A few weeks ago we wrapped up Winter term at Cornerstone School of Ministry. In our NT 133 class we ended with John’s writings, first the Gospel of John and then his letters: 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. (My good friend, Director Adam Poole taught 1st John as I was away; I was both envious and joyful for I know his character, ability and passion for exposition of the Word. The students are extremely blessed to have him as their pastoral leader.)
In John’s writings we saw the glory and beauty and love of Jesus on display for all the world to see, know and love. And yet we read of people questioning and rejecting Him. Sadly, the same plays out today. If the world only knew the beauty and love of Jesus, He would be their Savior. In this way God demonstrated His love for the world, the He freely gave His Son, that those who believe (trust) in Him should not perish but receive eternal life (John 3:16). God’s judgment is in The Light of the World (John 1:4-5) coming into His world, yet people loved darkness rather than the light (John 3:19a). In this metaphor Jesus speaks of light and darkness, a duality of sorts that shows those who are drawn to Christ and those who reject Him. The consistency of their character (inner person, affections) comes forth in the outworking of their life (works, behavior). People reject Jesus not solely on intellectual grounds (not enough reasons) but because truly their deeds are evil or done in darkness (John 3:19b). This was a sobering reality to consider and a display of God’s grace.
In 1st John the Apostle writes “God is light” (1 John 1:5a). It speaks of His holiness, and His brilliance, the beauty of His glory, and the demands of His justice. Truly, “in Him is no darkness at all” (v. 5b). Flowing from that verse comes the freeing statement, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (v. 7a). On what basis? Because we have lived perfect and morally upright lives? No. The answer is given in the last half of verse 7: “and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” What a glorious truth!
Somehow there are people who consider themselves good, as in not needing forgiveness from God (or others) and thus not needing a Savior, Jesus. The Apostle spoke to that same group more than 1900 years ago: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (v. 8). Self-delusion is the worst, for all other see reality but self does not. Coming to grips with our weaknesses, our sin, our depravity and bent towards destructive selfishness is the first step towards a cure. The same concept is restated in verse 10: “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Sandwiched between those two is one of the greatest sentences in all the world:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
When we confess we agree with the ultimate reality of the situation, and pour out our heart to God for we have wronged Him and others. The words are not the primary part, for form ever follows function. Am are sorry for offended God, or sorry because there are consequences? God is not into mere moral reformation, but a genuine transformation of our affections. That we as we know, love and enjoy Him we are grieved when obstacles come into the way and we take the bait of temptation, damaging our intimate closeness which must be restored.
It seems that John is borrowing from the Old Testament imagery of the sacrificial system and coming to the only true and living God at His tabernacle or temple. At the altar the sacrifice is made, the innocent in place of the guilty, and atonement is extended, yet the priest would move past that to the bronze laver, to cleansing, a washing away of all unrighteousness. Having been cleansed, they could now enter the Holy Place and then the Holy of Holies, worship God in (temporary) innocence. All of this Jesus did in the most perfect way, once for all securing eternal redemption(Hebrews 9:12). Praise God that even those sins we do not yet realize are atoned for in Christ, and He cleanses us far beyond our understanding.
What a motivation to remain in fellowship with Him (that is what atonement is, it is at-one-ment - the term being coined by John Wycliffe, I believe, to be a representative English translation word for what is taking place as described in the Greek NT). As one with the Triune God we can walk in His light, enjoy His radiance, glory and beauty and share it with others.
God is faithful and loyal to His covenant, and unconditional love comes to us in Jesus Christ, for He is our unwavering Advocate (1 John 2:1-2). Because God punished His innocent Son as we deserve, treating Jesus like He was us, He can now treat us like we are Jesus (see 2 Cor. 5:21). He is not only faithful, He is also just and we know that He shall never do wrong, for in Him is perfect justice. God was the just One and the justifier of guilty people declared innocent (see Romans 3:21-26).
Here’s a short commercial revealing the reality of light and how it is possible to be at home in darkness and seek to repel light. Let us not hide from God’s marvelous light. I found it a great illustration:
Last night we continued our series in our Foundations class at Foothills on The Church . We had a great time studying some of the metaphors for the Church in the New Testament, like: the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23 ) with Christ as our Head, the flock of God (John 10 ) with Jesus being our Good Shepherd, the family (household) of God, the building of God and temple of the Holy Spirit, and the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2 ; Eph. 5:25-33 ).
As we do each week, I stated our over-arching goal for the lesson:
That we learn to know, love and enjoy God more than we know, love and enjoy anything or anyone else, and that we worship Him as His Church
Our two objectives were to:
Deepen our love for and commitment to the Church, and
Let go of false pictures and expectations of the Church
Last time we looked at the nature of the Church and I pulled in a few common slogans. Perhaps you’ve heard them before:
"Have it your way" (Burger King)
"You can do it; we can help" (Home Depot)
We discussed that we need to repent of our consumerism when it comes to the local church, because it is not about us (!).
So I proposed a better motto/slogan by which we see ourselves:
“WE can do it, you can help”
‘We’ being the church, and ‘you’ being individual believers. Or if we want to keep with the corporate slogans, perhaps this one works:
"Let’s build something together" (Lowe’s)
In this I’m not trying to pit one company as better than the other (i.e., while I like Lowe’s slogan more, the customer service there is inferior to Home Depot, in my humble opinion).
Enough of the corporate nonsense, and let’s talk about how we experience our identity corporately . Much could be said here about our identity and no less than five dozen words and metaphors are used by God to describe who we are in Christ (e.g. chosen, saints, faithful, beloved, redeemed people, royal priesthood, a holy nation, light, salt, etc.). As I mentioned above, last night we considered five metaphors:
The Body of Christ
The flock of God
The family (household) of God
The building of God
The bride of Christ
I love each one of these illustrative metaphors, and they spring forth off the page in full-color, 3-dimensions. It seemed like all my students (which are all older than me by the way) delved into this with full expression of faith. We talked through what it means to forgive, and to seek the betterment of others, to sacrifice and be joined to Christ and one another. How they ideal desriptions of the Church are just that, descriptive and not merely prescriptive. We work and live as an expression of our identity, and not to gain acceptance (and identity) before God. ("We are accepted, therefore we obey.") We have been together for about 6 months now, so many of our conversations are like streams of thought that flow from one week through the next. The trajectory of our learning is to learn how to know, love and enjoy God above all else, and to learn how to do that for the benefit of others all the more.
Some of our time talked about how to relate to those who think they are Christians but are not truly regenerate (and how can one tell, and are we to judge?), that is, how does one become part of the true Church? And that our love for others is directly related to our love for God and we have no claim to being awakened by God if our affections do not overflow in practical ways to others.
I was reminded of a wuote from the 3rd century by Cyprian, bishop of Carthage:
“It is a bad world–-an incredibly bad world. But in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and a holy people who have learned a great secret. They are the despised and the persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people are called Christians, and I am one of them.”
As the church, the community initiated by Christ and for Him, this is our job description, according to the Apostle Peter and the Holy Spirit:
As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
[1 Peter 2:4-6, 9-12]
Truly, Christ will build His Church and nothing can successfully stand in His way (Matthew 16:18).
The last two weeks in our Foundations class I taught on the afterlife. The first week focused on everlasting punishment in hell, which is not my favorite topic, and contrasted that reality with what awaits us in heaven by God’s mercy and grace.
Last week we were planning on discussing heaven and eternal rewards. Yet in between one of our classmates passed away, Ron, who is now literally with Christ enjoying Him more than is humanly possible. He sat intently listening to the lesson on heaven and only five days later was transferred into God’s glorious presence. God healed his heart problems in an instant, the culmination of years of suffering. He was only 51 and leaves behind a loving wife, three kids and two grandchildren.
After learning of Ron’s passing on Sunday, Kari reminded me that night as we lay down to sleep, “I bet Ron is now thinking, ‘That Jeff had it all wrong. This place is way better than he described!’” We had to chuckle.
So, last week’s class was somber, as we knew of Ron’s passing and awaited his funeral on Friday. A mixed celebration was our class time, reflecting on Ron’s life, telling hilarious stories about him, and praying for the family and ourselves in the grieving process. Not coincidently our studies were still focused on heaven, but we only considered one page from our book: six truths about heaven to bring us joy.
Psalm 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
1. Holiness
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appearswe shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
2. A glorified body
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor. 5:1)
“For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Cor. 5:4) — the next verse: “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
3. Immortality
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)
“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:53)
4. Satisfaction of all needs
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.” (Rev. 7:16)
5. Sharing of Christ’s glory
“… and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17)
6. Intimate fellowship with God and other believers
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12)
Tonight we will finish our delayed study on these truths and expand on the reality of rewards for believers at the Bema seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1Cor. 3:10-15). God’s glory never fades nor bores.
Last week my students (all older than me by the way) needed a pastor more than a teacher. I was there to shepherd them and confessed up front that I didn’t know what our time would look like that night. But we need space and time to grieve. It was good, powerful, and in the moment I’m sure much more teaching went on that any of us realized. That experience will stick with each of us the rest of our lives.
Thinking and talking about heaven does indeed make us more earthly good.
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next …. It is because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.”
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 113
Tonight we finish up this study on Heaven - beginning in about 10 minutes.
Last night in our Foundations class at Foothills Community Church I taught on the Hypostatic Union, that is, how Jesus is both fully God and fully Man. In the Incarnation, Jesus who is God added to Himself humanity. God literally “put on flesh” (John 1:14).
It was a glorious time delving this mystery while saturating our minds with Who Jesus is in His perfect Person. He is God! He is Man! He is the God-Man!
A helpful resource on this topic comes from the staff of Desiring God, who put together this article summarizing the five main truths put forth in the Chalcedonean Creed, AD 451.
I also highly recommend getting to know Athanasius, the father of orthodoxy, and his treatise On the Incarnation available to read online here and here. Athanasius stood contra mundum (”against the world”) in defense of the biblical doctrine of Christ. He opposed Arius at the Council of Nicea in AD 325, when it seemed all the world would follow Arius’ heresy. Athanasius’ work remains even today one of the definitive statements of orthodox Trinitarianism.
“What we suffer from … is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays, the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert — himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought to not doubt — the Divine Reason.” (emphasis mine)
–(G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (Garden City, NY: Image Books Doubleday and Company, 1959, orig. 1924), p. 31, quoted by John Piper, Battling Unbelief (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2007), pp. 41-42.)
Tuesday was the first day of classes at Cornerstone School of Ministry (CSOM) in Corvallis, Oregon (my 4th year teaching there).
This term I am teaching NT 132 Acts + Pauline Epistles (4 credits), with NT 134 Romans (3 cr) in the Winter, and NT 133 Gospels + General Epistles (4 cr) in the Spring.
It is a joy to labor in the Word with the Cornerstone students. This year’s class is the smallest in quite some time, which has some benefits, namely, more discussion and closer relationships with the students. Since it is a 75-mile trek each way for me, I ask your prayers and seek God’s perseverance for the year in this endeavor.
Baby + Mommy are doing well. We had some Burgerville today for lunch in between seminary classes. Boy it was good. Did you know all their beef come from cows that are open range and only vegetarian fed in the NW? Now you do. You can tell; it just tastes better.This weekend we will be teaching at a high school retreat in Colton. We’re excited for this opportunity to mold young hearts and minds, specifically on the topic of Faithfulness (responding in life-long faithfulness to our Great + Faithful God). How can our lives be a long, consistent joyful path of obedience to our loving God? Saturday morning we will venture down to Salem to love and feed the homeless whom God loves, downtown. Pray for us, and the students.
The two Greek words de ("but") and Theos ("God") are the first two words of Ephesians 2:4: "But God, who is rich in mercy..."
Because of God's great love and grace extending to us in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed and able to know, love + enjoy God more fully, ever-increasing and forever.
This site contains the thoughts and conclusions and journeys of the Patterson family -- Jeff, Kari and Dutch -- who have experienced the front-end of God's amazing grace, and continue to delight in His unfailing love.
Read more about us, and what we hold most precious.
In 1st John the Apostle writes “God is light” (1 John 1:5a). It speaks of His holiness, and His brilliance, the beauty of His glory, and the demands of His justice. Truly, “in Him is no darkness at all” (v. 5b). Flowing from that verse comes the freeing statement, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (v. 7a). On what basis? Because we have lived perfect and morally upright lives? No. The answer is given in the last half of verse 7: “and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” What a glorious truth!
It seems that John is borrowing from the Old Testament imagery of the sacrificial system and coming to the only true and living God at His tabernacle or temple. At the altar the sacrifice is made, the innocent in place of the guilty, and atonement is extended, yet the priest would move past that to the bronze laver, to cleansing, a washing away of all unrighteousness. Having been cleansed, they could now enter the Holy Place and then the Holy of Holies, worship God in (temporary) innocence. All of this Jesus did in the most perfect way, once for all securing eternal redemption(Hebrews 9:12). Praise God that even those sins we do not yet realize are atoned for in Christ, and He cleanses us far beyond our understanding.
As we do each week, I stated our over-arching goal for the lesson:
Tuesday was the first day of classes at 
