(9) Having made known unto us
the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure
which he hath purposed in himself:
(10) That in the dispensation
of the fulness of times
he might gather together in one
all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth;
even in him:
-Ephesians 1:9-10
One very important foundational mystery is the mystery of His will. If we can learn more about the will and nature of God, perhaps we can discover just what the mystery of the first love lost involves.
Then there are God's time frames to consider. The time frame on earth is limited. The time frame in heaven is actually an oxymoron, because our concept of time ceases to exist in the heavenly realm which is infinite.
Nevertheless, we are told that the fulfillment of both of these times will be evident one day soon when time, as we know it on earth, will merge into infinity. When this happens, all things in Christ will be perfectly harmonized and unified in Him.
(1) And Nadab and Abihu,
the sons of Aaron,
took either of them his censer,
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon,
and offered strange fire
before the LORD,
which he commanded them not.
(2) And there went out fire from the LORD,
and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
(3) Then Moses said unto Aaron,
This is that the LORD spake, saying,
I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me,
and before all the people I will be glorified.
And Aaron held his peace.
(4) And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan,
the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron,
and said unto them,
Come near,
carry your brethren
from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
(5) So they went near,
and carried them in their coats
out of the camp;
as Moses had said.
-Leviticus 10:1-5
A popular leader of a prominent mega church on television recently interpreted the above words to mean that these sons of Aaron were incinerated by God because they did not wait for the "spiritual authority," namely their father Aaron, to conduct this offering to God.
The church leader was teaching his followers that the death of Nadab and Abihu was a result of their usurping Aaron's position of authority. But this is only a half truth. Perhaps if the sons of Aaron had waited for their father, the offering would have been carried out properly by him and they would not have experienced the awful consequences.
But is man's spiritual authority really God's intended primary focus in this passage?
If I remember correctly, the speaker's message was entitled something like, "spiritual authority," not titled anything like "Obedience to the Will of God." In his presentation it was evident that he was exalting the power of the office and position of the religious leaders instead of patterning his message after the details of the Scripture that actually focus on the preeminence of God in all things.
In spite of the lessons provided by Scripture and Christian history, many churches still continue to be obsessed with their own perceived authority, the issue of submission, and church hierarchy today.
Is it really true that God wants to incinerate those who do not submit to religious leaders or others in positions of authority?
A common earmark of false teachers is their use of fear and guilt to acquire and control followers. These religious "authorities" claim to know what is best for everyone in their midst, thereby seducing them to entrust their spiritual life as well as their money and sometimes even their physical life to them.
False teachers misinterpret the above passage and many other Scriptures, attempting to make them support the idea that God's judgment is upon us if we do not honor their hierarical system and pay the tithes required to expand their ministries so they can build bigger and bigger churches.
In this way they twist the Word of God teaching that the favor and blessing of God can somehow be purchased with money. But He has clearly shown us that this is definitely not His intention. God wants to teach us that everything we have belongs to Him and He is perfectly able to supply all of our needs.
God's principles of giving are not about trying to put something into God's bank account so that He will put more into our bank account. When we give of what He has entrusted to us, it should be in faith knowing that our tithes and offerings will not diminish our financial resources because God has said that He is committed to continually providing all that we need beyond measure. The problem we have is with yielding what we think we need to what God has determined that we really need.
In order to profit, false religion has always tried to confuse the real priorities God has outlined in His Word. Tithes and offerings, like every other action God leads us to take, must be carried out by faith and the specifics of His will.
Caring for the needs of others, whether spiritual or physical, must first of all be personally provided to those in our own household and sphere as God brings these needs to our attention. Not every work God calls us to must be carried out through the hierarchy of some organization or church. True believers are the Church.
An excellent example of this can be found in the autobiography of George Muller, an evangelist, missionary, and director of several orphan homes in Bristol, England during the 1800s. He also established 117 schools which offered Christian education to over 120,000 children, including the orphans in his homes. George Muller never asked one person for money (or anything else) to support the work he did, but all of the needs of the thousands of children he cared for was a direct result of prayer and His dedication to the Word of God. Mr. Muller let God, Himself, put it upon the hearts of others to support his ministry as God personally directed them.
God has not appointed any "under shepherds." Jesus, Himself, warned about this and told us that there is and always will be only "One Shepherd," which is Jesus Christ and "one flock" made up of all true believers in Christ.
This fact can be found in John 10:16 and many other places in the Scriptures. Yes, leaders are appointed by God for ministry in the Church, but God's method of leadership is not anything like the modern corporate hierarchy, patterned after the world's system of power and control, that we see in most churches today.
Now who is really guilty of trying to usurp God's position of Authority?
God's plan of redemption is based on our relationship with Him alone, made possible through the death of His only Son. But also through His life--remember Jesus is not dead. He is no longer on the cross. He rose from the grave and is very much alive today.
Actually He is more a part of our lives right now than when He walked the earth in the flesh. We do not need some hireling to rule over us and interpret the Word of God for us. The living Spirit of God is perfectly capable of teaching us these truths Himself through His Word.
God never told us to entrust our spiritual lives to any earthly person. On the contrary, we are exhorted often in the Scriptures to take personal responsibility for our own eternal life and live out our life through the power of God's Spirit.
God's plan has always reflected His will and what is best for us. It is not about what we want or about us and our "delegated power of authority," it is about God and what He requires of us.
Real Christianity does not focus on getting power. Authority means responsibility and servanthood. God gives us the power to follow Him, not the power to control others.
How many children and how many wives long to have their fathers and husbands lovingly lead them and encourage their family in the Word of God, instead of lecturing them on why they are endowed from above with the power to rule over them?
Where is the error in focus? Where is the error in priorities? Where is the preeminence of Christ?
Unless they are Jesus Christ, they do not have the power to control anyone. The truth is that man is incapable of even controlling himself. This is why we must all submit to Christ as our Ruler. Leaders are called to be the chief servants of others--not the chief rulers or controllers of others.
King David, "a man after God's own heart," understood this. David's practice of leadership through servanthood won the hearts of those he led. His men loved him so much that, on one occasion, they were even willing to risk their own lives just to get him a drink of water. (See 2 Samuel 23:15-16.)
Even though Christ possessed ownership by right of Creator, He also demonstrated His right to rule by serving others, when He laid down His life for us and provided what we need to enter the Kingdom of God.
What then was the real reason Nadab and Abihu died?
Nadab, (his name meaning "willful or liberal") along with his brother, Abihu, dared to worship and serve God in their own way, instead of in the prescribed manner God had appointed.
God was so offended that He sent a fire from heaven to "devour" them.
This was a precise type of fire designed to exclusively consume only their bodies and not their clothing, further emphasizing and illustrating the importance God places on detailed specifics. We are told that what was left of them, probably just their ashes was carried away out of the camp in the very coats they were wearing.
God further emphasizes in this passage that it is His will to be sanctified and glorified before the people in the specific manner He has prescribed. "Sanctified" speaks of something greatly respected because it is pure and holy. The word, "glorified," denotes honoring God because of His preeminence (exclusive authority).
This is not the first time lack of concern and disrespect for the detailed will of God has been mentioned in the Bible. It began with Adam and Eve in the garden when they made excuses for not following God's will regarding which of the trees they could eat from.
When Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, brought their offerings before God, we are given an example of disrespect for specifics again. While Abel honored the will of God by bringing an animal sacrifice which symbolized redemption through the blood, Cain wanted to offer something that came from his own efforts.
His self-centered heart was not in harmony with God's redemptive plan. Like his parents, Cain also disregarded God's detailed instructions and stubbornly decided to do it his own way.
How do we discover the mystery of God's will then?
The mystery of God's will is revealed in the details. Our relationship with God must, first of all, be centered on the specific details of His will and what He requires of us, as opposed to being centered on our own will.
If we truly belong to Him, we will wrap our spirit, body, mind, and emotions around His will because we understand that He loves us and is the only One qualified to be God because He is the only One who created us and really knows what is best for us.
Anything less is idolatry--the basic sin from which all other sins originate.
(23) Now therefore put away, said he,
the strange gods which are among you,
and incline your heart
unto the LORD God of Israel.
(24) And the people said unto Joshua,
The LORD our God
will we serve,
and his voice will we obey.
-Joshua 24: 23-24
Do you see how the mystery of the will of God provides a clue to the mystery of the first love lost?
If not, perhaps you will eventually, as we continue to examine the evidence.
We must be patient. This is only the first piece of the puzzle.
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