God’s Household
Who belonged to God’s household in the
beginning of this world? Genesis 1:27 states: “So God created mankind (אָדָם, adam) in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male (זָכָר, zakar) and female (נְקֵבָה, neqebah) he created them.” A man (Adam, אָדָם) and a woman (Eve, חַוָּה) were those two who belonged
to God’s household as God had created them and placed them in his garden. Those
people who belong to God’s household are the ones that are taken care of by
God. When Adam and Eve fell, they were expelled from the garden of Eden and
nobody belonged to God’s household. Thereafter, God’s relationship with mankind
became individual.
Expansion of God’s Household in the Old Testament
Enoch faithfully walked with God (Genesis
5:22, 24), and God took him away (to heaven) (Genesis 5:24). So, Enoch belonged
to God’s household although there was no physical place for God’s household any
longer. Noah faithfully walked with God (Genesis 6:9), and so he belonged to
God’s household. Not only Noah but also his wife, his sons – Shem, Ham, and
Japheth – and their wives belonged to God’s household. God takes care of people
who belong to his household and blesses them. It is the economy of God – God’s
economic and political governing activities for his people.
Then, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, and their families belonged to God’s household. God continuously
appeared to them, making sure that his promises and blessings would surely be
fulfilled. While Joseph was a prime minister of Egypt, Jacob, his sons, and
other family members moved to the land of Egypt. The total number of Jacob’s
family members who went to Egypt was about 70 according to Genesis 46:27 or 75
according to Acts 7:14 (which followed Septuagint, the Greek translation of the
Hebrew Scriptures). So, God’s household expanded to around 70 people when Jacob
and his family settled in Egypt.
The Israelites stayed in
Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6) or 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41;
Galatians 3:17) until God called Moses to lead them out of Egypt. The number of
men (of the Israelites) who were twenty years old or more and able to serve in
the army was 603,550 when God told Moses to number on the first day of the
second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt (Numbers
1:1-46). So, the total number of the Israelites, including all women, children,
and old people, was probably 2-3 million. So, God’s household was no longer a
small size. However, God wanted his household to grow, including not only the
Israelites but also the Gentiles later when the opportune time would come.
God in Isaiah 45:22 calls
all nations: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God,
and there is no other.” There is only
one God in whom there is salvation. Isaiah 52:7 states: “How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who
brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your
God reigns.’” God encourages and praises those who spread the good news
although this is yet to be realized in the future. God through Isaiah in Isaiah
54:2-3 proclaims: “2Enlarge the place of your tent and let the
curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back, lengthen your
cords and strengthen your stakes. 3For you will spread abroad to the
right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will
people the desolate cities.” God wants us to expand his household in all
directions so that more people can dwell in his tent/household. God in Isaiah
55:1 invites people: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who
has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price.” Expansion of God’s household or kingdom is not construction of
larger church buildings. It is spreading the gospel to more people and more
nations to bring them to his household as there is life in him.
Expansion of God’s Household in the New Testament
When the opportune time arrived, Jesus Christ
came to his people to proclaim the gospel. The real good news is that God’s
salvation is not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles, including all
people whom God had created. Jesus in John 3:16 proclaims: “For God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.” However, Jesus was aware of his limited
resources with human flesh. When a Canaanite woman asked him to heal her
demon-possessed daughter, Jesus answered in Matthew 15:24: “I was sent only to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus in Matthew 10:5-6 tells his
disciples: “5Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the
Samaritans, 6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
What does this mean? Why did Jesus prohibited his disciples from going to the
Samaritans or the Gentiles? It is a matter of order in spreading the gospel.
Spreading the gospel should be in Jerusalem first; then in Judea, and Samaria;
and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Jesus’ disciples had to wait for
the Holy Spirit to go beyond Jerusalem to the ends of the earth as the Holy
Spirit has no limitation in time and space and can be present
everywhere and in everyone.
Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20
tells his disciples: “19Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” As we reviewed in
Chapter 19, the gospel was proclaimed in Jerusalem (Acts 2-7), then in Judea
and Samaria (Acts 8), and was scattered further away (Acts 12-28).
Jesus called Saul who
persecuted his church – the body of Christ. Why? Jesus tells Ananias about Saul/Paul
in Acts 9:15-16 (also Acts 22:21, 26:17): “15Go, for he is a chosen
instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons
of Israel; 16for I will show him how much he must suffer for the
sake of my name.” How excited it was! Saul who persecuted Christians in
Jerusalem and was going to Damascus to persecute more Christians became Paul
who would be persecuted for Christ’s sake.
Paul uses the word, oikonomia
(economy), in defining his mission or commission of spreading the gospel to the
Gentiles, believing that his mission of spreading the good news is to bring
more people to God for them to be saved. Paul’s economy or mission is to spread
the gospel to the ends of the earth, expanding God’s household. Paul in 1
Corinthians 9:17-18 states: “If I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but
if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my
reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge,
not making full use of my right in the gospel.” Paul in Ephesians 3:2 calls his
mission to preach the good news to the Gentiles, including the people in
Ephesus, “the stewardship (or commission, NRSV) of God’s grace” that was given
to him for the Gentiles. Paul regards his mission or stewardship (of spreading
the gospel to the Gentiles) as “God’s grace and gift.” Paul in Colossians 1:25
speaks of his apostleship (of spreading the good news to the Gentiles) and
regards it as “the divine office” that was given to him. The word apostle means
‘the one who is sent’ and every time Paul mentions his apostleship, he reminds
of his duty/mission of spreading the gospel to the Gentiles.
Why did Paul want to be sent
to Rome when he was caught in Jerusalem (Acts 25:10-12)? When Paul was going to
Jerusalem during his third missionary journey, he already had a plan to go to
Spain, where he thought was the end of the earth (Romans 15:28). He wanted to
make a good use of this unfortunate incidence. He was seeking an opportunity to
spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. When Paul arrived at Rome, he was
allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him (Acts 28:16). Paul in
Acts 28:28 states: “Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has
been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” Paul stayed in his own rented
house in Rome for two full years and taught the kingdom of God and Jesus
Christ. Paul's journey of Christian life was about to end. 2 Timothy is kind of
Paul's last word to his beloved brother or son in Christ, Timothy. He charges
Timothy to preach the Word of God in season and out of season, that is whether
the time is favorable or unfavorable (2 Timothy 4:2). We should spread the Good
News not only when the time is favorable for us but also when the time is
unfavorable.
Expansion of God’s Household by Numerous Christians
God’s household continues to be expanded
through many Christians, including Paul, Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip,
and many other known and unknown Christians. According to the New Testament
apocrypha and other traditions, Paul was beheaded in Rome, Peter was crucified
upside down in Rome, and Thomas went to India and was killed there, and many
other unknown Christians spread the gospel and died for Christ’s name.
In the early church period,
those Christians who were in Rome lived together in a catacomb, which was an
underground public cemetery. They lived a communal life there, escaping from
the lookout of the Roman government. The Christians in Rome praised God and
worshipped Him there. Although there were neither gracious hymns nor the holy
Bible yet, they praised the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the
salvation of human beings. They enjoyed those hours of singing and praying.
Some of them were from rich families, but they gave up all things and joined
other Christians in the communal life in a catacomb as they regarded the life
of following and witnessing Jesus as the most valuable matter. Some wall
paintings were found in the catacombs. The paintings were about Jesus' last
supper with his disciples and the resurrected Jesus. They longed to see Jesus
very much.
Polycarp,
bishop of the church in Smyrna in the second century was caught and brought to
the proconsul to be martyred.[1]
But, seeing Polycarp’s old age, the proconsul told him: “Respect your age.
Swear by the genius of Caesar, repent, say: ‘Away with the Atheists.’” Polycarp
was silent for a while. The proconsul pressed him, saying: “Take the oath and I
will let you go. Revile Christ!” Then, Polycarp answered: “For eighty-six years
have I been his servant, and he has done me nothing wrong, and how can I
blaspheme my King who saved me.” The proconsul persisted again, saying: “Swear
by the genius of Caesar!” Polycarp answered: “If you vainly suppose that I will
swear by the genius of Caesar, as you say, and pretend that you are ignorant
who I am, listen plainly: I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn the
doctrine of Christianity, fix a day and listen.” The proconsul said: “I have
wild beasts, I will deliver you to them, unless you repent.” Polycarp answered:
“Call for them, for repentance from better to worse is not allowed to us; but
it is good to change from evil to righteousness.” The proconsul said: “I will
cause you to be consumed by fire, if you despise the beasts, unless you repent.”
Polycarp responded: “You threaten with fire that burns for a time, and is
quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the
judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. But why are you waiting? Come,
do what you will.” Polycarp was so brave before death, as he was so sure about
what would wait for him.
In a novel, Silence, written by a Japanese novelist,
Shusaku Endo, there is an inspirational story of a Portuguese Catholic priest,
Francisco Garrpe.[2] Although Japanese officials
kept commanding him to apostatize, he rejected their enforcement. He did not
deny Jesus Christ. He was tied on the post at the shore of the sea where the
tide kept coming in. Garrpe was singing and praying to God even until the water
sank him to the neck. Finally, the head of Garrpe was lost in the sea but
the voice was still there.
There was an American
missionary named Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) in the early 19th century in
Burma. He spread the good news diligently there for almost six years but could
not bear any fruit. Yet, he did not lose his confidence, believing "As God
has sent me here, He will let me bear the fruit of evangelism." He
continued to witness Jesus Christ to the people living there. And finally, he
earned a person who decided to accept Jesus as his personal Savior. Judson
baptized him in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He
was the first fruit in that land as a result of Judson's efforts of six years.
However, one century later, there were more than fifty thousand believers
there. When we witness Jesus, we don't have to worry about the result. We just
plant the seed of the good news and water, then God gave the growth (cf. 1 Cor.
3:6).
There was a famous Scotch
athlete who also had the same rule of life with that of Jonathan Edwards. His
name was Eric Liddell (1902-1945) who participated in 1924 Paris Olympics. He
was a world record holder in four hundred-meter dash. But, as the final was
held on Sunday, he declined to participate in the event. The prime minister of
Scotland called him to urge him to participate in the race for the glory of his
country Scotland. But, his decision was not changed. The dream of amateur
athletes is to earn a gold medal in an Olympic final. However, Eric Liddell
gave up his dream of gold medal to live by his rule of life. Eric Liddell
thought that "spreading the gospel is every believer's mission."
Thus, he as a believer decided to spread the gospel. He became a missionary and
went to China to live by his rule of life as a Christian. His life as a
missionary was sometimes painful and poor, but he was very happy and glad as he
lived according to his rule of life which was truthful to God. His biography
was published as a book and its title was "The Flying Scotchman." Later,
it was made into a movie and its title was "Chariots of Fire." Elijah
in the Bible rode the chariots of fire to go up to heaven alive. Eric Liddell
liked the great prophet Elijah and tried to live by the Word of God.
Jesus Christ is a good
example of a missionary. Jesus was a missionary who was sent out by God the
Father from the heavenly country down to the earthly country. First of all, as
a missionary who was dispatched down to the earthly country, Jesus took off his
heavenly glorious clothes and wore the earthly clothes, that is, a human flesh.
As a missionary Jesus wanted to be like one of the earthly people. He wanted to
expand God’s household on earth. Spreading the gospel is the most important
mission to anybody who wants to be a disciple of Jesus. Thus, we, the followers
of Jesus, should not abandon the opportunities that are given by God. John
Scott, a famous biblical scholar and pastor, points out in his book,「Guilty Silence」, that “if
anyone is silent without telling the gospel to a neighbor who is dying without
knowing Jesus Christ, he is guilty of not telling the truth.”
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