”

(2 Cor 5:14). Our judgment has to do with sharing the pro-

nouncement that the Divine Judge has already made. “There-

fore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh” (2 Cor 5:16). How do we regard them? We regard them as people who are caught in the net of reconciliation that God

has thrown around the world. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to

them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God

were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf,

be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:19-20).

We point people to the finished work of Jesus, the One

who represents the tree of life and restoration. The last thing

we are called to do is judge, and point our fingers at them.

That would just be perpetuating the fall. We point to the

finished work of Jesus, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness

of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21).

THE JUDGE WHO JUDGED HIMSELF

When we point people to the One who knew no sin and

became sin for us, we are showing people that there is

Someone who has already taken their judgment for them.


When we talk about the Divine Judge we are dealing with

a paradoxical story of a Judge who came not to judge, but

who rather took all the judgment of sin upon Himself. Jesus said, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all

judgment to the Son” ( John 5:22). Unfortunately many

times our understanding of Jesus being Judge has been di-

vorced from the office of a judge in the Old Testament. Whenever God raised up a judge for His people, their main

duty was to punish the enemy and save His covenantal peo-

ple who had forgot Him and been disobedient. Karl Barth put it like this,

“The so-called ‘Judges’ of the Old Testament…

are described as men awakened by God and their

main office is to be helpers and saviours in the recurrent sufferings of the people at the hand of

neighbouring tribes… Similarly in the New Testament—a fact which was later forgotten—the

coming of the Judge means basically the coming of the Redeemer and Saviour.”3

Concerning Jesus, the New Testament says, “God did

not send him into the world to judge the world, but that the

world through Him might be saved” ( John 3:17, NIV ). Jesus’ first function as the judge, just like the kingdom of

heaven, is to operate as a Savior. To operate as a non-judge,


as One who takes the judgment on Himself.

Thankfully, Jesus has taken the office of judge for us!

We don’t have to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil anymore! We don’t have to judge ourselves worthy

anymore! We can accept the judgment that Jesus made on

the cross! As Karl Barth has said, “a heavy and oppressive burden is lifted from us when Jesus Christ becomes our

Judge. It is a nuisance to have to be the man who gives sen-

tence. It is a constraint always to have to be convincing our-

selves that we are innocent, we are in the right” and,

“If this man is my divine Judge, I myself cannot be

judge any longer. I have forfeited the claim to be it and the enjoyment of being it. In the history of this

man it came to pass that I was relegated from the

sphere in which I wished to judge and placed in the

sphere in which I can only see and hear and learn what the judgment really is by which I have to judge myself.”

Remember the story of Joseph’s brothers coming before

Joseph that was explained in chapter two? The only thing his

brothers could do was see, hear, and learn what the judgment

was concerning them. As they stood before the one whom they had thrown in a pit, and sold into slavery, they were

told, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.


But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you

to preserve life” (Gen 45:4,5). His brothers would in turn

accept the judgment as Joseph went around and “kissed all his brothers and wept over them” (Gen 45:15). They did not

turn away in shame and rejection, but they accepted their

brother’s judgment of forgiveness. What a parallel with

Jesus! Joseph said, “God sent me before you to preserve life”

and would in turn provide food for all the people around Egypt who were struck with famine. So too, Jesus was sent be-

fore us to preserve life. He is the bread that has come down

from heaven, and the living water who feeds all those who hunger and thirst.

Even after accepting the judgment of forgiveness and

acceptance, many time people’s hearts can wander back into a place of fear. Seventeen years after Joseph’s initial judg-

ment, his brothers began to wonder if the judgment Joseph had made really was going to remain true even after their

father died. Afraid of the prospect of Joseph retaliating, they

got their eyes off of the pronouncement they had already

seen and heard (Gen 50:15). Joseph wept when he heard that his brothers were still afraid of him (Gen 50:17), and

came before his brothers saying, “you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is

this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not

be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. And he


comforted them and spoke kindly to them” (Gen 50:20, 21). Once our eyes have been taken off of the judgment of

Jesus we will only be filled with fear, worry, and anxiety like Joseph’s brothers were. We will think that maybe we really will be retaliated against after all, and we will return to all

our little schemes and strategies to try to defray the judgment. But when we have relegated ourselves from making

the judgment we think is right, and we can look, hear, and

see the judgment of the Judge, then we can experience peace and serve our King with reverence and awe!

A separate story in the Bible that illustrates the

point of the Judge taking our place of judgment, is the story of Barabbas. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and so he attempted to free Jesus by picking the worst criminal he had

in jail, Barabbas, and telling the people that they could release either Jesus or Barabbas. Barabbas’ name means “son

of the father.” He is a picture of mankind that has rebelled

against their Father and stand under the holy judgment of

God. Yet, when Pilate asked who the people wanted to be

released, they shouted, “We want Barabbas!” ( John 18:40,

NLT). The criminal who deserved nothing but death is set

free while Jesus took his place. The Judge is judged, con-

demned, and crucified in the place of the murderer. He took the judgment of all sin upon Himself on the cross, and

shouts to all those “sons of the father,” who are murderers

and in bondage around the world, “Be free! I’m the Divine


Scapegoat who has carried your sin away and left you stand-

ing outside your prison door home free!”

SORTING OUT THE GOOD & THE BAD

Just as in dragnet fishing, once the dragnet has drawn

everything to the shore, a sorting process takes place. So it

will be at the end of the age. Jesus said, “when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the

good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace

of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 13:48, 50).

Unfortunately, at this point some people misunderstand

what Jesus is saying. They revert to the idea that the final

judgment really is according to our works. That it really is

according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

That our good works really need to outweigh our bad works. While there is a very serious judgment talked about here, it is not

about our goodness or badness!

A couple of observations need to be made at the outset

about this judgment. First, the word good that is used here

is not talking about moral purity. There are actually two

words in the Greek language for good. One is agathos which means moral intrinsic goodness, while the other is kalos

which means good in the sense of beauty. It is the word


kalos that is used here. Strong’s Concordance says about kalos,

“Valuable or virtuous (for appearance or use, and thus dis-

tinguished from agathos, which is properly intrinsic).” Helps

Word Studies says it means “attractively good.” So the crite-

rion for the judgment here is not about the unique goodness

or badness of what was caught in the net, but rather their acceptability and beauty in the eye of the Beholder.

The second observation I would like to make is that the

wicked and the just refer to those who believe and accept

Jesus and those who don’t believe and accept Jesus. As it says

in the book of Hebrews, “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But

we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb 10:38,39). There

is serious consequences to unbelief. The furnace of fire speaks

of God’s disproval of unbelief from the outside and the

wailing and gnashing of teeth speaks of the absolute anguish

one experiences from being banished from the Kingdom. God does not like to cut off the branches of those who are

not abiding/believing in Christ, that is why He dungs it with the fertilizer of His grace, but at the same time He con-

firms the desire of those who reject His gift.

One must also remember, that the bad thrown away is

more than just fish who want nothing to do with Fisherman.

The bad also refers to all the junk in the world that was also

caught in the net. We can rest assure that all the junk of the


world, everything that does not serve the purposes of God,

everything that is not beautiful in His eye, will be tossed

into the outer darkness. If someone doesn’t want to accept

their acceptance (please God by trusting His sufficient grace), they will go with it.

Thankfully we “are not those who draw back to perdi-

tion, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb

10:39)! We can rest assured in the finished work of Jesus,

and the Judge that took our judgment for us. No longer do

we need to live in anxiety, worry, or fear for we have ceased being our own judge, and the Judge of perfect love drives

out all fear.

Further, everyone who is dragged up onto the millennial

shores of heaven do not get there by their own effort. They

are brought there by the network of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are not judged by our previous performances, we are judged by what Jesus did on the cross. He

pronounces the good over us. It is only those who want to argue with Him that confirm their badness and remain

under condemnation. As Jesus said, “he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in

the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the

condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light” ( John 3:18, 19).

In the book of Revelation it says, “To him who overcomes

I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst


of the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:7). Later it says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the

right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into

the city” (Rev 22:14). John defined in his epistle who it is

that overcomes and what His commandments are. “Who is it

that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is

the Son of God!” (1 John 5:5). “And this is his command: to

believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23).

Believe in Jesus! Allow His utterly magnificent work on

your behalf to take firm roots in your heart! Be loved! Allow the love of God to so overwhelm you, that you can love like

Jesus loves! Let Him love through you! He is the author and finisher of your faith. He is the one who draws you to the

heavenly shores. He is the one who pronounces kala over

you. Jesus is that precious tree of life that we are now nour-

ished by. We have moved from being our own judge and

other people’s judge. We allow Jesus’ judgment to reign supreme.

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Wonderful precious Jesus

NOTES CHAPTER 1: BE LOVED

1. C. S. Lewis. The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics (San Francisco, CA: Harper One, 2002), 574. 2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics (Minneapolis, MN: Augsberg Fortress, 2005), 84. 3. Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation (New York, NY: Continuum, 2004), 100. 4. E. Stanley Jones, A Song of Ascents (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1968), 354. 5. Oswald Chambers, The complete works of Oswald Chambers (Grand Rapids, MI: Discover House), 657. CHAPTER 2: THE TWO ROBINGS OF JOSEPH

1. Martin Luther, from a lecture on Genesis 25:31-34. What Luther Says: An Anthology, Ed. by Ewald M. Plass (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing, 1959), Volume Two, 604. 2. Brennan Manning. The Ragamuffin Gospel (Multnomah Press, 2005), 25. 3. Theodore Austin-Sparks. The Spiritual Meaning of Service (Bettesda, MD Testimony Book Ministry, 1989). 4. Caesar of Arles. Sermon XC, (XL, 4). 5. Rich Mullins. CCM Magazine June 1997.

225

226 ! NOTES

CHAPTER 3: WAYS TO BE LOVED

1. C. J. Mahaney. The Cross Centered Life (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2002), 20-21. 2. Max Lucado. Life to the Full (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 24. 3. Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing, 2008), 14. CHAPTER 4: TEN REALITIES OF THE NEW COVENANT

1. Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1949), 242, 244. 2. Curtin Vaughan, The Expositors Bible Commentary— Ephesians through Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981), 200. CHAPTER 5: NEED AN UPGRADE?

1. Martin Luther, Martin Luther Basic Theological Writings. Ed. By Timothy F. Lull (Minneapolos, MN: Augsberg Fortress, 1989), 30. 2. Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1949), 279. 3. Gerhard Forde, On Being A Theologian of the Cross (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 27. 4. Martin Luther, Martin Luther Basic Theological Writings. Ed. By Timothy F. Lull (Minneapolos, MN: Augsberg Fortress, 1989), 32.

NOTES ! 227

CHAPTER 6: HE’S GOT YOU COVERED

1. The Epistle to Diognetus, 9:2-5, in The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Michael W. Holmes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 709–710. CHAPTER 7: ADOPTION OR ADAPTATION

1. J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993), 201-202. 2. Thomas Erskine, The Unconditional Freeness of the Gospel (Boston, MA: Croker And Brewster, 1828), 29. 3. George MacDonald, Weighed and Wanting (London: William Clowes and Sans, 1882), 216. 4. Catechism of the Catholic Church (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1992), 60. 5. Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 282. 6. Bruxy Cavey. The End of Religion (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2007), 23. 7. William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans (Philidelphia, PA, Westminster Press, 1975), 109-112. 8. Leanne Van Dyk. The Desire of Divine Love—John McLeod Campbell’s Doctrine of the Atonement (New York, NY: Peter Lang, 1995), 103. 9. Peter Forsyth. The Person and Place of Jesus Christ. (Philadelphia, PA: Westminister Press, 1910), 38. 10. Watchman Nee. The Normal Christian Life (Peabody,

228 ! NOTES

MA: Hendrickson, 1961), 61. 11. Major Ian Thomas. Forward to Classic Christianity by Bob George. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House), 6. 12. E. Stanley Jones, Conversion (New York, NY: Abingdon Press, 1959), 244. CHAPTER 8: JONAH & THE HURRICANE OF GOD’S LOVE

1. Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 7. 2. Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God (Colorado Springs, CO: David Cook, 2009), 24. 3. Thomas Erskine, Letters of Thomas Erskine of Linlathen. Ed. William Hanna (Edinburgh: David Douglass, 1877), 281-82. 4 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (NY, NY: Harper Collins, 2001), 133. CHAPTER 10: THE PARABLE OF THE DRAGNET

1. Elizabeth McNamer, “Cast Your Nets: Fishing at the Time of Jesus” American Catholic July 2004. 2. Greg Boyd, Repenting of Religion (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), 66. 3. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrikson, 2010), 217, 233.

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