The Mystery of God's Holiness: God's Good News for the Gentiles

By Clifford L. Swanson M. Div.

The Mystery of God's Holiness: God's Good News for the Gentiles contains two threads that run throughout the entire Bible. It illuminates for the reader the origins and spread of God's holiness, from the day God told Moses that his feet were standing on holy ground to the time the creatures in John's book of Revelation cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty." It also sheds light on God's extension of the good news from Palestine to all nations of the earth. For when Jesus Christ confronted Paul, and he was converted on the Road to Damascus, Jesus appointed Paul as his apostle to the Gentiles. So Paul devoted the rest of his life to spreading the Good News and founding Christian churches throughout the Roman Empire. The result is that this Good News has gone from the Roman Empire to Europe, to America, and around the entire world. This book also provides what one might call a minicourse on church history, from the time of Jesus to the present day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781638851592

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: What Is God If He Is Not Holy? Part 1

What Is God if He Is Not Holy? Part 2

Chapter 2: Go, Abraham, Go!

Chapter 3: Baby, Son of Man, Savior (Part 1)

Baby, Son of Man, Savior (Part 2)

Chapter 4: Solid Rock, Straight Arrow (Part 1)

Solid Rock, Straight Arrow (Part 2)

Chapter 5: The Genius of Alexander

Chapter 6: In This Sign…

Chapter 7: Reformation!

Chapter 8: Full Circle

Chapter 9: One Giant Leap Forward

Chapter 10: Growing toward Holiness

Appendix 1: A Plan to help Your Church Read and Discuss Together

The Mystery of God's Holiness: God's Good News for the Gentiles

Appendix 2: Oral Tradition and the Written Text of the Pentateuch

Appendix 3: A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne

Bibliography

About the Author

cover.jpg

The Mystery of God's Holiness:

God's Good News for the Gentiles

Clifford L. Swanson, M. Div.

ISBN 978-1-63885-158-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63885-159-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Clifford Swanson, M. Div.

All rights reserved

First Edition

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version,

National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America.

Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

This book opens the mystery of God's holiness in a way that speaks to Christian leaders, honest seekers, and everyone in between.

—President Emeritus Whitney Kuniholm, Scripture Union, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

The book provides a lightning tour through the Old and New Testaments, as well as 2,000 years of church history.

—Former Senior Rector Richard Morgan, now retired,

Good Samaritan Episcopal Church,

Paoli, Pennsylvania

A large scope book for those of evangelical backgrounds who want a single volume of Bible study, church history, and theology.

—Minister of Congregational Care,

Jerry Kay Foote

First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Biblical narrative, theology, church history, evangelism, and discipleship are uniquely covered in The Mystery of God's Holiness.

—Pastor Stefan Bomberger, Manoa Community Church, Havertown, Pennsylvania

This book seeks to make the study of God's holiness and plan of salvation for the Gentiles accessible to everyday readers of the Bible as they see how this unfolding mystery relates to our world today.

—President Gail Martin, Scripture Union, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Reading this book will bring spiritual growth to both individuals and entire church congregations.

—Former Professor of Youth Ministry and

Education Eduardo Ramirez, Eastern University, St. David's, Pennsylvania

To my wife, Melinda,

who has continually provided me with her encouragement and support

as I have engaged in this writing project

Acknowledgments

I want to express special thanks to my wife, Melinda, for making this a much better book through her proofreading and copyediting.

Thanks to Vice President for Acquisitions Kasha Foret at Covenant Books, for her encouragement and guidance as I began to write this book.

Thanks to my Publishing Assistants Renee Barnhill and Maureen Kinley for their good help as liaisons between me and the editorial team.

Thanks to my son, David, whose suggestions helped me improve the introduction.

And thanks to my friend Eduardo Ramirez, who worked through the manuscript and made many useful comments, particularly about God's holiness.

Introduction

One night, many months ago, as I lay half awake in the early morning, out of nowhere came the memory of a book that I had become acquainted with in seminary by a German theologian named Rudolph Otto, called The Idea of the Holy. The next thought that entered my mind was that I should write a book connected with Otto's work on God's holiness. I clearly sensed that in this, I was being prompted by God. Maybe this was the Lord giving me counsel during the night.

As you have already seen, the title of this book is The Mystery of God's Holiness: God's Good News to the Gentiles. You might ask, Who is this book written for, and why should I read it? Well, this book has been written for thoughtful lay people and not necessarily for scholars. It is a fact that everyone likes a good story, and this book tells the most important story of all—the story of faith in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.

But what is the significance of the book's title? I chose the first part of the title, The Mystery of God's Holiness, because of the early morning experience that I shared with you above. The theme of God's holiness is extremely important, for it runs through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Then, I chose the second part of the title, God's Good News for the Gentiles, because of God's promise to Abraham, I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing… And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:1–3).

But what about the word mystery in the title? Is mystery in the first part related to Gentiles in the second part? Yes, it is, for in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul says that a mystery has been made known to the apostles. His use of the word mystery raises the question, What is mystery? Well, if something is mysterious, it is a thing that is partially hidden, something we cannot see. God is a mystery to us because of the many things we do not understand about him. When we get close to God and experience his presence, we do not completely comprehend what is happening. God is sacred—set apart from us. As a result, we cannot fully grasp his character. And what about his will? God has revealed his will for us in many ways. But a large portion of his will, for us and for the world over which he is sovereign, we simply do not know. Furthermore, this side of heaven we will never be able to grasp entirely the significance of God's love, or the mystery of his grace, or of the Trinity, or of the cross. For all these reasons, the prophet Isaiah declares in the words of God himself, As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).

But let us now look further into the mystery that God revealed to Paul. It is that the Good News would go to the Gentiles. Although this mystery was not fully revealed the Old Testament, there are hints of it there in many places. First of all, we hear Isaiah speaking again, The Lord almighty will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God (Isaiah 52:10).

Besides Isaiah, the psalmist also speaks; "All the ends of the earth will remember that I am the Lord, and all families of the nations will bow down before him (Psalm 22:27).

Again the psalmist speaks, this time in the second psalm, a messianic psalm that points to Jesus. There the Lord says, You are my son. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession (Psalm 2:7, 8).

Isaiah also announces that a great and wonderful banquet is coming. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear (Isaiah 25:6).

Finally Jesus himself tells us that Many will come from the east and the west and will eat with Abraham and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11).

So what is the full mystery that God revealed to Paul? It is this: God has openly embraced Gentiles as his beloved people, just as he did the Jews. God has cut off shoots from the Gentile wild olive tree and grafted them into the rich root of the original olive tree, which is the nation of Israel (Romans 11:17–18a). The result is that these Gentiles have become fellow heirs [with the Jews], members of the same body [Christ's church], and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:1–6). The reason the revealing of this mystery is such a blockbuster is that Jews and Gentiles had been enemies for hundreds of years. In the Jerusalem temple complex of Jesus' day there were four courts: the Court of the Gentiles, the Court of Women, the Court of Israelites—Jewish men—and the Court of Priests, which contained the Holiest Place. Around these last three courts there was a fence, or balustrade. It was a dividing wall between the Gentiles and the Jews. At the entrance to the second court there was a sign, written in Greek and Latin, which said, No stranger [that is, no Gentile] is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure. Whoever is caught will be, himself, responsible for his ensuing death.¹ But Paul proclaims that now, in Christ, that wall has been destroyed!

Having spoken about mystery, let us ask about the meaning of holiness. In a word, holiness refers to that which is sacred. Above all, God is sacred. He is the Sacred One. He is the Holy God. In considering this, we should remember the first words in the Bible, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. These words assume that the God who speaks already exists. This means that there never was a time when God was not there. Only after we recognize this can we move on and ask, What is God's holiness?

Besides being an eternally existent being, there are many other qualities that make up God's character as holy. Here are some of them:

The first quality of God's holiness is light. The Apostle John tells us that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). The Greek word for light is doxa, and it means brightness, shining, splendor. In keeping with John's statement that God is light, God's very first words at the dawn of creation were, Let there be light (Genesis 1:3).

The second quality of God's holiness is his love. The Apostle John is clear about this. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Whatever love we experience has been derived from his. For we love because he first loved us (1 John 4:16–19).

A third quality of God's holiness is his majestic presence. It is so overwhelming that human beings can hardly bear it. Isaiah had this experience when he was given a vision of God in the temple. In that vision, he saw God sitting on a high and lofty throne. Adoring angels were moving around him, crying aloud, telling who he is; Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:1–5).

A fourth quality of God is that he is a moral being. He is not only moral himself, he also requires us humans to be moral in all our conduct.

In the Ten Commandments, besides having no other gods before him, God commands us to honor our father and mother. He forbids us to commit murder. We must not steal. We must not bear false witness. This commandment primarily refers to a trial before a judge; but it also clearly prohibits lying. Finally, we must not covet our neighbor's house, or his wife, or their animals, or anything that belongs to our neighbor. The pagan gods of Canaan were immoral gods. They gave their blessing to cult prostitution. In fact, they did not require their worshipers to adhere to any code of morality. The truth is that the only moral God is the one true eternal God—the Lord God Almighty.

But there is one more quality of God in his holiness. It is that the Lord is a God who creates covenants between himself and his people. Since he is a God of love, his covenants are based on love. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he said to them:

It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. (Deuteronomy 7:8, 9)

So God is light. God is love. God is majestic. God is moral. God makes loving covenants with his people, and he is much more besides. All of these qualities, taken together, mean that he is a Holy God—a God who is holy himself and expects his people to be the same. You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Even though God commands us to be holy as he is, we fall short. Like Adam and Eve, we are sinners. But part of God's holiness is that he forgives sin. So even though we are sinners like Adam and Eve, because we are created in God's image we can become holy, just as he is holy. How? By living lives that are obedient to God. And our holiness will lead to our wholeness. For it is as we are faithful to God that we experience his blessing and his peace. In his own poetic way, the psalmist testifies to this. Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart… Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:12–14).

Having taken a look at the first part of the book's title, let us proceed to the second, God's Good News for the Gentiles. I chose this because of God's promise to Abraham mentioned above, I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing… For in you all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:1–3). Later in Genesis, we are told that this promise of God will be fulfilled through Abraham's descendants.

But what are all the families of the earth? They are all the nations of the world. Today there are 195 countries on our planet. Jews make up a precious minority of the earth's population, but in fact, most people in the world are Gentiles. And in most Christian churches—both in America and elsewhere—the majority of members are not Jews but Gentiles. So how did Abraham's faith in God come to the Gentiles? As we have seen, one part of this movement of the good news toward the Gentiles appears many times throughout the Old Testament. But it bursts open in the New Testament with the birth of Jesus. His primary mission was to minster to the Jews of his day. But he also associated with, and ministered, to Gentiles. And he commended them for their faith. When Paul was ravaging Christians before his conversion, Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus. As a result, he became a convert to faith in Jesus Christ. Then the Lord told Ananias that Paul was to become his chosen instrument to take his gospel to the Gentiles. And that is exactly what happened. For after his conversion, Paul devoted the rest of his life to spreading the gospel and founding churches throughout the entire Mediterranean world. These churches were filled with formerly pagan Gentiles who came from all levels of Roman society.

So the first chapters of this book are about God's holiness as he formed and cared for the young Hebrew nation. Later, God made an appearance in the person of Jesus Christ. After the story of Jesus and his ministry, the focus is on the work of Peter and Paul in bringing God's good news to the Gentiles, including us.

In the latter portion of this book, there is also a good deal of church history. After Jesus' ministry was complete, and he ascended into heaven, for three centuries the early Christians faithfully spread the gospel throughout the entire Roman Empire. Then in the beginning of the fourth century after Christ, the Roman emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire. After that, the gospel spread from Rome to Europe, and eventually to England. And from Europe and England, it went to the rest of the world.

So I hope the things I have described have caused you to want to read The Mystery of God's Holiness: God's Good News to the Gentiles. I will be very pleased if you decide to do it. And I pray that you will be richly blessed as you do!

Now I would like to share with you some things you should know about how I have written this book. First, let me mention that the Bible version from which I have quoted is the NRSV (the New Revised Standard Version). I have used this version because it is the most recent one in a long line of translations that began with the King James Version of 1611. Even though its English is that of the seventeenth century, what stands out about the KJV is that it was very faithful to the original Hebrew of the Old Testament and to the original Greek of the New. Another quality of the NRSV is that it uses inclusive language, something I think is essential in today's world. So if