Paul and Cross-Cultural Mission

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During this last week Bruce and I were traveling across Alabama, from Albertville to Tuscaloosa to Birmingham and then home again. Many of you know we work with Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, a mission training course and I am an instructor. Perspectives isn’t a course solely about world missions. It’s a study program rooted in scripture, clarifying each believer’s opportunity to join God in His global purpose. Last week, I was teaching a Perspective class, lesson 10, the cultural lesson, “How Shall They Hear?” in four different classes in Alabama. This particular class refers to the sensitivity that is required to convey the message of the gospel across cultural barriers. The gospel spreads powerfully within a culture, but does not jump easily across cultural boundaries. In this lesson students explore what culture is, and how they can better jump across cultural barriers that have long obstructed the advancement of the gospel. They also explore how to communicate the culture at the deep level, the heart level, and why it’s important to look for keys or unique ways to bridge and communicate God’s truth.

         Paul often ministered cross-culturally. In fact, he said that “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ has not already been named” or known. (Rom 15:20).  I heard one theologian describe Paul as a sort of Hudson Taylor meets Jim Elliot with a dash of Indiana Jones adventurer, heading off to the Black Hole of Calcutta to be tortured regularly for preaching the gospel. However, honestly, I don’t think being beaten and ship-wrecked was part of Paul’s ministry strategy. Certainly, those were things he didn’t choose but he endured on behalf of the gospel. He was also willing to step into challenging areas of cross-cultural ministry.

         In one of the few episodes in which Paul is seen traveling alone, the apostle chooses to engage with philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). He observes the city’s many idols and distressed by them, he first joins a theological discussion at the synagogue. Afterward a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with Paul. “Others took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean” . (Acts 17:19-20). Having piqued their interest, Paul stands up to address the Athenians at the Areopagus (or Mars Hill), the center of Greek religiosity. Notably, Paul takes a positive approach. In his opening remarks Paul reminded his audience of how religious they were and how he had noticed a statue with the inscription, agnosto theo, “to the unknown God” (Acts 17:23). This opened the way for Paul to declare the true God. Wisely he did not denounce Athenian idolatry which would only have closed the minds of his hearers to his message. Strategically, he used commendation rather than condemnation. Then later, in God’s timing, he would provide the powerful story of the gospel, that it may cleanse and reform the society. Paul intentionally opts not to begin his address by pushing his own beliefs (scripture) or attacking the Athenians’ views (idolatry). Instead, he seeks common ground. Paul neither attacks the Athenians nor condescends because he knows he has knowledge to which they are not yet privy. He didn’t describe them as bad people. Rather, he states that because of their ignorance  about the “unknown god”, they simply are unaware of the good news of the true God as yet.

         Paul began his speech by identifying what was missing in their Greek religious worldview. The fact that the Athenians had built an altar to “an unknown god” (Acts 17:23) indicated that there was a sense of inadequacy. They could not give a name to this “unknown god” because they did not know who he was. This provided Paul opportunity to address “the unknown god” with the positive content of the gospel. (Acts 17:27-29). Paul showed great sensitivity in quoting, not the Old Testament, as he always did when speaking to Jews, but he used quotes from Greek poets who were familiar in the Greek culture in order to bridge with them. Notice that without compromising the gospel, Paul determined a way to bridge with non-Christian sources typical of the Greek culture to establish some common ground.

         The Athenians had taken the first step toward knowing God in that they were supernaturalists (belief in an invisible higher power) (Acts 17:22). Their unusual respect for deities is indicated by the fact that “the unknown God” was also worshipped. This worship assumes that they have at least a knowledge of a greater god, the existence of one. Paul makes use of this: “Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I 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. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. “(Acts 17:23-25). Paul bridges with the Greek audience by way of “the unknown god”; but his point of contact is their ignorance. It would have been impossible for them had they denied God’s existence to ever know Him, since “he who comes to God must believe that He is” (Hebrews 11:6). No one will search for a path to a destination they believe does not exist. And they must have believed there was a god (among all their deities) whom they did not know yet.

As Paul’s strategy continues, he quotes two other key scriptures to his Greek audience., 

1) “in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Interestingly, philosophers seem to always be discussing topics like “man’s existence” and his “state of being”. Paul, with the Holy Spirit’s leading, strategically chose that particular scripture to bridge and connect with his Greek audience. Then Paul continued with….

2) “for we are indeed His offspring.” (Acts 17:28) Here Paul is stating that if we live and have our being in this “unknown God” then we cannot possibly be offspring of lesser gods for we could only be offsprings of the superior God, this “unknown God” that Paul was proclaiming to them.

         At the Areopagus the “unknown God” speech of Paul remains before us as a perfect example of witnessing the Gospel in a cross-cultural setting. Paul reminds us that the cultural sensitivity in preaching to people from different backgrounds is a must in our missionary endeavors. He takes a respectful and humble approach; he does not simply conform to their worldview and beliefs, rather he seeks to correct and transform the Athenian’s understanding of God. Sharing the gospel is not a matter of a packaged 

step 1, step 2 and so forth. Steps are merely guidelines for witnessing, but ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit’s guiding wisdom upon which we must be dependent. Paul’s approach teaches us that cross-cultural ministry and discipleship must be alert to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and ready to adapt quickly to unexpected situations.

Let’s pray:

1) “And I will ask the Father, and he will give our children another advocate to help them and be with them forever.” (John 14:16)

2) “May the God of hope fill our children with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit they may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)

3) “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) May our children depend on the Holy Spirit and lean into His teachings in all that they do.

4) “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.” (1 Peter 4:11) May it be true for our children.

5) “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) May our children be follow hard fast after Jesus all of their lives. 

Ordinary to Extraordinary

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Let’s face it. Life in the Spirit can feel ordinary at times. And yet, my friends, take note, this really is one of Satan’s greatest feats used to destroy us. If Satan cannot keep God from breaking in and saving our soul, he will do what he can to downplay what has happened. He’ll seed thorns that disrupt our sense of safety and rest (2 Cor.12:7). He’ll try to veil the glory of God in and around us (2 Cor. 4:4). He’ll flood us with riches and pleasures to distract us from spiritual reality (Luke 8:14). He’ll seize on any glimpse of sin: “See, you’re exactly who you were before, you haven’t changed at all.” (Rev. 12:10). Satan can convince us that a life invaded by the presence of the Holy Spirit, isn’t really all that different from any other life. He convinces us to perceive and define our lives by the past, rather than by the new creation the Holy Spirit is fashioning us to be. Yes, life in the Spirit can often feel ordinary. We eat and drink, work and sleep, and then do it all again. But none of now is the same as it was, not even our morning coffee or our afternoon snack. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor.10:31). This glory doesn’t skip meals; it invades them. And who empowers us to eat, drink and do everything for the glory of God? The Spirit does. Now, we eat with the Spirit. Now, we drink with the Spirit. We work, play and sleep in the Spirit. Now, we walk by the Spirit. A normal day may feel ordinary, but below the surface of our perceptions, God is knitting together a new, miraculous, unfinished life in us…by His Spirit.

The Word of God says that if you belong to Christ, the Spirit of God lives in you. But His Spirit doesn’t hover above you waiting to help. He’s not waiting at a desk in heaven for you to call.  No, when God delivered you from sin and death, he not only invited you into his presence and family, but he came to live in you. He made a home for himself in your forgiven soul.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple,” Paul asks, “and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Do you know? Has the ordinariness of life made you forget? God is living in the ordinary, in your ordinary. Even if many aspects of your life stayed the same after you came to Christ, your family, your job, your neighborhood…something fundamental changed. Someone fundamental. God flooded every familiar and unremarkable corner of your life with Himself, with his Spirit. Feel the force of Paul’s wonder as he repeats himself three times in just a few verses:

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. . . If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (Rom.8:9–11). Here Paul is captivated by a reality we often miss or take for granted. God does not just love you, protect you, provide for you, and draw near to you; he dwells in you. 

If we could see all that the Holy Spirit is working in us and through us, we would not yawn or groan over “ordinary” like we’re prone to do. One day, we’ll have eyes and ears tuned to these miracles, but for now, we have to search for them…for Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”(Jer.29:13) Whenever we reach out in faith to God as our Father, we do so by the Spirit. Do you have an impulse to pray when you feel tempted, weak, confused or discouraged? That impulse is not ordinary or natural; it’s a work of God.

Anything you truly understand about God, his Word, and his will are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Anyone can read God’s words and perhaps even make sense of the vocabulary and grammar and logic, but no one grasps the realities unless the Spirit moves. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12). We will never fully comprehend all God has done for us in Christ, but what we do understand now, we understand because of what God has done for us in the Holy Spirit.

“If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13). Humans die in a thousand different ways, but sin dies in just one: by the Spirit. We may miss the power of these deaths because we assume, somewhere deep down, that we could overcome sin on our own…but we can’t and we don’t. If sin dies by our hand, it is only because our hand has become a mighty weapon in the hands of God himself. The Holy Spirit doesn’t only weed out the remaining wickedness in us; he also plants and nurtures a garden of righteousness. The clearest evidence that he dwells in us is not the ugliness he removes, but the beauty he creates. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). In other words, he makes us more like Christ. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” (his image) “from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). 

Everyone in whom the Spirit lives has been given abilities for the good of other believers. Paul says of the church, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor.12:4–7). To each…not just some or many.  So how has God recently met a specific need through you? And do you realize, that when he does, he’s reminding you that he lives in you, by his Spirit.

Sustained love for Jesus only happens where the Spirit lives. Paul describes the same miracle in 2 Cor. 4:6: “He (God) has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” If we still love what we see when we look at Jesus, we see something only the Spirit could do in us. Do you see any gifting from Him, any victory over sin, any Christlike love, peace or joy? Do you still love what you see of Jesus? Then your ordinary isn’t as ordinary as you might think, because the Holy Spirit is alive and at work in you.

Yes, as believers you have the Holy Spirit now, but what you experience now is only a taste of what’s to come. The Spirit, Paul says, “is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph. 1:14). Guarantee, meaning there’s more.

Whatever good the Spirit does in each of us now is merely an appetizer of what he will do in all of us forever. The Spirit living in us in this world is a taste of what it will be like for us to live in His coming world. Life in the Spirit feels mundane when we grow dull to miracles and we are not alert to the move of the Spirit in our lives. Yes, we live and work and love among thorns and thistles for now, but we do so by the strength and wisdom of God…until the day when He makes glory our ordinary.