The Messianic World of Idols

When Jesus explained to his disciples everything that was written about him in the Torah, the Neviim, and the Kethuviim (Luke 24:44), you do not get the impression that he was only referring to those passages which we tend to deem Messianic (e.g. 2 Sam 7, Psalm 2, Isaiah 53, etc.); rather, he seems to be assuming the entire Hebrew Bible is a book about the Messiah. Likewise, this seems to be the assumption of the author of Hebrews when he says "for to which of the angels [contra the Christ] does it say..." and proceeds to list passage after passage without questioning the assumption that these are indeed Messianic passages. The reason for this assumption is much easier to understand if one assumes that the entire Hebrew Bible is a book searching for the coming Messiah, the one who would restore paradise (i.e. the "seed" (Gen 3:15)). 

The Hebrew Bible searches through genealogies and comes to a screeching halt at characters such as Noah. Noah's father Lamech says "this is the one who will give us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands." There is a certain brightness and optimism to the story of Noah. The author goes well out of his way to make sure the reader knows that Noah "did all that Yahweh commanded him." And Noah does indeed bring about a sort of salvation, a sort of re-creation. But soon afterwards Noah gets drunk; the story ends so disappointingly. The proceeding chapters show mankind's failure to obey Yahweh, and they build a tower to heaven.

But there is a bittersweetness to the end of the story of Noah. The sweetness is the fact that he is not the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah. And this is sweetness indeed. Noah must be put in his proper place in Genesis 9 as only a type of Christ, as one who gives the reader a picture of Christ and his salvation, but who is not himself actually the Christ.

Everything in life is like Noah.

Food sustains us and nourishes us. It is savoring just like Christ is. That is why "man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (i.e. the Word, Christ). But food is not actually Christ, and it will disappoint us just like Noah, even though it - like Noah - offers us a bright and optimistic sort of salvation when we are hungry and see a plate of Pad Thai in front of us.

Every season has a bright optimism to it, and a subsequent disappointment: The snow covers the ground like Jesus covers our sin, but ends in a messy pile of slush. The sunshine of summer brings the hope of redemption, but ends in drought. The rain is an image of his providence in a dry and weary land, but Portlanders know well the misery of rainfall.

How often do we make our romantic relationships out to be functional saviors. We see in that other person the same sort of bright and optimistic hope that the reader of Genesis sees in Noah, yet they too will let us down. This is because Jesus is the Bridegroom who will marry his Bride, and earthly marriage is only a type which proclaims this reality of Christ.

Pornography steals the image of intimacy which proceeds from this divine marriage, and leads many into such a false hope.

Drunkenness is a rush like the filling of the Holy Spirit.

They are cheap imitations.

Evil does indeed wear a mask. It can only wear a mask, because creation is built out of images of Christ. Evil must use pictures of Jesus in order to exist.

Everything in life is like Noah.

Water satisfies like Jesus, but it also drowns. Movies are stories just like the great meta-narrative of Jesus, but they waste our time. Music has harmony just like the Triune God of love who is imaged in Jesus, but it's frustrating when songs get stuck in your head. Fire keeps us warm like the Spirit of Christ, but burns us if we get too close. Fathers are dear just like Jesus' Father, but every earthly father has let his children down in one way or another. Smoking brings us a sort of peace and comfort like breathing in the Spirit of Christ, the great comforter, but it also gives us cancer.

What is this universal failure and letdown of all things but a proclamation that there is still another one to come? These things do not satisfy: only Jesus.

"It was a beautiful letdown the day I knew /

That all the riches this world had to offer me would never do"

Jesus is the truth. 

Life searches for the Messiah just like the Hebrew Bible does.

Nothing exists that is not an image of Christ. This is a messianic world, and human beings have forgotten about Jesus. We have worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. We have believed that earthly things can satisfy us in themselves without being received in worship and thanksgiving.

We are like the Jews, who thought that John the Baptist was the Christ. We are like the crowds at Lystra, who wished to make Peter and Barnabas into Zeus and Hermes. We make creation itself out to be God. Yet creation declares with John the Baptist, "Behold the lamb, who takes away the sins of the world," and declares with Peter and Barnabas, "...we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them."

Everything in creation - like John, Peter, and Barnabas - make up images of Christ and point away from themselves to "a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them." Yes, creation looks like Jesus - like a savior, like something which can satisfy, like something which will bring us true pleasure, joy, hope, peace - but creation also points away from itself: "Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" It is when we fail to hear this proclamation that we become idolatrous, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen.

"All things with which we deal, preach to us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The ground and goal of the entire cosmos means Jesus Christ." - Karl Barth

"[Creation] is as full of images of divine things as a language is full of words." - Jonathan Edwards

Cognitive Knowing as a Type of Spiritual Knowledge (Continued thought)

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.

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.

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.

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."

Jack

Most of the time coffee shops are set up so that people can ignore each other. But there is a table at a coffee shop I go to regularly that is big enough so that it isn't awkward to sit next to a stranger, but small enough to be able to start a conversation.

One day I sat down at this table, and there was an odd-looking guy, probably in his forties, who was close up to his laptop apparently using google-talk. As I listened, I gathered that this man was talking with a prostitute, coordinating a time and place to meet later that night. I soon realized that he had some sort of mental problem, the sort of problem which disables people from being able to discern and balance their social context and their volume.

He loudly finished up his awkward conversation and slammed his computer shut, looked at me, and said, "Hotel!"

"What's that?" I said, pretending I had not been following his conversation.

"Need a hotel man... where is one at?"

"Not sure man. But I bet there are a few around mall 205."

"I don't know where that is."

I explained where mall 205 was. Without a segue, this guy began telling me his life story, which at this point did not take me by surprise. The guy wasn't the type to discern his social context.

"I'm a love machine, man!" He said. "Playas always hatin' on me and I don't give 'em nothin but love!"

"Great. That's what you have to do." I said.

At first I was annoyed, but at this point I became interested in the guy - this would be a good break from writing my paper.

"Name's Jack!" He said, extending his hand.

"Jesse. Good to meet you, Jack!"

"I ain't perfect you know. I tell you that. I seen some messed up stuff though, brotha. But I got myself, stick true to me, and I got my Lord."

He kept on describing his life in such general clichés. As soon as I had the chance to get a word in I said, "You mentioned your Lord?"

"That's right! Got my Lord. He's always there for me."

"That's cool, dude. I have a Lord too. Is your Lord Jesus?"

"Jesus! Love that guy. That's my Lord, man."

I was certain Jack didn't know the same Jesus that I did, considering his affiliation with prostitution and such. I decided I would keep prodding until it was clear that his Jesus was some fluffy, fake version of my Savior.

"Cool, man. When did you meet Jesus?"

He had had a "conversion" experience in '92, he told me.

"I'm a a knucklehead man!" He said slamming both hands down on the table, and leaning over towards me so I could smell his breath. "But Jesus still loves me. He has brought me through so much since then, and he's made me a good man. But I got so much ugly stuff at the same time. I get so confused, Jesse. I am two people in this body. Got a devil and an angel on my shoulders."

"Yeah man, I hear ya. You know, I think we're actually more similar than you might think. You mentioned ugly stuff, what's going on in your life?"

At this he cringed, and leaned back down into his seat, putting his hands in his hair. "Man... I got so much. I mean, look at my knuckles!" He showed me his bruised knuckles. "I just fought with some fool a few days ago, man. I steal too. Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat. You know?"

"Yeah, that's a hard spot, I understand. But you know, Jesus can help you, even when your situation is impossible. He wants the best for you. He wants you to be saved from this stuff, Jack. If you trust him and obey him he will provide for you. He is calling you out of that lifestyle, buddy."

"I'm glad I met you, Jesse."

"I'm glad we met too."

I prayed for him.

After we prayed, he looked up holding my hand with both of his and said, "Brother, I'll see you someday, even if it's not in this life!"

"Absolutely. And he has promised us that when we get there we will be totally freed from our sin."

"Oh, I can't wait, brother!" Jack really meant it. He fought with his flesh daily. He knew Jesus. He loved Jesus. He had held onto Jesus for 20 years. And he was a wicked sinner. But his righteousness and mine were both found in the man Jesus Christ. I knew he was my brother.

He stood up to leave and set his backpack on the table, which had a baseball bat sized club in it. He noticed that I saw and said. "Ah man. See? This is how screwed up I am. I carry this thing around. Ain't that nasty?"

"Yeah." I said. "You know, you can always throw that away..."

"What? I can't throw that away." He smiled at the sheer ridiculousness of my statement. "I gotta be watchin' my back, man!"

I laughed at his response, which was a meaningful symbol of a hundred idols I am yet to throw away.

Longboarding, Metaphors, Sigur Ros, and Jesus

There are parallels in this life that absolutely intrigue me.

Here is an example.

Longboarding down a hill for the first time is intimidating. You have no idea what to expect - no knowledge of the bumps, the slope, the pavement, etc. But once you have gone down the hill several times you become familiar with it, and the ride loses its intimidation.

Meeting somebody for the first time can be intimidating for the same sort of reasons. But once we have become acquainted with their personality we feel comfortable around them.

These two scenarios are parallel. They express the idea of the unknown and the familiar. They are essentially the same.

These sorts of parallels are so prevalent that we weave them into our everyday conversations (as in the sentence I just used). We say things like "I just blew right through that book" or "he nailed that note" without even considering the parallels we are appealing to. Hammering a nail into a board is apparently so much like singing the right note that we can say "he nailed that note" with confidence that we are speaking precisely and truly.

It is as if both of these things speak of the same abstract platonic reality which exists in a different realm.

... Or maybe Justin Martyr was right. Perhaps Plato was plagiarizing Moses. Justin argued that the Torah is filled with earthly instructions and realities (e.g. tabernacle) that are symbolic of heavenly realities. Often Justin's comment is dismissed as a pragmatic apologetic. But regardless of whether or not Plato was intentionally plagiarizing Moses, it is certainly true that the Hebrew Bible has always recognized that the heavens and earth speak of a greater spiritual reality (a reality in a different realm, hence the connection with Plato).

Psalm 19

1The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

This universe is revealing knowledge of God.

I think these are the sorts of passages the apostle Paul was thinking of when he says "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" (Romans 1:20).

God's attributions make up the created world. In other words, there is nothing in existence which is not representative of an attribute of God.

Jonathan Edwards says "creation is as full of images of divine things as a language is full of words".

Plato describes a philosophical system that recognizes a realm separate from this metaphysical realm that contains "ideals" which this physical realm represents.

Justin Martyr's argument is that this idea is actually a deeply biblical concept. I think he's right, actually.

Returning to the original example of longboarding and meeting a person, we can recognize that scenarios point to other scenarios... which point to other scenarios. Longboarding is like meeting a person, which is like driving for the first time (something you must become familiar with to overcome the initial intimidation). And there is an infinite chain of these parallels. We call these metaphors, or illustrations.

Everything is about everything else. This is why we can sympathize with stories like Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat". Even if we have never been in jeopardy out at sea, we have all had weeks that seem as though the waves of everyday life will drown us, and the only joy we can find is among sympathetic friends.

Everything is about everything else. But ultimately everything is about Jesus. Everything is a metaphor for Christ. Christ is the only thing that is not a metaphor for other things.

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16).

This world is about Jesus. Everything that you enjoy is pleasant only because it is like Christ. Food is only satisfying and sustaining because Christ satisfies and sustains. A pure, faithful, loving, joy-filled marriage is only beautiful because Christ will marry the church (and no earthly marriage compares to this joy). A good father is a good father because he is imitating the Father.

And this is why Sigur Ros' song "Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" is about Jesus, the coming King, and the joy that will fill our hearts when we see him. It is not possible to write songs that aren't ultimately about Jesus. Though the artist may try his best, in the end this is Jesus' world, and everything he uses - chords, instruments, buildups, breakdowns, beats, time signatures, poetry - are all about Jesus. "The devil has no stories," says Peter Leithart.