Alan Dunn
Introduction
This component of my “theology of missions” has developed over the past two decades as the Lord has providentially privileged me, as a pastor of a local church, with more than a “normal” share of overseas ministries. In 2007, I was honored to minister to two missionaries in Pakistan just hours before their martyrdom. That year I also visited pastors in a foreign country, some of whom were preparing themselves for the probability of having to go to prison.1 Just after returning home from that trip, I took my teenage daughter to a local church fair full of fun, food and rides as American Christians of various stripes milled about, attempting to manage their excited kids. I wondered what could be in store for those kids in the years to come. A few days earlier a foreign pastor had told me that he was praying for American Christians. I thanked him. Then with earnestness he told me that he was praying that American Christians would be persecuted!2 Would the Lord answer his prayer?
The challenges Christians face in the West differ from those that our brethren face in other parts of the world. While we in America nestle in the buxom bosom of the Babylonian Harlot, our brethren in Asia and elsewhere contend with the raging of the Beast.3 Believers are engaged in spiritual warfare in both the West and the East. The nature of the conflict may differ, but both battlefields pose lethal threats to the church. In both contexts, we are engaged in spiritual warfare that calls for the witness of the martyrs.
I. Paul’s Suffering – A Demonstration of the Gospel4
Paul’s call to his apostleship was simultaneously a call to suffering (Acts 9:15-16). In an attempt to validate his apostolic legitimacy in contrast with the most eminent apostles (2 Cor 11:5; 12:11) who were in fact false apostles (2 Cor 11:13), Paul cataloged his sufferings (2 Cor 11:12-33)5 which included imprisonments, beatings, hardship and dangers along with the daily pressure of concern for all the churches (v. 28-29).6 Paul is saying more than, “I’m so committed to Jesus that I’m willing to suffer for the gospel.” Suffering is not merely an inevitable concomitant of gospel ministry, but is itself a manifestation (φανέρωσις) of the gospel, for we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested (φανερωθῇ) in our mortal flesh (2 Cor 4:11). “Paul thinks suffering not only accompanies the apostle’s proclamation of the gospel, but is a proclamation of the gospel.”7 Paul is himself the media through which the gospel is communicated. “The conveyer of the message pictures the content of the message.”8 Since Paul’s sufferings are themselves a communication of the gospel, Paul yearns to know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that [he] may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11). Paul’s suffering was not atoning, but he did suffer for others. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Col 1:24).9 Those who were not eye-witnesses of Christ’s sufferings on the cross were given a visual aid to enable their understanding of the gospel. In Paul they saw the gospel depicted: an innocent, godly preacher, suffering hardship and persecution for the sake of righteousness.10
Paul would have us understand that we too are called to be the media of the gospel, not only by our proclamation, but by suffering persecution. Such opposition is a sign, auguring in advance the eschatological division of men, for to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil 1:29).11 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12). We suffer as sons of God.12 In Romans 8, Paul informs us of the gift of the Spirit and our adoption as children of God, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17). Paul then immediately turns to the eschatological hope of the renewed cosmos, employing the metaphor of a woman in labor. We groan, enduring the eschatological birthing process, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Rom 8:24). The resurrection and a renewed cosmos is our hope. Our hope is sustained by the Holy Spirit who enables us to persevere in prayer, being secure in God’s sovereign and gracious salvation (Rom 8:26-39). Inherent in Paul’s teaching is his paradigm of eschatology.13 As we await the resurrection at the return of Christ, our experience will be that of the Psalmist who penned Psalm 44:22, sited in Rom 8:36, Just as it is written, “For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
II. Weakness: Paul’s Strategy Against The Powers and Principalities
In this spiritual warfare, we fight for Him who appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8), and we must realize that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).14 We preach to men but we also preach in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places (Eph 3:10). We encounter spiritual forces which infiltrate and operate in societal structures of the state and the church, where idolatrous worldviews comprised of the doctrines of demons (1 Tim 4:1) ensnare men in deception and lies.15 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5).
Certainly we should employ preaching and apologetics as tactics in this spiritual warfare, but we should also be prepared to suffer slaughter in lamblike weakness. Perhaps 2 Corinthians 12:9 best articulates the war-strategy of weakness: And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Marva Dawn16 presents a compelling case to interpret for power is perfected in weakness as referring to Paul’s power being brought to its end (τελεῖται)17 where he then experiences the power of Christ dwelling (ἐπισκηνώσῃ – tabernacling) in him. In other words, here is our battle tactic: relinquish reliance on the arm of flesh (2 Chr 32:8) and embrace the weapon of Christ’s slaughtered-lamblike obedient weakness and the power of Christ18 will displace our power and we will become a veritable temple of God, a worshipping-witnessing weapon prevailing over the powers and principalities. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:10).
The Lion of Judah’s overcoming power was manifest on the cross where, as the slaughtered Lamb, He overcame in the ensuing victory of the resurrection (Rev 5:5-6). This must be our strategy: in weakness to be filled with the Spirit of the Lamb and become His temple which worships and witnesses with words of gospel truth and deeds of sacrificial service (Rom 12:1). As we learn to wage war in the way of the cross, we experience the power of the crucified and triumphant Christ who has overcome (ἐνίκησεν – Rev 5:5). Hence in all these things (the tribulation and persecution listed in Rom 8:35 and vs. 38-39) we overwhelmingly conquer (ὑπερνικῶμεν) through Him who loved us (Rom 8:37).
Read the second part of this document:
A Theology for Missions: The Witness of the Martyrs II
Notes:
1. I have written an account of my ministry to Arif and Kathy Khan in the days before their martyrdom on August 29, 2007 at http://reformedbaptistfellowship.wordpress.com/?s=slaughtered+lambs . I was with Arif and Kathy the night before their murder when Arif received a phone call and set the appointment with the accomplices of his Taliban assassin. It is reasonable to think that the murderers deliberated and allowed me to depart as scheduled on the morning of August 29th so as to insure their advantage over Arif and Kathy. In 2008 I providentially left the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and was a mere half mile away from the hotel when a Jihadist bombed the building. I left the country that year with nothing but the clothes on my back. A summary of that event can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad_Marriott_Hotel_bombing . I’ve experienced other less life-threatening escapes from the authorities in China while instructing underground church leaders who, if discovered, would face interrogation and possibly prison. These experiences are different than looking in the rearview mirror to discover that you just missed a terrible car accident in the spot where you were just two seconds ago. These were near-miss experiences with demonic evil. These experiences and an attempt to discern the signs of the times (Mat 16:3), have factored into my interest in the witness of the martyrs.↩
2. See Randy C. Alcorn, Safely Home (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2003) for a fictional rendering of how persecution has affected the Chinese church and the lack of persecution the American church.↩
3. Cf. Paul A. Marshall and Lela Gilbert, Their Blood Cries Out: the Worldwide Tragedy of Modern Christians Who Are Dying for Their Faith (Dallas: Word Pub., 1997). David Aikman, Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power (Oxford: Monarch, 2006). Alan Hunter and Kim-Kwong Chan, Protestantism in Contemporary China (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993).↩
4. Limitations of space preclude a treatment of the foundational teachings of Jesus. He ministered in the midst of conflict that crescendoed and culminated on the cross. He repeatedly taught His disciples that they too would be hated on account of Him and that they must follow Him in the way of the cross, suffering for righteousness.↩
5. Cf. 2 Cor 6:4-10↩
6. Regarding v.33 I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped [Aretas’] hands. Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: a Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2005), 824, doubts that the Corinthians would have thought of the Roman military award, the corona muralis: the wall crown, awarded to the soldier who was first up the wall in an attack on a city because Paul omits a reference to being ‘first’ down the wall. Still, it is intriguing to think that Paul here could be inverting a worldly honor to validate the honor of his apostleship.↩
7. Robert L. Plummer, Paul’s Understanding of the Church’s Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize? (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006), 130.↩
8. Ibid., 130. See also Duane A. Litfin, St. Paul’s Theology of Proclamation: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Greco-Roman Rhetoric (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994) who argues that much of Paul’s difficulty in Corinth stemmed from the Corinthian disdain for the foolishness of the preaching preached (1 Cor 1:21). Preaching, in contrast to Greek rhetorical oratory, was offensive to cultured Corinthian ears. Not only is the man the media of the message, but the manner of his verbal communication must likewise manifest the message. The message of Christ’s victory over death through the weakness of the cross is to be conveyed in a manner that is itself a manifestation of cross-like weakness and is often culturally repulsive.↩
9. “Christ’s afflictions are not lacking in their atoning sufficiency. They are lacking in that they are not known and felt by people who were not at the cross. Paul dedicates himself not only to carry the message of those sufferings to the nations, but also to suffer with Christ and for Christ in such a way that what people see are ‘Christ’s sufferings.’” John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: the Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993), 94.↩
10. In our day of overheads, videos, dramas, and other such pageantries and productions, perhaps the most powerful visual aid is the man of God who is himself the embodiment of his message. God’s method of missions is succinctly stated in John 1:6, There came a man sent from God whose name was John.↩
11. Plummer, Paul’s Understanding of the Church’s Mission, 121-139, argues that Christians suffer because of two reasons: they are identified with Christ and because the world hates being convicted of sin by the preaching of the law and the gospel.↩
12. Sonship and suffering are integrally connected in this Fallen world-order and must be understood in terms of Gen 3:15 and God’s primeval prescription for the destruction of Satanic evil and the liberation of the cosmos from the curse of death.↩
13. Romans 8 concludes a unit of Paul’s thought concerning our groaning as we await our resurrection and the release of the cosmos from its curse (Rom 8:17ff). Paul’s eschatological construct shapes the contour of this text. He does not describe the church prior to the Eschaton acquiring positions of civil authority or being somehow absent having been “raptured.” He envisions the church being faithful through many tribulations (Acts 14:22), as she is being conformed to her Husband/Lord (Rom 8:29) while overwhelmingly conquering (Rom 8:37) as slaughtered lambs. Rom 8:17-39 instructs us as to how we are to live and suffer as we await the return of Christ. Upon concluding Rom 8, Paul then explains God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises in keeping with His purposes of election (chapters 9-11).↩
14. The following is a select bibliography on powers and principalities. Oscar Cullmann, “The Subjection of the Invisible Powers and Their Relation in Redemptive History to the World Process.” Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History (Philadelphia, PA.: Westminster, 1964), 191-210. Frederick Stratford Leahy, Satan Cast Out: a Study in Biblical Demonology (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975). F. F. Bruce, “Principalities and Powers.” Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 407-423. John Warwick Montgomery, Principalities and Powers (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1981). Hendrik Berkhof, Christ and the Powers (Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1977). Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992). Paul E. Billheimer and Edwin Messerschmidt. Destined for the Throne (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1996). Edward M. Bounds, Guide to Spiritual Warfare (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2001). Marva J. Dawn, Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2001). G. B. Caird and L. D. Hurst. Principalities and Powers: a Study in Pauline Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2003). William Stringfellow, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2004).↩
15. “Behind these human opponents stand demonic forces who oppose God and his Christ (2 Cor 4:4; Eph 6:10-18; 1 Thes 2:18; 2 Thes 2:1-12).” Plummer, Paul’s Understanding of the Church’s Mission, 124. ↩
16. Marva J. Dawn, “The Tabernacling of God and A Theology of Weakness.” Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2001), 35-71.↩
17. Dawn does a helpful word study on τελεw: to finish, as distinct from τελεiow: to perfect, mature, bring to completion.↩
18. The word of the cross… to us who are being saved, is the power of God (1 Cor 1:17). Christ the power of God… the weakness of God is stronger than men 1 Cor 1:24-25).↩
Works Cited
Aikman, David. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power. Oxford: Monarch, 2006.
Alcorn, Randy C. Safely Home. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2003.
Arnold, Clinton E. Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992.
Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: a Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1999.
Berkhof, Hendrik. Christ and the Powers. Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1977.
Billheimer, Paul E., and Edwin Messerschmidt. Destined for the Throne. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1996.
Bounds, Edward M. Guide to Spiritual Warfare. New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2001.
Bruce, F. F. “Principalities and Powers.” Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977. 407-23.
Caird, G. B., and L. D. Hurst. Principalities and Powers: a Study in Pauline Theology. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2003.
Carson, D. A. Christ and Culture Revisited. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2008.
Cullmann, Oscar. “The Subjection of the Invisible Powers and Their Relation in Redemptive History to the World Process.” Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History. Philadelphia, PA.: Westminster, 1964. 191-210.
Dawn, Marva J. Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2001.
Harris, Murray J. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: a Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2005.
Hendriksen, William. More than Conquerors: an Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1982.
Hunter, Alan, and Kim-Kwong Chan. Protestantism in Contemporary China. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993.
Johnson, Dennis E. Triumph of the Lamb: a Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: Psbyterian and Reformed, 2001.
Kistemaker, Simon J., and William Hendriksen. Exposition of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.
Köstenberger, Andreas J., and Peter Thomas. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: a Biblical Theology of Mission. Leicester, England: Apollos, 2001.
Leahy, Frederick Stratford. Satan Cast Out: a Study in Biblical Demonology. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.
Litfin, A. Duane. St. Paul’s Theology of Proclamation: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Greco-Roman Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994.
Marshall, Paul A., and Lela Gilbert. Their Blood Cries Out: the Worldwide Tragedy of Modern Christians Who Are Dying for Their Faith. Dallas: Word Pub., 1997.
Montgomery, John Warwick. Principalities and Powers. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1981.
Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad!: the Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993.
Plummer, Robert L. Paul’s Understanding of the Church’s Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize? Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006.
Stringfellow, William. An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2004.