Tag Archives: gods

Knowledge Puffs Up, February 1, 2021

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

In the lectionary this week, I came across some strange verses that we usually jump over, disregard, assume an inadequate translation, or mumble through them without thinking much about them. But over the last several months, I’ve been spending a lot of time studying what the Ancient Israelites believed and how Jesus’ contemporaries thought about their world as we passed from BCE to AD and the birth of the church.

Let me share some of that scripture with you, and then we will focus on what might cause some of you to think me a bit crazy. The lectionary comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 8, where Paul gives instructions to the church about being careful not to cause weak Christians to stumble because of their superior knowledge about God and the true nature of idols. He shares the verses specifically about food sacrificed to idols, but some verses in the middle of his discourse, we usually skip over. The passage to explore today includes verses one through 7. In the Good News Translations, they read like this:

It is true, of course, that “all of us have knowledge,” as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a person up with pride; but love builds up. Those who think they know something really don’t know as they ought to know. But the person who loves God is known by him.

So then, about eating the food offered to idols: we know that an idol stands for something that does not really exist; we know that there is only the one God. Even if there are so-called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of these “gods” and “lords,” yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live.

⁷But not everyone knows this truth. (1 Corinthians 8:1b-7a GNT)

Rome considered Christians and Jews atheists in Paul’s day because they worshiped only one God. The rest of the world recognized and worshiped a multitude of deities, including the emperor. Most nations believed the gods placed their king on the throne and talked to him, giving him the laws of the land. At the time, most countries thought kings who took faithful care of their kingdom could become deities themselves after death. Some, like the Roman Emperor, declared himself a son of the gods. But serving and worshiping a single god just didn’t make sense in the culture of the day.

But each god’s temple supposedly stood as the place where their god would reside on earth. The Jewish Temple did the same. The difference between them is no idol or representation of God, Most High – Jehovah – appeared in the Jews’ Temple. Nothing could represent the Creator of all other beings, including all the other gods.

Reading the Old Testament carefully, you’ll find ample evidence the Ancient Israelites did not discount other gods, nor did Jehovah. He only demanded their sole allegiance to him. In fact, you can read the very first commandment with that culture in mind as God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Why didn’t he say there is only one God, and I’m it? There is an interesting passage in Deuteronomy 32 that explains the Ancient Israelites understanding of at least some of the other gods. It is Moses’ discourse to the Israelites before his death, inspired by God and reads:

“Think of the past, of the time long ago;

ask your parents to tell you what happened,

ask the old people to tell of the past.

The Most High assigned nations their lands;

he determined where peoples should live.

He assigned to each nation a heavenly being,

but Jacob’s descendants he chose for himself. (Deuteronomy 32:7-9 GNT)

When you couple these verses associated with Noah’s sons in Genesis ten and count the nations that grew from their lineage, seventy nations, each with its own language, are named. Chapter eleven explains why those seventy nations spoke different languages. God scattered them by confusing their languages at the Tower of Babel, and each tribe went its way – seventy ways. The story continues through the folklore and Moses shares that God assigned those seventy known nations land with a heavenly being to watch over it. But Jacob’s descendants, Israel, the chosen people, he kept for himself.

Who are these heavenly beings? I think the gods the other nations worshiped. God’s celestial beings, sent to watch over those nations, became greedy and supposed themselves on the level of God, Most High. These are the rebels, thrown to the earth, and we, in our god-like “knowledge” obtained in the garden, worshiped them. That is the explanation from the Ancient Israelites through Paul’s day and into the Dark Ages.

They believed God used a council of heavenly beings, not angels, but beings like himself, but beings he created, god-like, but not God, Most High, to act as his council. Perhaps the seraphim and cherubim who guard his throne fit that category. Perhaps they are more god-like beings than angelic beings. The first, the seraphim, are usually described as fiery creatures giving light and burning away all impurity around the throne—the second, the cherubim, act as faithful guards. A cherub guards the entrance to Eden. A cherub stood in the path of Barack. Cherubim are not the chubby-cheeked valentine picture representations but mighty warriors around God’s throne.

Why do they think God used a council? Scripture implies it. “Let us make man in our image.” When Ahab was king, God asked, “How shall we deal with Ahab, when he wanted to attack Edom? Isaiah heard him ask the group, “Who will we send?” Many other examples in the Old Testament show God talking to someone around his throne. I don’t believe he would discuss within the Trinity because the Trinity is him. He would be talking to himself. I think God was talking to his trusted council around the throne. He still performed the creative acts. He made the discussions, but I believe in the heavenly realm, God uses his council and other celestial beings to carry out his desires in that plane of reality just as he uses us to carry out his plans in this one.

God, Most High, Yahweh, Jehovah, created all things visible to us and in realms not visible to us. I think he destined humanity to take charge of this realm; we failed. Jesus came to renew us so that we can pick up the pieces and carry out the work God gave us in the beginning. The earth and heaven will ultimately be restored to their original glory, where God and humanity will walk together in the cool of the day. We will hold dominion over his visible creation and care for it through the loving actions he taught us as he walked among us.

We will respect our roles as stewards instead of owners of the things around us. But we will be pleased with that role because we will understand who God is and who we are with respect to his position in the created universe. I think at that time, the curtain between the earthly and heavenly realms will be drawn back, and we will understand how God has protected and cared for us in ways we never knew before. God will reveal himself to us in the same way he reveals himself to his heavenly beings now.

Let me end discussing a word Paul uses to describe Christians who think themselves strong. Knowledge. The strong Christians in Corinth believed they had knowledge. What is knowledge? The dictionary defines knowledge as:

1) facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject: a thirst for knowledge | her considerable knowledge of antiques.

• what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information: the transmission of knowledge.

• Philosophy true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion.

2) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation: the program had been developed without his knowledge | he denied all knowledge of the overnight incidents.

Today we deal with way too much opinion and very little actual knowledge. What I’ve talked about today, I’ll admit, is very much my opinion, but based on a great deal of reading, study, and thought. Do I have certain understanding that all I’ve said is true? No, only if I could travel in time, instead of reading many renowned authors’ scholarly works, could I increase the certainty of my opinion. Scripture always holds an undeniable mystery about it.

However, our knowledge of those around us holds that same mystery. As you talk with those with whom you come in contact in the next few days, don’t assume you know how they feel, what they think, or even what they mean by their words. Their mind is a mystery to you as much as yours is to them. We often talk at each other instead of with each other and assume far too much of our knowledge and understanding. If I can’t explain myself to someone many times, how can I assume I know how they think or feel? Knowledge in any area of life – facts, information, and skills gained through personal experience doesn’t come easy. When applied to communicating with another person, the subtleties of each person’s different experiences make my experiences, facts, and knowledge suspect regarding their understanding.

How do we overcome the communication problem that divides us in so many areas? We follow the two commands Jesus said wraps all the others together. We love God, and we love others. Become knowledgeable in the exercise of love by learning about Jesus and his behavior. Act like him. Talk like him. Love like him. Then, your knowledge of loving like God will help you show Christ to those around you.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Scriptures marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation®: Scriptures taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Discover God, May 18, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of the pandemic news. I don’t think it’s so much the news about the pandemic as it is the debate about who is at fault for the predicament we’re in economically and physically. Here we sit with unemployment at its highest since the Great Depression. That’s understandable with everyone locked in their homes. It’s hard to employ workers when businesses have no income because no one can come to their place of business to purchase goods and services.

So we try to help, and in so doing, put our economy in another tailspin by doubling our national debt with programs that I’m not sure help much. Bailouts that were supposed to provide small businesses funds for wages ran out of money within minutes. A $1,200 check to most adults barely covers groceries for a month these days—and then what? Democrats blame Republicans for delays. Republicans blame Democrats for delays. Neither party seems to recognize the real culprit in all of this drama is a new virus to which no one is immune. So it really doesn’t matter what either party says or does, we were in trouble from the start. Every decision was a bad decision. Pandemics are like that.

We lifted Germany and Singapore as the best models of how to avoid the spread of the virus. The spread appears to have been delayed at best. Their numbers have drastically increased in the last few weeks. So, I’m not sure anyone could do anything about what has happened. At best, we could flatten the curve as governors, and country leaders tried to do in various ways, some more successfully than others perhaps, but none have beat the bug.

The question I’ve been asking myself through these bad news stories is, what good can we find in this pandemic? One important thing I’ve discovered, our priorities changed quickly. Not many ask, “When will I see my football team play again?” Or complain about the dress code at school. Suddenly, those invisible people in factories and hospitals like the janitorial staff become heroes keeping us safe. Teachers and healthcare workers become more important in the eyes of the public than the multimillion-dollar movie stars and sports figures. We find out the researcher behind the microscope is much more important to us than the newscaster in front of the camera.

In the past, we made gods of the wrong people and the wrong things. In this country, wealth, fame, position, power, became gods to us. We worshipped these without saying so. These became the most valued things in our lives. The pandemic is the great equalizer for all of us, though. Wealth doesn’t keep you safe. Nor does fame or position or power. When the virus decides to strike, it will invade and destroy whomever it chooses.

Paul visited Athens in his missionary journeys and found the same problem there. The Athenians had more visible representations of their gods, but our worship of things other than the true and living God is no different than theirs. Here is what Paul had to say, recorded for us in the Book of Acts:

So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.

“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

“God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31 TM)

Perhaps in this pandemic, we can take some time to reflect on what is most important in our lives. Before we get back into the mad rush of life and everything opens up to a new normal, maybe we can take inventory of our before COVID life and ask ourselves, on what did I focus my attention? To what did I give my allegiance? What was most important to me if someone watched how I spent my time and my money? Could others see that I genuinely worshipped the God of all creation? Did my behavior show that He is more important to me than everything else in my life?

It’s not too late to figure out God is calling each of us to a radical life change. He wants to renew an intimate relationship with His highest creation. Jesus introduced Him as “Abba,” a close, personal term for father, like Daddy. But He also reminds us that Abba is the creator of all things, the Almighty, the Master of the Universe.

While we are enclosed in our homes, blocked from the rat race that consumed us before COVID, maybe it’s time to look for God. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek, but He is God and desires us to come to Him understanding who He is—God. When we find Him, when we worship Him, He brings to our hearts an indescribable joy and peace even in the middle of events such as these. Will He remove us from the pandemic? Probably not. We suffer alongside the rest of humanity, but we live with hope, and that’s the difference.

What is your god? Better yet, Who is your God? Discover Him while you have some time on your hands.

Scriptures marked TM are taken from the THE MESSAGE: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH (TM): Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH, copyright©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group

Give it up! (Matthew 19:18-21) May 3, 2016

Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Samuel 5-9

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 19:18-21
Jesus: Well, to begin with, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Young Man: I’ve kept those Commandments faithfully. What else do I need to do?
Jesus: If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give all your money to the poor; then you will have treasure in heaven. And then come, follow Me.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Isn’t it just like us? The young man, I mean. Jesus explains in pretty simple terms what he needs to do to be assured of eternal life. He explains all he needs to do is obey God’s commands. So what does the young man do? He retorts with, “Well, which commands in particular? I really don’t have to keep them all, do I? Just tell me the most important one so I can concentrate on those. Give me the cliff notes so I don’t have to study so hard and let me just keep the one or two commands that are most important to God, okay?”

We do that in school. Hey teacher, just give us the answers to the test. Let us study those so we don’t have to learn all those principles and facts. Don’t make us waste our time learning all that stuff, just give us the answers so we can get the grade we need to pass. Or how about at work. Hey boss, what if we take some shortcuts on this project. No one will know. It’s all covered up by the time we’re done. No one will know we skipped some steps or used inferior parts. It will save us time and save you some money. What do you think? We want everything now. We want great success, but we don’t want to work for it.

We do the same thing in our relationships skipping in and out of marriages. Throwing away relationships like they have no affect on us or those around us. We want the short version so we don’t get locked into anything too deeply. We do it with our prayer life, our devotions, our Bible study.

Jesus doesn’t let the young man get away with that philosophy. The young man asks, “Which commandments in particular must I keep?” Jesus starts His answer knowing the conversation will continue. “Well, let’s start with the last six of the ten commandments and see how you do. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself, that is do not covet.”

I can see the young man puff out his chest and stick out his chin as he gives his answer to Jesus. “I’ve kept all those commandments since my youth. What else do I need to do?” He knew deep in his heart there was something wrong. He hadn’t made the cut yet. He knew he didn’t have the keys to the gate yet. That’s an important point for us to see. We know if we are right with God. We don’t have to guess. We can examine our heart and know if we are bound for heaven or not.

On with our story. Jesus knew the young man’s problem wasn’t in lying or stealing or committing murder or not respecting his parents or adultery. He even knew the young man loved his neighbors. But the young man had a problem. Something got in his way in his relationship with God. Notice Jesus didn’t mention the first four commandments when He talked about keeping the commandments. He knew the young man’s answer would have been the same as it was for the last six, but Jesus knew the young man’s heart. So Jesus probed into his inner being and put His finger on the thing that had become the young man’s god.

Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give all your money to the poor; then you will have treasure in heaven. And then come, follow Me.” Ouch! Things had become the young man’s god. Had Jesus asked if he obeyed the first four, no doubt, the young man would answer in the affirmative, just like we would. But when Jesus put His finger on the young man’s real god, the thing that mattered most to him, he saw what kept him from attaining eternal life.

The sad commentary that follows is copy for too many of our generation. Matthew says the young man went away sad because he was very wealthy indeed. You say, “But I’m not wealthy, money and things are not my god.” Then let me ask a couple of questions. Do you substitute sports for devotion to God. Do you substitute your lawn or upkeep on your house for devotion to God? Do you substitute your house for devotion to God? Are you kids extracurricular activities more important than your devotion to God?

What does your heart tell you when you ask yourself those questions? Only you and God know the answer. You can put on the airs of the young man who spoke to Jesus and everyone around you will think everything is in order and you’re on your way to heaven. But you know what God thinks. Is it time to find an altar and put all your possessions there? God accepts nothing less. But then, it’s His anyway, we’re just His temporary stewards.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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