But These Are Written . . .

Essays on Johannine Literature in Honor of Professor Benny C. Aker

Keener, Crenshaw

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781498273909
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Johannine Literature offers some of the most beautiful, majestic, and profound theology contained within the entire biblical text. Within its works can be found the highest Christology, the capstone of eschatology, and the heartbreaking struggles of a community committed to Christ. However, it does not always get the attention it deserves in New Testament studies. This book seeks to remedy that by drawing together some of the most respected biblical scholars to bring their expertise to bear on various aspects of Johannine studies that are contained within the Gospel, Epistles, and the Apocalypse. These contributions have been collected as a Festschrift in honor and celebration of the career of Benny C. Aker, a preeminent scholar, teacher, and mentor.

1

Biographical Sketch of Benny C. Aker1

Lois E. Olena

The Humble Prince

Family Background

Benny Aker was born in 1939, the youngest of seven children, with a twenty-six year span between himself and his oldest sibling. His father was a farmer and rancher who had gone west from Oklahoma and landed in New Mexico, the “land of enchantment.” After a brief move to California during Ben’s preschool years, the family moved back to New Mexico and lived in a little town called Cuba.

Although his dad was nominally Methodist, since the family had attended a Methodist church in California, Ben’s mom—a pious Baptist (or “Bapticostal”)—was the true spiritual pillar and influence in his life. Because she was a praying woman, the family now has a treasure trove of miraculous stories that took place on the ranch where God often intervened for them.

All the kids worked the ranch; they would buy and sell cattle and farm the land. At one point in Cuba they also did logging, lumbering, and sawmilling to help with the groceries. Eventually two of Ben’s older brothers felt called to the ministry, and together with other family members, established a Baptist church in Cuba that is still going. The brothers served as lay preachers, and family members ministered in any way possible in that little congregation. There, Ben was saved and baptized at the age of nine. Eventually they contacted the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Albuquerque, and the SBC ultimately sent two home missionaries to take over.

Cuba was a tough little town, but that church served as the mainstay of the community. Ben was born a couple of miles away from the Navajo reservation in an ethnically diverse area, so he knew what it was like to grow up as a minority in the midst of the various reservations, Pueblo Indians, and other local people.

After a while, Ben’s father came down with heart disease, so the family moved south to Los Lunas, which had a lower elevation. There they became involved in the Los Lunas Baptist Church, then after a couple years moved to Albuquerque where they became involved at Trinity Baptist Church.

Young Love

While living in Albuquerque, Ben’s family became acquainted with the family of another man, who was a hunter and carpenter. He used to come up to Ben’s older brother’s ranch in the high country to hunt. The two families became acquainted, and the man just happened to have a daughter named Barb. She and Ben were about eleven when they first met but had little contact until many years later.

After Ben’s graduation from high school, the two began dating. At first, she did not want to get serious because Ben was Baptist and she was Assemblies of God (A/G). Barb prayed, “Lord, I’ve got to have him filled with the Spirit or else this isn’t going to work!” She was adamant about that since she had grown up A/G.

Eventually Barb’s prayers were answered, and Ben was filled with the Spirit in April 1960. “That transformed my life,” Ben recalls. “It was such a radical transformation. My commitment and devotion to the Lord was very special. I couldn’t understand why Pentecostal folks weren’t more excited about and more in love with Jesus. My experience was powerful and personally transforming. It captured my heart forever.”

Ben and Barb were married over a year later, and Ben immediately became involved at First Assembly. He served as the youth director and Sunday school superintendent. He would preach in parks and anywhere else he could, talking about the Lord. He preached in jail services and on Pueblo reservations. Barb became even more involved there too, playing piano for a home missionary working in the city. “That lady never forgave me for stealing her good helper!” Ben remembers. A faithful partner and praying woman, Barbara always served alongside Ben in complete harmony and support, and God used her greatly. Eventually, Ben and Barb became the proud parents of a son, Steven.

The Call of God

Out of Ben’s walk with the Lord came a deepening of his spiritual experiences and hungers, which eventually led to a sense of being called into pastoral ministry. He recounts:

The Lord would do special things like dreams and such, and they were legitimate. I had no problems with those kinds of events. I could feel impressions, and the Lord would give me revelations of certain kinds; it was wonderful to be in tune with Him and have Him in a sovereign way reach down and get a hold of this kid, this backward, poor, country boy. It was a growing thing but did not take too long. This came out of what I was doing already on the reservations, in the parks, in jails, and with the youth. I was everywhere, just wanting to tell others about the Lord.

At work, Ben had become a journeyman gas fitter for Southern Union Gas Company. One day he and his helper were working on a refrigerator, and Ben was enthusiastically telling the man—one might even say preaching—about how good God was. The owner stood there, listening, then followed Ben to the truck and asked, “Tell me how I can get what you have.” That kind of thing evolved quickly into ministry, and the Lord was beginning to impress upon Ben the sense that he had something more for him.

But Ben wrestled with the Lord about this sense of calling: “I said, ‘Lord, you do not know who you’re calling! This is a twenty-four hour thing you’re asking me to do.’” He knew he would need to adjust from having another vocation, a job, where he could devote certain times of the week, to this—ministry that was day and night serving the Lord in a full-time capacity. “I can’t handle that, Lord,” Ben argued. But the Lord just seemed to speak to him and say, “Yeah, I know you’re not much good, but I’m going to change that and help you.”

It took several months for Ben to adjust his attitude and his frame of reference. “It was sort of like therapy,” he recalls. “I worked but was constantly thinking about it. There was this sweet presence of the Lord, a nudging, a sense of urgency. Finally I gave in, and it was a relief. ‘Wow, let’s go!’ I said.” The Lord had worked him over, and he was ready.

His young bride of two years, however, was resisting. During this time of struggling over the issue, though, their house was robbed, and that robbery proved influential in changing her mind. Barb knew that the God who could allow the spoiling of goods could also show his hand on her person in motivating her toward obedience. So she yielded. The year was 1962.

1964–1970 (Central Bible College: Student/Dean/Pastor)

Ben’s sense of calling was connected to his intent to leave New Mexico for Bible college. Several pastors of First Assembly had been graduates of Central Bible Institute, so that seemed the clear destination. By the time Ben and Barb arrived on campus, it was August of 1964—the year the General Council of the A/G changed the school’s name to Central Bible College (CBC).

Ben graduated in 1967 and was planning to launch out as a church planter. He was in touch with various districts and was discovering that each worked differently. “Some were affirming and helpful, but others took a go fly a kite approach,” he recollects with a smile. So he looked for available openings at churches, tried out at some, and just waited on the Lord.

During this time, a door opened for Ben to come on staff at CBC. The school had been expecting another man, who had just finished at Wheaton, to come to CBC as dorm supervisor. A week or two before the man was due to arrive, he contacted Don Johns, academic dean at the time, and said, “I can’t do it. I just have too many reservations about my Christianity and about the A/G.” Since CBC needed someone quickly, and Ben was in transition, Johns asked him if he would serve in this capacity.

Ben had always been a good student, graduating in three years, so it was a smooth transition for him—from being an excellent student to taking on a leadership role on campus. Immediately upon arrival at CBC he had noted the difference among teachers and began to see that he wanted to do something different. He wanted to carry as much of an academic load as he could and delve deeper into the biblical text. He remembers,

In those days, it was in vogue to say, “Well, the Greek says,” but I knew these people did not know Greek. And also many would just refer to secondary sources. I felt, well, that’s helpful, that’s good, but there is another level for which I need to prepare. I needed to consult the language myself. So I took Anthony Palma for first-year Greek and Larry Hurtado for my second year. I took my first and second years of Hebrew with Stan Horton. And Bill Menzies taught me Church History. In addition to these professors, ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Biographical Sketch of Benny C. Aker
• Chapter 2: He Will Guide You into All the Truth
• Chapter 3: The Role and Function of the Demonic in the Johannine Tradition
• Chapter 4: John’s Doxology
• Chapter 5: The Virgin Birth in the Fourth Gospel?
• Chapter 6: Master(s) of the Sea?
• Chapter 7: Episodes of Personal Encounter
• Chapter 8: A New Look at an Old Problem
• Chapter 9: Born of God
• Chapter 10: Seeking Peace with Justice
• Chapter 11: The Love of God
• Chapter 12: The “Antichrists” Speak
• Chapter 13: Choose Your Own Adventure
• Chapter 14: Will The Real Church Please Stand Up?
• Chapter 15: The Spirit of the Lamb
• Chapter 16: Was John the Revelator Pentecostal?
• Chapter 17: One Thousand Two Hundred Sixty Days
• Chapter 18: The Vocabulary and Phraseology of Revelation
• Appendix 1: Tables
• Appendix 2: Graphs