The following Scripture passages are offered to aid beginning fellowships. The readings and commentary for this week are more in line with what has become usual; for the following will most likely be familiar observations. The concept behind this Sabbath’s selection is laboring for one’s support.
Weekly Readings
For the Sabbath of July 9, 2011
The person conducting the Sabbath service should open services with two or three hymns, or psalms, followed by an opening prayer acknowledging that two or three (or more) are gathered together in Christ Jesus’ name, and inviting the Lord to be with them.
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Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. / As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. (2 Thess 3:6–15 emphasis added)
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The Apostle Paul had, according to him, the right not to labor with his hands for his subsistence; however, as an example to the brethren he did not exercise the right he possessed by virtue of being called to teach the things of God, but chose instead to labor day and night, saying of himself elsewhere,
Already you [saints at Corinth] have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. (1 Cor 4:8–13 emphasis added)
The reason, again, that Paul gives for not burdening those saints that he taught was to set an example, but an example not just for the saints but also for others who would teach/tutor the Body of Christ:
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! / And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Cor 11:7–15 emphasis added)
Any Christian minister or teacher or theologian who does not labor with his hands to provide those things that are necessary for his [or her] support but either demands support from parishioners or begs support can probably escape being identified as the scum of this earth, the refuse of all things.
However, the minister who labors remains qualified to receive and to accept support, the first [receiving support] being voluntary giving by disciples both near and from afar, and the second [accepting support] being the voluntary act of the one who teaches so as to share his or her spiritual rewards and blessings with those who have received instruction … the inference of what Paul writes about having robbed other churches is that the resources of a congregation—resources given to support a ministry—should be spent in the geographical area from where the resources came. When the brothers came from Macedonia and supplied Paul’s needs, the brothers from Macedonia gave to Paul resources that should have been spent in Macedonia, with Paul having unmet needs (needs that exceeded his ability to provide them through the work of his hands) being an indictment of the saints at Corinth who should have been supplying to Paul those things which the brothers from Macedonia supplied to Paul.
Needs are not wants: the person who teaches needs food, shelter, and raiment. The most modest of houses will provide adequate shelter for a teacher or pastor. The garb of a workman is adequate raiment for a teacher or pastor. A bowl of lentils or a bowl of peas, beans, or hominy is adequate food. … A pastor or teacher is to serve the ones he or she teaches, not to be served by them; hence, the pastor or teacher should not live in a manner that exceeds the mean of those whom he or she serves. The minister who burdens those whom he or she teaches does not labor as Paul labored and is imitating Paul as Paul imitated Christ Jesus (1 Cor 11:1 ). The minister or congregation or denomination that burdens parishioners is not of Christ Jesus, who fed the hungry and did not take up a collection from the crowds that followed Him. The pastor or teacher who burdens those whom he or she teaches is of the Adversary—
· The minister who takes up a collection, exercising his right to do so through some variant of him being the shepherd of the flock, is a spiritual bastard, a person who claims to be a son of God when in reality he is a child of the Adversary;
· The denomination that asks to receive the tithes and offerings of parishioners, especially a denomination that asks its members to send all moneys to a distant headquarters such as was the practice of the former Worldwide Church of God, wittingly or unwittingly serves the Adversary;
· The congregation that sustains itself through the passing of a collection plate every Sabbath or every Sunday is an active agent of the Adversary.
The minister who works on the same terms as the Apostle Paul worked will always be a little behind in paying his or her obligations, and will, as a result, be considered scum … again, why was Paul hungry, poorly dressed, homeless? Why was Paul, when in Corinth, in need? Why did the brothers from Macedonia, when finding Paul in need, have to supply those things that the saints at Corinth should have voluntarily supplied to Paul?
Paul said that he labored with his hands as an example to the holy ones at Thessalonica so that the holy ones would labor six days a week, resting on the Sabbath[s] but toiling every other day. But Jesus, whom Paul imitated, said,
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6:19–21)
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. / Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. / Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt 6:24–34)
The two teachings—labor with one’s hands to support the person versus trusting God to supply one’s needs as sparrows and lilies have their needs met without toiling with hands—would seem incompatible: the first forming the basis for a theological doctrine of works while the second forms the core of salvation by faith alone.
Pause and consider the physical example that Paul left with disciples wherever he labored: the Christian who does not labor with his or her hands to support him or herself is a burden to others, while being given to idleness and the pursuit of busybodies. The justification for not working will always be that the person is pursuing the things of God through prayer and study when in reality the person is a busybody, meddling in the affairs of others. Paul tells Timothy,
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. (1 Tim 1:3–7 emphasis added)
The pastor or would-be teacher who does not labor with hands to support him or herself—the person who desires to be a teacher of the law or one who instructs others in the principles of faith—will meddle in the affairs of silly women who are blown about by every wind of doctrine simply because the person doesn’t have enough to physically do to occupy his or her time. This would-be teacher will make confident assertions about things the person doesn’t fully understand without realizing the harm the person does physically and spiritually. And the problem of wannabe teachers being busybodies has been complicated by the social safety-net programs of Western Europe and America, programs that permit a person to retire from laboring with his or her hands at a relatively young age: this retired person, while having love for God and a heart desiring to serve God, then goes on to involve him or herself in the personal affairs of [almost without exception] other men’s wives. And returning to what Paul wrote, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thess 3:11–12).
The person who has not been called by God to be a teacher should not teach. A desire to teach is not a calling to teach. Having a heart to serve the Lord is not a calling to teach. A calling to teach is what Paul received on the road to Damascus. And with that calling to teach—a calling that had Paul going to the uncircumcised (Gal 2:7)—came the authority to receive tithes and offerings, with Paul establishing that those individuals who taught as he taught (i.e., taught through his authority to go to Gentiles) should not burden the ones being taught through asking for support.
No person has the right or authority to teach Christ to non-Hebrews except through a continuation of the ministry of the Apostle Paul, meaning that the Christian pastor or teacher must also work on the same terms and conditions that Paul imposed upon himself, with Paul’s terms leaving the pastor or teacher being considered the scum of the earth. And there is no way to overemphasize that when working as Paul worked, laboring with his hands day and night to support himself with his labor forming an example of parishioners, the Christian pastor or wannabe teacher will not have time enough to be a busybody, consulting foolish women and explicating things the person doesn’t fully understand. Hence, a tension exists between works and faith, especially so when Paul said he was considered the scum of the earth, hungry, poorly dressed, homeless, even though he labored day and night with his hands to support himself while trusting God. This tension lies at the core of the Christian message, with it being manifested in what Paul added to his initial instructions to Timothy:
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (1 Tim 1:8–11 emphasis added)
The base situation remains the same: the law is for the lawless and disobedient, with every person having been consigned to disobedience so that God could have mercy upon the person (Rom 11:32). Every person is humanly born as a slave of the Adversary, a person bought and sold in a transaction made long ago—made when Adam was driven from the Garden of God and condemned to eating the plants of the field (Gen 3:18, 22–24).
For the person condemned to toiling in the dust of this earth, eating bread by the sweat of the person’s brow, there will never be enough, regardless of how much the person has: disciples, however, are not to labor to acquire the good things of this world, those things about which John writes—
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)
—but rather are to labor to support themselves, providing for themselves what Jesus said the Father would supply to them (i.e., provide food, drink, raiment).
In this world, the labor of a disciple’s hands will never adequately supply the disciple with the good things of this world: the Adversary simply will not “bless” a human son of God with those things over which he presently reigns unless—and this is a major caveat—possession of the finer things of this world will prevent the disciple from entering the kingdom of the heavens. Then, when possession of the finer things of this world will keep the disciple from entering the kingdom, the Adversary as the prince of this present world will give to a human son of God those things that will kill this son.
If Satan can prevent a son of God from retaining indwelling eternal life [life received from receipt of the holy spirit — pneuma hagion] by simply giving to the son of God those things that the flesh desires [food and sex] and those things that the eyes desire [worldly possessions], Satan will heap these things on the disciple, thereby burying the dying and soon dead son of God under a mound of blessings, none of which came from God even though the disciple thanks God for them …
Simply being hungry, thirsty, homeless, poorly dressed even when toiling day and night is not cause for a disciple to jettison obedience to God and return to openly serving the Adversary as one of his sons; for the present prince of this world has a long history of rewarding his servants with both the wealth of this world and the tribulations that come with acquiring such wealth.
The disciple who must, in faith, beseech the Most High God for sufficient resources to maintain life has no cause for complaint when those resources arrive after bills are due and taxes need to be paid. The disciple has no cause for complaint if those resources never arrive, and the disciple finds him or herself hungry and homeless … is not this how Paul described himself?
A disciple can labor and not be compensated for his or her labor as any housewife knows and as many self-employed disciples know: there is no hard correspondence between labor and compensation. Likewise, there is no positive correspondence between spirituality and possession of the things of this world—if there were a correspondence, the relationship would be negative, meaning that the more things a Christian has, the farther the Christian is from God.
Jesus told His first disciples,
“Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matt 19:23–30 emphasis added)
In Luke’s account of this same discourse, Luke records Jesus saying, “‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.’” (Luke 18:29–30), with in this time usually translated to mean in this present pre-millennial age.
The evidence of history shows, rather, what Paul wrote was true: Christians were considered the scum of the earth throughout the 1st-Century CE. Only when Christians changed sides—that is, ceased worshiping God and began worshiping the Adversary, applying Jesus’ name to demons—did Christians prosper in this world, and eventually prosper to where the bishop of Rome determined who would be named as the Roman emperor. As long as Christians walked as Jesus, an observant Jew, walked they were considered scum; for they would not fight Rome for the independence of Judah and Jerusalem, hence they were rejected by Judaism, and they would not place human familial relations ahead of Christendom’s relationship with God so they were despised by Greeks.
The Christian message that Jesus delivered to His first disciples was an anti-family message in that Jesus said,
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 10:34–39 emphasis added)
The teachings of Jesus could not be sold to Greeks because of the anti-family message that lies at the core of Christendom: the person who has a flesh and blood body and whose father and mother, brothers and sisters are known to him or her is not who will be saved, but is the fleshly tent in which a living inner self, born of God as a son, born of God through receipt of a second breath of life, temporarily dwells once this inner self (inner man) is raised from the dead as the Father raised Jesus from death.
In His personhood; in His flesh and blood body, the man Jesus the Nazarene forms the shadow and type of the inner self that is without life prior to receiving the divine breath of God [pneuma Theon] as Jesus visibly received the divine breath of the Father in the form of a dove. And Scripture doesn’t record Jesus toiling with His hands for the things that He needed. Likewise, the inner self of a human person doesn’t toil with hands to provide those things that this inner self needs. However, the outer self will toil with hands to support the outer self, regardless of whether the outer self is male or female.
The Law is for the outer self that works to support the flesh. And about this subject more will be forthcoming.
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The person conducting the Sabbath service should close services with two hymns, or psalms, followed by a prayer asking God’s dismissal.
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"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."