Category: Devotional Grist

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Matthew 22:21

The question that begs being asked here is, “what exactly belongs to God?”

Clearly the answer is everything, including the State.

The next question then becomes, “what exactly belongs to Caesar?”

Clearly the answer is only one thing and that is the authority to enforce God’s law, for His glory and the good of His church.

Romans 13 causes us to lean in this direction as it calls Caesar ‘God’s minister’ to do us good. As long as they ACT like God’s minister, by doing us good we are to obey them. When they begin to act like Satan’s minister, by doing us evil, then we must obey God rather then men.

Anything less then this view is impotent gnostic pietism. The Presbyterians of 1776 would not recognize the Presbyterians of today.

Hat Tip — Randall Gerard for so succinctly stating this.
I’ve only marginally modified how he originally put this.

“When morning came it was Leah.” Gen. 29:25

“Jacob who deceived his father who had ‘weak eyes,’ now discovers that his new wife has weak eyes. The deceiver has been deceived, and that by the same trick he had used on his father. Jacob had pretended to be his older brother Esau, and the deception worked because Isaac was blind and drank wine (Gen. 27:25). Now Leah has pretended to be her younger sister Rachel, and the deception worked because Jacob was blind in the dark night and drank wine.”

Sidney Greidanus
Preaching Christ From Genesis

Jacob’s whole life is characterized by deception. From his deception of Esau, to his deception of Isaac, to his deception by Laban and of Laban, to Rachel’s deception of Laban in reference to the household idols, to the deception by his sons regarding the death of Joseph, to the deception of his sons upon the Shechemites in the Dinah incident, all of Jacob’s life is characterized by deception. Even at the end of his life when Jacob blesses the sons of Joseph there is the air of deception as, at the last second, he crosses his arms and blesses Joseph’s sons in reverse of their age.

In the end we see that Jacob’s life is a testimony of God’s grace. From beginning to end it is only sinners that God saves.

When we read of the Garden description in Genesis and then compare it to some of the descriptions of the Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament we find some interesting parallels.

1.) The Lord God walks in Eden as he later does in the Tabernacle (3:8 cf. Lev. 26:12).

2.) Eden and the later sanctuaries are entered from the East (Ezek. 41:1) and guarded by Cherubim (Gen. 3:24, Ex. 25:18-22, 26:31, I Ki. 6:23-29).

As a slight rabbit trail, throughout Scripture a literary technique is often used equating man moving East with man moving away from God. Adam and Eve were drove out of Eden moving East. Cain dwelt in the land of Nod, East of Eden. In Genesis 11 the men who will build Babel in defiance of God, are noted as “moving East.” In the New Testament there is a opposite movement of man to God as the Wise Men (representative of the Gentile nations who will come to Christ) move from East to West to come to Christ.

3.) The pair of Hebrew verbs in God’s command to the man to ‘work it (the garden) and take care of it (2:15) are only used in combination elsewhere in the Pentateuch of the duties of the Levites in the Sanctuary (cf. Numbers 3:7-8, 8:26, 18:5-6).

In light of this the garden tended by Adam and Eve should be thought of as a Temple Sanctuary. As in all environments where God and Man dwell together, what made the Garden the Garden was the presence of God and the intimacy known between God and His people. This presence was muted, or perhaps better put, constrained after the fall as God’s presence had to be mediated by the priesthood. But with the death of Christ the great symbol that communicated that restricted presence of God — the curtain — was rent in twain and once again God’s people could walk with God and enjoy His presence through the mediatorial work of Christ as brought by the Spirit. With the work of Christ men who trust in Christ are once again put in the garden that they were removed from in the fall and forbidden from in the shadow covenant.

Now, naturally there is a “not yetness” to this present re-establishment of God’s garden Kingdom dwelling but we should be mindful that Scripture teaches that we have been translated from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom (garden) of God’s dear Son. Further Scripture teaches, in the book of Revelation, of the time when all the “not yetness” of the present now Kingdom garden is removed and when there will be no need for the sun for the Glory of God will be the light of God’s people.

** (1) (2) (3) are taken from Sidney Greidanus’ “Preaching Christ From Genesis.”

Genesis 3:6 — “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

I Corinthians 11:24 “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Taking and eating in the fall were the verbs of death. With the death of Christ taking and eating become the verbs of eternal life. The first taking and eating was the proclamation of man that he would chance the grasp at Creator status. The new covenant taking and eating re-positions men in their creaturely dependence. The first taking and eating was the stuff of eternal death and separation from God. The second taking and eating is the food of eternal life and the drink of peace with God. The first taking and eating was the destruction wrought by Adam upon he and all his tribe. The second taking and eating is salvation wrought by Christ upon all His tribe.

Note that the disobedience that destroyed Adam and his race is a disobedience that, while spiritual, had a corporeal instantiation in the fruit of the tree. Likewise the obedience that blesses the tribe of God is an obedience that comes to us, through the corporeal instantiation in the fruit that comes from the vine and the grain that comes from the field. Salvation and condemnation alike are primarily spiritual but never so spiritual that they are disconnected with corporeal realities that reflect spiritual realities.

So simple was the first act of taking and eating. So hard the undoing of that taking and eating. God would taste poverty, know what it was to be railed against, would become familiar with sorrow and acquainted with grief before “take and eat” would become verbs of salvation.

Dear Tom & Michelle & Tommy J.,

Matthew 6:9-13

9After this manner ought you to pray:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

It has been a while since we have considered this. Please forgive me for my tardiness. My problem is one where I have to many interests for my own good and as such my mind (and writing) seems to wander.

Today we take notice the character of the Father that Jesus emphasizes. When Jesus teaches us to pray he teaches us that our desire should be that God would keep His name holy. By placing this desire up front that God would keep His name Hallowed Jesus reminds us that our first and foremost concern would be for the glory and excellence of God to be seen in all the earth. It is well that Jesus should couple the reality of God’s intimate relationship to us as a “Father” while putting in our mouths the Holiness of God. It is true that God is a Father to us, but our intimacy with Him shouldn’t make us forgetful of how exalted God is.

When a Christian prays his first and foremost concern is not for his needs or concerns but rather it first and foremost concern is that God’s name would be seen as hallowed as it never ceases to be. If our passion is that God’s name would not be profaned but hallowed we will escape the destructiveness that always accompanies men who prioritize themselves and their name over Gods. As a Christian Tommy J., our desire is that low views of God would be extinguished from the earth.

We live during a time Tommy J. where very few men have a passion to prioritize God in all their doing and living, including their praying. Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s prayer that before we ask anything for ourselves we are to be mindful that our main passion is for the splendor of God to be seen for what it never ceases to be.

Let us pray

Father, we confess that we are quick to be concerned with the reputation of our names but slow to be concerned about the hallowing of your name. We ask your forgiveness for this sin. Grant us grace to see and understand your glory that we may become a people passionately concerned for its demonstration to the nations that men may come to know the delight and joy of knowing thy Messiah, Jesus.