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Faculty Writings

The Reformed Pastor and Recent Scholarship in the New Testament by Dr. Kyu Sam Han

Many Cultures; One Voice by Dr. Carl Kromminga

A Passion For Christ, A Heart For Ministry by Dr. Mel Loucks

The Weeping Tradition of the Prophet by Dr. Joseph Tong

The Reformed Pastor and Recent Scholarship in the New Testament

By Kyu Sam Han

One of the distinctive scholarly achievements in the New Testament field during the last few decades is the completion of the reconstruction of the lost document Q (the name Q stands for a German word "Quelle" which means a source). This achievement is the fruit of the efforts of the scholarly association for over fifteen years, in which more than forty highly recognized scholars have involved. I am currently writing a doctoral dissertation in relation to Q. Among the Q scholars, there is no doubt that I am the one who holds the most conservative theological position. Some of my colleagues wonder why I am committed to the "theological liberal" and the "hypothetical in nature" studies. There are three reasons for this.

First, I am convinced that the two document hypothesis (2DH) is the best explanation for the interrelationship among the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). A casual reading of the Synoptic Gospels reveals that the interrelationship is so great. An important fact is that 90% of the contents of Mark’s Gospel are found in Matthew. Seeing this overlap, most the NT scholars admit that the Book of Matthew was written later than the Gospel of Mark and that Matthew knew the Gospel of Mark when he wrote his Gospel. The most plausible reason for this conclusion is the fact that there is no Sermon on the Mount in Mark, yet there is no convincing reason why Mark omitted it if Mark was written later than Matthew. Another fact is that there are some 240 verses common to Matthew and Luke, but none in Mark. It shows that there must have been another source for Matthew and Luke, apart from Mark, because Matthew and Luke did not probably know each other. Thus many scholars believe that there are two primary sources for Matthew and Luke, that is, Mark and Q. Nevertheless, most evangelical-reformed NT scholarship has dumped the significance of the Q studies due to the hypothetical nature of the document. It is true that it remains as a hypothesis until the lost manuscript is found.

As long as we admit the 2DH as the best explanation for the synoptic interrelationship, it is the responsibility of the Reformed NT scholarship to explore any possible areas which can potentially illuminate the truth of our Lord. Therefore, the Reformed scholars should carefully investigate not only into the ancient historical data, but also the modern linguistic theories in order to enhance our understanding of the Scripture.

Second, the recent Q scholarship reached the conclusion that the Q document was a product of one of the earliest Christian communities that lived in Palestine. Interestingly, none of the four canonical Gospels was written in Palestine where our Lord Jesus ministered. Thus, as far as the Sitz im Leben is concerned, the Q document may have closer information to the historical Jesus. One of the frequent mistakes made by Reformed-evangelical hermeneutic is to force the Word of God to apply to our own situations without giving right attention to its original situation. Though it is extremely difficult to form a complete picture of the first century Galilee and Jerusalem, we should do our best to find out the historical situation of Jesus’ time.

Third, the study of Q teaches me why God did not allow the first Gospel to come out right after Jesus’ death, but rather, some 30 years later. I believe that Q was written even earlier than Mark. But it does not necessarily mean that Q includes more reliable information of Jesus. The Q document is not an inspired one ( it seems to be God’s plan to get rid of such an important, but not inspired document from human hands). For me, some 30 years is a necessary period of time of the human being to gradually understand the meaning of the life and work of Jesus, though Jesus had perfectly fulfilled and revealed God’s redemptive plan. Q might have existed as an incomplete Gospel that only played a part as a source for the inspired Gospels during the process of human understanding of the divine revelation.

Many Cultures; One Voice
A sermon delivered at the Cultural Night on April 12,1997

Dr. Carl Kromminga

Imagine how it was when Paul was growing up. A Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin; in regard to the law a Pharisee; a faultless legalist (Philippians 3:4-6). As for the rest of the world, you grow up knowing that they are without God and that their false religion makes them slaves of idols. Gentiles! You say the word with scorn and maybe with just a hint of pity - they are hopelessly lost, far off from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and strangers to the covenants of promise.

But Jesus appeared to that boy when he grew up to a persecutor of the Christian sect. Paul met him in blinding light on the road to Damascus and, as Paul said to King Agrippa, Jesus told him to go and preach to the Gentiles, to turn them from darkness to light - not to legalism, Pharisaism, and Judaism - but to Jesus in whom they are sanctified and made a holy people.

Still, for Jewish Christians in the churches Paul planted it was not easy - not easy to see pork-eating, non-kosher, former pagans come to share in worship with devout Jewish Christians. Gentiles! What do they really know about being dedicated and devout, about being truly religious?

Of course, we Christians from many different cultures don’t have that same feeling of antagonism to each other. Still, we can find each other’s ways of praising God and worshipping quite strange. And sometimes we wonder if the others do these things in really the right way. Christians we all are - but our ways can be so different and we can even wonder how those other people who worship in such a different way can really please the Lord with such worship.

But here we have the answer : God has united us all - we who are so very different in so many ways - in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are one in Him. Many cultures, one Lord. And tonight, many cultures, one voice, because we have one theme : glory to God in Jesus! V.5 "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

A Passion For Christ, A Heart For Ministry

By Dr. Mel Loucks

A question Christian educators often ask themselves is how they can best motivate their students to pursue mission and ministry for the Lord without shaming them into it through guilt. While looking for answers to this question, I received great help from a little book entitled, Beyond Duty, by Tim Dearborn. Dearborn reminded me of a very important principle which helps me keep the issue of ministry in its proper perspective. It is the principle of Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Mission lies at the center of God’s calling to His people, for it is at the center of His heart for the world. Tim Dearborn reminds us, "Christian mission is not our arrogant pursuit of other people to make them like us. Rather, it is our participation in God’s pursuit of all people to make them like him, and their lives like his." I believe God’s people often collapse in exhaustion after throwing themselves into ministry because they mistakenly think God has given them a mission to perform in the world, and if they do not do it, judgment will come down upon them.

Yes, God has a work for all of us to do, but our involvement in mission is not only our personal duty. Rather it is our privileged participation in the actions of the triune God. We must begin by remembering it is His mission to the world, not ours. For us this means that our first responsibility is not the task, but it is a relationship. We err if we call

people to a commitment to a task. Rather, we must call people to a commitment to a Person. Why should we care where one ministers in the world as long as he or she has a passion for Christ? Once one’s commitment to the Person of Christ is solid, the task will take care of itself.

Matthew 6:33 reminds us that we are to seek God’s kingdom first. When we love Jesus first, our selfishness in ministry disappears. Personal agendas are eliminated. Competitions with other ministries ceases. Things become less important and people become more important.

Furthermore, when we put things first and pursue Christ and His righteousness, a wonderful chain reaction of progress results. The more we desire to know Christ, the less time we will spend looking for a cause and more time we will give to cultivating our love for Him. The more we love Christ, the more we will love the people He created. The more we love God’s creation, the more we will want to participate in His mission to draw all creatures to Himself. And the more we participate in God’s mission instead of our own mission, the more joy and fulfillment we experience.

At ITS our goal is to cultivate in our students a heart for ministry that grows out of a passion for Jesus Christ, for those who minister most effectively are not necessarily the most gifted and talented, but those who most strongly desire to know God intimately.

The Weeping Tradition of the Prophet

Dr. Joseph Tong

Tears, though is not an exclusive characteristics of human beings, bears a distinctive meaning for all of us. Though laughter is a distinctive human nature, comedies do not have a lasting impact like tragedies. The fact is tears, pain, and suffering is common to all. That is why prose and poetry that depict suffering and pain have stronger effects on the human mind.

A culture, especially that which expresses religion, emotion and true human experience, always contains a certain weeping tradition. Undoubtedly, its purpose is to call human beings to participate in the community feeling and to engulf themselves in human pain, in order to taste the real meaning of existence. In so doing, man may come closer to the truth. That is why the Preacher exhorts: "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter." (Eccl. 7:2-3)

Being a servant of God and the prophet of the Lord, one supposedly has the most glorious and honorable position. Nevertheless, throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, the prophets, the apostles, and even Jesus Christ the Son of God always spoke with a heavy tone, a weeping voice, and a heavy heart whenever they were touched by the Word of God or spoke of the Lord.

In fact, the first record of God’s calling upon the human being was preceded with the description: "in the cool of the day", whereas the phrase "where are you?" seems to imply a sad and sorrowful search for a lost son (Gen. 3:8-9). Since then, when God reveals Himself in an anthropomorphic and anthropopathic manner, He uses the expression that "His heart was filled with pain" (Gen. 6:6). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit was depicted as having "groans" and capable of grieving (Rom. 8:26, Eph. 4:30).

Jeremiah was called the Weeping Prophet. Isaiah cried in tears presenting God’s call for His people to return. Ezekiel prophesized using lamentation. When Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he "wept over it"; Paul friendly requested the church to " remember that for three years he never stopped warning the church night and days with tears." He serves the Lord "with great humility and tears" and "with anguish of heart." (Acts 20:31, II Corinthians 2:4 cf. Phil. 3:18). In fact, weeping has always been a tradition of the prophets in their deliverance of the divine message. One who has been touched by God cannot serve God without passion and tears.

We need to be in touch with God’s compassion to hear the sighs of the sinners and cries of God’s people. It is only then that we may maintain the tradition of the prophet to serve God with a broken heart to bring His message to His people. Pray as Jeremiah did: "Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people," " I will weep in secret… my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears." (Jere. 9:1, 13:17) Then we may understand Paul’s feeling when he says, " I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart….for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel." (Rom. 9:2-4)

Honesty, courage and fearlessness in delivering the message of God are apparently the characteristics of a true prophet, but down deep inside the hearts is the feeling of pain and sorrow in congruence with divine passion for the lost souls. Only with such an attitude, our ministry shall have lasting fruits, because it is in weeping that we obtain the blessing of being comforted (Matt. 5:4); in sowing with tears, we will reap with songs of joy. Weeping is a process in the prophetic tradition. Returning with songs of joy is the ending scene of that "tragedy". This is the weeping tradition of the prophet.

As for ITS, the purpose of theological education is not only to acquaint the students with the Word of God, and be articulate in expounding the knowledge of the truth. It is also to bring the students to taste real life and the painful experience of human existence in order that we may be in touch with divine grace and compassion. In so doing we may deliver our message with the mourning of Jeremiah, the sadness of Jesus, and the tears of Paul, following the weeping tradition of the prophets so that the true comfort of God may come to His people.

Being a Servant

Dr. Joseph Tong

Lately, I have been doing some research readings on Classical Roman and Greco-Roman law. I came across the concept of servant which brought me to a close encounter with the biblical concept of servant, especially as was depicted by Jesus and the apostle Paul. It also caused me to reflect deeply on the principles and attitude in pastoral ministries and other services in the church.

The term "servant" in Greek actually stands for slave, the position or attitude of being a slave. For a Greek as well as for a Roman, the basic substance of being a person is being a freeman with self determination. For them, there are only two kinds of men in this world : a freeman or a slave. Sharing divine attributes, a freeman may assert his right to create things. He is a complete person for which he was endowed with inalienable and inviolable rights to participate in politics and social and legal decision making, to govern with other freemen. On the contrary, a slave legally belongs to a master. A slave owes his existence to the master. He is a person only when he is subordinate to the master. He is sub-human and would not be complete without his master. A slave, a captive, one who has sold himself, and even a woman and a child are all servants without a complete personality, though they differ in their positions and degrees of subordination. Legally, their status is subservient to their masters or guardians. In other words, their status can only be affirmed through their masters or guardians. Under such a social structure, it becomes clear that a slave has the following characteristics:

A servant has no right of self-determination.
Not only a slave cannot make his own decision, he cannot have his own will either. In his life, and in his work, he cannot have his own plan nor his own agenda. The master’s plan is his plan, the master’s agenda, his agenda. In fact, the master does not have to reveal his plan or agenda to his servant at all. A master may interrupt a servant’s work at will, he may transfer, remove, or replace his servant as he sees fit without giving any reason at all. This is exactly what Philip has experienced. Philip has no grudges against the Lord’s arrangement – twice the Lord "interfered" in his ministry! (Acts 8:26-40)

A servant has no right of possession.
All a slave’s possession, even his life, belong to his master. Anything under his disposal is actually a trust from the master. If a slave claims possession, he will be deemed as stealing from the master, for which he is subject to the penalty of being sold or even death. His existence is for a single purpose of benefiting the master. Actually, he should be an Onesimus (profit) to his master. (Philemon v. 8-11)

A servant has no right of reward.
A servant’s hardship and labor is naturally expected. Therefore, once returning from the field, from plowing, and from looking after the sheep, he shall not rest, nor sit down to eat. Instead, he should immediately get himself ready to prepare the food, and to wait on his master. Not even expecting to be thanked, he should stand next to his master and proclaim, "I am an unworthy servant, I have only done my duty!" (Luke 17:7-10) A servant lives for the service of his master. When there is no work, there is no need of his existence! He should not expect reward for his work, in fact, to be allowed to live and work for the master itself is the best gift and reward from the master.

Reflecting on my ministry, at times, I feel I have stepped out of the bounds of being a servant. Sometimes I insisted on my agenda and I have resented interference, even from the Lord; I claimed ownership of God’s gift that I clung so dearly and failed to give up, even when it was God who asked for it; I expected a better reward when I saw myself so important as if I was indispensable in God’s work. In short, I do not act like a servant at all.

I believe it’s only when we understand the status of being a servant in this context, that we may appreciate the opportunity God has granted us to serve Him. We were all like perishing ones, sold to sin and captured by the Evil One. It is for his unspeakable grace that we were purchased with a great price and cleansed unto Him (Ephesus 5:25-28). Belonging to Him, we are sent to His field, to harvest as well as to tend his sheep. Therefore, his plan should be our plan, his agenda our agenda. Having no right to claim reward, we are promised unspeakable glory of God; having no right of possession, we are given an incorruptible inheritance ( IICor. 4:17; II Pet. 1:4; Eph. 1:13-14) for which we are much indebted to Him. We should all take his plan as our plan, his agenda as our agenda, tirelessly working with a pleasant attitude of being a good and gentle servant before Him.

Faculty Writings

Contents

The Weeping Tradition of the Prophet

Being a Servant