2013-05-03
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Before we can go on with understanding the didactics [teaching principles] of God’s lessons regarding covenants, we need to state some of the points arising from our study and put them in historical context leading to the spread of the early church. 1) More people give in to the desires of the flesh than to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. That’s because it’s much easier for humans to do this. It is clear that while the church began fewer in numbers, it was greater in strength. Some of those numbers were lost based on fright over danger to their lives, some lost because individuals were afraid to pay the cost of being a disciple of the Lord. 2) As with the arguments that Christ had with the Pharisees in the temple in the last week of His earthly life, there were colloquies with traditionally Jewish leaders about practicing the Spirit of the law over the letter of it. God has always wanted us to understand His meaning and not be mired in the format of our practices. 3) Mankind’s history has shown us repeatedly that people martyred fan the flames of intensity of desire to accept their stands on the issues and their beliefs. So, it is that this led to martyrs for Christianity being the seedbed of the spread of the church.
While those are the main points we must remember, it is helpful to look at some of the specific stories from history that make this last point come alive. Such is the story of the Roman emperor, Diocletian, who was in power from 244 AD to 311 AD. This individual was from Dalmatia [in present dayCroatia] and rose to power through the military. He appointed Maximilian Augustus as co-emperor in 245 AD, forming a tetrarch [sharing of duties by four] with two others, Galerius and Constantius. [Don’t confuse the latter withConstantine, as they were two separate individuals]. But as time went on, Diocletian purged threats to his own power, and persecuted believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. This was not before Diocletian had burned the church atNicomediain 303 AD, destroying its carefully hand-lettered scrolls with the Scriptures. This was an act repeatedly committed acrossEuropeas power was consolidated in the hands of the few. This evil emperor had passed laws prohibiting Christian assemblies too. Galerius convinced Diocletian that Christians were plotting against him with palace eunuchs to cause trouble. But the ill-fated system of rule by a tetrarch was to fail. A fire was set that destroyed part of the palace treasures. Retaliation took the form of torture, decapitations, and other heinous acts against the Christians. Executions followed.
In spite of this, the church continued to grow at what would be from Diocletian’s point of view an alarming rate. God stepped in by causing Diocletian, who had martyred many Christians, to become ill-an illness which led to him voluntarily abdicating his power in 305 AD to Constantine(272 AD-337 AD) and retreating to his palace in what is modern day, Split, Croatia. Some theorize that Diocletian committed suicide in 311 AD, but that hasn’t been substantiated. Such a train of events brings to mind REV 12: 12, “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” We see the same principle expressed in JOB 1: 12, “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he [Job] has is in your hands but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’” The principle is that God and not the evil Satan is in control. And God places limits on evildoing. Those well-versed in Roman history know that it is Constantine, who ruled from 306 AD-337 AD, that later decided to make Christianity the “state-religion.”
Constantine’s mother, Helena, was a Christian, but her son didn’t declare himself a Christian until he was over 40. He consolidated his own sole position in power by successfully battling with Franks, Alanni, Visigoths, and Samaritans. His imperial residence was in Byzantium, which his people called Constantinopleto honor him. This emperor, the founder of the Byzantine empire, was tolerant and politically savvy. He had risen from being Emperor Aurelian’s bodyguard, to governor of Dalmacia. He was not trusted by Diocletian, as the two didn’t have much in common. In his time, it was clear that rule by a tetrarch wasn’t successful. Constantine’s army won battles against Maxentius, entering Romemet with jubilation. In 313 AD, Licinius had signed the Edict of Milan, promising religious freedom to the people, but then reneged on that promise, so the people were glad for this victory against him. Constantinealso won victories in the battles of Hellspont and Crysopolis (in 324 AD) By cooperating with Christians and others, he was able to expand his territory into what is now the Moselle area of western Germany, but then part of Gaul. [I have visited the oldest cathedral in Germanyat Trier, near the boarder with Luxembourg-a most remarkable place]. It was Constantine, who summoned the Council at Nicea in 325 AD to deal with Arianism and at which the Nicean Creed was written. This creed is still widely accepted in today’s Christian churches. It was decided that the Lord’s supper would be celebrated the day before the Jewish Passover (14th day of Nisan on the Jewish calendar), and the Julian calendar became the one of choice over the Jewish calendar inConstantine’s empire. Within the empire, Jews were forbidden to circumcise Christian male slaves.
PRAYER: O Lord, we have come before You today having hovered over a period of history during the spread of the early church that reveals our need to be able to put Your teaching in the context it from which it arose. One such doctrine, which is heresy, is Arianism [not to be confused with Aryanism, such as the Nazis of WW II believed]. It is based on JN 14 :28, [Christ speaking], “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Arianism is the teaching of Arius (250-336 AD), who misinterpreted this verse to mean that the Father and the Son were two distinct entities, with the Son [Who didn’t always exist] being created by the Father and being subordinate to the Father. Such teaching is a departure from our understanding of the Trinity, which is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different personalities of the same Being. When we study church history, we begin to see how it’s leaders were actually challenged. Moreover, we can see how easy it is to diverge from the intent of Your word, if careful daily study is not combined with prayerful requests for Your guidance in it. Today, Dearest Abba, we are taking time to study history and we are asking reverently and urgently for Your guidance in understanding Your word. PS 119: 135, “Make Your face shine upon Your servant and teach me Your decrees.” PS 73: 24, “You guide me with Your counsel and afterward You will take me into glory.” We thank and praise You now and forever! In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led to write about how easy it is for people pursuing spiritual power only to begin sliding down the slippery slope to pursuing worldly political and material power. We have seen this happen with certain churches not only in the past but even nowadays. This discussion leads me to a huge question: Is there a higher purpose for our lives? There is no more important facet of our lives than our covenant relationships with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And yet, it is so easy to find ourselves on divergent paths that in favor more worldly goals. Today’s message may seem more of a history lesson than about the Scriptures, but it helps us to know our need for studying history in the first place. If more people were willing to do that, maybe we would learn not to keep repeating the same mistakes others have made in the past. We certainly would better understand the questions and challenges that humans have raised before God over their history. But study isn’t enough. It must be coupled with prayer! It is us, giving the Lord our willingness to let Him explain and lead us. It is us, giving Him the reverence He is due! We must remember PR 9: 10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Our Covenant Partner reaches into every part of our lives. He is our sovereign and loving Lord, our Lord Who deserves only the best from us. He wants to give only the best for us. Think about this: JN 5: 24, [Christ speaking], “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” That is the very essence of why we should have faith in Him! PS 33: 11, “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” The more we know Him, the more we can understand just how blessed we are to have Him as the Lord of our lives! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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