By: Giuseppe Chiaramonte
Background: I wrote this piece over several months in 2017 while exploring the struggles I was having with Christianity. The sin complex was not making sense anymore in the context provided by the various denominations and no matter what the church claimed; they still made me feel guilty at multiple psychological levels. The pressures of law enforcement were mounting, past childhood trauma was rearing its ugly head, I couldn’t talk to anyone about how to deal with the stress of being a father and husband, and the answers in the Bible seemed unrelatable. I was in a nasty internal debate about whether I was going to follow my gut feeling and go it alone or continue to be led astray by pastors. The Biblical verse I refer too (2 Timothy 1:7) throughout this discussion was used flippantly during my collegiate and professional baseball career to bolster personal confidence, pray harder that I would go 4 for 4 at the plate or throw out every runner that tried to steal a base, and provide a superstitious foundation that God imbued some type of power when struggles abounded on the field or off. Looking back, this is my first baby step in thinking for myself separate from a persons interpretation and taking a hard look at the entirety of a faith based on letters bound in one book. It is my belief, freedom from suffering must confront issues that have plagued the traditional church and unconditional inclusive love is the final authentic human pursuit.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, love and of self-discipline.
The discipline of the mind is as closely connected if not intimately connected to the discipline of the flesh. Both are unable to fully create the nexus to the soul which is the only eternal facet of the human body. We cannot hope to understand the true meaning of the power of self-discipline because it is wholly unachievable by human contrivance. We are unable to completely self-discipline our body to achieve perfection or lasting holiness based on the fact we are marked by sin. This sin which is singularly a human problem that plagues us, must be dealt with through truth. Truth is not reality, perception, opinion or theory but in its most base form a snapshot of God’s word which is not even fully realized within the Bible. Though we have a snapshot of God’s meaning we cannot fully ever grasp through basic parables (stories) that which God has meant for our existence because we will always be tainted by the disease of sin.
The question remains is sin more deadly than any flesh born disease such as cancer or AIDS? Without sin we cannot formally make a choice because in the absence of sin we are left void of choice because there is no finality of death. With sin in our lives we are forced to face death and/or life in every choice that we make. Ultimately we face the physical death which within the confines of our mortal choices leads to eternal life.
There can be no more grander irony as eternal life or eternal death because the basic law of choice is the paradox by which each individual must inevevitably face throughout life. One choice is within human terms intrinsic to the causal chain of events which dominate our thinking. We are searching for the perfect choice whereas all choices must in some way lead to the three basic tenets which are perfectly summarized with one verse. Power, Love and Self-Discipline.
Power is what we seek at the foundation of our being because within power comes control over that which is uncontrollable. God is uncontrollable and that uncontrollable power creates problems within the idea of choice because human idealogy is constantly searching for control over the physical and mental environment of which we interact. But it must be more than that because the Israelites yearned for power as they begged God for a King so that they could have power over their enemies. Power is directly linked to security which can lead down the wide path of control which embodies all that is within the spheres of our control. For all the chaos the control lies within the Spirit that was given by the death of Jesus Christ. The problem is that sole sacrifice of Jesus is what we dwell on and not the amazing sanctifying miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ who is now sitting at the right hand of God. That is power and the Spirit that was given after the resurrection is directly connected to God and Jesus. Yes, in the same breath and in the same words does Jesus relate the Spirit to being essential to having a relationship with Jesus. The Spirit is really the unspoken force in the central relationship with God. Throughout the Old Testament the Spirit of God rests on the those men who were chosen to speak for God to the people of Judah and Israel. It is the same Spirit but different in that the Holy Spirit was not given to these prophets of old as indwelling within them on a constant basis but instead as a guide. The Holy Spirit resides in us at all times and yet it with great sorrow that we miss this gift.
We rely on ourselves to understand the uncontrollable nature of God who raises the dead and gives sight to the sightless. Who sets the time and place of all things and is in tune with our specific needs. Has the church missed this one singular point because it seems that the early church was well aware of this gift as they were propelled by forces beyond their control to do extraordinary acts for other people that we today cannot comprehend or ever accomplish. The power of the Holy Spirit is uncontrollable because the Holy God therefore personality of Jesus resides in us in all forms. Power has many faces as is testified throughout the scripture.
The rabbit hole continues to grow deeper as God opens the door to understanding. Martin Luther stated in Concerning Christian Liberty that the Bible is split into two separate lines of thinking: precepts and promises. The precepts contained within the Old Testament make us aware of sin and that works are useless because the sins of the flesh are who we are. To be aware of sin makes sin all the more intolerable due to the fact there is no cure except the promise of Jesus Christ who fulfilled all our hopes. This hope is pinned on not so much on the death of Jesus but on the living Jesus. It always comes back to this one central theme because without Jesus there is no Holy Spirit. There is no gift and death has won. Any power, love or self-discipline is negated by the power and finality of death.
Love is the uncontrollable power that we constantly seek through the interpersonal relationships of our everyday lives. As we walk through the day it is the utmost desire of every human to feel love both at a physical and mental level and/or capacity. To be without love is to be without power. God embodies love but the search for love leads down many paths of empty fulfillment. Sexual love, Passive love, Spiritual love, Intimate love, Friendship love, Work love, Pleasure love and love of possessions provide momentary choice to replace the Ultimate love of Jesus Christ which is provided freely through the Universal Spirit. Frankly speaking it goes back to the base concept of sin and the effect it has on choice within the capacity of the human spirit to conceive of a free gift. Nothing is free in this world as we are taught at an early age. We are connected to the idea that to please ourselves is to feel good which provides the pleasure feeling of love.
Self-Discipline is the uncontrollable nature of Jesus Christ. The cornerstone which the house is built on relies on the self-discipline of God. The impartation of self-discipline denies the flesh and accepts the weakness which is who we are as humans. The spiritual soul thirsts for the self-discipline of the flesh so that the bridge between Jesus and our imparted Spirit can dwell in peace. The idea is one that appears seamless but it is outright war that God has brought and self-discipline is the tool by which Jesus calls us to wield. Self-discipline teaches us through the Power of Love and connects the three aspects so that the flesh is bridled. There is no way to ever forget who we are because we are flesh which is sin. There is no choice we can make even in accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour which will change that simple fact. The choice given allows us to to receive grace and accept the impartation of the Holy Spirit which therefore grants the ability to hone these three spiritual gifts. It is worth noting that Power, Love and Self-Discipline cannot of themselves be aspects of the flesh because the flesh seeks to distort all three through the perverse idea of self-gratification and choice. Our freedom lies in the one chosen by God we can maneuver and seek Him who is uncontrollable whereby all spiritual things are accessible through him.
We see time and again the spiritual wants and desires always are at war with the physical desires as is seen within our present church leaders. There is no denying that the uncontrollable presence of God is attempting to be controlled through the guise of membership, tithe, worship structure, titles, desires and possessions. Since the coming of our Lord 2000 years ago we see a microcosm of the truth being portrayed within the early church as people rely on the uncontrollable nature who the One we serve. Within Acts, the beauty of the Church is realized through the Spirit as Self-discipline, Love and Power are lavished on those choosing to live in the Spirit. Jesus did not appear to those early followers but the eternal hope is somehow believed upon in the fully consecrated Church. We have settled for the past 1700 years for choices that have led to complex ideas that fly in the face of what the Bible plainly states in basic stories and the search for Truth. To look deeper is to find that Jesus’ words who is God, clearly gives instructions on how we are to live our lives. The Self-Discipline is there set in words of Truth and given for instructions on we should live our lives. Yet it gets better because the provision of Power which was the sacrifice of Jesus on the Christ was given as a free gift so that we did not have to do this alone but with the true essence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit.
There is no question or wandering or passive meaning or misinterpretation. The truth is there and with a humble and contrite heart we must kneel before the awesome Power that is the essential energy brought into this world through one man because we are commanded to Self-Discipline our flesh. The struggle we face is choice and it is the tangled web we weave within our flesh that the confusion of all that we face becomes the idea of the fly sticking on the web of choice. Choice can and will consume our flesh because God took the most base choice that we can make, HIM, and placed it on himself. God tells us that He chose us so that any choice that can be made has been made so that even the eternal choice which we place so much importance has been replaced for us. The power which we have placed in the flesh was already lifted thousands of years ago when God chose the Israelites and then sacrificed His own Son so that he could choose us. What then is left to us is the freedom within the Spirit to live life with what God has provided. We have been given the tools and the manuscript which open the Truth to our soul.
Why do we walk through our daily lives numb to the power, love and self-discipline of who we are connected to a central universal. I believe that we have been lied to for the past 1700 years and given only part of the truth. We have been led down the wide path of destruction because truth cannot be taught from a pulpit. The truth of Jesus must be taught partly by the word of God in conjunction with daily meditation and self-discipline which can only be given by the this entity called a Holy Spirit. Why can’t we cry out to those that claim they are wise that we are priests made holy by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are the chosen elect, grafted into the heavenly body and given the power of the Holy Spirit. We have become timid because our voice has been taken away and replaced with a wooden pew or plastic chair. We are relegated to listening instead of seeking, nodding our head up and down instead of reading the word of God, reading a video screen of an obscure verse that a pastor has picked out of the Bible to give a talking to once a week or more sadly leaving church and uttering the words “He is a good speaker.” We have been led astray to believe that if we attend a church in some building that is on every street corner then through this basic action or work we have achieved the half hearted self-discipline which the apostles talk about in the Bible. If we were chosen by God then God intends for us to realize truth through his Word. In multiple ways by multiple means. This must be enough for the chosen time and if God chooses to make known a deeper truth then that is His prerogative but who are we to begin to question the uncontrollable. The God who encompasses all majesty and demands our servitude.
If you ponder too long and seek for long enough God makes you aware of a large picture as though space is infinite. He is faithful to open eyes and take away the scales from the eyes that are layered with misconception and false truths. Our well meaning pastors whose families are financially supported by the Church and rely on job security are in themselves human. If we were to be the Church then what would the Church be left with… I believe the empty buildings we observe 6 out of the 7 days a week. But I save this idea for another time and another discussion. Let us focus not on the Church because all human contrivances are fallible and interpretation of parables by humans will always lead to division. But let us focus more on the uncontrollable God who claims he comes in a pillar of fire and then sends his Son Jesus Christ to earth to die on a wooden cross for our sins. Then soon thereafter our Lord and Saviour defeats death and spends time with his many followers whereby providing us humans with the ultimate gift the Holy Spirit.