Chapter 1: Stories
For this writing, I desire to start at the very beginning of our Christian walk. So we’ll start with stories. The Old Testament is full of stories. From Joshua to Job are all historical accounts of ancient Israel, and the stories of how God relates to His people. We find the New Testament also containing stories about our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, as well as the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Other books, such as Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers, also have stories, however, these books also have sections that many Christians call “boring”. Whether we’re talking about the vast genealogies contained within Genesis, the plans for the Tabernacle, the census in Numbers, or we’re talking about the many genealogies in Chronicles, many don’t delight in reading these sections. Thus, we focus upon the stories first.
The book of 1 John maps out our spiritual progression in the Christian faith.{x} He speaks to children, because their sins have been forgiven on account of his name and they have known the Father. He speaks to the fathers, because they have known him who is from the beginning; an obvious parallel with the first few verses of his letter. John speaks to the young men, because they are strong, and the word of God lives in them, and they have overcome the evil one. We see here the progression of the Christian faith.
And so, I speak to you children, because you have known the Father. You are fascinated with the stories in the Bible because they reveal to you the Jesus that you know and love, and they reveal the Father’s heart and character. The stories in the Bible give us insight into who God is. The Scriptures never tell us outright what God’s attributes are. Instead, we read of this God that relates to humanity, and loves them simply for who He has created them to be. We read of David taking down the giant, Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, God sending plagues to Egypt to deliver His people, and Jesus speaking to the leper, “I am willing,” just as He reaches out His hand to heal the man.
These stories stir up something inside us. They stir in us an appreciation and love for God. They cause us to stagger. Who is like our God that will nearly bankrupt an entire nation, Egypt, just so that He can deliver His people from slavery? Would our God truly send fire down from heaven upon a sacrifice on Mount Carmel when one of His prophets prays? We’re stirred to ask the question, “Where is the God of Elijah?” These stories stir in us a zeal and passion to see God working in our midst. We desire His power and His love to be manifest in us and through us to a world that is dying and lost, and that doesn’t even realize that it is dead and in bondage.
These stories work in us a hope. That hope does not put us to shame, but instead fills our hearts with glory. Jesus is not only our Savior. He is our Rock, our fortress, our protection, our hope in times of need, and He is our all-in-all. We come to love Him and amaze at just how far this God will go in order to protect His children. This God always hears the cry of the oppressed, and the proof is in both the stories as well as our own story. Many times what captures me about David, Elijah, or the apostle Paul (and all the other saints that have gone on before us) is that they are men of like passions. I’m amazed at what God will do through a willing servant, but I realize as well that God is equally willing to work like that through me. He is equally willing to work like that through you.
The stories in the Bible give us a framework for understanding God and His relationship to us. When I first came to Christ, I was fascinated with these stories. I had never heard of the Spirit descending like a dove, or Abram being called out of his family, or David defeating Goliath, or even the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I had never heard these stories. All I knew was that God is supposed to forgive those that come to Him in repentance. And when I started to read these stories, I started to realize that this God is a personal God. He is a God that speaks, and not simply some far off God that we pray to and hope that He hears.
I speak to you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God is in you, and you have overcome the evil one. To you, these stories are more than just stories. They are patterns. They are types. They are foreshadowing. God has worked out purposes for our lives and for the whole of history, and He has explained it within these stories. We see that David is not simply a man that once upon a time threw a smooth stone and crushed the forehead of the giant Goliath. David is a type that all Christians are to reflect. With our smooth stones that we have gotten out of the creek, that place of prayer where living waters flow from our bellies, and the rock being the word of God – the promise of God – we are not afraid to cast that stone at the devil with all of our passion and intensity knowing at whom we are aiming.
You, young men, know the story of Rachel that cried out to Jacob, “Give me children or I die!” And you look up to heaven and cry with a loud voice, “My God! Give me souls or I die!” We see Joseph and how he goes from being promoted to cast into a pit, back to being promoted under Potipher, and then once again cast down into a pit. We see that this Joseph is eventually brought up to stand under Pharaoh, and he is second in command over all of Egypt. We see this and understand the pattern for our own lives. We see how God works. Just because we’re feeling downcast now does not mean that we will remain down forever. With David we plead, “Praise the Lord, oh my soul.”{xi}
God has revealed to us the patterns and the types and the symbols that these stories represent. We are not simply to be imitating Elijah because he was a mighty prophet of God, but because we are called to be an Elijah people. We are called to stand against the spiritual powers of darkness. Those that convince men of their false religion, whether it is Hinduism or pseudo-Christianity, we stand against those dark forces that blind them. We give the ultimatum, “May the God that answers by fire be God.” In this, we know in whom we have believed. We trust fully in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We wrestle not in the name of Jesus Christ as though it is some addendum to “amen,” but rather in Jesus’ character. Because we wrestle according to the word and character of God, we are given the victory over the powers of darkness, both personally and in community with other believers.
I speak to you fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. You know that He that shows the end from the beginning. You see in the stories of the creation how they parallel the end times. You see the whole of Scripture, from beginning to end, and therefore are able to recognize the end-time paradigm contained within the stories of the Bible. You’re sight is deeper than that of the young men. They who are able to recognize the significance of the patterns put forth in the stories see further than they realize, but they don’t see the whole of it. When we read of Esther and Mordechai, we are reading an end time message about an antichrist figure that desires to kill all of the Jewish people. From their birth, there has been a demonic spirit that desires their death.{xii}
You, oh fathers, know and see the distinction between the purposes of God and the intentions of men. You can ask with Elijah, “How long, O Israel, will you waiver between two opinions?” You have spiritual depth and clarity. You see the end from the beginning, and therefore are able to discern the true from the false. Because you know God’s original intention, for you know Him who is from the beginning, you are able to discern the pattern that God has given for the Church today. Whether we are truly living according to that apostolic and prophetic Body that we’re called to be, or whether we’re content to live far beneath the glory of God, you know.
These stories are living realities in your midst. You see and perceive them as more than history. They are more than patterns. They are the prophetic intention of God for all of time and history, and you are able to speak words and instruction to build up and edify the saints. The words that you speak are from the heart of God, and therefore they equip the Body for her ultimate intention and call. You see past the dimensions of “local church” and into the dimension of Church as God has prescribed it. You see and understand that a Body that is fascinated with self will continue to neuter self.
You see the breadth of insight regarding the Church and her ultimate purposes for her nation, against the principalities and powers, and unto the Jewish people. The Bible tells one story, and it is an unfolding story to the consummation of the age. Every detail to that consummation expresses another pattern and type of the ultimate confrontation at the end of the age between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The whole of the Scripture is livid with every sort of type and pattern to help us in understanding both God and His purposes, which ultimately helps in understanding who we are in God and the purposes that we have in Him.