by Paul M. Sadler, President
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”– Matthew 6:7,8
Religious leaders love to have their people recite the Lord’s Prayer. It’s been the religious thing to do for centuries. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most beautiful, meaningful, and touching prayers in the Prophetic Scriptures, but those who recite it today are committing two major blunders. First, the Lord warned the disciples that they were not to pray this prayer, or any prayer for that matter, repetitiously (Matt. 6:5-7). Prayer is not a religious exercise, but rather communication with God; therefore, it should always be spoken from the heart. Second, the Disciples Prayer, which is the correct connotation for this prayer, was given as a model for those who would be called upon to endure the Tribulation. Since the Body of Christ is delivered from the wrath to come, this prayer does not apply to us in this dispensation (I Thes. 5:9).
The Disciples’ Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. The reference here to “our Father” is to the God and Father of Israel — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In prophecy, heaven was His throne and earth His footstool. His name was so holy that the Jews feared they might inadvertently speak it in vain, consequently they changed it from Yahweh to Adonai — Master, Ruler (Deut. 5:11; Isa. 66:1; Matt. 15:31; Luke 1:68).
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. The hope of every Israelite was the establishment of the Davidic Kingdom. God’s will for the earth is to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and establish the millennial kingdom of His dear Son (II Sam. 7:8-17; Luke 1:68-72; Rev. 11:15; 20:6).
Give us this day our daily bread. In the future Tribulation, God will set a table in the wilderness for His people, as He did in time past. The saints in that day will find it necessary to pray for their daily provision of food, since they will be unable to buy or sell without the Mark of the Beast. Subsequently, God will supernaturally nourish the chosen nation (Rev. 12:14 cf. Rev. 13:13-18).
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Today we are to forgive others, even as God for Christs sake has forgiven us, but under the kingdom gospel, forgiveness was based upon a like-spirit (Matt. 18:21-35 cf. Eph. 4:32).
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil [Gr. noun: evil one]. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. The sense here is, “Lord lead us not into the Great Tribulation, but deliver us from Satan, who brings death and destruction in his wake” (Rev. 6:7-11; 12:12; 13:1-10).
I agree that we are not to recite the Lord’s Prayer as vain repetition. All prayer is to come from a broken and contrite heart.
However, to move the purpose of this prayer to the tribulation or millennium along with the other teachings of our Lord, is to diminish its purpose. Only a Christian can call God, “Our Father”, so that is what I call Him. Since kingdom fundamentally means rule or reign, that happens when Christ rules in our hearts now, as well as physically when He returns. Jesus spoke of the kingdom after His resurrection preparing the disciples for Pentecost and their ministry thereafter to both Jews and Gentiles, and Paul spoke of the kingdom as well. To limit the kingdom to the millennium, is to limit the present reign of Christ in heaven over His people here on earth. I pray “deliver us from the evil one” often for myself and others. So, I am one who uses the disciple’s prayer as a disciple of Jesus now. Thanks for reading, Steve Bradley
Thanks for the comment, Steve.
Sometimes it’s easy for us to pick a subject, give our review on it based on what a we have been taught, without studying why. The following is some of the things I have been studying and wondered what you think. I do not want to climb out on a limb and discuss the limb, but I would like to discuss the root of beliefs.
Consider the four different beliefs today;
The Relation of the Gospels to the Church
To set forth the relation of the Gospels to the Church we must first define what is meant by the Church. The Greek word translated church occurs 116 times in the N.T., and some 70 times in the Greek translation of the O.T.
1. Some Theologians believe God has had but one church from the beginning of time, which is composed of all of the redeemed of all ages – past, present, and future. Under this view the Gospels would be completely related to the Church.
2. Other theologians do not recognize the existence of a church in the O.T., believing that John the Baptist and Jesus founded the Church, and therefore accordingly this view relates the Gospels completely to the Church.
3. Another group of theologians teach that there was no church until the Day of Pentecost after the close of the Gospel records. This view makes at least part of the Gospels apply to Israel’s Kingdom teaching, and other parts to anticipate the formation of the Church. The view adopted by the author recognizes the existence of an O.T. Israelites Church (Acts 7:38), the existence of a church of believers on the day of Pentecost, and the prediction of a Church in the Millennial Kingdom (Heb. 2:12 cf. Ps. 22:22). He further believes that God suspended His dealings with this Kingdom Church when the nation of Israel rejected the Kingdom Gospel which was preached in the early chapters of the Acts, and that God began a new Church with the out calling of the Apostle Paul, which is designated “the Church which is His (Christ’s) Body” (Eph. 1:22, 23). This Church and its administration is said to have been a secret never before made known to the sons of men in other ages and generations until it was revealed to Paul (Eph. 3:1-9; Col. 1:24-26). According to this view the primary interpretation of the Gospels relates entirely to the nation of Israel and its Messianic Kingdom expectations.
4. However, this does not mean that there is nothing in the Gospels for members of the Body of Christ, for there are many moral and spiritual truths which apply equally to Israel and the Body of Christ. Paul states that the Gentiles in this present Church age have been made partakers of Israel’s spiritual things (Rom. 15:27). Therefore as we study the Gospels we must carefully distinguish those truths which apply only to the people of Israel and the teaching which may apply equally to us today. It is necessary to recognize the fact that the Lord Jesus was born under and lived under the O.T. (Rom. 15:8; Gal. 4:4), and that the N.T., which was made with the house of Israel (Heb. 8:8), did not actually begin until the death of Christ at the very end of the Gospels (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:15-17). The historic truth contained in the Gospels is foundational to the whole scheme of redemption as found in the Pauline epistles. Apart from this truth there could be no basis for the existence of the Body of Christ and of the present dispensation of the grace of God. Regardless of the reader’s understanding of the meaning of the Church, it is the author’s hope that the following exposition of the Gospel records will prove to be of great spiritual and doctrinal help.
Each of the four different beliefs I have found have different names, but even the definitions are blurred. Who are the Thessalonians that have fostered there beliefs into the main stream? I have seen theologies like. They fit into the the four different beliefs.
A. Covenant Theology
B. Replacement Theology
C. Dispensation Theology
What is you core belief, or root belief and why?
I personally do not like man made titles for categories of systematic theology that come from man’s attempt to explain or understand the greatness of God in His work of invading and redeeming a lost world. All of those categories are limited and narrow God’s work. What I like to emphasize is that the rule and reign of God originally intended to be through his representatives, Adam and Eve, is being restored by the work of the second Adam (Rom. 5) Jesus Christ who is according to Hebrews. 1:1-4 the final Word and Representation of God. That redeeming work of Christ started in His incarnation, sinless life and work, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and continues in His present reign and final future return to bring complete justice to the earth. The four accounts of His earthly life were originally called the Gospel, in that Jesus was the good news that the sacrificial system and need for a high priest to yearly enter the holy of hollies were now satisfied completely in Christ. Jesus did that for both Jew and Gentile. He was the complete representation of the Father for both. So, when He spoke, unless the context limits his words to historical situations like the sending of the 12 or 72, he spoke truth to me as well. I have already commented on the need to see the kingdom as more than the future reign of Christ. I have found that all the work to somehow systematize the Bible into packages that man can debate and argue to be in the end non productive, since Godly scholars come out with different packages and then spent time trying to defend their package. To me, Jesus has left us with a great commission to go and make disciples, which includes, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” That is what I want to do, asking God to grant wisdom to correctly interpret the Scriptures. I want the scriptures to do what Jesus said they were to do in John 5:39: “These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”. So, my prayer is that people will see Jesus and come to Him as they read and study the word of God. Bottom line.
Steve Bradley