Are You Hyper?
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. 1 Corinthians 4:6 NASB
Not to exceed – Sometimes I think we would all be better off if we were required to live as the centurions for a few years. What did that man say to Yeshua? “I am a man under authority.” In other words, “I know what it means to follow orders.” That issue seems to be the essence of the Hebraic way of life. We are to be men and women who know what it means to follow orders, to live under a code. Of course, everything about orders and codes stands in opposition to the tail end of the Greco-Roman worldview; a worldview that ultimately pushes us toward complete individual “freedom” without any standard but our own. So we are caught between “every man did what was right in his own eyes” and “Hear and obey, O Israel.” It seems to me that the second of these is what God wants and expects, but the battle is a lifelong conflict.
Apparently Paul was of similar mind. He expresses his concern that his readers might “exceed” what is written. The Greek word is hyper. “To go beyond,” “over the top,” “excess,” might be good synonyms. But pay close attention to the object of this preposition. What is it that we must be careful not to exceed? What is written! Paul seems to be saying that going beyond the code leads to error just as much as failing to keep the code. In other words, we are pushed back to Adam in the Garden. Do exactly what God says. Not more. Not less. Adam added to the command he conveyed to Havvah and the result undermined the credibility of the word. Today most Christians are taught just the opposite—that we can live with quite a bit less than God said—but either way is lethal. The point is this (and it was the same in the Garden). Know precisely what God wants and do it. That is enough. That is all. As soon as we start constructing edifices of instructions in addition to God’s code, we are vulnerable to arrogance. “I know more than you.” “I have better rituals than you.” “My church has a higher liturgy than yours.” “My obedience is more complete than yours.” What is the result? Conflict. Antagonism. Ego inflation. What does Paul plead for us to do? Find unity. Reach harmony. Express the love of God among ourselves in such a way that the world takes notice. The congregation of the One New Man is orthodox, messianic, proselyte and Gentile follower all together caring for each other because of God’s care of us. It is absolutely not a place where pride, arrogance and status reside. We live under a code. One code. God’s code. What is written. Hyper—over the top religious behavior—is anything added to the written code, in theology or practice.
You may have arrived at this place because you realized that the Christian church ignored a lot about God’s written code. You may have determined not to leave out His instructions to His people. But you will fare no better if your arrival here propels you beyond the community of the written code. In the Kingdom, more does not mean better.
Topical Index: hyper, exceed, written code, arrogance, 1 Corinthians 4:6
This is one of these moments: my thoughts run one way, Gods correction immediately follows – through Today’s Word. WOW! I was just thinking what to say to a brother that holds some wrong beliefs (in my opinion). And than I opened this….
Thank You, God, for this correction.
Rev. 22 18,19 “For I testify unto every man who heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words from the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:21+
TYPE CASTING . . .
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself
also to walk just as He walked.” 1 Jn 2:6
Skip, this was so good! I know He says be holy , as I am, (not common,) and Walk as I walk! Don’t add or take away…! Keep His Feasts, foods Shabbats…etc. and love Him n people! SHEMA !
Yet, there are many things we can’t totally know for sure..like the New Moon, a sliver or conjunction? We know about the date of Pesach, but so divided on the day after to celebrate Unlevened bread and First Fruits. Etc. etc.
no adding or taking away yet,…..?
A few of us in a bible study have been discussing this very topic. When ought we say something to an erring brother / preacher)? When God says? When we are less hypocritical? Only in a tender way?
We agree that God often has a special timing – however, there are a lot of ways to run ahead and get into trouble.
I too really appreciated Today’s Word. Kareen, over the past dozen years of “keeping” the festivals of YAH, we too have struggled with the timing issue. But, we did learn two things. One, crescent is only mentioned twice in Scripture and both times have to do with idol worship (Judges 8:21, 26) which proved to be a curse to Gideon. And Job speaks of “not looking at the moon” when it was light. (Job 31:26) Also, the book, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Spier states, “The traditional law prescribes that the months shall follow closely the course of the moon, from its Molad (birth, conjunction) to the next New Moon.” And again, “Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishre, should be on the day of the Molad, except for the so-called Dehioth (postponements)… It appears that when the New Moon could be seen then it was “blessed and the new month sanctified”. BUT, we also have decided that if we would like to keep New Moon with you, we would do so on the day that you have chosen. Why? Because these festivals, new moons and Sabbaths are shadows of what is to come for the Body of the Messiah. And because they are shadows, we ought to be paying attention to them as the reality is soon to come. And, when the reality comes our Father will be the one to call His children to the times of worship. Amein?
Shalom Jenfor,
I love your kind heart and appreciate your diligence in study. It would be very comfortable for me come to your celebration also.
However this post is all about not going beyond what is written.
Traditional Law, which came out of Babylon, by it’s very nature tends to go beyond what is written.
After 2 + decades of wading through the Messianic mine fields of speculations and dogmas we finally decided that in order to be able to keep His commandments we must look to the plain sense meaning of the text as our cornerstone and measure everything from it in our deeper studies.
This is not easy to do because bunny trails are so much fun and we become quite excited when we are able to figure out something that isn’t in plain sight.
Please consider this.
If it is not the heart of the Father that ANY should perish, and we are commanded to teach these things to our children so that they can participate and pass them on at their first ability, and Yeshua said unless we become as LITTLE children we can’t even see the kingdom, and that what He is calling us to do is not too difficult for ANY of us (including children I believe) and the very first time the words “moon” and “sign” appear in scripture is together on the forth day of creation, (because G-d says the moon is a sign,) and that every time you see the word sign in scripture after that it is referring to something that can be physically seen.
Now with all that held up together in suspension in your mind, (and remember we have just described G-ds character in all that) ask yourself “Would it make any sense at all, for a kind loving G-d who is eager to make himself known, give an ancient culture of people who were unfamiliar with the calculations of conjunctions, a command to look for a sign that they could not see?”
a 0226 אות ‘owth oth
AV-sign( s) 60, token( s) 14, ensign( s) 2, miracles 2, mark 1; 79
1) sign, signal
1a) a distinguishing mark
1b) banner
1c) remembrance
1d) miraculous sign
1e) omen
1f) warning
2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof
Here’s a case in point. We have a special needs young man in our group who will never be able to figure out the conjunctions, but it’s easy and even exciting for him to go out and watch for the moon to appear and track the month with careful diligence. Should this man ever be in a situation where he is perhaps confined to a prison cell for his faith, would it not be of great comfort and hope for him to know that his G-d has given him the ability to follow the times and seasons of Yah without the help of his mom or dad or a calculator? And what would become of his faith if he did not have such a hope and believed that
G-d had purposely made it too hard for him to figure out? Remember what Yeshua said would be a kindness to those who would cause any of the little ones to stumble?
It is our Father’s design that His instructions be 1. Clear 2. Doable There is no excuse for our special needs friend or our three year old grandson (who loves to go find the moon and is often more diligent then me about it) to miss anything because our loving Father puts it in plain sight for everyone to see so that we can know, and rest, and have hope in Him.
We are not biblical astrologers forced into calculating out the exact time of something. We know the times and the seasons by sitting outside under the beauty of the cosmos watching for His signs and His appearing.
And if that weren’t already enough consider this text.
Notice there are two commandments here.
De 16:1 Observe the month of Abib, !!!and!!! keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
Nowhere in scripture are we ever told to observe an entire month. So this verse should read something more like “Keep/observe the New Moon of the abib barley and celebrate the Passover unto the LORD thy God in that month. for in the month of “The Abib Barley” the LORD thy God brought you forth out of Egypt by night.
The sign appears when the new moon shines down on the abib barley.
It’s not complicated but we do need to be focused mindful and watching. We would much rather think about other things and calculate out when we need to be available and mark it ahead of time for our own convenience. G-d says watch pay attention
That was way too long sorry