the ONLY hope is resurrection

The ONLY hope is resurrection. If there were no resurrection of Christ, then the cross is a sham. If Christ is not risen then above all men we are the most pitiful. We spend the first half of our lives “getting it all together”, then we spend the next half of life watching it fall apart–especially our bodies. In striving to “hold myself together” I’m building my own image in which there is really no Christ. When I die to my self sustained (illusory) image and realize that I’m falling apart in every way, then a space is made for me to be made into the image of Christ–in exactly the way He imagines me. I recently had an epiphany concerning Ephesians 1:10. From The Message (in the passage Peterson does a much better job than the NIV);

7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

“summed up” is ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι (aorist verb, middle voice of anakephalaioō). Note that it’s root is kephal, “head” or “source” or “origin” with the prefix ana- which means “again”. An aorist verb in Koine denotes punctiliar action–an action or event which happens at a particular point in time–either past, present, or future. “Middle voice” means that the action is done by the subject; the subject of ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι is Christ/God. anakephalaioō means to sum up (again), to repeat summarily, to condense into a summary, briefly comprehend. Jesus has His own “summation” of us; it’s HIS way of “remembering” us; it’s His story of us that He tells in the summing of all things. It isn’t my story about myself that gets told by Christ, but His story about me that is made know to the universe. Because of “therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” when my hoped for/expected-by-faith resurrection occurs Jesus will recall me into life in just the way He has determined (lots of “predestinating” in the older translations of Eph. 1) to remember me. When I bring up my personal memories of failure and corruption I would expect Christ to say something like, “Hmm, that isn’t my memory of you. After all, I’ve made all things new (kainos , new in nature, form, substance). Please, let me describe you from my eternal memory, then after that I’d like you to flounce off with me to the party my Father has prepared for us since before the foundations of the Earth.” If Jesus did not rise to life again, then he was just another Galilean Jew killed by the Romans. The resurrection is the proof to the pudding and our only hope.

Vocation

 

VOCATION

 “This is the doctrine of vocation. God works through people, in their ordinary stations of life to which He has called them, to care for His creation. In this way, He cares for everyone–Christian and non-Christian–whom He has given life. Luther puts it even more strongly: Vocations are “masks of God.” On the surface, we see an ordinary human face–our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our pastor–but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them. God is hidden in human vocations.”

Gene Edward Veith

Two Natures?

At Kingdomscribes Emil and Shell Swift posted an interesting discussion about Christians and “dual nature” (God is Usually NOT Subtle). Very good stuff. Here’s my response…….

Emil,

Great post!

I concur that people who have trusted in the righteousness of Christ are one person with one nature which has been “renewed from above”. Dualism of nature is out the window.

This fallacy of a dual nature has been sustained in recent Christian thinking even by bad translation. In Romans 6 the NIV translates (emphasis added);

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

What the NIV translates as a verb — go on sinning — is not a verb but a NOUN — ἁμαρτίᾳ. The phrase is ἐπιμένωμεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ — “we shall be on remaining” “to the sin”. “Sin” as a noun is not a state of “doing” but rather a state of being or residing – just as you live in the state of California and I live in Arkansas, so to live in the country of “Sin” is an impossibility because “death” has removed us from that jurisdiction of Sin.

The older translations get it right, even though people still didn’t understand the subtleness of Paul’s argument against his detractors and accusers of antinomianism. ASV;

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?

You rightly draw attention to the contrast of “old man” and “new man”. The place where Paul makes most of that contrast is Col. 3:9-10;

…lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him:

“Old” is easy to understand—old, in the way and worn out.

“New” is νέον – recently born, young, youthful – from where we get the prefix “neo-“ as in “neophyte” or “neologism”.

νέον is an adjective of an idiosyncratic word to further define “new” — ἀνακαινούμενον – a derivative of καινοs – to be changed into a new kind of life in opposition to the old and former.

OK, I’ve got the word-nerdiness out of my system for now…

I also agree that God’s major M.O. is usually not very subtle, and, related to that reality is that our distinctions can often be too subtle. We find ourselves in this present age living the life of the Spirit with a significant reality of ambiguity. We are certainly “new men” and “new creations” which have been transported out of the domain of Darkness and into the Kingdom of the Son – yet we are “new men” in the same old bodies. What we truly are has yet to be fully revealed and made manifest. We do have the power to choose not to sin, and we do have the freedom to choose to sin.

The question put to us each day by the Uniquely Human Son of God is, “What will you do with the freedom I have delivered you to?”

V

Personal maturity?

I’m beginning to think that we (Christians in general) may not be speaking of or understanding ”maturity” in the same sense that Paul did.  We reflexively think in terms of individual maturation whereas it looks to me that Paul was speaking in terms of congregational body maturity.   The classic passage in Eph. 4 is a good example …

 … to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Notice what and to whom the gifts to the church are for; 1. equipping people (plural),  2. that the body is built up (a body is a complex organism, not just one “member”), 3. to attain unity in faith and knowledge-– which is a functional alignment of diverse members, 4. which produces or brings into maturity and attainment of the complete stature of Christ.

This kind of maturity is more corporate/corporeal than individual.  Individual maturity is still important, but doesn’t seem to be the emphasis.  As individuals we usually have areas of our life which demonstrate maturity, but also aspects which show immaturity.  When a group of followers of Jesus share life together the “body of life maturity” has much more potential than the sum of individual maturity. 

Our over-emphasis of personal spiritual maturity is indicative of our radically individualistic culture and makes us susceptible to the Christianized “of the world” perspective of self-help, self-improvement, and the pseudo-salvation of self-satisfaction through moralistic conformity.

That is my present opinion.  What do you think?

The Cross; Fact and Mystery

The Cross is certainly a compelling fact.  Facts describe what and when and at what rate, but facts don’t necessarily offer a why, which in terms of the Cross constitutes mystery.  Mystery doesn’t necessarily mean “un-knowable”, though it always means hidden from normal view or perception.  A thing may be a mystery—hinted at yet hidden in the present or past—then when the mystery is demonstrated and revealed it is yet referred to as “a mystery”. 

The most ready example is the genre we call “mystery novels”.  In our reading the story begins as a collection of facts that don’t seem to fit together in a reasonable way.  By the time we arrive at the end of the narrative most, if not all, of the facts make sense and the mystery is not mysterious.  However, the story is still called a mystery.

Paul uses “mystery” in a similar way when he refers to the conjoining of Jew and Gentile together “in Christ.”  He also uses “mystery” in Eph. 5 when he compares Christ and the church to the marriage relationship of husband and wife (and personally I think Paul understood the Christ/church as less a mystery than husband/wife ;o) ).

It’s necessary to understand some facts before a mystery makes any sense.  We can know a lot of facts about what happened between noon and three on that notorious Friday outside Jerusalem circa 30 A.D..  Knowing those facts removes some of the mystery, yet even the facts produce in us over time more not-knowings and deepening mystery.  We are saved by the facts, yet the mystery draws us to the outstretched arms of senseless, wasteful, desperate, determined Love.

The facts are simple.  The Love is complicated.  It’s our tendency to make the mystery uncomplicated by using one simple motif in our explanation of that Love — that “we sinned, justice demands death, therefore Jesus died to pay our sin-debt.”  That is true, but if that is our sole explanation and understanding, then the rich mystery of the Cross is denuded. 

A well chosen single word can be a wonderful symbol.  “Life” is synecdoche for all that embodies living.  “The Word” is a mysterious way to speak of the logos who came to us embodied.  Paul said to the Galatians, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Reconciling the cross with the garden.

Sin is like cancer. It begins to grow deep in the body unseen, sends out tendrils to capture blood supply, then metastasizes by sending bits of itself through the blood stream into other organs.  To save the person from the ultimate effects of cancer the rogue mass and it’s cells must be put to death (and this is accomplished in one or more ways so this is where this metaphor breaks down but don’t loose it because of that).  However, if the ONLY objective is to kill the cancer then the probable result will also be the death of the body in which the cancer resides as a parasite.  So, care is exercised in going to the necessary extent to kill the cancer but not the body–however, the body does inevitably suffer from the cure.

 Having a cancer is not the “normal” condition of the human body, rather, it’s an aberration.  However, until the aberration is killed or removed the human body will continue to cease being “normal”.

 One of the big problems relative to our human condition is that we have become accustomed to the “aberration” so we think and function as if the “aberration” is “normal”.  The “cure/healing/salvation” was accomplished in Christ on the Cross.  We enter into that “cure” and experience the “healing” as we repent – go out or beyond our normal mind and see that our “normal” was the “aberration” and then put our confidence and expectations in the One Who is the cure for our “normal”.

 It is about sin, but only to the extent that sin is the underlying problem of our “wholeness” (holiness).  Jesus took care of the sin issue.  We are now freed to enter into a life of “well wholeness” which is what it was all about from the beginning.  To continually dwell on or reminisce about sin is like being in a room of people who don’t have anything to talk about except their surgeries and illnesses. 

 We, however, can go into that room of people and interrupt their sick introspection by saying, “Hey! I’ve been healed by the best doctor in the world.  His success rate is 100%.”

 Jesus holds within Himself the reality of who we are.  We are brought into resurrection life by his anamnesis of us…When Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread and said, “Take eat, this is my body given for you, do this in remembrance (anamnesis) of me” then took wine and said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” is our anamnesisof Him.  In the resurrection we will be His anamnesis, and that in the full wellness and vitality of His memory — the way He sees us and not the way we see ourselves.

The Purpose of the Church Meeting by Frank Viola

CHAPTER 1

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH MEETING

 

The great Bible expositor Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “We are living in an age hopelessly below the New Testament pattern–content with a neat little religion.” With this thought in view, I would like to begin our discussion on the practice of the New Testament church by examining why the early church gathered together. What was the purpose of the New Testament church meeting?…

(I’ve removed this post to honor Frank’s request– which can be viewed in the comments.  As time permits I’ll share from his more recent writings relative to this subject.   V )

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Church Attenders Anonymous

Step 1 – We admitted we were powerless over our addiction to church    services – that our lives had become unmanageable

Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God

Step 4 – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves

Step 5 – Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs

Step 6 – We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

Step 7 – Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings

Step 8 – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all

Step 9 – Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure or others

Step 10 – Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it

Step 11 – Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry this  out

Step 12 – Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to  other people addicted to church services, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

 

(Received this from beloved brother Alan Gray.)

 

Alison and I are now officially grandparents.  Lydia and Kyle gave birth 8/4/10.  Lily weighed in a little over 7#.

Dream From Australia

This is a dream that a lady named Emma relayed to David Grant.  Emma and her husband live somewheres in Aussi land.

Adam and The Lord spent their days together, walking and talking to one another. They delighted in each other’s company.

When The Lord came by one day, Adam was so caught up with the busyness of life he told the Lord, “Not today”. Adam began to let the cares of this world take over time, he still continued to love the Lord however he just had so much else on his plate and he just wasn’t able to do both.

After some time had passed, Adam began reminiscing on the times he had spent with The Lord; he remembered how much he had enjoyed His presence. Adam wanted to enjoy the Lord’s presence again but this time it needed to fit into his lifestyle. So Adam went about building a meeting place where he could go a couple times a week to meet with the Lord.

Adam and some of his friends began the meetings, Adam and his friends sung a couple songs and then Adam would talk to the rest of the group all about the Lord. After, they would have a cuppa and then go back to their lives until the next meeting.

Because The Lord loved Adam and his friends He came to the meetings, everyone would feel Him and enjoy His presence. The Lord would say “I have come because I love you, is anyone willing to walk with me? I have a purpose for each of you, is anyone willing to walk with me now?” They would answer “Not yet Lord, I’m just not ready, I need to learn more from Adam, one day I will”.

This continued from meeting to meeting. The Lord wondered how His Beloved had come to a place where they stopped trusting Him; He wondered how they thought they would learn more by meeting and listening to Adam rather than walking along side Him where He would be able to whisper the Mysteries of the world into their ears. However because He loved them he continued to come to the meetings to see if anyone was willing.

Eventually Adam grew a little tired of The Lords interruptions. The Lord would keep asking the people to go with Him, but Adam needed them to stay and serve in the music team, the Café team, the children’s ministry. Adam placed ear muffs over his ears and all those in the meeting place, now they could enjoy the presence of the Lord but they did not have to listen to all His interruptions.

Some of Adam’s friends began questioning in their hearts; surely there is more than this? The God of the bible wants us to live in relationship with Him, but how can we have a relationship with someone we cannot communicate with? This is when they took off their ear muffs.

The Lord came to the meeting and asked “Is anyone willing to walk with me?”. Those whose ears had been opened heard the Lord and they said “Yes Lord we are willing”. In their excitement they tried to tell the others but the others were not willing “I’m sorry but we’re just too comfortable here, besides Adam needs us to serve his ministry, and this is all we know, we’ve been doing this for years”.

Those who were willing, began to walk with The Lord, they found it so liberating, they were able to not only enjoy His presence as before but now they were able to see Him expressed freely through one another, they were in relationship with Him. Each day whether they were at work, spending time with their families or whatever they were doing, The Lord would be with them delighting in them, He would be speaking to them, giving them His heart for those around them. They were not burdened by another man’s vision any longer; they were being used in the very purpose they had been created for.