Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
9Therefore, you (pl.), pray thus: Our Father who [is] in the heavens, may Your name be hallowed. 10Your kingdom come; Your desire be done on earth as also in heaven. 11Give to us today our daily bread, 12and forgive to us our debts as we also forgive our debtors, 13and do not bring us into testing, but rescue us from the evil [one], because Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory into the ages. Amen. 14For, if you forgive the men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you yours, 15but, if you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Before I leave this study and go back to finish the book of Daniel, there are a couple more thoughts I’d like to record. Back to v.11, “Give us this day our daily bread” -- this one still completely floors me. This simple little verse exemplifies exactly why I study the Bible. The Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts…” Paul warned us, “See that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition…rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8). In my redeemed heart, I want to think God’s thoughts. I want to see this world through His eyes. However, I’m deeply disappointed to find almost constantly that I (and the modern church with me) are literally shot through with human traditions, doing exactly what Paul warned us not to do.
This verse is case in point. I think any of us would leave the praises of vv. 9,10 and go then straight to v.12, “Forgive us our debts…” We would all insist that first and foremost we should deal with our sins and our spiritual issues – certainly not to our “mere” physical needs! However, notice, that is not Jesus’s order. He goes straight from praise to our physical needs. If we’re paying close attention that seems out of order to us! I believe this seemingly simple little conundrum exposes what is in fact an underlying Gnosticism that infects our minds today. Sometimes it’s called “asceticism,” sometimes “dualism.” To see what I’m getting at, consider this quote:
“A philosophy that emphasizes spiritual matters while disregarding or devaluing the physical is most commonly known as "spiritual dualism" or simply "dualism," particularly as found in Platonic or Gnostic traditions. In these worldviews, the immaterial or spiritual realm is seen as more real or valuable than the physical, sometimes leading to neglect or negative views of the body and material existence. This approach has also historically manifested itself as "asceticism," where individuals practice severe self-discipline and abstention from bodily pleasures for spiritual purposes. Other related terms include "Platonism" (from Plato's philosophy) and "Gnosticism," especially when there is an outright belief that matter is evil or to be transcended. These philosophical tendencies are often critiqued for leading to an imbalanced view of human life, neglecting the interconnectedness and worth of both the physical and spiritual aspects of existence.”
I hope you see what I mean. Is that not exactly what our modern thinking would have you believe? Spiritual is important, but physical is always sort of a necessary evil that just gets “in the way” of what really matters. I once heard a pastor tell his poor congregation, “Your job is just the way you make money. The ministries of this church are what really matters.” How do you balance that with Titus 2:9,10, that says the way you work actually “adorns the doctrine of God our Savior,” or Col. 3:23 where we are instructed, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” From the very beginning, the Lord put Adam in the Garden “to work it and to till it.” What is, in reality, man’s “Great Commission” is “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” (Gen. 1:28).
I maintain that the very order of the Lord’s Prayer ought to call us out of this unbiblical Gnosticism. Instead of disdaining the physical, the Bible tells us our Lord “knows our frame, that we are but dust.” Most of the Bible from cover to cover is people living their lives in this very real world, spending most of their time simply working. Practically every one of Jesus’s parables is provided in the setting of people’s simple everyday lives – sowing seed, searching for lost coins, dealing with prodigal children, etc. When Jesus commands us to “love God and love people,” He isn’t thinking we all need to jump on a plane and go somewhere halfway around the world to do “spiritual good.” There may be a time for that, but, for most of us, living this command to love begins right in our homes with our wives and children, with the people we work with all day every day, with our next-door neighbors. A HUGE part of that love ought to be happening right in our simple mundane workaday lives. And why don’t we see that? I’m suggesting it is because we’re infected with Gnosticism, this disdain for all things physical.
Jesus isn’t. Being our Creator, He is more than aware that we are physical beings. Without our bodies, we cannot even participate in this world. He goes so far as to tell us our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Good, solid Reformed theology teaches us to respect our bodies, to respect our work, our families, and our daily lives. Just like Jesus, it would teach us a Biblical philosophy of this physical/spiritual balance we are all called to live in.
Bread. Simple bread. Jesus would have us ask for that, even before we deal with issues of forgiveness! At absolute minimum, that ought to give us reason to pause and challenge our view of life. Am I really seeing life through God’s eyes, or is my mind infected with this incipient Gnosticism, this unbiblical disdain for the physical?
Early in my Christian life, I had to deal with this. I’ve been a runner since I was 15 years old. Suddenly I found myself a 20-something year old with a wife and children with a full-time job and very involved in my church. It seemed like I didn’t have time to run anymore, and I struggled with whether I even should. Then I realized, if I’m going to take care of my family, go to work every day, be active in church ministries, etc., I can do those things best if I’m healthy.
At that time, I probably couldn’t even pronounce “Gnosticism” or “asceticism,” but I think the Lord just kindly gave me the sense that, although I seemed to naturally think otherwise, the exercise was important. I’m glad I did stick to it. Now I’m almost 69 years old, still running, still not overweight, and still not on blood pressure medication. Over the years the Lord has put me in situations which were very physically demanding, yet I was able to rise to the occasions, whether they were church ministries or simply caring for my family. Running with other people, including my own children, has given me great opportunities to enjoy relationships. Visiting Dad in New Hampshire, with me in my 40’s, the kids said, “Hey, Dad! Let’s climb a mountain!” I was able to confidently say, “Sure! Let’s do it!” and we did. I am frequently able to converse with both guys and gals, both young and old, just because we’re all runners.
This incipient Gnosticism, this disdain for all things physical, would have left me just another couch potato and unable to enjoy any of those blessings. As we see here in the Lord’s Prayer, He knows you and I cannot serve Him without a body. Even Jesus Himself is saying to do your best to be healthy (“Give us this day our daily bread”), before we dive into the spiritual matters of our lives (“Forgive us our debts…). I personally do not believe it’s an “either/or” matter, it is a “both/and.” We need to do our best to be healthy both physically and spiritually. What I’m suggesting then is, while we all naturally would agree that spiritual issues are very important, we need to step back and make sure we aren’t then disdaining the physical. Jesus wants us to do both.
Lord, help us all. Help us see our lives through Your eyes. Help us order our lives according to Your priorities. Help us to give “the more earnest heed” to what our Bibles teach and deliver us from Bible-ignorant and damaging traditions. Help us to rise above it all and to see past those “human traditions,” to build our lives “on Christ!”
