Pages: 135-150
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds[.] Ephesians 4:22-23
Today, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, covering chapter eight - Reading to Be Transformed, Part 2. Here, Piper seeks to continue unpacking the fifth of six implications that flow from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible (as listed here); this implication is "that we should aim to be transformed by this seeing and savoring into the likeness of his beauty." Piper starts by clarifying one of his most favorite "slogans" - that "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him." The clarification focuses on the word when - implying that there are "other facts" or conditions that must be present - he stresses "how indispensable it is that we pursue satisfaction in God." Piper then lands on our focus for this chapter (in two parts): "an explanation and justification of how the Scriptures function to bring us from seeing the glory of God to savoring the glory of God to being transformed-inside and outside-into the likeness of Christ." Piper points to Matthew 12:33-35 and 23:25-26 to show how "outwards sanctity is only as good as the fruit of inward savoring" and how "the Bible aims to create authentic people who are so satisfied in God that their outward behavior shows that God is their greatest treasure." We are to "do good deeds so that others would glorify God when they see them."
Piper uses both Matthew 5:11-16 and 1 Peter 3:13-17 to answer this question. In the passage from Matthew, "[o]n the basis of this indestructible joy in God, Jesus commands them to do what is utterly against all ordinary human experience....your joy comes not from the things [other people's] joy comes from, but from God." In the passage from 1 Peter, we are encouraged to "be prepared" to share where our "hope" comes from, implying that "we are not hoping in the same things they are....So the secret to the kind of good deeds that get glory for God is a deep underlying satisfaction in God's promise of blessing that frees us to take risks in the cause of love that the world finds inexplicable. In other words savoring God over all leads to radical transformation." 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6 is also used by Piper to make this point.
Finally, Piper wants to understand that the renewing of our mind as discussed in Romans 12:2 needs to be connected to Ephesians 4:22-23 so that we understand that this renewal of the mind is not just intellectual but a "renewal of the spirit of the mind."
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My Prayer: Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is transforming me from the inside out - in my heart and life. Thank You Jesus for the blessings You pour out for me. I am not deserving of such love. I worry and I have other sins. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
