Definitions – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

Church Words: Grace

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

At the end of many worship services, the pastor will announce God’s blessing to his people. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:23-26)

This is nothing new. Through Moses, God commanded priests to announce his grace to his people in this way. For 3,500 years, priests and pastors have done so. God blesses and watches over his people. God smiles at his people and favors them. He looks at them, and everything is right in the world.

The key word in this blessing is the word, “Grace” (Hebrew חנן (chanan) = to look at someone favorably, Greek χάρις (charis)= to view someone favorably, a gift given without strings attached) When describing God in the Old Testament, his prophets often announce: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (For example, Psalm 145:8, my translation) St. Paul opens almost all his letters with “Grace to you and peace…”) Almost all the time, Grace travels with the same words: “mercy,” “peace,” and “love,” among others.

God’s grace is not a thing that is given out when you do something. It is God’s attitude towards us. He loved us even before he made the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) When he thinks about us, he is inclined to be kind to us. It is not because we deserve his kindness. In our sin, we have turned our back on him, broken all his laws, ruined his creation, and deserve nothing but death and hell. Yet the good news is that, for the sake of Christ’s death on the cross, he looks on us ready to give his good gifts and his Spirit. It is by this grace alone that we are saved.

But there is more to grace than that he smiles at us. The Greeks used the word χάρις to refer to gifts given simply because someone loves us. Among these gifts are the Means of Grace, the gifts of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and God’s Word, which bring with them in turn the gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation — and the faith to receive them and to trust God to keep his promises. Grace is forever. It is how we can look forward to the day we see the smile on God’s face as he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Love

[Eighteenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

Love makes the world go around. We love our pets, our favorite food, good weather, our sports teams, our friends, freedom, and truth — just about everything. Americans seem to love just about everything!

In the Bible, two Hebrew words are used to speak about love. The word אהב (‘ahav — love) means just about the same things as our word love. In the Holy Scriptures, this term is most often used to mean the love shown by people, and is very rarely used for God’s love. The word חֶ֫סֶד (chesed — love, kindness, mercy, loving-kindness) is very hard, if not impossible, to translate. The King James Version called it lovingkindness. It is in almost all the expressions of God’s love in the Old Testament. The word חֶ֫סֶד and the Greek Word ἀγαπάω mean about the same thing. Yet it has a tenderness to it that includes compassion and mercy.

The Greek language of the New Testament has several words for love. φιλέω (phileo) is the love and affection between friends. ἔρος (Eros) is sexual love that is obsessed with another and is not satisfied until it gets what it wants. ἀγαπάω is a love that sacrifices for the good of the one it loves. (See 1 Corinthians 13) ἀγαπάω is God’s love and the love God wants us to show to him and our neighbors. With Faith and Hope, Love is the greatest of the three virtues and lasts forever.

Our love is rooted in God’s love. God loved us before he made the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) He loved us so much that he sacrificed his only Son to save us. (John 3:16-17) Because he first loved us, we love him and want to please him.

In the Gospel of John, we learn that God is Love. The two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbors. He commands us to love him and our neighbors. Jesus tells us that the whole of God’s law is to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-40) Actually, our love is itself God’s gift to us. The way people know we are disciples of Jesus is that we love each other. While our love in this world is not perfect, God’s love for us is perfect. It lasts forever and conquers even death.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Word: Hope

[Seventeenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

In today’s English, the word Hope means a wish for something we very much want to happen to come true. There is something about it that makes us doubt we will be so lucky. “Well, I hope so,” we’ll say.

In the Bible, hope is a bit different. Hope is something you have no doubt will happen, so much so that you can build your life on it. In theological terms, the Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Because it is God himself who promises these blessings, we can count on it and live our lives knowing it will happen. This is how Christians can suffer and die rather than deny their faith in Christ. It is why the burial service calls it “the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of the dead.”

Why is the Christian Hope so sure and certain? First, because God himself promises it in his Word. Second, because Jesus proved these promises are true by dying and rising again from the dead. So, he can be trusted to keep his promises that wherever he is, we will be as well. For us, hope becomes reality when we die. He comes to bring us to be with him forever. Exactly what happens then is a mystery.

But this is just the beginning of the blessings kept safe in Heaven for us. On the last day, Jesus will return in glory, and he will bring us with him. He will raise our bodies from the grave and change us to be like him. We will then be gathered before the throne and our names read from the Book of Life. We will then live with him forever in Paradise, where there is no more sorrow, crying, grief, or pain. God will make everything new. He will bring us to the great marriage feast of the Lamb, which will never end. This great hope gives us joy even in suffering, since we know it will pass away.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Faith

[Sixteenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

Faith is one of those “church words” that everyone knows and uses, but finds hard to pin down. We use it to mean everything from a family of church bodies to a system of beliefs people hold to trusting in God to accepting that something is true but that we cannot prove. Hebrew uses various forms of the word (אמן — ‘aman — firm, trustworthy, safe). The word “amen” comes from this same word. It means something like: “I believe that. I agree. It is true.”) The Greek language uses one word for both faith and belief. (πιστεύω — pisteoo — to believe, πίστις — pistis — Faith) When the New Testament uses the word, it refers to both what we believe and our trust in God to keep his promises to save us.

Many Christians think of faith or believing differently. They think it means something like accepting as true and as facts things they can’t prove, such as “Jesus is God,” “God will raise us from the dead on the last day,” and other teachings of the Holy Scripture. They may understand passages like Hebrews 11 to mean this. (For example, verse 1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”) What they miss is that most of the chapter is about what the Old Testament saints did because they trusted God and his promises. James, the brother of Jesus, demonstrates how mistaken this view of faith is when he wrote: ” You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ” (James 2:19)

When the Bible talks about faith in God (Saving Faith, Justifying Faith), it means trusting God to keep his promises, especially his promise to save us. This trust is not something we create by the things we do. It is created in us when the Holy Spirit comes to us through the Gospel, Baptism, or the Lord’s Supper. (Romans 1:17, John 20:30-31, Ephesians 1:13, Romans 1:16-17) Our faith clings to Jesus, believing that his sufferings and death on the cross forgive our sins and give us everlasting life. This faith responds to the Grace given to us in God’s Word and the Sacraments. It thanks God for his mercy, praises him, and inspires us to serve God and our neighbors.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Church Words: Omnipotent

Encore Post:

[Fifteenth in a series of posts on church words]

When we say that God is almighty, it seems simple enough. We can even explain it to a three-year-old: God can do whatever he wants. Yet the more we think about it, that God is omnipotent, παντοκράτορ — all-powerful, the more we have trouble taking it all in. We get a sense of this when a child asks the snarky question, “Can God make a rock that he can’t lift?” or when an opponent of the faith asks the classic question, “What did God do before he made the world?” The questions normally get the answer they deserve: an equally silly response like: “he made hell, so he has a place to send people who ask such questions!”

Such questions point out that there is a limit to how much we can understand about our maker. They show what happens when we try to pit one quality (attribute) of God against another. So … For God, who is eternal, time does not exist. There is no before or after creation for him. He makes all the rules, so he doesn’t have to follow them. That’s what makes a miracle possible.

When it comes to what God cannot do, we are inclined to answer “Nothing.” After all, Jesus said, What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Lk 18:27). Yet the Book of Hebrews tells us, “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18), and St. Paul states that God “cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13), in short, God cannot act contrary to his nature. So, God does not want to do any of these things.

People respect power and ability. They admire the powerful, dream of what they could do with more power, and are willing to fight for it, sometimes doing things they hate along the way. Money speaks because it brings with it power. They will sacrifice almost anything to gain power. It really is not power itself that is so attractive. Power lets you do whatever you want. The problem with power is that sinful people cannot be trusted with it. “Power tends to corrupt,” said Lord Acton, “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The only one who truly is all-powerful — all-mighty — omnipotent is God. God can do whatever he wants. When God spoke, the world was created. (Genesis 1) By his word, he keeps the universe running (Hebrews 1:3). Even when things seem impossible to us, for God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) What this means for us is that he can and does keep his promises to us. The real question, then, is not what can God do, but what does he want to do for us?

Where people come to doubt God’s power or his existence, it is almost always because he does not do what they think he should do. “If there is a good god,” they say, “then he would…” — eliminate disease, suffering, and death — right now! He would shower them with blessings, making you rich and comfortable. When he does not do these things, and on their timetable, people will complain. What they should do is ask: “What is God’s will?” “What does he want to do?”

What God wants to do is to save us and to live with us forever. He loved us before he made the world, chose us to be adopted as his children, to make us holy and blameless in his presence. This he accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, by which he redeemed us, earned for us the forgiveness of sins, and sealed us for eternity by His Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

So, what God wants to do is seek and save the lost. With his power, he can do this and has already done so for us. What he also wants to do is to work his power through us. He sends us with his word to proclaim, his sacraments to share, and gifts to care for our neighbors. So, we are part of his plan to carry out his will. It is through us he chooses to exercise his almighty power, for the praise of his grace, the salvation of the lost, and the restoration of his creation to perfection. For with God, nothing is impossible.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Omnipresent

[Fourteenth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: In most non-Christian religions, God is seen as very far away. He is the High God, who made the world and left it to others to cope as best they can. Even in popular American culture, we think of God as tucked away up in Heaven. Our songs tell us “God is watching us… from a distance,” “And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast…” Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, people have imagined they could hide from God. (Genesis 3:8)

All these concepts are mistaken. God is omnipresent — he is everywhere. God is not far away, he is very near. He fills the heavens and the earth. (Jeremiah 23:23-24) No one can hide from him. (Ps 139:6–12) No one can escape his judgement or is beyond his care.

Yet he is not a part of his creation, as the Hindus, Buddhists and others believe. For them, we are god, we just do not know it yet. God is a separate, distinct being. God is not a man (Numbers 23:19), either as these Eastern religions teach or as one of many physical being that grew into Gods, as the Mormons believe. He is busy endlessly maintaining his creation, supporting it with his power, directing the course of events, working through his word and his church to seek and to save the lost, and making new creatures — including each and every new human life.

But that is not the end of the ways God is present. In the Son of God, God became one of us. Jesus is in every way human, except without sin. He is Emmanuel — God with us. He lived a perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose and ascended to Heaven for us. And yet he has, in a mysterious way, not gone away at all. He is “by our side upon the plain (the field of battle) with his good gifts and spirit.” When we gather for worship, even two or three of us, he is there among us.

And yet, Christ is even more present in a way so personal we cannot begin to understand it. In the Lord’s Supper, he is really present, in the flesh and blood sacrificed for us. This body he gives with bread for us to eat and this blood he gives with wine for us to drink. In this way, he is with us so that we cannot miss him. So, God’s omnipresence is a very good thing for us. It means we are never alone, from the day we are conceived to the day we enter his eternal presence and finally see his face.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Christian

[Nineth in a series of posts on church words]Encore Post: The oldest and most universal name for the Church is “Christian.” In fact, followers of Jesus were first called “Christian” by Gentiles in the city of Antioch — as recorded by St. Luke in the Book of Acts! (Acts 11:26) It was not a complement. The followers of crazy new religions were called by their founder’s name — with the -ian ending! In fact, most of them probably thought the disciples of Jesus were followers of a man named “Chrestus” — a popular name for a slave. Christians seemed to have called themselves “slaves of Jesus Christ” (that’s what the phrase translated “servants of Jesus Christ” really means!), brothers, holy ones (saints) or disciples. Eventually, the nickname stuck when it was used by Romans to charge Christians with believing in Jesus Christ. Since it was good enough for the martyrs, it was good enough for everyone!

Today we use it in a variety of ways. We use it for a follower of Christ, the religion they belong to, a behavior in keeping with the word of God, political parties and many other ways. As fine a word as it is, sometimes it can be quite useless. For example, Mormons, who believe that God was a man and that we, too, can earn god or goddess-hood, Jehovah’s Witnesses, who do not believe Jesus is God or died on the cross, and many others call themselves Christian. In fact, Social Scientists count them along with us. People who have never darkened the door of a church will count themselves as Christians, because they believe they are “good people.”

Yet we confess that we believe in the “one, holy, Christian and Apostolic Church.” For all the false claims and misleading uses of the word, we are proud to “belong to Christ.” After all, he loved us, set aside his glory, suffered and died for us, paying the price of our sins, rose again to break the seal of the grave for us and, in baptism, made us his own. So we fight for the term and gladly wear his name — the name the martyrs confessed and died to proclaim. Lord, may we follow in their train!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Apostolic

[Eighth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: “I believe in one Holy, Christian and Apostolic Church,” we confess when we recite the Nicene Creed in worship. Most Christians understand what we mean when we say, “one Holy, Christian..,” but what do we mean by Apostolic?

As you might suspect, the word comes from the word Apostle (Greek: ἀπόστολος, someone sent out, an ambassador). Jesus appointed twelve apostles. After the Ascension, the eleven surviving apostles appointed Matthias to take the place of Judas. Jesus appeared personally to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus to appoint him also as an apostle. We call the Church “Apostolic” because it is built upon the teaching of the disciples, which we have today in the books of the New Testament. So, to say the Church is Apostolic is to say that it is built upon the Bible — the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican (Episcopal) traditions see it differently. For them, the phrase means that the Church is shepherded by the spiritual descendants of the apostles. This is called apostolic succession. When a pastor or bishop is ordained, the pastors present place their hands on the candidate and bless him. This ancient tradition confirms to all present that God has set aside the man to serve as a pastor. There is an unbroken line of pastors laying hands upon new pastors stretching back to the Apostles themselves.

Since the Scriptures do not teach this concept, Lutherans do not attach any sacramental value to ordination and this laying on of hands. We continue the practice, although we do not require the presence of a bishop to make the ordination valid. We find it to be a meaningful symbol of support from one generation of pastors to the next and a witness to the fact of the pastor’s call.

So, when we confess that the Church is Apostolic, we commit ourselves to the Holy Scripture. We pledge to believe, teach and confess what it proclaims to us. In doing so, we remain in fellowship with the whole church of all times and places..

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Congregation

[Seventh in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

From the very beginning of the church, Christians gathered together to read scripture, sing the praises of God, hear their pastors preach, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This should not surprise us — Jews had been doing that for centuries, beginning sometime during the Babylonian Exile. Those gatherings became known in Greek as συναγωγή — Synagogues — meaning “to lead, gather together; assemble.” The New Testament calls these groups ἐκκλησία — churches — literally “called up” (to assemble). The Greeks used the word for civil assemblies and the calling up of militias. The word “Congregation” is the Latin translation of these words and means “to gather together.”

The church continued to worship after the pattern of the synagogue, with two exceptions — they met for worship on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), not the Sabbath (Saturday), because it was the day on which Christ rose from the dead. They also added readings from the Gospels and letters from the Apostles and other respected leaders. These are the books that would be very quickly (for the most part) recognized as Holy Scripture, along with the Old Testament.

For the first generation of Missouri Synod leaders, the distinction between the local congregation and the universal church was crucial. They used the German word Gemeinde only for a local church and the word Kirche for the universal church. They deliberately did not call their church body a church. They called it a Synode — a Synod.

Why were they so picky? Because most of the action in God’s kingdom is not done in Church Bodies, which get most of the press, but in the local congregation. They represent the universal Church, the invisible Church. On behalf of the Church, congregations baptize, teach the Word of God, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, use the Office of the Keys to forgive and retain sins, and extend God’s call to men to exercise the Office of the Holy Ministry and other church workers to support it. The work of synods is done as local congregations band together to do things no one can do alone.

Congregations are much more than social clubs or private charities. They are God’s kingdom on earth, proclaiming the gospel and giving his gifts to all. In them, the lost get to meet Jesus, and through the word preached by them, people are saved. So come! God is waiting to meet you — and we are too!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Lutheran

[Sixth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

“Why do you call yourself Lutheran? I prefer to call myself a Christian,” you will hear from time to time. In fact, Martin Luther agreed with them. Five hundred and four years ago, he wrote:

I ask that my name be left silent and people not call themselves Lutheran, but rather Christians. Who is Luther? The doctrine is not mine. I have been crucified for no one. St. Paul in 1 Cor. 3:4-5 would not suffer that the Christians should call themselves of Paul or of Peter, but Christian. How should I, a poor stinking bag of worms, become so that the children of Christ are named with my unholy name? It should not be dear friends. Let us extinguish all factious names and be called Christians whose doctrine we have.
Admonition Against Insurrection (1522)

In fact, the earliest Lutherans did not use the name for themselves — they preferred to be called “Evangelicals.” It was the reformer’s chief opponent, Johannes Eck, who coined the term “Lutheran” over five hundred years ago at the Leipzig Disputation. As you might expect, it was not a compliment! Eck meant to imply that Lutherans were not catholic but rather a heresy, like the ancient Gnostics or Arians. In fact, Martin Luther and his allies spent the next few decades arguing that the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, for Christ’s sake alone, is the ancient teaching of the church from the very beginning.

So, how did Lutherans end up waving the white flag and embracing the name? Well, probably because just about every other name for them was adopted by others. The Reformed tradition also liked the words “Evangelical” and “Protestant.” So soon the two became easily confused. When the Kaiser of Prussia forced the two traditions to merge and called the resulting church “Evangelical,” Lutherans became insistent on using both: Evangelical Lutheran. There is also a sense of defiance when a group under fire adopts the term meant to deride them. It is how Americans and Yankees came to be called those names.

These days, Lutherans use the term with pride to refer to the doctrine it represents. Lutherans believe, teach, and confess those teachings spelled out in the Book of Concord, especially that of the saving Gospel of salvation by grace through faith. It is also truth in advertising. It is just a wee bit deceptive, after all, to call yourself just the “X Community Church” or a bit arrogant to call yourself “The Christian Church.” So we stand with Luther, a sinner just like he was, beggars receiving salvation as a free gift of God’s love.

For a longer and more polished explanation, see the article “Concerning the Name Lutheran” by C. F. W. Walther, first published in the first issues of his magazine Der Lutheraner (Concerning the Name Lutheran – Concordia Theological Seminary’s Media Hub)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana