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Tempered for the sake of redemption
A strategy for the elimination of the wisdom of ”that woman, Jezebel”.
By Lars Widerberg
Priestliness, the fundamental issue of humanity and manhood.
Priestliness, the plain cause for redemption.
Priestliness, the pivotal position before God, in union with the Lamb.
Priestliness, the instrument of redemption.
Priestliness, the matter of the cross expressed in a man.
Priestliness, the way of overcoming – God allowed to be all in all.
Priestliness, the heart of God invading creation.
Servanthood, serving, waiting on someone to offer service – a context considered obsolete in our days, unless an outcome is in sight for the obsequious mindset. Priestliness, what man is to be in his entirety before God, a desirable virtue in the mind of God but reduced to nought, ridiculed and regarded as ill-founded, useless and foolish by the mighty ones who assert themselves as being enlightened and insightful and who have taken on the role as mind moulders on the edge of culture.
The mind moulder on the edge of modern culture is terribly threatened by the soft, unobtrusive traces of priestliness. It is a terrifying mystery to the powers of this age. The mystery of priestliness equals the mystery of godliness, which is offensive to man amidst his pursuit of pleasure and the avoiding of pain. A mind and heart tempered for the sake of redemption is a precious gem in the sight of the Lord. A man, a servant of God, is set aside for the purpose of a revelation of God’s mystery – Christ.
The priestly dimension contains a prophetic dilemma, which is the matter of offence in order to minister redemption in a proper and thoroughgoing manner. Priestliness brings conviction, operating in line with what the Holy Spirit sets forth. Priestliness is regarded as offensive in its peculiar mixture of kindness and absoluteness. Redemption represents radical, even absolute change. The cross marks the end of one kingdom, including its wisdom. The same cross establishes another throne together with a totally different view of the world and the meaning of manhood. The two never meet. The two never mix. The controversy is perennial, ongoing, never ending.
The cross offends, it establishes and maintains a dividing line, it leaves no room for tolerance. The cross tempers and sets up its own rule at the expense and total loss of any other governing body, legal or usurping. The prophetic dilemma is the temptation to tolerance. The priestly dilemma lies in the possibility to choose to tolerate a compromising stance in regards to the two wisdoms. The prophetic, the priestly dilemma is to regard the difference between the two wisdoms lightly, regard the difference between the mystery of godliness and the deep mysteries of “that woman, Jezebel” as of little meaning and effect as to saintly living. The cross trains a mind and heart in the noble art of differentiating, which is one of the major parts in the priestly vocation.
The two wisdoms, the two worldviews, the two ways of relating to reality, the one which belongs to Heaven and the other which belongs to the opposing powers contradict each other in every part, pertaining to goals, in the choosing of the means used to reach its particular goals and therefore in the attitudes formed in the process. Godliness contradicts worldliness.
In the picture gallery of the Bible we find a repugnant representation of the wisdom which stands in opposition to God. “That woman Jezebel”, (KJV), represents a way of looking at and relating to reality. She is a way of thinking and of conduct. She is a worldview. She represents a certain kind of behaviour. There is even a personal, spiritual dimension involved, a power causing man to roam from truth and virtue. A mind touched by this intriguing and seductive thought pattern will eventually trust in fantasy rather than being set on mindful spirituality.
We find a stern warning issued in Revelations chapter 2. The Lord describes what goes on in the church in Thyatira in a vivid picture, using sharp words which dismantle the secrets of the presence and effect of the opposition produced by “that woman”. He also invites the true Church to enter into its vocation, a priestly ministry which is to demonstrate a comprehensive comparison and discrimination between the passing and the permanent.
The wisdom of Jezebel emphasizes that which is temporal. She personalises the approach presented by our Lord in these words: “For whoever shall be desiring to save his life will lose it.” This wisdom opposes the cross in every aspect. “That woman Jezebel” and her wisdom represent a universality of antagonism to what has come through the cross. Her ambition is to save from the cross, to help avoid the cross. Her “Christian” approach is to make the journey pleasant. Her way of redeeming takes a detour passing the cross at safe distance, allowing for the fleshly nature to express itself in terms of Christianity.
Priestliness belongs to the mature Christian. Servanthood, availability, constitutes the body of the committed. Priestliness represents the “mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” – Christ in you, the heart of Christ, the willingness and the stamina to give all in efforts of reconciliation.
Mysteries are the requirement for the Church to rise to its apostolic constituency – and in rising it fulfils them. The mysteries of God are not mysterious. They do no not require intellectual superiority or initiations behind closed and guarded doors. You are qualified to take part in them by inner brokenness, by a willingness to fall into the ground like a grain of wheat. This is the mystery, which “that woman”, that wisdom opposes at every point. This falling into the ground is the tempering necessary to bear much fruit, this is the mystery at work to bring redemption to its fullness.
Priesthood and priestliness constitutes a corporate vessel, a solemn gathering, even a spiritual condition in which the Lord’s controversy with his people may be discerned and eventually settled and dissolved. The greatest miracle to be found, the very sign among the gentiles testifying to heavenly realities is a body of committed who dare to care, care for each other, for the oppressed, even for an oppressor. The fellowship of the cross, a people whose minds and hearts are tempered for redemption brings a practical revelation of the mystery of mercy and restoration. The fellowship of the cross, tempered for redemption, is the place of revelation of the unity of the Spirit. The necessity of redemption expressed in the outworkings of the cross, in fellowship, is the wisdom of God formulated as a testimony before the powers of this world to overwhelm them and overhaul them.
Again, priestliness is identified by the presence of an altar, by the willingness to sacrifice, at the center of the history of an individual or a community of believers. Priestliness defines an approach to men and their affairs in which mind, heart and spirit convenes and covenants to bring kindness and favour. Priestly ministry is in itself a living sacrifice, a reflection of the ultimate sacrifice, the high priestly sacrifice of Jesus Christ. A life given, a life open means life accessible. A life given, something available, something to be accessed, something to be drawn from, something to be fed by. Priestliness – to extend oneself sacrificially.
Priestly vocation, yours and mine, requires a tempering. “Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.” Learn to treat the sacrificial ministry in an orderly manner. Learn to handle the ministry of reconciliation. There is no room for shallow attitudes, no room for compromise. “That woman” represents a kindness, love and concern which makes allowances for the flesh. That wisdom presents a love which has lost the fire of the altar. It refuses the refiner’s fire. Priestly vocation brings a message of the cross, which alone is the power of God unto salvation. The overcomer, the company of the committed, fights for the rightful place of the cross among men. Learn to treat the ministry of reconciliation in an orderly manner.
Prophet and priest speak on behalf of eternity. Prophet and priest minister eternal values. That which is of eternity communes with that which is temporal in a priestly environment. He who dwells in the high and holy place bows down to serve. Ultimacy is available to touch the little ones. “God dwells with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Mystery above all: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Through priestly ministry eternity speaks to the temporal. But, “that wisdom” puts the temporal before eternal values – if the values of eternity are considered and regarded at all.
“That wisdom” merchandises a faith which sets as its foremost goal the deliverance from the perils of the temporal. It opposes a faith which is at rest in spite of perplexity and antagonism. It produces bread-christians, who welcome any relief from uncertainty and insecurity at the expense of priestliness. The glory of “that wisdom” is at its best the glory of the outer court. It values bigness instead of greatness. It indulges the glamour of the temporal and thereby adds to the trivialisation of things heavenly. It welcomes worldly means as valid and effective means to represent and present the kingdom of God. Its perception is tainted and tilted. The grace and love of God becomes cheap in the eyes of “that wisdom”. There is no going out from and entering into. There is no virtual leaving the world and therefore no entering into the realities of God within the context of “that wisdom”. The cross is explicitly done away with, and thereby are the possibilities for true reconciliation, substantial deliverance and intimate fellowship not within reach. The shortcut to recovery becomes an eternal detour. But, priestly ministry absorbs evil by an immutable will to all goodness.
“That wisdom” ultimately thrives on chaos. A priestly mind considers it to be an obligation to stand in defence of that which has been created in God’s image and to cover every expression of the purposes of God. Paul defines the priestly position: “God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son”. “That wisdom” boasts in pleasing God, she is serving and helping God on her own terms, even dictating the conditions of faith and fellowship. “That wisdom” brings perverted perception, it blows temporal categories out of proportion, even introducing a visionary context which purports to be prophetic. But the fundamental issue is reduced to mere triviality – the cross has no place.
The priestly mind places the cross central to every part of reality. Defining priestliness: The ultimate issue of the lordship of Jesus Christ in the totality of life. At the core of the priestly vocation lies the sacrificial ministering of the attributes of God. The priest finds a cross in the Father’s heart. Righteousness, reconciliation and restoration all stems from a sacrificial setting. “That wisdom” contradicts the sacrificial love, introducing something much less costly in order to be nice, in order to become accepted, in order to save face and reputation. The cross is offensive, but it alone brings salvation. “That wisdom” engages herself in man’s affairs, engages herself enthusiastically and officiously but without cross.
The fear of God is the true boundary of the liberty of a Christian. Priestliness is the true boundary, the proper approach to Christian testimony. The priestly mind welcomes the tempering of the Holy Spirit for the sake of redemption, for true liberty to be expressed. Sacrificial living takes on a sharing of the pain of another. Priestly life formulates the framework of the recovering of dignity. Manhood and maturity are selected products of a priestly setting. The priestly environment is purposed to carry integrity and solemnity in order to produce repentance and a turning to the Lord which is acceptable to him.
The fear of God, the priestly stance, is the true boundary of the Christian life. Within this framework, within this framework alone will the recovering of the testimony to the non-christian take place. Reconciliation is a matter of priestliness. Redemption is a matter of the cross.
The fear of God is the true boundary of the liberty of a priestly life. The fear of God constitutes the mystery of godliness. The mind and heart tempered by the cross, the community tempered by the cross is God’s wisdom expressed in forceful terms before the powers of this age. Priestliness, the heart of God expressed in communion, in community, affects the wisdom of this world at its deepest roots as axes in full force. Priestliness offends for the sake of redemption. Priestliness cuts sharply as the very best sword of the Lord, dividing fleshly ways of salvation from the tempering of the cross unto redemption.
May the Lord grant us grace as we consider priestliness, the only option open to man seeking dignity.
Reading: Ps 4:4-5, Isa 57:15, Ez 44:23-24, Rom 1:9, Eph 3:10-12, Rev 2:20.
