As soon as we heard of an infectious respiratory disease that spreads through human interaction, we should have seen the writing on the wall South Africa, but did we? The “Writing is on the Wall” is an idiom that is generally understood to mean that there are clear signs that something difficult, challenging or even disastrous is going to happen. Although this is a common English idiom, it really comes from a historical account in the Bible, about king Belshazzar – the king of the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar’s son and successor (see Daniel chapter 5). Here is the summary of the story of king Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5: the king is having a royal party with his nobles, wives, and concubines. During the party, he uses sacred Jewish goblets that had been taken by his father from the temple in Jerusalem – he uses sacred things for pleasure. “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appear and write on the plaster of the wall” (verse 5). Out of a deep sense of fear, and a desire to know the meaning of the writing, the king calls for his magicians to come and interpret the words on the wall. When the Babylonian magicians fail to interpret the writing, the queen (king’s mother) steps in and advises the king to call for prophet Daniel, and the prophet successfully interprets the writing as follows, “God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scale and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians” (verses 25-28). The following is important to note in how prophet Daniel steps into the situation:

• Firstly, it was on the advice of the queen that Daniel was called. Her understanding of the historical dealings of God with the kingdom and the significance of Daniel allowed her to think beyond the primary network of Babylonian cadres and analysts (the magicians).
• When Daniel steps in, he does not rush to give a simplistic “thus says the Lord” prophecy. He begins by giving a historical account that led to the moment.
• There is a bridge between the Aramaic words on the wall, “mene, mene, tekel, parsin”, and Daniel’s prophetic analysis and insight. In other words, Daniel does not simply translate the obvious, he gives prophetic insight and analysis with a historical background.
• In his service to the king, Daniel stands as a historian, political analyst, intelligence officer and a prophet. Or put differently, he stands as a prophet with historical understanding, intelligence and political insight. In other words, up until this moment, Daniel has been reading every newspaper about Babylonian politics just as he has been praying to God.

If the writing was always on the wall for king Belshazzar, then maybe he had been having a party, even using sacred goblets, in a time when the Medes were planning an invasion. Instead of having a party, the king clearly should have been meeting with his council to discuss the imminent invasion. It was not long, and Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled: “that very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom…” (Daniel 5:30&31). A lot happened on that one day: from the king’s royal party, to the writing on the wall, to analysis, Daniel’s coronation, and invasion. It is all recorded in one chapter of Daniel’s book for us.

If an infectious respiratory disease was sweeping across the world, what was the writing on the wall for us, South Africa? The dangers were clear:

• A Spatial Design that does not allow for Social Distancing (crowded communities in townships and shacks).
• A Poor Public Healthcare System.
• A crowded Public Transport System.
• Poor and immobile villagers who do not have immediate access to Healthcare.
• A significant population of comorbidities.

The conditions listed above are our vantage point in dealing with the pandemic because they characterize the majority of South Africans. And like prophet Daniel, we must understand these conditions with a deep sense of historical insight. We must appreciate political and even racial nuances they represent, and how they make governing a nation like South Africa a complex task, in this pandemic.

This second wave should have us ask the question, did we let our guard down? Did we “start to have a party” in the midst of imminent danger and invasion like Belshazzar? Did we choose pleasure in a time of deliberation and caution? “Relax the lockdown, Ramaphosa”, we lobbied, one by one, “and we shall observe Social Distancing”, we promised. But we went on to leave face masks on chins, to have Rage parties etc. Did we lobby for the essentials only to engage in non-essentials? Active and Responsible Citizenry is the other important component in a Social Contract. The State cannot be functional without active citizenship. If we do not want a Nanny State that will have to tell us how to behave, then we better grow up as a society.

The words that President Ramaphosa uttered earlier in the year, “we shall err on the side of caution”, must still be our guiding wisdom. For our kind of systemic and social conditions, we must clearly continue to be cautious. For us, the debate on “saving lives versus saving livelihoods” cannot afford to be one that is “clever” or merely academic. It will have to be one that deeply holds the principle of sanctity of life as our core motivation.

As our loved ones start dying in our communities, it seems like Covid-19 will have round 1. We have time in the next couple of weeks to prepare for round 2, in 2021. Well, some voices are now demanding, “where is the vaccine”? “Give us the vaccine and it will all be over”, they say. And yes, we all want a vaccine to mitigate the situation, but we have no guarantees in the face of a virus that is quickly mutating before us. Up to this moment, we have lived in a perpetual state of uncertainty. Given this reality, I think the following steps and considerations will be important for us:

• A decisive leadership by the Government – a government that consults broadly but that leads decisively, guided by Political Wisdom, Science and Socio-Economic realities.
• A consolidated Governing Party that can put aside its divisions in order to lead the nation.
• A broad-minded Political Opposition that operates beyond Presidential speech analysis and narrow interests, but one that mobilizes the wider public. The kind of Opposition that can become a Political Platform for a nation-wide active citizenship.
• An active and responsible citizenry.
• Economic Practitioners who are stewards and gate keepers of Social Distancing rules in their environments.
• An acknowledgement that a prolonged pandemic will put restrictions on social activity and public gatherings.
• A continued community mobilization by Faith-based Organizations and Community Groups.
• Public education about Covid-19 vaccines in particular, and the science of vaccine development in general.
• A carefully considered cost-benefit analysis that accepts that there will be some form of economic loss in the process of dealing with this pandemic – there will be economic loss in saving lives as there will be in saving livelihoods. Are we going to save industries and jobs at the cost of losing breadwinners (heads of families) to the virus (as they go out to engage in economic activity) or are we going to save lives at the cost of poorer families and communities due to some form of contained (economic) activity? These are all difficult decisions.
• An acknowledgement that a self-regulating and Social Distancing South Africa that we all hope for, will in fact bring harm to economic industries that rely on human leisure and social interaction, i.e. Hospitality and Tourism industries.

What we must acknowledge is that most of the revised Lockdown level 3 regulations that were pronounced by the President yesterday, look like what we should have been doing as self-regulating Social Distancing measures anyway. And if this Lockdown level 3 version brings some harm to the economy, then it goes without saying that a strictly self-regulating and social distancing South African society will in fact harm the economy in some ways, and the sectors of the economy that rely on human interaction will suffer the most. This is a difficult reality we must accept.

The writing has always been on the wall. Let’s read it, analyze it and develop an effective and a sustained response.

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Durban, South Africa

Resources

1. Church in a Time of Disruption: Lessons from the early Saints
2. The Writing was always on the Wall
3. On the Prayer of Chief Justice and the Mark of the Beast: A Reflection of a Fellow Disciple
4. Reflections on the meaning of Freedom
5. Kingdom Humanity: From Meetings to Arrangements
6. “I can’t breathe”: How can Church deconstruct Racism?
7. Mr President: We shall err on the side of Caution
8. On the Issue of Essentiality of Church
9. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
10. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
11. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
12. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
13. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
14. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
15. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
16. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus
17. Note: if you wish to listen to the podcast I referred to earlier in this article, on the story of my Personal Salvation and journey of Transformation, please follow the link A conversation with Ps Robert Ntuli.

The kind of public reaction arising from Chief Justice (CJ) Mogoeng Mogoeng’s prayer about Covid-19 vaccines requires discernment, in order to understand its nature and implications. It’s important to acknowledge upfront that Covid-19 has not only been a systemic pandemic affecting broader socio-economic and political issues, it has also been surrounded with suspicion and controversy. At the beginning of the pandemic, some political leaders downplayed this disease as “another flu”, which in turn created suspicion around the necessity for severe measures like lockdowns and vaccines. Fast forward to December 2020, millions of people have been infected by the disease and many have died. It has since become clear to the world that Covid-19 is a serious and fatal respiratory disease. On the other hand, development and manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccine has been achieved within a short space of time, something that has been considered a “scientific miracle”. However, the short development timeframe has left some in the public wondering and perhaps even suspicious concerning the safety, quality and efficacy of the vaccines coming out. All of this breeds an environment of suspicion, and it takes place against the background in which pharmaceutical and food industries have had long standing questions of suspicion. There are ongoing questions on whether the foods we are eating are making us sick? Do vaccines help us against viruses or they themselves make us sick? In other words, outside of issues of anti-Christ and 666 that came out in CJ’s prayer, there is a standing issue of public trust deficit towards these two industries. The fundamental question being, are these industries able to elevate sanctity of life over profit-making? Now these are valid concerns, and they should rightfully inform the missional burdens of the Church, in her pursuit of truth, righteousness, justice and human wellbeing. However, do they justify the kind of prayer that Chief Justice prayed? And or, do they have a direct theological relevance and connection to the subjects of anti-Christ and 666?

The need to discern the noise that’s emitting from the public about CJ’s prayer reminds me of one of the moments of Joshua’s leadership training by Moses: “When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” 18 Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear” (Ex. 32:17-18, NIV). This story reflects the need to correctly distinguish and characterize public voices at any given point in time. Therefore, my burden on the matter of Chief Justice is twofold: (1) to analyse the nature of public reaction to the CJ’s prayer, (b) and to reflect on the theological basis of the prayer (and by extension, on (some aspects of) Church’s worldview on current global events, especially as it relates to Covid-19 pandemic).

The following categories are represented in the public reaction to the CJ’s prayer:

• There are some people who have supported the CJ, on the grounds that he has a right to freedoms of belief and speech as a citizen of the Republic.
• There are some who have supported the CJ because they see his prayer as a “trumpet sound” against a possible Satanic agenda that is being advanced through Covid-19 vaccinations.
• There are some who have supported the CJ because they see him as a prominent Christian who is not afraid to engage his Christian faith publicly, and who therefore inspires courage within the Christian community.
• There are some who support the CJ because they interpret criticism towards his prayer as an attack to the broader Church.
• Others support the CJ not on the fact or merits of his prayer, but because he reflects an image of a Public Official who is above board and who contradicts the prevalent image of a corrupt Public Official (this group has gone as far as expressing wishes for the CJ to go for the Office of the President of the Republic. It must be noted that the same reaction was seen towards the former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela).
• Some are against the idea of a CJ who prays in public.
• Some are against the idea of a CJ who engages public discourse beyond and outside his primary duty as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court – this group is of the view that a judge should speak to public affairs through his or her judgments.
• Some are against the contents of the prayer of CJ because as one who heads the Judiciary (one of the three organs of the State), he is seen to be contradicting the Government’s policy and process of procuring a Covid-19 vaccine.
• And then there are some who are against this specific prayer of the CJ, not because he prayed, but because of what he prayed – that is, this group is perhaps least concerned with the fact that the Chief Justice prayed, and more concerned with the theological basis and implications of what he prayed.

There may be more categories that can be added to the list above, and there will naturally be an overlap in terms of views held by different people. It is therefore clear that when we are listening to the public sound directed at the recent prayer of CJ, that we are dealing with a matter that is not only broad but that is also complex. That is, not every “positive voice” is constructive, and not every “negative voice” is destructive – at least as far as the Christian Faith and Mission of the Church are concerned. Not only so, but we are also dealing with a matter that reflects Church’s relationship with global affairs on the one hand, and the internal state of theology of the Church on the other.

Having quantified and characterized the public discourse around the prayer of CJ, through the bulleted points above, I do wish to spend some time reflecting on the theological basis and implications of the prayer.

There is no doubt in my mind that Public Officials who are Christians must serve in the institutions of the State in a manner that reflects…

1. An unquestionable commitment to the values of the Christian Faith,
2. Respect for the Constitution of the Republic,
3. Integrity and professionalism in the execution of their vocations and
4. A good representation of the identity of their public office, to facilitate inclusive public leadership.

This reflection therefore does not seek to question the right that the CJ or any other Christian Public Official has in as far as publicly confessing his or her faith, publicly living out a lifestyle that reflects his or her faith, or in participating in public faith-based gatherings. When we think of Biblical characters like Joseph, Daniel, Esther etc., we realize that the Christian Public Official must in fact serve his or her nation with a passion for God and in a manner that advances peace and public wellbeing (including the wellbeing of those of different faith persuasions). In other words, a Christian Public Official has both a vocational obligation to serve the people professionally and a missional duty to serve people in a manner that leads them to the understanding of righteousness and justice, with the view to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. This missional duty is reflected in the words of Jesus Himself, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). It is also reflected in the prophetic commission to the Jews in Babylonian captivity, “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7).

Having said that, it is equally true that the Christian Public Official must demonstrate the kind of spiritual passion that inspires fellow Christians to engage their public duty (to advance peace, justice, and righteousness), while at the same time, leading the wider public towards a sense of peace, inclusivity, and public wellbeing. To do this, the Christian Public Official must strike a good balance between spiritual passion and a form of “spiritual radicalism or extremism” that only leads to controversy. It is for this reason that the requirements of a church elder, for instance, include the issue of “having a good reputation with outsiders…” (1 Tim. 3:7). Another Bible translation says, “people outside the church must speak well of him (i.e. the elder)” (NLT). If we have to use this as a leadership principle, the implication is that while a Christian must not conform to the populist dictates of the times, he or she must still carry a degree of burden about the public perception (or the perception of those outside the church) concerning his or her behavior and actions – this includes his or her moral life, theological integrity and public ideas.

Differentiating between spiritual passion and a form of “spiritual radicalism” further requires a good judgment in engaging public life and activities, as well as a credible theological engagement that facilitates public redemption, edification, and benefit. It is for this reason, I think, that people like Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel (and even our Lord Jesus Christ) sometimes administrated prayer points of public significance through private channels and networks. For example, when queen Esther was given the mandate to confront the public policy of king Xerxes towards the Jews, she privately mobilized Mordecai and the Jews of Susa to pray and fast with her (Est. 4:13-17). When Nehemiah felt the burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he activated the project by engaging only a “few leaders” (Neh. 2:11&12). Daniel mobilized his close friends about a life threatening and an apocalyptic event that would shape the very history of mankind – the interpretation of the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:17-18). Our Lord Jesus Christ had the most private prayer moment at the Garden of Gethsemane (with a few of his disciples), concerning a matter that was universal, cosmic, and eternal – the salvation of mankind (Matt. 26:36-41). These examples do not reflect the kind of privacy that’s motivated by fear, but one that considers the need to administer beliefs and knowledge in the most profitable and effective way. As Paul says, “we speak wisdom among the (spiritually) mature” (1 Cor. 2:6).

The objective behind this reflection on CJ’s prayer is therefore not to focus solely on the Chief Justice himself (Mogoeng Mogoeng’s term as Chief Justice will come to an end), it is to reflect on the theology, worldview and missional approach of the Church. It is a self-introspection on the state of the Church.

• As a theological Reflection – it seeks to establish how does the modern-day Church interpret the teachings and instructions of the early Church on issues such as anti-Christ and 666?
• As a reflection on Christian Worldview – it seeks to establish how do beliefs and theology of the Church inform her relationship with global events?
• As a Missional Reflection – it seeks to establish what is it that guides the process of differentiating between issues of internal Church consumption and those of public consumption? Do we have an unhealthy inclination for publicity? Have we fallen for the trap of confusing Christian populism for evangelism, where we maximize the actions and utterances of a few prominent Christians to profile the Church and as a platform for the Great Commission?

Introspection has always been the major tool of the Church, it has served to bring the Body of Christ to a place of self-correction, healing and recalibration. I think of the conference of Acts chapter 15, which came about because there was some theological controversy that needed to be addressed (concerning some who claimed that physical circumcision was the requirement for salvation in Christ). I think of the dinner that Priscilla and Aquila had with Apollos, to help correct and equip him in his theological understanding of the Gospel (Acts 18:24-28). There have been many such instances of introspection and self-correction throughout the history of Church. For this reason, Church does not need the State to regulate it, except when it comes to matters of criminality. Church is fully empowered to introspect and to self-correct, and it should remain open to such processes so that as “the Body of Christ, it may continue to grow” (Eph. 4:15&16). Consequently, the public reaction to the prayer of CJ should allow us as Church not to be sensational and sentimental, but to reflect seriously in an effort to see whether there are things that we need to learn, improve and refine within our ranks.

What does the Bible teach about prayer?

Prayer is one powerful tool that we have as Church, it gives us direct access to the heavenly Father, the Creator of life. Through prayer, we lay our petitions on the basis of what we regard as our needs, and we are comforted by the fact that “our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him” (Matt. 6:7-8). The principle that prayer is an expression of petitions based on what we regard as needs and perhaps even as threats to our life of salvation and livelihoods, reveals a deeper reality about prayer. It shows that prayer is not only a spiritual activity, but also an intelligible process. That is, we pray what we have processed and appreciated as reality or a possible reality of life. We pray what has been conceived as a reality or possible reality within our minds. If I pray, “God, protect me from accidents as I drive on the road”, I am in fact expressing something that has not necessarily happened but that I conceive to be a possibility. Equally, the CJ’s prayer about a possible use of a vaccine to infuse 666 in human beings and or to advance an anti-Christ agenda, reflects a possible reality he has conceived in his mind. The deeper question is, what is the connection between a vaccine and the Biblical concept of 666? That is, we of course can conceive realities in our minds that are so strong that we take them to prayer, only to find that there is a disconnect between our prayer point and reality as outlined in the Scriptures.

This brings us to another issue – that prayer reflects our theology. That is, we teach our hearers through the things we pray. Jesus tells a parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14.  “11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’” (Luke 18:11-12, NIV). 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””  (Luke 18:11-14, NIV). Through this parable, Jesus is showing that we pray out of a theological position and conviction: the Pharisee has an idea of a God who is pleased simply by human works, while on the other hand, the Tax Collector has an idea of a holy but merciful God who hates evil but who will pardon our sins. Theology (or doctrine) undergirds prayer and prayer expresses theology. In other words, prayer is a teacher; this is why we teach out of John chapter 17 till today, a prayer by Jesus for the unity of the Church. We equally use Psalms of Prayer (from the Book of Psalms) as the basis for instruction and teaching in the Church. Therefore, the prayer by CJ is not simply about technical correctness according to legal terms and definitions. It’s not about whether he said “there are 666 vaccines” or “if there be 666 vaccines”. When the CJ prayed, “if there be vaccines that are being used to infuse 666…”, not only was he expressing a realm of possibility, but he was in fact establishing the same as a possible reality in our minds. The CJ was leading us to a place, but did this reflect a theologically correct pathway? The issue is therefore twofold: firstly, his prayer reflects the realm of possibility in his mind, secondly, is that there is need for that realm of possibility to be tested against the guiding wisdom of the Scriptures. If it is found not to be consistent with the Scriptures, then we have a deeper issue to deal with because the prayer was made in public.

The fact of prayer vs. the content of prayer

Having briefly established what the Bible teaches about prayer, then we can ask the question whether the issue is the fact that the CJ prayed or it’s the content of what he prayed. I personally have no issue with the fact that the CJ prayed. As a disciple of Christ, I celebrate this and quite frankly, we can do with more prayer in our nation. I equally agree with the CJ about the fact that we have reflected belief in the existence of God as a nation, through our Constitution and National Anthem, and that we do open our parliamentary proceedings by prayer and silent meditation. We simply cannot have an issue with people and or Public Officials praying publicly. Having said that, I do however think that in this instance, the contents of the prayer of CJ reflect some theological concerns. And when we consider the fact that the prayer was made publicly, the profile of the Chief Justice, and the fact that prayer is a teacher etc., then we realize the nature of the issue we’re dealing with.

The Christian faith and the End Times

When CJ was clarifying his prayer utterances, he made mention of the End Times – “we, Christians believe that we are in the end times”, the CJ correctly stated. And it is in this context that subjects like anti-Christ and 666 become critical. Just as it’s important to appreciate the deficit of public trust towards food and pharmaceutical industries, and how this has in turn contributed to suspicion around vaccines in general and Covid-19 vaccine in particular, it is equally important to appreciate the significance and influence of End Times theology in the Christian Worldview.

What does the Bible teach about the timeline of humanity since Creation?

• Humans were created by God in His image and as immortals (they could not die) (Gen. 1:26).
• Humans violated the command of God and chose to live out of greed instead of obedience – this is what the Bible refers to as sin (Gen. 3:1-9).
• The consequence of sin was death, which meant that humans lost their immortality and became mortals (Gen. 2:16&17, Gen. 3:19, Rom. 5:12, Rom. 6:23)
• Just as mortality had a definite beginning, it will also have a definite end (Matt. 24:14).
• Jesus has come, not only to bring redemption to mankind, but to also initiate the process to destroy death in order to restore the age of immortal humanity (i.e. to wrap up this mortal human age) (1 Cor. 15:24-28).
• The first coming of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of a period referred to as the End Times (Heb. 1:1-2).
• Jesus taught about the end of mortal human age (Matt. 24).
• The apostles of the early Church taught about “the Last Days” (an alternative phrase for “the End Times”) as a futuristic season that was coming upon the earth (2 Tim. 3:1)
• The “anti-Christ” as well as “666” features significantly in the teachings concerning the End Times.

It is therefore clear that according to the Scriptures, we have been in “the Last Days” or “End Times” since the first arrival of the Messiah.

What does the Bible teach about “anti-Christ” and “666”?

The anti-Christ

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood” (1 John 4:1-6, NIV).

18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us (1 John 2:18-19, NIV).

7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully (2 John 1:7, NIV).

• Firstly, it’s important to understand the term, “anti-Christ” (antichristos) – which is made up of two words (anti and Christos). And the word “anti” is critical in our understanding of the nature and spirit implied in the concept of anti-Christ. The word “anti” means the opposite substitute, a replacement and an equivalent, that which is an exchange for something else. There are two fundamental ideas here: (1) for the equivalent to thrive, there must be a belief in the existence of the original (Christ) in the minds of people, (2) the opposite substitute must take the form of the original. Anti-Christ therefore speaks of the opposite substitute that seeks to replace Christ in the minds and hearts of the people (i.e. it seeks to distort the concept of God and by extension, the concept of human life). The realm and environment in which the anti-Christ must thrive, is the same environment in which the original Christ operates – it is the realm of human heart and mind. And so just as salvation in Christ is a spiritual experience, so does the anti-Christ come as an alternative spiritual experience.
• The anti-Christ manifests as a spirit, in the form of doctrine that must be held as truth in the hearts of people.
• The anti-Christ uses a human agency, a collective called “false prophets”.
• The anti-Christ manifests through false doctrine – it is a spirit that advances through false knowledge.

It is therefore clear from the books of John (as we’ve seen above) that anti-Christ is characterized as a spirit that seeks to deceive Christians in particular and humans in general. The battle against anti-Christ is understood to be primarily doctrinal – it is neither technological nor political, although it can use these platforms.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:1-12, NIV).

• The scriptures above show us that there was already a degree of doctrinal confusion in the early Church around issues of the End Times, anti-Christ and the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The apostle Paul refers to the “coming rebellion”. The word “rebellion” is the Greek word “apostasia” (or apostacy), which means – “defection from truth, a falling away or to depart”. This is consistent with the teachings of John about anti-Christ (in the books of 1^st and 2^nd John) as referred to earlier. Jesus equally stated, “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other” (Matt. 24:10). This means that the coming of the anti-Christ is consistently associated with the falling away from truth.
• Paul also refers to “the revelation of the man of lawlessness, the man doomed to destruction”. It’s important to note that in prophetic scriptures, there are metaphors that are used consistently throughout the Bible, not just in certain books like the Book of Revelation. For example, in Ephesians 4:13, the maturity of the church is described through the metaphor of a “perfect man” . In Revelation chapter 21, the metaphor of the Bride is used to describe the Church – not meaning a literal woman. The metaphor of the “man” therefore refers not to an individual but to a human state and condition. Just as the Church will grow to become “a perfect man”, so will there be “a man of lawlessness” – both are human conditions.
• Paul continues to say that the man of lawlessness “will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God”. Therein comes the word “oppose” again, this one meaning – “to lie opposite, to be an adversary or to take on someone’s position as an adversary”. Basically, the word means “to oppose and replace”.
• Paul continues to say that the man of lawlessness “will set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God”. Just as the word “man” refers not to a literal human being but a metaphor of the human condition, so does the word “temple” refer not to a literal building but Church. In New Testament teachings, the temple is the Church of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:16, 1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Cor. 6:16).
• “The man of lawlessness” therefore refers to a spirit, doctrine and human condition that is liberal in its orientation and that will produce a people who will not subject themselves to the command of God. The Bible communicates the command of God to humanity, and the spirit of anti-Christ wants to give people a kind of spirituality that contradicts God’s command.
• Paul says that “the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders…”. Clearly, the characterization of anti-Christ takes a spiritual-religious form manifesting right within the House of God (the Church). According to Paul, the main issue behind all of this is “a refusal to love the truth” – meaning that doctrine and devotion to Christ is at the centre of all of this evil.
• Ultimately, the man of lawlessness will be destroyed by “the breath of the mouth of Jesus Christ” – referring to the proclamation of truth by the servants of the Lord, backed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Mark of the Beast and 666

3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads (Rev. 12:3, NIV).

1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority (Rev. 13:1-2, NIV).

11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666 (Rev. 13:11-18, NIV).

• The issue of the Mark of the Beast begins with the Dragon (Rev. 12:3), who is understood to be “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (Rev. 12:9, NIV). That is, the dragon is not an actual snake, it’s an evil spirit called Satan.
• It is therefore important to not think of the anti-Christ and 666 as something different or new, but as the work of “that ancient serpent” who deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. We are dealing with the same old evil spirit that seeks to seduce humans away from God. It is the same old devil who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).
• In Rev. 13:1, we then see a beast emerge out of the sea (the metaphor of the sea generally refers to humanity or masses of people – Rev. 17:15). “The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne” (Rev. 13:2). Let’s remember the account of the temptation of Jesus by the Devil, “the devil led Him (Jesus) to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world, and he said to Him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:5-7, NIV).
• The word “beast” means “a wild beast or a wild animal”. Again, this is a metaphor of a human system, power and condition. John goes on to describe the beast – “the beast resembled a leopard but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion…” (Rev. 13:2). The point is this – to understand the nature of the human system, power and condition being described here, one has to study the characteristics of the animals that the beast resembles.
• This is not the first time animals are being used to describe spiritual and human realities. The book of prophet Daniel and other books use animals as metaphors to communicate spiritual truth and to interpret human conditions.

11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf… (Rev. 13:11, NIV).

• John then speaks about “another beast”, that “exercised all the authority of the first beast”. So we have delegation of power and authority here – from the Dragon (Satan) to the first beast right through to the second beast.
• The word “another” in Rev. 13:11 means “another of the same kind”. So here, we are dealing with two distinct human systems, powers and realities but that have the same nature and motivation.
• This second beast clearly operates within the realm of religion – “he has two horns like a lamb and he performs miraculous signs”. That is, this second beast – this second human system is operating within the religious-church world with the idea of deceiving many peoples, in Church and in the world.
• The second beast sets up an image of the first beast and he brings the image to life (Rev. 13:14-15): the word image (eikon) means a statue, a profile, an image, a resemblance In Biblical language, the word image speaks of Definitions, Concepts, Standards and Patterns of Life. God said, “let us make man in our image and in our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). According to Genesis 1:26, humans were supposed to get the idea or the image (Definitions and Concepts) of humanity and of human life from the very nature of God. And now, according to 1 Cor. 15:49, “just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the man from heaven” (meaning the Image of Christ).
• In 1 Cor. 15:49, the word “borne” means “to wear as clothing” and the word “image” (or eikon) is the same one that is used in Rev. 13, in the phrase, “the image (eikon) of the beast” (Rev. 13:15).
• What are we seeing here? There is a battle of good and evil – the battle of images or of Definitions and Concepts of human life. One is the Image of Christ and the other is the Image of the Beast.
• These images are established and brought to life through doctrines and not through vaccines. For them to work, they require humans to believe and embrace them. The duty of the Church is to evangelize the world and advance truth (which is the Image of Christ).
• The main battle that Church will have to fight according to these scriptures is – what does it mean to be a human being (or what is the correct image of human life) and how should we administer human life?
• Church is called to be the Pillar and Foundation of Truth – or to resemble the kind of humanity that is built after the Image of God and which is characterized by holiness, peace, righteousness, justice, and obedience to God.

16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666 (Rev. 13:16-18, NIV).

• “He forced everyone to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead”: this phrase simply captures the idea of being sold and of therefore being owned by something or someone. Again, this is not the first time we see this, God Himself writes His name on our foreheads (Rev. 3:12, Rev. 22:4, Rev. 14:1). God will seal the foreheads of His servants (Rev. 7:3). This simply means to be given to the identity and cause of another.
• This idea of being sealed is also found in the Old Testament: “9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year” (Ex. 13:9-10, NIV).
• To receive the Mark of the Beast is to accept, yield and conform to a definition of human life and a human construct that is contrary to the command of God, as reflected in the Scriptures.
• In other words, you can “rebel” against technological devices and chips, but if you live a life that is conformed to the ungodly standards of the world, you are still “buying and selling” according to the dictates of the Devil.
• “He forced everyone…”: this shows that this Satanic agenda is in fact aimed at everyone (at the Church and at the World). It is aimed at all race-groups, social classes, gender, and age-groups.
• The Mark of the Beast connects to trade and commerce or to economic activity – “so that no one could buy or sell” without the mark. The idea here is one of human wellbeing and survival – it is an attack on livelihoods. Do we live in a world in which transacting in life and doing commerce requires the selling of one’s soul and a buying into a culture and value system that violates God’s righteous standards? The very system of Capitalism which is the modern doctrine of commerce and economics turns a blind eye not only on certain principles of human life but also on the very standards of righteousness that God has outlined for mankind. It’s a system in which monetary value outweighs the sanctity of life. For this reason, Revelation chapter 18 says, “the merchants of the earth grew rich from excessive luxuries” … and from selling “cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones… and even of souls of men” (Rev. 18:1-15, NIV).
• Church on the other hand, must reject not the idea of doing business, but the capitalistic idea of doing business. There is a doctrine in the circles of the Church that masquerades as truth, and that promotes greed and excessive material gains in the name of “faith”. In other words, what the Church calls “faith for material accumulation” is referred to as Capitalism in the world. It is perceived as a theological position in the Church, and as an ideological position in the world – it’s basically the same thing. This is the kind of deception that Church must confront.

Conclusion

When reading the Bible in general and prophetic books (like Revelation) in particular, it is important to understand that God uses metaphors of creation and of the natural order, to illuminate us about spiritual realities and human conditions. For truly, creation testifies of the Nature of God, and of spiritual realities (Rom. 1:20, Ps. 19:1-4).

1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old (Ps. 78:1-2, NIV).

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world” (Matt. 13:34&35, NIV).

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He (Jesus) replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand… 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it  (Matt. 13:10-7, NIV).

Just as Jesus used parables to communicate spiritual truth (as we see in the Gospels), so does the Book of Revelation use natural phenomena to communicate prophetic realities to us. Truly, the Bible is a parable to mankind.

17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666 (Rev. 13:17-18, NIV).

In Revelation 13 verse 17, the Mark of the Beast is the Name of the Beast or the Number of his Name (i.e. the mark is the name and the mark is the number – it’s a man’s number). If the “mark” is the “name”, then we must consider that in the Bible, names always refer to the nature, character and profile of a person or thing. For example, God’s Name is the revelation of His Nature and Character to us – His Name reveals the quality of life to which we have been called. This principle does not change when it comes to “the Name of the Beast”. And if we understand “the Name of the Beast” not to be a technological riddle, then we must also understand that “the Mark of the Beast” is equally not some technological riddle (because “the Mark is the Name, and the Name is the Number”). In Rev. 13, we are dealing with a situation in which people are being deceived and forced to live according to a standard that is contrary to God’s nature. The word “mark” means to engrave, something sculptured, to stamp a mark. Now, there are words related to the idea of being marked and that are used in the context of our salvation: e.g. “having believed, we were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13, NIV). The phrase “marked with a seal” or the word “sealed” (depending on the Bible version one is reading) means, “to stamp with a signet, to set a seal or mark upon a thing”. In another Scripture, Paul is praying that “Christ will be formed in you”, when writing to the Galatians (Gal. 4:19). The word “formed” means “to form and shape an image”. The word describes the work of an artist forming and carving a sculpture out of a material. Again, we understand this not to mean a literal sculpture, but as a metaphor indicating the nature of our transformation from worldliness to the Nature of Christ. There is yet another word relating to the “putting of the mark” in our lives – this is the word “pattern”. Paul says, “take note of those who live according to the pattern (or example) we gave you” (Phil. 3:17). This word (pattern) means, a stamp, a model, a mark, a figure, an image or a statue. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of being “marked with a seal” or of being “formed into an image” is a common spiritual metaphor in the Scriptures.

If we put the phrase, “calculate the number of the beast”,  alongside the phrases, “the mark of the beast” and “the name of the beast”, we can see the following: (a) “the name of the beast” speaks to us about the nature and character of life that is contrary to God’s nature; (b) “the number of the beast” speaks to us about the systematic nature of the character of life we’re dealing with; (c) “the mark of the beast” speaks to us about how Satan seeks to influence humans and the way of life – this agenda began in Genesis 3 and has been developed to influence global humanity; and (d) “to calculate the number of the beast” speaks to us about the spiritual requirement to analyse and understand the ways in which this particular life influences humanity. Unless we see and understand the Mark of the Beast, we will become its victims. The warning against conforming to the world is not uncommon in Scripture – in Romans 12 verse 2, we are “not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world”, instead, we are to be “transformed by the renewing of the mind”, so that we can “test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will”. The word “conformed” (or the phrase “conformed to the pattern”) means a “fashion, style or an arrangement of an object” – the word means to be molded after the arrangements of life around you, in the same way that liquid takes the shape of its container. Not only is the warning against the Mark of the Beast a consistent theme in the Bible, but like Abraham, Church must be a people of “reasoning, reckonings and accounting”. “Abraham reasoned (calculated or did the accounting) that God could raise the dead…” Heb. 11:19, NIV. The word “reasoned” means “to put together with one’s mind, to count, to occupy oneself with reckonings and calculations”. Using the wisdom of the Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we must not only calculate the flow of God’s plans and purposes, but also the construct and flow of ungodly life around us.

To count or calculate the number of the beast therefore calls for the kind of wisdom that is spiritual (and not natural wisdom). The word “count” in Rev. 13:18 describes small stones or pebbles used by Greeks, Romans and Egyptians in their calculations. Pebbles or small stones were placed on a counting board to determine the value of such things as livestock, grain etc. The word (“count”) means to reckon, compute, calculate or to figure out. The usage of pebbles on a counting board therefore captures the idea of determining quantity, value, and developments of elements. In the same way, we must use the “counting board” of the wisdom of the Scriptures, to work out and compute the constructs, trends and developments of human life. The meaning of the word “Word” (logos) becomes significant here: “expression of thought, conception, intelligence, reasoning, computation, discourse, declaration, motive or intent”. We use the Word of God (the logos) not only to compute the Nature of God but also to understand the human construct of this world (the Mark of the Beast).

The issue is not to try and understand barcodes and technological devices or chips (the fact is that we carry a lot of these already in our wallets), but it is to understand definitions and constructs of human life, and their relationship to God’s human order as outlined in Scriptures. The Mark of the Beast is not a chip that can be received via a vaccine, it is a false doctrine (a false image) and a false human construct that is received through deception and deviation from truth or the knowledge of God! Just as we speak of the Image of God, not as an implant of a technological device or chip, but as His Nature (or a way of life), so does the Image of the Beast refer to a condition of life (a way of life) that is contrary to God’s nature. The Biblical idea of 666 is not about an “automated production of disobedient humans” via a technological chip, but it’s about the ongoing persecution for living the life of Christ in this ungodly world. No Christian believer can be forced to renounce God, not by another human or through a technological device, except in a case where there is fear of persecution and death. Just like the early Believers who confronted persecution, the Disciples of Christ will have to continue to live for God with boldness and courage, strengthened by the Holy Spirit. The need for boldness and courage in the midst of persecution should inform and inspire our prayers.

What does this all mean? The prayer of CJ gives us an opportunity to reflect on what we believe and how what we believe informs our worldview. It requires us to refuse to be sensationalistic or sentimental, but to be doctrinal, in a true spirit of humility characterized by a quest for truth. This will in turn allow us to become effective in (1) advancing the Kingdom of God, (2) in evangelizing the world (3) and in engaging in a Kingdom Advocacy that tackles global human affairs guided by Biblical theology and wisdom.

Furthermore, we must consider the following issues….

• A sensationalist approach to the issues of the End Times actually reflects an underlying fear towards persecution for what we believe – the reality is that Church has been going through intense persecution since the days of Nero of Rome.
• Church has always been able to face and overcome persecution but has tended to be vulnerable when it comes to dealing with incorrect and false doctrines within its ranks.
• Since the anti-Christ spirit and the Mark of the Beast are ushered through platforms of doctrine and knowledge, our focus should be to (1) establish truth through instruction and doctrine and (2) to possess a spiritual understanding of human constructs that are contrary to Scripture and the Way of Christ.
• We must refrain from Christian populism that’s driven by a few prominent Christians and Celebrities (as this brings undue pressure on these Christians), instead, we must go back to the kind of Christianity that is subversive and that’s advanced by those regarded as “the foolish and weak things of this world”.
• We must ensure that prominent Christians who serve in the public square are well equipped theologically and in Kingdom Worldview.
• Just as Joshua and his army relied on the report of Rahab in their military advance, we must engage Christians who are placed by the Lord in specific Spheres of Life (like queen Esther, Moses, Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah etc. were in the palaces), to process technical information and developments relating to respective spheres, while we all stand on the absolute authority and uniting wisdom of the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit and Church leadership.
• We must always appreciate the fact that public prayer is equally a public teacher.
• We must think carefully about matters we take to the public domain.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to build His Church (Matt. 16:18)!

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Durban, South Africa

http://www.livingstonesagency.com

Resources

1. Church in a Time of Disruption: Lessons from the early Saints
2. The Writing was always on the Wall
3. On the Prayer of Chief Justice and the Mark of the Beast: A Reflection of a Fellow Disciple
4. Reflections on the meaning of Freedom
5. Kingdom Humanity: From Meetings to Arrangements
6. “I can’t breathe”: How can Church deconstruct Racism?
7. Mr President: We shall err on the side of Caution
8. On the Issue of Essentiality of Church
9. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
10. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
11. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
12. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
13. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
14. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
15. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
16. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus
17. Note: if you wish to listen to the podcast I referred to earlier in this article, on the story of my Personal Salvation and journey of Transformation, please follow the link A conversation with Ps Robert Ntuli.

Note: please follow the link below if you wish to download this article as a PDF:

www.livingstonesagency.com

Sustainable Kingdom Transformation in the world will not be produced by an arbitrary people who confess Jesus as Lord, but by a Community of Disciples of Jesus who willingly & collectively allow the Lord to establish a Kosmos out of them – an Arrangement of Human Life in Christ. The world notices arrangements, not arbitrary groups. And God creates arrangements (kosmos), not arbitrary life. In the world of arrangements, what matters is not numbers but a Way of Life. This is why Noah & his small family became a formidable force. The phrase, “sin entered the world” (in Rom. 5:12) implies that sin did not only corrupt the human heart, but also arrangements of life. A Church built on the premise of Arrangement of Life in Christ will not be identified according to common congregational membership but according to common Humanity in Christ. All this means that the believer must embrace the Kingdom Mission as an existential reality, in collaboration with fellow believers, & not simply as a program & an activity. It also means that pastors have to learn to not only shepherd people, but to administer arrangements of life out of people. Jesus is coming for a “Bride that is adorned” (a Kosmos). Becoming a kosmos (or an Arrangement of Life) in a fractured & chaotic world, is the ultimate apostolic mission of the Church (Rev. 21)!

In the history of mankind, we have seen this futility, where oppressive authorities fight to maintain power & inequality, and commoners fight for humanistic freedom – freedom from oppression but freedom to self-rule. And so not only has humanity dealt with systems of injustice, but since everything humanistic suffers from decay, like grass that withers over time, revolutions have themselves tended to become corrupted. A revolution is fundamentally flawed when it is inspired by a craving for the privileged condition of the oppressor. Such a craving has an underlying acknowledgement of the necessity to oppress, in order to achieve the same “privileged” condition of prosperity, as that of the oppressor. And such a craving therefore renders a revolution useless in time. For this reason, we’ve seen that passionate anger against injustice does not always make one a true advocate and ambassador of justice. Anger against unfairness must not always be equated to moral uprightness. In a day if injustice we may need angry activists, but in a day of freedom, we need morally upright visionaries. Precisely because of selfishness and injustice inherent in us, we can fight injustice against us. The wisdom of the Book of Psalms becomes a guiding moral compass in such a conflicted state. In Psalm 37:1-3 it states, “never envy the wicked! Soon they fade away like grass and disappear. Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety”. That is, true prosperity is not only achieved through individualistic industriousness, but also by being kind to your fellow citizens – not only referring to personal kindness, but also systemic kindness. For truly, systemically evil and corrupt societies do not last, they eventually “fade away like grass”, just as the psalmist says. And in Ps 141:4 it states the same cry, “do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies”. Revolutions can therefore find themselves led by the most selfish and unjust of people, who simply have energy that is born out of anger. A true revolution must imagine and envision a new reality, one better than the “privileged conditions” of the oppressor. In other words, the true concept of “privilege” does not exist, as long as it is defined by the conditions or successes of the oppressor. Envisioning a new reality can sometimes lead to what looks like a form of temporary “material reversal” of one’s well-being, to achieve real Collective Well-being. This is because in the System of Creation, there is no well-being, except in the Collective. Biblically, this is what is implied in the word equity (that big word “justice” or righteousness), not meaning parity. This is exactly what Christ sought to achieve – He died in order to give life to mankind; He became sin in order to redeem us sinners, and to make us the righteousness of God, that is, to improve our human condition. He who was the only Son died in order to produce many sons. He took His privilege and extended it to the many. In this sense, the nations of the South (or the Global South) cannot base their model of prosperity upon the nations of the North (the Global North), simply because Global Humanity is yet to see a model of human prosperity that is free from oppression, blood guilt and colonialism. Even economic theories, models and graphs miss this nuance, of economic prosperity that is achieved fundamentally on the backs of slaves, and through discrimination and racism. Even the “American dream” is a construct of unjust gain, its equation is not without the component of slavery and racism. The disadvantage of humanity is that this is all we’ve seen in modern history, and this is all we know. This is the model of success that dominates our history books. So, for Africa to be exactly like Europe (or North America), Africa would have to create the same conditions that facilitated Europe’s and North America’s growth and development. We would have to start the process all over again, of taking slaves from Europe and North America across the ocean (or perhaps now by airplanes) back to Africa, to build our industries to what economists call “economic growth”. Does the African politician see this futility? Does he or she imagine a different model of development that achieves prosperity without violating mankind? Has this progressed from an idealistic wish to a conceptual reality that can become a real “household” of nations? Do African economists see this alternative reality? Does the economic equation work out, in the absence of discrimination and corruption? Or does it land us at the same position of greed as that of colonialists and oppressors, where we simply get “our turn to eat”? The Global South has a prophetic opportunity to establish a model of human prosperity that is free from blood guilt, injustice, racism and slavery. And if such a reality is achieved, not only will it usher in a new era of human well-being and prosperity in the Global South, it will also free the Global North from the bondage of its historical models of human existence. Essentially, this would usher in a new era of Global Humanity, presenting future generations with new platforms of scholarship. For this to be a reality, the Global South must begin to develop its youthful populations into a generation of scholars and prophets who will begin to imagine a better Human Arrangement and a better Social Contract. In other words, the new activist must move beyond the culture of street protest or of “lodging complaints”, he or she must possess the power to re-imagine a new vision, to communicate the vision and to mobilize around and towards the vision (Hab. 2:2-3). The new activist must possess the power to conceive a vision beyond a Class Struggle, a vision that seeks to liberate Global Humanity from a state of conflict with itself. It is for this reason that instead of staging a protest in Rome and against Caesar, as was the wish of his closest disciples (Acts 1:6), Christ went to die at the Cross, to establish a “new and a better way” of life (Heb. 10:19-22), not for a particular Class or People-Group, but for Global Humanity, including Caesar and Rome. If we choose to carry our own Cross to follow Him, we are embracing the same spirit, attitude and vision for Global Humanity. Furthermore, this process of re-imagining a better Human Arrangement must be triggered by a realization that in the abundance of scientific knowledge and theories of human prosperity, we have a drought and a deficit when it comes to concepts of human prosperity that are devoid of injustice. And so, in the continuum of time, where revolutions are inspired by the privileged conditions of oppressors, oppressive authorities and humanistic Freedom Projects of commoners become the two sides of the same darkness. When we remove the gap of time, and marry the past with the future, we see the same thing, the exact same thing. The only time humanity breaks this chain of political futility is when we fight to be free from oppression, in order to be subjects to Christ our Lord – our Kurios – the Supreme Eternal Authority from whom all Political Systems originate and to whom these systems must submit (Col. 1:16, 1 Tim. 6:15, Rev. 19:16). By the phrase, “a people who are subjects of Christ”, we are defining a citizenship developed out of reverence for God, founded on moral uprightness and geared towards Collective Well-Being – the idea that in my pursuit of personal well-being, I will not harm you. Whenever the objective and the quest for freedom is self-rule, then that Freedom Project is already corrupted. Our quest for freedom, must be motivated by a desire to be subjects of Christ. Freedom as a definition of self-rule is an anomaly in the System of Creation (or in the Kingdom of God). Try it. Such a thing simply does not exist. It is what the fallen angel, Satan, offered mankind in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-6). It is the very reason we are where we are. And so when a people are engaged in a Freedom Project, they must define a set of new and better moral rules they want to subject themselves to, if they don’t, corruption becomes the inevitable outcome, or put differently, they’ll simply reinvent the conditions of their oppressor, if not worse. In other words, there is nothing as dangerous as seeking freedom without a moral foundation. A key lesson in the Book of Exodus – is that a people are delivered from a system of oppression, only to be subjected to another system, a system of moral laws based on reverence for God, moral uprightness and on the ideal of Collective Well-being. In that system, good citizenship is based on what you do or do not do to your neighbor, not on how well you take care of yourself. Statements like, “you shall not steal, kill or covet…”, imply a system of citizenship preoccupied with the well-being of the one next to you, your fellow citizen. In this order of citizenship, not only am I given personal liberty, but I am also bound by an obligation towards the wellbeing of my fellow citizens. And as we see in the Book of Exodus, when the freed slaves refuse this new order, corruption and chaos become the inevitable outcome. Oppression must therefore be defined as a denial from realizing a dream of a better human arrangement based on the imperative for moral uprightness and collective well-being. Where the fight against oppression is understood to be a quest to be the same as the oppressor, then it is already tainted with elements of corruption, only time will tell. Without realizing it, in such a “revolutionary project”, we’ve taken the privileged but corrupted condition of the oppressor, and have made it our inspiration and vision. In such a process, we are “walking in the counsel of the wicked, we are standing in the way of sinners, and are sitting in the seat of mockers” and do not realize that “better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous” (Ps. 37:16-17).  The nuance behind Paul’s instruction to the slaves, to (continue to) serve their masters, but now “as unto the Lord” (see Eph. 6:5-9 and Col. 3:22-4:1), is that in the process of being liberated by Christ, we are saved from craving the corrupted privilege of our oppressor, essentially sharing in his blood guilt (and or to go up the “ladder” or to take the only options that the corrupt system offers us, should we wish to be rich). We are empowered to “subversively”  influence the condition of the master’s life by offering our freewill service. Here we are no longer a slave to a man, but we are slaves to Christ, and have the power to influence the master’s heart by the power of our unconditional and unmerited love towards him. We break the chain of causality in that the earthly master no longer has power to shape our will, attitude and emotions. Our actions can no longer be attributed to the input factors of the earthly master. In the same way, Paul’s instructions to earthly masters (or modern day owners of Capital), to treat their slaves well and beyond the definitions of the legal code of the system of the day (whatever that looks like for our employees, house maids etc. in modern day systems) is because each time the master treats his slave well (who is essentially a fellow human), and with justice and generosity, he regains his own humanity, godliness and peace. And each time he does the contrary, he loses his own humanity, godliness and peace. So in reality, the master does not have “authority” over his slaves, rather, he is a slave unto his own greed. For this reason, those who have riches and power have truly lived the most troubled lives, and have tended to lack in the fundamentals of life like peace, family, trust etc. Nothing built out of blood guilt, oppression and injustice is sustainable and peaceful. In other words, sometimes we are oppressed, not by external forces, but by our own greed that our oppressors resemble before us. We see in them who we are internally. It is that craving to be like our oppressor, that we sometimes confuse with the idea of revolution. 

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship

Durban, South Africa

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

1. “I can’t breathe”: How can Church deconstruct Racism?
2. Mr President: We shall err on the side of Caution
3. On the Issue of Essentiality of Church
4. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
5. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
6. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
7. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
8. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
9. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
10. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
11. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus
12. Note: if you wish to listen to the podcast I referred to earlier in this article, on the story of my Personal Salvation and journey of Transformation, please follow the link A conversation with Ps Robert Ntuli.

On Monday 25^th May 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man died in the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the USA, in police custody. A video footage shows a White police officer kneeling on top of George’s neck. A couple of minutes later, after George had repeatedly cried, “I can’t breathe”, clearly suffocating on the floor, he became non-responsive and was declared dead in hospital. This incident happened in front of the public, it was recorded through Smart Phones and published via Social Media for the world to see.

This incident has subsequently resulted in protests in multiple cities in the USA. Not only so, but other cities around the world have joined in. Protests have been reported in cities like London, Berlin, Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Rio de Janeiro etc. Other cities are still planning their protests. In the George Floyd saga, we are clearly dealing with the “pandemic” of systemic racism – a global condition that is resonating across cities and people-groups around the world.

There is no doubt that the coronavirus is linked to the George Floyd death. This pandemic has not only created an environment of reflection and contemplation in societies, but it’s also created a new sense of global solidarity as citizens of the world (perhaps not necessarily nation-states) feel more united around a common challenge. Therefore, the coronavirus pandemic has become a “platform” upon which we are now seeing thousands of citizens of the world in the streets.

The George Floyd saga is not only globalized but it has also been immortalized as his last words, “I’ can’t breathe”, have become a protest statement and a slogan against injustice. The killing of an African American man by police officers has become a lucid symbol of what it means to live in a world of systemic racism. Furthermore, to understand why George Floyd’s death has become a trigger and a tipping point, you must understand not only the colonial history and slave trade of Africans to the Americas, but also a series of recent and similar incidents of killings of African American males (on 23^rd February 2020, a 25-year-old African American, Ahmaud Arbery, was confronted by two White males while jogging in a suburb in Georgia. This confrontation led to the shooting and killing of Ahmaud). In other words, George Floyd has become not only a systemic icon but also a portal and a lens for the world to see with greater clarity not only the heritage of colonial African slave trade but also the current reality of Systemic Racism in America. When we consider that last year marked the 400^th anniversary of the African slave trade, then we realize that this problem has been prolonged and clearly entrenched in the consciousness of America.

This situation is not a strange phenomenon in South Africa. We can think of many who died in police custody, like Steve Biko back in 1977. The only difference is that we did not have Smart Phones and Social Media then, we often relied on the Apartheid government to give us reports of these incidents, where it chose to. Not only that, we’ve also seen a series of racist incidents in Social Media, clearly showing that we have not yet been successful in uprooting racism in the psyche of our nation.

The question may be asked, why is the George Floyd incident receiving so much attention? The answer to this question lies in understanding how certain life events can become triggers and tipping points in society. There are many evils in this world, and many other people have died because of injustice – all of these situations must be treated with a common sense of Sanctity of Life. However, we must understand that certain events tend to create iconic prophetic moments that bring to light the evils of the day. For example, there were many prisoners in Robben Island, but there was Nelson Mandela. There were many Black South Africans who died in police custody, but there was Steve Biko. Moreover, the fact that we are seeing protests in other cities around the world means that the unfortunate George Flody saga has become a mirror and a platform for different nations and regions to reflect on their own evils. To see a coin clearly, you must move it away from your eyes. That is, we sometimes get illuminated on certain situations by reflecting on events that are distant from us. It is also important to point out that the protests around George Flody’s death are not necessarily triggered by his “status in society”, rather, they are triggered by the nature and circumstances of his killing. That is, his death is a representation of a broader systemic issue and stubborn reality in society, in America and across the world.

Just as church has had to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, it must equally grapple with the issue of George Floyd and the systemic racism it reflects. Unlike coronavirus which was an external condition that took us all by surprise, systemic racism is a societal pathology – a virus that can commute between neighborhoods and church buildings. That is, since church is an integral part of society, and since church is called by the Lord to be a “city on a hill” that demonstrates a different standard, then we must not only be concerned about current events & developments but we must also reflect on how we as church can deconstruct this monster of racism.

The one way of dispelling evil is by proclaiming the truth, it is not in being silent or by looking away. Truth sets us free and truth shall set the world free. If we don’t proclaim truth, then the enemy, who masquerades as an angel of light, will fill the public space with “a form of righteousness” – ideological concepts that essentially don’t lead us to God.

Definitions

Based on the account of Genesis, we know that God created human beings (Gen. 1:26), gender (Gen. 1:27), family (Gen. 2:18-25), mankind or humanity in general (Gen. 1:26-28) as well as people-groups (Acts 17:26). We cannot be able to define any of these human categories without revisiting the Scriptures.

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone” (Acts 17:26-29).

Human life is dynamic in that not only did God create categories or spheres of human life (as mentioned above), but He also created the very processes and mechanisms by which humanity would be expanded and sustained. That is, God created marriage, childbearing, children, youths, friendships, nation-states, political authorities etc. We know this because the Bible provides definitions for each one of these categories, processes and mechanisms. God has design for everything He creates.

For the purpose of the subject at hand, let’s focus on Acts 17:26 where we see God creating nations. The word “nations” (ethnos) means the ff. a people-group, a race-group, a tribe, a people who belong and live together, a people of common habits and customs, people who inhabit a common geo-political space. We can see straightaway that the word “nation” (ethnos) has different dimensions to it. The church of Jesus Christ is referred to as a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).

Deut 4:5-8

5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? NIV

Deuteronomy 4 introduces us to other important words…

• “The nations” (vs. 6) – a people as a congregated unit, a tribe, citizens of the land. Emphasis of the word is on groups of people.
• “This great nation” (vv.6-8) – the word describes a troop of animals or the flight of locusts – the nation, a people or a country. The word carries the meaning of an organized people-group or a people who exist within a geo-political arrangement.

Of particular relevance to the subject of racism is the word ethnos (nations or people-groups) that is used in Acts 17:26. This word is relevant because it makes direct reference to God’s creative work in relation to people-groups and race-groups as we see them today. Remember, the act of human creation is not only the literal and initial work that we see in Genesis, but it’s also a dynamic and an ongoing process that includes childbearing and global human population of the earth (as seen in Genesis 1:28).

To understand and qualify what we are dealing with in Acts 17:26, we must consider the phrase, “nations of man” (ethnos anthropos) – this speaks of nations of human beings or race-groups of human beings. Part of what this phrase speaks into is the issue of people-groups as classified according to their shared characteristics. The Bible is not silent when it comes to human physical characteristics. In the Song of Songs, when Solomon describes his lover, he speaks about the nature of her eyes, her hair, her teeth, her lips, her neck etc. Thus, we can see that racial diversity is part of the order of creation. According to God’s creation plan – we are created as diverse human beings and people-groups with a common image of God (or common value-system) on the inside of us (Gen. 1:26). We must therefore celebrate our diversity whiles being conscious of our common humanity in God. This is what Jesus Christ has come to restore through the Church.

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “race” is defined as a family, tribe, people or nation belonging to the same stock; a people unified by shared interests, habits or characteristics.

Racism is the discrimination of one race-group by another race-group on the basis of colour and cultural traits. The discriminating race-group must essentially believe that it is culturally superior in society. It takes the following issues for racism to thrive…

• Racism is rooted in a corrupted doctrine of human creation – it is essentially rooted in a corrupted doctrine of the Image of God.
• Racism can only be effective when expressed by a collective.
• Racism is a product of a historical process – there must be an accumulative process of the same incidents over a period of time before we can clearly see racist trends in society.
• Racism is sustained by parenting and family doctrines – it is impossible to see same racial or discriminatory behaviors from generation to generation without these being perpetuated through the process of parenting. Even kids who escape being intentionally instructed evil things about other races, still catch on at least by observation and assimilation.

 

Systemic Racism defines a reality in which the culture of one people-group becomes a default, dominant and a host-culture in the process of administration of life in society. A process in which the culture of one people-group becomes the institutional filter shaping norms and standards of life. It is a silent requirement in which other cultural groups are required to conform to the dominant culture as a prerequisite for institutional integration and before they can be accepted to meaningfully participate in the enterprise of human life (e.g. schools, workplaces etc.). It is a way in which institutional life favours or gives preferential treatment to a set of cultural traits by default, no matter who manifests them.

Systemic Racism is not purely a matter of behavioral discrimination (although it will always be linked to this) but it’s a reflection of the way in which institutional life has been shaped by the culture of one people-group, over time. By default, systemic racism is in itself a heritage of a historical process.

The idea of “White Privilege” must therefore be understood in this context – it does not mean that all Whites are rich and wealthy, but it does mean that they have a cultural advantage and platform in society, that allows them to execute life easier than their counterparts. And so when George Floyd screams, “I can’t breathe” as he dies, this must be understood as a powerful political metaphor of cultural and racial suffocation. It is when institutions and systems of life are “pressing their knees on the necks” of other people-groups.

In a world of systemic racism, you will see the following realities…

• Race-groups (and perhaps even gender-groups) will have default systemic profiles, identities or images – this speaks into silent stereotypes and images that one race-group holds about other race-groups. It is the stereotypes that individuals must fight through and or enjoy, depending on their race and cultural profile. For example, a Black male may be seen to represent criminality and subordination whereas a White male may be seen to represent authority and wealth. A Black woman may be seen to represent servitude and timidity whereas a White woman may be seen to represent affluence.
• In some sense, these profiles may be reflected in systemic conditions. And so, do we have a higher proportion of Black men committing crimes? If so, what are systemic conditions that perpetuate this? Or perhaps do we have a higher proportion of Black men committing visible street crimes instead of invisible systemic crimes? If advertising agencies have for years been using a particular race-group or skin color as a symbol of beauty, then society eventually accepts this as a norm. The list goes on and on.
• We have systemic racism when certain achievements are silently attributed to certain race-groups by default, and where these achievements are thought of as an exception than a norm in other race-groups.
• We have systemic racism when life functionalities and competences are defined according to a cultural profile of one race-group.
• Systemic Racism has less to do with numerical dominance and a lot to do with cultural and institutional power – it is when the culture of those who own capital and or who lead institutions becomes the norm in society.
• Oftentimes, in a systemic racism reality, beneficiaries of the system do not even realize that they are swimming in a massive ocean of privilege. Systemic racism has that dangerous blinding effect.

In South Africa, the complications of racism and systemic racism (which includes racist spatial design) continue to shape conditions of society. Historically, Blacks have commuted between their native spaces (homes and neighborhoods) and workplaces where the host culture has been predominantly White. Beyond movement and transportation from home to work or even school, this has required daily cultural migration so that a person is able to live effectively in two but different worlds. Oftentimes, adult Black males or females have left their homes in positions of honour and have arrived at work as subordinates, security officers, garden boys, maids etc. – this is the daily migration in social status. Post 1994, we’ve seen this huge migration of middle-class Black families to suburbs. This migration has produced a situation in which Black families have been integrated into suburbs and churches whose host culture is White. Even though these Black families may own properties and be church members, they still have to conform to “something”. This migration has been one-sided for obvious reasons – it’s been a movement from the village or township to the suburb. It has resulted in racially mixed churches in which there is a dominant or host culture. And so therefore, the project of reconciliation and diversity has been a challenge in the church for the following reasons:

• The inability of pastoral leadership to engage the journey of reconciliation, resulting in the inability to lead congregations to the same reality. The principle is, “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).
• Church building process that is focused and limited to homogeneous Sunday gatherings, rather than a broader and multi-racial society in which believers are called to live for Christ.
• Developing internal church relationships and friendship based on racial homogeneity rather than on authentic qualities of Christ.
• Lack of cultural perception: Paul says, “to the Jew I become like a Jew, to win the Jews…to those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law) to win them over…I do all this for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:19-23). This presupposes the ability to perceive a culture and interact with it in a non-offensive and redemptive manner. Remember, the purpose of it all is not to be a “culturalist”, it is to advance the gospel.
• The inability to exit our native culture in order to engage another culture according to the terms of that culture: Jesus told His disciples to “eat and drink whatever they give you” (Luke 10:7). Food is a key component of culture. Jesus knew that if you can eat their food, then you can win their heart. But beyond the food, Jesus was confronting the tendency to engage other cultures based on the norms of our own culture.
• The inability to quantify and establish the core cultural base of Christ that becomes a point of integration upon which church is built. Culture is simply a Way of Life developed over time. It is not culture if it happened only yesterday and today. If God is building a Church Community over time, He will carve and form in that Community, a core cultural base that becomes the expression of His Nature. This is what we call Kingdom Culture – it is the truth of God possessed by a collective as a Value System and a Way of Life. It is that same culture that becomes the draw card and attraction point to unbelievers of all Colour. In the absence of a clearly defined and developed Kingdom Culture or Way of Life in Christ, the culture of the dominant group inevitably becomes the host culture.

Racism and Systemic Racism can infiltrate the structures and processes of church – we have examples in the Book of Acts…

Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. NIV

Acts 15:Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. NIV

Gal 2:11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? NIV

Acts 10:27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” …34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism NIV

Lessons from the Early Church

We see in the Scriptures above that the early church had to grapple with the issues of racism and systemic racism. Here are some of the things we can learn from them…

• In Acts 6, when cases of racism were reported, the leadership did not ignore them; they investigated the situation. Eventually, they replaced the racist team with a more just and kingdom-minded team.
• In Acts 15, when the Gentiles were subjected to cultural norms of the dominant Jewish group, the leaders and some mature saints met to discuss the matter. Once a doctrinal resolution was reached, they sent letters to churches to clarify the matter.
• In Gal. 2, when Peter demonstrated racist behavior, Paul confronted him in front of the saints. And Peter yielded himself to the rebuke of Paul in humility.
• In Acts 10, Peter went to the household of Cornelius with deep suspicion and racist attitude. But he opened his heart under the convicting light of the Holy Spirit. Once he was convicted, he went back to Jerusalem to defend the cause of the Gospel of Reconciliation.

Paul confronted his ethnic superiority for the sake of Christ and the Gospel…

Phil 3: If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. 7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. NIV

Paul did not only confront his own ethnic superiority (as shown in Phil. 3), he constantly defended the Kingdom of God from the evils of racism – by confronting Peter in Antioch (as shown in Galatians 2) and by defending the church against Jewish racial hegemony in Acts 15.

In Christ, we are called to be a holy nation of diverse people-groups who share a common humanity in Christ. Sharing common humanity means the ff. (1) we have mutual identification in Christ that far surpasses our earthly racial identities and (2) we have a common base of value system from which we express life in this world. It therefore means that God can use us as His church, to proclaim Wisdom, a Way of Life and a consistent Civil construct across the nations of the world. This is what Kingdom Humanity means! The power of the Gospel is not simply in the process of preaching, it is in the consistency of life and civil construct across the nations of the world, one that is rooted in the Nature of Christ and in the ideals of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Racism and the Mission of the Church

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. NIV

John 17:18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. NIV

In both Mark 16:15 and John 17:18, we see that the Lord sent us to the world. The word “world” is the word kosmos which means “an orderly arrangement”. Jesus did not send us to an arbitrary environment. He sent us to a people living in a systemic environment characterized by certain conditions and evils. Paul declared, “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8, NIV). The phrase, “basic principles” (or rudiments) also defines something orderly in arrangement, basic and essential elements of life. This word also describes an orderly military procession of soldiers. In all these scriptures, we can see that we are sent to a people who live in a structured and systemic environment. To fail to understand the structural conditions in which people live is to fail to serve them. “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…” (Acts 13:36, NIV). In Acts 13:36, we are introduced to the word, “generation”. This word means a multitude of people living at the same time, an age or a space of time, circumstances of a particular period. David served his generation. He discharged ministry that spoke into the circumstances of his time. Emphasis is on both relevance and effectiveness of David’s ministry during his time.

When we consider our mission as church, we must reflect on the arrangements and circumstances of life that characterize the generation we are called to serve. If we are blind to these realities, then our ministry will not be effective. This necessitates for us to engage in the exercise of analyzing and profiling systemic conditions and evils of our times and generation, of which racism is part. It also requires a deep and intuitive understanding of our own respective Callings and talents. In the end, we must not only be consumed by our own specific burdens and ministries, but we must have a general understanding of these systemic conditions and know how we can draw from a pool of Gifts and Talents in the house of God, to confront these evils.

This church generation serves a society that has been shaped by European colonial era. Ours is a society in which “Whiteness” has become the default, dominant and hegemonic systemic culture that sets norms and standards. There have been other epochs in the history of the Faith, the Church and the Gospel. For example, the early Church functioned within an environment of the Roman Empire, they preached the Gospel in the colonies of Caesar and or to societies that were under Roman oppression and rule. They therefore had to understand political and cultural nuances of their day. Equally, Israel had to confront 400 years of systemic oppression in Egypt. God’s response to that situation was that “I have seen the misery of my people…I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers…I am concerned…and I have come down to rescue them” (Ex. 3:7&8). What is it that God sees today? What is He hearing? What is He concerned about? Do we share these concerns with Him? And how is He intervening in the human condition today?

We are advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom in a world characterized by European imperialism and hegemonic Whiteness – we must understand the cultural and political nuances that come with this.

Understanding the Mission: Kingdom Humanity – Church is called to express the civil construct of the Kingdom of God

In understanding our mission, we must understand how exactly we are called to express the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in the earth. Prophetic Scriptures tell us that “darkness and thick darkness” will fall upon the peoples of the earth (Isa. 60:2). Jesus says that wickedness will increase, to the point of causing apostasy within the House of God (Matt. 24:10-13). In other words, because of the conditions of life, the saints will grow cold and will become disillusioned. The idea of “darkness and thick darkness” suggests a progressive and cumulative process of disintegration of society, the kind we have seen in the situation of George Floyd. How does a man die in the streets in the USA in front of the public and in the hands of police in 2020? This means that not only must the church understand the world and generation she is called to serve, but also how the human condition is evolving into the future. If the church is armed with a proper understanding of the current and evolving human condition, then she will be able to have a prophetic and pragmatic response that displays the kind of civil construct- a Kingdom Humanity – that the nations must be sensitized towards. And so in the same Isaiah 60, the response of the people of God is “to arise and to shine as the Lod rises upon you”, with the outcome of “nations coming to your light” (Isa. 60:1-3). It is therefore important to understand the way we confront evils of our time: (1) we must evangelize people so that we can witness conversions of hearts towards the grace of Jesus Christ, (2) we must proclaim and advocate for righteousness (morality and justice) in society and in the world, (3) we must build within the church to produce model communities of faith that become the expression of a civil construct of the Kingdom of God. The one mistake we make as church when it comes to systemic evils is to major on advocacy without building from within our own ranks. We are in error as church when we expect a fractured world to display the righteous requirements of the Kingdom of God. At the very least, this reflects an incorrect eschatological viewpoint (or an incorrect understanding of the evolution of life and the human condition). Advocacy for justice, without building just and righteous communities of faith is an exercise in futility. It is nothing but a deferring of our apostolic responsibility to the world – our apostolic responsibility to be the light, not simply in word but also in form and deed. Instead of simply preaching against racism, we must demonstrate reconciled communities. It is in this context that Isaiah says, “nations will come and say “teach us your ways”” (Isa. 2:2&3).

When it comes to systemic evils in society, we have something to learn from Noah: he preached righteousness against immorality, but he built a boat to save his family. He showed us the need to strike a balance between advocacy and church building, in order to effectively advance the Kingdom of God. Essentially, the Kingdom of God is within us and it is among us, it is not “out there”.

Equally, we are in error as church when we try to fix systemic evils within the church, by using the tools and mechanisms of this world. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2 Cor. 10:4-6, NIV). Paul says, “we demolish arguments”. The word “arguments” means reasoning, concepts and ideas. We’ll most likely see churches starting the conversation on racism and reconciliation after this George Floyd incident, this is not a bad thing. However, it remains to be seen whether church will elevate the principles and doctrines of the Kingdom of God above the ideologies of man. Here is the issue: if the world had such great concepts, tools and mechanisms to solve its problems, then it wouldn’t be what it is today! It is a big mistake when pastors relegate their responsibility to lead the churches to reconciliation in Christ, to those perceived to be “knowledgeable and ideologically astute” on matters of racism. This does nothing but polarize the conversation, leading to more questions than answers. Pastors may consult others, especially their pastoral peers and especially those who are not of the “same fold” – but they must eventually lead their churches. We cannot outsource this pastoral duty. Pastors must lead the charge, but they must do so filled with wisdom, courage, grace and humility, backed up by a testimony of personal transformation in the journey of reconciliation.

Eph 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. NIV

The word “wisdom” used in Eph. 3:10 means to be skillful in the affairs of life, wise administration of life. This word emphasizes the need for a global community of faith that is the expression of the civil construct of the Kingdom of God. The manifold wisdom should be made known – the phrase, “made known”, carries the idea of proclaiming and broadcasting something. When Jesus declared, “I will build my church” in Matt. 16:18, He was not referring to a devotional service, but a global community (the ekklesia) that would broadcast the civil construct of the Kingdom of God in the earth.

One New Humanity: The Cross, the Gospel and Systemic Reconciliation

Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man [one new humanity] out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household… NIV

Church must believe in the power of the Cross to effectively deal with the human condition, including racism. The administrative process of the Cross reflects some powerful principles that must be established in our lives and churches. Jesus reconciles conflicting realities: He is God and man, King and Servant, Eternal Word in Mortality, and a privileged Son of God who leaves heavenly glory only to be born in a manger. His crucifixion reflects a reality in which One who is holy and innocent is convicted as a criminal, and where One who is all powerful sacrifices His life in complete weakness. Equally, it reflects a situation where one who dies in weakness and shame is restored back to life, power and glory. These contradictions that we see through the Cross are the foundations of Classism and Racism in the earth, and yet Jesus brings them to a resolution through His death. No matter which angle you look at the Cross, every narrative is catered for and covered, and conflicting narratives of Class are reconciled.

Through the Cross, the one who has power and privilege is called to lay it down in the process of redemption, and the one who is wounded and marginalized is called to give away his pain in exchange for healing and restoration. That is, both White privilege and Black pain are forms of brokenness, they both will blind us from seeing the glory of God, and they therefore both require the saving power of Christ. Through this process of divine exchange at the Cross, reconciliation happens. As the one with privilege and the one who is marginalized both move to the Cross, they find each other at the Confluence of Redemption. Remember, the common problem that both the privileged and the marginalized share is one of sin – they both have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. They both share a fundamental guilt and sin of revolt and rebellion against God. They have consequently descended into a chaotic life and into the valley of the survival of the fittest. In this valley of human chaos, the narrative of justice is limited since it is shaped by the victim of human conflict and marginalization. But the Cross shines the light on that narrative, exposing the underlying hypocrisy and revealing that the core issue of injustice is not primarily between humans or people-groups, it is between collective humanity and God – the revolt of humans as a collective, against the arrangements of God. This is what Jesus comes to pay for – a penalty for the sin of collective humanity. And so through Him, our sins are atoned for and justice is served. Through Him, we, the collective humanity are justified and declared innocent again. Now we can begin the journey back to His righteous order. As we see in Acts 2 and 4, the privileged begins to live in fellowship and generosity and the wounded begins to live in healing and restoration – they are now one family, One New Humanity. They both must offer something in return to God’s redemption, the one offers back to God his privilege and the other offers back to God his pain – instead of having the gods of privilege and pain, you now have the true God, Jehovah, reigning over life again. Any cheating by anyone of the two violates the Cross – if the one does not give away his privilege or the other his pain, the system simply doesn’t work. In this way, we are crucified with Jesus Christ, both the privileged and the wounded. We are crucified to the world and the world to us. We no longer live but Jesus Christ lives in us and through our conditions. We now start the journey of following Him, carrying our own Crosses daily, having given away our privilege and pain. And we who were conflicted, start to find each other at the Confluence of Redemption. Now, we can be a part of the Community of the Redeemed, the Church. We can now look at the George Floyd crisis and offer the world a different narrative, a narrative of Christ (the Gospel) and not one of our native pasts. I’m not referring to a shallow and artificial tapping of each other’s backs and empty repentance, I’m talking about two lives that are subjected to the transformation of Christ and that can be used by God to reconcile irreconcilable narratives. This is what it means to be a Community of the Redeemed. We don’t go to the Cross to receive salvation and then walk away wiping our mouths in thankfulness to “God’s grace”. We go to the Cross to receive salvation and to give away our narratives and conditions (both privilege and pain), so that God can start us on a new journey towards reconciliation in Christ, as different people and people-groups. The Cross is the place of Divine Exchange. It is for this reason that Paul considers his Jewish privilege loss for the sake of Christ. And it is for this reason that Paul teaches the Corinthians that Jesus Christ died for us so that we would live for Him (2 Cor. 5:15). It is for this reason that he teaches the Philippians that we are not only called to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). To receive Jesus and keep your privilege or pain is to cheat the process of salvation.

 

I recently shared aspects of my story of Personal Salvation in a podcast with a friend. In my salvation, I had to process in Christ historical moments of provocation by Systemic Racism (among other personal fragilities). I grew up in northern Zululand, in an underprivileged village. There are three distinct experiences that had to come to a place of resolution in my heart: (1) the first had to do with being exposed as a young teenager to Apartheid armed forces manning a funeral of the uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) operative in my village – this incident provoked something in me as a young African boy, (2) witnessing the reality of plantations in deep northern Zululand each time I visited my uncles during school holidays – a few massive houses of White farmers in the midst of broken and poverty stricken villagers who worked in the plantations, (3) assuming a career in a pro-White environment in which I had to learn to switch between enjoying soccer during weekends and hearing stories of rugby on Mondays (interestingly, my son loves rugby now and I have since fallen in love with the game myself, although I used to view it through political lenses in the past). Unless my salvation could deal with these heart issues, then it would have been useless. But I had to learn to give away my pain, and trust that Christ had something better for me. Primarily, I was not giving my pain away for White people, but because of my love for Jesus Christ. I realized that I had a better inheritance in Christ, here on earth and in eternity. I’m sure that there are numerous similar stories across race-groups. This is the demonstration of the power of the Kingdom of God in our lives and times.

 

In Ephesians 2:14-19, the Gospel is not only about reconciliation of God and humans, but it’s also about reconciliation between humans and between people-groups. In this scripture to the Ephesians, Paul uses some important words to give us some clues about the process of reconciliation and the consequential formation of one new humanity:

• The dividing wall of hostility or the middle wall of partition (vs.14): “hostility” or “partition” describes a thorn hedge around a vineyard, a fence, a barrier. The picture that Paul is giving us is one in which people-groups are fenced by hostile cultural hedges, making it impossible for them to access one another. Any attempt by one people-group to reach out to another outside of Christ results in offense, pain and hostility. What Christ does is that He abolishes these thorny hedges, creating access again between people-groups.
• He abolished… (vs.15): this word means to render something ineffective, useless and inactive or to do away with. The idea is that while we remain in our ethnic profiles, and yet we may not flex our cultures before Christ or in the House of God, especially when they are in conflict with the Kingdom of God. Our cultures can be used in the process of preaching the Gospel, with the intent to redeem others (“to the Jew I became like a Jew in order to win them over”), but also, we can celebrate redeemable aspects of our cultural traits, provided they enhance and establish the reality of God as the Creator of diversity. However, in all of this, we are clear that we share a common image and humanity in Christ.
• He abolished commandments and ordinances (vs.15): this speaks of traditions and dogmas or established opinions, worldviews, and stereotypes. It speaks of critical beliefs that shape how we do life and how we engage with other race and cultural groups.
• To reconcile them (vs.16): this word “reconcile” has two meanings – (a) firstly it means to leave something behind, (b) secondly, it means to change mutually. This word therefore captures both the ideas of movement away from something and transformation into a new reality. This process of reconciliation is not one based on “negotiation” between humans, it is one based on Divine Facilitation of heart transformation by the Holy Spirit. This is a little different from talking over a personal offence. This is systemic reconciliation that is based on mutual obligation and transformation in Christ.

When we combine the ideas of “abolition of dividing wall of hostility” and “reconciliation”, we realize that God is dealing with Systemic Reconciliation in the church, and not simply the resolving of personal offence. The agenda of Systemic Reconciliation is set by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of His Word, through prophetic, thoughtful and intentional pastoral interventions and by the conviction of the human heart. It is when God reveals the underlying sin behind systemic pain and systemic privilege. The Scriptures are therefore truthful when they declare that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. If we are convicted by the Scriptures, we must then engage the journey to find out what that sin looks like in the context of our conflicting narratives. Systemic Reconciliation is the removal of structural fences that exist between race-groups and cultures. Although cultures of man come in different forms and shapes, they all have an underlying posture of pride, which is based on belief of authenticity of one’s culture over others. It takes Christ to confront this cultural pride and bring us to the freedom of the Kingdom of God.

What must the Church do to deconstruct Racism?

When we go back to the words “world” (orderly arrangement) and “generation” (conditions characterizing a particular generation and time), then we see that this church generation has been sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to minister to a world characterized by certain evils, including  racism and systemic racism. Therefore, to engage this mission of the Kingdom of God effectively, we must build a holy church that is powerful enough to confront, deconstruct or demolish the evils of systemic racism. To do this, we must consider the following church building processes…

Preach the Full Gospel of the Kingdom of God: there is need to stop perceiving the issue of reconciliation as “political” and “ideological”, it is time to see this as a Gospel imperative. The full gospel of the Kingdom of God is not only about reconciliation of God and man but it’s also about reconciliation between humans and between people-groups (race-groups, gender-groups and age-groups). Just as we have doctrines that help humans to build a relationship with God, we must equally teach, preach and build on issues relating to systemic reconciliation of humans and people-groups in Christ.

Embrace Christ for Personal Salvation and as a Value System of the Collective: it does take hearing the same thing repeatedly over a period of time before we are able to internalize and embrace it as truth. Silence on certain aspects of truth therefore suggests to believers that these issues (like racism and reconciliation) are not that important in their journey of salvation.

Receive the King in the context of the Culture of His Kingdom: we have made a mistake of receiving Jesus within the framework of our own earthly cultures and cultural biases, and not within the framework of the Kingdom of God. There is no King without a domain. A domain is basically an arrangement of life – a composition of principles that define a Way of Life. Jesus can only be King in His Kingdom! We therefore can only be subjects of the King in His Kingdom! Therefore, beyond teaching on the Nature of Christ, we must start to teach more on the nature of His Kingdom. It is for this same reason that Jesus spent a lot of time teaching on the Kingdom of God.

Build upon a Model of Community instead of Devotional Service: it is impossible to establish certain important aspects of Community such as meaningful social interface where church is only about Sunday morning devotional gathering. For this reason, Jesus has called us to be a Community of Faith in the midst of our neighborhoods, and to be the Light of God in the midst of darkness and fractured life. Building solely on the premise of Sunday morning devotional platform compromises authentic relational engagement amongst believers. It results in a situation where believers only have Sunday morning as a platform of engagement. In this context, believers remain “strangers” and tend to gravitate towards those of “the same kind”.

Establish Leadership and Deacon teams that inspire Systemic Reconciliation: this is not only in terms of actually mixing teams where this is possible (and we know that the establishment of representative teams is a common biblical practice, but it must be done with discernment, wisdom and thoughtfulness), even where teams are homogeneous, their lives, conduct and lifestyles should inspire godliness, peace and reconciliation in the church.

Facilitate a Salvation process that goes beyond Personal Purification to include Transformation from Systemic Sins: walking with Christ involves not only seeing your personal sins but also the sins of the culture from which you were born and raised. In the words of prophet Isaiah, this is about seeing that “we are of unclean lips and we live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Intimate awareness of deficiencies of our own earthly culture, empowers us to better engage other cultures and to effectively represent Christ in society.

Engage in godly and intentional Parenting around issues of race: the Kingdom of God is not only advanced through Sunday morning preaching, but also through parental processes. Fathers (or parents) must bring their kids up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). In the Old Covenant, the Lord repeatedly instructed parents to talk to their children about law, history and matters of life. Parents must be intentional about having race-relations conversations with their children at home. They must be intentional about what they do and say when they are most relaxed, because kids learn by assimilation. And they must be creative about how they transmit and impart the values of the Kingdom of God to their kids. And most importantly, parents must be firm on themselves, their kids and others on issues of racism and reconciliation. Church must in turn equip parents to do their job correctly and effectively.

Recognize and Confront Discrimination as sin: if there is one thing to learn from Acts 6, it is that a lot can happen within the realm of deacon teams. In Acts 6, a team of deacons practiced discrimination, the apostolic leadership investigated the matter and dealt with it. In James 2:1-13, the issue of discrimination is recognized as sin that violates the cause of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. We must recognize this as such in the church today.

Realize that even as a homogeneous group, church is still not a social island, it exists in a diverse world: we must equip believers not simply for devotional or fellowship life within the church, but for effective life in a racially diverse and broken world. In this context, there is no such thing as a “homogeneous church”. Even the apostle Peter who was called to minister specifically to the Jews still found himself in racially and culturally diverse contexts where he needed to demonstrate a heart and conduct of reconciliation (Gal. 2:11-14).

Refuse to adopt the Culture of this World: we are encouraged in the Scriptures to not conform to the patterns of this world (Rom. 12:2). The word “conform” means to take the shape of the mould of the world, like liquid that takes the shape of its container. The danger of adopting the culture of the world is that we will inevitably allow racism and discrimination to infiltrate the house of God.

Develop a Comprehensive Discipleship Process that covers both Devotional Life and Civil Obligation for Public Welfare: the Kingdom of God is built on the foundations of love for God and love for your neighbor. According to the teachings of Jesus (Luke 10:25-37), the neighbor is neither the owner of the house next door nor a fellow church member. The neighbor is a fellow countryman and a fellow citizen (this obviously includes our fellow church members etc.). And so the application of the instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself” must find itself in how we engage public affairs and situations. We cannot be spectators of injustice when we are children of God. In this context, church can produce powerful believers and disciples who can advocate for justice and administer cultural and institutional reforms in society.

Promote cross-cultural ministry, teams and friendships: in Acts 10 we see a beautiful and yet difficult situation where the Holy Spirit sets the ministry date between Peter and Cornelius. Peter on the one hand, was the oppressed Jew who had his own cultural prejudice and racism in his heart. Cornelius was the Roman military officer who represented Roman hegemonic power. “As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”” (Acts 10:25&26, NIV). Peter was clearly received with a deep sense of honour, almost to the point of being worshiped. And then something significant happened to Peter: “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” (Acts 10:34&35, NIV). A senior military officer bows down before a Jew, in complete violation of the hegemonic power he represents, and the Jew is confronted in his heart and delivered from prejudice and racism. This is the fruit of internal cross-cultural ministries and teams in the church. That is, when we activate mixed and cross-cultural teams, we create an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to convict hearts and transform lives.

Advocate for Kingdom Justice in the world: there are three dimensions of justice from the point of view of the Kingdom of God: (1) since all mankind has revolted against God’s righteousness, we are all guilty of sin and have committed injustice against God. For this reason, we all need Jesus Christ. To expect an orderly and a just world in a context where we all have revolted against God’s order is deeply hypocritical. (2) In the scriptures, the word “justice” carries two meanings of morality and equity. Justice in the context of human brokenness is often viewed through the vantage point of the marginalized, it therefore tends to focus only on issues of systemic inequality and not necessarily on morality. In the Kingdom of God, there can be no justice where there is no morality and there can be no justice where there is no equity. It is for this reason that God liberated Israel from systemic oppression in Egypt but judged them later in the desert, for violating His righteousness. Although Israel was delivered from material and systemic oppression, they still did not fulfill God’s justice in that they began to indulge in sin. Equally, when Jesus intervened in the story of the woman found in adultery, He pushed back the powers that wanted to stone her to death, but He equally told her “to go and sin no more”. In this way, Jesus administered justice according to the requirements of the Kingdom of God. As the Scriptures state, we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. We are in error when we advocate the kind of justice that majors on issues of equity without putting God’s demand for morality (upon ourselves and upon the world). And here is what we must consider – issues of immorality tend to cut through race and class groups. In other words, the first step towards justice is a return to God’s righteousness. (3) There is enough evidence in the Scriptures that shows us that God does intervene in cases where one people-group is oppressed by another – this is contextual justice applicable to specific human conditions (e.g. Egyptian oppression of the Jews or Apartheid in South Africa). It is important to note that this dimension of justice tends to evaporate quickly where issues of morality are not addressed.

Empower Successive Generations – by removing “the reproach of Egypt”: in Joshua chapter 5 verses 1-12, God takes the generation of Joshua through the process of circumcision. Although this was a new generation that had been born in the desert and that therefore had not encountered oppression in Egypt, God still saw the need to circumcise them with the intent to remove “the reproach of Egypt” (Josh. 5:9). What was God doing? He was removing the memory and psychological trauma of oppression. In South Africa, we now have a generation that did not experience Apartheid, but that lives in the memory of Apartheid. On the one hand, we have a Black generation that hears stories of oppression of Blacks, on the other hand, a White generation that is aware of historical systemic privileges of Whites. Both these youths are encountering the past without anybody mediating the process to establish a kingdom perspective. And so they each want to advance their cause according to their historical narratives. This results in the kind of explosions we are seeing and the kind of racism that has played out in Social Media. This generation needs their own “Gilgal” experience of transformation so they can fully walk into their own destiny. It is therefore time for church to significantly change the profile of youth ministry, to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to the next generation. Amazingly, as soon as the generation of Joshua was circumcised, they celebrated a Passover. And we know that the Passover principle signifies transition from one era to another. This is what South Africa needs right now.

All in all, as we proclaim the Gospel amidst human and systemic evils, we must not lose sight of the way in which the Kingdom of God advances: Firstly, the Kingdom of God is within us. This means that the first step in sharpening the sword of kingdom advocacy is in allowing the Kingdom of God to confront our hearts. Secondly, the Kingdom of God declares all humans and people-groups to be sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God. The fundamental sin of humanity is collective rebellion against the righteous requirements of God. It is therefore just as sinful for any human or people-group to assume that they can get justice in a world in which all humans have rebelled against God. Thirdly, the Kingdom of God builds from bottom up – from the foundation of the human heart to systemic issues. It is for this reason that Jesus may have appeared to some to be “unconcerned” about the issues of the day. He walked around ministering within what was a colony of Caesar, meaning that this was an environment of injustice and military occupation. Jesus offered healing to a centurion’s servant, and he even praised the same centurion for his faith (Matt. 8:5-13). He had dinner with a corrupt tax collector, Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9). And He shifted the conversation when His own disciples were calling for a revolt against the Roman Empire (Acts 1:6&7). Why did Jesus do all of this? Because He knew that His own disciples still had lingering racism issues that still had to be confronted (as we see in the case of apostle Peter). Once the foundations of the human heart were clean, the church was ready to engage and confront systemic powers of Rome. Fourthly, the Kingdom of God is not a matter words, it is about practically carrying the Cross of Sacrifice daily, to become a conduit of public transformation.

The “revolution” of the Kingdom of God begins in the transformation of human heart, it is outworked in human lives, lifestyles and families, and then proclaimed to systemic conditions and powers. Equally, every proclamation we make to systemic powers, must become a platform and a measure of self-evaluation. The greater the gap between our advocacy and personal transformation, the weaker the Kingdom of God becomes – in such a context, we can achieve some “revolution” but never an eternal fruit of the Kingdom of God.

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

1. Mr President: We shall err on the side of Caution
2. On the Issue of Essentiality of Church
3. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
4. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
5. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
6. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
7. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
8. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
9. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
10. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus
11. Note: if you wish to listen to the podcast I referred to earlier in this article, on the story of my Personal Salvation and journey of Transformation, please follow the link A conversation with Ps Robert Ntuli.

 

 

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship

 

Robert Ntuli © 2020

The death of Jesus Christ facilitated the tearing of the temple curtain that served as a partition between the holy and the most holy place. This symbolic act represented a proclamation, a reformation and a shift into a new spiritual dispensation of direct and personal spiritual relationship with God. From this time onward, we would not need representatives and mediators between us and God. Jesus Christ had become our Mediator. We no longer needed representative spirituality that was centered around a physical building, activated on certain days or months and based upon a human representative. Instead, God was now indwelling our hearts, wherever we were. When the Gospel reached the shores of Africa, it interfaced with a culture in which spirituality was exercised in the context of the home and the household. European missionaries who sacrificed their lives to bring the Gospel to Africa, having themselves received it from the Middle East, missed a moment in understanding cultural leverage points that would make the Gospel even more powerful in the African context. The African needed a conversion of belief, but not a replacement of a platform of spirituality. That is, the African (just like any other people-group that received the Gospel) needed God in his heart and home first, before the public place of worship – of course the two have a mutual relationship. In saying that, we are forever thankful to God for the missionaries who brought the Gospel to Africa. There is nothing that surpasses the opportunity to hear about the saving grace of Jesus Christ!

In talking about a dispensation of direct and personal spirituality, we are not meaning that church leadership is now unnecessary. The God who saved us and who has established this new system or covenant in which we have direct personal relationship with Him, has equally established the structure of the church. This involves structures of leadership (pastors or elders), leadership gifts that edify the Body of Christ (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) and the continued practice of fellowship and constant gathering. Thus, the New Covenant is built on the foundation of direct personal spirituality that is exercised within a structured church community in which there are leaders. We cannot deny the one for the other. But equally, we must appreciate the foundation of direct and personal relationship with God upon which the structures of the church are built.

During the address by the President last Tuesday evening, he correctly outlined for us that South Africa is a spiritual nation. Growing up as young boy, I witnessed this very reality – we prayed when we were happy and we prayed when we were grieving. And this was not just in our family, but in the entire village and neighborhood. So, the President was correct in his statement. It was also clear in the President’s address that certain structures of the religious community in the main, and of church in particular, had lobbied the government to include the opening of church gatherings at alert Level 3 of the Lockdown, with a compromise of gatherings of 50 people. The word “lobby” defines a democratic process in which a groups of people engage the government to influence legislation and policy. “Lobbying” comes from the historical practice in which people met with legislators in hallways or lobbies of parliamentary buildings, to discuss laws. Thus, the word “lobby” reflects the ideals of advocacy, active citizenship and a healthy democracy. In other words, the mechanism of lobbying is absolutely necessary, but the agenda of lobbyists can sometimes be flawed, producing an undesirable legislative or policy outcome. Pontius Pilate experienced this firsthand. He was the governor who was handcuffed by the masses who were lobbying for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was a difficult moment: Pilate had no legal basis to execute Jesus, his own wife was having nightmares and begging him not to get involved in what was clearly an unjust cause, religious leaders were lobbying powerfully and the masses were also demanding the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Eventually, the governor washed his hands and declared: “I am innocent of this man’s blood…it is your responsibility. All the people answered, “let his blood be on us and our children””. (Matt. 27:24-25). The outcome was that Judas Iscariot – the one who had betrayed his own Teacher, committed suicide and the religious leaders (known as Pharisees) slowly lost their authority in society. It therefore remains to be seen who will take responsibility in the possible winter outbreaks of Covid-19, within churches that decide to resume gatherings in June. Is it going to be the government that allowed churches to meet amid winter, or is it going to be church leaders who lobbied government? We would not want to take the approach of having to process figures of Covid-19 fatalities in relation to what we could have prevented.

In all of this, here is the issue before us: The President mentioned the fact that we are a spiritual nation – as his basis for the need to allow church gatherings of 50, under alert Level 3. I would assume that the religious lobby group equally applied this very same argument in making proposals to the government. This argument misses the mark! The first thing to consider is that believers are not experiencing religious persecution. On the contrary, they are permitted and well capable to worship God in their homes (that foundation of New Covenant spirituality has not been threatened, and so we should be taking advantage of it, for a time). Therefore, we should not have to lobby a Government that is trying its best to manage a public health-related lockdown, on the grounds of anything outside the perimeter of New Covenant spirituality. Secondly, in stating that South Africa is a spiritual nation, the President inevitably acknowledged the nation’s native ability to walk through this pandemic – yet in the same breath, perhaps compromised further delaying the untimely winter outbreak, by allowing church gatherings of a people that have a soul rich enough to carry the moment and hold the line, for a couple of months, at least until the fog of winter is over.

The other argument that was put forward by the church, was that since funerals of 50 persons were allowed in Lockdown alert Levels 5 and 4, there was no basis for not allowing weekly church gatherings of 50, in alert Level 3. This argument is not quite convincing, for the following reasons: we never plan to have funerals weekly (that is a decision only God can take). And when we do have funerals, families play a significant role in administrating social distancing regulations, of course under the oversight of the officiating pastoral leader. Sunday morning gatherings and funerals simply have very different administrative processes – the family can plan who attends a funeral, whereas Sunday morning has an element of surprise in that you can have visitors (which is a good thing from a church point of view, under normal circumstances). In this argument, we effectively compared apples and oranges.

Well, the good thing that this lobby process reflects, is that we have a government that listens. This is what we have heard from the President and some cabinet ministers from time to time. Our government must be commended for this. And perhaps our President’s background in the Trade Union movement has come to his advantage in this moment, in the sense that he has consulted widely during this State of Disaster regime. This means that the lobby process between the church community and the government was reflective of a healthy democracy. Nonetheless, the agenda, content and outcome of lobbying missed the real need of the nation – the exercise of caution, in an effort to save lives until we’ve at least cleared the fog of winter. On the one hand, the government must listen, on the other hand, it must still lead. How do we open church gatherings in winter season, when people are going to be sneezing, coughing, and having all other flu related symptoms associated with winter? In my opinion, this is what the church community should have lobbied for. And perhaps this is what the Government should have then acceded to: opening up pastoral care and counselling (including church buildings and offices), as well as relief related church ministry, without worship congregations, until at least the fog of winter is clear. It seems to me that the church community presented two things to the government: (1) people’s need for spiritual worship, and (2) pastors’ need to care for the people. These conditions could have been met by allowing pastoral care while encouraging people to worship God from their homes, as a temporary condition.

To effectively engage this lobby process, church had to shake off the idea of putting its activities in the same basket as permitted economic activities. Essentially, church is neither an activity or a commodity; church is the spiritual consciousness of a people – their personal and collective faith in God. That is, in relaxing the lockdown, we have to navigate the two imperatives of LIVES and LIVELIHOODS. Instead of seeing itself as a third component to these two lockdown imperatives, church had to see itself as a steward of spirituality and spiritual consciousness of the nation. That is, as people go back to work, for the sake of their livelihoods (which should be the concern of the church, that people are able to work so they can eat), people do so driven by the principles of the faith. The easing of the lockdown for the sake of livelihoods, is in itself a spiritual principle and domain. The primary thing that church should be concerned about is that this whole process of establishing and easing the lockdown, is under-girded by spiritual principles and consciousness. This is a much more powerful leadership role in society by the church, than advancing limited interests.

When considering what the government strategy has been thus far – a gradual relaxation of the lockdown or the risk adjusted strategy, it is difficult to understand how we open up both the Schools and Church all at the same time, when we still have unresolved issues within the Education sector itself. After all, as we look around, it seems that some churches are deferring re-opening their worship congregations (and this includes the one I lead). A prevalent fault in the lobbying process, is that those who engage political power sometimes do so on behalf of segments of the constituencies they claim to represent. On the other hand, the government must ascertain and be fully satisfied of the representative nature of the lobbying process.

Let us remember, we are a constitutional democracy. This is the context within which all of this is happening – where “Law is King” and where our Citizenship is facilitated by the Rule of Law and not by the interests of the majority. Therefore, the idea of opening activities of the religious communities, on the grounds of them being the “dominant group”, potentially presents some constitutional challenge for those who are not necessarily integrated into religious life. For this reason, the religious community in the main and church in particular should view themselves alongside fellow South Africans, not because they are obligated by lockdown regulations, but because of the Gospel. Needless to say, we as Citizens, must continue to put our constitutional lenses, understanding the constitutional jurisprudence (or philosophical outlook) of democratic South Africa, which is to restore the injustices of the past while upholding the principle of equality. Our vantage point in this pandemic and the resultant lockdown should be the poor and the vulnerable. The vulnerable are most likely to be severely affected by this coronavirus. These people exist mostly in environments of spatial crisis, where there is lack of resources and space to observe social distancing. Are we not adding to the complexity and therefore putting them at unnecessary and untimely risk by this decision to open church gatherings at the start of winter? Is it not better to continue to sound the trumpet for the need for people to stay home and refrain from unnecessary movement? Wouldn’t it have been better for the church on the one side, and the government on the other, to use winter months for advocating and educating communities about what is going on? As we now talk about non pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) like social distancing and washing of hands, which hugely depend on behavioral change and cultural reform, are we convinced that we’ve done enough under the limited time to drive an educational campaign on this virus?

Essentially, opening up church gatherings whilst we are still advocating for “staying at home as much as you can” is to treat the church as a community that exists in a social island apart from the rest of the nation. This goes against the fundamental principle of the faith and of the Kingdom of God, which is “to love your neighbor as yourself”. This command does not only refer to fellow church members, it also includes fellow citizens. The word “neighbor” describes a member of the same human community, a fellow countryman or a person of the same country. It is difficult for the church to pursue its devotional life (captured in the command, “love your God”) without being considerate of its civil obligations (“love your neighbor”). Biblically, it is equally true that our love for God is displayed in our love for His people – we cannot claim to love God when we are inconsiderate of our fellow South Africans. That is, the Christian faith and the Kingdom of God is built on the foundations of spiritual devotion and civil obligation for public wellbeing. The two are not in conflict, and the two may not be separated. In this context, three issues must be considered: (1) in the undesired case of cross-infections in church gatherings during this winter, the church shall be the spreader of the virus back in communities (i.e. the risk of the spread of virus in church gatherings must be understood in the larger context of communities). (2) By choosing to overlook the conditions of her fellow South Africans, church is choosing to be that “selfish and self-absorbed priest and Levite”, instead of being the “Good Samaritan” who allows interruption of his life and program, in order to take care of his fellow country man (in this case, to minimize the untimely spread of the virus in this winter season). (3) When considering the twin principles of devotional faith and civil obligation for public wellbeing, then church should perhaps have lobbied on behalf of the wider community, especially the vulnerable.

It is difficult to think of any crisis that will be as severe as this coronavirus during the presidency of Ramaphosa. In other words, this presidency or administration shall be made or broken by how it manages this pandemic, the lockdown and related matters. Someone rightly said that initiating the lockdown is easier than relaxing it. It is understandable that we are now lifting our foot off the pedal as we return to “normality”, but the idea has been to do this cautiously and gradually, for obvious reasons. While we cannot underestimate the burden upon the shoulders of the president and the government, and while we understand the imperative for a consultative process, we continue to look to the president and the government to lead us. For this reason, we are praying for the president and the government. Not only so, but we are also advocating and sharing wisdom and insight, so that we exercise good judgment as a nation and secure peace and wellbeing in the land. Jeremiah 29 verse 7 says we must pray for the city (nation), but it also says we must seek the prosperity of the city. The word “seek” means to repeatedly research wisdom and insight in the administration of public life. That is, church is called to utilize both devotional faith and administrative wisdom to mitigate crisis in the land. We cannot choose the one over the other. The idea of “choosing” (life) and making good judgment is always put alongside devotional faith in the Bible. In fact, faith outworks itself in the very administration of life. By faith Noah built the ark – he established a system of immunity to preserve life. This is the heritage of church!

As church prays, engages and supports the government, there must be leadership from the government. If God has called our president to steward the nation in this pandemic, then history shall judge this presidency on how well this moment was administrated. For this reason, it continues to be better to err on the side of caution Mr President, than to lead the nation into the fog of winter, where it might be ambushed by coronavirus. In military context (which our Minister of Health has used a lot), the ambush is usually a risk and a probability based on the intelligence on the table. Where ambush is suspected, armies put measures to avoid it, because it is always better to err on the side of caution, Mr President.

We are praying for you, Mr President, we are praying for this government. And we are praying for our nation.

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

1. On the Issue of Essentiality of Church
2. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
3. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
4. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
5. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
6. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
7. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
8. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
9. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus

When we follow the ministry of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, we get a picture of the political culture within which He is ministering. Some scriptures give this picture in a much more pronounced way than others. The very birth of baby Jesus triggers a political crisis as Herod is threatened by the idea of a born king. “When Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him” (Matt. 2:3). The word “disturbed” means to be “troubled, agitated or to stir water”.  Contrary to modern or popular culture, the birth of Jesus did not come with well wishes and exchange of gifts, instead, it triggered political chaos, shenanigans, and maneuverings – the King was born! The Magi (wise men from the East who had come to worship baby Jesus) were not just scientists or astronomers, they also had intuitive understanding of the nature of politics and knew how to engage with politicians in the process of scientific mission (i.e. the complexity of relationship between politicians and scientists is not a new thing). After interacting with Herod, the Magi realized that he was threatened by the birth of baby Jesus, and they decided not to give him the full details of the whereabouts of the baby. “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious…” (Matt. 2:16). On the one hand, the word “outwitted” means “to mock and to scoff”, on the other hand, it means “to play sport with or against someone”. By outwitting Herod, the Magi were basically not only putting him in his correct position in relation to the mission (Herod was simply an earthly king within an earthly empire and had no authority to interfere with this divine mission), but they were also outmaneuvering him and showing him that his intelligence structures were not capable of dealing with the situation at hand. We know the end result – Herod was furious and decreed a genocide of babies. This marked the “first Christmas”!

Later on we see Jesus in full action as John the Baptist is about to be executed by another Herod – Herod the tetrarch (see Luke 3:19-20). Confronted by imminent death and considering the impact of his ministry, John sends messengers to Jesus, to ask if Jesus is the Christ (Matt. 11:2-3). In the process of giving a response, Jesus says the following…

Matt 11:7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. NIV

Jesus continues…

Matt 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears, let him hear. NIV

The first thing that Jesus does is to distinguish between the ministers of the gospel of the Kingdom of God and those in king’s palaces. Jesus implies that John is not a man in fine clothes and who enjoys political power over a jurisdiction. John is a prophet! Jesus connects this to another reality, that even though John does not have political authority, but he is able to advance the Kingdom of God. The implication is that even though John has neither enjoyed earthly political authority nor received honour from an earthly king, he has been able to advance the Kingdom of God. From a place of obscurity, in the desert, he has established kingdom advanced, and has influenced masses of people. The Kingdom of God cannot be authorized by earthly kings! And yet like John the Baptist, those who are ministers of the Kingdom of God must accept the fact that they operate within the limitation of the laws and legal authorities of the jurisdictions to which they have been sent by God.

Later, Jesus is confronted by another situation as Pharisees ask a political question, “is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” In answering the question, “Jesus said, “show me the coin used for paying the tax. Whose portrait is this and whose inscription?” Caesar’s, they replied. Then He said to them, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what God’s”” (Matt. 22:15-22). There is no better place to ask this question other than in Jerusalem, a city that was surely under constant surveillance by the Intelligence of Rome. And there is no better company in which to ask this question other than in the company of the Herodians or supporters of Herod, as Matthew 22:16 reveals. This is clearly a political situation playing out.

The answer of the Lord is fundamental for us as church: “give Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. This answer goes beyond the paying of taxes, it provides a kingdom worldview that helps us navigate the constant tension between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. If the coin has a portrait and an inscription of Caesar, then the Jews must acknowledge the authority of the political jurisdiction they find themselves in. Jesus is saying that not only does the portrait of the coin reflect the political authority of a king, but also the responsibility of the one regulating the order of life in that jurisdiction. For a people to have peace and wellbeing within a jurisdiction, someone must assume authority and responsibility over that jurisdiction. Jesus is saying that our honour to Caesar is not in conflict with our honour to God. And our honour to God cannot be hindered by anyone who is sitting on a throne. Jesus is saying that we can exist in the most limiting, brutal and oppressive political regimes, and yet be able to honour God and advance His Kingdom. Like John the Baptist, we can in fact advance the Kingdom of God even though political authorities do not honour or acknowledge us.

Daniel the prophet had earlier written…

Dan 2:20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. NIV

Paul declared…

Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. NIV

And the apostle Peter also declared…

1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. NIV

In the scriptures above, we are provided with a framework of how to navigate through political authorities and processes. We get the idea that the nature of our citizenship and of political engagement must always seek to promote the values of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, above those of our own interest, Political Party or Political Ideology. We also get the reality in these scriptures that it is God who establishes the king (or a political authority), and it is God who deposes the king. God does not only establish political authority, but He also has a position about the nature, character and conduct of political authority. In navigating political processes, we must therefore be guided by how God deals with kings, as reflected in the examples of the Pharaohs (who were a symbol of political power). In times of a good Pharaoh, church is expected to be a “Joseph”, to offer cooperation, wisdom and resources. But in times of an evil Pharaoh, church is expected to be a “Moses”, to stand for justice and righteousness, and to declare, “let my people go”. The character and behaviour of the one sitting on the throne determine the prophetic position of the church in society.

To further illustrate this point, we see that the story of Christ and His crucifixion reflects this reality that the grand and eternal plan of God flows within earthly, limited and sometimes imperfect political authorities and laws of the nations of the earth.

1 Tim 6:13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you… NIV

Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. NIV

The full cooperation of the Lord in the crucifixion, to even appear before an earthly authority – Pontius Pilate – a political and judiciary authority that did not even know what truth was (John 18:37&38), became an example of how to advance the kingdom of God in the earth. Jesus was subjecting Himself to the laws of the land. Thus, the crucifixion is a multi-layered experience that reflects the earthly and imperfect judicial process on the one hand, and the eternal plan of salvation on the other. By descending upon a world that was under the government of Caesar and the Roman empire, even the King of the universe was consequently going to be subjected to the kind of judicial process in which He was going to be publicly crucified and hanged on the Cross. But this was in fact the eternal and predestined plan of God, that Jesus would come to be offered as a Lamb for our sins. If this was playing out in modern-day nation-states, instead of the Cross, we would be talking of the rope, electrocution or lethal injection as a symbol of redemption. The point is, just like Christ, church functions in an imperfect world with laws and regulations, to advance a perfect and eternal kingdom. And just like Christ did not interrupt His execution and crucifixion, by trying to raise the issue of his rights as an innocent and falsely accused convict, church cannot seek the authority of the State, to advance a Kingdom that is not of this world, and yet Church must always seek to function according to the laws of the land. This is the tension of kingdom ministry. Like Christ who came in the form of a human, who was born of a woman and under law, to redeem those under law (Phil. 2:7&8, Gal. 4:4&5), Church must be found functioning in the very imperfect and limiting conditions of the earth, in order to redeem those who exist in the same limiting conditions. If the church protests against these earthly conditions and against governments, because she cannot fulfill the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, then surely she cannot expect ordinary humans and believers to navigate the Kingdom of God in the same conditions.

No Political Authority has power to decree the essentiality of Church

Having reflected on these issues, we must state that there is no earthly king, president or prime minister that has authority to declare church as an essential community or service. Any president or prime minister who stands behind a podium to make such declarations is not only overstepping their authority, but simply does not understand the very existential nature and identity of church. Equally, if church erupts in joy as a response to such proclamations, she is assuming a position that is not only unbiblical, but that may see her “in bed with the Herods”. The trajectory and outcome of this reality is deeply dangerous for the effective functioning of church in society.

The essentiality of the church has already been declared by the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s remember whose we are…

1 Tim 6:13 …I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time — God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. NIV

Jesus is King: the Greek word for “king” defines one who is sovereign and who is the basis and foundation of power; a monarch.

He is Lord: the Greek word for “lord” defines one who is a master and who possesses authority.

He is the Ruler: this word defines an officer of great authority, a possessor of power and authority who occupies a high position.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. NIV

By Him thrones were created: the word “throne” defines a stately seat or sit attributed to kings. In modern terms, these define political constituencies and legal mechanisms (constitutions) upon which presidents and prime ministers exercise their power.

By Him dominions or powers were created: the word “powers” defines dominions, governments, civil power, magistracy. In modern nation-states, this refers to the spheres of the state – i.e. parliaments, the executive and the judiciary.

By Him principalities or rulers were created: the word “principality” defines those who are chief in a political order. It defines he who is chief in time, place or rank; beginning of something or beginning of a line. In modern terms, this word describes those at the beginning of a political process. Originators of law and policies.

By Him authorities or powers were created: this is the Greek word exousia which is used in the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20, “all authority has been given to me” and in Luke 10:19, “behold I give you power”. This word means permission, liberty, the right and power to do something, capacity and ability.

This King – Jesus Christ – declared…

Matt 16:18 …I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.   19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  NIV

There is no president or prime minister who has the right to put his voice over this declaration. The existence of the church was established by the ultimate President, King Jesus. This is all that the church needs to function in the earth. Any church whose functionality is derived from some proclamation by an earthly authority will be limited in its authority and reach.

As the church deals with the frustrations around coronavirus containment or lockdown measures, she must consider and reflect on the following issues…

It is understandable that any shepherd is currently burning to see the flock and that any church community is burning to return to normal and full operation of its programs and activities.

As we relax the lockdown, there is a point in granting permission to the church ministers and workers involved in the ministry of community relief (churches have now been getting these permissions).

A lockdown aimed at containing the spread of the virus does not constitute infringement of the rights of belief and religion. It is only a prohibition of the right of movement and gathering – these two realities are hugely different. No one has put a gun on anybody to demand that they renounce Jesus as Lord. Neither is the lockdown a permanent reality. The rights of belief and religion have not been violated or affected.

While is it true that church’s inability to engage in biblical practices of corporate worship and public teaching of the Scriptures is limiting, it does not amount to an infringement of the rights of belief and religion, under current circumstances.

To suggest that there is an infringement of freedom of belief and religion under current conditions is not only legally problematic, it is also not consistent with the principles of the New Covenant. We as church must mean what we say. If we have declared that we are not a building but a people or community, then this lockdown window is an opportunity to powerfully demonstrate this principle.

The purpose of the pastor is to empower believers to face conditions such as the one we are faced with in this pandemic. If believers are not able to walk through this experience, this is a reflection on the church, for which the government cannot be blamed.

Any suggestion that church is being targeted and victimized is simply incorrect – other sectors of society (and even other faiths and religions) are going through the same difficulty as church. And any classification of the lockdown as a form of persecution of some kind, is simply an insult to the martyrs of the faith.

Whilst church communities are not able to fulfill their programs currently, under the New Covenant principles and definitions, church is not on lockdown. Believers’ personal faith, worship, prayer and the personal reading of the Scriptures must continue unhindered, until such time that we are able to have public gatherings. Reflecting on the Principles of the New Covenant is paramount in this context.

It is true that the broader challenge of livelihoods applies to the minsters of the gospel as well. And it is also true that as church, we’ve generally accepted a practice in which people do not give their offerings except in church gatherings. There is no doctrinal basis for this – it may be a preference of ours. On the contrary, Paul made arrangements for offerings to be collected prior to gatherings… “Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem” (1 Cor. 16:1-3, NIV). Therefore, the limitation of income of the church due to the inability to collect offerings in the absence of gatherings points to the need for doctrinal and ministry reform within the church. It is not a problem on the side of the government.

Equally, the church must not make its own challenge of division and inability to facilitate transfer of wealth from rich to poor churches a problem of the government. When the early church was faced with economic hardship, it mobilized and organized itself to facilitate transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor. The church did not go to Caesar for help: “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:27-30, NIV).

In this coronavirus pandemic, church must understand the social and economic conditions of its members and must in fact advocate for these before the government. Church must be like “Esther before king Xerxes”, it must speak not only on behalf of its members but also of the marginalized and vulnerable within society. In this sense, church must practice government, because we are God’s ekklesia – a body of citizens of a free kingdom, called out of the world to govern the conditions of life around us. That is, church must distinguish between advocating for its own organizational interests and advocating for the interests of its people (including the society at large). Church is not the “poor cousin” within the system, she is called to be the expression of the government of God in the earth.

Church must use this lockdown as an opportunity for prophetic and operational reflection on the kind of environment (the new world) that it will be functioning in, post the lockdown.

In times like this, church must appreciate its own complexity as a community of faith. Our biblical heritage is that church is like “a voice in the wilderness”, it does not operate from the palace. The Head of the church was born in a manger, in a time where there was no accommodation in hotels and lodges. There is nothing that prevents the birthing of the Purpose of God, even inside the lockdown. Part of our heritage is that church was born in the streets of Jerusalem, it prayed and worshiped in temples, in homes, by the rivers and in prisons. It was never a part of the established Pharisee order.

Church must refuse the temptation to flex itself through democratic populism. It should not matter whether a dominant section of our population is “Christian” or not. We stand in the midst of the nations not as a democratic community but for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Church is not essential by political decree. We are essential because the Lord Jesus Christ says so in the Scriptures. We are not only essential when we have public gatherings. We are essential even when we don’t have public gatherings. We advance the Kingdom of God in lack and in abundance, in limitation and in opportunity, in season and out of season.

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

1. The Lockdown Debate and the Issue of the Vantage Point
2. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
3. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
4. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
5. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
6. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
7. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
8. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus

 

 

God judges a nation not on the basis of how well it treats its billionaires, millionaires, owners of capital or even its middle-class, but based on how its decisions, laws and policies impact on the vulnerable in society. In the Bible, the conventional categories of the vulnerable include – the orphan, the widow, the poor and the alien. This category also extends to include children in general, both orphans and those with parents (who were sometimes sacrificed to gods like Molech in order to secure some fortune in life), as well as the elderly. Concerning the elderly, the Bible proposes a social order in which the elderly are respected. The command goes, “honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Ex. 20:12, NIV). The word “honour” means to weigh heavily. The command continues: “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:32, NKJV). The word “honour” in this verse has a different meaning – it means to favour, to be proud of and to make glorious. The apostle Paul later instructed children “to honour their fathers and mothers” (Eph. 6:1-3). He used the word that does not only mean to respect, but that also means to establish the monetary value of a thing. Paul used a business-economic word in the context of social life. Implied in the Scriptures above is the fact that societies tend to sacrifice vulnerable groups when they have limited options in the process of public choice and administration. A pandemic like the one we are currently facing, puts a severe strain on public resources, leaving societies with ugly and undesirable decisions to make. But the case that these Scriptures are making is that we must have a moral compass and a system of public ethics in our political process, in which we are clear about the need to protect the vulnerable in our society – “in the presence of the elderly, we must stand up”, i.e. we must give priority to the vulnerable. We must not push ourselves to a point where we find ourselves unable to fulfill this moral and public duty.

The idea that God judges the nation based on how it treats the most vulnerable in society therefore suggests that when we establish laws and policies, we must do so from the vantage point of the vulnerable. It suggests that our guiding principles in society must be fairness, justice and the need to establish equity and equality. The issue is that this is not always the case in capitalistic societies. Modern capitalistic societies are guided by the famous words of the fictional character, Gordon Gekko, from the movie “Wall Street”, who said, “money never sleeps”. This perhaps captures the imperative of Capitalism, which is not just that money never sleeps, but that money should not be put to sleep. Like this coronavirus, which spreads through human movement, the activity or dormancy of money is equally determined by us – humans. So the real issue is not that “money never sleeps”, it’s that “humans never sleep”. Humans in general and owners of capital in particular, never sleep, as they think about ways of making more money. In other words, Capitalism is not just the thing of the “capitalist”, it’s a social construct in which economic activity and transaction must not be put on pause. The sin of Capitalism is not in the need to make money, it is in the idea that the process of making profit must never stop, even when such a process poses a public health threat. Capitalism tends to destroy the very goal of human wellbeing that it advocates for, because in a capitalistic society, not only does the capitalist have sleepless nights thinking about profits, the laborers themselves hardly get to experience proper physical sleep. In such a system, the health of laborers gets compromised quickly, they age faster than their affluent counterparts. The words of James come to mind: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you” (James 5:1-6, NIV). In a capitalistic world, continuous profit making is a sacred altar whose fire must never be put out, and upon which societies sacrifice human souls of the vulnerable (Rev. 18:11-13).

Capitalism is driven by the laissez faire principle, which does not simply drive the nobility of human freedom as it relates to economic activity, but which always tend to have an unwanted and inevitable consequence of the survival of the fittest. In this context, Capitalism is the jungle of modern human civilization. This capitalistic drive is now playing out in the current debate between public health and economics. To even position public health and economy as opponents is in itself a reflection of how entrenched Capitalism has become in the soul of nations.

Now, pandemics don’t happen all the time, but when they do hit us, they bring a significant threat to human health, on a larger scale. This particular pandemic has taken many lives within a very short space of time. To date, there has been over 4 million infections in the world and just over 300 thousand lives have been lost. We have seen the global epicentres shift from Asia to Europe and now in North America. This surely should leave other continents like Africa not only with epidemiological advantage and insight concerning the character of this virus, but also with a clear knowledge of what not to do. The city of New York has been hit hard by this virus, and the victims have mostly been the vulnerable minorities – the elderly and those who had underlying health issues (comorbidities).

Thus, the current debate on the lockdown needs to be clarified and properly framed for the conversation to help us arrive at a rational and publicly beneficial conclusion. The following considerations are important:

• There can be no argument against any effort to preserve life.
• We are no longer in a fixed level 5 type lockdown; we are now in a process of a steady and cautious relaxation of restrictions back to normal life – a process the government refers to as a risk adjusted strategy. President Ramaphosa indicated on Wednesday evening that in the month of June, we are moving to level 3, provided the spread of infections allow us to do so. Therefore, the issue under question cannot be the lockdown itself, but the pace of movement back to normal life. We are basically arguing about whether we should be driving “back home” at 60km or 120km per hour. The opposite end of the argument has to do with the need to see a speedy and perhaps even an abrupt relaxation of lockdown restrictions, no matter what the public health consequences may be. Like in any argument, you will of course find middle positions.
• We have evidence before us to suggest that the government is in the process of relaxing the restrictions. It may not be at a pace that we would like it to be, but there is movement towards a direction we all want to see.
• We must consider what is the justifiable pace that allows us to open the economy without causing massive public health risk.
• The government has injected billions of rands into the economy, to compensate for the economic gap created by the lockdown. This meets the Keynesian economic principle, of the need for a government to pump money into the economy through fiscal means, mechanisms and processes, in order to preserve and stimulate the economy.
• Our lockdown began on the 26^th of March. It has been in place for less than 2 months. And it will surely not be a permanent reality.
• If we consider other nations: China imposed the lockdown in Wuhan towards end of January, and only started to relax restrictions end of March / beginning of April. Italy activated the lockdown process end of February, they are only now starting to relax restrictions. It therefore seems that you are looking at a baseline of 2 months before you can consider relaxing lockdown restrictions.
• The leadership approach in a pandemic should be to proactively save lives. We do not have to encounter a massive outbreak first, in order to justify a lockdown. Leadership must be powered by foresight and imagination that is inspired by intuitive knowledge of the nation that this government is leading. That is, you cannot implement policies that would work well elsewhere, in South Africa. The policies of the government must be applicable to the nation of South Africa, in 2020.
• We must consider the opportunity cost principle – and that is, what are we prepared to lose, in order to preserve life? Equally, the balance of scales principle is important to consider – when economics and public life are put on the scale, in a pandemic situation, the scale should tip in favour of public life.

Unpacking the Debate

In a situation where you are faced with a serious public health risk, the debate for a speedy return to the economy is not only a reflection of the hegemon of Capital, but it also reflects the voice of the class making the noise – it can only be those who have in fact been active in the economy, prior to the pandemic. If you have not been active in the economy prior to the pandemic, you have no economy to return to. Thus, there is a class dynamic to this argument. And so those leading the protest against the government, must not only be clear in terms of the constituency for whom they speak, but they must also make a clear and a convincing proposition on what should happen to the economically inactive population, that faces serious public health risk, with no economy to return to, and with no personal means or resources to retreat back to, in case of an outbreak. Equally, the argument for a speedy return to the economy does not incorporate the voice of the “missing middle” in this pandemic conundrum – those who are laborers within the system, who understand the need to return to the economy but who are also equally fearful of being infected by this disease. These constitute the face of the economy. They are in the front-lines of economic activity and so face a higher risk of being infected. Unlike corporate executives and owners of capital, who would have space and means to observe social distancing, and who have the privilege of working from home etc., this group is torn between the need to save their lives on the one hand, and the need to save their livelihoods on the other. They know that they work in spaces of continuous and close human contact. Basically, the economy does not return back to life without the front-line laborers going to the fields. To go to the fields is to move back into the reality of human contact. And then you must consider the statistics in terms of the percentage and social profile of those front-line laborers in our nation. Now this is the vantage point from which we must approach this debate.

In their state of inner tension and confusion, this missing middle does require a trustworthy political voice and leadership that will not only represent their interests in corridors of power, but that will also help lead and guide them on what to do.

It is perhaps easy to talk about a speedy return to the economy, when you have a house to return back to, in case of an outbreak. It is easy to talk about a speedy return to the economy, when you can drive to work in your private car, without having to use crowded public transport. It is easy to talk about a speedy return to life, when you can drive your children to school. And when we talk about “economic loss”, we have to be asking the question, “whose loss?”

Equally, economic modelling in the debate of the lockdown must consider not only economic loss caused by the lockdown but also the potential economic loss that can be caused by the outbreak of the virus. That is, the lockdown is not only about saving lives, it is also about lessening the economic burden of the pandemic.

Others argue for a speedy return to life so that we may build public or herd immunity. Well, the one who suggests this does so because they believe they have a good chance of survival. If we consider this from the vantage point of the sickly, the poor and the elderly, we would not even begin to make such a proposal.  No one makes a proposal for an abrupt return to life in order to quickly build public immunity, when they know that they don’t have a good chance of survival, to enjoy life after the pandemic. In other words, this policy approach is great, but perhaps not for the South African reality.

No matter how you look at it, this is a class debate, a push between the strong and the weak…

Ezek 34:20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. NIV

The economic debate against the lockdown is not simply that the poor will become poorer, it is that capital lies dormant, it is accumulating dust, leaving the capitalist with a burden to service it when there is no profit coming in. This is understandably difficult, exceedingly difficult! But when this is considered against the need to preserve life, it fails the test of rationality. On the other hand, in times of the pandemic, it is not economics that saves lives, it is containment measures and the public health care system. Through the lockdown and the process of gradual relaxation, the public and especially the vulnerable, are given a temporary place of safety from the invading virus.

The solution to the shoving among the citizens is a shepherd – a leadership that has intimate and intuitive understanding of all sides of society, especially the vulnerable…

Ezek 34:23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. NIV

The president has thus far played the role of being that shepherd. He has equally acknowledged the mistakes and weak areas of the government – and mistakes must be fixed. But there is no doubt that we’ve seen the process of shepherding of the nation, and a deep sense of care for life. Nations that will survive this pandemic are those that prioritize life above all things. This is what the Bible refers to as “sheep” versus “goat” nations (Matt. 25:31-46).

South Aftrica’s timing: Whats’ before us?

We have the following conditions that make for the perfect storm in case of an outbreak…

• Spatial design that does not allow for social distancing (townships and shacks).
• A crowded public transport system.
• A significant portion of our population with underlying health issues (comorbidities).
• Winter season.
• Poor and immobile villagers who do not have immediate access to public health care system.
• Households with elderly people who are breadwinners to orphans.
• Crowded public schools.
• An overwhelmed public health care system.

In case of an outbreak, the following will happen…

• Those with resources will return back to their homes for protection, if they are infected, they will get best available help faster.
• Those without proper housing will be left stranded.
• Those without immediate access to public health care system will be left vulnerable.
• The government will be left with the public health care burden.
• Instead of making a case for economics against the lockdown, we will then need to think about the economic bill of the outbreak.
• Communities will be left with severe psychological and cultural trauma associated with pandemic related public health protocols.
• Simply put, this would be a disaster!

Given this reality, if I have need and means to take the government to court, I would rather do so as a way of ensuring that the government is well prepared to take care of the elderly, the poor, those with pre-existing health issues etc. in case of an outbreak. In a situation like this, I would opt to make noise on behalf of the vulnerable.

The need for a trans-political leadership collective

The government has played its role in trying to protect the public, not without mistakes. Beyond our President, what we now need is a leadership collective that will help engage the communities on the ground. We need leaders of communities, faith-based organizations etc. to amplify the voice of the government, driven by the conviction that the current processes are informed by the need to save lives. Beyond a leader, you always will need a leadership collective. There are two stories in the Bible to consider in this context…

Moses and the 12 spies

Moses was a great prophet and a revolutionary leader who led Israel out of bondage. When Moses reached the Promised Land, he sent twelve spies to spy the land and to bring back the report.

Num 13:26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. NIV

Moses was let down by his own leadership collective. They spread a bad report among the people, causing a counter-revolution in the camp. This is the danger of having splinter voices in society. This is the danger of allowing our frustrations to overtake us, and of moving our eyes from the public vision and objective. When they spread a bad report, leaders affect and shape and or frame the public debate incorrectly in the minds of the people. In the end, lives get destroyed and the national destiny gets lost.

Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites

There is a good example in the Bible that shows us what happens when the leadership collective works together towards a common vision…

Neh 8:1 all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. 5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 7 The Levites-Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah — instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. 11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. NIV

The Book of Nehemiah is a case study of Community Building and Public Leadership. In this story we see Ezra reading the law for the people, with the support of the Levites, who went down and engaged with the people, explaining for them the meaning of what was being read. In our case, there has been a lot of information that we’ve had to process. As we engage a gradual relaxation of the lockdown, we will need leaders on the ground to explain the meaning and objectives of the lockdown relaxation process to the people. While the need to see the president on our TV screens will remain (just as Ezra stood on a high wooden platform for all to see him), this will have to be combined with a community-based leadership process. Without this, we run a risk of community outbreaks.

The duty of the government is to establish public wellbeing. It is to be the agent of justice, ensuring that the muted voice of the vulnerable is heard (Rom. 13:1-5).

The lockdown relaxation process is underway, perhaps not at a pace that some of us may prefer. We shall eventually have to face this virus and build public immunity. However, given the conditions and socio-economic profile of our nation, there is a strong case for a steady, gradual and cautious adjustment of lockdown restrictions.

We who are engaged in this debate need to clarify our own vantage point, without which we lose the opportunity to provide effective leadership in society – now and in the future. The pressing issue in this debate is not in the details of the lockdown relaxation process, it’s one of the vantage point from which the debate is engaged. The conclusion of the matter in this debate will directly be determined by the point and angle from which we start it.

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

 

1. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
2. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 2
3. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
4. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
5. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
6. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
7. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus

 Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NIV

In part 1 of the Doctrine of Suffering, we looked at some biblical definitions and principles around this topic. The motivation behind this reflection on suffering is twofold: 1) suffering is an important principle of Christ and of the faith, 2) we live in uncertain and challenging times in which we must not only affirm our faith but where we must also understand the principles by which we can lead a victorious life, as we walk through this personal, local and global disaster. We noted in the first article that suffering must not be confused with “false humility and a self-induced harsh treatment of the body for religious reasons” (Col. 2:23), or put differently, a self-induced difficulty or crisis, in an effort to “please God”. In its basic definitions, suffering is the determination to live for Christ in the midst of adversity; the resolution to advance the Kingdom of God even when it is costly to do so; the attitude to deny yourself in pursuit of the Will of God.  The principle of suffering does not describe mere pain or a position of powerlessness, on the side of the believer. This principle recognizes that the flesh, evil forces and the world system are inherently and structurally opposed to the life of the Kingdom of God, that the believer must walk through cycles of joy and pain, and that the journey to the end of time involves natural disasters. Acknowledging this reality empowers the believer to expect opposition and difficulty in the journey of salvation, and to decide beforehand, to always choose the Will of God. It is only in this context of obedience to the Will of God, that the conversation of suffering becomes relevant. Biblically, we understand the Will of God to be both life missions God may want us to engage in and a Way of Life that He wants us to adopt and express, daily. In this sense, the Will of God is not only “an occasional thing”, it is also a daily, ongoing reality. Jesus tells us “to take our Cross daily” (Luke 9:23). It is as a result of these two dimensions of the Will of God, that we encounter hostility, adversity and suffering. Sometimes we can have an imbalanced or limited view of the Will of God as something that relates to occasional life missions, and not to a Way of Life we are called to lead daily. In this regard, Peter speaks about “suffering for doing what is right” (1 Pet. 2:20, 1 Pet. 3:14&17). Peter is talking about suffering as a result of a Way of Life. Ultimately, love surpasses ministry – “where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away… and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:8-13).  “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal…” (1 Cor. 13:1-3). 1 Corinthians ch. 13 reminds us, that it is easy to excel in the Will of God as it concerns to life missions, and to find ourselves stumbling in the Will of God, as it concerns to God’s Way of Life. This scripture further exhorts us, to carry the two dimensions of the Will of God, in proper balance – love will always outweigh ministry (love is eternal, and ministry is temporary), and love must be the motivation of all ministry.

The bible clearly teaches us that in the faith, we are like solders in the battlefield, that the life of salvation is one of warfare and wrestling…

Phil 1:27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. NLT

When we embrace the Word of the Lord in our lives, it triggers suffering…

Matt 13:20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. NIV

We are wrestling against our own flesh

Gal 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. NIV

 

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. NIV

The verses above give a picture of structural conflict between the spirit and the flesh. The word “contrary” used by Paul in Galatians 5 vs. 17 means to be placed against each other, to be adversaries or opponents. The word “war” used by Peter in 1 Peter 2 vs. 11 means to wage war, to serve in a military campaign, to lead an army. The picture that we get in both these verses is that there is active war between the spirit and the flesh. This war is resolved by our intentional obedience to the leadership of the Holy Spirit – “but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law”.

We are wrestling against the world system

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” NIV

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. NIV

1 John 2:15 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. 16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. NKJV

1 John 5:4 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. NIV

The scriptures above give a clear indication of the hostility that exists between the people of the Kingdom of God and the world. Since the world hated Christ, it will hate us also. The word “world” used in John 15 vs. 18 is the word “kosmos”, which means orderly arrangement. This word refers to the surrounding culture, arrangement and way of doing life. In context, Jesus is referring to the order of human life corrupted by sin and or established by fallen humans (Rom. 5:12). The nature and structure of such an order does not incorporate God and His commands. It is built out of the lawlessness of man and against the command of God. According to 1 John 2 vs. 16, this world order reflects three principles of sin and of the Fall: A) The lust of the flesh – this reflects the supremacy of human feelings and self-will against the command of God of ; B) the lust of eyes – this reflects the supremacy of human perspective, desires and pleasure against the command of God; C) the pride of life – this reflects the imperative of self-life and human prosperity over the command of God. Everything that is built according to the principles of the world, whether family, church, economics, politics etc. will always reflect these three components, and can therefore be described as worldly. If it is worldly, it will always be hostile to the Kingdom of God – because the world hates Christ!

The word “hate” used by Jesus in John 15 vs. 18 means to detest and abhor, to not show love and embrace. Such is the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the world. Jesus also says that in this world, we shall have trouble. The word “trouble” means pressure, anguish, affliction, tribulation and distress. There is structural conflict between the world and the Kingdom of God. This conflict will always have impact on the journey of the believer. However, the believer (and the church) is called not to be worldly, in order to be loved by the world, but to have faith that overcomes the hostility of the world.

We are wrestling against evil spiritual forces

Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. NIV

We must put on the full armor of God – components of the life of salvation – because we are struggling and wrestling against powers of this dark world. The word “wrestle or struggle” means hand-to-hand combat, either in the context of soldiers in the battlefield or of athletes in a sport contest. The principle is based on ancient military battles which required proximity, physical contact and face-to-face combat. During these ancient military battles, a soldier would pick an opponent for a battle. And the winner would always be the one who possessed strength, skill and agility. Our warfare against evil is that personal – evil forces pick on us as individual believers, but they must always find us well prepared, wearing the full armor of God (not some components of the armor) and able to wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. In other words, we must be well trained in matters of doctrine – we must be able to apply doctrine in matters of life.

The Cross – A Symbol of Suffering

Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. NIV

In Matthew ch. 16, Jesus tests His own disciple’s understanding of who He is. He asks them the question, “who do you say I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Peter answers, “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). On the basis of this conversation, and having been satisfied with the answer of His own disciples to His question, Jesus begins to talk about His suffering…

Matt 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. NIV

Peter, failing to understand that Jesus is not simply “venting” and complaining about an unfortunate future but is outlining His purpose and mission, pledges his support and declares that “this shall never happen to you” (Matt. 16:22). Moreover, Peter rebukes Jesus! The word “rebuke” means to evaluate, disapprove, admonish and charge. Basically, Peter evaluates Jesus’ thinking and utterance and finds it to be inappropriate and incorrect, and he therefore seeks to reprimand and “shush” Him. Jesus responds with a counter-rebuke…

Matt 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” NIV

Jesus recognizes the source of Peter’s concern to be from the devil. He then rebukes the spirit behind the statement. The phrase “stumbling block” is the word that means the trigger of a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal, springs and causes it to close causing entrapment (Strong’s Dictionary). In other words, Jesus realizes “the concern” to be the attempt of the enemy to abort the mission of God. The phrase, “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” reflects the conflict that exists between self-will or humanism and God’s Will.

The Process of Peter: “This shall never happen to you”

The statement, “this shall never to happen to you” shows us that what Jesus has just said is beyond Peter’s theology, worldview and mindset. Peter cannot reconcile God and pain. He cannot reconcile God and suffering. The Peter, who later would write, “to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21), still needed to have His doctrine refined and improved. Peter represents our journey. We too cannot reconcile God and pain. We “judge” God on the basis of the five senses of our flesh, and of our basic human need – which is human wellbeing and prosperity. But this is not how the Kingdom of God is structured. The basic need of life in the Kingdom of God is to obey God. On the basis of obedience, we are guaranteed human wellbeing and prosperity (Matt. 6:25-34, especially vs. 33),  but in disobedience, we are guaranteed death – for the wages of sin is death.

After resolving Peter’s issue, Jesus then makes the statement to His disciples…

Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. NIV

These words, “if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”, must have fallen into the hearts of the disciples with weight. We can imagine Jesus speaking to the disciples, but with a sharp and an intent look at Peter, who would become a significant apostle a couple of years later. Jesus was basically saying, we have nothing in common, unless you embrace the Cross. Thus, Jesus established the Cross as a symbol of suffering, long before He was crucified. These words must have marked a significant crossover for Peter himself, who beyond his pledge of support to Jesus, still had to process his own fear of death (as was seen during the crucifixion). Fear! This was in fact the basic motivation that led to Peter’s stance against suffering, in the first place. Clearly, when we have basic motivations of either fear or success, this always inevitably affects and shapes our doctrine or theology. To truly walk with Jesus, we must possess the Will of God as our cardinal reference point in our dealings with life. That is, the Will of God, and not success or safety of our lives, must in fact become the basic motivation or driver of our lives.

Let’s state this again, Jesus established the Cross as a symbol of suffering, long before He was crucified. That is, the symbolism of suffering in the Cross, was not determined by the Romans, but by Jesus, long before the drama and shenanigans of the Pharisees and the Romans came to a climax. It is upon this foundational reality that we should embrace the Cross as a living spiritual principle in our hearts. The Cross is neither a symbol of jewelry nor a religious element – it is a living principle in our hearts. It is a symbol of spiritual determination in the heart of the disciple, to walk through the valley of crucifixion in this world, joyfully taking on “the 39 stripes and the insults”.

Developing Spiritual Psychology to engage Suffering

Spiritual Psychology refers to the attitude of the mind and a frame of thinking that originates in the knowledge of truth in Christ. Spiritual Psychology is the fruit of spiritual formation of our humanity in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). It defines an identity, mentality and emotional outlook that is anchored in the truth of life in Christ. It is a product of applied knowledge in the process of human thought. Of significance to Spiritual Psychology is the substitution of the right to life with the duty to obey (God).

Luke 22:41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” NIV

Jesus is the second human and the last Adam, in the order of creation. He came to show us how to be human, so that we would follow in His example (1 Cor. 15:45-49, 1 Cor. 11:1).

1 Cor 15:47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. NKJV

The word “man” used in the phrase, “the second man”, is the word “anthropos” from which we get the English word “anthropology”. This word (man) deals with the nature of humanity. Jesus is not just the second man; He is not just a “distant-historical Saviour, but He actually represents a model of humanity that we must adopt, as His disciples (1 Cor. 15:49).

1 Cor 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. NKJV

We must bear the image of the heavenly man (or a heavenly humanity). The word “borne” (or bear) means to wear as clothing. We must put on the clothing of the image of Christ (Eph. 4:22-24). The word “image” is the Greek word eikon (or the English word “icon”) which defines a profile of something, a resemblance and a copy. The word eikon implies the existence of a prototype – it defines both a copy and a prototype after which a copy is made or developed. Jesus Christ is the prototype of our humanity, after Him we must establish a Kingdom Humanity here on earth that is a resemblance of His Nature. We must establish a Community of People who do not only identify with the humanity of Jesus Christ but who also take after its form (2 Cor. 3:18).

Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man (the old humanity) which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man (the new humanity) which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. NKJV

Through the Cross, we get to see beyond the veil as we interact with the kind of humanity that heaven is calling us towards…

Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus… NKJV

Luke 22:41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” NIV

In the Scriptures, we are advised against standing from a distance to “receive grace” and then walk away, wiping our mouths in “selfish thankfulness”. Rather, we are invited to come close into the same experience of the Cross, in full identification with the crucified Christ, to carry our own Cross and resemble the same attitude as His in our process of life. We must conform to the death of Jesus, so that we may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10&11).

What is the point of all this?

There is a psychology that is displayed by Jesus during the crucifixion, that reflects the kind of humanity and psychology we must reflect in our own life experiences, even during this time of a global disaster. This psychology is reflected in the following words…

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” NIV

The words, “not my will, but yours be done” reflect the basic structure of the psychology of Jesus – it was one of substitution of the right to life with the duty to obey. During our Fall in Genesis, we reflected the exact opposite…

Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. NIV

The principle of the Fall and of sin is one that emphasizes our sense of right to life – that which is “good for food, pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom”. In other words, fundamental to the Fall are the three principles of, 1) the right to human wellbeing (good for food), 2) the right to pleasure and self-desires (pleasing to the eye), 3) and the right to success and prominence (desirable for gaining wisdom). Note that there is nothing wrong with these things, it only becomes a problem when we hold them as fundamental rights even when they are conflicted with the Will of God. Thus, the basic block and the first step to a successful kingdom life, is one in which we have clarified and resolved in our hearts the tension between the right to life and the duty to obey.

The right to life was given in the context of the duty to obey

Gen 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” NIV

The first freedom that was ever declared to the human being was placed within a broader context of the duty to obey God. “The Lord God commanded the man…you are free” – i.e. in the command of God, we found our freedom.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” NIV

If the first temptation of the human by the devil carries any fundamental clues in understanding the way Darkness operates, then we have to realize that this involves both the (a) twisting and manipulation of what God has said (doctrine), (b) and the placement of a human’s sense of right to life, in conflict with the Will of God. This is what Jesus had to overcome through the Cross. He therefore demonstrates for us that the lineage of the Second Man and Last Adam (or of Kingdom Humanity) is one through which we reverse the order of sin, and where we don’t only place the duty to obey as the first block of life, but also as a fundamental necessity to human wellbeing. There can be no peace where there is violation of the order of God.  Kingdom Humanity (which is structurally unlike the humanity of the world) is built on the fundamental principle of obedience – the duty to obey God. This duty to obey God is born out of our love for Him; it is the fruit of our spiritual affection and devotion, it is not coerced.

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. NIV

John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. NIV

It is because of our love for God that we obey His commands. Unlike in “religion”, where we obey out of humanistic fear, in true kingdom life, we obey out of love and a holy fear of the Lord, because we know that His commands release the true potential of our humanity. Not only so, when we walk in obedience, we experience a divine exchange – as we show God our love, He also keeps us in His love. In the process, we experience the full and complete joy of the Lord.

The Duty to Obey: The Foundation of Psychological Strength in Suffering

Ps. 119:46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, 47 for I delight in your commands because I love them. 48 I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees. NIV

Ps. 119:126 It is time for you to act, O Lord; your law is being broken. 127 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, 128 and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. NIV

Prov 6:20 My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. 23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, 24 keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife. NIV

Deut. 5:32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. NIV

 

Matt 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” NIV

Obedience is both the basic human need and the highest form of human consciousness. On the other hand, self-life is the lowest form of human consciousness – this is what temptation brought us into. Obedience gives us a sense that our lives are the outworking of a command from a higher authority – a command which comes from God through human conscience. When humans respond to this reality, rather than their physiological needs, they realize their true potential. Even outside of spirituality, when humans are committed to something deeper and higher than their “stomachs” (some may call this “conscience” or “ideology”), they realize their true potential, and they also unleash destinies for themselves and their generation. In other words, this is the generic principle of life. When obedience is understood outside of “religion” but as a life principle, it unleashes a sense of purpose and meaning, which in turn unlocks true and godly humanity. Humans are most dangerous and evil when they are motivated by self-will, fear and indulgence. This is how Paul put it, “for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Paul equally spoke against those (within the ranks of the church) whom he called “the enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose destiny is destruction, whose god is their stomach, and whose glory is in their shame” (Phil. 3:18&19).

The true potential of our humanity in God (or of Kingdom Humanity) is realized not when we walk in self-will, but when we walk in obedience to God. And obedience to God reflects our affection and devotion to Him. The reason why suffering can produce maturity and a harvest of righteousness in us (provided it is administered correctly – see Rom. 5:1-5, Heb. 12:4-11) is because it resolves the conflict between the right to life and the duty to obey, and it crystallizes and distills our sense of love for God. This is because we realize that without Him, we can’t even dream of “a right to life”. Any branch that is cut off from Him will wither, it cannot produce life (John 15:1-17). Jesus therefore went to the Cross with full understanding that if He obeyed God, He could not lose life – not even the grave could keep Him. Those who walk in obedience will produce life even during difficulty and adversity. Obedience keeps us in union with God – and in God, nothing dies. Death is not the fruit of mortality; it is the fruit of being separated from God. Like Daniel and his friends, those who walk in obedience, even though they may be living out of a lean diet, will always look healthier and well-nourished than those who indulge in the pleasures of self-life (Dan. 1:8-16).

Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

To do justice to this scripture, we must pause and re-read it to understand what Paul is dealing with. The answer to the question, “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” in verse 35, is implied in the things listed afterwards, i.e. trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword. Paul continues to say, “in all these things (mentioned above) we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (vs.37). “These things” are the troubles, hardships, persecution etc. In other words, it is our own attachment of greater value to “these things” (our sense of right to life or the right of not going through hardship, as an example), that can separate us from the love of God. But if we can continuously live as “more than conquerors”, implying our continuous victory over hardship, persecution etc. (i.e. our sense of duty to obey God even in suffering), due to our commitment to God over our lives, then we will be guaranteed that we shall live in perpetual union with Him. What “these things” come to test is not our threshold of pain, it is our affection and devotion for Christ. There was nothing that was going to come between the Son and the Father. The Son’s love of the Father would stand, even during the most feared or gruesome death during the Roman Empire.

The foundation of Spiritual Psychology is a correct internal structure of priority between the duty to obey and the right to life. When the duty to obey comes before the right to life, then life in God is guaranteed. But equally, we humans must be careful of “a sense of duty to obey” that is born or founded upon the pride of life and a deep-seated desire to build a name for ourselves. This too is a dangerous presumption that leads to death. This sense of duty to obey must be carried in the human heart with a deep sense of sincerity and humility, tempered and measured by the Holy Spirit, tested in the process of time and administrated in the right spiritual temperature of healthy fellowship.

The foundation of Spiritual Psychology is a correct internal structure of priority between the duty to obey and the right to life. When the duty to obey comes before the right to life, then perpetual union with God will be the result, and victory in suffering will be guaranteed.

 

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency (www.livingstonesagency.com)

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship (www.kingdomhumanity.com)

 

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

 

1. The Doctrine of Suffering – Part 1
2. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
3. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
4. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
5. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
6. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus

Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. NIV

Phil 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. NIV

Phil 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him. NIV

Matt 24:21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. NIV

Rev 13:9 He who has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. NIV

I’ve had this impression from the Lord to write on the issue of the doctrine of suffering. This doctrine is an important principle of the faith that empowers us (believers) to face difficulty, crisis and adversity. There is no doubt that we live in times of uncertainty and human suffering, due to the current pandemic and other human crises. In terms of the spread of the pandemic, if you find yourself in a country where the infection rate is low, you have to be thinking about what the next couple of weeks and months will look like. If you are in one of the global epicenters, then you are in close proximity to human suffering – you’ve seen people getting infected (if you are not infected yourself), being taken to hospitals, and maybe even dying.

Whenever humans find themselves in difficult conditions and uncertain times, they begin to think deeply about the meaning of life – this is natural. For those of us who are in the faith, and who have accepted salvation by grace in Christ, we begin to have deeper questions about (a) our faith, (b) our doctrine (c) and the response of God in all of this. There are two realities that exist in tension and that a believer must hold in proper spiritual balance: the first reality is that we surely live in times of crisis and uncertainty. The second, and even more important reality is that we believe in God who is unchanging, in whom we have eternal certainty and who is in the process of establishing His Purposes in the earth.

 

The utility of Faith and Doctrine

Any faith and doctrine that we embrace must do the following:

1. It must speak into the full spectrum of the human experience – it must help us engage the full cycle of life. King Solomon says that “there is time for everything under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1). We are not always laughing, sometimes we are weeping; we are not always dancing, sometimes we are mourning; we are not always at peace, sometimes we are at war (Eccl. 3:2-8).
2. Our Faith and Doctrine must speak into diverse, global and universal conditions of humanity – this is what I refer to as the universality of truth. Our faith and doctrine must address our personal and local conditions, while at the same time speaking into conditions that humans in other parts of the world maybe going through. If we live in prosperity, we must still have a revelation of God who is not only a Provider but also a Comforter. If we have good health, we must still possess a revelation of God who is the Healer. And if we live in just and peaceable environments, we must still embrace the revelation of God as a Deliverer.
3. Our Faith and Doctrine must be in tune with the process of God’s salvation plan – we are not saved only to have “good life” here in this fallen order of humanity. We are saved to be restored back to our original state of immortal humanity. This presupposes the unraveling of the present order as we celebrate the restoration of the order of life we lost at the Fall in Genesis 3 – “the present heavens and the earth shall be destroyed” (2 Pet. 3:7). That is, the believer must have faith to hold the principles of establishment of new creation and destruction of old creation in proper balance in his heart. Furthermore, this presupposes that in our journey of salvation, we have already embraced the reality of crisis in our movement to the end of time.

The Universality and Contextuality of Christ

Eph 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”  9  (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.). NIV 

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: NIV

Christ has “ascended on high”, and He has also “descended to the lower earthly regions”. He has filled the entire universe. The word “universe” in Ephesians 4:10 is the word “all things” – it literally means the whole or totality. There is not a single human experience or condition that is not catered for through the Cross. It is because of this very reality that we cannot think of salvation as a one-dimensional experience only applicable for certain conditions or people-groups. Christ did not only ascend on high, He also descended to lower regions, vice versa. He is therefore near us, in all our conditions, situations and seasons.

Even more importantly, is that those who administer doctrine, who hold the image of Christ before people, must do so in a manner that is holistic, balanced and complete. They must speak to the local and immediate conditions as they do to the global and universal human conditions. For this reason, a believer is not only called to be consumed by his own conditions, but he must also be able to live in the aggregated human experience.

Rom. 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. NIV

2 Cor 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. NIV

In Romans 12:15, we must rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. That is, beyond our own personal experiences (good or bad), we must find identification in the totality or aggregated experience of humanity. Our revelation of God must not begin and end with our personal-local experiences but must extend and connect to the total experience of humanity. Since we have been comforted by God in all our troubles, we can comfort others in any trouble. Our experience of God in our personal conditions is enough to empower us to extend the ministry of God to any kind of condition that humanity finds itself in, even those that we have not yet gone through ourselves.

 

The Cross – identification with the totality of the human experience

The fundamental experience of the Cross is that He who had no sin died for us who were sinners, so that together with Him, we might get to live in glory. Thus, the Cross is fundamentally not selfish but connects itself to the totality of what humanity is going through. Think about it – Jesus lived in heavenly glory. From the point of view of heaven, life was great. However, this was not the case for humans in the earth. God’s judgment stood against the sin of humans. There was chaos, disaster, disease and death here on earth. From an earthly perspective, things were simply not great. The necessity of Christ’s suffering on the Cross was not due to heaven’s glory, it was due to earth’s chaos. That is, there are things that we will not even begin to do until we have a perspective beyond our immediate environments. It is therefore important that church is free from the limitation of her immediate experience and homogeneous worldview – her church buildings, programs, apostolic associations etc., to see humanity from a different vantage point.

 

Following Jesus

Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. NIV

In this important statement by Jesus, there is an outlining of a process and a sequential flow to becoming an effective disciple: 1) deny yourself, 2) take up your Cross, 3) and follow. This means that effective following takes place upon the foundations of self-denial and full identification with the crucifixion. In this sense, the words of Paul make sense…

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NIV 

Gal 6:4 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. NIV

Not only are we the recipients of the benefits of the Cross, but we are also called to be participants in the process, together with Jesus. That is, Jesus re-lives the full cycle of death and resurrection through our lives. And so therefore, you can never be a disciple of Christ without equally embracing the full cycle of the life of Christ – of death and resurrection. For this reason, the words of apostle Paul remain powerful for us:  Phil 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. NIV

 

Faith for breakthrough vs. Faith for endurance

It is perhaps true that in the church, we tend to talk of faith mainly in the context of breakthrough and material wellbeing. Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with believing God for breakthrough, miracles and success. The Bible actually encourages us to ask so that we can be given. We must have powerful faith in the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Eph. 3:20). The God who feeds the birds of the air with abundant resource, and who dresses the lilies of the field with beauty, has our lives and needs covered (Matt. 6:25-34). He is so intimately involved in our lives that He’s got the very hairs of our head numbered (Luke. 12:7) – He knows our prayer needs better than we do (Matt. 6:8).  So the issue is not in believing God for breakthroughs in our lives, the problem is when we have a one-sided view of faith. Not only is this dangerous for our own salvation journey, in that sometimes we walk through experiences where we feel like God is absent or does not care about us, but this can also taint and damage our view of God – our doctrine of the Nature of God. In other words, it is beneficial for us, to hold a balanced and complete view of the doctrine of faith, as taught in the Scriptures.

2 Cor 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. NIV

It is true that sometimes God responds to our prayers not by removing the challenges before us but by pouring more grace for us to face them. This is what happened to Jesus…

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. NIV

There was no way for Jesus to pray for a “breakthrough” against the crucifixion. He needed to go through it, for the salvation of mankind. He understood this. So, heaven’s response to His prayer was not to remove the situation, rather, heaven strengthened Jesus, as the ordained participant in the situation.

Matt 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” NIV

Jesus acknowledged that He could pray for God to deliver Him from the situation. However, His next statement is quite profound: “how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”. The critical question that this statement reflects is that the higher conversation of life is the fulfillment of the Will of God. For that reason, Jesus prays in line with the Will of God. He focuses His prayers on spiritual edification than “breakthrough” in the situation. This comes about as a result of discerning God in the situation.

2 Tim 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. NIV

2 Tim 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. NIV

Matt 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. NIV

Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. NKJV

Endurance is the outworking of faith. Impatience is the fruit of lack of faith. He who believes does not shrink back (Heb. 10:35-39). In Hebrews 11, faith is not described for us only as instantaneous breakthrough, but also as a process of endurance towards the fulfillment of the Promises of the Lord. We must be able to endure in the situations of life, knowing that God will ultimately redeem us. The Cross required faith for endurance. Jesus needed to walk through the crucifixion, to come to the other side of joy and glory. We must therefore be able to hold these two dimensions of faith in tension and proper spiritual balance in our hearts. They are not in conflict with each other. They are the composites of the same God. There are times when God prioritizes our discipline and endurance over breakthroughs, because this always produces a harvest of righteousness. But there are times when God prioritizes breakthrough, in order to display His redemptive power in life circumstances.

 

Suffering – the Meaning of the Cross

We derive our spiritual meaning and doctrine of the Cross from the crucifixion of Jesus. Basically, carrying the Cross means suffering. In context, it is suffering that is induced by humans because of their opposition and rebellion to God. The messenger of God becomes the bearer of the Cross, since he is the one sent to preach and stand for righteousness. He becomes “the victim” of man’s rebellion against God.

Matt 27:22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” NIV

Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. NIV

Since humans rejected God, they inevitably persecuted the Son of God. They opted to save the criminal Barabbas so that they could persecute Jesus (Luke 23:18-25). This human hostility towards the Son of God is further captured in the parables of the tenants and wedding banquet. In the parable of the tenants, it is stated: Matt 21:38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him, NIV. The same principle is reflected in the parable of the wedding banquet: Matt 22:6 The rest seized (the king’s) servants, mistreated them and killed them, NIV.

When Jesus instructs us to carry our own Cross, He is not meaning anything else but the same process of suffering that He went through. The idea is that we, who have chosen to be the messengers of righteousness, must understand how life and the world will engage us. The issue of taking the Cross must not be confused with “false humility and a self-induced harsh treatment of the body, for religious reasons” (Col. 2:23). Salvation is not received by works but by grace (Eph. 2:8&9).

 

Triggers, contexts and platforms of suffering in the life of the believer…

1. An immoral world: We live in a world that is pre-configured for self-life, rebellion against God, immorality and unrighteousness. To live for Christ in such a world or human order will inevitably result in continuous hostility and suffering. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed (1 Pet. 4:14). It is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God (1 Pet. 2:19). The same world that crucified the historical Jesus still shouts against the Christ in us, “crucify Him” (Matt. 27:22&23). And Paul acknowledges that “we are crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20).
2. Warfare for the soul: We are wrestling with the enemy who is seeking our precious souls (Eph. 6:12&13). Rev 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life, NIV. Rev 2:13 I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives.
3. Mortal bodies: Although our spirits have been redeemed, we still live in mortal bodies that suffer from decay, pain, disease and death. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16).
4. The discipline of the Lord: Heb 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline (paideia in Greek: education, training, disciplinary correction), and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes (mastigoo in Greek: to flog and scourge, a whip) everyone he accepts as a son.” 7 Endure (to hold a position for a long time) hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. NIV
5. A groaning creation: We are engaged in a movement to the end of time, which involves the groaning of creation (Rom. 8:18-23). The groaning of creation speaks of disasters and crises in this world, due to creation’s aging and renewal process (Matt. 24:4-8). We have been told by the Lord, prior to these events, that there will be famines (economic hardship), wars (military crises), earthquakes (climate crises) and pestilences (pandemics like the current one), Luke 21:11 & Matt. 24:7&8. We therefore must expect these events in our movement to the end of time.

 

Matt 24:21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. NIV

We are comforted by the fact that the Lord considers both the severity of these situations and our ability to bear them. Just like He strengthened Jesus, He is supplying us with grace to empower us to face suffering.

 

Defining Suffering

It is important to emphasize that suffering must not be confused with “false humility and a self-induced harsh treatment of the body, for religious reasons” (Col. 2:23).

Suffering is the determination to live for Christ in the midst of adversity; the resolution to advance the Kingdom of God even when it is costly to do so; the attitude to deny yourself in pursuit of the Will of God.

The process of suffering reflects the following attitudes, motivations, mindset and positions:

• Suffering is motivated by the love of God.
• Inherent to the process of suffering is self-denial.
• Suffering is the acknowledgement of the primacy and supremacy of the Will of God over self-interest.
• Suffering is driven by the need to obey the Lord.
• It is the understanding that life tends to be configured in opposition to the movement of the Kingdom of God.
• It is motivated by the imperative to witness for Christ.
• It is the embracing of the imperative of spiritual formation in Christ over material wellbeing.
• And suffering is born out of the revelation of eternal glory in our union with God as something that outweighs earthly comfort, wellbeing and success.

Suffering therefore does not mean that we are “victims of life”. It is not a reflection of powerlessness, neither is it a reflection of lack of options. Rather, suffering is the hallmark of the life of a witness of Christ (Acts 1:8). It is a powerful proclamation by us, of the goodness of God amidst the oppositional forces of evil. This is because we understand that we are now called to live for Him who died for us (2 Cor. 5:15). Suffering is our bold partnership in the gospel of Jesus Christ, where like Moses, we voluntarily choose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:24-27).

 

Resources to Engage Suffering

The following principles are paramount in our response to suffering:

1. Hope and Faith
2. Prayer
3. Grace for the time of need
4. Comfort through Community
5. Greater appreciation of eternity

Hope and Faith

Hope and faith work hand in hand. Faith is the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). In Hebrews 11, the generation of faith had hope beyond this material order. They were longing for a better country – a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16).

When suffering works in the heart of the believer, it produces hope…

Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. NIV

And since we have hope in the heavenly country, we do not grieve like the world (1 Thes. 4:13). We grieve according to our belief, calibrated by our doctrine – our faith in the resurrection (1 Thes. 4:14).

We have faith in God’s ability to keep us in the day of trial…

Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior,  Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. NKJV

Rev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. NKJV

When facing suffering, we must believe in God’s ability to keep us in the day of trial. We must believe that even though it may at times feel like He is distant, that He is in fact near us, working in our lives, and that in due time we shall see the results of His redemptive works. He is the Chief Shepherd of our souls and is working to secure our eternal union with Him. If we keep this attitude of faith in our hearts, then we will inevitably allow Him time and space to administer the affairs of our lives. This faith empowers us to cooperate with God’s divine silence because we know that silence does not mean inactivity.

Prayer

Luke 22:39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. NIV

Luke 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’  4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,  5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.  7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” NKJV

The question is, what do we do when we are in anguish? The word “anguish” in Luke 22:44 defines the trembling excitement and anxiety produced by fear or tension before a wrestling match or a fight. Primarily, this word defines a place of assembly. It defines a contest for victory in public sporting events like running, boxing or wrestling. The picture in the spirit in Luke 22 is one where the enemy engages you publicly. Jesus discerned the moment, instead of allowing it to depress Him, He began to pray. If we are persistent in prayer like the widow of Luke 18, we shall get justice.

Grace for the time of Need

The grace of God is not only unmerited favor for salvation, it is also an actual resource that is supplied from heaven for our strengthening in times of need.

Heb 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

God strengthens us in the crisis…

Luke 22:43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. NIV

The grace of God will always be sufficient for the challenges before us (2 Cor. 12:8&9).

Comfort through Community

2 Cor 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. NIV

The word “comfort” means to call near, to invite, to exhort and console. This word describes both relational proximity and emotional comfort. The power of community life or fellowship in the church is the ability to produce spiritual-emotional strength in the face of suffering. Two are better than one because if one falls down, his friend can help him (Eccl. 4:9-12). The saints do not only comfort one another emotionally, but also elders or leaders of church can use doctrine to comfort the saints – in Titus 1:9, elders can exhort or comfort the saints by sound doctrine.

Greater appreciation of Eternity

2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. NIV

The scripture gives a clear perspective of life – there is nothing that we will ever face in this earth, no matter how severe it may be, that can be compared to eternal glory. Not only are earthly troubles momentary, but they also will never outweigh our eternal reward in Christ.

Rev 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. NIV

Since there is no earthly experience so painful as to make us rethink our eternal reward, we can in fact be faithful even to the point of death.

1 Cor 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  NIV

 

 

Robert Ntuli

Pastor – LivingStones Agency (www.livingstonesagency.com)

Visionary Leader – Kingdom Humanity Fellowship (www.kingdomhumanity.com)

 

Resources

Please follow the links below to access other resources relevant to the current pandemic…

 

1. Covid-19: A Prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 1)
2. Covid-19: A prophetic characterization of the current pandemic (part 2)
3. Restating the foundations of the New Covenant
4. Drivers for effective life in the current season of the pandemic
5. Doing church in the crisis of coronavirus