Why Did the Son of God Have to Share Our Humanity?

Taken from "HEBREWS: A CALL TO COMMITMENT" by William L. Lane

The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to experience death on behalf of others (.9);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to bring us to glory (v.10);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to vanquish our adversary, the devil (vv. 14-15);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to become a fully qualified high priest (vv. 17-18).

Hebrews 2 by RMM

The SON is greater than angels because they don’t have his nature or role:

Inherits the nations / Creates a people who are the temple of God / Is the Glory of God revealed / Is the unchanging image of God / Is moving history towards a wedding consummation / Who suffered to pay for our sins / Who now is King

Hebrews 2:1-4
So, if the angelically accompanied covenant was serious, how much more serious a covenant by one far superior to angels? We better not drift; we must pay attention.

Hebrews 2:5-8
God did not appoint angels to rule over this created world, he assigned that to people. Even though we are lower than the angels, everything else is supposed to be under our authority. But that is not what we experience right now.

Hebrews 2:9-10
Jesus comes as a man and does what we cannot do, face death and live. As our champion, he is made completely able to save us by being one of us, even to the point of suffering and death.

Hebrews 2:11-18
So, in order to free us from the fear of death and the adversary who exploits that fear, he was with us in every way. Being one of us, he is not ashamed of us. Having been one of us, we have a high priest who really does understand and will lead us to the role we had in creation.

Hebrews 1 by RMM

Hebrews 1:1-4

In the old days, God spoke through different people, such that what they said was the word of the Lord. The prophets got bits and pieces of the story, but, there is one that gives the whole thing. Listen to what is so special about God’s son:

Heir, creator, glory, image, mover, savior, ruler

Let me ask you this: has any angel ever been called any of these things? No.

1:5-14

Vs. 5, Father and Son, Jesus takes on his father’s business, and is declared as Son, not just employee. He is the inheritor of the family business, and what is that business? In Ps 2:8 all the Son needs to do is ask, and the nations will be given to him. In Mt 28 he tells us he has inherited all authority, and he sends us out to make students of all nations, those who are his inheritance.

Vs 5b He is a Son to the Father like Solomon is to David. But Solomon was to build a temple and a kingdom that did not last, Jesus is the Son who builds a temple and a kingdom that does last. We are that temple, the church, the dwelling place of God.

Vs 6. is about angels not receiving worship, but giving worship. Just like in the opening where Jesus is called the shining forth of the Glory of God, in Ps 97:6 and 7 Jesus is the glory of God revealed for everyone, all nations and even the angels to worship.

Vs 7. is the writer’s description of the Son as the image of the Father, and he quotes ps 104:4 showing that the angels change their image, in fact, we are later told to be careful, we could be talking with someone who looks like a person, but is really an angel.

Vs 8,9 is about what the Son is carrying along; not just the physical universe (though that is true too). The Son is carrying along a bride and a promise of princes and princesses in psalm 45:10ff.

Vs 10,11 is from Psalm 102 a prayer for the afflicted. Notice in verses 18-22 the emphasis is on the formation of a people that comes through the work of the afflicted one. He purifies a people.

Vs. 13 concludes the list of 7 attributes with an emphatic declaration of the SON as the King in Psalm 110.

Conclusion: No prophet or angel is anywhere near the majesty of the Son who not only reigns over the universe, but specifically is the hope of people called to be God’s people.

Harbison House for Sept 17

Our schedule is basically
1st Sunday - Church co-op
2nd - Minick
3rd - Harbison
4th - Harris
5th - Hughes

Should we start earlier than 10:30? What does everyone think?
9:00?
9:30?
10:00?
10:30?

I would be ok with greetings between 9-9:30, worship starts at 9:30. Better ending time that way, even if it is a little more pressure to get up and going. Good question though, Jerod.

September 10 at Minck home

Sunday we will meet at the Minick household to begin our study of HEBREWS. Come prepared to share a little bit about where you are in your sojourning, and how you can give and receive as we work together to learn from the Word.

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. I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. (Hebrews 13:20-22)

The Function of the Warning Passages in the Structure and Argument of Hebrews

The warning passages in the book of Hebrews have an important role to play in our assessment of the doctrine of perseverence. Whether Hebrews teaches the final perseverence of the saints or whether it can be shown to teach that some genuine Christians will fall away and not be saved on the last day is an important and hotly debated topic.

All good doctrine must begin with exegesis of the biblical text itself

As a preliminary to that debate, this article examines...

full article

Doctrinal Theme of Hebrews? DTS

300 Bibliotheca Sacra / July–September 1989

The Doctrinal Center of the Book of Hebrews...

Conclusion

The expository sections of Hebrews center on the doctrine of the high priesthood of Christ. The paraenetic sections, on the other hand, are dominated by the pilgrimage motif.³⁹ Two questions pre-sent themselves: Which of the two themes is central to the epistle as a whole? How are the two to be integrated? Attempting to answer the first question is almost futile. The two themes are not ri-vals; they belong together. "The doctrine leads to the exhortations, the exhortations are based on the doctrine."⁴⁰ Nevertheless the au-thor's assertion in 8:1 leads to the conclusion that the high priest-hood of Jesus Christ is the controlling theme of the epistle.As for the second question it has been suggested⁴¹ that the two themes are easily integrated if it is remembered that God's pilgrim people are a "cultic [or priestly] community on the move." These pilgrims on their way to the promised rest are "sanctified," "perfected," and "purified." They have the priestly privilege of access to God's tabernacle through Jesus their High Priest. With such a High Priest they can and should persevere (cf. 2:18; 4:16).In summary, the doctrines of Christ's high priesthood and the pilgrimage of God's people dominate respectively the expository and paraenetic sections.⁴² The theme of Christ as High Priest, how-ever, is central to the epistle as a whole.

full article

SOJOS’ 1ST SUNDAY HOUSE CHURCH CO-OP

Sunday September 3 Sojos’ will be meeting at the Sojos’ south, right in front of Grace. We will begin singing at 10:30 and will close our worship time around 11:30. We will then share a meal (potluck).

Presently, our plan is as follows. Sojos (Kirk and Russell as elders) is a small house church that wants to stay small most Sundays so we can focus on a dialogue environment for equipping teens. So what do we do if we meet people who are looking for a church? We try and help them find one that fits. We have had times in our church where so many people have come that it becomes really difficult to equip through dialogue. So, if there is not healthy room in our house church, we either connect them with a house church that has more room, or we look to start a new house church. We want to keep our vision for ministry in our group but also help others form up groups. That is where the “co-op” comes in.

The first Sunday of each month will be set aside for a gathering of Christians, mainly from other small house churches. Just like home-schoolers who value a house sized school, we do not want to directly grow into a bigger single church. What we would like to do is help others experience what we experience by doing some of the things we have been doing. The co-op is intended to be a place to be connected with friends in other house churches and a way to naturally share ideas, resources and opportunities for new people and new groups to form.

We would love to try and answer any questions or comments.

Sojos House Church Co-op meeting notes Monday August 28

September 2006 Sojos-church network

The CHURCH (i.e. universal) is everyone who is IN CHRIST
local churches are specific assemblies of members of The CHURCH
local churches include the requirements to be in The CHURCH
local churches also have specific requirements not included in The CHURCH
location
time
language
and various other factors for various reasons
small local churches (like house churches) may form with intentionally specific elements
in this house and that house
a certain time (Saturday night meetings, or Sunday morning for a short time, or for a long time…
in English, Thai, Spanish, Mandarin
focused on families, singles, etc.
small churches who are focused on specifics may need to include a time of meeting with others who have a different focus

So, this is what we at Sojos Church are trying to do.

We proclaim that Jesus is the Way to be in His CHURCH
We take the time and effort to be a local church assembly with specific limitations
We believe that to be a member at the Sojos Church you must be a member of The CHURCH (saved, born again, in Christ, etc.)
We believe that local churches should form with considerations of
A place
A time
A language
A focus, etc
Our church answers these questions more or less this way
We mainly meet at the homes of 4 families in our church
We mainly meet on Sunday mornings for 2-3 hours
We speak English, and specifically, we speak to the understanding level of teens
We aim to equip teenagers to take ownership of their faith by having involved expositional teaching with lots of dialogue
i. This means we need a place where we can interact
ii. This means we need time to interact
iii. This means we need to speak in a way that is understandable but challenging to teens
iv. This means we are not also “focused” on non-teens.
Since we are a small church which is focused on a primary concern, we also need to connect with other Christians in real and meaningful ways because, although our focus is rightly important to our local church, it is not the only important thing in The CHURCH (of which we too are a part).

So, what we would like is to grow our local church with a specific focus, but also with connection to others. Here is how it could work:

Several different churches with specific elements

A local church focused on a few teen families and some folks who connect with that vision

A local church focused on elementary aged kids in a relaxed dynamic that is very open to going with the flow as the Spirit leads

A local church focused on families focused on elementary aged kids in an intentional concise and organized church experience that starts and ends briefly enough for younger kids.

A local church that is intentionally open to a wide mix of singles, married with kids, no kids, senior adult.. whatever.

Alocal church… etc. etc.

Each of these particular churches might agree to an occasional gathering (monthly?) where a concise worship service and an extended fellowship time provides a way to be connected in meaningful ways to other Christians.

The occasional event would not be a church, but a network of churches celebrating that we are part of the CHURCH

The event would be less focused on teaching, more focused on connecting (good music, simple short message, good fellowship time)

Why would this be helpful?

Most of us are very busy and not wanting to spend unnecessary time trying to work through problems that don’t need fixing. Everyone who values a particular form of church should get with those who also value that form. Getting together helps us guard from being sectarian and elitist. It helps us to realize (intentionally) that we can value our local form of church and value other Christians who value a different form of local church.

Why not just be one big church?

We want to use our gifts.
We want to use our time most effectively for specific needs.
We like the tabernacling idea: we are sojourners, pilgrims, strangers.
We learn better when dialogue is included.
And more.

Sojos' Church Fall 2006

This Sunday we will be asking the 4 questions about how to do church again. Here is a recap:

I am suggesting that there are four main issues that we want to care for. Though we may have ideas about each individual issue, the challenge is in dealing with all four issues together.

TEACHING / INVOLVEMENT / BELONGING / OPENENESS

TEACHING: Sojos’ will continue to be a place where the Bible is taught reliably. We will continue to do responsible exposition of passages of Scripture, in context, with competent facilitation. We want to learn about what is true so we can best know what to do as we live out our lives.

We are planning on teaching through HEBREWS. Everyone will be encouraged to study the upcoming passages ahead of time. Each Sunday will begin with a recap of the Sunday before. We will work through this book together, working to see it shape our view of life and subsequently our way of life.

INVOLVEMENT: As Sojourners, a core value is that we each are on a journey that we need to actively pursue. To do this we need to be a group that mainly learns face to face. This means that our groups must be small enough and focused enough for everyone in a group to be able to open up and process with others. Too many people or too many different people, makes it difficult to do this.

Our involvement will work outward from the members who are rapidly approaching the end of their time at home and launching out on their own. This may frustrate some people who do not want to give up their time of interaction for the teenagers to have as much as we are planning to give them. Essentially, the elders have to say that is what we have to offer based on our attempts to listen to and obey God for the direction of this little church. Our suggestion at that point is to go start another church that is more fitting for the aspects you would like to include. We are limited people forming a limited church. We do not claim to be equipped to minister to every stage of life situation, in fact, we try to be clear that we are not equipped to do much more than work outward from the teen challenges at this phase in our life. If this is wrong, we will be held accountable for it, but that is what the elders are committed to and willing to be judged by God for pursuing. It is important that we each take ownership over this emphasis and work to make it effective and positive to the degree that God so leads.

BELONGING: As we have been involved with one another around reliable teaching, we have come to belong to one another in meaningful ways. As we adapt to fit the various needs of the growing church we want to make sure that everyone remains actually connected to one another in a way that helps us to experience that we continue to belong to one another.

We will be re-declaring covenant commitments to one another. "Belonging" in our church should be explicit first, implicit second. What that means is that we do not assume anyone is a member. We will discuss our goals and then give each person an opportunity to commit to our church pursuing those goals and values. Some may graciously decline to be in a specific local church due to the specific focus/dynamic at a given time. That is not a rejection of THE CHURCH or necessarily of the people in that particular church. It is merely an effort at apporpriately grouping in a particular church as an expression of being part of THE CHURCH.

OPENNESS: We are grateful for our church and we want to be open to sharing our blessings with others. We do not want to have to be hesitant about reaching out to people who are looking for a healthy church community. Whatever our changes, they need to be able to include others even if we include them in joining what we are doing by starting their own church like ours.

The question of adding more of anything to a limited container should be obvious to anyone. Unfortunately it is not. Traditionally, most friends of ours have been told that every church always has room for anyone who wants to come (except for racism issues that have sadly been too present in too many churches).

How can churches say anyone can come?
1) they have more building than people
2) more people means they can start a building program
3) along with a building program, they can hire more staff and grow the church

Why can't Sojos church do the same?

1) We have more people than building because our builiding is a living room
2) Our living rooms that cannot be expanded indefinitely.
There is an actual physical limitation. This should be obvious to people who stop and think, but sometimes people are intent on being offended and perceive hesitation to fit more people a living room sized church as some weird form of elitism, exclusivity etc.
3) We cannot hire more staff, since we do not hire staff.

Again, some unfortunate attitudes and comments have come from people not thinking through the uniqueness of a house church. How do we have a church? Two men, with no shortage of commitments in other spheres, agreed to serve as elders. Baptized believers agreed to be church and more or less live out the principles from Acts 2:42ff of praying together, following apostolic teaching, fellowshipping and breaking bread together. Almost any group of Christians can do the same thing! We cannot exclude people from the CHURCH, nor do we try to. We do not try to exclude people from our little church, we just ask a couple of obvious questions:

How can we physically fit more people in one room?

At what point does the number of people make it too hard to know and care for one another?

Why don't more people just do what we did and start a church in their living room with a focus that fits their concerns?

(It isn't easy, but you get out of it what you put into it. If you care enough about having a good church, do what it takes to form a good church. That is how THE CHURCH grows)

I have been thinking a great deal about how to balance all four issues. I am quite certain that it is not helpful to isolate any one issue and offer a solution that does not deal with how that issue affects and is affected by the other issues. The challenge of wisdom is not in imagining an ideal in one area, wisdom is in seeing the best integration in spite of sacrifice in individual areas.

Please come prepared to share your willingness to commit to and further shape the ideas shared in this short note. Our goal is to be faithful to DT 6 (love God and teach your own kids how to do the same) and to its New Testament expressions as in MT 28 and Acts 2 etc. We plead with mature Christians who are in Chiang Mai to understand that though we are not planning to expand beyond our living room size church, we are more than willing to share our insights on forming such a church so you can do what we have done. Nothing would please us more than to be surrounded by a community of committed little churches where sacrificially finding a way to do church well leads to an ever increasingly joyful, God-glorifying Chiang Mai.

Shalom,

Russell Minick and Kirk Harbison
Elders of Sojos Church

May 14 Mothers' Day at Minicks' 10:30 start

Sojos Trekkers will meet at the Minicks' house at 10:30. We will discuss what it means to be a mother, and refer to the endurance of mothers as a model for ministry:

1 Thessalonians 2
Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica 1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]
Paul's Longing to See the Thessalonians 17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. 19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

Next Four Questions

Next Four Questions for Sojos’ Church

Since last fall we have been talking about the need to reshape our church.  We have not finished reshaping for a number of reasons.  I am suggesting that there are four main issues that we want to care for.  Though we may have ideas about each individual issue, the challenge is in dealing with all four issues together.

TEACHING / INVOLVEMENT / BELONGING / OPENENESS

TEACHING: Sojos’ will continue to be a place where the Bible is taught reliably.  We will continue to do responsible exposition of passages of Scripture, in context, with competent facilitation.  We want to learn about what is true so we can best know what to do as we live out our lives.

INVOLVEMENT: As Sojourners, a core value is that we each are on a journey that we need to actively pursue.  To do this we need to be a group that mainly learns face to face.  This means that our groups must be small enough and focused enough for everyone in a group to be able to open up and process with others.  Too many people or too many different people, makes it difficult to do this.

BELONGING: As we have been involved with one another around reliable teaching, we have come to belong to one another in meaningful ways.  As we adapt to fit the various needs of the growing church we want to make sure that everyone remains actually connected to one another in a way that helps us to experience that we continue to belong to one another.

OPENNESS: We are grateful for our church and we want to be open to sharing our blessings with others.  We do not want to have to be hesitant about reaching out to people who are looking for a healthy church community.  Whatever our changes, they need to be able to include others.

I have been thinking for months about how to balance all four issues.  It is not helpful to isolate any one issue and offer a solution that does not deal with how that issue affects and is affected by the other issues.  If we try to seal off our group, that partially solves three of the issues but leaves us almost cult-like by not involving others.  If we randomly divide into smaller groups, how will we stay connected with everyone, and how can we have confidence of appropriate teaching?  If we just grow into a bigger church, what happens to involvement?  The challenge of wisdom is not in imagining an ideal in one area, wisdom is in seeing the best integration in spite of sacrifice in individual areas.

If any of our church members have any suggestions of a model of church that will incorporate all four issues, please let Kirk and Russell know right away, preferably in writing (e-mail or a comment on the blog).  We are of course willing to talk with anyone (we have had this as an open discussion for more than six months) but now we need to get specific.  Just observing that we wish we did not have to change is no longer helpful.  We have to decide which sacrifices are best in light of all the real factors that stand before us.  God has a way, we will prayerfully, with hope, proceed as best we can.

Shalom,

Russell Minick