CHRIST: Reclaiming the Creation [2 Peter 3.5-13]

Posted on March 16, 2024 by PastorDave

CHRIST IN GENESIS | Lesson 6 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read Genesis 8.20 – 9.29 & 2 Peter 3.5-13

‘CHRIST IN GENESIS’: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS & SETTING THE CONTEXT

1/ Since what we are looking for here in our survey/summary study of CHRIST IN GENESIS are the ‘CHRIST-markers’ that point us to CHRIST who is to come, they will be easy to find in this study passage:

  • [1] Jesus provides His own personal commentary on the significance of the Flood in Matthew 24.37-38 and Luke 17.26-27 when He declared that the Flood judgments on the ungodly were a pre-enactment of His own Second Coming: Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man … until the flood came and destroyed them all.
  • [2] So also, the aftermath of the Flood – after the earth had been ‘cleansed’ of the ungodly corruption, there emerged a ‘new creation.’ That is the subject of Peter’s New Testament interpretation and commentary in 2 Peter 3.5-13.
  • [3] There will be another cataclysmic judgment on the whole earth to destroy all the ungodly inhabitants of the earth and the ‘corruption’ that has spoiled God’s ‘good’ First Creation. That will usher in The Day when Jesus will declare: Behold, I am making all things new! [Revelation 21.5]. Jesus gave John visions of the Day of New Creation in Revelation 21.1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth [First Creation] had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
  • [4] So, when Peter says “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells,” he is quoting the promise God made to Noah in our study passage, as we shall see. “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” and “But the Day of the LORD will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” [2 Peter 3.7, 10] … and then the New Creation will be revealed in The Day of Christ.

2/ So, our last lesson [the Flood judgments of God] was a pre-enactment of the destruction of the world that now is when Christ returns; and the present lesson is a pre-enactment of the New Creation that will follow and be ushered in by Christ when “[He] makes all things new.”  

3/ THAT, in a nutshell, is what we want to look for and point out as we pursue this current lesson…

I / Genesis 8.20-22 | The Promise of Salvation [2 Peter 3.8-9]

1/ v 20 / Immediately upon disembarking from the ark that had saved them from the Flood-waters, “Then Noah built an altar to The LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. BTW, this is the first mention of ‘altar’ in the Scriptures – not that they had not offered previous sacrifices on altars before, but the altar had not been specifically mentioned. The offering of burnt offerings on the altar was Noah’s confession that they had been saved by Yahweh’s grace and mercy by the merits of a substitute sacrifice – a clear pointer to CHRIST! This is also God’s reason for instructing Noah to take seven specimens of ‘clean’ animals and birds on the ark – so some of them could serve as sacrifices and the others would serve to re-populate the ‘new’ creation.

2/ vv 21-22 / “And when The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma [‘sweet savour’ / KJV], The LORD said…” This is language expressing that Yahweh accepted the sacrifices both as an atonement for their sins and also as a thank-offering for His Grace that He had extended in saving them from His wrath. This same language is used repeatedly in Leviticus to express God’s pleasure in receiving His appointed sacrifices – again ALL of which are types and pre-enactments of CHRIST’s all-sufficient sacrifice for our salvation!

3/ Yahweh also recognizes that the same corruptions that necessitated the first ‘cleansing’ of the earth will again be perpetuated by succeeding generations of humanity: “…for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Yahweh knows that in the succeeding generations to follow from that time until the end, it will be ‘deja vu all over again.’ [Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 24.37-38 and Luke 17.26-27.]  But He will restrain Himself from destroying all earth and humanity ‘as I have done’ by flood-waters … until the final judgments of the Last Day. Not that He won’t finally destroy everything again, but He won’t destroy by waters. He will restrain Himself for two reasons: [1] to extend ‘common grace’ to all of humanity and give them space for repentance; and [2] to save His elect through the Gospel of CHRIST before that end comes [2 Peter 3.9]. Thus, day and night and the revolving seasons continue shall not cease and have not ceased … until The Day of CHRIST.  

II / Genesis 9.1-7 | A ‘New Adam’ and ‘New Creation’ Mandate

1/ v 1 / As you read these words, you need to hear all the echoes of the First Creation mandates that God had given Adam in the beginning. Not only here, but even also all throughout the Flood narrative, we hear those echoes in the Spirit [breath] of God, the waters, the gathering of the created animals, etc. It was as if God was ‘beginning’ again – which He was. But especially here: “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’” [see ch 1.22, 28]. Here, as the ‘new Adam,’ God is blessing Noah as He commissions to ‘re-begin’ this ‘new’ creation. This primary Creation Mandate is repeated three times: 8.17; 9.1, 7. Again, you have to see here that Noah is serving as a pre-enactment of CHRIST who will come as God’s anointed ‘last Adam…second Man’ [1 Corinthians 15.45-47] to redeem God’s people – to save and re-create a new ‘humanity’ made in His own image [Ephesians 2.15; Colossians 3.10].

2/ vv 2-7 / There are some expanded differences in this ‘new’ creation mandate and the first:

  • [1] With the new ‘fear’ being introduced into the creation by the traumas of the Flood, “the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast…bird…creeping thing…fish…”
  • [2] Also, all the creatures of the earth may now be eaten as prey: “Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. As I have gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” [see Genesis 1.29-30; 1 Timothy 4.3]. [Later on, when the Law is given, there will be some distinctions among these as ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ – that is, permitted or not permitted for them to eat.
  • [3] They were forbidden to eat flesh “with its life, that is, its blood.” God intended for them to respect and value life – to preserve it – because He is the only One who can give life. If an animal is slaughtered, it must be drained of its blood before they ate it. The God-created life is in the blood – respect that!
  • [4] MOST IMPORTANTLY: God declares His vengeance will upon anyone who willfully sheds the blood of another human being. God delegated human governments and authorities to administer capital punishment with His authority [see Romans 13.1-5; 1 Peter 2.13-14]. “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image.” Since God is the only Creator of life and lifeblood, then we are accountable to Him for how we treat it.

3/ Mankind must not think that since God had destroyed the whole human race, therefore He has a low view or disregard for human [or animal] life. God’s justice is pure and fair. His judgments are all deserved. He made that clear in ch 6.5-17. God places a high value and regard for all life. But He authorized this directive for governments and authorities to execute because we must highly value, respect, and protect life in all our relationships and institutions.       

III / Genesis 9.8-17 | The Covenant of Peace [see Isaiah 54.9-10]

1/ v 8 / Yahweh declares His Covenant of Peace in this promise He makes to Noah, to every living creature on the earth, and to the earth itself. He calls it His ‘Covenant of Peace’ in Isaiah 54.9-10, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Yahweh reiterates here what He had announced and promised in ch 6.17-19.There, He had decreed He would send the Flood “to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” But the ark of salvation would “keep them alive.”

2/ THAT is what the ‘Covenant of Peace’ is – Yahweh’s promise and commitment to save, redeem, and ‘keep alive’ those who are His people. Yes, He will give common grace to the whole creation, but it is for the purpose of fulfilling His ultimate and sovereign purpose of bringing in the New Creation in the end [2 Peter 3.18]. And He will keep it – Yahweh refers to His ‘covenant’ a perfect seven times in this passage.

3/ So, what is a ‘covenant’? Set your mind on this principle: God relates to us and works with us by covenants. It has been so since the beginning in the First Creation. Although the word ‘covenant’ doesn’t appear in the Bible until ch 6.18, God had also established a covenant with Adam – which Adam miserably failed to keep. And, ALL the covenants in the Old Testament are but the opening of the bud of the full flower of the New Covenant which CHRIST will establish by His own Blood [see Hebrews 13.20-21]. BTW, the basis of this covenant promise which Yahweh establishes here was the blood of the sacrifices that Noah offered to Him when he disembarked from the ark. God always saves by the blood of the sacrifice – and CHRIST is the all-sufficient atoning, redeeming Sacrifice for sins for our salvation.

4/ But a ‘covenant’ is a ‘promise’ – in truth, all throughout the New Testament, ‘covenant’ and ‘promise’ are used interchangeably to describe the same transaction. So, when it comes to God’s covenants, we must remember they are not bargains or negotiations, or what we would call a ‘bi-lateral’ covenant. God’s covenants do not depend partially on our keeping them in order for His covenant to be fulfilled. Because we have demonstrated from Adam on throughout until the end of human history that we will fail. God’s covenants are ‘unilateral’ – in other words, God must be faithful to keep His covenant/promise to us by His Grace. And CHRIST is the One who will fulfill all the conditions of obedience and give the promised ‘blessing” to us by His Grace [2 Corinthians 1.20; Ephesians 1.3-10]. So it is here.

5/ Now, to be clear, God’s covenants do require our obedience. A covenant always includes both God’s conditions to us [see vv 1-7] and His commitment to us [see vv 8-17] or, to put it another way, a covenant always includes both stipulations and commandments for us to obey and God’s gracious promises that He will keep and fulfill. But, in the end, only CHRIST will perfectly obey and keep all the conditions of the covenant in our place – as our Substitute. And God will ‘credit’ us with CHRIST’s perfect obedience and ‘bless’ us in Him. [See Romans 5 for a fuller commentary on this covenant of ‘peace’ (Romans 5.1).]

6/ vv 9-11 / So what does God promise in this ‘covenant of peace’? His promise is: “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” NOT that the earth will never again be destroyed, because it will in the Last Day before the New Creation – but not by a flood of waters [2 Peter 3.5-12].

7/ vv 12-17 / Then God gives the rainbow as a visible sign of His ‘covenant of peace’ so we can be both warned of His holy wrath against sin and His promise of Grace and mercy to save those who believe in Him. Three times over, God says that the rainbow is His ‘sign’ of His covenant of peace, and that He also promises that He Himself will both ‘see’ the bow and ‘remember’ His ‘covenant of peace’ He has committed Himself to keep.BTW: God uses the same word ‘bow’ that referred to the common bow of warfare and death. He has just flexed and shot His ‘arrows’ of death from His ‘bow’ of wrath and judgment in the Flood. But this rain-’bow’ will be one of ‘peace.’

8/ And we can be sure God will be faithful to ‘remember’ His promised ‘covenant of peace.’ He repeatedly says that He will ‘establish [and ‘set’] my covenant,’ meaning it is set in place, sure, and secure. And that He will ‘remember’ His promised mercies. THIS is the significance of the Isaiah 54.7-10 promise! Israel will yet in those ‘future generations’ [Genesis 9.12] go through seasons of time when they must be chastised and disciplined for their unfaithfulness. Think especially of their 400 years in Egypt and the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. There will be seasons when they will fear that God is deserting, forsaking, and abandoning them – hiding His Face from them. And so will you and I! But God reminds them of His ‘covenant of peace’ that He established with them in Genesis 9.8-17: “‘This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke [reject, utterly destroy] you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says The LORD, who has compassion on you.”

9/ This has been for me a most comforting promise in many ‘dark seasons of the soul’ of my own life experiences. Over the years, I have come to call it ‘My One Absolute’ – one true and faithful promise of God I know I can trust in. I have written a simple song of experience to express that encouragement.      

IV / Genesis 9.18-28 | Blessing and Cursing in the ‘New’ World

1/ vv 18-19 / Keep in mind at least these two things as you read this section:

  • [1] Moses wrote this Book of Genesis hundreds of years after they transpired in real time. So he is seeing from the vantage point and writing from the perspective of after these prophecies of Noah had come to pass in history. It was all future when Noah uttered them, but by the time Moses wrote about them, they had become past and current history.  
  • [2] That’s why Moses writes two times, “Ham was the father of Canaan…Ham, the father of Canaan” [vv 18, 22]. At the time these events happened, Canaan was already a young adult, but he hadn’t yet produced a sizable family – the nations that came from Canaan will be detailed in chapter 10. By the time Moses wrote Genesis before Israel entered the Promised Land which was inhabited by the Canaanites, the nations that descended from Canaan, and these blessings and curses had come to full fruition. So when Moses writes in retrospect that “Ham was the father of Canaan,” he is pointing out to the Israelites, the direct descendants of Shem [ch 11.10 and following], who and where the Canaanites had come from.

2/ vv 20-23 / So, what happened in Noah’s tent? Noah proceeded to pursue the ‘new creation’ mandate God gave Adam in the First Creation [see ch 2.15]. But as he farmed and cultivated, he imbibed too much of the wine he had produced: “He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.” In all of Scripture and human history, drunkenness and nakedness has been a moral corruption.

3/ It is important to note here that Noah had ‘uncovered himself’ in his drunken stupor. Many other translations read it that way. It is important because there have been many speculations about what Ham may have done to or with Noah in his naked state – even to the point that he may have emasculated Noah or engaged in some kind of homosexual act, or even an incestuous act with his mother, Noah’s wife. But it doesn’t say that Ham uncovered Noah or his nakedness. While it is true that similar language is used for such forbidden acts, especially in Leviticus 18 and 20, there is no evidence of that here.

4/ What we are told is: “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.” Ham is evidencing the tendencies and proclivities of a degenerated morality. He had no sense of moral decency or modesty. It appears that he was guilty of voyeurism of Noah’s nakedness – and not only that, but he went outside to Shem and Japheth and mocked his father’s indecency instead of seeking to cover his nakedness.

“There is thus no clear evidence that Ham actually did anything other than see the nakedness of his father. To Noah, however, such an act was serious enough to prompt the oracle on Ham’s descendants (who would be openly guilty in their customs of what many suspect Ham of doing). It is difficult for people living in the modern world to understand and appreciate the modesty and discretion of privacy called for in ancient morality. Nakedness in the Old Testament was from the beginning a thing of shame for fallen humankind … Their covering of their nakedness was a sound instinct, for it provided a boundary for fallen human relations.” (Allen P. Ross).

5/ vv 24-27 / Noah saw then and foresaw the outcomes of the same influences in Ham’s son, Canaan. And, as we all know, that’s the ways the descendants of Canaan turned out. So, when he woke up and found out what Ham had done, he pronounced this curse on Canaan – that he would become subject to and the slaves of his brothers, Shem and Japheth, who had acted righteously toward their father’s indiscretion. Wickedness delights to indulge in its own sin and seeks to proliferate its practices. Whereas, “…love covers a multitude of sins” [1 Peter 4.8] – as Shem and Japheth discreetly did. “Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.” But, for now, so far…

This is another ‘pre-enactment’ of the New Creation yet to come … in CHRIST!

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CHRIST: The Ark that Saves Us [1 Peter 3.18-22]

Posted on March 9, 2024 by PastorDave

CHRIST IN GENESIS | Lesson 5 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read Genesis 5.1 – 8.19

‘CHRIST IN GENESIS’: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS & SETTING THE CONTEXT

1/ This next study section in CHRIST IN GENESIS is a rather lengthy one, so, as we have been saying all along, we won’t treat it in any detail. Rather, we’ll stick with our purpose and theme in this survey / summary study in Genesis: point out some of the most prominent ‘CHRIST-markers’ that are written into the Genesis narrative. We’ll have to summarize a lot of the details in our commentary of the chapters’ sections.

2/ But this study section does contain a specifically-referenced ‘CHRIST-marker’ that is pointed out for us in the New Testament. We’ll get to that here shortly… This study passage begins in chapter 5.1 and reads through chapter 8.19. As you survey the section, you’ll note that it relates the story of the world-wide flood that destroyed the world and its inhabitants as it was then – with the exception of Noah and his family. Thus, it is illustrative both of the judgment of God against sin and the salvation of His elect.

I / 1 Peter 3.18-22 | The Flood and the Ark: a Type of CHRIST

1/ But the New Testament passage that most specifically and fully ties this epochal event with Christ will be found in 1 Peter 3.18-22. In that NT Scripture, we’ll see in pointed and stark relief an example of the Scripture interpretation principle I told you about in our last lesson: Historical-Redemptive Progression. In other words, the real historical events actually happened as they are recorded; but in those same real historical events, we’ll see how God is progressively revealing His redemption of His people that He will bring to pass in the fullness of His time in Christ. THAT is what 1 Peter 3.18-22 is telling us.

2/ You will find this ‘CHRIST-marker’ in the chart/graphic I have given you CHRIST: in Creation to New Creation. When you look in the left-hand block ‘CHRIST-markers in the Old Testament,’ you will note that one of the CHRIST-markers is called PICTURES/Types of Christ [‘Pre-enactments’]. That simply means that what God did in the OT in their history is a PICTURE/type or ‘pre-enactment’ of what He will in His redemptive work in CHRIST when He comes … or, in other words, ‘type (pre-enactment) / antitype (fulfillment enactment).’

3/ So let’s take just a brief survey of 1 Peter 3.18-22 even here before we come back to Genesis. And we’ll need to follow Peter’s subject, theme, and logic to see his message concerning CHRIST … and the connections he’s making back with the Noahic flood.

  • [1] The THEME of Peter’s message is how the suffering and death of CHRIST saves us from our sins.
  • [2] The suffering and death of CHRIST saves us from our sins just like the flood waters saved Noah and his family, v 21.
  • [3] ‘But wait,’ you say, ‘the flood didn’t save Noah and his family – the ark did!’
  • [4] And that is precisely Peter’s message, v 20: ‘…while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.’ THAT is how they were saved: the ark brought them safely through the flood waters. [see Genesis 7.7]
  • [5] And then Peter draws his analogy: Baptism, which corresponds to this [the specific word Peter uses is ‘antitype’ — or the fulfillment of the OT type], now saves us. And lest anyone should think that it is the baptism in water itself that saves us, Peter quickly adds this explanatory commentary: …not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • [6] And so, our baptism in water is a type of CHRIST and His death and resurrection from death. The act of baptism itself is not what saves us, but rather what the baptism typifies: that is, our confession of faith in Who and what does save us – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • [7] And so, just as the flood waters were the judgment act of God against the sins of that world, so the death of Jesus Christ was God’s holy and just judgment of wrath against our sins IN CHRIST. And just as the flood waters safely floated the ark through the deadly waters of God’s judgment against their sins [see Genesis 7.18], so the resurrection of CHRIST safely delivers us from our sins – because the resurrection of CHRIST evidences and demonstrates that God’s wrath against our sins was fully and satisfactorily expended and exhausted … our sins were washed and put away! [see Acts 22.16]
  • [8] And THAT is how our baptism ‘saves us’ … NOT by ‘washing away our sins,’ BUT as our ‘good-conscience appeal’ and confession of our faith in CHRIST’s death and resurrection which DOES save us from our sins! Our faith is NOT in the act or the element of baptism in water, but rather in WHO and what the baptism typifies: the death of Jesus Christ to suffer God’s wrath and judgment against our sins and then His resurrection – being saved from His death and being raised to new life!

4/ And THAT is what the events of the Genesis flood waters and the saving ark are ‘pre-enacting’ for us!    

II / ch 5.1-32 | ‘…the book of the generations of Adam’

1/ Let’s take just a quick summary/survey of chapter 5 before we get to the flood story. I have introduced the significance of this phrase ‘the generations of…’ in a previous lesson. Bible teachers commonly use the Hebrew word for this phrase ‘toledot / tohl-dah.’ This word and phrase simply means ‘the story of’ or ‘what became of’ or ‘who came from.’ There are ten of these ‘toledot’ stories in Genesis, all connected to each other in succession. That is how the Genesis narrative is constructed.

2/ Two of these ‘toledot’ are contained in our present study passage: ch 5.1, ‘This is the book of the generations of Adam’ and ch 6.9, ‘These are the generations of Noah.’ But this first one in ch 5.1 will give us the genealogies and chronicles from Adam to Noah – and thus bring us to the Noah narrative. There are ten patriarchs who are named here. You can mark and count their names as you read the text.

3/ But all we want to do here is to connect it with the Noah story.

  • [1] If you count the numbers of years when they had their successive sons, you will read that from the creation of Adam to the time of the flood, there were 1556 years.
  • [2] Not only that, but the lifetimes of Adam and Methuselah overlapped by 56 years before Adam died – these two men alone span the entire time between Creation and the Flood!
  • [3] Which also means: if you ever wondered what kind of Gospel witness was present in that age before the flood, then consider that Adam, Methuselah, and Enoch all were ‘preachers of righteousness’ even before Noah was during his own generation [Jude, 14-15; Hebrews 11.5-7; 2 Peter 2.5]. There was no lack of Gospel witness and warnings of judgment to come during all these 1556 years and among the inhabitants of the pre-flood world.
  • [4] More particularly, there was some revelation of the coming judgment against their sins that convicted Enoch to ‘walk with God.’ The record states in ch 5.21-23 that “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters … Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Enoch’s ‘walking with God’ was a public witness to his faith in God [Hebrews 11.5]. God revealed to Enoch when Methuselah was born that this son was an announcement of the coming ‘end’ of judgment. Methuselah’s name means ‘a man of the dart,’ or that his very life was ‘thrown toward the target of the end,’ and ‘with his departure, the end will come.’ Enoch believed that revelation and preached it until his own living translation to Heaven [Jude, vv 14-15]. Methuselah also lived until the coming of the flood before he died.
  • [5] I have said all this to demonstrate that in all the years of human history, from creation to the destructive flood, not only was the earth increasingly filled with rebellion against God and violence and corruption of His ‘good’ creation … but the earth was also filled with Gospel preaching and witness to ‘repent and believe in God … flee from the wrath to come and be saved.’ But Noah and his family were the only ones who believed and trusted in that Gospel that was preached through Noah by the Spirit of Christ Himself [1 Peter 3.18-22].  

III / Genesis 6.1-8 | ‘…the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly…’ [2 Peter 3.4-7]

1/ We are coming now to our study passage for this lesson. So all we can do with the time we have left is summarize the purposes and content for each passage as it relates to our current lesson theme and ‘CHRIST-marker’: CHRIST: the Ark that saves us.

2/ This section will state God’s holy observations, evaluations, and judgments against all the ways that mankind has corrupted, violated, perverted, and abused His original good purposes for His creation [see ch 6.5, 11-13]. As a result of their willful rebellion against His Holiness and their insistence on choosing their own ways and lifestyles, flaunting themselves against God to His Face, “Then The LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’” We must remember also that when The LORD speaks of ‘My Spirit,’ He is referring to the Spirit of Christ Himself who was preaching to that generation through Noah [1 Peter 3.18-20]. God needs no justification of anything He does, but He does lay out a clear, detailed, and irrefutable case of evidence that will lay the grounds for His coming judgments. [see Romans 3.19]

3/ This is such an awesome passage because Moses reveals what The LORD ‘saw,’ ‘thought and felt,’ and ‘said’ to Himself … even before He revealed it to that world. Only God’s own revelation of Himself to His prophets could have revealed such Personal and private details [1 Corinthians 2.9-16].

4/ Noah’s faith in Yahweh is highlighted in the segue verses 7-8. After Yahweh declares He “will blot out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land…,” then He also declares “But Noah found favor [grace] in the eyes of The LORD.” This was God’s election of grace – His sovereign choice to save Noah by His Grace through Noah’s faith in Him [see ch 6.22-7.1 & Hebrews 11.6-7].

IV / Genesis 6.9 – 7.24 | ‘…while the ark was being prepared…’ [1 Peter 3.20]

1/ NOTE: ch 6.9-10 begins the third toledothere in Genesis with “These are the generations of Noah.” We will now learn who came from Noah and what became of him and his family. Of course, Noah was God’s sovereign and gracious choice to be saved from the deluge … and re-populate the earth to preserve the promised line of ‘the seed of the woman’ who would be our Savior and Redeemer [ch 3.15].

2/ 6.11-13: After Yahweh once again reiterates His Holy evaluations of that ungodly generation, He then begins to give Noah His instructions for building the ark, which is God’s picture/type/pre-enactment of Christ [see ch 6.17-18: “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark”!]

3/ We can trace the historical-redemptive progression of God’s salvation plan through the instructions He gave Noah – ALL of which Noah fully obeyed [see 6.22; 7.5, 9, 16].

  • [1] 6.14-18: “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood…” and then gave detailed construction blueprint plans for its dimensions and layout. And included these instructions is the covenant promise of salvation in vv 17-18. This is the Covenant of Grace that God promises to Noah – the basis and conditions upon which God will extend His gracious salvation as we shall see in ch 8.1. God always keeps His Word and all His gracious promises. AND all these promises will lead us to CHRIST and will be fully and finally fulfilled by Him in ‘the fullness of time.’
  • [2] 6.19-22: “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring…into the ark to keep them alive with you…” – along with all the food Noah’s family and the animals would need for the duration of the flood. There will also be a further distinction and instructions for ‘clean and unclean’ animals in ch 7.2-3.
  • [3] 7.1-16a: “Then The LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’” And with that, the final deadline for the destructive Flood-waters is sealed, v 4. After the predicted seven days of waiting after they entered the ark, the Flood-waters inundated the earth from above and below: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights,” 7.11-12. NOTE a couple detailed repetitions here: (a) the repeated references to ‘entered/went into the ark’ to chronicle the obedience of faith Noah and his family had in the promises of Yahweh; and (b) the specific dates and timelines that will be reported throughout this account.
  • [4] 7.16b-24: “And The LORD shut him in.” This is an expression of Yahweh’s salvation and security He performed toward Noah and his family. Remember our key New Testament connection passage to this event in 1 Peter 3.18-22 where we are told that “the ark” was the means by which Noah and his family “were brought safely through water” and “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you … through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” – our baptism in water being our confession of faith in the Gospel of the death and resurrection of CHRIST. When you compare that commentary on the type that is presented in the Flood-waters, you’ll see the dual purpose of the Flood: First, the waters drowned and destroyed that ungodly generation of humanity in the judgments of the Holy God against their sins; and second, the same waters ‘saved’ Noah and his family by ‘floating the ark’ safely through those same waters of death. See Genesis 6.17-18; 7.3, 7, 18, 23. Especially 7.7: “And Noah [and his family] with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood” and 7.18: “…and the ark floated on the face of the waters.” THAT is how the Flood-waters ‘saved’ them! And THAT is the true picture/type/pre-enactment of how CHRIST suffered the judgment wrath of God against our sins upon Himself … and how, by our faith and trust in Him and His Gospel of salvation, we are saved in Him, our Ark. We are saved from ‘the wrath of God to come’ [Romans 5.9; 1 Thessalonians 1.10]. Again, I repeat, baptism is our confession of faith in CHRIST’s salvation wrought for us by His own death and resurrection.     

V / Genesis 8.1-19 | ‘…brought safely through water…’ [1 Peter 3.20]  

1/ Here is the turning point of the whole Flood narrative: “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God…” and then story proceeds to describe all the God-ordained acts He performed to make the flood waters recede. BUT all along, it has been a ‘God-thing’ [as we sometimes say], a true ‘act of God’! Going all the way back to the beginning of the story in ch 6.3, it has been God’s sovereign purpose, will, and initiative that has made everything happen.

2/ But, more specifically, here with this statement “And God remembered Noah…,” we see His redemptive covenant mercy, grace, and promises coming to pass. What God remembered was the covenant promise He had made to Noah in ch 6.17-18. “Noah found favor [grace] in the eyes of the LORD” [ch 6.8], and now The LORD will perform the salvation He has promised. Truly, Noah was saved ‘by grace through faith’ in the ark of safety God had provided – and that Ark was CHRIST!

3/ NOTE: again the precise, exact timelines:

  • [1] Noah entered the ark at the command of Yahweh 7 days before the deluge of waters began, ch 7.4, 10.
  • [2] Using the dates provided by the Scriptures according to Noah’s lifespan, the Flood waters came upon the earth 2/17/600, ch 7.11.
  • [3] The waters from the fountains of the deep beneath the earth and the windows of heaven came upon the earth for 40 days, ch 7.12, 17.
  • [4] After those 40 days, and after the Flood waters had reached their maximum depths [vv 17-20], they prevailed at those levels for another 150 days, ch 7.24; 8.3.
  • [5] But they [and we] are still counting the days! It takes a long time for that much water to recede. And so, even after the deluge of waters had stopped, and the flood levels began to recede, only then did the ark come ‘to rest on the mountains of Ararat.’ This was 7/17/600 [8.3-4] – a full five months from ch 7.11.
  • [6] But even though the ark is resting on the mountain peak, there is still all that water down in the lower levels. So after 40 more days, on 10/1/600 [ch 8.5], Noah was able to open the window of the ark to see where and how much land was flood-free. He sent out a raven [a scavenger], and it did not return. But a dove would provide a better test for habitation. The dove returned, ch 8.6-9.
  • [7] Another 7 days, Noah sent out the dove again. This time, it came back with a freshly-plucked olive leaf in her mouth, ch 8.10-11. [8] Finally, after another 7 days, Noah dispatched the dove again – this time not to return. The dove had found a nesting place, ch 8.12.

4/ Finally, it was time to disembark and start with a new beginning [remember how our baptism typifies the resurrection of CHRIST after His death? 1 Peter 3.18-22] The earth – and Noah and his family – were now experiencing a resurrection after the deadly deluge of the Flood-waters of God’s judgment against humanity’s sins. Even the date is a resurrection, new beginning date (1/1/601)! Look at the dateline in ch 8.13: “In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth!”  

5/ The earth had been cleansed! Noah and his family had escaped death from the Flood-waters by the Ark God had provided! They were saved by God’s Grace! As they disembarked the ark, God re-commissioned them as He had Adam in the beginning, “…be fruitful and multiply on the earth…!” [Genesis 1.28]

This is another ‘pre-enactment’ of the New Creation yet to come … in CHRIST!

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A GENTLE HEART | Pastor J. R. Miller (1840-1912)

Posted on March 2, 2024 by PastorDave

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” Matthew 11:29

“By the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:1

“The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness.” Galatians 5:22

“Let your gentleness be evident to all.” Philippians 4:5

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12

“We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” 1 Thessalonians 2:7

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11

“The Lord’s servant must be gentle towards all.” 2 Timothy 2:24

“The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:4
 

Gentleness is a beautiful quality. It is essential to all true character. Nobody admires ungentleness in either man or woman. When a man is harsh, cold, unfeeling, unkind, and crude and rough in his manner—no one speaks of his fine disposition. When a woman is loud-voiced, dictatorial, petulant, given to speaking bitter words and doing unkindly things—no person is ever heard saying of her, “What a lovely disposition she has!” She may have many excellent qualities, and may do much good—but her ungentleness mars the beauty of her character.

No man is truly great, who is not gentle. “Your gentleness has made me great.” Psalm 18:35. Courage and strength and truth and justness and righteousness are essential elements in a manly character; but if all these be in a man and gentleness be lacking—the life is sadly flawed. We might put the word gentleness into Paul’s wonderful sentences and read them thus: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not gentleness, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not gentleness, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not gentleness, it profits me nothing.”

If any Christian, even the Christliest, would pray for a new adornment, an added grace of character—it may well be for gentleness. This is the crown of all loveliness, the Christliest of all Christly qualities.

The Bible gives us many a glimpse of gentleness as an attribute of God. We think of the Law of Moses as a great collection of dry statutes, referring to ceremonial observances, to forms of worship, and to matters of duty. This is one of the last places where we would look for anything tender. Yet he who goes carefully over the chapters which contain these laws, comes upon many a bit of gentleness—like a sweet flower on a cold mountain crag.

We think of Sinai as the seat of law’s sternness. We hear the voice of thundering, and we see the flashing of lightning. Clouds and darkness and all dreadfulness surround the mountain. The people are kept far away because of the fearful holiness of the place. No one thinks of hearing anything gentle at Sinai. Yet scarcely even in the New Testament is there a more wonderful unveiling of the love of the divine heart than we find among the words spoken on that smoking mountain. “I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.” Exodus 34:6-7

There is another revealing of divine gentleness in the story of Elijah at Horeb. A great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind. After the storm there was an earthquake, with its frightful accompaniments—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then a fire swept by—but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was heard a soft whisper breathing in the air—a still, small voice, a sound of gentle stillness. And that was God. God is gentle. With all His power, power that has made all the universe and holds all things in being, there is no mother in all the world so gentle as God is.

Gentleness being a divine quality is one which belongs to the true human character. We are taught to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect; if we would be like God—we must be gentle!

This world needs nothing more than it needs gentleness. All human hearts hunger for tenderness. We are made for love—not only to love, but to be loved. Harshness pains us. Ungentleness touches our sensitive spirits as frost touches the flowers. It stunts the growth of all lovely things.

We naturally crave gentleness. It is like a genial summer to our life. Beneath its warm, nourishing influence beautiful things in us grow.

Then there always are many people who have special need of tenderness. We cannot know what secret burdens many of those about us are carrying, what hidden griefs burn like fires in the hearts of those with whom we mingle in our common life. Not all grief wears the outward garb of mourning; sunny faces often times veil heavy hearts. Many people who make no audible appeal for sympathy yet crave tenderness—they certainly need it, though they ask it not—as they bow beneath their burden. There is no weakness in such a yearning. We remember how our Master himself longed for expressions of love when he was passing through his deepest experiences of suffering, and how bitterly he was disappointed when his friends failed him.

Many a life goes down in the fierce, hard struggle—for lack of the blessing of strength which human tenderness would have brought. Many a man owes his victoriousness in sorrow or in temptation—to the gentleness which came to him in some helpful form from a thoughtful friend. We know not who of those we meet any day, need the help which our gentleness could give. Life is not easy to most people. It duties are hard. Its burdens are heavy. Life’s strain never relaxes. There is no truce in life’s battle. This world is not friendly to noble living. There are countless antagonisms. Heaven can be reached by any of us, only by passing through serried lines of strong enmity. Human help is not always ready, when it would be welcomed. Too often men find indifference or opposition—where they ought to find love. Life’s rivalries and competitions are sharp, and often times deadly.

We can never do amiss in showering gentleness. There is no day when it will be untimely; there is no place where it will not find welcome. It will harm no one—and it may save someone from despair. The touch of a child on a woman’s hand, may save a life from self destruction.

It is interesting to think of the new era of love which Jesus opened. Of course there was gentleness in the world before he came. There was mother love. There was friendship, deep, true, and tender. There were marital lovers who were bound together with most sacred ties. There were hearts even among heathen people in which there was gentleness almost beautiful enough for heaven. There were holy places where affection ministered with angel tenderness.

Yet the world at large was full of cruelty. The rich oppressed the poor. The strong crushed the weak. Women were slaves and men were tyrants. There was no hand of love reached out to help the sick, the lame, the blind, the old, the deformed, the insane, nor any to care for the widow, the orphan, and the homeless.

Then Jesus came! And for thirty-three years he went about among men—doing kindly things. He had a gentle heart, and gentleness flowed out in his speech. He spoke words which throbbed with tenderness. There was never any uncertainty about the heart-beat in the words which fell from the lips of Jesus. They throbbed with sympathy and tenderness.

The people knew always, that Jesus was their friend. His life was full of rich helpfulness. No wrong or cruelty ever made him ungentle. He scattered kindness wherever he moved.

One day they nailed those gentle hands to a cross! After that the people missed him, for he came no more to their homes. It was a sore loss to the poor and the sad, and there must have been grief in many a household. But while the personal ministry of Jesus was ended by his death, the influence of his life went on. He had set the world a new example of love. He had taught lessons of patience and meekness which no other teacher had ever given. He had imparted new meaning to human affection. He had made love the law of his kingdom.

As one might drop a handful of spices into a pot of brackish water, and therewith sweeten the waters—so these teachings of Jesus fell into the world’s unloving, unkindly life, and at once began to change it into gentleness. Wherever the gospel has gone these saying of the great Teacher have been carried, and have fallen into people’s hearts, leaving there their blessings of gentleness.

The influence of the death of Jesus also has wonderfully helped in teaching the great lesson of gentleness. It was love that died upon the cross! A heart broke that day on Calvary. A great sorrow always, for the time at least, softens hearts. A funeral touches with at least a momentary tenderness, all who pass by—loud laughter is subdued even in the most careless. A noble sacrifice, as when a life is given in the effort to help or to save others, always makes other hearts a little truer, a little braver, and a little nobler in their impulses.

The influence of the death of Jesus on this world’s life is immeasurable. The cross is like a great heart of love beating at the center of the world, sending its pulsings of tenderness into all lands. The life of Christ beats in the hearts of his followers, and all who love him have something of his gentleness. The love of Jesus, kindles love in every believing heart. That is the lesson set for all of us in the New Testament. We are taught that we should love as Jesus loved, that we should be kind as he was kind, that his meekness, patience, thoughtfulness, selflessness, should be reproduced in us.

There is need for the lesson of gentleness in homes. There love’s sweetest flowers should bloom. There we should always carry our purest and best affections. No matter how heavy the burdens of the day have been, when we gather home at nightfall we should bring only cheer and gentleness. No one has any right to be ungentle in his own home. If he finds himself in such a mood he should go to his room—until it has vanished.

The mother’s life is not easy, however happy she may be. Her hours are long, and her load of care is never laid down. When one day’s tasks are finished, and she seeks her pillow for rest, she knows that her eyes will open in the morning on another day full as the one that is gone. With children about her continually, tugging at her dress, climbing up on her knee, bringing their little hurts, their quarrels, their broken toys, their complaints, their thousand questions to her—and then with all the cares and toils that are hers, and with all the interruptions and annoyances of the busy days—it is no wonder if sometimes the strain is almost more than she can endure in quiet patience.

Nevertheless, we should all try to learn the lesson of gentleness in our homes. It is the lesson that is needed to make the home-happiness a little like heaven! Home is meant to be a place to grow in. It is a school in which we should learn love in all its branches. It is not a place for selfishness or for self indulgence. It should never be a place where a man can work off his annoyances, after trying to keep polite and courteous to others, all the day. It is not a place for the opening of doors of heart and lips to let ugly tempers fly out at will. It is not a place where people can act as they feel, however unchristian their feelings may be, withdrawing the guards of self control, relaxing all restraints, and letting their worse tempers have sway.

Home is a school in which there are great life-lessons to be learned. It is a place of self-discipline. All friendship is disciple. We learn to give up our own way—or if we do not we never can become a true friend.

It is well that we get this truth clearly before us, that life with all its experiences is our opportunity for learning love. The lesson is set for us is, “Love one another. As I have loved you—so you must love one another.” Our one thing to master this lesson, is love. We are not in this world to get rich, to gain power, to become learned in the arts and sciences, to build up a great business, or to do great things in any other way. We are not here to get along in our daily work, in our shops, or schools, or homes, or on our farms. We are not here to preach the gospel, to comfort sorrow, to visit the sick, and perform deeds of charity. All of these, or any of these, may be among our duties, and they may fill our hands; but in all our occupations the real business of life, that which we are always to strive to do, the work which must go on in all our experiences, if we grasp life’s true meaning at all—is to learn to love, and to grow loving in disposition and character.

We may learn the finest arts—music, painting, sculpture, poetry; or may master the noblest sciences; or by means of reading, study, travel, and converse with refined people, may attain the best culture. But if in all this, we do not learn love, and become more gentle in spirit and act—we have missed the prize of living. If in the midst of all our duties, cares, trials, joys, sorrows—we are not day by day growing in sweetness, in gentleness, in patience, in meekness, in unselfishness, in thoughtfulness, and in all the branches of love, we are not learning the great lesson set for us by our Master, in this school of life.

We should be gentle above all—to those we love the best. There is an inner circle of affection to which each heart has a right, without robbing others. While we are to be gentle unto all men—never ungentle to any—there are those to whom we owe special tenderness. Those within our own home belong to this sacred inner circle.

We must make sure that our home piety is true and real, that it is of the spirit and life, and not merely in form. It must be love—love wrought out in thought, in word, in disposition, in act. It must show itself not only in patience, forbearance, and self control, and in sweetness under provocation; but also in all gentle thoughtfulness, and in little tender ways in all the family interactions.

No amount of good religious teaching will ever make up for the lack of affectionateness in parents toward children. A gentleman said the other day, “My mother was a good woman. She insisted on her boys going to church and Sunday-school, and taught us to pray. But I do not remember that she ever kissed me. She was a woman of lofty principles—but cold and reserved—lacking in tenderness.”

It does not matter how much Bible reading, and prayer, and catechism-saying, and godly teaching, there may be in a home. If gentleness is lacking, that is lacking which most of all, the children need in the life of their home. A child must have love. Love is to its life, what sunshine is to plants and flowers. No young life can ever grow to its best—in a home without gentleness.

Yet there are parents who forget this, or fail to realize its importance. There are homes where the scepter is iron—where affection is repressed—where a child is never kissed after baby days have passed.

A woman of genius said that until she was eighteen she could not tell time by the clock. When she was twelve her father had tried to teach her how to tell time; but she had failed to understand him, and feared to let him know that she had not understood. Yet she said, that he had never in his life spoken to her a harsh word. On the other hand, however, he had never spoken an endearing word to her; and his marble-like coldness had frozen her heart! After his death she wrote of him, “His heart was pure—but cold. I think there was no other like it on the earth.”

I have a letter from a young girl of eighteen in another city—a stranger, of whose family I have no personal knowledge. The girl writes to me, not to complain, but to ask counsel as to her own duty. Hers is a home where love finds no adequate expression in affectionateness. Both her parents are professing Christians, but evidently they have trained themselves to repress whatever tenderness there may be in their nature. This young girl is hungry for home-love, and writes to ask if there is any way in which she can reach her parent’s hearts to find the treasures of love which she believes are locked away there. “I know they love me,” she writes. “They would give their lives for me. But my heart is breaking for expressions of that love.” She is starving for loves’ daily food!

It is to be feared that there are too many such homes—Christian homes, with prayer and godly teaching; and with pure, consistent living—but with no daily bread of lovingness for hungry hearts.

I plead for love’s gentleness in homes. Nothing else will take its place. There may be fine furniture, rich carpets, costly pictures, a large library of excellent volumes, fine music, and all luxuries and adornments; and there may be religious forms—a family altar, good instruction, and consistent Christian living; but if gentleness is lacking in the family communion—the lack is one which leaves an irreparable hurt in the lives of the children.

There are many people who, when their loved ones die, wish they could send some words of love and tenderness to them, which they have never spoken while their loved ones were close beside them. In too many homes gentleness is not manifested while the family circle is unbroken; and the hearts ache for the privilege of showing kindness, perhaps for the opportunity of unsaying words and undoing acts which caused pain. We would better learn the lesson of gentleness in time, and then fill our home with love while we may. It will not be very long until our chance of showing love shall have been used up!

But home is not the only place where we should be gentle. If the inner circle of life’s holy place have claim on us, for the best that our love can yield—the common walks and the wider circle also have claim for our love and gentleness. Our Master manifested himself to his own—as he did not to the world; but the world, even his cruelest enemies, never received anything of ungentleness from him. The heart’s most sacred revealings are for the heart’s chosen and trusted ones, as the secret of the Lord is with those who fear him; but we are to be gentle unto all men, as our Father sends his rain upon the just and upon the unjust. What we learn under home’s roof, in the close fellowship of household life—we are to live out in our associations with others.

As Moses’ face shone when he came down among the people, after being with God in the mount—so our faces should carry the warmth and glow of tenderness from love’s inner shrine—out into all other places of ordinary social interaction. What we learn of love’s lesson in our home—we should put into practice in our life in the world, in the midst of its strifes, rivalries, competitions, frictions, and manifold trials and testings.

We must never forget that true religion—in its practical outworking—is love. Some people think religion is mere orthodoxy of belief—that he who has a good creed is truly religious. We must remember that the Pharisees had a good creed, and were orthodox; yet we have our Lord’s testimony that their religion did not please God. It lacked love. It was self-righteous, and unmerciful.

Others think that true religion consists in the punctilious observance of forms of worship. If they are always at church on Sundays and other church meetings, and if only they attend to all the ordinances, and follow all the rules—they are religious. Yet sometimes they are not easy people to live with. They are censorious, dictatorial, judges of others, exacting, severe in manner, harsh in speech. Let no one imagine that any degree of devotion to the church, and diligence in observing ordinances, will ever pass with God for true religion—if one has not love, is not loving and gentle.

The practical outworking of true religion—is love. A good creed is well; but doctrines which do not become a life of gentleness in character and disposition, in speech and in conduct, are not fruitful doctrines. Church attendance religious duties are right and good; but they are only means to an end—and the end is lovingness. The religious observances which do not work for us kinder thoughts, diviner affections, and a sweeter life—are not profiting us. The final object of all Christian life and worship—is to make us more like Christ—and Christ is love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, “You shall love.” “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments are all summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:8-9

Those who live the gentle life of patient, thoughtful, selfless love—make a melody whose strains are enrapturing.

Someone asks almost in disheartenment. “How can we learn this lesson of gentleness?” Many of us seem never to master it. We go on through life, enjoying the means of grace, and striving more or less earnestly to grow better. Yet our progress appears to be very slow. We desire to learn love’s lesson—but it comes out very slowly in our life.

We must note, first of all, that the lesson has to be learned. It does not come naturally, at least to most people. We find it hard to be gentle always, and to all kinds of people. Perhaps we can be gentle on sunny days; but when the harsh north wind blows—we grow fretful, and lose our sweetness. Or we can be gentle without much effort to some gentle-spirited people, while perhaps we are almost unbearably ungentle to others. We are gracious and sweet to those who are gracious to us; but when people are rude to us, when they treat us unkindly, when they seem unworthy of our love—it is not so easy to be gentle to them. Yet that is the lesson which is everywhere taught in the Scriptures, and which the Master has set for us.

It is a comfort to us to know that the lesson has to be learned—and does not come as a gift from God, without any effort. We must learn to be gentle, just as artists learn to paint lovely pictures. They spend years and years under masters, and in patient, toilsome effort—before they can paint pictures which at all realize the lovely visions of their soul. It is a still more difficult are to learn to reproduce visions of love in human life—to be always patient, gentle, kind. It gives us encouragement, as we are striving to get our lesson, to read the words in which Paul says that he had learned to be content whatever his condition was. It adds, too, to the measure of our encouragement to see from the chronology of the letter in which we find this bit of autobiography, that the apostle was well on toward the close of his life—when he wrote so triumphantly of this attainment. We may infer that it was not easy for him to learn the lesson of contentment, and that he was quite an old man before he had mastered it!

It is probably as hard to learn to be always gentle—as it is to learn to be always contented. It will take time, and careful, unwearying application. We must set ourselves resolutely to the task; for the lesson is one that we must not fail to learn, unless we would fail in growing into Christliness. It is not a matter of small importance. It is not something merely that is desirable, but not essential. Gentleness is not a mere ornament of life, which one may have, or may not have—as one may, or may not, wear jewelry. It is not a mere frill of character, which adds to its beauty, but is not part of it. Gentleness is essential in every true Christian life! It is part of its very warp and woof. Not to be gentle—is not to be like Jesus.

Therefore the lesson must be learned. The golden threads must be woven into the texture. Nothing less than the gentleness of Christ himself, must be accepted as the pattern after which we are to fashion our life and character. Then, every day some progress must be made toward the attainment of this lovely ideal. “See that no day passes, in which you do not make yourself a somewhat better Christian.” The motto of an old artist was, “No day without a line.” If we set before us the perfect standard—the gentleness of our Master—and then every day make some slight advance, though it be but a line, toward the reproducing of this gentleness in our own life, we shall at last wear theornament of a gentle spirit, which is so precious in God’s sight.

We must never rest satisfied with any partial attainment. Just so far as we are still ungentle, rude to anyone, even to a beggar, sharp in speech, haughty in bearing, unkind in any way to a human being—the lesson of gentleness is yet imperfectly learned, and we must continue our diligence. We must get control of our temper, and must master all our moods and feelings. We must train ourselves to check any faintest risings of irritation, turning it instantly into an impulse of tenderness. We must school ourselves to be thoughtful, patient, charitable, and to desire always to do good. The way to acquire any grace of character—is to compel thought, word, and act in the one channel—until the lovely quality has become a permanent part of our life.

There is something else. We never can learn the lesson ourselves alone. To have gentleness in one’s life—one must have a gentle heart. Mere human gentleness is not enough. We need more than training and self-discipline. Our heart must be made new—before it will yield the life of perfect lovingness. It is full of self and pride and hatred and envy and all undivine qualities. The gentleness which the New Testament holds up to us as the standard of Christian living—is too high for any mere attainment. We need that God shall work in us, to help us to produce the loveliness which is in the pattern—Christ. And this divine co-working is promised. “The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness.” The Holy Spirit will help us to learn the lesson, working in our heart and life the sweetness of love, the gentleness of disposition, and the graciousness of manner, which will please God.

There is a legend of a great artist. One day he had labored long on his picture, but was discouraged, for he could not produce on his canvas the beauty of his soul’s vision. He was weary too; and sinking down on a stool by his easel, he fell asleep. While he slept an angel came; and, taking the brushes which had dropped from the tired hands, he finished the picture in marvelous way.

Just so, when we toil and strive in the name of Christ to learn our lesson of gentleness, and yet grow disheartened and wary because we learn it so slowly—Christ himself comes, and puts on our canvas the touches of beauty which our own unskilled hands cannot produce! “Your gentlenesshas made me great.” Psalm 18:35

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‘Deconstruction’ = ‘The Way of Cain’

Posted on February 29, 2024 by PastorDave

I fear that so much of what is nowadays called by the self-exalting and self-vaunting ‘deconstruction’ or ‘ex-vangelical’ is nothing other than the age-old ‘way of Cain’ (Jude, verses 8-11): willful rejection and rebellion against what they know in their own conscience to be right … but choosing rather to believe and do their own way.

Cain knew what was right, but he willfully chose to reject and rebel against the way of the LORD to do his own way, and mistakenly thought he would coerce and force the LORD to just have to accept it.

“In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.”

The LORD didn’t – He rejected Cain and his offering just as Cain had rejected Him:

“And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell” (Genesis 4.3-5).

In his anger against the LORD and his brother, Cain murdered his brother Abel; “And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3.12).

And yet Cain knew very well what was right and good. Not only had his fallen parents, Adam and Eve, instructed him in the right way, but the LORD Himself confronted him and told him he knew the difference between right and wrong:

“The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it’” (Genesis 4.6-7).

The self-exalting, self-vaunting so-called ‘deconstruction’ is ‘the way of Cain.’ And I say ‘I fear’ that it is so because “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14.12) – as it was for Cain.

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PRAYING: OUR TRUE EXERCISE OF OUR TRUE FAITH IN GOD

Posted on February 27, 2024 by PastorDave

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. ~Hebrews 11.6

You have to exercise faith to really, truly pray. That’s one of the things that makes it so difficult and daunting. We are creatures of our senses. We see, hear, smell, touch, and feel with our senses. Praying is an assault on our physical senses by which we live and in which we so trust. It is an insult to our self-vaunting physical human ‘intelligence,’ ‘reasoning,’ ‘ability,’ and ‘effort.’

Praying is an exercise of believing and trusting in the physically invisible and untouchable God, “…who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6.16).

Our praying evidences, expresses, and exercises our faith in God:

  • that He exists
  • that He is real
  • that He is really listening and hearing you
  • that He cares enough to receive and respect your prayer to Him
  • that He would, in reality, know you are praying to Him and would actually respond to your request,
  • and most indicting of all – that He can really do any more about what you’re praying for than you can do for yourself.

If we get to the root and bottom-line of our lack of real, sincere praying, we will find that it is our unbelief – unbelief that God is any more real than we are or that He can actually do any more about our desperate needs than we can do for ourselves.

Our human senses berate us, mock us, and scream at us: “What are you doing? Who do you think you’re talking to? And if He is really there, do you think He has attention, time, and concern to listen to you? If you are so needy and you want this so much, then quit wasting your time and get up and do something about it!”

We can say what ‘we please’ [see Hebrews 11.6 again] about believing and having faith in God and His Word He has given us to pray by; but our prayerlessness is a veritable testimony to our practical skepticism, agnosticism, and a-theism. We really don’t believe that ‘He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.’

The Voice of our Intercessor and Mediator on the other hand commands us to ‘have faith in God’ and pray:

“And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’” ~Mark 11.22-24

“I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” ~1 John 5.13-15

Believe that God is … and that He rewards with His pleasure those who draw near to Him and come to Him – then pray with that faith!

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Don’t be the pesky little gnat

Posted on February 18, 2024 by PastorDave

I came across this quote by Pastor Mark Dever the other day, and it got me to thinking…“So many times I’ve seen men, particularly young men, act as if real leadership is shown in correcting others. That’s why young men’s sermons often scold. What they haven’t figured out is that you can often accomplish more by encouragement. There are times to scold. But 80 to 90 percent of what you hope to correct can be accomplished through encouragement.” ~Pastor Mark Dever

…to which I have added this supporting Scripture I’ve often thought about and aimed to follow: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5.11); and the keystone exhortation “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10.24).

…and also this caveat to the Dever quote… [Although I dare to say that ‘scolding’ is not exclusively the proprietary domain of ‘young men’s sermons.’ Some older ones, also, seem to have not outgrown it!]  

…then I wrote this little parable…

DON’T BE THE PESKY LITTLE GNAT

There was once a pesky little gnat who lived on a far-off savannah along with the other neighbors who lived their own lives in that same habitat [but pesky little gnats are everywhere, really].

The pesky little gnat decided it would attack the local neighbor Rhinoceros because it [the pesky little gnat] resented it was so small, thought it was being overlooked, was not being recognized for the influence it thought it had, and should be getting more attention and respect than it was. In its little mind, it thought every neighbor on the savannah should recognize and consider it to be the overlord of them all and do everything the ways it thought they should.

And, more personally, it was so envious of Rhinoceros’s size, stature, standing, strength – and especially that formidable snout-horn! [Even though neighbor Rhinoceros was actually encouraging to his smaller, weaker neighbors since his very imposing presence discouraged many would-be predators.]

So, it began attacking its neighbor Rhinoceros, who was just minding his own business, feeding on the same savannah. [Well, maybe the pesky little gnat was minding its own business, too – because I guess pestering other neighbors is the pesky little gnat’s ‘minding its own business.’]

It repeatedly harassed, attacked, dive-bombed, buzzed the ears, and tried to bite the hide of Rhinoceros – all to no effect. Anything and everything it could think of to do just to needle, irritate, provoke, or try to distract…. And when its lone attacks didn’t deter Rhinoceros from grazing – or even get his attention, for that matter – the pesky little gnat recruited its small swarm of fellow pesky little gnats to come and help it.

Of course, Rhinoceros wasn’t harmed, and didn’t even feel the attacks. In fact, Rhinoceros wouldn’t have even known he was being attacked had not his friendly neighbor, Brother Gazelle, told him:

“Brother Rhinoceros, are you aware that the pesky little gnat and its cohorts are trying to bite you?”

“Well, no, Brother Gazelle, but thank you for your concern. No matter … I have just been minding my own business, doing my usual grazing – what us rhinoceroi are created, called, and gifted to do – and I will continue.”

The only thing the pesky little gnat accomplished was just getting itself all worked up in a swivvet and bent out of shape in every way in its attempts to harm thick-skinned Rhinoceros.

Don’t be the pesky little gnat.   

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No ‘self-made’ men

Posted on January 31, 2024 by PastorDave

God does not call, choose, or use a ‘self-made’ man. Anyone who seeks to be a ‘self-made’ man has only a mess with which to work to begin with, and only a bigger mess to make for all his efforts. We did not make ourselves to begin with, nor can we now. We must be content to be who God has created us to be in Christ … and what God is pleased to give us to do to serve Him and others.

The Psalmist said the same thing this way: “Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100.3).

It was so in the beginning. God created the first man. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Genesis 1.26). The first man had no participation and made no contribution to that first creation. He was not a ‘self-made’ man – he was a ‘God-made’ man. And God didn’t consult with the man about whose image he would be made in. God chose the image in which the man would be made – His own. Further, God assigned to the man what he should do for God’s purposes, pleasure, and glory. And, still further, God made the venue in which the man would serve Him: “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed” (Genesis 2.8).

God made the man who He wanted him to be, assigned him to fulfill the work He wanted him to do, and even made the venue where the man would fulfill that assignment, and placed him there. And for the (probably brief) time the man was willing to surrender to his Maker’s will, it was Paradise.

Then he decided he wanted to be a ‘self-made’ man. And that’s when he made all the mess of himself and the world in which everyone of us finds ourselves.

It is so also in the new creation of the new birth. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2.8-10). Does any one of us think he can create a better ‘workmanship’ than God has? Or make a better ‘self-made’ man than to be created ‘in Christ Jesus’? Or make for yourself better ‘good works’ than those God has chosen and ‘prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’?

And yet, in our quest to be ‘self-made’ men, we strive, angle, lobby, and seek to announce ourselves through all sorts of surreptitious schemes, hoping we’ll be noticed, seen, and heard – advance our own name and ‘brand.’ I recall, much to my shame and embarrassment, one such experience from my much-younger self’s days. Not to say there haven’t been others since then [that ‘self-made man’ ambition seems to be a chronic thing] … but this one still haunts my conscience and gnaws at my memory. This was 50 years ago, around 1972, and I was just starting out as an ‘up and coming’ young preacher – probably 21 years old. But there was a prominent pastor in our fellowship who was one of the most influential leaders among our circles and associations of churches and pastors. The church he pastored hosted an annual Bible Conference, and that year he invited me to preach on their program. Numerous other churches and pastors attended. And it was a distinguished honor to be invited. But I remember sitting at the table with him during one of the meals, thanking him for inviting me to preach, and crassly expressing it this way: “Thank you for the exposure.” I still cringe to remember I had those thoughts and said those words. But also to assure you that God has His ways of crushing and correcting such ‘self-made’ desires and ambitions.

So here’s at least some of what we need to learn – and will learn – if we sincerely want to be servants of the Most High God and be used by Him in His service, to please Him, and bring glory to Him:

  • God is wise enough to know what He wants us to be and do
  • God is sovereign enough to exercise His prerogative to assign to each of us what He wants us to be and do
  • God is gracious enough to want and give to each of us what is best for us to be and do
  • God is powerful enough to arrange all the opportunities for us to fulfill who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do
  • God is faithful enough to gift, equip, and prepare us to fulfill all His good purposes for who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do

Or you can still persist in your ‘self-made man’ ways. You’ve got a lot of examples you can follow and emulate [just to name a few of the most prominent in the Scripture’s ‘Hall of Shame’]:

  • Cain
  • Nimrod
  • Balaam
  • King Saul
  • Judas Iscariot
  • Alexander the coppersmith
  • Demas
  • Diotrephes

Why wouldn’t we be content to simply obey Jesus’ most-often used commission: “Follow Me!” Trust Him to make you who He wants you to be and give you what He wants you to do. For when we do, we will find that “For in Him the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2.9-10).

And really, who could – or should – ask for anything more? “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act … Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him … The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way…” (Psalm 37.4-5, 7, 23).

“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable [which would certainly include any ‘self-made’ desires and ambitions], he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2.21)

God can, and He will:

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13.20-21)

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“Hail, Tanya, Full of Grace!”

Posted on January 27, 2024 by PastorDave

28 January 2024

“HAIL, TANYA, FULL OF GRACE!

THE LORD IS WITH THEE, AND WE ARE BLESSED THOU ART WITH US!”

Dear Tanya,

I have written Pastor York a separate letter of thanks and appreciation; but I think he would concur that his ministry and influence would not be what it is without your companionship and contribution as you have travelled, appeared, served, and ministered alongside him. You fulfil all the portrait ‘excellencies’ of the Proverbs 31 wife, but I think especially of a couple specific commendations: “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain (verse 11),” and “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land (verse 23).”

You know how that over the past few years I will occasionally greet you with this [what I have come to call] “Ave Tanya” greeting. Obviously, it’s a takeoff on the traditional ‘Hail, Mary’ or ‘Ave Maria’ prayer. I have adapted it for myself: ‘Hail, Tanya, full of grace! The Lord is with thee, and we are blessed thou art with us!’

It is not really even a jest…or a parody – I am full of sincerity. Because you are full of God’s grace. And the Lord is truly with you. And you have blessed us everyone by being with us. Everyone universally bears that same testimony. Everywhere you go, everyone you meet, everyone with whom you associate – they all testify, without being asked specifically, that the first, most prominent, and lasting impression they have of you is that you are full of grace!

You are full of grace in your character and conduct. I know we are more accustomed to thinking about and defining ‘grace’ from a theological perspective, but the English definitions are more expansive and inclusive: ‘Seemingly effortless beauty or charm…; a characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement; a sense of fitness or propriety; a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill, mercy; etc…’ You embody, demonstrate, and live out all the graces of Christ-like character and conduct in everything you do.      

You are full of grace in your very presence. Maybe ‘exude’ would be the best word here.Grace enters our presence when you come among us. You present yourself with grace; you carry yourself with grace; you approach us and interact with us with the grace of love, cheerfulness, and encouragement. You still minister grace to us, even when we are not face-to-face with you, but see you interacting with others.  

You are full of grace in your correspondences among us – especially social media. And this is a rare gem of grace, to be sure – but you practice it consistently and with ease. You don’t have to pretend or ‘put on’ to be gracious. You are a constant source of encouragement to us all as you wittily and graciously ‘cheer on’ all of us to Christian love and fellowship and good works.

You are full of grace in your personal expressions of compassion and sympathy. This is so one of your hallmarks of grace. So many times, especially pre-Covid, when one of our sisters in distress or heavy-hearted would approach the steps of the platform during response time to kneel and pray, pouring out their hearts to God. And you would go to her, wrap your arms around her, and cry and pray with her. We knew that you knew and most probably had previous correspondences with her. But whether you did or not, you would exercise the grace of sympathy in its purest expression: to ‘feel along with.’ And we know this goes on all the time, behind the scenes, and so much more than any of us even knows.  

You are full of grace in your modeling of what a Christ-like, Christ-honoring marriage is and how it works. You have been for us all such an example and model of a gracious counterpart in your-all’s marriage. How you two love, adore, respect, and interact with one another; how you team up with one another in the lessons, seminars, and sessions on Biblical, God-honoring marriage that you have given – not only to us, but all over the world. Your grace has been an invaluable and indispensable asset of that witness to the grace of God and the Gospel.

You are full of grace in your abundant epieikes. I think I have the correct word here. I know Pastor has referred to it more than one time in his sermons. I think it often referred to as ‘forbearance,’ but Pastor has often given us the ‘York paraphrase’ as ‘put-uppance.’ I’ll just leave that one right there – but you are full of that grace also!

And I could go on… But I just want to give you my heartiest “Grace to you!” because you have given yours to us!

~Dave Parks

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A ‘FAREWELL’ TESTIMONY TO OUR PASTOR HERSHAEL W. YORK

Posted on January 27, 2024 by PastorDave

28 January 2024

Dear Pastor York,

Here on the day of your final sermon and service with us as our Senior Pastor, please allow Debbie and me to once again express our deepest love and gratitude to you for the personal and spiritual ministry you have given to us during these past six-and-one-half years we have been blessed to worship and serve here in our church.

We give thanks to God first ‘from whom all blessings flow,’ but we thank you also for being such a willing, able, and faithful servant of God as He ministered His grace to us through you.

First, we want to thank you for the privilege and joy God has afforded us to call you ‘Pastor,’ and we do so with the greatest depth and degree of respect and affection. We’ve been personal friends and even ministry colleagues for decades, but since our coming here to our church, you’ve been ‘Pastor’ to us. God promised in Jeremiah’s day, “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3.15). And so you have.

And not only you, but we have been further blessed for the foreseeable future with the wisdom you have exercised by choosing our other pastors to serve us alongside you. You have cultivated in them the same graces and gifts you model to carry on the work of God and the ministry of the Gospel. For this, we are grateful, hopeful, and full of joy and anticipation for God has yet in store for us.

As you well know, both Debbie and I were born into pastors’ homes. Neither of us has ever had any other pastor besides our fathers. My father was my only pastor until I assumed my first pastorate. Debbie’s Dad was her only pastor until we were married. Then, until we came here, I have been her pastor. All this to say that: I am most personally and affectionately grateful to you for ministering, not only to me, but also to my wife in ways that I was either not gifted or didn’t have the opportunity. I love you for that.

I know that I have expressed these things to you before in personal conversations, but I want to reiterate them here in this testimony. When I resigned my former pastorate, we had not planned either for that departure nor where we would go from there. Buck Run Baptist Church was not on our radar nor horizon. We didn’t have enough knowledge [or presence of mind] to even be considering Buck Run. All I knew about Buck Run Baptist Church was that there was one in Frankfort, and you were the Pastor. But I had never attended a service either at the old campus nor our present one. In fact, I had been in Frankfort only a very few times over those thirty-five years we had ministered in Lexington.

But when I resigned there, Debbie and I prayed and committed to God that we would continue to worship and serve in a local church in whatever opportunities God would be pleased to open for us – we just didn’t know how or where that would be. Then in that first week after my resignation, you and I spoke to one another. Then we attended our first service here. And here we are. As Abraham’s servant said concerning his journey to find a bride for Isaac, “The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD and said, ‘Blessed be the LORD … who has not forsaken His steadfast love and His faithfulness … As for me, the LORD has led me in the way…’” (Genesis 24.26-27).

Here is what we have found in our church … and I say this, first, to the praise of the glory of God’s grace and also as an expression of our love for our dear brothers and sisters who are our church body – but I say it with thanksgiving to you because I know you have taught, cultivated, and modeled the grace that our church so abundantly ministers:

Our church is our Holy place. It is so because the Presence of God is here. God is pleased to dwell among us and manifest Himself in every service, in every way. Our church is truly to us our ‘Bethel’ – our ‘house of God.’ We constantly experience here what Jacob did when God met him and revealed Himself to him in the ‘ladder dream’: “Surely the LORD is in this place … How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!” (Genesis 28.16-17). Except that we all strive to be more awake and engaged in the enjoyment of His Presence than Jacob was while he slept and dreamed!

Our church is our Healthy place. We are consistently and faithfully fed on the rich diet of the Word of God. Every sermon, every lesson, every counsel, every conversation – all of it is committed to the authority, sufficiency, and power of the Word of God to enrich us with the words, will, and ways of God. As you have often taught us: the Word of God is informative, transformative, and performative. To sit under the healthy ministry of our church’s pastors is the first appetizing servings of the age to come when “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” (Isaiah 25.6). I only hope that we all recognize and treasure how richly and exceptionally blessed our church has been – and is – to have the caliber and quality of preaching, teaching, and leadership we enjoy on a daily basis. It isn’t so everywhere.

Our church is our Healing place. Our church is a true ‘Grace Place.’ Love is spoken here – with an ‘unconditional’ dialect and inflection. There is healing for the wounded; there is re-setting of the spirits and lives for the broken; there is encouragement for the downcast; there is help for the weak; there is acceptance for the rejected; there is a welcoming embrace for the lonely; there is always the message of salvation pointing to Jesus Christ for those who are lost and out of the way.

Our church is our Happy place. The joy of the LORD is here. Our church worships with joy, sings with joy, serves with joy, fellowships with joy, witnesses with joy, hopes with joy – and even weeps with one another with the joy of the LORD who is our strength. Our church embodies all of those ‘happy’ Scriptures we so often think and talk about: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” (Psalm 122.1); “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His Presence with singing!” (Psalm 100.1-2); “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His Name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His Name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.’” (Isaiah 12.3-6).    

And, I say again, all of this is so – largely because, especially over the past twenty years of your pastoral ministry here, you have taught, lead, and modeled this gracious culture in our church.

And not only do we want to thank you on this occasion for all you have done for us, but we also commit to express our continuing gratitude to you by each of us doing our parts to carry on our church’s ministry for generations to come.

With our love always,

~ Dave and Debbie Parks

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CHRIST: The Better ‘Word’ of His Blood [Hebrews 12.24]

Posted on January 20, 2024 by PastorDave

CHRIST IN GENESIS | Lesson 4 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read Genesis 4.1-25

‘CHRIST IN GENESIS’: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS & SETTING THE CONTEXT

1/ We have now come to chapter 4 of Genesis as we continue our quest for ‘CHRIST in Genesis.’ Pastor Alistair Begg has said: “The unity of the Bible lies in the fact that it is the one story, it is the one word of the one God concerning the one salvation that is found in the one Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We want to begin the Story searching for, discovering, seeing, and rejoicing in that truth.

2/ Chapter 4 concludes this opening section of the narrative, inspired by the Spirit of Christ Himself (1 Peter 1.11), originally intended to be read aloud, listening for the use, repetition, and sounds of the words, and receiving the warnings and encouragements that are conveyed in the message of the Story.

3/ This section began in ch 2.4 which describe the ‘the generations [toledot / tole-dah] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.’ We have discussed what a ‘toledot’ is and how Genesis tells the story of these earliest ‘beginnings’ by compiling these ten historical ‘toledot’ accounts [see Lesson 2].

4/ So chapter 4 will describe in sordid account and detail what became of the heavens and earth that God had created so perfectly and innocently. We will begin to witness the horrible effects of the curse of sin that have so corrupted and degraded God’s creation immediately in that very first generation of fallen humans – and still continues to this day. See Romans 8.18-25.

5/ The contents of this first chapter will include: [1] The birth of the first children to Adam and Eve (1-2); [2] The offerings that Cain and Abel offered to God (3-7); [3] Cain’s murder of his brother, Abel (8); [4] God’s curse on Cain (9-15); [5] Cain’s rejection and departure from God’s Presence (16); [6] The earliest descendants and culture that came from Cain (17-24); [7] The birth of Seth to take the place of Abel (25); [8] The announcement of the godly seed beginning to call on the Name of the LORD (26). Of course, we won’t even try to deal with all the details that are related to all these events. We do want to stick with our intended theme: to show how CHRIST is promised, foretold, and typified in these events.   

I / Historical-Redemptive Progression

1/ I know you may not be familiar with this term, but it is used prominently to describe one of the ways the Bible begins to point to Christ and prepare the world for His coming into our world to fulfill the purpose and plan God has had for the world and history even from before the beginning of it [see again Ephesians 1.9-10 & Colossians 1.20]. God knew where He was going – and what He was going to do – with the whole creation even before He created it: to glorify Himself and Christ through it all [Revelation 4.11]. He knew we would sin and corrupt His creation; but He also purposed to redeem us back to Himself through Christ. The Bible tells that story from the very beginning. ‘Historical-Redemptive Progression’ is one of the ways we read and interpret the whole story of the Bible … from Genesis to Revelation.

2/ Historical-Redemptive Progression simply means that in all the historical events that really happened to real people in real times, God is supernaturally and sovereignly working out the progression of His redemptive purposes – all to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ: both in His first coming into our world, and to be finally and fully consummated when He returns again at the end of this age.

3/ Nothing in the history of the world has ever happened by chance, accident, or haphazard, random occurrences. In every event of all history, God is sovereignly and supernaturally superintending it all to bring it to its ultimate fulfillment in Christ and the eventual New Creation.

II / New Testament Fulfillments and References

1/ So, coming back now to our immediate lesson text in Genesis 4, here’s how we’re going to look for the ‘CHRIST-markers’ in this chapter – and also in the lessons that will follow. We have the distinct advantage of being able to look for and see the ‘Historical-Redemptive Progression’ of Christ and the Gospel – even all the way to the New Creation – by looking back from the New Testament vantage point of its fulfillment in Christ. In other words, we read the Old Testament through New Testament eyes and lenses. Christ announced His fulfillment of all the Law and the Prophets [Matthew 5.17-18; Luke 24.25-27, 32, 44-46; et. al.]; and then His apostles wrote the rest of the New Testament to explain their understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures as the Holy Spirit gave them understanding and inspired them to write it for us.

2/ So what we will do is search the New Testament for references back to these Old Testament events. That will give us the Christ-centered Gospel interpretation for what took place with them – and how it all will advance the ‘Historical-Redemptive Progression’ of the coming of Christ and His Gospel.

III / v 1 / ‘I have gotten a man with the help of The LORD’

1/ Let’s begin with Eve’s excitement with the birth of first baby to be born into the fallen human race through the created processes of human reproduction. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD!’” First off, we can’t even begin to imagine what awe, wonder, and excitement she must have experienced with this very first human conception and childbirth. But, I’ll have to leave you to imagine that for yourself…

2/ Eve’s greater excitement had to be that she must have fully expected this first man-child to be the promised Redeemer God had promised back in ch 3.15: the ‘proto-evangelion’ or ‘first Gospel’ promise. God had promised that He would give a Redeemer who would come from the offspring of the woman – a Redeemer who would ‘bruise [crush] the head of the serpent’ and reverse the fatal effects of the curse He had pronounced upon them because of their sin. ‘Surely,’ Eve must have thought, ‘this is the promised Redeemer!’ If you consult the chart I have provided for you, CHRIST: in Creation to New Creation, you will find in the section on the left [‘CHRIST-markers in the Old Testament’] that the last ‘CHRIST-marker’ I have written is what I call: ‘PININGS’ for CHRIST [wistful and wishful ‘longing’ for a Redeemer to come…] That’s what this exclamation by Eve is: she is ‘PINING’ for the promised Redeemer!

3/ Going back to the end of ch 3.22-24, they had been expelled and driven out of Eden, their former Paradise. From that day to the birth of this first man-child, they had been ‘pining’ for the reversal of the curse they had brought upon themselves – haunted by the memories of ‘the way we were.’ “Mem’ries light the corners of my mind / Misty water-colored memories of the way we were / Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind / Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were / Can it be that it was all so simple then / Or has time re-written every line? / If we had the chance to do it all again / Tell me, would we? Could we?” But, of course, they couldn’t do it all again – someone would have to come and do it all again for them…on their behalf. That One was the promised ‘seed of the woman’ whom God had promised who would be born of woman to redeem them from the curse of the law they had broken [Galatians 4.4-5]. So Eve could ‘pine’ and pin her hopes on her first baby boy, Cain, all she wanted to … but as we shall see, Cain was not the promised ‘seed of the woman’ Redeemer God had promised!

4/ BTW, those who would have heard this narrative read [as everyone did when it was first delivered], their ears would have picked up the similarities in the sounds of ‘Cain’ [qayin] and ‘gotten’ [qaniti].

IV / vv 2-7 / ‘And The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering…’

1/ Another man-child was born to Adam and Eve: Abel. Many Bible expositors speculate that Cain and Abel may have been twins since we are told only once that ‘she conceived’; then “And again, she bore his brother Abel.” But regardless, we now have two sons born to them. The first human siblings.

2/ Immediately, we are going to witness the separation and divergence of two ways of human thinking, believing, values, and conduct. Again, this goes back to ch 3.15 [God’s curse on the serpent and his descendants]: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.” It is imperative to note here that God has Divinely-appointed His Son as the ultimate ‘seed of the woman’ to come in the fullness of time to be the promised Redeemer. The Serpent is committed to killing the Redeemer – not only when He is born into the world – but also to kill all those who would be in His ancestral line of predecessors to bring Him into the world [Revelation 12.1-4].  

  • These two lines of human conduct will begin to form and diverge here in these two first sons. They will branch off into [1] the way of Abel’s descendants (Hebrews 11.4) – that is, the way of faith in God, obedience to God, worship of God, followers of God; and [2] the way of Cain’s descendants (Jude, v 11) – that is, the way of rebellion against God, enmity and warfare against God’s believers, and ultimate condemnation by God and separation from Him.
  • Or, to put it another way: ‘The way of the Lamb’ versus ‘the way of the Dragon.’ The serpent and his descendants will come to be identified also as ‘the dragon’ as the Story of ‘historical-redemptive progression’ unfolds and develops [see Isaiah 27.1 & especially Revelation 12, 13, 16, and culminating in ch 20.2, “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan…”] So, from here on, the ‘seed of the serpent’ will be the same as ‘the way of the Dragon.’
  • You need to see these two alliances at enmity with one another forming, fighting, and diverging here in Genesis 4. We will follow these two enemy warring lines all throughout Genesis – and even throughout the rest of the Scripture narrative and the historical-redemptive progression of the Gospel.

3/ Abel is a man of faith. He believes in the God-Creator he has learned about from his father, Adam, and he offers the sacrifices his father has taught him are acceptable to God. We know this because we read in Hebrews 11.4: By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. NOTE: Abel was a believer and a man of faith before he offered the acceptable sacrifice. The ‘faith’ he exercised and obeyed was his belief in God he had learned from Adam.

4/ Cain, on the other hand, has allied himself with the spirit of the ‘way of the Dragon.’ He rejects what he knows to be the right offering that pleases God, and he offers the sacrifice that he himself chooses and produces. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. God looked, not only on their offerings, but first of all on their hearts. NOTE: God accepted Abel and his faith first…then his offering. The LORD had no regard for Cain and his rebellious spirit first…then rejected his offering. But Abel had borne witness to his faith…even to death! Rev. 2.10.

5/ This infuriated Cain. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD had no right, authority, or prerogative to require him to offer any other offering than the one he chose to offer – and God should accept it. He was angry, and it showed, and he wanted everyone to know it – even God. The LORD intercepted Cain in mercy and reasoned with him: The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain’s sin, and ours, is depicted as a ravenous beast that is crouching to kill, destroy, and devour us [see 1 Peter 5.8]. But Cain is insistently and insolently rebellious against the will of God. He will not repent and do what he knows is the way of faith and righteousness. He has gone to ‘the dark side,’ the way of the serpent-dragon.

V / vv 8-15 / ‘We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one…’

1/ Now we witness the first murder in the history of the human race, and the apostle John will tell us just who inspired Cain and instigated him to commit it against his brother Abel – and why. Cain seethed and stewed in his anger, bitterness, resentment, and yes, his wicked hatred toward his brother … he conspired and planned in his evil mind how he could and would murder him. ‘The way of Cain’ thinks and says: ‘If you disagree with me and live differently than I do in my rebellion against God, then you don’t deserve to live. I will kill you and rid you from our society and from the earth.’  This is the ultimate ‘cancel culture.’

2/ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. We can be sure this ‘speaking’ was in hatred, animosity, and antagonism … being red in the face and with his veins and arteries bulging. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. I’m going to interject the apostle John’s commentary on Cain’s motive and purpose here so we can keep it in mind as we go from here throughout the rest of human history: We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. / 1 John 3.12-13. When John says Cain was ‘of the evil one,’ he means: ‘from the evil one, belonging to the evil one, acting like the evil one.’ Cain had the spiritual DNA of the evil one in his heart and soul. And who was the evil one? He is the serpent who beguiled Eve to sin, and then went into the world to make war against the predecessors and offspring of the ‘seed of the woman’ from whom the Redeemer was promised to come. See Revelation 12.17 – this history-long hatred and warfare ‘of the evil one’ against Christ and His followers had its ‘genesis’ here with Cain’s murder of Abel. We continue to experience it as ‘spiritual warfare.’

3/ Jesus Himself said that Abel was the first martyr for the faith [Matthew 23.35; Luke 11.51]. Jesus also said that those who would kill Him were doing so from the same spiritual DNA of the dragon: You are of your father the devil [just as Cain was], and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning… [John 8.44]. All of this history from Genesis to the Cross to the New Creation is summarized in Revelation 12. But the war was engaged here with Cain martyring his brother Abel.

4/ NOTE: Cain didn’t just kill another man as his descendant Lamech would six generations later [Genesis 6.23-24]. Cain murdered his ‘brother.’ That relationship is specifically reiterated seven times. We are commanded to love all others, but especially our ‘brothers.’ When Cain is confronted by the LORD, he denied any responsibility or culpability in what he had done: “Where is your brother?” He [Cain] said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” This is the message John gives us in 1 John 3.11-15.

5/ Now we see another prominent ‘CHRIST-marker’ in the testimony of Abel’s blood. The LORD declares to Cain that his guilt is undeniable and inescapable because “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” We all know what Abel’s blood was crying out for: justice, vengeance, retribution. And The LORD moves against Cain to avenge the blood of His faithful martyr … even though, in His common grace and mercy, that sentence will be mitigated [see vv 11-15].

6/ BUT, when Christ came and was murdered for the very same reasons [Matthew 23.29-36], His blood secures the forgiveness and justification even of those who put Him to death [which is, of course: all of us]. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” / Luke 23.34. The promised Messianic ‘seed of the woman’ who would come would die to redeem the fallen offspring of Adam who would believe in Him. He would come to shed ‘the blood of the new covenant for the remission of our sins.’ And so, the Hebrews writer declares that we have NOT come to the mountain of the law and our self-worked righteousness, which can and will only condemn us in the guilt of our sins. BUT we have come to Mount Zion, the refuge of grace, “…and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” [Hebrews 12.18-24].

VI / vv 16-26 / How ‘the rest of the story’ of the human race began…

1/ All we can do here is point out some prominent events that will serve as markers to direct us through the rest of Genesis, the Scripture narrative, and the history of the world … on to the end of the ‘historical-redemptive progression’ of Christ and the Gospel. See 1 Corinthians 15.20-28 & Revelation 20.10.

2/ v 16 / Then Cain went away from the Presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. His descendants [‘the seed of the serpent’] also will establish and cultivate a culture of rebellion against The LORD and continue to wage a war of enmity against ‘the seed of the woman’–people of faith. [We will see them re-constitute after the flood in the descendants of Ham / Genesis 10.6-20; 11.1-9

3/ v 25 / And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring [seed] instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” The enmity and warfare against the promised ‘seed of the woman’ will continue, but God’s redemptive purposes will prevail. The LORD provides another offspring of faith to bring in the Redeemer in the fullness of time [Luke 3.38]. “…in order that God’s purpose of election might continue…” [Romans 9.10].

4/ v 26 / At that time people began to call upon the Name of the LORD. Contrast with v 16. These two lines of ‘the seed of the serpent’ [rebellion against The LORD] and ‘the seed of the woman’ [faith in The LORD] now begin to, not only diverge from one another, but to declare themselves and act on their respective convictions. We’ll see in following lessons where it goes from here…

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