Tom Gilbert

I see my involvement with others in my congregation now as more of a "we" approach. We are all there to worship and turn to God and Christ. The Holy Spirit works through all believers and the diversity of the fruits of the Spirit are good for the entire body. I believe in a universal church - one body of Christ - so I see a responsibility to be part of that work on a larger level. I see the importance of church on a local level and church on a global level.

Q4. (Ephesians 5:26) How does the word of God work in the cleansing, purifying process? The Truth of what Christ has done for us...His redeeming work through death on the cross and resurrection washes away our sin. You can't get any cleaner than that! The Word of God teaches us about the unconditional love that reaches out to us, even if it is rejected. No one is beyond the reach of this saving power -- that's ultimately purifying. As we study the Word (including becoming one with Jesus -- the Word made flesh) we are purified. How should the word of God be implemented in a congregation to achieve these purposes? The Word should be used for praise, prayer, thanksgiving, teaching, edifying, encouraging and when neccessary, even rebuking. All done with love, of course, How can we use the word for purification without relying upon threats of hellfire to scare people into repentance? We don't have to threaten and scare and create an image of a judgemental and punishing God. We don't have to go to hell unless we choose to be separated from God, which is simply rejecting His love and truth (The Word and Jesus/God incarnate). So, if we concentrate on the Way of love and transformation more people will be attracted....rather than chased away with threats of eternal damnation.

I believe our holiness only results from unity with God/Christ/Holy Spirit. This is not an individualistic or legalistic thing...it is the unity of the Body. Over and over again we learn that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We must rely on the union and the unity. With the perfect love that is the fruit of the Spirit we can be holy as a church, not judgemental, humble and of service, willing to sacrifice ourselves for the good of each other (the church) and to the glory of God.

The unity spoken of here is brought about by the Holy Spirit. We, the members of the Church, are to maintain this unity, of course with the Spirit working in and through us. If we try to maintain this unity with our limited human power and discernment we set ourselves up for petty power struggles and ineffective fellowship. The "bond of peace" is a way of unifying the church. We should have a peaceful relationship that is strong enough to withstand the attacks that come from both outside and within. I believe the wording of the verse infers Christian unity to be a primary goal. Our individual survival and spiritual maturity is dependent on this unity.

Patience, humility, gentleness, tolerance...and most especially love. Isn't it interesting that most people will admit these are virtues, but most also would admit that isn't how to get ahead in the world? Ah, sigh, we are often "taught" to win at all costs. Jesus taught us a better way. I find humility the hardest. Love is the most important.

Through regular reading and meditation on the scriptures I (and my congregation) get to hear the Word of God proclaimed and discussed. This Word was given to the apostles and prophets to pass on to us. Scripture must be read and understood with the heart, not just the head, and both my private prayer/meditation time and especially together with others do I get to receive this "heart" understanding. All things must point to Jesus. He is the Cosmic Christ, the One who has come to redeem us ALL (Jew and Gentile -- as Paul makes clear, there is no distinction before God). We all grow in our interaction with each other, our learning and encouragement, and of course our practice of loving living. In our congregations we learn how to do this so that we can go out into the world and be the Church and Jesus' representatives. John 13:20 "I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." (NIV)

Access to the Father is important because we need to be reconciled to Him. Our sinfulness has kept us apart, but through the Spirit and Christ (by his death on the cross) we are reconciled. We've got direct access straight to God. We don't have to go through a bunch of redtape and legal channels or hire lawyers or ambassadors. We are given a citizenship in Heaven! Because of this we are in union with God and Jesus. It is the most intimate of relationships, so we are able to love God with all our strength and love others with the love of God.

God's power is working in and through us. Each of us has this power in us and it is unlimited! We (I) put limits on this power, not God. It would be more evident if I would believe it more and allow the power to work in me for the greater good of others. When it happens it bears witness to Jesus Christ. It is evidence of His power that transcends the natural and the limited human power that is all too often centered in the self. To Christ be the glory! He gets the credit -- we get the benefit.

We see with our hearts and the Spirit within us. Too often I am blind to God's message. The resurrection of Christ is what "opens" our eyes to what God desires--that we believe in the one He sent and have a loving relationship with Him.

A snare is a trap. Usually we are not willingly trapped and that was probably true of the people in Gideon's time, as well. Herein lies the danger. We become trapped by where we put our hearts, where we look to fill our desires. We often want to give glory and credit to things that are not of God, or we fail to give credit to God for His part. See how sneaky idolatry is? We "worship" heroes. We give great acclaim to humans for everything from sport and entertainment to great scientific achievement. Sometimes, we even give acclaim to people who are doing great works of service. Whenever we do this without first giving thanks, worship and glory to God then we are sinning...whether we know it or not. No wonder that we are instructed to pray always. How hard it is to constantly be aware of God in everything in our lives. How wonderful it is when we do recognize His goodness and how everything is created by Him!

Gideon asked for the gold earrings from the plunder of the enemy. This was customary and not wrong in and of itself. The sin began with what was done with the reward. It was used to make an ephod. One must wonder what the purpose of that was to begin with. We've read from this study the speculation that it was to give Gideon a cloak of honor and perhaps he considered it to be used in place of the true ephod. When the people prosituted themselves by worshipping the ephod (and what it stood for--wealth, power, prestige) their sin was of idolatry. Here they go again, full circle. As I shake my head at the Israelites continued stubborness and weakness I am also convicted of the many times that I look for comfort in material things. We must keep our reliance on what is true and everlasting--on the Lord who is forever sovereign. This seems to be part of the continual inner conflict in us and how grateful I am of the reminder not to serve two masters, and to put God first.

Gideon refuses to be king over the Israelites because he rightly recognizes that God is the sovereign king of the people. To accept being king would mean putting himself above and in place of God. I don't know why the Israelites were blind to the treason they were proposing in asking Gideon to be king, except to say that they were placing their trust in a man. They saw the heroic leadership of Gideon and, perhaps were swayed by that. Not unlike today, we are often looking to follow the next, bright leader. Here is the danger for when the son of perdition appears.

Gideon slays Zebah and Zalmunna to exact veangance for their murdering of his brothers. In Old Testament times this was considered right and upholding both honor for your family and even carrying out a command from scripture. It's still distasteful, and especially so that he asked his son to do it (although this was supposedly an honor). We are taught the new way of love, even for our enemies and to not take veangance, but leave that to God. However, the world continues to teach otherwise and we are under immense pressure to demand justice when we are wronged, particularly when a loved one is murdered. By myself I am incapable of this love of enemies and not wanting veangance. Fortunately, Jesus shows us by His strong love to take the higher road and the Holy Spirit can provide the ability to let go of the hate and veangance.

When Succoth and Peniel refuse to aid Gideon and his men they are probably motivated by fear of the Midianites, but maybe also by a lack of charity, or an arrogance or simply because they don't want to be bothered. My understanding is that in the ancient world hospitality was highly regarded, so for them to not help was a very large insult. This is amplified by them also being part of a covenant of Israelites. Gideon's response is harsh by Christian standards, as Jesus teaches us to love, even our enemies and to not seek veangance. In Gideon's time it was more of an "eye for an eye", but his retribution is still troubling, a "dark side" as the study's exposition tells us. As Christians we must "fear not!"--not be afraid of helping others regardless of how it affects our comfort zone or image. We have a covenant, a new one, handed down by our Lord. It's been stated by others in the forum the importance of "feeding the sheep". I've been guilty of this sin. I'm trusting that this Bible study will help me to grow in faith and love and to not sin this way.

Fooling the Midianites at night is one thing; pursuing them in the light of day (and they were still 15,000!) it would seem to be harder to defeat them. So, Gideon asks the Ephraimites for help in this job. They are miffed that they weren't asked earlier to the battle. It's pride and arrogance. Gideon shows tact and diplomacy. "Pride goeth before the fall". Always. I/we can learn to have humility, to appreciate everyone who contributes, to be gracious in asking for help and to remember to finish the job, even if it means others won't help. If God calls me to do something...and others as well...it matters not if the others refuse, I must be true to God's calling. And that is often very difficult.