Jesus quoted Genesis 2 when he said, “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two people will become one” (Mt 19.5).
That last phrase — ‘become one flesh’ — is extremely cool. Its literal meaning is a polite way of saying, “They will be physically intimate.” In God’s eyes this is the moment a man and woman become One. It’s also why Paul warned so strongly against abusing this gift in I Corinthians 6.16.
But it goes so much further than that. God gives us the ability to develop a transcendent, impossible-to-describe closeness with another human being that rivals anything else in reality. If husband and wife are willing to put in the work, practice selflessness, value each other, and aim for Jesus’s return, God gives you the best friend you’ll ever have.
You’ll know things without having to ask. You’ll communicate without having to speak. Your lives will — in many literal ways — become One. You’ll have a closeness with someone that defies any ability to describe it, a relationship that you’ll value above anything else. Life’s problems become so much smaller when two peoples’ souls merge.
And this is how we get to experience marriage after humanity’s fall! I am thankful for marriage because God gave us a way to have a connection with someone else that’s almost spooky. The world will always be chaotic. We’ll often have reminders of how stinky this life can be. We’ll experience grief, anger, happiness, peace, anxiety, chaos, and everything else — but as two who became one. Marriage is a tangible proof that God loves us and wants only what’s best for us.
A strong marriage is the most powerful weapon we have against our enemy. It’s the most fulfilling aspect of being alive. It gives us the potential to become something far greater than we could achieve alone. It’s grounding, inspiring, sustaining. It makes us stronger, it models forgiveness, it shows how powerful real love is.
God gave us a lot of cool stuff — marriage is by far the greatest physical blessing of them all. It merges our limitations with some of the transcendent and gives us a glimpse into what new life will be like. Thank God for marriage!
Despite our cultural baggage, making us shy away from terms like “master” and “slave,” nothing more accurately reflects the inequity between ourselves and the sovereign control Christ should have in our individual lives (cf. John 13:13). When the New Testament speaks of a “lord,” it means one who is possessor or owner and one who is in a position of authority. Both senses reveal who Jesus is. He bought us with blood, but He only has full control if we allow Him. He has been given all authority by the Father Himself (Colossians 1:16-18), but the more we let Him have control of us and the more we submit to Him the more we appreciate Him and have peace within ourselves. But, the slave does not tell the master what to do, how to run things, or sneak around trying to subvert his wishes. Our every effort should be to try and please Him.
He Will Be Our Judge
Many times the New Testament tells us we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. He is a consummately fair Judge. In fact, He comes into the proceedings not wanting to find anyone guilty. What is more, He once died to keep us from being found guilty. He loves every single defendant from Adam to the last person born before His second coming. But, He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). He will not allow into heaven those who refused to obey Him (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:11-15). But to those who obey Him, He will say “well done” and “come home.”
He Is Our High Priest
He is called this ten times in the book of Hebrews and only in that epistle. To fully appreciate the work of the High Priest, we need to read the first five books of the Bible. But, the book of Hebrews gives a great overview of Christ as our High Priest. Three adjectives, “faithful,” “merciful,” and “great” (2:17; 4:14), describe this High Priest. But the textbook definition is in Hebrews 5:1, “selected from among men” and “appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
Our High Priest was selected from among men (5:4-6), but Christ was perfect for the job because He has no weakness or sin (9:7). Despite knowing our many weaknesses and sins, He is gentle.
Our High Priest represents us to God. The role of High Priest exists for the welfare of the people. There is a great distance between ourselves and God because of our nature and our sins. But there is also a deep feeling on God’s part to have fellowship and relationship with us. While He had no weakness or sin, He came to know suffering (4:15; 5:7). Who could be a better advocate than God who became man and now represents man to God. Our High Priest made atonement for people’s sins. If you mark every time the word “atonement” appears in the Pentateuch, you will use a lot of ink–it is found 76 times just between Exodus and Numbers. Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, is better known as the “Day of Atonement.” We were united to God, we broke the union by sin, atonement (making right or holy) was needed, and an acts is made to bring us back into union with God. Under the Old Law, there was no permanent act the High Priest could per- form to take care of sin once for all (9:28-10:5,10). To understand Jesus is to understand One who willingly left heaven to provide this act that brings man and God back together (7:25-27).
It is incomprehensible, but the High Priest and the sacrifice are one and the same. Let us never fail to stop and ask, “Why would He do this?” This helps us to better know Jesus. As the song suggests, it was “because He loved me so.”
He Is Our Intercessor
The Bible says Jesus makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). Like atonement, intercession can seem like a difficult concept. Intercession simply means, “An act of pleading on somebody’s behalf, petition, or act of trying to settle a dispute.” A defense attorney is an intercessor, and so is an arbitrator. Remarkable, Christ is both at the same time. He passionately defends us, but He is as much God as He is man. So, He has as much standing in heaven as He has concern for men on earth.
As our intercessor, He allows us access to the Father. In prayer, God listens to us but also hears His Son pleading on our behalf. The question to ask is, “Do I know Jesus like that?” If I do not, I am depriving myself. When we fail to pray, we miss out on this. The greatest part of Jesus’ intercession is that our case will never be turned over to another representative in heaven. Christ ever lives to make intercession for us. So He wants to represent us, is able to, and ever lives to do so. We draw near to God through Him.
He Is Our Friend
We could have no better friend than Jesus. He is willing to befriend people most people would not befriend (Matthew 11:19). He looks out for the best interest of His friends (John 15:15). He spares no sacrifice for His friends (John 15:13). Friendship means devotion, genuine care, and longing for our best interest. Jesus offered His friendship when we were undeserving, undesirable, and ungodly (Ephesians 2:5). The question is, “What kind of friend am I to Jesus?” (cf. John 15:14).
How do you know Jesus? Is He friend, acquaintance, or stranger? We sing another song, one sung as if Jesus were saying it to us. One verse reads, “I’ve suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell, of bitt’rest agony, to rescue thee from hell; I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?” What kind of friend have we been to Jesus? He has done so much for us! May our greatest desire be to come to know Him better every day!
I’ll be repeating the book of I John in present-day terminology. It’s not a true translation of the book, as I am not qualified to do so. It will be based on an exegetical study of the book and will lean heavily on the SBL and UBS Greek New Testaments, as well as comparisons with other translations (ESV, NASB, NIV, ERV, NLT). My goal is to reflect the text accurately, and to highlight the intent of the author using concepts and vocabulary in common use today.
This is not an “essentially literal” translation, and should be read as something of a commentary.
Friend or Foe
This is how you know you’re with him: he gave us his spirit.1 Loved ones, don’t believe every spirit, but really put them to the test to see if they came from God. You’ll need to test them because a whole lot of fake teachers were sent2 to the world.
This is how you know if a spirit came from God: every spirit that comes from God will acknowledge that Jesus was sent to earth as a human. If a spirit refuses to acknowledge this, it isn’t God’s. In fact, it’s the spirit of Jesus’s enemies. You heard that the spirit of Jesus’s enemy was coming — it’s here now.
Young ones, you are from God and have already beaten these spirits. How? Jesus is far more powerful than his enemies, and he’s with you. These enemies come from the world, so they talk like it — and the world listens to them. But we came from God. If you know God, you’ll listen to us. God’s enemies are the ones who don’t listen to us. This is how you can tell the difference between a legitimate spirit and a fake one.
1 In this context, πνευματος is used to mean something like “ethos” or “system of teaching”. God sent a legitimate belief system, then Satan counterattacked by sending a ton of illegitimate information to make truth more difficult to find.
2 This is further evidenced by εξεληλυθασιν in 4.1 and εληλυθοτα in 4.2. The former describes false teachers sent to earth. The latter describes the one true teacher sent to earth.
Henry Adams wrote, “One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, and three are hardly possible.” While I do not share his pessimism or cynicism, I do believe that true, close friends are certainly not prevalent. There are too many factors at play. Friendships take time, trust, and transparency. Some things can be barriers to developing close companionship from contrasting values to clashing viewpoints.
The Bible gives insight into factors essential to building true, lasting friendships. Since God made man, He knows what makes us tick and operate at our optimism levels. Here are four quick principles:
A Friend Loves At All Times (Proverbs 17:17).
Solomon does not suggest blind loyalty or blanket endorsement. Scripture does not encourage fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11), but it also points out that we all struggle with sin problems (Rom. 3:23). We also are prone to weak moments and we go through trials and reverses of fortune. It is a blessing to know we have people we can count on to be there even when we’re not at our best or enjoying our mountaintop moments (Heb. 12:12-13; Rom. 12:15).
For The Despairing Man, There Should Be Kindness From His Friend (Job 6:14).
For every one we exchange superficial greetings with, even as we are carrying our hidden cares, we need true friends to turn to for help when we face deep needs in our hours of trial. Rare is the friend who knows, sympathizes, and is ready to help with a kind word or deed. You can imagine how Job’s friends added to his despair by failing to offer that when he needed it most. So many things bring despair–job loss, family crisis, financial reverse, health issues, and other life changes. It is then that astute acts of kindness make a lasting impact and forge true friendships.
If They Fall, One Will Lift Up His Fellow (Ecc. 4:10).
Solomon does not specify whether the falling is physical, emotional, or spiritual. No matter what makes us fall, it is the trustworthy response of a friend that he focuses on. How tragic not to have someone in our lives with a ready hand when we are sinking! What if we are falling away from God (Jas. 5:19-20)? What if we are losing faith or overwhelmed (Mat. 14:30)? “The Lord sustains all who fall” (Ps. 145:14), and what a blessing when He does so through a faithful friend!
Faithful Are The Wounds Of A Friend (Prov. 27:6).
We need people in our lives who are more than “yes” men and women. True friends care enough to correct if we are going off course. We need those who don’t just rubber stamp our speech, validate our every action, or automatically take our side. None of that helps us refine our character or makes us fit for the Master’s use. It’s not easy to tell someone we like and care about that they’ve fallen short in some way, but having a friend that deep and genuine is a true blessing in life.
These passages challenge me to ask, “What kind of friend am I to others?” Am I deeper than a fellow sport’s fan, a person with common interests, or even a co-member of the church? Can I be counted on to be there in the valleys as well as the mountaintop days? Can I be trusted with kindness on despairing days? Am I a lifter? Do I have the courage even to say the difficult things in difficult moments? I want to be that kind of friend to my friends!
Some of our dearest friends, whom we were blessed to see this past weekend.
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