March 31, 2024

Resurrection Sunday Vanquished... Defeated... Overcome... Conquered! “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” We celebrate this day with a biblical taunt aimed at you, O death, the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations. For though your power reaches to the ends of the earth and all the living must submit to your rule, your stronghold has been broken! It was disobedience that first granted to you sway over us. You have worked your will upon mankind, bringing us down to the dust.  You take from us the remembrance of our God; you silence our praise to him. We, the living, know that you await, but those who have met with you, know nothing. You have taken any further reward that may be theirs. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. Under your despotic rule, all our plans come to nothing. You truly are our enemy! You have been painted by masters, such as Plato, with a deceptive beauty that would soften your lethal edges and allow you to masquerade among us as a friend. Alas, how many have fallen prey to the lie that you offer to us freedom as you release our true selves, our immortal soul from its prison of a mortal body. But this is not what God has said. He who alone is immortal has made it clear that we, altogether, are but grass, whose bloom last but a short while. You offer not freedom, not release, but destruction. Yet it is your destruction that we cheer this day! For surely you know Jesus of Nazareth, that man accredited by God by the miracles, wonders and signs which God worked through him. He is God’s gift to us, our hero and deliverer, and he spells your doom. Though he was handed over to you for a short while, you were not able to keep your grip on him. He was not abandoned to the grave; he did not see decay. God took him from you when he raised him out from among the dead, proving that your reign is not everlasting. Because God’s son, over whom you had no claim, willingly gave himself to you, he was able to taste of you for all of us. Now we, who throughout our lives have been enslaved by our fear of you, see a new and living way opened to us, beyond you. The foundation of your throne has been irreparably undermined! Your end speeds near and you can do nothing to stop it, for the resurrection of Jesus was but the firstfruits of the harvest which God will bring in when the time is ripe. Those of us who have confessed the Lord Jesus and believed that God raised him from your power have been given his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Your irresistible power to destroy no longer causes us to grieve, like a people who have no hope. We know our Lord will return and call out of the grave those who belong to him. Then we, if we are still alive, together with the dead who have been snatched from you will be changed to be like him, for we will see him as he is. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and you and your companions (mourning, crying and pain) will no longer be needed. The old order of things will have passed away and you will be cast aside, discarded into the lake of fire where you will be no more. We, on the other hand, will be with our Lord forever, living the immortal, imperishable resurrection life of the coming age of the kingdom of God and singing this song of triumph, “Death has been swallowed up in victory!” We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! In Christ, Scot scot@unity-of-spirit.org   (For those who are interested in the biblical references behind the celebratory taunt above, here is a list of verse references: Isa. 25:7-8, Rom. 5:19, Ps. 6:5, Ecc. 9:1-10, Ps. 146:4, 1 Tim. 6:16, Ps. 103:13-16, Acts 2:22-36, Heb. 2:14-15, Heb. 10:20, 1 Cor. 15:20, Rom. 10:9-10, 2 Cor. 1:22, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 John 3:2, Rev. 21:3-4, Rev. 20:14, 1 Cor. 15: 54- 57. Plato’s view is found in Phaedo 67d, 105c-106e, et al.)

December 24, 2023

Dear Fellow-believers, It’s Christmas Eve 2023 as I write this and it’s been some time since we have written on our blog here at The Unity of the Spirit. Fortunately Scot Hahn’s last message of April 9 on Resurrection Sunday was so good and biblically comprehensive that perhaps we didn’t need to add more. In truth, it’s been a very difficult year for myself healthwise and it’s only now that I really feel well enough to write something new.  Fortunately, our regular fellowships in Cary Christian Fellowship have continued almost uninterrupted since the beginning of the Covid pandemic three and a half years ago despite various difficulties. Though we had to make some logistical changes, the teaching of God’s Word on a regular basis has continued in our fellowships unabated. Specifically, in our Adult Bible Study Fellowship which Dorota and I host and I normally lead we have spent most of the last two and a half years studying the Gospel of John and the Letters of John.  This has been such a wonderful and enlightening time of study, learning and fellowship together for all of us. All of the participants contributed greatly and I especially thank Scot for stepping in and leading it (when I was not able to) with so much depth, insight and love in addition to continuing to lead his own regular weekly Bible fellowship as well in his home! I would of course like to remind everyone who reads this of the many resources available on our The Unity of Spirit web- site. There are probably a hundred or so articles on a broad range of biblical topics that are, hopefully, just as true today as when we first wrote them. These can be found under the “Article” tab at the top of the page. In addition, there is my book “God’s Plan of Salvation” and many audio teachings including an introductory class of my own “God’s Living Word.” Most of the other audio teachings are by Scot and I especially recommend his audio presentation of 1 Peter chapter by chapter and verse by verse to start with. All of these can be found by following the links on the right hand side of the page. Of course, there are also other web-sites we refer interested people to as well and, though we make no guarantees as to their accuracy, we recommend them because they have something to offer at a professional biblical level. I hope that we will be able to write more often in the future but we also know that most of those who read The Unity of the Spirit are also deeply involved in their own churches and fellowships. Hopefully, our web-site can continue to be a source of help and encouragement to you as well. In this Christmas season I close with a couple of verses that are apropos from the Gospel of John and 1 John from NT Wright’s NT translation the Kingdom New Testament: “This, you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should share in the life of God’s new age. After all, God didn’t send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so the world could be saved by him.” (John 3:16-17). “This is the witness: God has given us the life of the age to come, and this life is in his son. Anyone who has the son has life. Anyone who does not have the son of God does not have life. I am writing these things to you so that you may know that you, who believe in the name of the son of God, do indeed have the life of the age to come.” (1 John 5:11-13). May God continue to bless you all as children in his family forever through Christ, his son. With much love in Christ, Richie Temple

April 9, 2023

Resurrection Sunday Dear Fellow Believers, “He is Risen!” - This simple but powerful statement resides at the heart of the earliest Christian proclamation of the gospel and forms the foundation upon which Christian faith and hope are based. As the Apostle Paul stated, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Cor. 15:17 Anyone familiar with The Book of Acts knows that on many occasions where the earliest Christians had an opportunity to share the good news publicly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ stood at the center of their message. Let’s take a look at a few of these instances. ““Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 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. David said about him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”” Acts 2:22-36 NIV “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” Acts 3:1-16 NIV “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”” Acts 4:1-12 NIV “Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to. Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.” Acts 5:17-31 NIV “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”” Acts 10:34-43 NIV ““Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” Acts 13:26-33a NIV “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”” Acts 17:22-31 NIV The weight of the evidence is overwhelming! May we celebrate this day in praise to God for the “...working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead...” Eph. 319b-20a In Christ, Scot scot@unity-of-spirit.org  

December 25, 2022

Christmas Day Almost six weeks had passed since the memorable night of their first-born’s birth. The wonder of that evening and the miraculous events that took place in the months leading up to it most certainly had left an indelible mark upon their hearts. But, as a father of five, I can tell you that six weeks into parenthood, it is likely that some of the shine had worn off. Let’s face it, the labor and delivery room were not exactly first-class. We don’t know for sure what circumstances the new family found themselves in for the next few weeks, but we do know it wasn’t home. For beginning parents, even in the best of settings, those first couple of months are a hazy fog. It’s safe to assume that this would have been the case for Joseph and Mary, as well. After all, the Bible doesn’t just impart timeless, heavenly truth, so spiritual in nature that it has no connection to mundane reality; instead, it shows how the creator God works in this world, and the very ordinary, human lives of people, to bring to pass his ultimate purposes. Whether the recovery from labor, lack of sleep, dirty loincloths and difficulty in finding suitable accommodations for their situation had taken a toll on the couple or not, God saw fit to give them a special boost about forty days into their parenting adventure, when they headed to the temple to dedicate the baby boy, Jesus. This encouragement came from a man named Simeon, and what he said to them still gives me goose bumps when I read it. “Moved by the Spirit, he (Simeon) went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.” Luke 2:29-33 I bet they did! Here this devout man gazes at the baby boy in his arms and declares that this child, which he looks upon, is the salvation that God has prepared in the sight of all people. What a way to put it! Jesus, himself, is God’s salvation. This statement reminds me of the unique and insightful translation and explanation of John 1:1 by the astute New Testament scholar, G. B. Caird, in his New Testament Theology. Caird, as much as anyone I have read, had a way of understanding and communicating the Hebrew mind that so permeates the Scriptures. In his attempt to clarify the meaning of “the Word” (Gk. logos) in John chapter 1, he says, “‘In the beginning was the purpose, the purpose in the mind of God, the purpose which was God’s own being.’ It is surely a conceivable thought that God is wholly identified with His purpose of love, and that the purpose took human form in Jesus of Nazareth.” (p. 332) Jesus, himself, is God’s purpose. Sally Lloyd-Jones put it another way in her The Jesus Storybook Bible. As she retells the story of Jonah, God’s messenger, she speaks of another messenger who would be coming, “He would be called ‘The Word’ because he himself would be God’s Message. God’s Message translated into our own language. Everything God wanted to say to the whole world -- in a Person.” (p. 169) Jesus Christ is God’s salvation, God’s purpose, God’s message for the world. This is why Peter could so confidently assert to the rulers and elders of the Jewish people who demanded that he and John explain how they had brought healing to a well-know crippled beggar, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10b-12 And how could salvation be found anywhere else, since Jesus is God’s salvation? Consider Paul and his letter to the Ephesians as he explains how in Christ alone all of God’s purposes are fulfilled. “And he (God) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment -- to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” Eph. 1:9-10 That pretty much sums it up. By the Spirit’s power, Simeon recognized these remarkable truths, embodied in the baby boy he held in his arms. It is easy to see why Mary and Joseph marveled at his words. It must have been an overwhelming blessing to them at that time in their lives. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas Day, let us also be blessed and marvel at the magnitude of all that God has done in Christ. Merry Christmas! Scot Hahn scot@unity-of-spirit.org

April 17, 2022

Resurrection Sunday During this Easter week of 2022 I have been reading a good deal about the last week of Christ’s life leading up to his sacrificial death and then resurrection. There are three sections of scripture—encapsulating these historical events and their spiritual meaning—that have always been special to me since my teenage years. They all highlight the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the resulting new creation in Christ. The first of these – all of which I committed to memory many years ago – is II Corinthians 5:14-21: 14 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” These verses encapsulate the entire Christian gospel message of redemption with their apex being “the new creation in Christ.” All who believe in Christ become a part of this new creation, and then, in addition, become ambassadors or messengers of it to the world. The next scripture section was one that I learned when I was still in single-digit years. I was reading the autobiography of Bobby Richardson the famous 2nd baseman (baseball player) for the New York Yankees. Though I was no fan of the Yankees, Richardson was a strong Christian role model and the verses from Galatians 2 that he expounded on have been very meaningful to me since: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” These beautiful verses put Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection in such personal terms “for me”! I have taken them as such ever since but think of these verses not only “for me” each day but for all other believers in Christ as well. Finally, it is only within the last couple of decades that the last scripture section I refer to became especially meaningful to me. This was when I was studying this section specifically and for some reason it became a good summary for me of the whole Christian message in both personal and corporate terms – for the entire body of Christ: “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. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” These verses are straightforward and go right to the main points of the Christian message. They have become very meaningful to me as a concise summary of the gospel, and I hope they will be for you as well. God’s blessings to you (as an individual Christian) and to all of God’s people (the Israel of God) during this special weekend! Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org

November 25, 2021

Thanksgiving Day Thankful for You! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your fellow believers? While I’m sure you now have a smile on your face and a pleasant thought in your heart, I’d like to invite you to look with me at the beginning of a few of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches to see how he would have answered this question. What we find is really quite amazing! “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:3-6 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:15-16 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints -- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you...” Colossians 1:3-6a “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” I Thessalonians 1:2-5a When Paul’s thoughts turned to the believers that he knew, or had heard about, his immediate reaction was to give thanks to God. But why? It wasn’t just because of how nice they were, how good their cooking was or even his recollection of their kindness shown to him in various means of support for him. Paul thanked God for them because he knew that their “partnership in the gospel,” their “faith in Christ Jesus” was evidence that, in these people’s lives, God’s purpose in Christ for the whole creation was coming true. He understood that the gospel, the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, was doing its work in them. And for this, spontaneous thanks to God was the response. But there is more to it than that. Since he recognized that God was at work in his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, his prayers of thanks to God inspired him to pray in a very specific way for these believers. If these were to be the lights of the world, shining in the darkness, they needed all the resources that God had made available in Christ to fulfill their high calling. So he prayed for them like this: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his might strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead...” Ephesians 1:17-20a “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:9-14 Now that is powerful prayer! And you and I can offer the same kind of prayer for our family in Christ when we lift them to God. Our thanks to God for these people can be based on our understanding that God is accomplishing his purposes for the ages in them. We can see that their faith in Christ Jesus and love for his people are evidence that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the world. The requests we make of God on their behalf can be for their growth, understanding and empowering so that they can be all that God wants his children to be. What a purposeful way to pray for our fellow believers when they come to mind! Scot Hahn scot@unity-of-spirit.org

July 31st, 2021

My European Trip of 1981 Greetings to all our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in this summer of 2021.  We hope you are all well despite the difficulties that so many have faced recently.  In addition to the common situations that all of us are dealing with, Dorota and I especially miss not having been able to visit our family, our sister fellowship in Krakow, and our friends in Europe for the last two years. We hope that this situation will change in the not-too-distant future.  This summer of 2021 is particularly special to me because it marks the fortieth anniversary of my first trip to Europe in the summer of 1981. I was already 26 at the time, had worked for a living for eight years, had simultaneously studied history and politics at North Carolina State University; and most importantly to me, had been a leader in the house church movement.  I had also been very interested in the Cold War and communist societies since my teenage years and this was also one of my main points of focus in college. So, rather than visit the famous sites of London, Paris, Rome, etc. in Western Europe, on this first trip I chose instead to travel through the communist countries of the Soviet Bloc and the USSR itself to see for myself the realities of life there.  Ultimately, I had a two-fold goal: I was interested in pursuing an academic career in teaching history and politics including the Cold War period, and, again most importantly, I was very interested in trying to help individuals behind the Iron Curtain to learn, or better learn, God’s Word. So, in July and August of that summer of 1981, trusting God for his guidance and care, I embarked on a journey that would change my life beyond anything I ever expected.  In all, I spent a little over six weeks traveling on my own through Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.  I began in free West Berlin and then proceeded over the first three weeks to East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, free Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Romania. I then entered the USSR itself and visited several “Soviet Socialist Republics” over the next three weeks including Moldavia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, and finally, the cities of Leningrad and Moscow in Russia. In doing this I traversed the USSR from the Black Sea at Odessa in the south all the way to the Baltic Sea in Riga, Latvia, and in Leningrad, Russia in the north. Beginning with that trip God opened doors for me, one after another, that were far beyond what I could have ever imagined—not only for that trip but also over the next forty years. Though I’ve rarely talked about the details and events of that trip, it is etched on my mind to this day. In short, it became the foundation and stepping-stone for the next forty years of my life: personally, spiritually and professionally. Though this trip was certainly the hardest thing I had ever done in my life up until that time, it was also one of the most rewarding over the course of my lifetime. God was at work throughout and I thank him for his guidance, protection, and care every step along the way.  Hopefully, in various ways, it has led to blessings to many others as well. For me, in addition to meeting my dear wife of now 37 years, Dorota, the most important thing has always been all of the wonderful people I have met from all walks of life, and the long-lasting relationships built during these last forty years. Foremost among them, are all who have been participants in one way or another in the Krakow Bible fellowship or in any of the summer Bible conferences that have been held since 1994. To all these dear brothers and sisters in Christ whom I have been privileged to come to know and to serve in the gospel with, I send the words of the apostle Paul, as from me, to you: 3 “I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:1-11 NIV). Special words indeed! May God continue to guide you all, care for you all, and strengthen you all as you live for him in your own special place in the body of Christ as well as in your own unique circumstances in this world! With much love in Christ, Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org

April 4, 2021

Resurrection Sunday Life is short. If you haven’t figured this out already, you will. There will come a time when you long for another opportunity to embrace your loved one, to share a sweet time of fellowship with your brother or sister in Christ, or to hear a reassuring word from one to whom you have looked as a rock, and you will be struck with grief at the realization that Death has intervened. Or it may be that your own mortality opens your eyes to the fact that time runs out on us all. You’ll see that you have poured yourself into your passions and pursuits with unbroken devotion only to find that the wear and tear of life has made impossible that which you had longed to accomplish. The seemingly inescapable shadow of death looms over us all. As James 4:14 reminds us: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” I firmly believe that until you have come to grips with the grim prospect that lies ahead and have felt the deafening silence with which that great enemy, Death, quiets even the most ebullient life, you cannot rejoice to the full extent in the victory won by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this victory which we celebrate today! “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. the last enemy to be destroyed is Death. For he has put everything under his feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:20-27a It is our faith in what God has already done in exerting his power over death by raising Jesus Christ and our certainty of what he will do when Jesus Christ returns to raise those who are his that gives our lives the proper context in which they may be lived, even in the face of death. We have freedom from the fickleness of tomorrow because we know what will ultimately be ours: life in the coming age of the kingdom of God. This understanding supersedes the frustration and grief which mortality naturally brings. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:13-18 The burden of the pain and sorrow which we feel when we lose a loved one and the discontentment we experience in the face of our own corruptibility is real, but it is lightened by the power of God’s Spirit dwelling in us. “But if Christ is in you, though the body be dead on account of sin, yet the Spirit is life on account of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, living in you.” Romans 8:10-11 And so we look to the future through the eyes of faith, where we see before us the beautiful picture painted in the book of Revelation of being with God and all his people forever: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 No longer do we, as believers in Jesus Christ, have to be crippled in this life by the uncertainty inherent to our human existence. No more are we to be overwhelmed by the finite limits to which, as animated lumps of clay, we and all our interactions and institutions are bound. Instead, God has overpowered the grave and its finality by breaking Death’s hold in raising our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. The empty tomb assures those who believe that there is more to come than we can fully understand now, and it calls us to live our lives to the full in whole-hearted devotion to God and in self-giving love to others. “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory?   “Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that you labor for the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 Now there is true meaning and purpose for you as a believer in Christ! Scot Hahn scot@unity-of-spirit.org

January 1, 2021

Dear Fellow Believers, As 2020 came to a close, it was so apparent that darkness, disappointment and uncertainty have taken hold of the world to a degree that has not been the case for my generation before. People are unsettled and longing for certainty. Hope for better things in the coming year has people bidding, "Good riddance!" to 2020 and has them looking expectantly to the year ahead. Hope is good, but the realization of that hope is no more certain than the powers that are able to bring it to pass. I think, if nothing else, we have learned that human beings don't have all the answers or all the power to make life as they desire for it to be. Strive as we might, things don't always follow the course we wish that they would. Not so with God! His plans for the future will stand. The hope he has given to us is certain. It is a living hope, based upon the sure fact that our living Lord Jesus Christ will return to give his people the realization of what they hope for. Life in God's kingdom forever! The believers addressed by Peter in his first letter found themselves in uncertain circumstances, as well. They knew themselves to be God's people, but living in the world for them sometimes meant "suffering grief in all kinds of trials." The apostle spends much of the early portion of his letter encouraging them with the certain hope that was theirs in Christ. In our Bibles, so neatly laid out with chapters and verses, we find hope mentioned three times in the first chapter alone. Let's look at these passages together. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." vs. 5-6 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." vs. 13 "(Christ) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." vs. 20-21 What great encouragement for trying times! God has acted on behalf of his people to provide a living hope, a sure future, a salvation that is ready to be revealed when our living Lord, Jesus Christ returns. Our faith and hope are based on God's power to bring about what he promises. We can be sure that we will not be disappointed. Praise be to God! If you enjoy these verses, this is only a sample of all that the great letter of 1 Peter has to offer. I'd like to invite all of you to join us as I begin a verse by verse study of 1 Peter this coming week. I will record the teachings and post them on the Cary Christian Fellowship website under the Bible Studies Page (link). I will try to have them posted by Sunday morning every week. May our living hope be an anchor for your 2021! In Christ, Scot scot@unity-of-spirit.org

December 20, 2020

Christmas Week Greetings to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in this Christmas week of 2020.  For almost everyone this has been a difficult and challenging year, while for some it has been a year of tragic loss on any number of fronts.  Fortunately, whatever any of us as Christian believers have to endure in this life, it is very short in comparison with “the glory” that is “to be revealed to us” at Christ’s return (Rom. 8:19f).  This “hope of glory” is what the entire Bible looks forward to and which history itself, unknowingly, moves towards day by day. It is the ultimate solution to the world’s problems and to our own personal difficulties, suffering, and mortality as well.  In fact, the very word “Christ” at the beginning of the word “Christmas” is bound up in bringing God’s ultimate deliverance and salvation to the world since the word “Christ” means “God’s anointed Savior and King.” That, then, is the ultimate significance of Christmas as the infancy accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke so beautifully describe—the accounts we are all very familiar with, reading, hearing and singing them so much during this time of year.  Of course, neither the Gospel of Mark nor the Gospel of John have infancy accounts; instead, they proceed from the point of the coming of John the Baptist and then the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  This should perhaps tell us something about the fact that Christmas is not about “the baby Jesus” per se; but rather, about what God ultimately accomplishes through the sending of his Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord, for the salvation of the world. Our Adult Bible Study Fellowship is currently studying the Gospel of John, and we have covered John 1:1 up to John 3:16 so far. That’s a nice background for Christmas week!  The Gospel of John approaches the topic of God’s plan of salvation through its famous prologue in ch. 1:1-18, emphasizing that the “the Word became flesh” in the person of Jesus Christ as the culmination of God’s plan of salvation for the world.  The heart of the Gospel’s teaching on this subject is in John chapter 3 with the apex of its teaching being John 3:16, which is perhaps the most famous verse in the world of Christianity, and rightly so! In the context of the Gospel as a whole and within the discourse of John 3, this verse is a bright gem that continues to shine today after almost 2,000 years. It is the context, however, that is all important in understanding the depth of its meaning and the context of John 3 revolves around the all-important topic of how one can “enter the Kingdom of God” and thus partake of “eternal life” in that Kingdom of God.   Let’s look at John 3:1ff in the traditional biblical language of the English Standard Version (ESV) to see the entire context: John 3:1-21: “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” These verses coordinate beautifully with the all-important theme of salvation set out in the prologue in John 1:12-13: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” All of these terms: seeing or entering the kingdom of God; being born again, or from above, or of the Spirit, or of water and the Spirit, or of God; receiving eternal life; being saved and not condemned; etc. are all interrelated terms in God’s plan of salvation as set forth in the Gospel of John as well as in the entire New Testament.  In his outstanding commentary on The Gospel of John the late NT scholar F.F. Bruce explains their OT background and their NT significance: “The kingdom of God in the OT is presented on occasion as his eternal and universal rule: ‘The Lord shall reign for ever and ever’ (Ex. 15:18); ‘The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all’ (Ps. 103:19). But more particularly his kingdom is manifested on earth where it is accepted and obeyed by men…” “To ‘see the kingdom of God’ meant to witness (and have a share in) the final consummation of God’s kingly rule, when it would be accepted and obeyed universally. This future aspect of the divine kingdom is also set forth in the OT, notably in the book of Daniel (cf. Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 27). To a Jew with Nicodemus’s upbringing, seeing the kingdom of God would mean participation in the age to come, the resurrection life. In this Gospel as in the others ‘the kingdom of God’ in this sense is interchangeable with ‘eternal life’ (compare ‘to enter life’ in Mark 9:43, 45, with ‘to enter the kingdom of God’ in Mark 9: 47). The ‘regeneration’ in Matt. 19:28 is another synonym. But Jesus speaks of a regeneration to be experienced here and now. To be born ‘from above’ or ‘anew’ in the sense which his words have here is to be ‘born from God’ in the sense of John 1:13, to enter immediately into the life of that coming age. We who have read the prologue to the Gospel know that those who are thus born into the divine family, becoming children of God, are those who have received the incarnate Word, believing in his name. But Nicodemus knew nothing of this; hence his bewildered reply.” (p. 82-83). “There is no difference between seeing the kingdom of God and entering into it, any more than there is between seeing life (John 3:36) and entering into it (Matt. 19:17; Mark 9:43, 45). Neither is there any difference between being born anew (or born from above) and being born of ‘water and Spirit’; but the latter way of putting it echoes OT phraseology and might have been calculated to ring a bell in Nicodemus’s mind. If he thought it impossible for one to acquire a new nature in later life, let him recall that God had promised to do this very thing for his people Israel: ‘I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean …. And a new spirit I will put within you. (Ezek. 36:25f). This ‘new spirit’ was God’s own Spirit: ‘I will put my spirit within you’ (Ezek. 36:27).” (p. 84). “The teaching of the prologue (John 1:12-13) is thus confirmed by the words of Jesus. Here is the answer to Nicodemus’s question: ‘How can this be?’ The new birth is experienced, the kingdom of God is entered, through the saving work of Christ, accepted by faith. This [3:15] is the first place in this Gospel where the frequently repeated phrase ‘eternal life’ (Gr. zoe aionios) occurs. Primarily this means the life of the age (aion) to come, resurrection life, which believers in Christ enjoy in advance because of their union with one who is already risen from the dead. In the Gospel of John that meaning is certainly present, but eternal life here is the very life of God which resides in the eternal Word (‘in him was life’) and is communicated by him to all believers.” “If there is one sentence more than another which sums up the message of the Fourth Gospel, it is this [John 3:16]. The love of God is limitless; it embraces all mankind. No sacrifice was too great to bring its unmeasured intensity home to men and women; the best that God had to give, he gave – his only Son, his well-beloved. Nor was it for one nation or group that he was given: he was given so that all, without distinction or exception, who repose their faith on him … might be rescued from destruction and blessed with the life that is truly life indeed. The gospel of salvation and life has its source in the love of God. The essence of the saving message is made unmistakably plain, in language which people of all races, cultures, and times can grasp, and effectively is it set forth in these words that many more, probably, have found the way of life through them than any other biblical text.” (p. 89-90).  Not only is John 3:16 such a meaningful verse but it is also one of the Bible’s most beautiful verses. Read in the light of this background above, its beauty and meaning shine forth even brighter. Let us read the entire Gospel of John in this light with John 3:16 being a centerpiece of its message. The following translation by NT Wright in The Kingdom New Testament of John 3:16-17 brings out much of this beauty and meaning in a very simple, clear and accurate way: “This, you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should share in life of God’s new age. After all, God didn’t send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.” May God’s blessings of salvation be the center of our joy and peace not only in this season of the year but for all times as well. Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org

October 12, 2020

The Gospel of John Greetings to all our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever you may be throughout the world.  We hope that you are all well and we lift you in prayer to our God, especially in these unusually challenging times in which we now live.  Since I last wrote, our Adult Bible Study Fellowship within our local church, Cary Christian Fellowship, has begun a new study: the Gospel of John. This breaks some new ground for us, since, over the last few years, we had mostly been dealing with the New Testament Letters of Paul, specifically Romans and I & II Thessalonians. It will be a great pleasure to now focus on the Gospel of John as we read through – and work through – this Gospel together. So far, we have gone over some of the major themes of the entire Gospel and studied the “prologue” of John 1:1-18. The major purpose of the Gospel is described for us in John 20:3-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (ESV). Anyone who reads through the Gospel of John attentively will find this major purpose at the very center of the story in almost every chapter of this Gospel.  For this reason, the Gospel of John is sometimes called “The Gospel of Life.” Indeed, it is often handed out as a tract to new converts or to those interested at crusades or on other evangelistic occasions.  In fact, its message of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ, God’s unique and beloved Son, makes the Gospel of John a good place to start one’s Christian discovery and growth as a child in God’s family.  As with all literature, including the Bible, its content needs to be understood in the light of its original meaning and context. The best way to start is to focus on the central purpose and major themes, which can be readily seen by simply reading the Gospel through several times. Later, one can consult Bible study aids for more precise understanding of the details.  As with all of Biblical literature, it is also a good idea to eventually compare different translations of the Bible and, though I would recommend starting with a readable version and focusing on the big picture, you will want to increasingly also seek ever greater precision as to the details.  Comparing different versions alerts one to differences and highlights sections where more help in understanding of the details may be needed.  There is nothing, however, that is more important than simply reading the Gospel through several times and letting the central truths find a permanent home in your own heart and mind. With much love in Christ, Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org For more information about reading and understanding the Bible in general see the articles from: Understanding the Bible especially “Common Sense Principles of Biblical Interpretation and Application” or our audio class: God’s Living Word

July 3, 2020

Christianity and Culture Dear Fellow-Believers, It has been quite a three months since I wrote my last blog post for The Unity of the Spirit. Though no two periods of time or events are ever exactly the same, these last three months have been a time comparable to the 1960s in America, the years I remember very well.  As always in such situations, Christians have to make decisions on matters that they are confronted with that often seem overly worldly; the desire for most of us is to focus our lives as individual Christians and on our Christian responsibilities within the body of Christ. That of course is indeed where our focus should always be.  Beyond that, the question of how much to be involved in the political, social, etc. issues of the day is really a matter of personal conscience before God.  The priorities for all Christians never change; however, each individual Christian not only is a unique member of the body of Christ but also an important member of the society in which he or she lives, works and deals with the same daily tasks and issues as anyone else. First and foremost, this offers the opportunity to be a Christian light by the truth, love and lifestyle that one displays. For some Christians, it goes farther: one may be an employee, or even a leader, in a business, school, or institution. This could even include playing a role at the political level and maybe even at a deep political level. No Christian can tell another where that line should be drawn. The Old and New Testaments both portray faithful believers in every realm of life, including as governmental leaders and workers. For myself, due to my role for over two decades as a teacher of history and government as well as a leader in my profession and of my school, I have felt the responsibility to speak out about major issues of the day.  I will continue to do this at whatever level that I feel God would have me do so. However, let no one think that my Christian responsibilities are not the same as they have been throughout my life. Helping people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth and doing my best to do good to all people, especially to the household of faith, remain as my priorities.  To the best of my ability that will never change. For Dorota and I both, whatever we do within secular culture is always secondary to our primary responsibilities as Christian believers.  We continue to lead our weekly Adult Bible Study fellowship in our home and to participate as fully as possible within Cary Christian Fellowship, Krakow Christian Fellowship and, as with The Unity of the Spirit, in any other way that we can serve God’s people.  May we all continue to keep our priorities the same, in our own unique ways, until Christ’s return. I add a link to an especially good article I recently read in relation to our Christian lives in these times: https://christianmomthoughts.com/5-ways-christians-are-getting-swept-into-a-secular-worldview-in-this-cultural- moment/?fbclid=IwAR3hDErVejcupNuCJta5DtWzLpM2oRRhbQ2zDMr6sZO8RKQXmhXUmLojIZM With much love in Christ, Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org

March 22, 2020

The Christian Perspective in All Times Greetings to our dear brothers and sisters in Christ wherever you may be in the world.  May God’s love, grace, and care be your strength as you live for him each and every day. As I write this blog post we are all in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and the toughest times for many may still be ahead.  Nevertheless, maintaining our Christian perspective on life is as essential now as always. Despite the goodness of God’s purposes in creation, we all live in the midst of a fallen world that has both spiritual and natural consequences (Gen. 3; Rom. 8:18-22). Both the entire Bible and the history of the world testify to this. Nevertheless, the promises of God – the bedrock – of our lives do not change and God has acted decisively in Christ to reverse the consequences of sin that go all the way back to Adam. As a result, the greatest of God’s promises is now the free gift of eternal life to all who believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15-17). Indeed, all the promises of God find their ultimate “Yes” and “Amen” in God’s redemptive work in Christ (II Cor. 1:18-24).  No matter what we may encounter in this world the New Testament is clear that nothing “can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-39). And, as believers in Christ and thus children of the living God, we are “heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ” – not only now, but also, forever (Rom. 8:16-30). Though we should always certainly live our daily lives with proper diligence and practical wisdom in all that we do, these spiritual truths should be the foundation of our lives as Christians and our entire lives should be lived in the light of them. For sure, we live in the midst of a great spiritual battle but we also, thankfully, know the ultimate outcome of it (Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:6-11; Rev. 21:1-7). So let us live wisely in this world as in all times but let us also, especially, let the peace of God dwell richly in our hearts as we rest our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7). I have linked to a few of my favorite Unity of the Spirit articles below that pertain also to these times in which we live now.  As Christian believers, let us continue to live our lives for God day by day in the light of all that he has done for us in Christ. richie@unity-of-spirit.org Richie Temple The Purpose of Creation The Fullness of the Blessing of the Gospel of Christ The New Testament Perspective: Living in the End-times

November 8, 2019

The New Birth This past Sunday, November 3 was my birthday and I had the opportunity to teach God’s Word at our monthly Cary Christian Fellowship meeting.  This is always a joy, honor, and privilege and I was very happy to do so. I chose as my topic “The New Birth” or, to put it in other ways, the biblical concept of being “born again,” “born of God’s Spirit,” or simply “born of God.”  My texts were from the Gospel of John chapter 3 or 1 John chapter 5.  Though only the apostle John uses this exact language above on several occasions, both Peter and Paul also use the same or similar phrases expressing the same truths in a similar way in their own writings. This shows that the truths of the new birth were well known to the first century believers even if they were expressed at times in somewhat different ways.  The main point, of course, is that when a person believes in Jesus Christ – his life, sacrificial death and, then, resurrection – that believer is born of God’s Spirit and becomes a child in God’s family. As such he not only enters into the rights, privileges and responsibilities of God’s people in this present life, but also becomes an heir of God and co-heir with Christ of the eternal life to come in God’s future everlasting and glorious kingdom.   This is the hope of salvation to which the entire Bible points and it was made explicit in the teaching of Jesus Christ as well as in that of his apostles as recorded in the pages of the New Testament.  Within the famous prologue of the Gospel of John 1:1-18 the apostle John provides a brief overview of this subject. Writing his Gospel after the fact of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and the pouring out of the gift of holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, John states: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13 NIV). This truth of helping people to be born of God by believing in Jesus Christ is one of the main purposes of the Gospel of John. Nevertheless, it is not until Christ accomplishes all that he was sent to accomplish as the Christ of God that the new birth actually became available. The Gospel of John was written after the fact of what it records – that is, the life, death and resurrection of Christ - and it presents its account in a way that leads those who read (or hear) it to faith in Christ - as the Gospel itself makes clear: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah [Christ], the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31 NIV). In-between the opening prologue in John 1 and this ending summary in John 20, John presents certain words and events of what Christ said and did while on earth and arranges them in a way that fits the main purposes of his Gospel. This includes a famous explanation of the new birth itself and of its vital necessity in order to enter the kingdom of God. This is recorded in John 3: “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs you do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’” (John 3:1-8 ESV). Nicodemus seemed to be truly puzzled by what Jesus was saying. We, however, should understand the concept of the new birth precisely the way Jesus and his apostles use it within the pages of the New Testament. This particular section in John 3 is paramount to that understanding. Certainly, judging from the way Nicodemus reacted to what Christ said this understanding of the new birth was both new and surprising to him. There are several specific points that need to be understood. First, Christ presents the necessity of the new birth in terms of “seeing” or “entering” the kingdom of God.  These phrases are synonyms as is clear from the context. Second, the new birth is set in contrast to our normal human birth which, of course, must precede being “born again.”  Third, that contrast is specifically a contrast of “flesh gives birth to flesh” but “Spirit gives birth to spirit” specifically showing that the new birth is being “born again” of God’s Spirit.  In relationship to this third point the phrase just preceding it about being “born of water and the Spirit” almost certainly does not refer to water baptism which, though it may be very meaningful, does not effect or produce the new birth anywhere in the New Testament. Instead, in the New Testament the new birth via receiving the gift of God’s Spirit is always given directly to faith (cf. Acts 15:1ff.) The phrase “born of water and the Spirit” is most likely a figurative expression according to John’s usage in his Gospel and probably indicates a “washing of rebirth and renewal of the holy Spirit” as Paul later puts it in Titus 3:5. The NIV Study Bible offers four possible explanations of this phrase with one of these having two options in itself, thus making a total of five. In short, there is no certain consensus amongst Bible scholars as to its exact meaning. Nevertheless, what we do know for certain is that Christ’s explanation that immediately follows the phrase is that “the Spirit gives birth to spirit” i.e., without any other agent including water. In addition, we also know that the Gospel of John often uses water metaphorically to speak of cleansing, etc. in relation to eternal life or to the gift of God’s holy Spirit for those who believe in Christ.  Indeed, my final point is that the means by which a person becomes born of God’s Spirit is by believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.  However, as specifically stated throughout the Gospel of John this new birth is not available until the completion of Christ’s earthly ministry and especially not until the saving events of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection.  Only after these events does the new birth become available through the giving of the gift of holy Spirit to those who believe in Christ (e.g. John 7:37-39). This we have seen already before and the whole Gospel is structured to bring us to this point. Over and over throughout the Gospel of John we are told in various ways that the new birth, eternal life, salvation, etc. are available only through faith in Christ. This includes of course perhaps the most famous verse in the New Testament - John 3:16 - which is, in fact, part of the culmination of the section above on the new birth in John 3:1ff: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Eternal life in the future kingdom of God is the ultimate outcome of the new birth of the Spirit of God that comes about immediately in this present life through believing in Jesus Christ.  This is the central message of the entire Gospel of John as we have seen earlier. It is also in accord with the entire writings of the rest of the New Testament as well.  It is specifically and explicitly confirmed by the apostle John himself in his NT Letter of 1 John chapter 5 where I will close: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love for God, that we his keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5 ESV). This is the new birth of the New Testament.  It is not based on feelings, emotions, rituals, or even, on a deep understanding of the Scriptures. Instead, it is based on the simple and life changing belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  When a person believes in Christ he is born again of God’s Spirit and begins to build his new life as a child in God’s family. On this truth the whole Christian life is based, built, and proceeds until the day of Christ’s glorious return.  Let us who are God’s children through faith in his Son hold firmly to this truth of the new birth as we live for God and await Christ’s future return. Richie Temple richie@unity-of-spirit.org Link to audio teaching here

June 7, 2019

Pentecost The New Covenant: “The Spirit Gives Life” (II Cor. 3:6) Greetings to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world!  As we move from the celebration of Resurrection Sunday in April to the coming of Pentecost in June, spring has sprung forth in all of its glory here in the Raleigh, NC area of the American South. With the green growth and the flowering blossoms one can’t help but notice the new life and abundant growth in nature itself. For those of us who are Christians, these are familiar terms since the writers of the New Testament use similar terms to describe the Christian’s new birth by the Spirit of God as well as the subsequent spiritual growth and development of God’s people in this new covenant era of salvation. This era began at Pentecost in Acts 2 with the pouring out of God’s promised life-giving gift of holy Spirit – God’s own personal power and presence - to those who believe in his crucified and risen Son, Jesus Christ. It continues onwards to the future return of Christ and the final establishment of God’s kingdom in a new heavens and new earth where righteousness will dwell (Acts 1:10-11; 3:17-21; I Cor. 15:20ff). Unfortunately, this new covenant truth of being “born of” (John 3:1-9), “filled with” (Acts 2:1-4), or “baptized in” (Acts 1:5, etc.) the Spirit of the living God has often been clouded by post-biblical traditions, rituals, and misunderstandings. That is a shame because the life-giving reality of the gift of God’s holy Spirit to his people is the key event in the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to his people in this new covenant era of salvation (Acts 2:1-16ff; II Cor. 1:18-22). Indeed, the subject of “Holy Spirit,” “holy Spirit,” or “holy spirit” (take your pick – it’s all the same in the Greek texts) has variously been treated in Christian history as something of a mystery that is too difficult to understand or else as a technical doctrine to be narrowly defined in creedal formulations. Biblically, however, the Greek words “pneuma (spirit) hagion (holy)” always refer to God’s own life-giving power and presence which is at work in the world, especially in his people. This takes on a special significance in the New Testament because the Spirit is promised to all of God’s people in the new covenant era and is, in fact, the first-fruits or down payment of eternal life in the future kingdom of God to come. Though long relegated to the realm of a dormant doctrine in theological creeds and churches due to the lack of understanding of it, the subject of the Spirit of God has been brought to the forefront of Christian attention by the advent of the so-called charismatic movement of the last fifty or so years. This has taken place in a trans-denominational manner spanning the spectrum of Christian groups. The result has been spiritual liberation for many who have experienced the Spirit in manifestation, but embarrassment for others who are especially uncomfortable with the obvious excesses of the movement; and yet overall, the movement has yielded a great increase in our understanding of both the biblical subject of the holy Spirit and its living reality in the lives of Christian believers.  In this we rejoice, for there is no doubt whatsoever about the reality of the Spirit of God in the lives of the NT believers from the day of Pentecost onwards. They were filled with the Spirit, manifested the Spirit, and helped others to do the same. The importance of the Spirit in the new covenant era cannot be doubted by any serious study of the New Testament.  And, when the word “Spirit” is used it is more than a doctrine or a dormant reality – it is instead always in reference to God’s own power and presence at work in the lives of individual Christian believers in a real and meaningful way. Indeed, as already stated above, it is the firstfruits or down payment of our inheritance of eternal life in the kingdom of God to come. With the coming of the celebration of Pentecost soon to take place let us focus on the importance of this gift of God’s Spirit from Pentecost onwards in the new covenant church. That central role of the Spirit in the time in-between Christ’s post- resurrection ascension and his future return is set forth clearly by Luke in Acts 1: Acts 1 “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” “Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” “He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:1-11 NIV) These introductory comments in Acts 1 deliberately set the stage for the rest of the Book of Acts, and more importantly, for the new covenant era of salvation which begins in Acts 2 with the giving of the Spirit to all who believe in Christ.  The rest of the Book of Acts and all of the subsequent NT Letters confirm this central role of the gift of the Spirit of God in the lives of Christian believers. The following verses from the Book of Acts and Paul’s New Testament Letters give some representative examples of this vital and overwhelming New Testament truth: Acts 2 & 15 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4 NIV) “After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as are they are.’” (Acts 15:5-11 NIV) Romans 7 & 8 “So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom. 7:4-6 NIV) “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom. 8:14-17 NRSV) I Corinthians 6 & 12 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers [the unrighteous] will not inherit the kingdom of God? …….. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Cor. 6:9-11 NIV) “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by [with or in] one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (1 Cor. 12:12-14 NIV) II Cor. 1 & 3 “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me and Silas and Timothy – was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us and to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Cor. 1:18-22 NIV)  “Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (II Cor. 3:4-6 NIV) Galatians 3 & 4 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed  as crucified! I would like to learn just on thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? Have you experienced so much in vain -- if it really was in vain? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by your observing the law, or by your believing what you heard?” (Gal. 3:1-5 TNIV) “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…..He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Gal. 3:13-14 NIV) “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Gal. 4:4-7 NRSV) Ephesians 1 & 2  “In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14 NAB) “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ….For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:13, 18-22 NIV) Philippians 3 “For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do no put confidence in the flesh--” (Phil. 3:3 CSB) Colossians 3 “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (Col. 3:16). 1 Thessalonians 1 & 4 “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message [of the gospel] in the midst of severe suffering with the joy of the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7). “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). II Thessalonians “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this though our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). 2 Timothy “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (II Timothy 1:7 NIV). “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” (II Timothy 1:13-14 NRSV). Titus “But--When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7 NLT). There can be no doubt about the central role of the Spirit of God in the life of individual Christian believers and in the body of Christ in the new covenant era. Let us make it our quest as the celebration of Pentecost draws near to search the scriptures and to seek with a prayerful attitude to understand this life-giving and vitally important subject for the benefit of God’s people and for the glory of our God. Richie Temple  richie@unity-of-spirit.org Scot Hahn scot@unity-of-spirit.org For more information see especially these articles from “One Spirit of the Living God” section of our “Articles” page: Who Is the Holy Spirit by Wanda Shirk Holy Spirit, holy Spirit or holy spirit: Which is Biblically Accurate? by Richie Temple Accepted by God by Scot Hahn Also, the works of Gordon Fee, esp. God’s Empowering Presence mentioned here (link)

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