TADB 18: His Story-The Coronation (Act 6)

Drum roll please!  The curtain opens; the audience rises; the coronation is about to begin.

We have been looking at the great cosmic drama through the lens of the angelic audience as depicted in Eph. 3:10.  The Son of God has been revealed in:

  •  Act 1:  The Incarnation
  •  Act 2:  The Demonstration
  •  Act 3:  The Crucifixion
  •  Act 4:  The Resurrection
  •  Act 5:  The Ascension

Now we begin Act 6  The Coronation

The angels marveled as they witnessed the expanding revelation of the wisdom of God.  They saw the Son of God invade human history and through that drama, many of the multi-faceted aspects of God’s nature were revealed in a whole new way.  Aspects they had not seen before were observed through the personal experiences of God’s family of faith.  The angels responded with adoration, worship, and praise.

At the ascension several historic events took place.  One is that the Son of God returned to heaven as the eternal God/man to be forever linked to humanity.  Another is that out of His love for His redeemed family, Christ became their High Priest and sent His own Spirit to dwell in each one providing power as well as the down payment on their vast inheritance.

But wait; there is more!  The curtain has opened for Act 6:  His coronation.  The audience stands in awe as the ascended Christ steps into the spotlight of heaven and takes His seat of authority with the Father.  He is given authority over the cosmos and all the powers and entities it contains.

This may not be a big deal to us, but it was in heaven.  It was this preeminent role that Jesus casually referred to when He gave the eleven apostles the “Great Commission” (Matt. 28:18-20).  It is this defining moment that the New Testament writers refer to when they admonish Christ followers to live according to the new kingdom.  The common phrase of the coronation of Christ is “He sat down at the Father’s right hand”.  The term does not imply inaction but rather divine authority.

The ultimate plan of God is revealed in which “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:20-21 NASB).

Jesus, the Christ is now the Lord/King.  It was the Kingship of Christ that permeated the message of the gospel from the very beginning days in Jerusalem.  Peter in his initial sermon said, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, … let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified” (Act 2:32-36 NASB).

Paul states the application of this truth.  “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:1-3 NASB).

As the Son of God returns to the heavens and takes control, the angelic audience rejoices.  Never doubting His power or authority they now see His leadership through a clearer lens of grace, mercy, and love.  While they are taking it all in, they are also perplexed…baffled at the response of the family of faith on earth.  Confused at their casual indifference to the King and his kingdom.

They cannot understand why this new family of faith, having been given a new birth certificate (born into God’s family) and a new passport (citizens of Christ’s kingdom), live as though they are still trapped in the domain of darkness.  Don’t they know who they now are?  Don’t they realize that their permanent address has changed, that their home country is now the kingdom?  Don’t they understand that when they stand before God, He will not ask them, “Why should I let you into my kingdom?”  But rather He will simply look at their passport and say, “Welcome home”.  The crucifixion and resurrection guarantees their new birth certificate and the ascension and coronation guarantees their new passport.

Christ now sits at the right hand of the Father.  The Servant has become King…the Lamb the Lion.  The kingdom is firmly established and hope is guaranteed.  The Church has a Head and everything in heaven and earth is subject to Him…forever. Although His rule is currently invisible on planet earth, it is very real both in the heavens and in the hearts of His Family.  But the day is coming when what is hidden will become visible, what is hope will become tangible, and what has been promised will be delivered.

TADB 017: His Story (Act 4 & 5)

As the curtain comes up on Act 4 the spotlight is shining on a rock wall in a quiet garden.  This scene is unique as it doesn’t begin with Christ’s presence but with his absence.  We are not sure whether the audience knows what is about to happen or if they are as surprised as people in the story.  Certainly no one on stage has a clue.

Act 4:  The Resurrection

As the scene opens, three brave but cautious women approach the grave where Jesus was buried a few days earlier.  In their enthusiasm to finish treating the body of their crucified friend, they had not considered two huge obstacles:  a Roman guard and a massive stone.  But when they arrive they are overjoyed to see that both are removed.

When the women enter the tomb, however, their joy turns to surprise, confusion, amazement and fear.  Returning to town they report the empty tomb and the angel’s word of the risen Jesus to the apostles.  Surprisingly the women are not met joy and belief but with skepticism and adamant denial.  The resurrection of Christ was not last on the disciples’ list of possible outcomes, it wasn’t even on the page.  Later when Mary Magdalene told them that she had actually talked to the risen Christ, Mark says the disciples refused to believe it.

Over the next month, not only does the news spread, but the risen Jesus appears to around 500 of his followers in person.  Some believe right away, others need more convincing.  The apostle Thomas was one of those hard to convince.   His sight preceded his faith.  From now on, faith would precede sight.

Our angelic audience had to be astonished when the resurrected Son of God appeared still in the form of Jesus of Nazareth.  They had never seen anything like it. He looked like Jesus.  He took up space, talked, and ate, but he also moved with ease in and out of the natural physical dimension.  Could it be that the risen Jesus, the Christ, is now the first born of a whole new kind of family, the first of many?

One thing is certain.  The Son of Man has conclusively demonstrated that he is the Son of God.  Surely no one could doubt it now.  Paul, reflecting on the magnitude of this scene writes, “His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, (is) Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:1-4).

The angelic audience sits in wonder as the Son of God is revealed as victorious over the great enemy of death.  The final sacrifice for sin is now complete.  No more annual temple offerings.  It has been done once for all and forever.  His power is demonstrated, his deity affirmed, his kingdom is established. Victory is complete, death defeated, continuity guaranteed and life is now eternal.

The resurrected Christ becomes a watershed moment in history.  To most it is foolishness, but to a few it is the hope of the future.  This moment becomes a core part of the good news announced to a pagan Roman world.  When the philosophers heard Paul speak on Mars Hill, it was the resurrection that drew a line in the sand; some thought it ridiculous, others were curious, and a few believed.  Nothing has changed in 2000 years!

Act 5:  The Ascension

In this scene the curtain is closed but on the front of the stage the disciples are gathered around the risen Christ in serious conversation.  As they are discussing what the next scene will hold, Christ removes their ethnocentric lens by informing them that they are to be his witnesses starting from Jerusalem and extending to the entire world.  While the disciples reflect on the enormity of the mission, Jesus is “lifted up” and disappears from their sight.

The disciples leave the stage rejoicing while the curtain opens onto another dimension called heaven.  What is now center stage is foreign to humanity, but very familiar to our angelic audience who celebrate as they observe heaven receiving back the Son of God.

Only a few men have been given a glimpse into this dimension.  Stephan when he was being stoned, Paul when he had his vision, and the apostle John in the book of Revelation.

But what surprises our angelic audience is not that the Son of God has returned to heaven, but that he has returned still identified with humanity.  He remains the God/Man in his resurrected form.  The Son of God has chosen to remain identified with man even to the point of retaining the scars of his crucifixion.  Humanity has now entered heaven for the very first time.

The angels remember Jesus saying, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” and they realize that the giving is more than just for a brief moment in history, more than the separation on the cross…he was given forever.  From the incarnation to eternity the Son of God would be wrapped in humanity.  Jesus has chosen not to return to his pre incarnation state of glory, but to remain identified with those who will become his family.

The once for all sacrifice is carried into the Holy of Holies by Christ, the final High Priest, and presented to the Father.  The sacrifice is complete, finished.  The ascended Christ becomes the representative and intercessor for his expanding family of faith in heaven.  Now each one can come boldly …with confidence …at any time …in his name.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  …Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16).

In the final moments of this scene one more momentous event takes place.  The Spirit of Christ is released to be the Son’s representative on earth living in the hearts of his new family.  It fulfills Jesus’ promise made in the upper room not too many weeks earlier.  The Spirit is now sent to bring power into the lives of men and women of faith:  to testify, remind, empower, and guarantee their place with him forever.  After the ascension, following Christ is no longer a matter of personal determination but an abiding cooperation with the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Luke ends his gospel and begins his book of Acts with the ascension, telling us that

  • At the cross the disciples were scared, confused and apprehensive
  • At the resurrection they were surprised, amazed and excited
  • But at the ascension they were filled with joy

In this scene God’s manifold wisdom is revealed as humanity enters heaven announcing:

  • The incarnation has no expiration date,
  • His sacrifice is accepted,
  • Reconciliation is possible,
  • The Holy Spirit is personal,
  • Intercession is direct, and
  • Christ is an elder brother.

Once again the heavenly audience sits in silence as they ponder the significance of all that has happened.  Can anyone ever again doubt His love for humanity or question his delight in the expanding family born through faith?  And as they ponder, they wonder what is still to come.

TADB 016: His Story-Demonstration/Crucifixion (Acts 2 & 3)

 Act 1:  The Incarnation

 Act 2: The Demonstration

In this next act the Son of God, now called Jesus, is revealed as a servant, fulfilling the portrait of a servant introduced by Isaiah the prophet hundreds of years earlier.  But now the heavenly audience sits in quiet amazement as they watch the prophecy take on reality.  The Creator of the universe, the One who spoke the entire universe into existence is living in obscurity, doing the work of peasants and common laborers just to make a living.  They watch him get tired, hungry, sweaty, and blistered.  But the hardest is to watch him be mistreated, rejected, and misunderstood.

The Apostle Paul reflecting on this scene years later writes, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant” (Phil 2:6-7).

Throughout this Act, truth walks in a body, light enters darkness, mystery takes on clarity, and power takes on poverty.   For thirty some years, omnipresence takes on space, omnipotence gets tired, and grace walks in sandals.  The angelic audience sits, wondering when Jesus will finally unleash his power, reveal his identity, and vindicate his glory.  How long will this humiliation go on?

Yet as Jesus lives out his humble life demonstrating patience and gentleness and serving rather than being served, something more is taking place.  On the surface he is our example, but at a much deeper level, he is our substitute.  He is living in total alignment with his Father’s will.  He lives as the second Adam in the way the first Adam should have.  His total obedience to the Father will give him the right to represent all of humanity and become the substitute for their unrighteousness.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

During his short 30 plus years on planet earth, Jesus never traveled far from his home town.  He spent most of his time among the poor and common people of a small but contentious nation that was a PS in the grand Roman Empire.    He never wrote a book, trying for the most part to stay out of the view of the politicians and religious elite.  He mostly taught about the arrival of the kingdom of God and what life in that kingdom looks like.  His message was as counter cultural then as it is now.  It was received with curiosity and skepticism.  Yet he boldly claimed that this kingdom was now accessible, he was the only doorway to it, and he was the rightful ruler of it.

The crowds, initially curious, even amazed at the authority of his teaching, took every opportunity to have him heal their sick, cast out their demons, and serve them a free meal.  They hoped that he would eventually use his power to liberate their nation from the oppression of Rome, giving them the peace that they had so long been waiting for.  They were willing even to promote him from rabbi to king if he would only do it now.  But as it became frustratingly apparent that a physical kingdom was not his agenda, they turned on him, accusing him with made up crimes and charges.

The angelic audience watches with increased anxiety as this scene goes from bad to worse.  The storm clouds are gathering.  They are realizing that if the plan is to gain a broad market for his message, it isn’t working.  Opposition mounts. The religious rulers are obstinately set on getting rid of him.  The few friends and followers he has are scared, confused, and unpredictable.  Then just when it seems like it couldn’t get worse, it suddenly did.

Act 3:  The Crucifixion

Act 3 lasts only a few days.  However, the impact of this defining moment will be felt at a cosmic level for ever.  In the natural 2-dimensional world, an obscure rabbi is unjustly accused and murdered for religious blasphemy.  Maybe a big deal to a small religious sect at a brief moment in time, but certainly not something that would be remembered very long or change the direction of history.  Caesar could…maybe.  Alexander the Great for sure, but not this one they call Jesus.

Since the Jewish leaders no longer have the right to use capital punishment, they threaten the Roman magistrate with possible insurrection.  They claim that the rabbi Jesus has been announcing his right to be their new king.  That did it.  Pilot gives in to their demands and after a beating and phony trial, Jesus is crucified on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem.  By all rights, this should finish the story.  He lived.  He died. The end.  Even his friends, as they put his body in a borrowed tomb, felt the disappointment and end of what was once a ray of hope.  Maybe in the future some will see him as a good man with a big heart or even a decent example to emulate.  He certainly had some great one liners and stories worth remembering.

But on a higher, spiritual dimension, this defining moment was the fulfillment of a masterplan laid out in the eternal mind of the Trinity before the earth was formed.  The Son of God becomes Jesus, the Son of Man, who then becomes the Savior of the world.  The accumulative sin of humanity is placed on the innocent, perfect Lamb of God.

Paul reflecting on this scene a few year later said, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).

The ultimate “coup” is pulled off, rebellion is contained, the final sacrifice is made, sin is consolidated, God’s wrath is expiated, and the Trinity experiences separation.  At the cross God’s love meets His holiness in a brilliant display of grace.  Creation is liberated from the curse of sin and the bruised heel has finally crushed Satan’s head.

The angelic hosts never saw it coming.  They had never seen such a display of undeserving love.  Now grace takes on a new dimension, mercy is redefined, and love becomes iridescent.  They could hardly wait for the next Act to begin.  “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming!” 

TADB 015: His Story-The Incarnation (Act 1)

The gospel is a story, a drama of epic proportions.  It is the revelation of God in and through his Son the one we call Jesus, the Christ, the Lord (Romans 1:1-3).  It is His Story.  What may surprise us in this drama is that it is not about us.  We are not the focus.  We are not even the main audience.  The Apostle Paul tell us what is really going on.

“I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.  God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.   This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:9-11NLT).

This perspective on what God is doing seems quite different from what is talked about on most Sundays.  Paul reveals that this great drama is about revealing God’s Son: who he is and what he is like.  The invisible (but real) spirit world is the audience, watching what is being played out on planet earth, comprehending with increased wonder God’s wisdom and glory.  And we, the one part of his creation that was made in his image, are the supporting cast!  We are being used to display (make comprehensible, glorify) his nature in all of its dimensions.

In our broken and sin infected world, we are the means by which God is displaying the depth of his glory and wisdom.  The angelic world is watching in amazement and we, for a brief moment in time, get to experience it.  It is not about us, but it is through us.

It may be humbling to realize that we are not the focus of this great drama.  We are in the play to illuminate the incredible nature of the Author and Director of the Story.  This concept is counter to our current narcissism where our overt mantra is:  “It’s all about me”.  This defiant chant has echoed down the halls of history to the present day.  The Bible begins the Story with the tragic fall of humanity into the “it’s all about me” declaration.  Yet the hope of the Christian faith is in its ability to deliver us from the slavery of our self-orientation and isolation to alignment with Christ under His loving authority.

Now playing:  His Story

From the theater of heaven, the angelic audience is looking at a small but special planet in a vast cosmos.  This planet and the activity on it are central stage for the continued revelation of the vast wisdom of God.

Reading the program for this cosmic drama we discover:

  • It is written and directed by God the Father
  • The music is performed by the Holy Spirit
  • The central character with the starring role is the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, the one called Jesus, the Christ, the Lord.
  • The setting and background is the created cosmos
  • Earth is center stage: a significant, pale blue planet in the vast sea of the universe
  • Supporting cast: All of humanity and in particular those called God’s family of faith

The drama consists of seven acts depicting the defining moments in the revelation of the Son of God.  Time can be described as either linear (chronos) or as a special moment (kairos).  A kairos moment is not measured in hours, days or years but as a period/season where something significant happens.  It could happen in a few seconds or over a lifetime.

The unfolding drama is made up of critical kairos moments (scenes) in which the Son of God is revealing who he is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do.  Some of these moments are relatively short in duration (chronos time) while others happen over long periods of history.  In each kairos moment God is revealed in Christ from a different viewpoint, with different names, allowing us to experience his multi-dimensional nature.  Although he is always the same and never changes, his character becomes more obvious with each defining moment, giving us a complementary picture of the Son of God that together forms a grand, composite portrait.

 Prologue

The Old Testament is the background for what we are about to see.  Creation, the conflict between God and Satan played out in the Garden of Eden, the Patriarchs, the nation of Israel as a special people, all serve as the backdrop to the drama that is about to unfold.

Act 1:  The Incarnation

As the curtain is pulled back and this scene opens, our heavenly audience witnesses the eternal Son of God taking on humanity in an obscure little hamlet called Bethlehem.  They collectively break into song and applause while on stage only a few people even notice: just a few blue collar shepherds, a small band of curious scientists, and one irate, paranoid king.

Years later the Apostle John, tells his version of the grand Story.  “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  The Apostle Paul commenting on this scene writes, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Col 2:9).

The angelic audience is amazed as they witness eternity becoming an embryo, deity taking on humanity, glory becoming a shadow, perfection becoming vulnerable, greatness disguised by obscurity, and infinity clothed in mortality.

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son … He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:1-3).

The Son of God now calls himself the Son of Man, but his common, given name is Jesus.  Jesus is the English version of the Hebrew name Yeshua….a common name related to Joshua.  Whenever this name is used, it reminds people that the eternal God took on human form and became one of us.

The defining moment of the incarnation reveals the compassionate heart of God that had planned from eternity past to give up his natural expression of glory to become one with those who had rejected him.  His Love now becomes iridescent as it is diffused through the prism of humanity.

(Coming next:  Act 2 and 3)

TADB 014: Gospel of the Gaps

The term “God of the gaps” was first used in the 19th century referring to a theological argument in which God is the reason for any phenomenon that couldn’t be explained by the current scientific understanding.  But a form of “god of the gaps” has been around for a long time.  It is found in pagan religions throughout history when men believed there must be a god or gods who controlled what they could not – which was almost everything.  Therefore, people needed a god of the harvest, fertility, war, disease, love, etc.  Pagan worship was built around placating or bribing the gods to intervene for the benefit of the worshipper.  If things went well, the gods were pleased.  If they went poorly, the gods were angry.

With the Enlightenment period of European history, man gradually gained increased knowledge and control over his life and environment.  The result was the inevitable decreasing need for a belief in a god of the gaps.  Postmodern man considers medieval religious beliefs mythical, unnecessary…even silly. Compared to our early ancestors, a self-sufficient modern man admits to few things being outside his control.  Why pray to a god of war when we you can just build a bigger bomb?

Today the pagan “god of the gaps” is just below the surface.  For example, consider what happened right after “911”.  For several months churches experienced a huge surge in attendance.  Public conversation, which normally avoided any mention of God or prayer, was temporarily filled with it.  The vulnerability of the moment led to a revival of the “god of the gaps”.  The normal politically correct view of avoiding any mention of God was then and is still today temporarily suspended in national or natural tragedies.

But closer to home in our evangelical world, I wonder if we haven’t just exchanged a “god of the gaps” with a “gospel of the gaps”.  Early in my training for sharing the gospel, I learned “open nerve” evangelism.  The rationale is that since not everyone has a felt gap of sin and alienation from God, but they do have overwhelming issues, we need only identify an issue and show them how Christ can help.  Afterwards, we expose them to the real gap:  the sin gap and how Christ came to deal with it.

The unintended consequence is we present God as The Gap Filler.  Here is a quick summary.  Come to Jesus and he will bridge the:

  1. Guilt gap:  Forgive us from the guilt of past sin
  2. Fear gap:  Give us immunity from penalty of future sin
  3. Eternity gap:  Give us a contract on a heavenly condo
  4. Fulfillment gap:  Give us a personal gift package to make our lives abundant

Our intention is to later add, “Oh, by the way, now that you have come to Jesus, he wants you to follow him, take up your cross, die daily, serve others, and do everything for his glory.”   Naively we expected people to replace the “It’s all about me” view of the gospel to “It’s all about him”.  Some do.  Most do not.

The problem with the gap message is not that it is untrue, but that it is inadequate.  Wanting God to fill our gaps is not wanting too much but too little.  It is certainly true that Christ is interested in meeting our needs:  healing our diseases, breaking chains of bondage, giving us peace, even restoring our fractured and fragile self-image.  But the gospel Jesus taught and Paul preached was not a gospel of self-actualization or self-fulfillment.  It was a gospel of the truth about God expressed through his Son and of his offer of life in his kingdom.  The good news that comes from the gospel is not about making our self-centered lives more self-oriented but about the freedom to join in his kingdom life –the reality for which we were designed and without which we are incomplete.

Nothing has changed in human nature in two thousand years.  The people Jesus ministered to were more than willing to have him fill their gaps.  They wanted his free meals, healing, and deliverance from oppression.  What they rejected was the King and his kingdom, but that is what he offered.  Not much has changed.

A cursory study of the book of Acts and the gospel message being taken from Jerusalem to the edges of the Roman world, reveals a message of Christ and life in his kingdom.  No promise of self-actualization or a more comfortable lifestyle is presented … only a promise of freedom to know Christ and live with him in his eternal kingdom kind of life.

When Paul introduces the gospel of Christ to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, he starts with God as the Creator and Lord of all creation.  He then moves to a call for repentance in light of the One who was resurrected from the dead and will judge the world… seems a little different than “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” I wonder, if Paul had the chance today to speak on our university campuses or on Capitol Hill, would he say the same thing?

For reflection:  What impact does a gospel of the gaps have on discipleship?

TADB 013: The Law of Unintended Consequences

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a 1989 American science fiction family film produced by Walt Disney Pictdures.  It tells the story of an inventor who accidentally shrinks his and his neighbor’s kids to a quarter of an inch with his electromagnetic shrinking machine.  It is a whimsical adventure built around the law of unintended consequences.

Today I believe we are experiencing the unintended consequences of “shrinking” the gospel message as evidenced by the disparity between the normal Christian life presented in the New Testament and what is being demonstrated in our culture today.  Polls consistently reflect that a high percentage of Americans self-claim to be “born again”, but they show little statistical difference in values, morals, and behavior from those who don’t.  This embarrassing contradiction has been true for so long that it is accepted as the new normal.

One cause is certainly the lack of spiritual training and discipleship, but I wonder if there is not a more systemic issue.  I wonder if the epidemic of spiritual complacency regarding living a kingdom lifestyle goes back to our concept and presentation of the gospel message.

The term “gospel” simply means “good news”, but good news about what?  Gospel is a headline in search of a story (content).  There are a lot of gospels out there, but what is the gospel that is the power of God for salvation that requires faith and sets us free to live the eternal kind of life found in his kingdom?

When the New Testament writers use the term gospel they normally follow it with a prepositional phrase that gives it content (a story).  The most common one is some variation of “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.

The book of Romans is the most complete presentation of the gospel in the New Testament.  In his introduction to the book, Paul makes the claim that he is an apostle set apart for the gospel.  But the gospel of what?  To Paul the gospel was not just a headline, it was a message, a story…about Someone.

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God…concerning His Son… Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 1:1-3).  Paul continues in verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation” (KJV).

In Paul’s opening presentation of the Gospel, he identifies three core aspects of the identity (story) of the Son of God:

Jesus:  The incarnate Son of God:  a real flesh and blood person in the lineage of David

Christ:  The anointed Deliverer:  the One to bring redemption to a broken world

The Lord:  The final Authority:  King, Master, Ruler

The New Testament gospel is the good news about the Son of God who is called Jesus, the Christ, the Lord:  the one who has made life in his kingdom accessible.  It is about him. It is more than a doctrine, it is his story…the whole story.

The first four books of the New Testament are called “Gospels”, each giving a portrait of the incarnate Son of God.  Together they present a composite picture of who he is from before creation to the final judgment.

In his book, Darwin’s Black Box, Michael Behe (biochemical researcher and professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania) introduced the concept he calls “irreducible complexity.”  In simple terms, this idea applies to any system of interacting parts in which the removal of any one part destroys the functionality of the entire system. An irreducibly complex system requires each and every component to be in place before it will function. The mouse trap is a simple example of irreducible complexity.  The mouse trap has five working parts each of which must be present for the system to work at all.  Remove one part and the whole mechanism is inoperable.

So what is the “irreducible complexity” of the gospel?  If the gospel is the good news about Jesus, the Son of God, then what about Jesus do we need to present (or believe) for the gospel to be operable?  Could it be that in our attempt to make the gospel marketable and simple in a soundbite world, we have actually “shrunk” it beyond its critical complexity, resulting in unintentional consequences?

What about Christ is optional to know, believe, or present?  Most of us would quickly react to a “liberal” gospel that presents Jesus as simply a good Teacher.  However, what is our response to a gospel that presents him as a good Teacher plus the sacrifice for sin?  Is that enough?

The gospel of Christ on the resurrection side of the cross is a composite of all that is true about him from Creator to final Judge.  When we shrink the gospel message to a few concepts, however important they are, we create a dichotomy between evangelism and discipleship that was never intended.  The result is discipleship becomes an elective and kingdom living an option.

Question for reflection:

How should the current cultural drift from a Judaic/Christian world view affect how we present the gospel of Christ?

TADB 012: Grace and Conditions

A first cousin to the grace/effort tension is the grace/conditions tension.  This tension is exposed by the question, “Are God’s promises unconditional?”  You could substitute any number of spiritual concepts for the underlined word “promises” and create the same tension.

Grace is usually understood as the unmerited favor of God expressed to us out of his loving nature.  Vines NT dictionary defines grace (charis) as:  that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard…  In the Old Testament the concept is expressed by the word “lovingkindness”.

To this basic understanding of the word grace we often add the concept “unconditional”, but when we read the promises in Scripture, most often they do contain a condition…an “if-then” connection.  This creates a tension because in our minds, fulfilling conditions is the same as trying to earn or merit God’s favor.  A merit based life contradicts a grace based life.  We handle such tension by polarizing what we cannot harmonize and the result is we often claim the promises but disregard the uncomfortable (even unwanted) conditions.

For example:

(6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7).

The promise is for the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds.  It is clearly a gracious offer by God for our benefit.  Who wouldn’t want to trade anxiety for peace?  But the gracious offer is prefaced by unmistakable conditions:  prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving!

So when we try to live by grace and the “conditions” create angst in our spirit, I suggest we not ignore the conditions but rather decouple conditions from the concept of merit.  It is an unnecessary and detrimental alliance.

Recently some friends of ours called to offer us tickets to the Kansas City Symphony at the Kaufman Center.  They said they were a gift if we wanted them.  When we replied in the affirmative, they said we could pick them up at the “will call” window before the performance.

Arriving a little early to the concert, I stood in line at the will call window to receive the tickets.  Once in hand we eagerly (and gratefully) took our seats in the auditorium.

Nowhere along that process did I think that by standing in line and asking for my tickets I had somehow merited them.  However, had I failed to do just that, the tickets would still be on the shelf and we would not have heard the concert.  The tickets offered without merit required an action on my part for the gift to be experienced.  The action was actually quite trivial compared to the gift itself.  The gift was free but experiencing the gift was not automatic.  It required action, a response on my part.

In the same way the gracious gift of reconciliation with God is freely offered without merit (other than Christ’s,) but it is not unconditional.  Although we need to comply with the conditions, we should not think that by fulfilling them we are somehow meriting the gift.  To do so would be arrogant, foolish, or just naïve.

But conversely we should not expect the gracious gifts of God without respect for the conditions he connects to them.  The conditions are never arbitrary but wisely given as a further expression of his grace.

When our youngest son was about six years old he come to me one day and asked if he could have his own “boys” bike.  I asked him what was wrong with the bike his sister learned on.

He said, “It is pink and has Smurfs on it”.

So, I asked, “What kind would you like?”

“I want a black one with knobby tires!”

That day I made him a promise.  If he learned to ride his sister’s bike without the training wheels, I would get him his own “boys” bike – black with knobby tires.

The condition was not a merit system in which he would earn enough money to buy the bike.  They were given to encourage the development of a helpful life-skill (bike riding) that I knew would help him in life beyond the current desire for a shiny new bike.

A few months later he came to me to claim what I promised.  After riding the pink Smurf bike down the driveway without training wheels, we went to the store and picked out the coolest, black bike with knobby tires.

In a much more significant way, God graciously offers us promises to live by along our journey of discipleship.  We must not ignore the conditions for those promises nor think of them as a form of merit.  Rather they are God’s gracious provision for our walk of faith.

Question for reflection:

What promises/conditions do you find in the following:  John 3:16, Hebrews 4:16, Joshua 1:8?

TADB 011: Reducing Tension in Discipleship

There are aspects of the Christian life that are paradoxical, causing tension when we can’t resolve them.  As a rule we tend to polarize what we cannot harmonize, emphasizing one over the other, or promoting one and minimizing the other.  Whole denominations have been built around this type of tension.  Although some tension is unavoidable, we can also create tension by unnecessary polarization.

Remember the old question, “Did you walk to school or carry your lunch?”  It’s humorous because it proposes a choice that is unnecessary.  You may need to choose between walking to school and riding your bike, but you don’t need to choose between how you travel to school and what you have for lunch.  You can easily do both.  The tension is unnecessary.

An example of this kind of created tension in discipleship is the polarization of the concepts of grace and effort.  Somewhere along our Christian journey we heard the question, “Are you going to live by grace or effort?”  Rather than considering it a humorous, irrelevant question, we think the two concepts are incompatible and mutually exclusive.  We take it seriously and think we have to choose between them.  When we polarize two different concepts (e.g. belief and action), the tension is unnecessary and ultimately detrimental since both are biblical and essential to our journey of discipleship.

Grace vs. effort is a polarization of attitudes (motives) vs. action (behavior).  In our relationship with Christ, we need to understand that these two are not mutually exclusive.  We certainly must choose whether we are going to base our acceptance with God on his grace or our merit.  We cannot do both simultaneously.   However, effort is an action not an attitude.  If our effort (behavior) comes from an attitude of earning God’s acceptance, then we need to change our attitude not necessarily our actions.

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  He told me that it was a wake-up call as to how and why he ate. Before the diagnosis he lived to eat.  Now he eats to live.  The solution for diabetes was not to stop eating but to change his motivation behind eating.  In our culture we eat primarily as entertainment and comfort – not real healthy motivations.  The solution to a healthy body is not to quit eating but to reprogram our minds as to why and what we eat.

Effort is a major theme in discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross.  We are told to work, train, do, put off, put on, etc.  These actions are not competing with grace but are complementary to it.  When we polarize them, we create unnecessary tension and destroy the dynamic partnership captured in Phil 2:12-13.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation [effort]with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you [grace], both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

If we don’t start with grace as the foundation for our acceptance with God, our effort (or work) can become a source of merit.  We need to understand at a heart level that we are accepted by God on the merits of Christ and not our own.  This is a counter-cultural reality that constantly needs to be affirmed if we are to follow Christ on the resurrection side of the cross.  But having accepted the grace foundation, we need to work hard because our effort now serves a whole new purpose.

If we are doing what Scripture commands, but from an attitude of earning, then we need to change our attitude not the actions.  Grace is in tension with earning, but not with effort.  Discipleship, based on grace, is described as a walk, run, race, even warfare, requiring diligence, discipline, and perseverance all of which are sustained by the Holy Spirit.

Along your discipleship journey, you may slip back into the default thinking of doing what is right in order to gain God’s acceptance.  It is a pattern that is not easy to break.  At times you may think, for example, that by serving or memorizing Scripture, or obeying a command that God now owes you some answers to prayer or maybe a little credit next time you slip up.  When this happens, review your grace foundation.  Remind yourself of who you are in Christ and why.  Then reengage in working out your salvation from a different motivation. (I will discuss maturity and motivations in later blogs).

For reflection:

Are there spiritual truths you find difficult to harmonize?  To what extent do you polarize them?  Is the polarization necessary?

 

 

TADB 010: What’s on the Whiteboard?

The timeout is a critical tool for winning ball games.  In basketball each team is allowed a limited amount.  A coach calls a timeout for a variety of reasons:

  • Thwart the momentum of the opposing team
  • Refocus his players
  • Set up a special offense or defense
  • Give his players a rest
  • Overcome the crowd noise to send in instructions

Regardless of the reason, when a coach calls a timeout, the players huddle around him with their undivided attention.  No one is on their cell phone, visiting with the cheerleaders, or talking with their friends.  A coach has 60 seconds to get his idea across.  Often he explains his plan visually on a little whiteboard so the players can see as well as hear what is said.

Jesus modeled and taught how to live in relationship with the Father.  The Gospels tell us that Jesus frequently responded to the Father’s “timeout”.  One example is when Jesus took a timeout with his Father in the midst of a very successful healing ministry.  The result was an entirely new “play/plan” (Mark 1:32-39).

I consider my daily appointment with God (AWG) to be like a coach’s timeout.  It is a few minutes each day when I give my Coach my undivided attention.  I have found that the first thing in the morning before there is too much crowd noise, is the best time for me to hear his voice and understand what he is writing on the whiteboard.

I will know his directions when I allow Christ to speak his Word into my life on a consistent basis.  Some days I feel like I’m playing offense and other days I am on the defense.  But each day I need his play.

My AWG is not a time for training or long explanations but for words of encouragement and clarity.  There are other times when I need to practice and train.  The AWG is not a time for extended Bible study; that’s a different discipline.  But each day I need a fresh word from my Coach.

A simple plan to see what’s on the whiteboard looks like this:

  • Refocus

Honestly admit the current state of your heart and mind.  “This morning I feel like I could climb a mountain; I’m so pumped!”  OR “Right now my anxiety indicator is off the charts.  I know I should not be anxious, but that is where I am.”

Next refocus by reviewing some of the portraits of Christ that hang in the gallery of your mind.  Finish the statement, “Lord, today I acknowledge that you are my ………..”  (Shepherd, Friend, Shelter, Healer, etc.)

  • Read

As you go through a book of the Bible, read a short passage such as a paragraph, several verses, or maybe a chapter.  But keep it short.  Read it over several times.

  • Reflect

Think about the meaning of what you just read.  Asking questions such as what, why, how, and when, can help in this process.  And most important, ask how this is relevant to your life.

  • Record

Write down your main thought in a journal…keep a log of what you hear God saying.  This is your whiteboard.  Journaling clarifies and focuses your mind as you ask the Lord, “What is the one idea that you want me to reflect on today?  What’s the play of the day?”

  • Respond

Pray back what you hear Christ’s Spirit saying to your heart.  Prayer makes it a dialogue.  Take what you have heard for yourself and pray it for others as God brings them to mind.  Pray the “play” into reality.

You will need to initially give some structure to your AWG if it is to become a spiritual habit.  Pick a time and place where you can be alone, undistracted and consistent.  Let your family know what you are doing so they can support your efforts.

You will probably need more than 60 seconds for a profitable AWG…but you don’t need an hour.  Start with 15 minutes until it becomes a pattern.  Then increase as you have opportunity.  Initially it may seem like you are performing a duty rather than personally meeting with the Lord.  But once you master the mechanics, your focus will become your relationship with Christ rather than filling in an outline.  At that point your AWG changes from being a duty to an absolute delight.

As you develop your ear to hear from God, you will find it easier to share your whiteboard experience with others as well.

Reflection:

  1. What is a next step for you to become consistent in a daily AWG
  2. What obstacles will you face?  How will you overcome them?

TADB 009: Free but not automatic

The simple free throw in basketball is as old as the game itself.  One of the few things that has not changed over the years and is the same at every level of play.  It has always been 15’ from a 19” basket.  Close games are often won or lost by the free throw.  However, free means uncontested not automatic.

Knowing Christ is similar to the basketball free throw.  The privilege of knowing Christ on the resurrection side of the cross is made possible by grace through faith in the person and work of Christ.  Paul refers to this new connection as Christ “in us” and we “in him”. This new reality offers us an opportunity that must be developed.

Knowing the infinite God of the universe may sound wonderful, but it takes effort, practice and skill over time if it is to be realized.  Jesus, along with the other New Testament writers, taught and modeled how this relationship is developed.  In a previous blog I mentioned that Jesus connected knowing him with eternal life.  He made eternal life to be more like a verb than a noun.  Paul challenges us today to take action.  Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called (1Timothy 6:12 NASB).

The process of knowing Christ is similar to how we grow in our knowledge of any living person.  There are four critical elements to “knowing” someone including Christ.

  • Mutual respect
  • Consistent dialogue
  • Shared experiences
  • Authentic transparency

Mutual respect

Respect is foundational to knowing and ultimately to loving another person.  The Psalmist reflects on how God views the people he has created.  What is man that You take thought of him…and care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God and You crown him with glory and majesty!”  (Psalms 8:4-5 NASB).

Part of our challenge in knowing Christ is to understand and accept what he says is true of us who are part of his family of grace.  John states we are children of God (I John 3:1-2).  Paul says we are saints.  But what do we say?  Do we think of ourselves as worms or wonderful, vile or valuable, sinners or saints?

Equally important is what we think of Christ – not only in theological terms such as omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, but regarding everyday life.  Most of us have a mental picture of Christ as the good Shepherd, but do we respect him as the person we would take with us into the boardroom or classroom….even picture him teaching a course on physics or psychology?

Dallas Willard identifies this as a major problem for discipleship:

What lies at the heart of the astonishing disregard of Jesus found in the moment-to-moment existence of multitudes of professing Christians, is a simple lack of respect for him.  He is not seriously taken to be a person of great ability.  But how, then, can we admire him?  And what can devotion or worship mean if simple respect is not included in it?  (The Great Omission p 19).

Developing an accurate picture(s) of the nature of Christ is the foundation for respect and true knowledge of him.  (Topics for future blogs).

Consistent dialogue

No friendship develops without mutual and consistent conversation.  It reveals what is on the mind and heart of another person.  Close down dialogue and you shut down the relationship (as most married people know too well).  Without consistent and mutual dialogue with Christ we may have a good theology but a shallow relationship.

We usually understand that prayer and Scripture form this dialogue.  The challenge is to develop this dialogue on a consistent and personal level.  The alternative is a “911” God who we call only when we are in trouble and Scripture becomes a Chilton’s Auto Manual that we look at only when something breaks.

 Shared experiences

Friendships are built one experience at a time.  Being together, sharing adventures, joys, heartaches, and sometimes just the daily routine, builds a relationship.  Shared experience creates a history of trust that can transcend time as evidenced by fraternities, sororities, military units, and sports teams.  As we trust and obey Christ in our daily lives our relationship with him will grow in scope and depth.

Mutual transparency

Christ does not promise to share his heart with casual observers.  Jesus told his disciples:

I no longer call you servants…I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you  (John 15:15). 

A study of the training of the twelve apostles reveals that Christ gradually revealed his heart as the disciples became closer to him.  His first invitation to the disciples was, “Come and see”.  By the time they were in the Garden of Gethsemane, they saw deeply and intimately into the heart and passion of the Savior.

Knowing Christ is a wondrous gift, but it must be developed.  The initiative and the means are from him, but he waits for us to act, to open the door and invite him into a relationship of KNOWING.

Reflection:

What practice (spiritual discipline) do you need to develop that would allow for a deeper relationship with Christ?  What would be a next step to make it happen?