Studies 25-27
I felt that the lack of good questions in Book 5.2 for these 3 chapters meant that we should focus on the important material inside and do more in-depth studies of 2 passages instead:
The important ideas brought up would be:
I felt that the Joshua project website was interesting and could serve as a helpful guide for prayer.
Matt 16:13-19 is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible, because our Roman Catholic neighbours use this as a proof text for the primacy of Peter as well as the idea of apostolic succession. We have previously discussed this here: https://queensroadcell.blogspot.com/2017/09/qc-and-sg-accountability.html.
The questions are:
1. Who or what is the rock on which Christ says He will build His Church (v.18a)?
Roman Catholics have interpreted that Peter (Gk. 'Petros', Arramaic 'Cephas') is the rock (Gk.'petra', Aramaic 'kepha') on which the church is built. In support of this the conjunction 'and' in v.18, as well as the fact that Jesus' whole pronouncement is apparently directed to Peter. Others have interpreted the rock to be Peter's confession, or even Christ as the 'Messiah, the Son of the Living God' (v, 16).
Protestants take the view that Peter is referred to in his role of confessing the Jesus as the Messiah. The Bible never records the primacy of Peter (Ac 15:7-21), any mention of Peter in Rome, or the infallibility of Peter (Gal 2:11-14). All the apostles are said to be the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20, Rev 21:14), with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20, 1 Pet 2:6-7).
2. What does it mean that the gates of Hades will not overcome the Church of Christ (v.18b)?
The church is not a defensive organization. We storm the gates of Hell (c.f. Is 35:10) to destroy demonic resistance without fear of death in order to accomplish the mission Christ gives.
3. What does it mean to have the 'keys of the kingdom of heaven' (v,19a)?
I think when Jesus talks about the Church He identifies its basis (those who confess Him as Messiah), its victory, the qualifications for entry, and finally, when He says, "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”(v.19b) He is speaking of the discipline of members.
Instead of the idea that Peter somehow is the one who determines whether people enter heaven or not, he is the archetype of the authority all Christians have to admit entrance into the kingdom via preaching. This is an authority granted to all who preach (c.f. Rom 10). He also has authority to exercise church discipline - an authority that is extended to the whole church (Mt 18:18, Jn 20:23)
4. What does this passage have to do with missions?
Missions should be a forward looking enterprise. The Lord has an infallible plan we are asked to join. Faithfulness may not immediately lead to fruitfulness, but fearlessness and joy should mark our participation in worldwide missions .
I am not sure if it is valid to use a narrative passage like Luke 10:1-20 as an exact template for what missions should look like!
But there are some enduring ideas that we can take note of:
1. Prayer for missions must involve prayer for more workers to gather in the great harvest, rather than focusing only on the needs of existing workers, or getting a greater harvest (v. 2)
2. Missionaries/evangelists are not to convert by force ("lambs among wolves", v 3), but to be prepared to enter physically dangerous situations.
3. The idea of simplicity of life (v. 7-8) "eat what is set before you" reminds us that we are not to import our original standard of living to the mission field.
4."The worker deserves his wages" (v. 7), which is to say, "the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel"(1 Cor 9:14)
5. The message preached is both a message of hope as well as a message of judgement (vs. 9-14)
6. We go as ambassadors of Christ, carrying Christ's and the Father's message. If rejected and threatened, there is a place to execute judgement by refusing proclamation of the word of life (c.f. our Matt 16 passage)
7. Success in missions is not to be dwelled on - rather, our personal salvation is a more foundational reason for rejoicing (v. 17-20). Numerical success and miraculous deeds can lead to pride and take away focus from relationship with God (c.f. Matt 7:21-23)
We celebrated Amelia and my birthdays early!
The important ideas brought up would be:
- The shift of the centre of global Christianity away from the West, with explosive growth in Latin America, Africa and China. This means a shift in the demographics of missionaries away from white Westerners. It means that, while the intellectual centres of Christianity remain (for good or evil) in the USA and UK, the momentum of worldwide church growth is now creating a disconnect between solid theology and lived out faith in some areas. It will also see a trend of third world countries doing missions in Western countries where the fire of the gospel has burned out.
- The idea of the 10-40 window as a strategic target for church missions.
- The concept of a 'world Christian' as a default for all disciples of Christ.
I felt that the Joshua project website was interesting and could serve as a helpful guide for prayer.
Matt 16:13-19 is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible, because our Roman Catholic neighbours use this as a proof text for the primacy of Peter as well as the idea of apostolic succession. We have previously discussed this here: https://queensroadcell.blogspot.com/2017/09/qc-and-sg-accountability.html.
The questions are:
1. Who or what is the rock on which Christ says He will build His Church (v.18a)?
Roman Catholics have interpreted that Peter (Gk. 'Petros', Arramaic 'Cephas') is the rock (Gk.'petra', Aramaic 'kepha') on which the church is built. In support of this the conjunction 'and' in v.18, as well as the fact that Jesus' whole pronouncement is apparently directed to Peter. Others have interpreted the rock to be Peter's confession, or even Christ as the 'Messiah, the Son of the Living God' (v, 16).
Protestants take the view that Peter is referred to in his role of confessing the Jesus as the Messiah. The Bible never records the primacy of Peter (Ac 15:7-21), any mention of Peter in Rome, or the infallibility of Peter (Gal 2:11-14). All the apostles are said to be the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20, Rev 21:14), with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20, 1 Pet 2:6-7).
2. What does it mean that the gates of Hades will not overcome the Church of Christ (v.18b)?
The church is not a defensive organization. We storm the gates of Hell (c.f. Is 35:10) to destroy demonic resistance without fear of death in order to accomplish the mission Christ gives.
3. What does it mean to have the 'keys of the kingdom of heaven' (v,19a)?
I think when Jesus talks about the Church He identifies its basis (those who confess Him as Messiah), its victory, the qualifications for entry, and finally, when He says, "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”(v.19b) He is speaking of the discipline of members.
Instead of the idea that Peter somehow is the one who determines whether people enter heaven or not, he is the archetype of the authority all Christians have to admit entrance into the kingdom via preaching. This is an authority granted to all who preach (c.f. Rom 10). He also has authority to exercise church discipline - an authority that is extended to the whole church (Mt 18:18, Jn 20:23)
4. What does this passage have to do with missions?
Missions should be a forward looking enterprise. The Lord has an infallible plan we are asked to join. Faithfulness may not immediately lead to fruitfulness, but fearlessness and joy should mark our participation in worldwide missions .
I am not sure if it is valid to use a narrative passage like Luke 10:1-20 as an exact template for what missions should look like!
But there are some enduring ideas that we can take note of:
1. Prayer for missions must involve prayer for more workers to gather in the great harvest, rather than focusing only on the needs of existing workers, or getting a greater harvest (v. 2)
2. Missionaries/evangelists are not to convert by force ("lambs among wolves", v 3), but to be prepared to enter physically dangerous situations.
3. The idea of simplicity of life (v. 7-8) "eat what is set before you" reminds us that we are not to import our original standard of living to the mission field.
4."The worker deserves his wages" (v. 7), which is to say, "the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel"(1 Cor 9:14)
5. The message preached is both a message of hope as well as a message of judgement (vs. 9-14)
6. We go as ambassadors of Christ, carrying Christ's and the Father's message. If rejected and threatened, there is a place to execute judgement by refusing proclamation of the word of life (c.f. our Matt 16 passage)
7. Success in missions is not to be dwelled on - rather, our personal salvation is a more foundational reason for rejoicing (v. 17-20). Numerical success and miraculous deeds can lead to pride and take away focus from relationship with God (c.f. Matt 7:21-23)
We celebrated Amelia and my birthdays early!
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