Knowing a fact cognitively is a physical event; it is some sort of chemical reaction within the brain, and therefore it is part of "the things that have been made." And the apostle Paul makes it clear that, "His invisible attributes, namely, his divine nature and eternal power, have been clearly seen, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."
The brain is one of the "things that have been made." The cognitive process, the phenomenon of chemical reactions which occur in our brain causing us to affirm and believe a fact (e.g. water is H2O), is one of the "things that have been made." Thus, the cognitive process is something in which the attributes of God can be clearly seen. Just like everything else that is made, the cognitive process is a dramatization of a spiritual reality.
God's being involves knowing, since he is relational. He is Father, Son, Spirit who are in divine communion. They communicate, they love, they know.
"God is Spirit."
When the eternal Word, the Son of God, knows that God the Father loves him, this is a spiritual reality.
When human beings cognitively process the fact that God is a Father who loves us his children, this is a physical reality, a dramatization of the spiritual reality of the Son knowing who the Father is.
But just as water baptism dramatizes spiritual baptism, so cognitive knowledge of God the Father dramatizes spiritual knowledge of God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit works in and through this physical event transcendently to make it a spiritual reality. "I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you will know Yahweh."
Human beings cannot step into the spiritual realm and cause spiritual baptism (new birth) as it is a function of the Holy Spirit. Yet human beings must press into the physical symbol of spiritual baptism (water baptism) in obedience. We must not get our job mixed up with the Holy Spirit's job. We must press forward into obedience in physical, tangible acts.
Thus we are foolish to press into spiritual knowledge apart from cognitive knowledge. Jesus calls us to obedience: real, tangible, earthly, obedience. We must press into cognitive knowledge with all our mind in obedience to the commandment of Jesus Christ. Dramatizing the spiritual reality of God on this physical, earthly stage is our only hope for righteous.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Stuff Means Jesus
“All things with which we deal, preach to us.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is a profound reason why a sunrise is beautiful, why water satisfies, why a roller coaster ride is exhilarating, why a marriage which thrives on purity and integrity is an awesome thing.
The reason is that Jesus Christ is beautiful, satisfying, and exhilarating. And "all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made," and "all things were created through him and for him."
Everything is about everything else. Have you noticed this? Driving a nail into a board with a hammer is so much like singing a note well that we can say, "she nailed it," and speak truly. This is why illustrations are so powerful. Everything can be used as a metaphor for everything else. Pressing through a hard week of school is like running a marathon. And running a marathon is like enduring the Christian life in the midst of temptation, suffering, and persecution.
Everything is about everything else, and everything else is about Jesus. What I mean is that everything is a metaphor for everything else, but Jesus is not a metaphor for anything. Metaphors end at Jesus Christ; they find their meaning in him.
This is precisely the reason Paul says that humanity stands guilty before God: "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."
It is worth considering the depth of Paul's statement. The invisible attributes of God - his faithfulness, righteousness, justice, love, etc. - are seen in the created things. Because your car is one of "the things that have been made" - a physical thing that is a result of Yahweh creating the heavens and earth - it proclaims the attributes of God.
Jonathan Edwards says, "Creation is as full of images of divine things as a language is full of words."
Karl Barth says, "The ground and goal of the entire cosmos means Jesus Christ."
They are right. So is Paul.
This is a great presupposition of the biblical text. The Bible teaches us that food is good because it satisfies us and sustains us like Jesus does, the living Word. When we believe that food is good in and of itself apart from Jesus, then we commit idolatry; we "worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator."
It is bizarre the way we categorize things as good, bad, and neutral. Looking at porn is bad, feeding the homeless is good, but playing halo is neutral.
No, nothing is neutral. "All things" are created by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. "All things" actual means all things. That includes halo.
No, halo is not a way to escape Yahweh's world. "The earth is Yahweh's and the fullness thereof."
"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." The question is not whether a thing is inherently bad or good. The question is do you receive it with thanksgiving? Is your heart filled up with the joy of Jesus when you play Halo? If so, then keep playing it. If not, you should stop because you are committing idolatry. You are worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. He is blessed forever, unlike Halo.
The capacity for playing halo to be sinful is not in that it is inherently bad; rather, it is in that you might forget that halo is about Jesus and must be received with thanksgiving. Deciding whether something is inherently sinful or not - deciding how much halo you can play without sinning - is precisely the mindset that gives birth to sin. The root of sin is taking the knowledge of good and evil into our own hands, playing God's role, rather than letting him work for our "good" and receiving it with thanksgiving, trusting and obeying.
Stuff means Jesus. Sin amounts to forgetting this truth.
Abraham Kuyper says, “Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!’”
Not only is the entire Old Testament Messianic - a story searching for the coming seed, namely, Jesus Christ - the entire universe and every second of history is Messianic. "The ground and goal of the entire cosmos means Jesus Christ."
Amen, Karl Barth.
There is a profound reason why a sunrise is beautiful, why water satisfies, why a roller coaster ride is exhilarating, why a marriage which thrives on purity and integrity is an awesome thing.
The reason is that Jesus Christ is beautiful, satisfying, and exhilarating. And "all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made," and "all things were created through him and for him."
Everything is about everything else. Have you noticed this? Driving a nail into a board with a hammer is so much like singing a note well that we can say, "she nailed it," and speak truly. This is why illustrations are so powerful. Everything can be used as a metaphor for everything else. Pressing through a hard week of school is like running a marathon. And running a marathon is like enduring the Christian life in the midst of temptation, suffering, and persecution.
Everything is about everything else, and everything else is about Jesus. What I mean is that everything is a metaphor for everything else, but Jesus is not a metaphor for anything. Metaphors end at Jesus Christ; they find their meaning in him.
This is precisely the reason Paul says that humanity stands guilty before God: "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."
It is worth considering the depth of Paul's statement. The invisible attributes of God - his faithfulness, righteousness, justice, love, etc. - are seen in the created things. Because your car is one of "the things that have been made" - a physical thing that is a result of Yahweh creating the heavens and earth - it proclaims the attributes of God.
Jonathan Edwards says, "Creation is as full of images of divine things as a language is full of words."
Karl Barth says, "The ground and goal of the entire cosmos means Jesus Christ."
They are right. So is Paul.
This is a great presupposition of the biblical text. The Bible teaches us that food is good because it satisfies us and sustains us like Jesus does, the living Word. When we believe that food is good in and of itself apart from Jesus, then we commit idolatry; we "worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator."
It is bizarre the way we categorize things as good, bad, and neutral. Looking at porn is bad, feeding the homeless is good, but playing halo is neutral.
No, nothing is neutral. "All things" are created by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. "All things" actual means all things. That includes halo.
No, halo is not a way to escape Yahweh's world. "The earth is Yahweh's and the fullness thereof."
"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." The question is not whether a thing is inherently bad or good. The question is do you receive it with thanksgiving? Is your heart filled up with the joy of Jesus when you play Halo? If so, then keep playing it. If not, you should stop because you are committing idolatry. You are worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. He is blessed forever, unlike Halo.
The capacity for playing halo to be sinful is not in that it is inherently bad; rather, it is in that you might forget that halo is about Jesus and must be received with thanksgiving. Deciding whether something is inherently sinful or not - deciding how much halo you can play without sinning - is precisely the mindset that gives birth to sin. The root of sin is taking the knowledge of good and evil into our own hands, playing God's role, rather than letting him work for our "good" and receiving it with thanksgiving, trusting and obeying.
Stuff means Jesus. Sin amounts to forgetting this truth.
Abraham Kuyper says, “Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!’”
Not only is the entire Old Testament Messianic - a story searching for the coming seed, namely, Jesus Christ - the entire universe and every second of history is Messianic. "The ground and goal of the entire cosmos means Jesus Christ."
Amen, Karl Barth.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Intellectual Knowledge as a Type of Spiritual Knowledge
"The anointing that you have received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie - just as it has taught you, abide in him" (1 John 2:27).
John is speaking about spiritual knowledge. This is the sort of knowledge Yahweh speaks of in Hosea: "I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know Yahweh" (Hosea 2:20).
This knowledge is different than mere intellectual knowledge. There is a distinction between knowing the fact that God is a loving Father, and knowing that God is a loving Father. This is the distinction between real faith and dead faith (James 2).
As Karl Barth says, "Wisdom is the knowledge by which we may actually and practically live."
But Jesus has commanded us to love the Lord our God with all of our mind.
Why? What is the necessity of pursuing academic, intellectual, factual, systematic knowledge about God?
The reason, I suggest, is because intellectual knowledge is a type of spiritual knowledge.
To understand this better, I think it's helpful to observe a similar relationship between earthly marriage and the heavenly marriage; earthly marriage is a type of the heavenly marriage.
Why should we respect the covenant of marriage here on earth? Jesus says that we will be like the angels, that earthly marriage will not be important after the resurrection; rather, we will all - as the Bride of Christ - be united to to Jesus, the great Bridegroom.
So why must we pursue earthly marriages with holiness and purity?
Because we have not reached the eschaton, and now we must proclaim the truth of Christ and his Church through the covenant of marriage:
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." (Eph 5:25).
In the same way, we are to pursue intellectual, academic, factual, systematic knowledge to dramatize spiritual, relational knowledge.
A Christian must discipline himself to study the Pentateuch and reach the conclusion that God is a Father who loves his children (Gen 5:1-3, Deut 32:6). When he comes to that conclusion, when he understands the fact that God is a Father, it is a proclamation - a dramatization - of the reality of a human being coming face to face with the spiritual reality of the truth that God is Abba Father, and that he may trust his whole life to his care.
Of course, these two types of knowledge are inextricable. When we reach the intellectual conclusion that God is a Father, the Holy Spirit will likely bring us into the spiritual knowledge that God is a Father in and through our efforts to gain this earthly knowledge.
But that is the whole point of types and images, namely, to teach us who Christ is in our innermost being.
When we engage in a marriage driven by holiness, purity, intimacy, self-sacrifice, unconditional love, etc., we will understand more clearly and truly the spiritual reality of Christ's love for his Church.
The spiritual realities transcend the metaphysical realities.
So we should pursue earthly, tangible obedience to Jesus; we should pursue intellectual knowledge of God (theology, exegesis) as a dramatization of spiritual knowledge. He is faithful; he will bring us into spiritual knowledge of God.
John is speaking about spiritual knowledge. This is the sort of knowledge Yahweh speaks of in Hosea: "I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know Yahweh" (Hosea 2:20).
This knowledge is different than mere intellectual knowledge. There is a distinction between knowing the fact that God is a loving Father, and knowing that God is a loving Father. This is the distinction between real faith and dead faith (James 2).
As Karl Barth says, "Wisdom is the knowledge by which we may actually and practically live."
But Jesus has commanded us to love the Lord our God with all of our mind.
Why? What is the necessity of pursuing academic, intellectual, factual, systematic knowledge about God?
The reason, I suggest, is because intellectual knowledge is a type of spiritual knowledge.
To understand this better, I think it's helpful to observe a similar relationship between earthly marriage and the heavenly marriage; earthly marriage is a type of the heavenly marriage.
Why should we respect the covenant of marriage here on earth? Jesus says that we will be like the angels, that earthly marriage will not be important after the resurrection; rather, we will all - as the Bride of Christ - be united to to Jesus, the great Bridegroom.
So why must we pursue earthly marriages with holiness and purity?
Because we have not reached the eschaton, and now we must proclaim the truth of Christ and his Church through the covenant of marriage:
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." (Eph 5:25).
In the same way, we are to pursue intellectual, academic, factual, systematic knowledge to dramatize spiritual, relational knowledge.
A Christian must discipline himself to study the Pentateuch and reach the conclusion that God is a Father who loves his children (Gen 5:1-3, Deut 32:6). When he comes to that conclusion, when he understands the fact that God is a Father, it is a proclamation - a dramatization - of the reality of a human being coming face to face with the spiritual reality of the truth that God is Abba Father, and that he may trust his whole life to his care.
Of course, these two types of knowledge are inextricable. When we reach the intellectual conclusion that God is a Father, the Holy Spirit will likely bring us into the spiritual knowledge that God is a Father in and through our efforts to gain this earthly knowledge.
But that is the whole point of types and images, namely, to teach us who Christ is in our innermost being.
When we engage in a marriage driven by holiness, purity, intimacy, self-sacrifice, unconditional love, etc., we will understand more clearly and truly the spiritual reality of Christ's love for his Church.
The spiritual realities transcend the metaphysical realities.
So we should pursue earthly, tangible obedience to Jesus; we should pursue intellectual knowledge of God (theology, exegesis) as a dramatization of spiritual knowledge. He is faithful; he will bring us into spiritual knowledge of God.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Dragging the Monster into the Light (Response to NWNWS)
This year's topic for New Wine New Wineskins was masculinity and femininity. Several of the workshops at the conference dealt more specifically with the subject of pornography. I wanted to bullet-point some take-homes/thoughts that I think are important.
And please respond! This is such an important issue, and your voice needs to be heard. Hopefully this note can help keep the conversation going.
* Sex-trafficking and pornography are inextricable subjects; they are parts of the same dehumanizing monster. We cannot forget that fueling the pornographic industry is fueling this monster. The more that Christians access porn the more we drive the whole industry and objectify human beings. This is absolutely essential to understanding the significance of the issue. It is simply a contradiction to fight sex-trafficking and harbor a pornographic addiction.
* The most practical way to fight this monster is to strike the root: to create a zero tolerance policy for pornography and to develop a passion for purity and holiness. The problem is dehumanization, and the answer is sanctification and purity. While there is a place for social justice programs, these can often merely hack at the symptoms. The most practical response begins in your own room, and in your own heart.
* There should be open conversation and integrity between men and women. Obviously, there is a unique relationship and conversation among brothers and among sisters that must be respected. But what I have noticed is that men and women tend to wall each other out in this conversation. Guys deal with "guy things" and girls deal with "girl things." I think that by doing this we have created an unhealthy system of commiseration. Men desperately need to hear their sisters' voices, and vice-versa. Sisters, please tell your brothers that you actually care whether or not they look at porn, that you actually care about your value and worth. Men need to hear it. Men, we need to let our sisters have a voice in this issue. Brothers and sisters ought to work together to rid the church of this monster.
* Drag the monster into the light. Our generation is becoming more and more educated in this subject. I am thankful for this. It is an ugly monster, and it is despicable to see in the light, but the light will kill it. Pushing forward together with confession and repentance is key. Let your pride suffer. Whether you are a pastor in your forties or a woman who struggles with pornography, the way out is towards the light, towards openness and confession. The light brings healing.
What underlies this whole subject is the value and worth of human beings as sons and daughters created in the image of a relational God. Pornography is "the most destructive weapon Satan is using in our generation to destroy relational intimacy and damage healthy sexuality," as Steve and Celestia said.
God's holy image is stamped on marriage, purity, and family.
Pursue purity and holiness and relational healing in your family and community before you pursue a successful ministry. If you are pursuing a successful ministry in spite of pornographic addiction or impurity, please repent. Your ministry is probably your subtle way of resisting the grace of Jesus. "Yes, I have an ongoing addiction... but I do this or that great thing for the kingdom too..." This is nothing short of self-righteousness and pride. Hear Jesus' call. There is no greater priority in working for the kingdom. Pursue purity and holiness.
1 John 1:5-10"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
And please respond! This is such an important issue, and your voice needs to be heard. Hopefully this note can help keep the conversation going.
* Sex-trafficking and pornography are inextricable subjects; they are parts of the same dehumanizing monster. We cannot forget that fueling the pornographic industry is fueling this monster. The more that Christians access porn the more we drive the whole industry and objectify human beings. This is absolutely essential to understanding the significance of the issue. It is simply a contradiction to fight sex-trafficking and harbor a pornographic addiction.
* The most practical way to fight this monster is to strike the root: to create a zero tolerance policy for pornography and to develop a passion for purity and holiness. The problem is dehumanization, and the answer is sanctification and purity. While there is a place for social justice programs, these can often merely hack at the symptoms. The most practical response begins in your own room, and in your own heart.
* There should be open conversation and integrity between men and women. Obviously, there is a unique relationship and conversation among brothers and among sisters that must be respected. But what I have noticed is that men and women tend to wall each other out in this conversation. Guys deal with "guy things" and girls deal with "girl things." I think that by doing this we have created an unhealthy system of commiseration. Men desperately need to hear their sisters' voices, and vice-versa. Sisters, please tell your brothers that you actually care whether or not they look at porn, that you actually care about your value and worth. Men need to hear it. Men, we need to let our sisters have a voice in this issue. Brothers and sisters ought to work together to rid the church of this monster.
* Drag the monster into the light. Our generation is becoming more and more educated in this subject. I am thankful for this. It is an ugly monster, and it is despicable to see in the light, but the light will kill it. Pushing forward together with confession and repentance is key. Let your pride suffer. Whether you are a pastor in your forties or a woman who struggles with pornography, the way out is towards the light, towards openness and confession. The light brings healing.
What underlies this whole subject is the value and worth of human beings as sons and daughters created in the image of a relational God. Pornography is "the most destructive weapon Satan is using in our generation to destroy relational intimacy and damage healthy sexuality," as Steve and Celestia said.
God's holy image is stamped on marriage, purity, and family.
Pursue purity and holiness and relational healing in your family and community before you pursue a successful ministry. If you are pursuing a successful ministry in spite of pornographic addiction or impurity, please repent. Your ministry is probably your subtle way of resisting the grace of Jesus. "Yes, I have an ongoing addiction... but I do this or that great thing for the kingdom too..." This is nothing short of self-righteousness and pride. Hear Jesus' call. There is no greater priority in working for the kingdom. Pursue purity and holiness.
1 John 1:5-10"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
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