The Eschatological Mastery of the World &
Meditation
Applying the EMW concept to
meditation.
Philippians
4:8 And The Command To Meditate;
We
should first survey the description of those “things” of the verse
and grasp the idea behind what they mean.
I believe it will be helpful to quote some verses outside the
context of this chapter and relate them to the “things” of the
verse. What are these
“things” which the apostle is describing?
He does not seem to be very specific, but rather, he seems to be
using adjectives coupled with a bit of Christian prudence. He is using generalities instead of giving a specific list.
I know we like lists. But
the list would be too long if he were specific.
Instead he gives guidelines to meditation.
The
first description of those things which we must think upon are those
which are “true.” This
word “true” is also used in John 19:35, “And
he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows
that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.” It refers to something which is not a lie nor deceptive.
John 6:32 also utilizes this word, “Then
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not
give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread
from heaven.” Jesus is
the true bread, the real bread from heaven, not the counterfeit bread. He is the bread that is the opposite of the lie, or the
deception. He is the true
manna from heaven that satisfies the soul.
Paul, in our verse, says we must meditate on that which is true,
in opposition to that which is the lie.
The second adjective he uses here is the word “honorable”
which means he desires us to meditate on “things to be revered.”
Acts 6:3 says, “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of
good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint
over this business.” The
translation “of good reputation” is this word “honorable.”
I do not believe the translators capture the meaning when they
use the term “good reputation.”
It may be more explicably seen in Luke 8:15, “But the ones that fell on the good
ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart,
keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
Here it is the word “noble” which I think is more
exegetically responsible.
The third adjective is “just” which is the common New
Testament word for “righteous.”
It’s meaning holds the idea of that which does not turn to the
right or to the left, but walks specifically on the line of that which
is morally good. Romans
7:12 uses this word in terms of the
commandments and the law of God, “Therefore the law is holy, and the
commandment holy and just and good.”
It is also the same word used in Galatians 3:11, “But that no one is justified by
the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by
faith.” In both instances
of “justified” and “just” it is the same use.
The fourth adjective is “pure”
and is an interesting word in and of itself.
It has a connotation of “exciting reverence” or keepings
one’s self free from sin. 1
Tim. 5:22 uses the word in relation to personal holiness, “Do
not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep
yourself pure.” 1 Peter 1:22 uses the word in relation to exiting holiness,
and its connotation is a verb use of the word, “Since you have purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the
brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”
Here it is an action word, a verb – something we must do.
But it can also be used as a noun, to describe the executed moral
godliness.
The fifth adjective is “lovely.”
This word means “acceptable or pleasing.”
The LXX, or Septuagint, (The Greek translation of the Old
Testament) uses the word as that which is exceedingly pleasing or
beautiful to behold as in The Song of Songs 5:16, “His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my
beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!”
The sixth adjective is “good report” which means
“sounding well.” But it
should not only sound well, but truly be a good report that is well.
3 John 1:12 uses this word speaking about Demetrius, “Demetrius has a good testimony
from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you
know that our testimony is true.”
The idea behind “good report” is the verses’ use of “good
testimony.” What is said
is worthy to be noticed and heeded.
The seventh adjective is the
word “virtue” which is a reference to “moral excellence.”
Moral excellence is that which derives from heeding and following
the commandments of God. It
is interesting to note that its use in Luke 8:46
is related to the actual power of Christ.
“But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived
power going out from Me." The word “power” here is moral
virtue. The moral virtue of
Christ, almost holding a hint of some kind of imputation, is released
and the cause of the healing for the woman who had the issue of blood.
The last adjective used is “praiseworthy,”
that which is to be adored or commended.
This is seen clearly in Ephesians 1:6, “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made
us accepted in the Beloved.” The
“praise” is the action of adoration and commendation of the grace we
have in Christ and the acceptance of our transformed state in the
Beloved.
All of these adjectives have
the duty of meditation in common. The
listing each of these adjectives describe the “things” we are to
meditate upon. This is
Paul’s exhortation, command, to meditate on them.
The Greek word here for “meditate” is logizomai (log-id'-zom-ahee)
which means, “to reckon, calculate, count over, count up or weigh the
reasons, to deliberate, to
consider, take into account, weigh, meditate.”
As you can see, it hold the idea of calculating something, which,
in those days is an accounting term.
The accountant, or tax collector, would meticulously browse
through his accounts in order to be sure what is owed is surely owed,
and that there is no mistake about it.
It is a word which connotes a long thought process and careful
deliberation.
What
then, does it mean to meditate? I
would first exhort you to the fact
that meditation will not be sweet to you until it is first
exercised with profit. You cannot know how sweet it is without doing it.
And, it is not merely a head knowledge of something done.
It is an experience with the Savior.
With that being said, a definition of “mediation” would be
important. How would you define meditation?
Think about that for a moment.
We could take it generally and say that it is “taken for any
serious or earnest thinking of any matter whatsoever, or for any ends
whatsoever, whether good or evil.”
Such a definition is generic.
Meditation in this manner could be for a good purpose, a bad
purpose, or even something which makes no difference whatsoever in the
long run (like whether to chew 6 times instead of 7 on the mashed
potatoes.). It can be used
of holy ends or wicked ends in this manner. However, if we apply it to the Christian, and this is the
aim, the definition would go something like this: “that ordinance or
duty of a Christian, whereby he motions his spirit into a right
contemplative state of either heavenly and spiritual things, or any
other things, in a holy manner, with a view to improving these spiritual
and holy ends.” Do you
see the difference? Let me
explain this definition.
It
is our duty and requisite to meditate.
What is a duty? A
duty is something obliged to be done.
We, as Christians, are obliged to meditate because God commands
it in Philippians 4:8. This
is a duty given by Paul. The
word “meditate” or “think” is an imperfect verb.
It is a duty which is done but never finished.
Meditation is something the Christian must always engage in
heartily. This is stressed
in that the duty is set forth as a command of God.
It is even attested to and ratified in various other parts of
Scripture by the Spirit of Truth.
Psalm 1:2 states, “But his delight is in
the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”
This is a well known psalm.
As a matter of fact it is a psalm which sets the stage for the
rest of the Psalter. Yet,
we can traverse to the New Testament to find the same idea in 1
Tim. 4:15, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your
progress may be evident to all.”
This is the pastoral advice for Timothy, the young Pastor in
Ephesus. We, as Christians,
in any station of life, pastor or not, are commanded to meditate.
Especially those who are in love with the law of God, in love
with Christ, love to meditate day and night on his law.
Do we have a problem thinking about our own things?
I think not. But it
is a difficult venture to have the Christian meditate on lovely things,
is it not? Do you think it
is a wise thing to follow the commands of Scripture in Phil. 4:8?
Proverbs 8:36 is quite explicit against those who do not think
that wisdom is something to be followed.
“But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who
hate me love death.” This
is speaking of wisdom. It
is a wise thing to follow the commands of God – to neglect this is to
wrong your own soul. This
means we are obliged to engage in godly meditation.
What
are the ends of meditation? First,
it is the glorification of God and the furtherance of joy in Him and His
salvation. This is no doubt the first reason why anyone should desire to
meditate. Secondly, it is
for the edification of ourselves. God
never gives us “busy work.” There
is always a purpose for everything under the sun.
Thirdly, it is for the further edification of the church in
various ways. Think
about this. If we are not
thinking Christians how may we be negligent among the brethren?
What will we neglect to do simply from a lack of thought? What duties will we forget, or what spiritual gifts will we
not exercise? Our personal
devotional time is critical in our walk as a Christian in the church of
Christ. There should be a
close watch on these ends so that we may never mistake using the duty of
meditation for the glory of God, for our own profit, and for the our own
usefulness in the church.
After
stating the obvious, it can be a help to further state the more
obvious question at hand: What do we meditate on?
What is the object of meditation?
Does Paul give us one ultimate end to meditate upon?
No he does not. Paul
does not give us one thing “good” and leave it at that.
Rather, he gives us a general rule to apply in the duty of
meditation. We are to
meditate on two things: first, things purely spiritual in their own
nature. What might these
be? Well they could be any
aspect of God, the angels, heaven, salvation, and the like.
Anything purely spiritual in and of themselves can be used for
our profit. Secondly, we
can meditate on things thought of in a spiritual way.
What might these be? They
could be eating or drinking, work, family life, and the like.
Eating a hamburger can be a spiritual exercise if meditation is
employed in a godly sense. These two areas are general, but helpful in understanding how
we may go about meditation that is profitable in the three areas already
mentioned.
How
shall we meditate? The
manner or strategy of a believer’s godly meditation is very important.
It is not like going to school to learn facts and then
regurgitate them. It is not
just a memorization or regurgitation of theological thoughts; we must be
more than a student in this act of meditation.
It should be described as “Serious Thought.”
The highest seriousness makes the best scholar.
This is a searching and scanning - a deep diving – into the
things of God. A puritan,
Nathaniel Ranew, said, “You want to think in such a way as to stay in
heaven once you have gotten there.”
He calls meditation a “peculiar visit to God.”
Meditation should be a peculiar visit to the throne room of
heaven. Would it be special
to visit God’s throne-room? I
think so! And this is not
something done once and forgotten – it is something done daily.
The time of meditation is “each day,” as Psalm 1:2 shows us
that the one who meditates on God’s law mediates “day and night.”
It is a regular occurrence, not a passing fancy.
After
engaging in such an endeavor, there is the personal end of helpful
meditation to consider. What
does mediation do for us? In
relation to our will it fixes it to resolve to do that which God
desires. It sets us to do
the things we are thinking about. It
places the mind and will under the influence of the Spirit, and it helps
us to avoid sin. Think of
Psalm 101:3, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the
work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.”
This sentence is a result of thoughtfulness, not a spur of the
moment religious ecstasy. Such
meditation can affect the way we abstain from transgression of the law
of God. It can help us to
take heed to our speech as in Psalm 39:1, “I said, "I will guard
my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a
muzzle, While the wicked are before me." Did you hear him say “I
said…” This is a hearty
resolve spawned from godly thoughtfulness for the keeping of the Law in
righteousness. It even
helps us to pray well. Do
you recall Philippians 1:7, “just as it is right for me to think this
of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my
chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are
partakers with me of grace.” Paul does not nonchalantly pray.
He sets his mind in order, mediating on what he should pray for.
In all these ways, and more, meditation can be an exceedingly
great influence on our soul for good.
I
must give a warning to improper thinking.
Though the Christian is to meditate, what about those who neglect
it, or those who meditate on that which is damning?
Paul tells us that those who meditate, or have their thoughts
overrun, by the world will be damned.
They are those who mind earthly things, as he says in Phil.
3:18-19, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell
you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is
in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things.”
Those who mind the world, and worldly things, have their end
marked out as “destruction.” They
are those who walk in that course, the course of the world.
The phrase “whose god is their belly”
is an interesting phrase. The
meaning here is the “the seat of thought,” or “their own self.”
It is a metaphor. They mind things of the earth for their own pleasure, for
their own desires and ends. This
is damning. Their end is
the second death, where they will have all eternity to meditate on the
things which drove them to hell.
Christians
should know better. What
should they know? They
should know how to meditate, and they should be masters at it –
Eschatological Masters. We should not fail so frequently in this, or do it
haphazardly. If you ate as
much as you meditate, how fat would you be?
See how things can quickly come into perspective?
We should have a sense of always desiring to meditate.
We should not only be about it in an ejaculatory manner, which
can be fine, but we must strive to take it up in a deep and meaningful
manner. Nathaniel Ranew
asserted, “Serious thinking is fundamental to all right doing.”
He is very right. He is not just “right” but very right!
Meditation is hard and difficult, in that it is an acting of the
quickest faculty and the most slippery part of the soul: nothing is
nimbler than the thinking power, no act in the world quicker and of more
expedite motion that that of a thought.
It is easy to let the mind go.
But, you cannot be a good Christian no matter what others may
think of you if you neglect his and reject it.
You cannot be a subject of Christ if you do not submit to the Law
of Christ. You may have to
ask yourself what sin is stopping you from engaging in such a blessed
help?
Maybe
it is that you need some keys and strategies to godly meditation.
Here are a few ideas to “think about.”
Make a habit of meditating.
“They” say that if you accomplish an act 3 times in the same
manner or time that this can easily become a habit.
Make mediation a habit. But
when you do it, do it at the most fit time of your mind’s acuteness.
Use your mind – do not give God your “dopey time.”
Think of what you want to do on a Friday night for a “night
out” and then use that time to meditate instead.
See how easy it can be? Be
sure to do it in a place of less distractions.
Even a dark place to keep the eyes from wandering may be a help.
I like the desk area, especially those desks which are like cubby
holes with a front and two sides. And
be sure to always strive to improve your time.
Try to come away with more than you began, or at least stir
yourself to be excited about what it is you have been meditating on.
Jesus
said in John 16:12, “I still have many things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now.” We
want to set our goals higher than this.
We want to be able to handle what Jesus Christ has to say to us.
The disciples were young in the faith – they could not handle
it. Could the same be said
of John when he was 90? Certainly
not. Jesus Christ gave him the
Revelation at that time. Imagine
what wonders lay hidden in His word because we are too lazy to think
about it or meditate on it! Maybe
there is much that he cannot tell us as a result of how we are lazy in
thinking through the Bible. Rather,
let us engage in meditation and overcome the hurdles of ignorance to the
Word. Meditate on it day
and night. Be a thinking,
and meditating, Christian. This
way you will continue to fulfill your calling as an Eschatological
Master of the World as you were called.
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