The "Problem" of Evil?

 

Hello friends! Just wanted to share a recent video I made concerning the "problem" of evil, in which I argue that evil isn't a problem for God but a pointer to God. This is the first complete apologetics video I made, so please have a look!

The Kingdom of God Within

The Kingdom of God Within

 

I have come to realize that one major reason many Christians struggle in their faith, both in their experience and display of God, stems from a faulty understanding of Jesus Christ. One who doesn’t understand Christ cannot be a Christ-ian.

 

Naturally, one may think of Christ (in Jesus Christ) as a last name. Yet, “Christ” is a title (e.g.: Jn 20:31; Acts 18:5), which means “messiah” or “anointed one”. Jesus being the “anointed one” points to His kingship, that He is the King. Why? Because in the Old Testament, anointing typically takes place on kings, such as Saul (1 Sam 10) and David (1 Sam 16) or even the High Priest (Exo 29:8), who also functions as one having authority over the people.

 

With a king comes a kingdom,[1] in which a kingdom is ultimately about the king’s rule and reign—His sovereignty—explaining why Jesus came to preach the Kingdom of God being near (Matt 4:17; Mk 1:15).

 

Hence, the next question to ask is: what is God’s Kingdom? While this question cannot be fully explored here, an explicit and applicable statement answering this question is found in Luke 17:21, that “the Kingdom of God is within you.” In other words, the Kingdom of God is inside you.[2]

 

Jesus’ rule and reign is inside us, which means that a Christ-ian, a follower of Christ, is a follower of the king! This explains Romans 14:17, that the Kingdom of God is expressed in “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Righteousness, peace, and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, are all internal qualities—qualities within a person. Just as heaven, a domain also characterized by the rule of God (e.g.: Isa 66:1), is 100% righteous and filled with the peace that comes with the whole of God’s presence (Rev 21), a believer will experience heaven when Jesus establishes His rule and reign inside one.  

 

This also explains John 14:15 (cf. Jn 14:21,23; 15:10; 1 Jn 5:3; 2 Jn 1:6), where Jesus says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Nowadays, “love” and “command(ment)” may not go hand-in-hand, but this passage makes sense when one rightly identifies Jesus—that He is Lord (master) and King. One who loves and adores a king would gladly keep (and is expressed by keeping) His commandments. The passage continues to write that Jesus will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit (14:16), and He dwells with you and in you (14:17). Because God dwells in us, we will experience the reality of being in His reign, experiencing the Holy Spirit’s righteousness, peace, and joy. This reality exists amid the tribulations in the world (Jn 16:33).

 

Vicious Cycles

Therefore, one’s Christology (study and understanding of Christ) determines how Christ-ian that person is. People know about Jesus, even the demons do (Jas 2:19), but what matters is whether they submit to His kingship. If one does not consider Christ as Christ—that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16)—this person will not experience His reign within nor will one reap the life that comes with Christ being King.

 

What follows is a vicious cycle, where that person may see the power and change that comes in knowing God—which is eternal life (Jn 17:3)—through other believers’ testimonies, yet finding oneself not experiencing this at all. This will then produce a separation between realities: the reality that the “Christian” is experiencing versus that portrayed in Scripture (as experienced by true believers).  

 

I came from a Christian high school where the (former?) school chaplain stressed that 95+% of those in my school were believers. If that is the case, why is it that almost no one confesses Christ as Lord upon graduation (aside from how they live their lives)? My goal here is not to attack the students, but rather emphasize the possibility of a faulty understanding of Christ—His kingship—which affected their understanding of the Gospel.

 

The Gospel in Kingship terms

The Gospel (good news) of Christ is of the grace of God (Acts 24:20; Gal 1:6), and many would automatically juxtapose “Gospel” with “grace”. Yet, grace is not as explicitly emphasized in the gospels. In fact, the word “grace” doesn’t appear in the synoptic Gospels at all.[3] The gospels’ writers seemed to emphasize something else, and in order to accurately understand the Gospel, we need to appropriate grace.

 

Jesus’ proclamation of the Gospel is that the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:43). Again, the Gospel needs to be addressed with Kingdom—relating to Jesus’ kingship. The Gospel is good news because salvation (deliverance), from the kingdom opposed to God, has come through King Jesus. Yet, when Jesus imperatively proclaims: “repent (turn), for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” He is not indicating that we are of His Kingdom. Rather, we are against God’s Kingdom (cf. Matt 12:30; Lk 11:23) as His enemies (Rom 5:10).  

Thus, God’s grace comes to play when we understand that we deserve to be destroyed as rebels of God, His righteousness, and His Kingdom; yet, Christ offers a limited opportunity (our lifetime) to repent and turn from being His enemies to His ambassadors (cf. 2 Cor 5:11-21). Jesus’ kingship and divine authority serves as the basis of His grace, thence revealed in His first coming (Jn 1:14; 1:17-18).  

 

Last, the Gospel window also presents the coming judgment with the fullness of His kingdom. Just as the demons are casted out (e.g.: Matt 12:28) as fleeing, defeated soldiers—so the same will eventually apply to the unrighteous, that they will not inherit the Kingdom (1 Cor 6:9-10). Hence, the Gospel as “the Kingdom of God being near” serves as warning of the impending judgment at hand.

 

Conclusion:

When Jesus says: “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,” (Lk 17:20), it signifies that His rule is not seen externally, where one can say: “Look, here it is!” (17:21). Jesus means that His rule resides inside one. Thus, people see Jesus and His reign when they see a believer’s life and how it has been changed from the inside out through the power of the Holy Spirit. A person truly understands the Gospel when he/she yields from being the authority over his/her life and pledges allegiance in wholehearted submission to Christ as king.

 

 --Barnabas Kwok

 

 

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[1] Βασιλεια (kingdom) is characterized by βασιλευς (king).

[2] ἐντός, the same word translated as “within” in Luke 17:21, in translated Matt 23:26 as “inside”.

[3] The Greek word Χάρις (charis) appears in Luke, but it is not used theologically as in other New Testament writings such as Johannine and Pauline literature.

A True Worshiper (Jn 4:20-24)

A True Worshiper (Jn 4:20-24)

A true worshiper worships in Spirit and Truth (Jn 4:23). We all know that. We’ve also probably seen this slogan at a Christian camp/retreat/conference some point in our lives. Yet, what does it mean to be a true worshiper? What does Christ mean when He says in the next verse: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (4:24)?

I think the phrase “[to] worship in Spirit and Truth” can oftentimes be mentioned without an adequate explanation, contributing to why the meaning of the verse can remain vague. Hence, this article will provide 4 points explaining what true worship means in light of its contextual passage (Jn 4:20-24)—so that we may all aspire to be worshipers in Spirit and Truth.

1)   True worship is not defined by physical actions of worship

This passage, including most of the Gospels, takes place during a transitional period between the Old and New Covenant. Worship, according to the Old Covenant, was at a distance (Exo 24:1) and mainly through the form of animal sacrifices (1 Kings 12:28-32 etc.). Hence, when the Samaritan woman said: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (Jn 4:20), she was referring to the act of worship—specifically the act of offering animal sacrifices.

Yet, to her surprise, Christ responds by saying “the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (4:21) which foreshadows the veil of the temple being torn into two (Matt 27:51), in which believers can directly access and worship God. Christ’s response was indicating that worship was not purely about the act, for the act of worship (animal sacrifices) can only take place through a standard location. Christ then qualifies the statement by saying “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:24). Since God is Spirit—and not a physical being—true worship cannot be defined by a physical act, but in spirit (and truth).

Some Christians confine worship to the act of singing praises, offering tithes, or some sort of outward Christian service. Christ, on the other hand, is implying worship that is inward. This does not imply that physical acts of worship, such as going to church to praise God in music and song, is not worship at all, but that the physical acts by itself do not qualify to true worship. True worship must be more than physical acts.

2)   True worship is not defined by setting

Hence, when true worship is not about physical acts, which can only be performed in certain locations, it is also not about the setting. Based off a similar logic, when Christ said: “the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (4:21), He is implying that true worship is not confined to, or defined by, a location. It does not matter where we worship for God is Spirit—He is not a physical being. He cannot be confined to be worshiped at a certain location, time, background, or setting. But since He is spirit (4:24), true worshipers must “worship the Father in spirit and truth” (4:23).

Some Christians think worship has to somewhat be confined to a setting that is appropriate for worship—such as the mountain or the Jerusalem temple, as understood by the Samaritan woman, or, in a present context, a church or Christian setting with musical functions. Again, all of this focuses on the outward, but Christ appears to be implying that the act of worship in a certain setting, by itself, fails to be “true worship” in the eyes of the Father. The Father “is seeking such people [worshipers in Spirit and truth] to worship Him,” (4:23) people who do not only worship in a certain setting by reproducing a certain act.

3)   A true worshiper knows God

What then is true worship (or a true worshiper)? Christ begins by saying: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (4:22). “Salvation [being] from the Jews” refers to Himself, the Messiah (4:25-26). Hence, this verse (4:22) makes a contrast between the believers of God who know Whom they are worshiping—God—compared to the Samaritan woman, who doesn’t. In fact, the woman in this discourse plays the role of a false worshiper or a worshiper who doesn’t know what she’s worshiping (until she finds Christ). She limits worship to physical acts, to certain settings, and worse off, she doesn’t know what she’s worshiping. (If you think worship is based on physical acts in certain settings, you might be in a position similar to the Samaritan woman.)

Yet, Christ is saying that, in order to be a true worshiper, one must know God—one must have a personal relationship with God. This is evident from “in truth”. The Gospel of John clearly states that Christ Himself, who is full of truth (1:14) and speaks the truth (8:45-46; 16:7), is the truth (14:6)! Not only so, but so is His Word (17:17); and most importantly, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (14:17; 15:26; 16:13)! Thus, to worship in spirit and truth requires one to know God through the Spirit—who holds the truth.

Christ’s focus in this passage is not to make a distinction between a true or false, better or worse, charismatic or stagnant act of worship—but that all believers who are in the right relationship with God are true worshipers. One who knows and has a relationship with God is a true worshiper.

In fact, this is where the imperative (“must”) comes in. In John 4:24, most translations write: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (ESV, NIV, NRSV, ASV) Yet, the Greek word translated as “must” is δεῖ (dei), which literally means “it is necessary”. Thus, in a more literal sense, this verse indicates that in order to worship (προσκυνεῖν—infinitive)—to present an act of worship—it is necessary for one to firstly have a relationship with God. One must know God in order to worship Him.

4)   A true worshiper loves God

While this passage does not explicitly state that “a worshiper in spirit and truth loves God”, this concept is clearly evoked throughout Johannine writings. John writes that those who know Him keeps His commandments (1 Jn 2:3), and that those who say “I know Him” but do not keep His commandments do not have the truth (2:4). Most importantly, John writes that: “but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (2:5), which indicates that the love of God is directly tied to the keeping of Christ’s Word (cf. Jn 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; 1 Jn 5:3; 2 Jn 1:6). Scripture clearly presents that one who knows God, loves God. In the same way, since a true worshiper knows God, he/she also loves God by keeping His Word in the form of a relationship.

Scripture clearly presents this: one who knows God, loves God, and that one who is in a right relationship with God is a true worshiper—a worshiper who worships in spirit and truth. In fact, this is evident throughout Scripture as those who knew God (Abraham, Moses, David etc.) were always categorized by their love for Him—evident from how they would keep God’s Word and commandments.

Conclusion & Application

In summary, Christ tells us in John 4:20-24 that a true worshiper—a worshiper in Spirit and Truth—lives in a right relationship with God. In Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, He contrasts a true worshiper and a false worshiper, someone who focuses on the outward acts of worship without truly knowing and loving God.

Please note that the text does not imply that all acts of worship are meaningless. Worship can be an act, such as singing praises in music and song with hands lifted high or the act of offering tithes. Yet, the act of worship by itself is not what God is seeking. This is clear throughout Scripture. 1 Samuel 15:22 writes, “…“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey (God’s Word) is better than sacrifice...” The prophet Samuel was saying that God takes no delight in the acts of worship (OT: burnt offerings; present: songs, music, tithes) when one is not obeying the Lord—the sign of one being in a right relationship with Him! A similar concept is stated in Isaiah 1:11-15: “The multitude of your sacrifices (acts of worship)—what are they to Me?...I have more than enough of burnt offerings… Stop bringing meaningless offerings!.... when you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide My eyes from you” (cf. Amos 5:21-27). Again, this verse shows that God has little regard for our acts of worship when we are not living in the right relationship with Him. Thus, the act of worship is only pleasing to the Lord when the one who worships is in a right relationship with Him.

I pray that we may all guard our ways before we enter the house of God (Eccl 5:1). This is not for the sake of religious piety or outward displays of “righteousness” but so that we may be in communion with God as our heavenly Father—for He seeks worshipers who worship in Spirit and Truth (Jn 4:23) and knows those who love Him (1 Cor 8:3), working things for their good (Rom 8:28).

-Barnabas Kwok
Biblical and Theological Studies Student at BIOLA University