Teaching Documents by Lewis Brown
Christian believers often think they are special, even better than other humans. Some of this kin... more Christian believers often think they are special, even better than other humans. Some of this kind of thinking comes from the group mentality of the community to which they belong. One of a set of concepts which is shared in Christian teaching and in the self-definitions of Christian groups is the concept of "remnant." A misunderstanding of the idea of being part of a remnant has meant for some Christians that they belong to a special, chosen, recognized group of God's people who earnestly share goals and identifying lifestyles. The extension of being part of God's special people is misconstrued to mean that the individual member is a special kind of human. States, and through his life as a husband, father, teacher, and leader.
Self, 2026
Christian churches, as spiritual communities, operate as both organizations in society and gather... more Christian churches, as spiritual communities, operate as both organizations in society and gatherings of believers. The functions of members and leaders are subject to the conflict of being in family-style relationships and being managed by positions which carry status. These roles involve different bases of connection, as they involve different ways of belonging.
By differentiating relationships from positions with status, we intend to free the spiritual relationships in the church from the influence of the struggle to obtain and protect status. This essay changes our perceptions and attitudes about life in a spiritual community operating as God’s family, as the Body of Christ on earth in a particular location with a particular group of people.
This brief teaching document examines the enduring conflict Christian believers have about their ... more This brief teaching document examines the enduring conflict Christian believers have about their experience of being accepted and identified with the Christ, yet living as imperfect, developing, redeemed humanity. Misreading passages which stress perfection creates a deep conflict within the believer about the relationship with God. The believer is uncertain if he is pleasing God and confused about his struggles in the relationship with God and with himself. He is to be perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect. How does one live that way? Here we reexamine those understandings so one can live joyfully and productively in the present. References to the book of Hebrews predominate.
There is an enduring conflict in Christian thought and practice about the lifestyle directives gi... more There is an enduring conflict in Christian thought and practice about the lifestyle directives given in the Torah, or Books of Moses, to the people of God. Is this due to the natural tendency of humans not to want limitations on their life choices, and also to the damaged relationship between Christian churches and the Judeo-Christian biblical culture? Yes. The dichotomy which has energized the issue for every new generation of believers is that as Christians we are adopted into the family of God, but as Gentiles we are not required to be Jewish.
We have seen many ways God’s directives were adopted as lifestyle frameworks in church mores and cultural norms over the centuries, both those directives given in the Old Testament, and those reflective directives given in the New Testament. The rules made on the basis of the biblical “Law” have often been harsh, demanding, unforgiving, and applied without mercy. When contrasted with God’s nature, the dictates and enforcement of such rules have not reflected His intentions. Embedded in God’s detailed commands are His sense of order, fairness, accountability, and gracious care.
This study presents the perspective that we can adopt God’s directives for our lives, or the principles behind them (if the actual activity is no longer part of modern life), because He behaves the way modeled in His directives.
We, as those who love God, come to care the way He cares, and take on His attitudes. This is because we are part of Him and what He is doing on His earth. The believer can love their neighbor, their family, and even their enemy, because He does. The believer can be generous, hospitable, forgiving, honorable, respectful, and act with integrity because God is, and God behaves this way.
The resulting relational obedience means the believer knows, loves, and acknowledges God’s love and rulership. He accepts God’s directives, and accepts God’s help in order to absorb the directives into his lifestyle. He becomes holy as God is, doing what is right and good. Believers who are relationally obedient embrace the law and commandments of God through the entire Bible as doorways to learn to care like Him, to think like Him, and absorb his heart so we act like Him on His earth.
This teaching document examines a time-honored portion of the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10:2... more This teaching document examines a time-honored portion of the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10:26 through chapter 12:13. This passage examines the kind of active faith the biblical characters had, and the reflections on their courage made by the author of Hebrews. They are called a "cloud of witnesses" in the text, those who "believe God is, and is rewarder of those who eagerly seek Him." Their actions in response to the challenges in their lives are presented as models for the readers of the letter. The rhetorical style of the letter is noted, since the arguments of the author are presented in an overlapping, repeating pattern.
This teaching document examines the book of Job for the references to his attitudes and related p... more This teaching document examines the book of Job for the references to his attitudes and related patterns in his relationship with God. Job struggles to work through the agony of destruction in his life. He does not attribute human cruelty or capriciousness to God, and he refuses to abandon or to blame God. However, he is determined to discover the cause of the disasters in his life. He persists in his musings and outcries to demand his opportunity, while refuting the accusations of his peers. God does meet with Job, but the meeting does not go the way Job expected. Job is one of many persons in the biblical record who work through difficult times with God; we will explore the significance of Job's role in the development of man's relationship with God.
S. Lewis Brown , 2021
The Letter to the Hebrews is a rhetorically structured document, a written teaching sermon explai... more The Letter to the Hebrews is a rhetorically structured document, a written teaching sermon explaining Jesus and what his appearing means for a group of Jewish believers and the entire spirit realm of the Earth. The conclusions are not summarized in one portion of the text; rather, the premises and attitudes promoted in the document are supported and reinforced throughout the text. The perceptions and attitudes the writer espouses are reinforced and applied in the last chapters of the text. This paper will provide the background and the substance of three essential attitudes. These three attitudes are needed to live in a spiritual community that is eschatological in expectation and practice:1) The believers must see themselves as inheritors together with the exalted Christ. 2) They must trust the Heavenly Father in their daily life, maturing in Christ although they are not experiencing fulfillment of every promise presently. 3) They embrace a lifestyle living in God's present provision while reaching for those promises not yet manifested. These attitudes will lead to a people sharing God's holiness.
The believer can connect with God in multiple modalities and is encouraged in this teaching docum... more The believer can connect with God in multiple modalities and is encouraged in this teaching document to exercise the spirit modality with understanding and intent. Although such capabilities have been used in the long history of human relationships with God, restoring and reclaiming the spiritual aspect our communion with God is necessary in the cultures influenced by the Western European traditions. Emphasis on the intellectual aspects of knowing and understanding God has reduced the practice of contemplative aspects of connections with God. This paper underscores this deficit and emphasizes the value of a devotional life which employs our many modalities in prayer, especially our spiritual communion with God.
The Old and New Testament scriptures use a variety of expressions to represent the change in the ... more The Old and New Testament scriptures use a variety of expressions to represent the change in the nature of a human brought by exposure to God. How do the scriptures understand the change of nature for humanity?
This teaching document will revisit representative scriptural passages which use the multiple terms and related concepts to describe the change in nature as a person enters a transforming relationship with God. Scriptural quotations are included to bring context for the verses and concepts chosen in this study.
There is a fundamental and significant change which occurs when a human humbles himself into a relationship with God. The scriptures represent the change many ways: as changing into another person, as a rebirth, a new birth, a resurrection, a renewal, being clothed with a new nature, an internal change where we remain in relationship with God, a change of allegiance, an escape from the sin and corruption and a participation in God’s nature, and an identification with Christ’s death and resurrection.
Current Christian teaching has a range of very different views of our human nature. Some Christian teaching describes humanity by nature as entirely evil and in opposition to God and any healthy relationship with Him. (For a brief clarification about Calvinist teaching, see the quotation in the Addendum.) Some teachings frame the disconnected, lost or fallen human as a person convinced of a lie about the nature of God, a human becomes angrily resistant to the demands of relationship, living in ways which destroy his or her own self and destroy the lives of others. Any way one perceives human nature, humans are in need of a restored relationship with God and of an indwelling of God which establishes, maintains, and expands the connection with Him.
Hatred of our nature and of ourselves are concepts which result from a simplistic and incomplete understanding of our humanity. Drawn from classic Greek and Roman concepts which influenced medieval and reformation theology, this perception of human nature is not biblical, but a misreading of the scriptural understanding of our nature. The concept of God’s creation of humanity in His own image and God’s continuous redemptive involvement with humanity belies the non-biblical concept of an essentially evil human nature. My personal understanding was once framed by explanations which have used selected verses as references to present salvation as a hatred and rejection of self and the struggle to obtain a supernatural change in nature.
However, the scriptural emphases are always on God’s care for us, and on the change which results from the salvific relationship with God. The result of this transformative change is that the “new” person will reflect the change in their attitudes and actions.
Using the record in Genesis chapters 1-11, I examine the biblical flood as an insight into how Go... more Using the record in Genesis chapters 1-11, I examine the biblical flood as an insight into how God chose to involve himself and manage the significant changes which the flood brought to life on the planet. I address the changes brought by the flood and propose an understanding of the flood event and results of the related occurrences based on minimal information the record provides. I provide my views on what those changes meant for humanity, living creatures on the land, and the earth’s environment.
My conclusion is that God in fact managed this transition and was cognizant of the major changes the flood event brought on the planet and in the lives of the creatures on it. It would be easy to say He foreknew each step and watched it happen, but the text does not represent that style of management.
God shows step by step involvement, relational interaction, and decisions which reflect both the wisdom of foresight and the kindness of care for a vulnerable creation. The biblical flood event demonstrates that the timeless, all-powerful and all-knowing God chooses to interact within the process in time, within the limits of the understanding of the humans, and with concern for all aspects of His creation.
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Teaching Documents by Lewis Brown
By differentiating relationships from positions with status, we intend to free the spiritual relationships in the church from the influence of the struggle to obtain and protect status. This essay changes our perceptions and attitudes about life in a spiritual community operating as God’s family, as the Body of Christ on earth in a particular location with a particular group of people.
We have seen many ways God’s directives were adopted as lifestyle frameworks in church mores and cultural norms over the centuries, both those directives given in the Old Testament, and those reflective directives given in the New Testament. The rules made on the basis of the biblical “Law” have often been harsh, demanding, unforgiving, and applied without mercy. When contrasted with God’s nature, the dictates and enforcement of such rules have not reflected His intentions. Embedded in God’s detailed commands are His sense of order, fairness, accountability, and gracious care.
This study presents the perspective that we can adopt God’s directives for our lives, or the principles behind them (if the actual activity is no longer part of modern life), because He behaves the way modeled in His directives.
We, as those who love God, come to care the way He cares, and take on His attitudes. This is because we are part of Him and what He is doing on His earth. The believer can love their neighbor, their family, and even their enemy, because He does. The believer can be generous, hospitable, forgiving, honorable, respectful, and act with integrity because God is, and God behaves this way.
The resulting relational obedience means the believer knows, loves, and acknowledges God’s love and rulership. He accepts God’s directives, and accepts God’s help in order to absorb the directives into his lifestyle. He becomes holy as God is, doing what is right and good. Believers who are relationally obedient embrace the law and commandments of God through the entire Bible as doorways to learn to care like Him, to think like Him, and absorb his heart so we act like Him on His earth.
This teaching document will revisit representative scriptural passages which use the multiple terms and related concepts to describe the change in nature as a person enters a transforming relationship with God. Scriptural quotations are included to bring context for the verses and concepts chosen in this study.
There is a fundamental and significant change which occurs when a human humbles himself into a relationship with God. The scriptures represent the change many ways: as changing into another person, as a rebirth, a new birth, a resurrection, a renewal, being clothed with a new nature, an internal change where we remain in relationship with God, a change of allegiance, an escape from the sin and corruption and a participation in God’s nature, and an identification with Christ’s death and resurrection.
Current Christian teaching has a range of very different views of our human nature. Some Christian teaching describes humanity by nature as entirely evil and in opposition to God and any healthy relationship with Him. (For a brief clarification about Calvinist teaching, see the quotation in the Addendum.) Some teachings frame the disconnected, lost or fallen human as a person convinced of a lie about the nature of God, a human becomes angrily resistant to the demands of relationship, living in ways which destroy his or her own self and destroy the lives of others. Any way one perceives human nature, humans are in need of a restored relationship with God and of an indwelling of God which establishes, maintains, and expands the connection with Him.
Hatred of our nature and of ourselves are concepts which result from a simplistic and incomplete understanding of our humanity. Drawn from classic Greek and Roman concepts which influenced medieval and reformation theology, this perception of human nature is not biblical, but a misreading of the scriptural understanding of our nature. The concept of God’s creation of humanity in His own image and God’s continuous redemptive involvement with humanity belies the non-biblical concept of an essentially evil human nature. My personal understanding was once framed by explanations which have used selected verses as references to present salvation as a hatred and rejection of self and the struggle to obtain a supernatural change in nature.
However, the scriptural emphases are always on God’s care for us, and on the change which results from the salvific relationship with God. The result of this transformative change is that the “new” person will reflect the change in their attitudes and actions.
My conclusion is that God in fact managed this transition and was cognizant of the major changes the flood event brought on the planet and in the lives of the creatures on it. It would be easy to say He foreknew each step and watched it happen, but the text does not represent that style of management.
God shows step by step involvement, relational interaction, and decisions which reflect both the wisdom of foresight and the kindness of care for a vulnerable creation. The biblical flood event demonstrates that the timeless, all-powerful and all-knowing God chooses to interact within the process in time, within the limits of the understanding of the humans, and with concern for all aspects of His creation.