From Passover to Pentecost: Do you believe in coincidences?

The early Christians made an important connection for us. They remembered some words of Moses and were sure they understood their implication. Moses had spoken a word of prophecy.

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, Deut 18:15 NKJV.

There was more but that will suffice for our purpose. Twice in the early days of the Acts of the Apostles the early Christians quoted these words and gave their definitive interpretation of them.

For Moses truly said to the fathers, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. Acts 3:22 NKJV.

“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’ Acts 7:37 NKJV.

Each time they identified Moses' future leader as Christ himself. If we consider the accounts of Moses and Christ at their birth we begin to trace the fascinating pattern of their lives. Each was targeted, and missed, by a murderous ruler... but in a sense these are superficial 'likenesses' to Moses. It is in Moses' role as the deliverer of a people and the mediator of a covenant that Moses serves as a template for the "Prophet like me from your midst" that God would raise up.

We mentioned in an earlier blog the conversation between Christ and Moses and Elijah and noted the topic of conversation as being Christ's 'exodus that he would accomplish/finish in Jerusalem'. The mediator of the Sinai/Old covenant and the mediator of the New Covenant had common ground here in the language of 'exodus'. We saw too how Christ celebrated the Last Jewish Passover and initiated the New Covenant 'Passover' tradition in the upper room.

There can be little doubt that Christ chose his words carefully as he instituted the New Covenant tradition of the Breaking of Bread and the Taking of the Cup. In the commencement of the Old Covenant the celebration looked forwards to their deliverance. The pattern is repeated in the upper room. And look at the words Christ used...

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. Luke 22:20 NKJV.

There are no coincidences in the pattern of this phrase. Moses had inaugurated the Sinai/Old Covenant with the words...

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” Ex 24:7–8 NKJV.

Now Christ takes up the same pattern of words, adding a vital word.

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. Luke 22:20 NKJV.

He is acting as Moses' promised replacement, using the same words, but to make sure there can be no possible confusion he makes it clear that he is not talking about Moses' covenant but another covenant promised by Jeremiah... a new covenant...

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. Jer 31:31–32 NKJV.

The trials that must follow, the shedding of his blood, are all part of a new beginning. He must take away the first in order to establish the second. Heb 10:9.

From Passover to Pentecost: The Last Passover

This was G Campbell Morgan's way of describing the event which we often call the Last Supper. The events of the trials and crucifixion took place during the Jewish celebration of the Passover. By the time they gathered together in the upper room the covenant nation of Israel had celebrated Passover, somewhat sporadically, for some 13-1400 years. The First Passover took place in Egypt and looked forward to God's deliverance and Exodus. Jesus and the Twelve gathered in the upper room to share their meal.

There are some remarkable parallels that connect the mediator of the Sinai Covenant with the mediator of the New Covenant. Peter, James and John witnessed Christ's transfiguration and Luke records the topic of the conversation between Christ, Moses and Elijah.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:30–31 NKJV.

There are words here which might have been translated very differently. The topic of conversation, literally, was 'his exodus which he would finish at Jerusalem'. Moses and Elijah engaged Christ in a conversation concerning 'his exodus' which must be 'finished' in Jerusalem. The scene is being set for a replay of the First Passover. Christ's death was not a tragedy or accident but an Exodus to be accomplished.

In part this explains the strange comment made by Christ in that upper room at the Last Passover.

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; Luke 22:14–15 NKJV.

The expression is very intense 'with desire I have desired' and the word for 'desire' is the one usually translated as 'lust' in the New Testament. This is a a testimony to a craving desire, an all consuming longing to celebrate 'this Passover with you before I suffer'. Why? and what is the unique significance of 'this Passover'? The next verse is our clue;

for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Luke 22:16 NKJV.

The annual celebration of the Passover had always looked backwards to an event in the history of the covenant people but now Christ declares that every previous celebration had been not only a commemoration but a prophecy looking forwards to a future Passover. The annual Passovers had been a promise that one day must be fulfilled in a a New Passover and a new Exodus.

The shadows and types had served their purpose. Now the reality at which they had pointed has arrived. This would be the Last Jewish Passover. A new tradition is being born. No longer the Seder once a year but now...

...as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 1 Cor 11:26 NKJV.

Events will move quickly now and Christ will be seen not only as the New Covenant's mediator but as its Passover Lamb.

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 1 Cor 5:7 NKJV.

From Passover to Pentecost: the First Passover

The people of the Sinai Covenant celebrated and often still celebrate the events that marked the beginning of a unique nation with a unique destiny.

The celebration began somewhere around three and a half millennia ago. It began in Egypt among a people who served as the slave nation to the great world power of the Pharaohs. It began with a groan and a cry. God heard the cry. He always hears our cry.

Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. Ex 2:23 NKJV.

430 years earlier the patriarch Abraham had been plunged into a deep sleep and while he slept he witnessed the making of a covenant and heard a prophecy that predicted his descendants would become a slave nation. Gen 15:13. Fast forward 400 years and we find a huge people group living in Egypt as the worker-slaves of the Egyptian state. Their social development was still based on family units but elders had emerged who coordinated the family units and served as the official link between the state and the workers. The group comprised not only blood descendants of Abraham but included the 'family households' of the descendants of Abraham's bloodline. Gen 45:18.

God raised up Moses and moved in sovereign power to bring deliverance for the slaves. The promises made personally to Abraham and to each successive generation were to be incorporated into a national destiny for a new nation. But first they must be set free. No man can serve two masters and if the nation was to be God's nation and obedient to God's will its people must be freed from the hostile will of their current master.

Their deliverance would commence with a forward looking celebration. God's judgment would fall upon the host nation. The eldest sons in the homes of the Hebrews would only be spared as they submitted to the rule of God under his spokesman, Moses. Lambs were to be slaughtered and the flesh and blood used in a ritual meal. The roast flesh was to be eaten and the shed blood applied to the doorposts and lintels of their homes.

The first celebration of the "Passover" would be looking forward to their deliverance and their journey to a new future. The first Passover took place in a foreign land and was a sober act of faith. They ate it prepared for the journey; their sandals on their feet, their staff in their hand, their few belongings on their back and the whole group ready to move at a moment's notice.

The letter to the Hebrews makes an interesting distinction between the covenant's mediator and the covenant's recipients. The writer records it so...

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. Heb 11:28–29 NKJV.

"He (Moses) kept the Passover... they passed through the Red Sea". Without Moses' initiation and faith there would have been no Exodus.

Fast forward again now, some 1300 years or so. Jesus and his apostles are gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Last Passover. The disciples are perplexed and are hesitant in their faith. The Mediator of the Covenant moves with calm faith. His hour has come. He will initiate this New Covenant. His faith will win the victory and gain their deliverance. Their faith will be needed later. When their deliverance is achieved they will need to move forwards. on their own feet; their own journey into a new future.

The LORD thy God

The phrase is found in 264 verses and, according to my Bible Software, 196 of those verses are in the book of Deuteronomy. The exodus people had become God's people and the whole of Deuteronomy is based on the fact that this miracle has already taken place. Let me give you some more statistics...

Whenever we find the word LORD or GOD in upper case in our Bibles it is an indication that the original Hebrew word is a proper name. It is the name enshrined in many of our hymns and often in our personal testimony as Jehovah. (It was almost certainly pronounced more like Yahweh but the name Yahweh has very little personal history for most Christians, so I'll stick to Jehovah.) In the old KJV you will find the name Jehovah, and its cognates, used in just five verses. In more modern versions it has vanished altogether; e.g. the ESV. the NJKV, the NASB, the NIV, the NLT. God's proper name has vanished from our modern versions. The old ASV on the other hand uses it constantly, 6777 times! (For study I heartily recommend the ASV for the Old Testament!)

The Sinai Covenant people grew nervous of the name Jehovah. They were aware of the warning for anyone using the name wrongly; Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Ex 20:7 ASV. To avoid the danger they refused to use it altogether and a tradition grew of saying 'Lord' whenever the proper name Jehovah appeared in the scripture reading. Alternatively they would use the word 'Shem' which means 'name'. Perhaps our translators share their nervousness? The downside is that the proper name of God is seldom used and we are much the poorer for that.

Have you ever had someone introduce themselves to you and say "my friends call me Ron" or something similar. It is an endearing thing to do. I have travelled in many countries where Christians are much more formal and would far prefer to call me Pastor or Brother. I always encourage them to call me Ron. I want them to get to know me as a person not as a role. Let me illustrate. I have a dear friend who was my pastor for many years. I always referred to him as Rector. That designation developed its own unique atmosphere and became more like a proper name. I can never say the word 'Rector' without a rich flow of memories. Some time ago, he is now in his 90s, he suggested I might call him 'Philip'. I can't do it. My emotions don't respond to 'Philip'. My emotional memory doesn't know who Philip is!

God introduced himself to the exodus people as 'Jehovah'. The name was designed to acquire its own rich emotional memories. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them. Ex 6:2–3 ASV.

Think about it for a while. We'll pause and next time we will look at some of the emotional memories that the name Jehovah was intended to carry.

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

I have reverted to the Old English for the purpose of focus. This is not a command to a church community or to a nation but to an individual. "Thou, (you personally) shalt love thy neighbour." And my, not our, neighbour is the man who lives next door, the man within reach. This is beginning to get a little close and personal!

It has been calculated that there are 643 separate laws that were given to the people of Israel. Jesus condensed the list into 2 principles which, if carried through, fulfil the whole law. This is the second of the two; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. At first glance it seems as if the bar has been lowered and the whole obligation made much more general; until you think it through. There is an obscure verse in the Proverbs which declares that "the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth." (Prov 17:24) It's much easier to maintain benevolent thoughts of our neighbours in the 'global village', in the ends of the earth, but how am I getting on with the man next door?

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." (Eccles 9:10) That's another verse that brings things that are within reach into our focus. Oh, if I had the opportunity I would preach fearlessly to thousands. Really, what about the one within reach, the one that your hand can reach out and find, the man within reach, the neighbour, the man next door?

And what about that last part? I am to love my neighbour, as myself? As myself? Really? When he plays his music too loud? When parks his car in my space? When his dog... Some hope!

Yes, it is...
Rom. 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Have a blessed New Year.

The Greatest Promise: 10th August, 2012. Devon UK

I have been painting with a broad brush. I have wanted to capture the great sweep of God's purpose in his modus operandi, his way of working. We have examined why God has chosen to insist on our co-operation in his thrilling plans. We have examined a little of the character of the God who has staked his name and reputation on his power to perform what he has promised. We have seen God's goal in using everything that touches the lives of his people to further his plan of revealing the likeness of Christ in them. This can all be summed up in The Promise.

Calvary's work was done; the great triumphal shout echoes still down the centuries; it is finished. John 19:30. And now Luke sets the scene for the triumphs of the ascended Christ to begin;

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; Acts 1:4 NKJV.

This is not a promise, this is The Promise. Even as the shadow of the cross hung over the Passover meal in the upper room he had looked beyond its sufferings to the glories that would follow;

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16–17 NKJV.

The coming of the Spirit would be the ultimate proof that the sacrifice of Calvary had been accepted and that Christ had ascended to his Father's throne. Listen to the way in which Peter explains the events of the Day of Pentecost;

Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. Acts 2:33 NKJV.

It is the inauguration day, among men, of the New Covenant. The indwelling Christ would be the result of the indwelling Spirit. No longer only 'with us' but now 'in us'. Now those Old Testament promises would find all their fulfilment;

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:33–34 NKJV.

Emmanuel, 'God with us' had become 'Christ in us, the Hope of Glory'.

…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature,having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith... 2 Pet 1:3–5 NKJV.

The solid foundation is laid, now we can begin to add...





If you would like to follow up more of the implications of this 'greatest promise' check out my book; The Better Covenant

The God of the Promises: 7th August, 1012. Devon UK.

So today is scheduled to be the second of our Bible Studies on the Promises of God. I wanted to give some thought to the nature of the God who has determined to work his purposes through the fulfilment of his promises. What kind of a person would take this route?

We could know nothing of God unless he had chosen to reveal himself and the record of the Bible is just that. God revealing himself in this record of history and revelation. Often God revealed himself by his name. This may be a little difficult for us to see clearly, but God's names are not arbitrary identification labels, as so often our are. Each name is a personal revelation of his character. The names of God Almighty or Jehovah are not used accidentally in the Bible but as recorded insights into the character of God. If the first question is 'is there a God', the second must be 'what is he like?'

God told the people of Israel that he was going to reveal himself to them under the name of Jehovah. It was probably pronounced Yahweh, but we won't get distracted with that. The name was so special that God said anyone who used it with disrespect would be cut off from God's people. The people were so anxious to ensure that they did not misuse it that they almost stopped using it altogether. You will not find it in most modern translations. In the old King James version you will find it used just four times; Ex 6:3; Psa 83:18; Is 12:2; 26:4. In the American Standard Version of 1902 you will find it used 6777 times! From Exodus to Malachi the story is of Jehovah and his people. The people of Israel were intended to be the authentic 'Jehovah's Witnesses';

Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Is 43:10 ASV.

When God 'introduced himself' to the people of Israel he gave the name by which they were to know him and signed his name to an amazing plan. With the meticulous care of a legal document he signed his name at the beginning and at the end of an amazing manifesto;

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah. Ex 6:6–8 ASV.

Seven times, the words ring out like the peal of a great bell; I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., I will.., God declared his will with absolute clarity… and put his name to it.
This is the 'kind' of God who stands behind his promises. A God who cannot lie and has staked his name and reputation on his power to deliver what he has promised.

And the New Covenant is better than this! Take each one of these seven declarations and transpose them into the language of reality of the better covenant. It is little wonder that the writer to the Hebrews writes…

But now

He (Christ) has obtained a more excellent ministry,

inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant,

which was established on better promises.

Heb 8:6–7 NKJV.

Each of the chapters of The Better Covenant ends with a brief summary. I thought it might be interesting for some to get a feel of how the book develops, so here are a few summaries of the first chapters. To begin here is the foreword by Johan Companjen.

Foreword: Johan Companjen
During more than 30-years of travel around the world, I have often noted that many Christians have little knowledge of the basic truths described in God's Word, the Bible. They know the stories from the Old and New Testaments, but fail to see the connection between them or God's overall, marvellous plan with mankind. So many Christians know so little about God's Covenant with His people.

That is why the book you hold in your hand is so important. Ron Bailey's clear description and explanation of God's age transcending covenants with his people paints the bigger picture. I have been blessed, challenged and encouraged to realize again, while reading Ron's book, that God has a wonderful 'master plan' – not only with creation but with all of mankind. I'm so blessed every time I read how the Lord 'went out of His way' to reveal His plans to mankind throughout the Bible, as Ron shares so clearly in this book.

"The Better Covenant" is solid spiritual food for all who are not satisfied with just emotions or good feelings, but have a desire to dig deeper into the truths of God's Word.

May this book be used to draw many into a covenant relationship with the Lord of the Universe, the Saviour of mankind, our wonderful God and Father who longs for us to be part of His plan.

Johan Companjen
President Emeritus Open Doors International

The Better Covenant Book Launch

Well, we finally got to the starting line. I started this a couple of years ago and completed the first draft in a very short time but then came contacts with publishers and proof readings, and a couple of years of distracting illness and the project stalled. In the last few weeks I have returned to it and it is now available as a Kindle download from the Amazon website.

Kindle is both a device and a file format but there are free Kindle-Players available for PC, Mac, iPhone, Android etc You can download the Kindle app for the PC from Kindle App for the PC If you use a Mac just linger on the same page and you will be redirected.

One of the great features of eBooks is that you can download free samples to get an idea of the book and its style. With the Better Covenant you get 3 chapters and a table of contents to give you some idea of where the book is heading. Download a sample and see if it catches your interest.

This is from the back cover of the printed version;
The final hours of Christ’s pre-Calvary life focused on the themes of a new Passover, a new Kingdom and a New Covenant. This New Covenant stands in stark distinction to the Covenant enjoyed by the saints of the Old Testament. It is said to be ‘new’ and ‘better’ and ‘more glorious’ but for many its uniqueness has become uncertain. It is often described in contrast to the older Covenant; the writer to the Hebrews does this, as does Paul, as did Christ. Perhaps its determining feature can be expressed in the contrast implied in the statement; …but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:17 NKJV

The conscious reception of the indwelling Spirit is the point of entrance into this New Covenant. This receiving of the Spirit effects the work of regeneration and fulfils the promises of the New Covenant made by Jeremiah and Ezekiel in which they see a new and different covenant in which old things would pass away and all things become new. This powerful regeneration/baptism in Spirit takes a man out of Adam and puts him into Christ thereby creating a ‘new man’ with new powers and instincts.

This book explores the salvation history of the Bible, examining the background to the promise of the New Covenant as introduced in the Old Testament and the fulfilment of that promise in the New Testament. It traces Paul’s exciting discovery that the New Covenant contained a ‘secret’ which opened God’s kingdom to all races and conditions of humankind. It examines the implications of this better covenant for a true understanding and practise of daily living in the New Covenant.

You can download the Kindle version from The Better Covenant at Amazon.com If it tells you that the 'pricing information is not available' it just wants you to go to Amazon in your own country for pounds or euros. If you search in Kindle books you should find it without problem.

I will try to add a few more blogs to give you an idea of what the book is about. Although you can download a free sample or go to the Amazon and read the first three and a bit chapters.

A printed version will be available in a couple of weeks but the eBook version is ready right now.

For all who have been praying for this project, my hearty thanks!

but do we believe it?

I was listening to some favourite Christian songs on my iPod. They came from some radio programmes I did a few years ago; Breakfast Meditations. On the third or fourth morning I was thinking about the Greek word poiema. If it looks like our word 'poem' that is no accident, that's where our word comes from. It means 'made' but with the sense of a design and process and completion.

It's the word used in...

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, Rom 1:20 NKJV

You can see the sense of the word here as it refers to the creation. The 'creation' is not a random accident but a carefully planned and crafted work of art. It was designed and executed with a clear purpose that Isaiah identifies...

For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. Is 45:18 NKJV

There we have it. It was not created 'in vain' ie without purpose, but to be inhabited. What is the purpose of the creation? We are. But what is our purpose? Ah, that's another question.

The word poiema is only used twice in the Bible. The second time is in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Eph 2:10 NKJV

So each time poiema is used it is in the context of creation. The first time in the context of the natural creation but the second time in the context of another creation... the Church. By the 'Church' I don't mean a denomination or the conglomerate of Christian gatherings. I don't even mean the sum total of all evangelicals throughout the world. This is not an accumulation but a creation; a new creation. Something which did not exist and then as a result of carefully planning exists as a work of art which was executed with a master's skill.

So, is the Church a beautiful but fatally flawed human concept or is it a divine poiema? Is it the result of a Gentile section grafted onto a faithful Jewish remnant or is it a new creation?

For Paul it is a single family comprised of those in heaven and those on earth upon whom God has put his name; he has owned them as his own. Eph 3:14,15. Part of this new creation's purpose is to manifest to 'powers and principalities in the heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God'. Eph 3:10. Like the first creation is has not been formed 'in vain' but in order to be inhabited... by God himself. Eph2:19-22.

It is enough to keep us awake at night in breathless wonder at the audacity of God's great plan and work of grace... but do we believe it?

Some thoughts on Bible versions. Part 5. ESV

More vanishing truths. ESV

The ESV comes highly recommended by almost everyone. It is an evangelical revision of the Revised Standard Version. (Bible-Researcher: ESV It began as a reaction to the 'inclusive NIV' and it is advocated by a galaxy of evangelical academics. Originally it claimed to be adopting a 'literal equivalence' philosophy of translation but now seems to have adopted the phrase 'essentially literal'. It has the easy reading style of its RSV and is gaining acceptance in many circles. I use it frequently in my studies; but I don't trust it.

Several times in the writing of Paul we have reference to a contrast between what he calls 'the old man' and 'the new man'. Rom 6:6; Eph 2:15; 4:22, 24; Col 3:9–10. It is a thrilling image and one that is crucial to a true understanding of Paul's teaching about the effects of regeneration. The references make it clear that there can be no peaceful co-existence between the 'old man' and the 'new man'. In a key passage in Romans Paul details the consequences of the behaviour of 'one man'; Adam, and goes on to expound the consequent effect of our union with Adam being ended and our union with the 'new man' being begun. That foundational understanding is necessary in understanding Paul's teaching about the 'old man' and the 'new man' and their mutual exclusivity. It is key to understanding the nature of the new life into which the Spirit brings us.

The 'old man' is human solidarity under the wrong head and is the direct consequence of Adam's first rebellion. That act created a different kind of 'man' and a different entity to which we are all joined by first birth. Adam is said to be a type/figure of another man; the new man, Christ Jesus. What a tragedy then than all these ideas are cut off at the root by the ESV decision to interpret 'the old man' and the 'new man' as the 'old self' and a 'new self'. In the ESV we slide from direct Biblical revelation into the mists of psycho-babble and non-biblical notions of 'the self'. It is quite impossible to get back to revealed truth from this position. The truth of the end of 'the old man' and the beginning of the 'new man' have disappeared from the ESV.

And not only from the ESV... the NIV takes this same route, as does the NASB. What we have here, in the ESV and in the NASB are versions which claim to hold to 'literal equivalence' but which have chosen to translate these key passages in the light of 'dynamic equivalence'. I know that many of my friends will disagree with me, but I hold that it is impossible to understand what Paul is teaching about the radical nature of regeneration if we confine our studies and thinking to the likes of the ESV, NIV and NASB.

His Temptation and Ours

This was the title of Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest’ entry for 18th Sept. It started my thoughts running in a different but not not contradictory direction. It is helpful, I think, to consider the nature of the saints’ temptations; and by ‘saint’ in this context I mean the regenerate. Hebrews declares that “he was tempted in all points as we are,” Heb 4:15. He was, we are... but who is ‘we’? Historically it is the group made up of the writer of Hebrews and his readers. If we remember how the writer described his readers, Heb 6:4–5, they are clearly ‘the regenerate’ or as I shall call them from now on ‘the saints’. So this group really includes all the saints AND Christ himself; there is a kind of temptation that is unique to the ‘sons of God’. The Hebrews passage is not telling us that Christ experienced every possible temptation that mankind has experienced but a particular kind of temptation, the temptation of the sons of God.

There was a moment in Christ’s life when God publicly confirmed him to be ‘the Son of God’. His temptations, as recorded in the gospel narratives, were the direct result of this ‘witness of God’ that he was who he was. “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,” Luke 4:1 KJV Luke makes the connection very clear. The Temptation in the Wilderness was not just the temptation of an ordinary man but of a man identified as ‘son o f God’ and who was ‘full of the Holy Spirit’; this is the temptation of a ‘saint’; a holy one.

According to Oswald Chambers, “Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is that mentioned by James - ‘Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." But by regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face’. The thing to notice about the wilderness temptations of the Son of God is that his temptations were entirely external; they did not come from inside but from an alien spirit on the outside. These temptations did not come ‘from’ a heart that was ‘crooked beyond all other crookednesses and incurable’ Jer 17:9 but they came ‘to’ a heart that was in perfect alignment with God.

When we have become ‘saints’ by regeneration and God has borne witness with our spirits that we are ‘children of God’, and we are living in the 'fulness of the Spirit', it will not mean the ‘end of temptation’ but as OC expresses it ‘ ...by regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face’. Our defence against an external enemy will need to be very different to our defence against an internal enemy.

It is a vital element of spiritual warfare that we "know our enemy".