My Thoughts on John’s Gospel

 

My thoughts about John’s gospel come from spending a great deal of time in this gospel. In addition to my daily reading of Scripture, I recite at least one chapter out of John’s gospel every day. I have read, memorized, recited, meditated on and studied John’s gospel daily for over a decade. I have come to the conclusion that the gospel according to John is biblical allegory. I am not saying that Jesus did not do the things written about him in this book. Nor am I saying that Jesus did not say the things that this book says that he said. 

Seven Miracles, I Believe

1.          Jesus turned water into wine.[1]

2.          Jesus healed a nobleman’s son from dying, who was a great distance away.[2]

3.          Jesus healed a man who had a sickness for thirty eight years that had made him lame. When Jesus commanded the man, “Take up your bed and walk.” Immediately, the man was made well, took up his bed and walked.[3]

4.          Jesus fed five-thousand men with five barley loaves and two fish.[4]

5.          Jesus walked on water across the sea of Galilee.[5]

6.          Jesus gave sight to a man who had been born blind.[6]

7.          Jesus called Lazarus, a man who had been dead for four days, out of the grave alive.[7]

Seven Predicate I Am Statements, I Believe

1.          “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”[8]

2.          “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”[9]

3.          “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”[10]

4.          “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”[11]

5.          “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”[12]

6.          “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”[13]

7.          “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”[14]

What then do I mean by saying that John’s gospel is biblical allegory? I am saying that the author took true stories about Jesus, and compiled them together in such a way, that it paints a picture of Jesus as both the Creator and the new Adam.

Purpose

The Gospel According to John is obviously different than the other three gospel accounts; Matthew, Mark and Luke are called synoptic gospels because their content overlaps, not so with the Gospel According to John.

The Bible that I read (New American Standard Bible) is filled with pericope. Pericope are highlighted text (not scripture) added by the translator to summarize what the translator believes the passage is about. For this reason, every English translation has different pericope, because they are the translator’s own thoughts about the content. However, all translations use the same chapter and verse setup first employed in 1555.^[15] I wanted to remove all chapter, verse and pericope from my eyes in order that I may see the meaning originally intended by the author.

The gospel according to John is a topical book containing several small stories that combine to make a single larger story. I decided to breakdown the entire text into its individual stories, rather than the traditional chapter and verse divisions. In order to do this, I needed to figure out where each story ended, and a new story began. I also needed to figure out which stories are intended to give meaning and which stories are intended to connect the meaningful stories to one another in a single storyline. While doing this work, I made a discovery that I believe was purposely placed there by the author, who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, within his historical-cultural context.

Narratives about Jesus earthly ministry from its beginning in Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel,”[16] to His bodily resurrection from the dead; commissioning His disciples to go make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that He commanded them,[17] had already been sufficiently done.

So, why was the Gospel According to John written? The purpose for writing the Gospel according to John is expressed by the author in the text:

“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”[18]

Theologians have put a great deal of emphasis on the seven miraculous signs and seven predicate I Am statements recorded in this book. But what about the resurrection? Most have said that the resurrection is the final and great sign that demonstrates that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. I agree, but from a new beginning perspective.

A Better Ending

The Gospel According to John is a retelling of Genesis chapters 1-3 with a new and better ending or shall I say beginning. The author uses true stories that were witnessed by the author to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of a promise made by God in the garden of Eden. The Gospel According to John remarkably parallels the first three chapters of Genesis. John 1:1, like Genesis 1:1, begins with the words, “In the beginning.” Then in John 19:30, while on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!” Also, take note, Genesis 2:1 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.” 

When I was dividing up the Gospel According to John into its individual stories, I noticed that the phrase, “next day” is used three times in the first chapter, translated from the Greek word Epaurion.[19] The Greek word Epaurion occurs five times in the original text, which happens to divide the first 19 chapters of John up into six days, considering that the first day starts with the phrase “In the beginning,” and the sixth day ends with the phrase “It is finished!”

1.          John 1:1, In the beginning.

2.          John 1:29, The next day.

3.          John 1:35, Again the next day.

4.          John 1:43, The next day.

5.          John 6:22, The next day.

6.          John 12:12, On the next day.

But what of the seventh day? Genesis 2:2-3 speaks of God resting after His creative work on the seventh day; and therefore, God sanctified the seventh day. However, in the Gospel According to John we see a change from the storyline of Genesis. In John’s storyline, the Incarnate Word is not resting on the seventh day, as God did in Genesis 2:2-3. In John 19:31-42, the Incarnate Word is dead! The stories that comprise John 19:31-42 are placed there to demonstrate that the incarnate Word was dead without a doubt. Thus, John 19 ends at the conclusion of day 6 with the incarnate Word dead and placed in a tomb. The seventh day is missing from the text; the next day mentioned in the book is not the Sabbath, but the first day of the week.[20]

The Seventh Day

 “Day Six is the climax of the creation week, but not the consummation.”^[21] Jesus was inaugurated king when He rose from the grave: Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”[22] However, when you survey the earth today, sin abounds; therefore, the kingdom of God is a work in progress.

The Lord says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”[23]

Genesis chapter 1 tells us why God made man, but Genesis 2:7 tells us how God made man and Genesis 2:8-17 tells us about the covenant between man and God at creation. Man was to have a Covenant relationship with God, which required loyal love, obedience, and trust. Man was also to have a covenant relationship with nature, as its servant-king.^[24] God created man from dirt, after which He placed man in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Then God commanded the man to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned man that doing so would result in death. Finally, God created woman from man as a helper suitable for him.[25]

Genesis chapter three begins with the woman in the garden being deceived by the serpent; thus, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which, she gave her husband and he ate. When the Lord God questioned the man about eating from the tree; the man blamed the woman for his sin, the woman blamed the serpent for her sin, and the Lord God cursed the serpent and made a future promise to the serpent.

“And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.”[26]

God told the woman that her labor pains would be increased, but she would have desire for her husband. God told the man that he would now eat by the sweat of his brow, would die after all of his labors, and return to the earth from which he came. After these things God barred them from the way to the tree of life.[27]

A New Beginning

In the Gospel According to John, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty. She then runs to Peter and the author of the book to tell them that the tomb is empty. These two men run to the tomb and find it just as Mary had told them. After they leave, Mary stays behind and sees something miraculous; two angels seated where Jesus had been lying, just like the seraphim atop the Ark of the Mosaic Covenant, which could only be viewed by the high priest, one time a year, on the day of atonement. After speaking with them she turns around and sees the risen Lord but mistakes Him for the gardener. Once she realized that the Man she mistook for the gardener is the risen Lord, she clings to Him. The Lord then sends Mary to the men with the gospel.[28]

Was it truly a silly mistake to think that Jesus, the new Adam, was in fact the gardener?^[29] Eve met the serpent in the garden and ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she gave it to her husband, he ate, and they died. Mary Magdalene met the new Adam, in the garden and she ate from the tree of life from whom she took fruit and gave it to the men. 

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.[30]

God is presently at work making all things new through the work of the Spirit. God has declared that He will create a new heaven and new earth, but unlike the first creation where He made the earth first and later made man, in His new creation, God is making the people first. When “It is Finished,” He will make the new heaven and new earth; then, and only then will God rest. Jesus Christ is the first man to be raised in the new creation.^[31] All will be raised on the last day; those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord, will be raised to eternal life in the new heaven and new earth which is yet to come, but those who reject Him will go away into eternal punishment.[32]

In the Abrahamic covenant, circumcision occurred on the 8^th day of a baby’s life. God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The 8^th day is significant to this regard because it indicates a new creation.^[33] On the first day of the week, in the evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples except Thomas behind a closed door; therefore, Thomas did not believe because he did not see the risen Lord. After eight days, Jesus appeared again to the disciples behind a closed door, but this time Thomas was with them.[34] When Thomas saw Jesus, he believed. Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”[35]

The significance of the 8^th day is new creation; those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God[36]will be children of God in the new creation.[37] However, this does not occur through blood lines or the will of the flesh or the will of man. You must be born of God![38]

---

[1] John 2:1-12.

[2] John 4:46-54.

[3] John 5:1-9.

[4] John 6:1-14.

[5] John 6:16-21.

[6] John 9.

[7] John 11:38-44.

[8] John 6:35.

[9] John 8:12.

[10] John 10:9.

[11] John 10:11.

[12] John 11:25-26.

[13] John 14:6.

[14] John 15:1.

[15] The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions. The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan's verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.

[16] Mark 1:15, NASB95.

[17] Matthew 28:16-20.

[18] John 20:30-31, NASB95.

[19] The Greek word ἐπαύριον epaurion: — occurring on the succeeding day, tomorrow, day following, morrow, next day, after, on the morrow, the next day.

[20] John 20:1.

[21] Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), 86.

[22] Matthew 28:18, NASB95.

[23] Psalm 110:1, NASB95.

[24] Ibid, 90-93.

[25] Genesis 2:18-24.

[26] Genesis3:15, NASB95.

[27] Genesis 3:16-24.

[28] John 20:1-16.

[29] Ibid, 88.

[30] John 6:53-54, NASB95.

[31] Ibid, 85.

[32] Matthew 25:46.

[33] Ibid, 122.

[34] John 20:19-28.

[35] John 20:29, NASB95.

[36] John 20:30-31.

[37] John 1:12.

[38] John 1:13.

The Christmas Feast

For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ~1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Christmas has been a Christian feast from the mid-fourth century to the present day. It’s significance in the lives of Christ followers have wained and surged throughout church history. Many have sought to do away with Christmas, while others have embraced it. The December 25^th date that had previously been a pagan festival date was adopted by christians. Christmas was not the first feast celebrated by early Christians. The feast of Epiphany celebrated the coming of the Magi to see Christ. The feast of Epiphany was celebrated long before Christmas but has little notice in the church today. There are a number of feasts in the church calendar today: Lent, Easter, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas to name a few. Why have certain feasts gained in popularity while other feasts wained. I believe that culture has a large influence on the feasts. 

Is Christmas a church feast or is it a cultural feast? 

In my local church we celebrate advent. Advent looks back to Christ’s first coming and looks ahead to his second coming. Passages about Jesus birth are read each Sunday morning in the month of December. I do not know why only passages about has first coming are read, while passages foretelling his second coming are not read, nonetheless, the focus is on the coming of Christ. 

Many Christians celebrate Christmas but is Christmas pagan or christian? I am not asking in terms of the paganism that existed in the culture at the time of the early church but the paganism of the post-modern-humanistic world of today. I think that Advent is a church celebration of the coming of Christ, while Christmas is a cultural celebration of family and abundance.

I had always considered my family small until the family that I had was taken away.

I have come to this understanding because what I unconsciously celebrated at Christmas has been taken away. The church does not increase its activities during Christmas but shrinks in it’s activities. If Christmas is a church feast, why do church activities decrease during Christmas? In my local church, Sunday morning bible studies have been suspended for the Sunday mornings of December 26^th and January 2^nd, also, our Wednesday night dinners are suspended for three weeks. If Christmas is a church feast, why the decrease in church activities? Church activities are decreased during the Christmas season so that people can spend time with their families. Given that my family has had major changes, it is apparent to me that Christmas is a cultural celebration of family and abundance.

What An Incredible Story

Photo Credit: Patrick Schneider, Unsplash

Dear Neighbor,

What an incredible story! The Word, who was with God in the beginning, and was God, became flesh and dwelt among the people that he created. (Jn. 1:1, 1:14) 

Have you really thought about this? Has it impacted you the way that it should? What kind of effect does the incarnation have on your day to day life?

The Story, Luke 2:1-20

Mary was to betrothed to Joseph but was with child, conceived of the Holy Spirit. Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to register for the government ordered census because he was a descendent of David. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her first born son; cared for him and laid him in an animal feeding trough, for there was no room for them in the inn. There were some shepherds watching over their flock at night, when an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them; they were frightened, as are all persons in biblical stories when they meet an angel. They angel said to them:

Luke 2:10-13 
Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

 As if an angel appearing to them was not enough. Suddenly, there appeared with the angel a multitude of angels praising God and saying:

Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.

 After the angels departed to heaven, the shepherds decided to go see what had been declared to them by the angel sent by the Lord. 

The shepherds saw the infant Jesus and told Joseph and Mary what they had seen and heard about the baby. They were amazed by what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured these things, pondering them in her heart. 

The shepherds went back to their flock, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, for everything that the angel had told them was true!

What An Incredible Story

The birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for all people. On a certain day, in the city of David (Bethlehem) a Savior, who is the promised Messiah, who is also God in human flesh, was born for us. Thank about that for just a moment. He was born for us! He was born just like us, of a woman, and like the majority of us, he was not born in a palace! In fact, he was born and laid in an animal feeding trough. This is indeed, an incredible and wild story.

Until next week,

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake

Tis The Season

Dear Neighbor,

This morning the Lord gave me the privilege of speaking about his word in the church. I talked about something that is very near and dear to my heart. The already not yet aspects of the kingdom of God. As Christians we look back to the first advent of Christ in remembrance of him and we look ahead in anticipation of his second coming, when all will be made right. 

God is presently at work making all things new through the work of the Spirit. God has declared that he will create a new heaven and new earth, but unlike the first creation where he made the earth first and later made man, in his new creation, God is making the people first. When “It is finished,” God will make the new heaven and the new earth; then, and only then will God rest. Jesus is the first man to be raised in the new creation. All will be raised on the last day; those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord, will be raised to eternal life in the new heaven and new earth which is yet to come, but those who reject him will go away into eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46)

“Tis the season” is a phrase used to represent the holidays and can be used in regards to everything from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It is often said, “Tis the season to by jolly.” Jolly is another word for cheerful. I am struggling to be jolly this holiday season; however, I am trusting in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ completed during his first advent and I am looking ahead in anticipation with hope in his second coming. Whether you be jolly or are struggling with sadness during this season, look to Christ, for he alone is the hope of us all.

Until next week,

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake

Christmas Struggles and the Blessing of Advent

Photo by KaLisa Veer on Unsplash

Dear Neighbor,

Today marks the beginning of the advent season. During advent, we look back to the birth of Christ, while looking ahead to his second coming. During advent, a total of four candles are lit, beginning from a single candle, an additional candle is added each Sunday. The first candle is the prophet’s candle, lit on the first Sunday of advent, and it represents hope. The second candle, is the Bethlehem candle, lit on the second Sunday of advent, and it represents faith. The third candle is the shepherd’s candle, lit on the third Sunday of advent, and it represents joy. The fourth candle is the angel candle, lit on the fourth Sunday of advent, and it represents peace. Lastly, on Christmas Eve, a fifth candle is lit, it is the Christ candle, and it represents purity.

I love advent because these symbols are used to preach Christ. By them, Christ is preached in the Catholic Church, in the Anglican Church, in the Baptist and in many other protestant denominations. However, I must confess, especially this year, that I do not enjoy the Christmas season. Christmas outside of the church is a celebration of family and our family has had a lot of pain during the Christmas season.

On Christmas day, 2013, I forced my father on to a stretcher, against his will, by the request of my mother. He was suffering from Parkinson's and dementia; she was frustrated and needed assistance in his care. I believe that it was a bad decision to do this on Christmas day but it was the day that she had arranged. We celebrated Christmas, as a family, one last time, the day before; after which, he was taken to an inpatient hospice, and placed in a nursing whom, in which he died less-than two months later. This is something that I will not forget during this life, and I struggle with to this day.

On Christmas day, 2020, I awoke to a text message, and picture, from my daughter, announcing that she was a homosexual, and engaged to marry another girl. It is impossible for a woman to marry another woman but this is the language that she used. She solidified what I will call a civil union, just a few months later.

So why am I telling you these things? Should I not be painting the world, as a follower of Christ, as if it were all sunshine and rainbows? I am telling you these things because they are the truth. My life is not perfect. I have a great deal of pain in my life but I also have a great deal to be thankful for and even more to look forward too.

I am justified by the grace of God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus and have the promise of Christ that he will return to raise me from the dead, on the last day. I have a wife who has loved me for 32 years; we became a couple during the Christmas of 1989, and we were married on June 30, 1990. I have a job that allows me to help others through a difficult and scary time in their lives. I have fellowship with other believers at Sylvania Church in Tyler, Texas. The Christmas season is a difficult time for me and it may be for you also, but through celebrating and participating in advent, we can remember the first coming of Christ for our justification and look ahead to the second coming of Christ for our salvation.

Until next week,

Your Servant for Jesus’ sake

Running and Remembering

One of my favorite things to do, is to go out for a run. The first run that a remember was with my earthly father at the age of five. My father encouraged me in running. When I was but a ten year old boy, he challenged me to run five consecutive miles in under eight minutes per mile. I wanted a pair of running shoes, he told me that if I met his challenge, he would purchase the shoes. I trained and met his challenge. I am thankful that my earthly father encouraged me in this way because it has given me a healthy activity on into middle age. I am not as fast as I once was, in fact, I am back to were I was at the age of ten. 

Currently, I am running at least five miles, at least four days a week, for a total of at least twenty miles a week, and trying to run those miles in under eight minutes per mile. The route that I take on Sunday mornings is my favorite because I pass three things that remind of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

First, I pass through the grounds of our local high school and this reminds me that our Lord Jesus Christ is our teacher.

 

John 1:37-38

The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

Second, I pass by a yard with many sheep. I run by this yard early in the morning and there is a guard dog who watches over the flock by night. The dog’s breed is a Great Pyrenees and they are known to be great livestock guard dogs. He is a very large dog, he always sends out an alarm when he sees me approaching, and he puts himself between me and the sheep. This reminds me that our Lord Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. 

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Third, I pass by a yard with a donkey. The donkey reminds me that our Lord Jesus Christ road into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey’s colt; then, at the end of the week, he carried our burden with him, on his back, to the place of the skull where he was crucified. 

John 12:14-15

Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.”

John 19:17-18

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.

Lastly, the run occurring on the first day of the week is a reminder to me that our Lord Jesus Christ is risen! 

John 20:19-20

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “ Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Why do I write this blog?

Why do I write this blog? I do not believe that writing this blog serves any purpose other than to fulfill my desire to express what has been laid upon my heart. My work involves asking and doing but there is not much opportunity for sharing. I write this blog in order to fulfill my desire to share the gospel. The word gospel simply means good news and there is no news greater than the gospel. 

The apostle Paul wrote: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Is there any better news than to know that God has not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation from the wrath that we deserve through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him?

It is the desire of my heart that everyone should read the Bible, for through reading the Bible I came to know God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a member of and regularly attend a local church, but it was not through the church that I came to know God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I am a member of and regularly attend a local church because believers fellowship together and share life together as a family. This is the reason that we refer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

There is nothing about me to follow or immolate. Much of my life has been a real struggle, especially this past year. I have even begun to question my vocation. Should I even continue in nursing or change vocations? Is my unsettledness about nursing related to the difficulties that I am having outside of my work? Why do I feel so unsettled and have periods of anxiety when I believe in the gospel? I have heard it preached, that a Christian should always have joy, but if truth be told, I am not always joyful. Truly, I am often very despondent. Does this make me a bad Christian that I often have despondency? 

I do know and believe that I am loved by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for my sins and rose again. I trust in his promise of eternal life in the new heaven and new earth which is yet to come. While the world and those who are of the world do not mean for my good, I know that God means all things for our good, to those who love him, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

Created for the glory of God

What is your desire? What causes you to get out of bed in the morning and go forth? Is it pleasure that you seek, or riches that you desire, or maybe it is fame? It is my desire for all to know God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I call this blog, The Nurse Theologian, because I am a nurse who thinks and writes about God. I do not write about nursing, though I may mention my profession on occasion, but it is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ whom I write about, and whom I desire for you to know. 

Several years ago, when seeking how I might tell others about God and his Christ, I came across a teaching, The Way of the Master. This teaching, uses the Law to bring the knowledge of sin before presenting Jesus Christ. Using the Law to bring the knowledge of sin is biblical. Most people know that it is wrong to lie, to commit adultery, to murder, but they do not consider the reason these things are wrong. We live in a godless society, resulting from modernistic ideals. Modernism taught our society to only believe that which can be perceived by our senses and can be proven through science. Most do not even know that theology is a science, in fact, it is the greatest of all sciences, for theology is the study of God. 

Can God be proven? There are two revelations given to us that prove God. There is the natural revelation, creation, and there is the special revelation, the Bible. I believe that the Bible is greater than the natural because the Bible uses the Law to bring the knowledge of sin, that he or she who reads the Scriptures might repent and believe in the gospel. The Law does not work on our senses but on our conscience. This word conscience is a combination word in which two words put together gives an entirely different perspective than when used apart. Con means with and Science means knowledge; therefore, Conscience means with knowledge. It is with-knowledge that we sin against God. 

So why is it wrong to lie? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is truth. Why is it wrong to be unfaithful in our relationships? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is faithful. Why is it wrong to hate someone? It is wrong because we were created in the image of God and we know that God is love. We do not need our senses to tell us that these are wrong because we have the knowledge from birth that these are wrong, nonetheless, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But God being, not like us, is rich in mercy, loved us, and gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life.

Spiritual Gifts

In 1 Corinthians 12:28, the apostle Paul gives a list of Spiritual gifts. This is the second time in the same chapter that he gives a list of gifts that come from the same spirit. Each list varies in what he mentions as gifts; therefore, one can conclude that each listing of gifts is incomplete. The apostle has a point in this list regarding the Corinthian church. They were putting a high emphasis on speaking in tongues and ignoring the gifts that edify; therefore, he begins with apostles, prophets  and teachers, and ends the list with various kinds of tongues.

I have often thought about these things. What is my gifting? I am not an apostle and I do not have the gift of speaking in tongues but I do believe that I have the gift of helps first and teaching second. I cannot heal anyone but I can give help to the sick. I am not a prophet or an apostle but I can explain the writings of the prophets and the apostles. I am a Registered Nurse who felt compelled to study theology. 

The Lord God drew me to nursing before I repented and believed in the gospel and after believing he drew me to the study of his word and the church. Can I be satisfied helping the sick and teaching the word of God? I do believe that I can and desire to do so. 

What is the ministry that the Lord has given you? What is the ministry that the Lord has given me? I have called this blog The Nurse Theologian because that is who I am. I am a nurse who studies God. I am not an apostle or a prophet but I can teach. I do not have the gift of miracles, or healings but I can help. I do not believe that I am gifted in administrations or various tongues.  I am simply a man who loves the Lord and loves my neighbor. I am a nurse-theologian but my gifting is not greater than someone who is gifted differently than I, for we are all members of the same body, that is, the body of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

Monster Inc.

Yesterday, a couple of monsters came by the hospital. I think that there is some truth in these funny costumes with regard to the world that we live in. Each year, in the month of October, I drive by some gruesome images displayed in some of our neighbors yards, and others put on costumes that glorify evil and death, but still others were costumes like these that look fun and inviting. We should keep in mind that no matter how gruesome or friendly the monster looks, they are nonetheless monsters. People very in their appearance, thought, actions and words. Some are more wicked than others but all people apart from Christ are monsters no matter where they might fall morally on a scale between Hitler and Mother Teresa. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The goal is not to be like other people, even the best person that you know, but to morally like God in every way. God said of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the exact representation of the nature of God in human flesh. For this reason no one can come to God except through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus willing died for our sins and he was buried and he rose from the dead on the third day. All who repent and believe in the gospel died with Christ Jesus and were buried with him and have been raised with him to walk in newness of life. Repent and believe in the gospel!

Perhaps Our suffering In It Keeps Us From Clinging To It!

I saw a picture on the back of a woman’s phone while at church. I was so mesmerized by it, I drew out what I saw on the back of a ministry card that I keep in my wallet. 

I am mesmerized by it because the three stick figures represent my life: I ran away from God’s perfect plan, repented and believed in the Lord Jesus. The imagery is so simple and yet it is so profound. I am not an artist but I can quickly doddle this symbolic message of life on the back of a card. 

In addition to the three stick figures, there are three circles: The first circle represents God’s perfect plan for life. The second circle represents the broken world that we now live in and the wavy arrows represent out attempts to escape this broken world. The third circle represents the gospel of God: the eternal Son of God descended and entered this broken world becoming one of us; He died a death that He did not deserve; He rose from the dead, ascending to the righthand of God; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The first man ran away from God. The second man comes to God broken with a contrite heart. The third man believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, goes forth rejoicing because he has assurance of being in the paradise of God with the Son of God.

This simple picture on the back of a woman’s phone preaches to me more than anything that I have heard in recent memory. I am redeemed from death and eternal punishment but I am presently in a broken world. Nothing is easy here and life on this side of glory is very difficult, during the past year:

• My mother in-law (my wife’s mother) died.
• I was sick causing us to be estranged from family during Christmas.
• Our daughter came out of the closet as a gay person and entered into a civil union with another girl.
• Our son lives estranged from us, God and the church.
• Our nephew just a few years older than our son unexpectedly died.
• My mother has been having dizzy spells and I do not know what to do for her.
• A former nursing colleague whom I considered to be a friend and brother was convicted of murder.

I could go on and on listing more like these but I will stop with these seven. I do not understand rejecting God because of the bad things that happen to us in this broken world. The Bible promises trials, tribulations and persecutions to go on until the coming age of the Kingdom of God. In John 12:25 Jesus said something to his disciples that I think is very profound, especially in this modern, or should I say post-modern world but I never hear mentioned. 

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 

Why does God allow his people to suffer? Perhaps our suffering in it keeps us from clinging to it!

Dear Neighbor,

This morning I began to read the Acts of the Apostles. John following Luke is most confusing because Luke and Acts have the same author and were meant to go together. The New Testament is setup with the four gospels at the front, followed by the book of Acts, then the apostles letters to the churches and concludes with the Revelation of Jesus Christ; therefore, most people read the Scriptures in that order. But to read Acts after reading Luke is the way that it was originally written. Am I saying that the order in the Bible is wrong? No, that is not what I am saying at all. The Bible is a library and just like any good librarian would do, the books are put together into categories. 

I also find it interesting that people read their belief’s into the text. The first Christian sermon, preached by the apostle Peter at Pentecost is a good example: In Acts 2:37-39, the men that Peter had just preached the gospel too were convicted and asked the apostles: Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.

A baptist will read this text and say, See, baptism follows faith. Someone from the Church of Christ will read it and say, See, you receive the Holy Spirit when you are baptized.  A Presbyterian will read this text and say, See, it is both believers and their children who should be baptized. I think in every instance the focus is in the wrong place. The focus is repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. The focus should not be on baptism or receiving the Spirit but repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that if ones focus is on what the author is saying, rather than trying to find a proof text for ones belief, then the text can be properly understood. 

So, repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins! This is a promise for everyone!

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake

Dear Neighbor,

In our Sunday morning bible study we discussed baptism. Our leader Shane had previously taught on the etymology of the word baptism, showing that the word means to immerse. He taught on the typology of baptism being a picture of death and resurrection. And he taught about the chronology of baptism in the scriptures and in history. He taught about other Christian beliefs about infant baptism; catholic, Lutheran and Reformed. Lastly, he went through several text of scripture refuting those views.

It was after this, during corporate worship service, while singing hymns and praises to our Lord that I saw the picture that I included. I saw the picture on the back of a woman’s phone in the pew in front of us. I recognized it as being the three-circles method of sharing the gospel, but it was different, instead of using words, the artist used symbols to tell a story.

The first circle represents the good world that God created; everyone loved God and one another. Then there is a man going his own way, running away from the world that God created. The next circle represents the world that we now live in which is broken. There are squiggly lines and arrows coming out of the world and these represent human efforts of escape but they are like cords that snap one back into the brokenness of this world. The next is a man praying and this symbolizes repentance. Instead of trying to escape the brokenness on his own, he comes to God with a sorrowful and contrite heart. The next circle is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Word descended and became flesh, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to King Jesus. The next is a redeemed man who believes the gospel and is headed back to the paradise of God.

What intrigued me about this picture is that it represents how I came; I was running from God, I attempted to escape the brokenness on my own, I came to God repentant, he preached to me the gospel, I believed and rejoiced. It intrigued me because I realized that baptism not only represents Jesus’ death and burial, but it also represents how a redeemed person comes to faith; dies to self and is alive in Christ.

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake