Living in the Body of Christ

“Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand.”  (Psalm 109:6)

“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”  (Revelation 12:10)

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  (1 John 2:1)  

The recent publicity around the Zimmerman trial is a timely reminder of the power of prosecution and defense lawyers.  Scripture tells us that Satan fills the role of accuser (prosecution) and that the Lord Jesus is our advocate (defense).  The blessed news is that our advocate defends us on His merits alone, and our hope rests on this alone!

Closer to home, we may see ourselves taking the role of accuser or advocate in our family, work, or church relationships.

This temptation seems to be acute where we carry our expectations for perfection to those closest to us.  Much of this can be clothed in righteous reasoning that we care about the other person’s sanctification.  In reality, our “concern” is often motivated by our own wants or a desire to distance ourselves from the otherʼs sins.

It is convenient to think that we are distinct from othersʼ sins.  Their sin is their problem, and that is why they need correcting, right? As a father, I know that my sin is as connected to my wife and children as theirs is to me.  Paul’s analogy of the “body” of Christ (1 Corinthians 11) extends this connectedness to all believers.  My wife or children’s problems are my own and vice versa, and the same applies to my brothers in Christ.  This point of view transforms the role we are likely to play in our relationships with a sinning brother or sister.  If I see myself as connected, I will readily “come along side” like the Holy Spirit to lift this brother, sibling, child, or parent up.  If I see them as distinct and singularly at fault, my default will likely be that of the accuser. 

Are you “connected” to those around you?

Stop Doubting and Believe

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:14)

“Then they said to Him, ʻWhat shall we do, that we may work the works of God?ʼ Jesus answered and said to them, ʻThis is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.ʼ” (John 6:28,29)

“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;   but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30,31)

John is clear about the purpose of his testimony of Jesus Christ (1:14). He wants action, the kind that gets results.  The action he wants and expects is belief. After feeding the multitudes, Jesus tells those following him that belief in Him as the Messiah is the central “work” that God requires (6:28,29). 

But who is this Jesus? John begins and ends his gospel on the message of glory. Jesus’ miracles testified of that glory: water to wine (2:11), healing the blind man (9:3), and raising Lazarus (11:4).  At the Last Supper, Jesus asks for the Father to return Him to glory because of His obedience, and prays for those who believe that we would be with Jesus and see His glory. (17:1-5 and 17:22-24).  John’s last chapter closes with Jesus’ encounter with His disciples on the beach, with John’s parenthetical comment (21:19) about how Peter’s death would glorify Jesus.

As we read through John’s account, do we “see” Jesus’ glory?  In John 11:40, Jesus warns that seeing hinges on belief.   Thankfully, John records that Christ welcomes those that are slow to believe like Thomas (John 20:27).  So, stop doubting and believe.

Death is Swallowed Up in Victory

“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ O death, where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15:54-55)O death, where is your sting?” (

On the night of May 6, we received a phone call with the news that my wife’s brother and parents were involved in a very serious car accident. As we drove to Seattle, additional phone calls confirmed that the brother received minor injuries, but that both parents went to be with their Lord Jesus.

Earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul concludes that if we only have hope in Christ in this life, we are the most to be pitied. Pouring our lives into others in imitation of Christ would be profitless and, worse, a missed opportunity to spend all our energy drinking and making merry. But we know that Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits of his brothers and sisters. He put on the imperishable. He put on immortality. Death was swallowed up in victory!

The proximity of death—a seemingly random bus collision—perhaps is as shocking as the nature of the accident. This was the clearest kind of reminder that God holds our every moment in his hand. In Psalm 90, Moses asks that God would teach him to number his days so that he would have a heart of wisdom. Knowing and walking in the reality that God could call us home at any moment is a refreshing and poignant reminder that our faith is founded on the Rock that has clothed two more children with immortality.

“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:8b)