Senior Credo
Jody Habinck
5 May 2007
Chapter 1
Method- Revelation, Canon, and Inspiration
Ever
since humankind first looked up in wonder at the countless stars of the vast
universe, we knew something bigger than us existed. In every ancient culture that I have ever
studied, the belief in a supreme being or many beings dominated their way of
life and worldview. Humans in ancient history
never saw themselves as the products of random events, never considered
themselves to be worthy of their own bodies, nor in control of their
fates. All of these things, for the past
thousands of years, were to be left in the hands of God or the gods. Were the ancients just uneducated,
superstitious, or tricksters of sleight of hand, who invented religion to
enslave the mind of the common masses?
Many
today would have us think so, but I am not as quick to side with Enlightenment
thinkers.[1] In the recent-past couple hundred of years,
the idea of god, especially God, (ie. Father of Jesus Christ, God of Christians)
has been challenged by those who have received a new grasp of science, reason,
and logic. Many believed these thinkers
successfully swept away the mystery of the world, the belief in the
supernatural, and the awe of God- in the United
States and Europe, as well as ex-communist Soviet Union
and communist China. Yet, the whole world right now seems to be
awakening again to the call of spirituality; seeking to fill the God-shaped
hole in their lives.
Some
who feel this call are awakening to Christianity, but many, especially in our
country, are being awakened by a more sinister worship, that of the ancient
gods which had long been forgotten. A
sampling of them are Druids, Norse, Hindus, Native Americans, and those gods of
the Far East.[2] If that is not enough to confuse the world,
the message of Islam is now spreading like a wild fire globally, and gaining
new believers every day, teaching a belief system that is not in line with the
Christian Bible. The world has once
again become a place that resembles much more the first century; the days of
Jesus, who cast out demons; the days of Paul, when he preached within eyesight
of the throne of Athena at the Parthenon in Greece; than it resembles the dream
of the Enlightenment thinkers. Never
before has the world desired to experience the presence of God more than now. Can the Christian Church answer this call;
can the Church lead people back into the presence of God?
As
a future minister of the Gospel I believe this is my call, to be a guide for others
(Christians and unbelievers) on the great journey; to see, to feel, to hear,
and to know the presence of God in their daily lives. I believe that many people in the Christian
churches have become too “enlightened” in a sense; forgetting the mystery of
Christianity, while clinging to a concept of a distant-unconnected God, as well
as memorializing the life of Jesus, rather than viewing him as the Incarnate
one, the risen Lord, who is present with us always, and our King who is to come. I believe that those who are not part of
Christian churches are seeking a faith that embraces: mystery, power, unity,
and love. They too are being drawn to
seek the presence of God.[3]
With all these
things stated, I believe it is possible for humans to be made aware that we are
always in the presence of God when we understand the gift of revelation (not
the book of Revelation). Revelation is
the revealing of what is hidden or unknown.
God fashioned creation, all the things on the earth in a way that reveals
some things about who God is. We call
this general revelation. General
revelation is just what the name implies.
The general meaning is that it is an unveiling that has been revealed to
all of humanity.[4] The Biblical book of Romans, chapter 1 argues
this point very clearly.[5]
So what things
might we learn of God through general revelation? In the created order we see a purpose, or an
intelligent design. We see an enormous
amount of creativity and imagination in the creatures that live in the seas,
walk on the land, and fly in the skies.
From the geologic data that has been collected, science guesses that the
earth is billions of years old. I assume
that if God created all that we see, then God must be older than the creation, even
older than time itself.
One way of looking at creation is seeing it as
a canvas for painting God’s imaginative ideas upon. If we were to take a painter’s canvas, or
even many paintings that the painter has created, I assume we might discover
the artist’s distinct pattern of brush strokes, similar choice of colors, and
even similar themes. Or if we look at a sculpture,
we can stand back and wonder in awe at its beauty, but when we approach it,
often we see the rough texture of the clay, and if we look hard enough, a
fingerprint or two may be found. That is
what general revelation is, the fingerprints of God.
Fingerprints can tell you nothing about a
person unless you already have a record of whose prints they are. When I was in law enforcement in the military
we fingerprinted everybody in the military, so that if an emergency or a crime
were to happen we could identify whose prints we found at the scene. The FBI has a crime lab - a huge building in Washington D.C.
where agents mostly do nothing but store and analyze fingerprints. The reason behind this, is that no two
fingerprints are alike. I assume then if
we were to have enough patience to look the world over, turn it inside out, and
examine it through a magnifying glass, or through micro and macro lenses, that
we should come to the finding that only one set of fingerprints (figuratively
speaking) can be found. Those prints
would be of God. But as I argued
earlier, nothing can be known of fingerprints except that someone was present
at the scene, unless one has a record of whose prints they might be.
Special
revelation is what I would consider the record itself, which identifies to whom
the fingerprints belong. We believe this
record of evidence is what we call the Bible.
The name Bible is of Latin and Greek origin meaning book. The Christian Bible is itself a large
collection of sixty-six separately composed books that were written thousands
of years ago, and together they compile the revelation of the being, whose
fingerprints can be found all over creation.
Since God is a supernatural being (exists outside the natural world)
that is beyond the limits of scientific understanding and outside our mental
capacities of thought, we too are just one fingerprint in the creation. Therefore, it takes the creator, God, to
reveal who God is.
There is a special
relationship between humans and God, and because of this, God chose to reveal God
to humanity through the scriptures (Scripture is just another term that we
designate for the Bible). The scriptures
are actually a record or a journal that God was and is using to reveal God. I
believe that God began the story of God’s involvement with creation in the book
of Genesis and closed the book with the Revelation of St. John, which tells us
of a new creation, our eternal home.
In the Bible we
have a record or source that comes directly from God to human beings. I believe this is how the Bible is the
inspired word of God. This is a source
of controversy within the Christian circle of believers. Some of them would like to think that God
used the Bible’s authors much like that of a court reporter; in which the
reporter by verbatim writes what they hear and then puts it into the court
records. Others would have us to believe
that the Bible is solely of human origin ,that it is entirely a human creation
that has been manipulated to fit human historical and theological agendas. We find these theories in those who are most
critical of the canon of scripture.
The canon simply
refers to how the Bible is arranged; what order the little sixty-six books are
in, as well as what books made the cut and which were left out. A great deal of interest is being generated
by these unknown books. They remain
unknown because they did not meet the criteria of the early church
councils. These councils judged a book
by its authenticity, how it fit with the other books’ teachings, as well as if
it was used in the early church. There is
disagreement between Catholics and Protestants on this issue over a subset of
books called the Apocrypha, which do not meet all the mentioned criteria, but
are still useful in learning about the early church. In the canonization of the Scriptures, a few books
in the English version of the Bible from the Old Testament (written prior to
Jesus’ birth), were rearranged and their order does not match up to the source-
the Hebrew Bible.[jlh1]
These distinctions have all led to some
speculation on the Bible as the work of God, or the work of humans. However, my beliefs fall in the middle of the
two debates I cited earlier. While I am
aware of the human manipulation during the canonization of the Bible, I also
believe that the Bible is the word of God.[6] This means that Jesus, the Risen Lord,
oversaw what the church was doing with his books; the books that have the power
in them to unveil who Jesus is to the world.
While I don’t believe that the authors were court reporters, I do
believe that the Spirit led them along in their writing of scripture. God seems to use humans in their true forms,
ethnic backgrounds, gender, occupations, and historical circumstances in order
to relay the message of good news to the world.
What this means is that we should expect to find a human element in
scripture, and that scripture is not inerrant (without error) as the first
group would have one believe. I am very
comfortable with the statement, “the Bible is inerrant in all that it intends
to teach.”[7] I believe this is a healthy option because it
keeps one from picking out choice words (proof texting) in order to fuel a
personal agenda, and makes us examine the context of the words as well as how
they fit in the larger story of the Bible.
As Christians, we depend upon these scriptures
- the Bible - to make God known to us.
The Bible, which was spoken first (oral tradition), written (witness
accounts, letters, poetry, visions, etc.), and then handed down through the
centuries, is our most trustworthy method of communication with God. In its pages, we can take comfort in the fact
that God revealed God not in just a few days or even years, but from the
creation of Adam and Eve, till after the crucifixion of Jesus some six thousand
years total in the process. God is still revealing God in the world
today, but this only happens if one knows who to look for. Otherwise, we are aware only of God’s
fingerprints, and cannot see God, who is in the room present with us.
Chapter #2
Who is God, and what are God’s Intentions?
As a Christian, I
understand from the scriptures, the message that God is unlike anything that is
known to us. God created all that we
see, as well as the universes that are hidden to our senses. God, in the words
of the German theologian Karl Barth, is the “wholly Other”, separate in being
from the created world, yet fully involved in its care.[8] This is why the categories of logic we place
upon the natural world are unfitting for God.
In the Reformed Church, we believe
that the Bible is the final authority, kind of like the Supreme Court, but we
also look to our creeds and confessions, to help us determine the overall
picture of God, who is revealed in the scriptures.[9] The Reformed Creeds and Confessions help me to see the big picture, the
full scope of the story of the Bible.
Creeds are historic statements of faith that the Church have been using
as early as the fourth century, as laying down the foundations of Christian
belief. The Reformed
Church recognizes three historic creeds- the Nicene Creed (3rd century), Athanasian Creed (5th century) and the Apostles' Creed (date contested between 2nd -5th
century).
The confessions are much later historical documents. They are sets of authoritative
formulas of our fundamental beliefs, pulled from the vast story of the Bible,
by pastors, professors, and councils of the past, and are arranged in an
accessible way for any person to read and understand. The Belgic Confession (1561), Heidelberg
Catechism (1563), and Canons of Dort (1619) are the recognized confessions of
faith by the Reformed Church. The Belgic
Confession, article two, has given me a starting point to ponder who God.
[jlh2] “We all believe in our hearts and confess
with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call
God-eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty;
completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good.”[10]
How does one make sense of this statement, and why
would we desire our God to hold these traits, may be the questions you are
asking. In the world in which we live,
we experience the limits of time or space, death, and chaos. These concepts have been argued historically,
theologically, and biblically as categories that God is not limited to. Each one of these characteristics of human
life does not apply to the attributes (character) of God.
First,
God is not limited to time or space.
God’s being exists outside of creation, and is therefore not limited to
the restraints of time, which humankind created by observation of the sun,
moon, and stars. If God is outside
creation, then God is among the supernatural.[11] The categories of the supernatural revealed
in scripture are spirits, angels, and demons.
God falls into the first of these categories. God is spirit, who has no shape or form;
therefore, God is not limited to a specific time or place of being. God is free like the wind, which one cannot
see, but one can feel and see its effects.
Maybe that is why the Spirit of God is compared to the wind.[12] If God is like the wind that appears to be
present everywhere, God could be said to be the Spirit that the world is
blanketed in, much like a thick fog on a Fall morning. This places God everywhere, but also nowhere,
since God’s physical location is never stationary. If God blankets the world, God can not be
part of the actual material of creation such as many new age and nature
religions believe.[13]
Second,
God does not experience death or birth.[14] God just is, and that is as much as we know
within our human understanding and the revelation of scripture. God exists, always has existed, and always
will continue to exist. God has no lifespan, which we know limits all
humankind. One can safely know that God
is eternal. God, who exists eternally
and outside of creation, can be said to be self reliant. God doesn’t need anyone or anything to
continue to be God. Moses was the first
human that found this to be true, when God revealed God’s self at Mt.
Sinai,
as “the Great I Am.”[15] The name “I am” implies that God just is.
This should be a relief to all humans, knowing that God is not dependent on our
actions, or our worship to continue to be God.
Third,
God is not subject to the chaos of life, which defines what it means to be
human. To live in a chaotic world means
that we are subject to the ever-changing environment, which leaves us in
control of nothing. We have no control
over the forces of nature, over other people, or our futures. Everything is outside of human control, even
though we pretend it isn’t. That is not the case with God. God, an eternal spirit, who exists outside of
creation is in complete control, because the creation cannot be greater than
its creator. Simply put, all of creation
does nothing that God does not allow.
God is revealed in scripture as the ruler of the universe, who creates
and destroys, gives life and takes life away.[16]
Because God is the ruler and the creator, the “wholly Other”, we can take
comfort in knowing who is in control of our lives and of all creation.[17]
One
way that God is in control stems from God’s ability to know all things. Theologians give this the name “omniscient”,
meaning God knows all things that have occurred, is occurring, and will occur.[18] This implies that God can not be surprised by
our actions or the world’s because God knew it would be that way. Although we cannot surprise God by our
actions, we can still disappoint God by our wrongdoings. In a sense, God is much like a reader who
holds a book in hand, with the ability to flip through its pages, even so
choosing to read the last chapter, before beginning the first. While we do not know the details of the
entire story, God has revealed the main plot lines. God, in revealing the scripture to humans,
has invited us to join God in fulfilling the overarching plan that God first
intended for us and creation. God
created the world, it appears to me, to be a home for humanity.
In Psalm 8, humanity is revealed as the
crown of earth, made higher than the animals, yet lower than the angels.[19] There is a special bond between humanity and
God.[20] God created us to be found and brought into
the presence of God that we might worship God, and be brought into friendship, so
that we would be added to God’s family, together with all who have received
God’s love and grace.
Because God has made us aware of God through the
things in the world, I believe that one of creation’s intended purposes is to
reveal God to humanity.[21] In the Reformed Church, we celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While I do not wish to go into depth on their
meaning yet, a brief introduction is in order, so a comparison can be
made. Each of these acts, are symbolic
rituals that use common items such as water, bread, and wine to signify the
supernatural presence of God in our midst, in which we believe the Spirit of
God comes near to us. I believe creation
was also originally intended to be a type of sacrament, in the words of Augustine (a fifth century church father that impacted
the western theology of the church), who believed them to be ‘visible
signs of God’s invisible grace.” Creation was the gift that God had prepared
for humankind so that in our everyday living we could experience the presence
of God in practical ways. [22] I believe that if the people of the world were
taught to know who to look for, they will find the fingerprints of God all over
the world; in all cultures, and in many of their beliefs. God really is in front of all our eyes, we
just need the right lenses (the Bible) to see in focus. [jlh3]
While creation is a gift from God, I believe this gift of creation was broken when
humankind sinned by defying God’s rules in the Garden of Eden in Genesis three.[23] Since that time, humankind and creation has
had a broken relationship, which as I will later argue, can only be repaired by
Jesus Christ. The plan of God has always
been to seek to restore the brokenness in humanity’s relationship with God, as
well as restore creation to its original beauty. In a world in which we hear daily about how
humanity (mostly
by accident) has defaced the earth, abused its resources, caused the extinction
of plants and animals, upsetting the delicate balance of the natural
environment, [jlh4] we await God’s plan to come to its end.
Because God is all powerful (sovereign) and
all knowing, we wait in the knowledge of God’s providence, that all things will
be restored. God’s providence is the
understanding that God will not be defeated in the plan to restore all
things. Providence
also gives us individuals and the church hope, that our lives are meaningful,
and that God has incorporated us into God’s plan and has equipped us, so we
might join God in the mission to restore creation.[24] In restoration, we try to put something back
to its original condition, such as a carpenter would do to a piece of prized
furniture, or a mechanic to an old automobile. While providence may sound like
God is a micro-manager, or a puppeteer who pulls the strings making us dance,
the revelation of scripture presents a far different picture. “This doctrine
gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us
by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious
heavenly Father. He watches over us with protective care, keeping all creatures, so that not one of the hairs on our heads (for they are all numbered), nor even a little bird can fall to the ground "apart from our Father."[25]
heavenly Father. He watches over us with protective care, keeping all creatures, so that not one of the hairs on our heads (for they are all numbered), nor even a little bird can fall to the ground "apart from our Father."[25]
The
God of the Bible is not a Deist type of god [jlh5] who creates and then walks away from the
creation. God is not a cold hearted,
unattached being that moves us around on the face of the earth as a
chess-master would a pawn. No, God is represented in scripture as a relational
being, often addressed by Christians as Lord and Father. These two images are unique to many other
religions. God is portrayed not
only as a spirit, but as a person. God
is quite confusing to our human ears, when we talk about the personhood of
God. Because of this, there has always
been some trouble in defining God. Since
the fourth century, Christians have understood God to exist in the persons of
the Trinity.[26] We call our God the
Tri-une God, tri meaning three and, une, meaning one. So we believe that God is three persons but
only one being.[27] We give these persons of God the titles
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[28]
Over
the years, many have tried to come up with different titles and models that
might represent the Trinity. I have
found each model has flaws, but one model that I find helpful, is to think of
fire. Fire exists because of three
things, heat, air and fuel. If one of
these is taken away, the fire is extinguished.
There is a dependent relationship on those three items, without each of
them there is no fire.
The doctrine of the Trinity is
much too complex for any model to represent, and so we search for different titles. One set is
the Father/Creator, Son/Redeemer, and Holy Spirit/Sustainer. In the following chapters I will seek to
examine if these titles are helpful or truthful. To begin, I think we have to admit that we
don’t really know if God exists in this formula of three. But, the revelation of scripture points to
this interpretation, and the Christian Church’s tradition has held this belief
for over sixteen-hundred years. [29] Those
two sources of authority are good enough for me.
Chapter 3
Who is Jesus and
How is He Our Savior?
Through the life
of Jesus Christ, I am brought face to face with God. Unlike any of the other gods found in other
religions, Christ makes his impact upon me, not by his might and power, (as one
would expect to find in a god) but as a servant. The uniqueness of Jesus stems not only from
his divinity (being of God), but also in his humanity; growing up a carpenter’s
son, who never traveled more than a few hundred miles, and yet impacted the
world more than any other single person in history.
Jesus’ uniqueness to the world , is that he is
fully human and fully God. But I have to admit that knowing this, is beyond
scientific understanding.[30] Some things we just have to accept in
faith. Yet, I believe that both aspects
of Jesus’ being, must be acknowledged in order to understand him as the unique
Incarnation of God. The Gospel of John helps me to understand
this, “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”[31]
I believe that
Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh, who existed eternally with the
Father. The question I seek to answer in
this chapter, though, is, “why would the God of the universe become a
human?” For me the answer begins and
ends with love. I believe that God is a
God who loves deeply, and because of this love, God chose to make the ultimate
sacrifice; to become a human and die on the cross. Now before I get too far ahead of myself, I
want to step back and show why this is so.
In Chapter two,
I mentioned the Garden of Eden, and how God created humans with a special
relationship.
"Let us make humankind in our image,
according to our likeness; and let them have dominion…over every creeping thing
that creeps upon the earth." So God
created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them.”[32]
To be created in
the image of God is no small thing. In
the ancient world, an image was a visible symbol of a god. Many religions use
an image as a way to give physicality to their god,
so they can see, touch, hold, and sometimes even manipulate their god to do
their bidding. When this occurs the
image becomes an idol, a container which a god is present in, if not held
captive to. Christians and Jews through
the centuries have had a hard time keeping this commandment, often toeing the
line between icons and idols.
While icons are objects or images that lead people into worship of God,
they can easily turn into idols, with the object being worshipped itself. Yet, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Images can and do lead people to a greater depth of worship, and knowledge of
God. There might be no other clear
demonstration of this, than the human who is created in the image of God.
An easy way for
me to remember that humanity is an image bearer of God is to examine the
distinctions between us and the other creatures of the earth. I can think of three things right away: humans are rational, relational, spiritual
beings. Humans have the ability to
think, analyze, plan, and invent. In our
rational ability to think and act on our thoughts, humans make judgments of
morality; between right and wrong, good and evil. Humans are relational: we build structures,
create laws, write books, and design intricate ways to communicate with one
another. We celebrate birthdays, weddings,
anniversaries, and hold dinners and banquets together. Humans are spiritual beings seeking a god.
There seems to exist in us an instinctive desire for belief of God, in which we
feel the impulse to pray, worship, and create intricate belief systems, to aid
us in understanding our world. These are
limited examples of what it means to be an image bearer. So when we look into the face of one another,
it maybe argued that we are looking at distorted representations of the face of
God.
In the image of
God we were created, and so it follows that humans are God’s representatives on
earth. God created humans from the dust
of the earth and breathed life into us.[33] This means that God created humans with a
connection to the earth and a special relationship to God. I believe we need to remind the church that
it exists for those outside the walls of the church, and for the care of
creation. Humans were formed by God, and
set into the garden to care for it; to be its stewards, to be its priests.[34]
It was in the
caretaking of the earth, that humans first sinned and angered God. It was our very
first assignment from God, and we failed.
Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God
forbid, and were banished from the Garden. [35] Adam and Eve sinned
against God.
Sin is a hard
thing to define. I have heard sin most
sensibly defined as “missing the mark” as in the relation to an archer shooting
an arrow at a target. The archer always
aims for a bulls-eye, for it is his intention to hit it, yet misses to the left
or to the right. It is my belief that
sin is seldom done just to do an act of evil in itself, rather sin is
humanity’s intention of doing good, but that “good” is to fit our own individual
desires, rather then obeying God’s commands as given to us in the Bible.
At “The Fall”, creation as God
intended it to be was entirely corrupted.
“The Fall” was so great that humans ceased being the type of human which
God had first created in Adam and Eve. In essence, that type of humanity died.[36] The effect of their sin would contaminate the
human bloodline, even have an impact upon creation. There was life before “The Fall” and life
after (all of the implications of “The Fall” are unknown, some of which can be
traced to the “Great Flood”).[37] In Genesis 8:21, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground
because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from
youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.”
Did God create humans with a flaw?[38] From the scriptures, it seems so, yet we have
this problem because God loved us enough to give us freewill, in which we
choose our own actions. God gave
humanity freewill as it is implied in Genesis one, because God wanted companions
rather than slaves.
All of God’s intentions for humanity were
corrupted, and because of “The Fall” everyone is born a sinner; a slave to the
devil, who is the “prince of this world.” Humanity has no means of our own, in
which we can reach out to God, because we were fatally injured at “The
Fall”. We live in a state/condition of
sin, that theologians call “Total Depravity.”[39]
This term is seen as hostile to much of the church outside the Reformed
churches and by some members within.[40] But it doesn’t have to be that way. Total Depravity is
admitting that apart from God, and the work of the Spirit, that no “good” can
be done, since our thoughts and actions are not God’s and thus are brought
forth from selfish motives.[41]
Because of
our sinful nature and our depravity, it makes sense that we must rely upon God
to cross that gap which separates us. It
is this dilemma, God being a holy, just, merciful, and loving God, that sets up
the backdrop for the reason and purpose of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.[42]
In “The Fall” humans went into a spiritual debt
with God; one that would prove unable to be paid.[43] The debt was so great, that in order for the
debt to be lifted, one greater than humans would have to be offered to pay back
more than what was taken. Yet, the debt
would have to be paid by a human since humanity owed it.[44]
Throughout
the world’s many religions, one can find rituals that use the blood of an
innocent victim as a way to placate or appease the gods’ anger. The movie “King Kong” is a cinematic example,
in which the islanders offer up Jane to be the sacrifice to their god
Kong. This idea of sacrifice to atone
(pay back debt), especially the debt of sin, appears to be inherent in humanity. I believe that some of these cultural
practices of sacrifices maybe a foreshadowing of Christ, so that when the world
comes into contact with Jesus in their culture, and later in a Biblical
translation of their own language, they will recognize Jesus as their savior
(an innocent victim who died to pay their debt of sin).[jlh6]
This type of foreshadowing can be found in
the Bible as early as Genesis, when God creates garments for Adam and Eve from
the slaughter of animals, when they were removed from the garden. It is foreshadowed in the story of Abraham
and Isaac, the night of Passover, and fully symbolized on Yom Kippur.[45] Yom Kippur
“Day of Atonement” was the most solemn day of the whole year, when the sins of
the Jewish people were transferred to a lamb (perfect in color and form), which
was then sacrificed and whose blood was sprinkled throughout the Temple, symbolically
washing away the sin of that year. The
lamb was foreshadowing what Jesus’ atoning blood was capable of doing;
canceling the debt of all sin (past, present, and future).[46] "For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life.”[47] I must remind myself and others, that Jesus
died not only for me and you, but the entire world; all the peoples from
every culture, tribe, and country, even the earth itself.[48]
For this reason God became human, born as Jesus
Christ, and this is what we call the Incarnation. Jesus was born of Mary, but conceived of by
the actions of the Holy Spirit.[49] The virgin birth of Mary is one of those
sticking points for many. But in order for the debt of sin to be paid, I
believe a virgin birth is necessary to protect Jesus from inheriting the
original sin of Adam and Eve. In II
Corinthians, Paul helps me piece together what all of this means. Paul names Jesus the second Adam, referring
to Jesus’ humanity as that of Adam before “the Fall”, when humans were in a
state of perfection. Paul is revealing
to us that Jesus is really more human than any of us, since he comes to us in a
body unstained by sin. I believe this is
how Jesus is fully God and yet fully human.
I think the hardest question to find answers for is the question, “did
Jesus empty himself of his divine powers when he became human?”[50]
I do believe that Jesus was much more than just a
blood sacrifice, for after his death, he was resurrected, brought back from the
dead. In his resurrection, Jesus
conquered the last enemy of humanity, death.[51]
While I don’t understand the full work or presence of angels and demons on
earth, or their power. It is my belief
that the world may have been a very different place before the cross than it is
now. The whole world that was held
captive by the Devil, was released from those chains of slavery at the
cross. The first Christians believed
“Christus Victor”; in Christ is victory over sin, death, and the supernatural
beings that roam the earth.
In his victory over all things, Christ is my Lord
and King. Jesus is also my priest, and prophet.
Jesus, after he was resurrected, revealed himself to his followers, and
then ascended into the clouds; back to where he had come. He returned home,
where he is our high priest, who represents us to God the Father.[52] Jesus can be our priest because as a man, he
was the lamb sacrifice (offered up by the priest) who willingly took our place
in judgment bearing the sin of the world through the cross. Because of this, Jesus can intercede for us
since he being human, understands what it is that we go through in life, and he
is very familiar with suffering.[53] Jesus experienced everything it means to be
human, even temptation. In this Jesus is
also our prophet (one who speaks for God) because his teaching, those of the
gospel, and really the entire “Word of God” is what directs our course in
life. In the person of Jesus, I see who
I am becoming.
Chapter 4
Who is the Holy Spirit and What are
Sacraments?
Only one person of
the Trinity remains to be discussed, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, I believe is the most
mysterious of the three in the Church today.
Most Christians don’t really know what to do with the Holy Spirit. God the Father is a much easier person to
imagine, and God the Son arguably reveals himself the most clearly of the
persons of the Trinity, through the Incarnation of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, though, is very mysterious
and impossible to place into a box of my imagination. The Holy Spirit is like the wind, it blows
where it wills, it is invisible like the wind, yet we see its effects around us
daily. The Holy Spirit surrounds the
world always. The Spirit has been
present since the creation of the world.
Genesis one,
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. Now the earth was
formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit
of God was hovering over the waters.” I believe that through the actions of the
Holy Spirit, creation is sustained. The
Holy Spirit is the very breath of God who breathes life into creation and all
that lives. It is through the Holy
Spirit that creation is bathed in life, cradled in the invisible hands of God
the Father.
The Holy Spirit was even more of a mystery to the
Jews of the Old Testament. In the book
of Job, chapters thirty-eight to forty-one, God speaks from the whirlwind to
Job. I believe that it is here that the
some of the mystery of the Spirit is revealed.
The Holy Spirit travels through the earth, setting the natural world
into motion, causing the rain, hail, and snow to fall. The Holy Spirit breathes wisdom; it is the
one who gives what we term instinctual behavior to the animals. Even now as I sit writing, I can hear the
honking of geese, as hundreds fly overhead, making their annual pilgrimage from
South to North, marking the changing of the seasons.
The effects of the Holy Spirit are around us
always. It was in nature that the Holy Spirit
was most clearly evident to the ancient Jews.[54] For the world, this means that the Holy
Spirit is present today, and that God’s love and sustaining grace (unearned
love) falls on all people, Christians and non-believers of Christ, “for God so loved
the world that he sent his only son.” I
am a bit nervous to say that the Spirit does everything, because I think the
angelic world plays a part that we cannot see, and we possess only a very
limited knowledge of this spiritual dimension.
The Holy Spirit, though, oversees and empowers the creation and angelic
beings in whatever their purpose in mysterious ways that are beyond our
understanding.
The Holy Spirit in these terms sounds abstract,
distant and impersonal. This might be the
case, if it were not for Pentecost.
Pentecost is a feast day that Christians celebrate as the day when God
sent the Holy Spirit into humankind.
After Jesus was resurrected and then ascended into the heavens, he sent
the Holy Spirit to comfort those who love him and await Jesus’ return. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2,
was first given to the one hundred and twenty who gathered together in the
upper room as directed by Jesus, and was signified by the presence of wind,
fire, and the gift of tongues (speaking in unknown languages for the praise of
God, and to show the power of God to unbelievers so that they might
believe). Through the people’s tongues,
who when they spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit (in unfamiliar languages),
the Spirit revealed itself as the source of all people; from every tribe,
nation, and language on earth.
Pentecost marked the day when God no longer
remained bound (by human understanding) inside the strict and narrow terms of
Jewish rituals, nor in the Temple in Jerusalem itself; hidden behind a curtain,
like that of the Wizard of Oz. I believe
that prior to Pentecost (fifty days earlier), that at the moment of Christ’s
death, that the curtain symbolically separating God from all people (except the
Jewish high priest) was torn. This released the Holy Spirit in new ways that
would be revealed at Pentecost.
At Pentecost, I believe the disciples remembered
Jesus’ words from John 14 from the night of the “Last Supper.” “I will ask the
Father to give to you another witness, to be with you forever, this is the
Spirit of Truth…The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all
that I (Jesus) have said to you.” At
Pentecost, what it meant to follow God changed.
After the crucifixion of Christ, I believe that
the world somehow also changed in ways that I cannot explain. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit is unleashed upon
the people of the world, fulfilling the book of Joel.[55] Now all of the sudden the whole world has
become a holy place, a church, in a sort of way, where two or three gathered
together in the name of Christ have the presence of God with them. I think this may have something to do with
the redemption of the world at the cross.
I just don’t have the wisdom to explain this theory either.
The world is now a type of church, holy ground,
where we can give and receive communication to God through the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit. We no longer have to go
to Jerusalem
like the Jews did, nor are we bound to worship God in our little church
buildings, in which we reserve worship to an hour on Sunday morning. We can worship God in the city, in the
forests, on the beach, or even in a war-zone, seven days a week, twenty-four
hours a day.
Even yet from what I describe of the Holy Spirit,
it may still sound abstract and impersonal, but it doesn’t get anymore personal
than the Holy Spirit. “Those who love me
keep my word, and the Father will love them, and we will come to them and make
our home with them.” Those people who
are part of “The Church” have been called/elected (chosen by God solely through
love) to be temples of God. [56] Election is the most controversial term in
all of Christianity, for those who lack assurance of their standing with
God. But not so for those who have true
faith as set out in the Heidelberg Catechism-Q&A 21,
“It is not only a certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that
God has revealed to us in the Word, but also a wholehearted trust which the
Holy Spirit creates in me through the gospel, that, not only to others, but to
me also God has given the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and
salvation, out of sheer grace, solely for the sake of Christ's saving work.”
In chapter three,
I discussed the implications of “total depravity”, the total inability to come
to God on our own, since spiritually we are dead from the affects of “The
Fall.” Because of this, I believe that God is the one who has to prepare our
hearts, to restore life to them, in order to prepare a temple for the Holy
Spirit to dwell in. It is with true faith
that I can now look back on my life; a life stained with sin, guilt, and shame,
and see that the Holy Spirit was at work reshaping me. I can now realize that God was the first
person, (not me) to act in my life, offering me the gift of God’s love and holding
out an invitation to be adopted into God’s family, wiping my record of sin
clean. I can now live with the hope and
assurance that God, who started a good work in me, will carry it out to the end. When one accepts Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior in true faith, the Holy Spirit has already settled in their
hearts. From this moment, the Holy Spirit begins a process of
regeneration; bringing us back to life, as well as reforming our bodies (flesh
and soul) into the holy likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a process of mysterious steps called
salvation: it begins with justification, then sanctification, and ends in our
glorification.
Since by no action
of our own could we earn God’s love, we are elected/chosen. God justifies us,
acting like a judge who offers a pardon to someone who is guilty of a
crime. In justification, all of humanity
is guilty of sin, but it seems out of the whole, some are given pardons and
justified (a one time act-an arguably unfair one). I believe as soon as we receive pardon, the Holy Spirit begins its work of regeneration
in our lives. This is the process of
sanctification (to be made holy); it is life long, and its purpose is to
prepare us for an eternity in heaven.
Through sanctification, our selfish/sinful nature is gradually reoriented
upon God, and then others.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us in many ways, but
Jesus revealed two specific ways in his own life; baptism and communion (Lord’s
Supper). I believe these two acts are
means of grace (ways that God channels the Spirit into our lives, so that we
become more like Christ) or sacraments.[57] Sacraments are symbolic rituals that use
common items such as water, bread, and wine to signify the supernatural
presence of God in our midst, in which I
believe the Holy Spirit comes near,
upon and over us in a more tangible way.
In remembering my own baptism at age twelve, as well as viewing others’
baptisms, I am reminded that water purifies, cleanses, and refreshes.[58] In baptism, I am reminded that Christ died
and was resurrected, and so we too symbolically die, as the water pours over us
or we are submersed. The work of the
Spirit is also occurring at this time, in ways we can not see, in which our
sinful nature is being put to death, and we are being raised, to see and hear
the world through new eyes and ears of Jesus Christ.
So, when we enter
into baptism (a one time act), whether it is with infants or adults, the same
things are happening. We are visibly
reminded of what the Spirit is doing by knowing what it is that water is
capable of doing. But I believe there is
more to the work of the Spirit than just that; the Spirit is also washing us in
the blood of Christ. As the new forensic
TV shows like CSI point out, blood stains. Blood stains in ways that can never
be fully removed; the evidence is always there.
I think baptism is similar, the ones who the Spirit marks in baptism,
are not only washed, but stained by the blood of Christ “The Lamb of God”[59].
I think the Lord’s
Supper is similar to baptism in how the Spirit works. On the night Jesus was betrayed,
“he took a loaf of bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
"This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of
me." 20 And he did the
same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for
you is the new covenant in my blood.[60]
In “the Supper”, instead of water,
we use wine and bread as the visible symbols of grace, in which we remember the
night that Jesus was betrayed. But we
not only remember, we hope for the future because Jesus assured us that he would “never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that
day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”[61]
Like
baptism, there are multiple realities all occurring at one time in the “Lord’s
Supper.” The Spirit is at work in ways
we can only imagine. One way, I imagine,
that is similar to baptism is the way that we are stained outwardly with the
blood. In “the Supper,” the Spirit finishes cleansing us and staining us from
within, through the holy feast of the bread and wine (juice) as it is digested
and enters into our bloodstream, circulating throughout our bodies.
This belief requires more than that “the Supper”
is just a feast of remembrance, it requires a belief that God draws near to
God’s children and reveals God in unimaginable ways. This is led by the Holy Spirit, in which the
Spirit connects us to the “Body of Christ”, (all those in “The Church” now, and
all the saints of the past, as well as the angels) and as John Calvin the 16th
Century French Protestant and theologian argues, we are lifted up in Spirit
temporarily to the presence of God to worship before the throne of God. This is why I go to church, I am summoned
from my daily life to experience something holy, something different, than the
world has to offer, to glimpse a new reality, one that offers hope and life, so
I can then return to offer what God has freely given to me to share it with the
world.
Chapter 5
Where Does This
Lead Us?
Now that I have
confessed God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as living persons, who are
eternal, and present with us always.
Where does this lead us? [62] I can say that I have never known a time in
my life when God was not in my beliefs.
But those beliefs about God have changed immensely over time, and I can
only hope that they continue to change as I move deeper into a personal
relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, and other disciplines, as
well as viewing the world of creation through the eyes of Spirit led consciousness.
However, I can not do these things on my own,
because of sin in my life. I am one who
sins (a sinner). I am like a horse with blinders attached, that only allow me
to see what I want to see. Therefore, I
need someone else to remove those blinders and point out those areas in my life
that still need to be reformed by the Holy Spirit. I need a community of men and women, of
different ages and ethnic backgrounds, who are on this same journey. I need a community that seeks to honor God in
mind, soul, and action. I need the
Church, the “Called Out Ones.”
In the past, I did
not think that I really needed to belong to a religious community. I grew up a Pentecostal in a fundamentalist
community, attending worship services three times a week, from age eight to
eighteen. This church wasn’t so much
about the love of God, but rather the fear of God, as I was in constant fear of
breaking a rule and being sentenced to the fires of Hell. I respected and loved my minister and his
family, but his teachings would result in my mistaken belief, that I was not
loved by God, or accepted by God. I left
that community, and fueled with anger towards God, I wandered as an individual
for four years without a faith community.
In that time, I broke God’s rules many times, and soon I slipped into
the pit of despair, guilt, anger, and loneliness. When I had hit the bottom, God lifted me out
at a worship service at Northwestern college; when my girlfriend dragged me to
a Sunday evening worship gathering.
During the worship service, God allowed my eyes to be opened long enough
for me to feel grace (unearned/unconditional love) something I had never known,
and God revealed to me the countless number of people worshipping before the
throne of God. Instantly, I knew that I had
experienced the Holy One, and I set about to journey into that experience.
Shortly after, I
enrolled at Northwestern college and began to study history and religion, and
in that time I was introduced to the community of the saints- “The
Church.” Growing up the church was for
me a building, where our small group of families would gather to hear the
reading of the King James Bible. But at college, “The Church” took on a much
different meaning. It was here where I was
introduced to the idea that individuals
who gathered together as one body to worship God, are “The Church” or the
visible “Body of Christ” on earth.
I now
believe that we come to our churches (buildings for worship), as parts of “The
Church.” The Church to me refers to a remnant, a people who God has redeemed (bought
with the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross).
The Church is also a covenant people, who in this case God has made an
everlasting one-sided arrangement with.
It is through the covenant of grace, by the blood of Jesus, that myself
and countless others have become God’s adopted children.[63] [jlh7] “The
Church” is often misunderstood to just represent Christians from the time of
Pentecost. Yet I believe “The Church” represents all those in Jewish history or
anyone else that God has chosen to shower grace upon.[64] This implies that, possibly, the Church began
with the creation of Adam and Eve, but assuredly it began with Abraham in
Genesis.[65]
Up until the time of Pentecost, I believe that “The Church” operated
under the Law/covenant of Moses that required
blood sacrifices, strict laws, and punishment of those laws when broken.[66] On the night of the “Last Supper” the night
before Jesus was crucified, if you remember, he pours the glass of wine saying,
"This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[67]
At Pentecost all of this understanding of covenant
would change, God would reveal that the Spirit would no longer remain within
the Temple in Jerusalem, but would make each person who was a believer of
Christ, a temple in which to dwell.[68] Here lies the fundamental difference between
a temple and a church, a temple is where God dwells, while the church is just a
building in which temples of God gather to worship in.[69] See, whoever believes in Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Savior, welcomes the Holy Spirit to dwell within their heart,
and the Holy Spirit transforms their body into a Temple of God. This has huge implications for “The Church,”
as shown in Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well,
“Believe me; the hour
is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship
what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the
Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now
here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for
the Father seeks such as these to worship him. [70]
We gather together
as a part of “The Church” in our little church buildings. Yet, it is here that I believe we are called
together by God, to worship, to read scripture, celebrate the sacraments, to
share our lives, and our own individual and collective God stories (how God has
worked in our lives) and to pass down the stories of our ancestors (the
community of saints); the family that we have been adopted into.[71] It is in these
stories we learn how to act as family members, and at the same time rely on the
Holy Spirit to shape us into family members.
As family members in “The Church” and as “The Body” as a
whole, we must remember that Christ tells us to be salt and light in the
world. These metaphors to me in simple
language mean that we are to season (just as salt is used today) the world, to
figuratively change its flavor from a sin stained world to a pure/sacred
world.
I believe we are
also called to be lights in the world. One can say that Christians are great
lights in the world, and the main purpose of a light is to shine into
darkness. But not all lights are equal;
there are different grades of light. In
the modern world we live in, we can now even measure that brightness by using
the standard of candlepower. See, a
candle itself makes a great light, but a flashlight is better for it is much
more powerful, equal to hundreds of candles and a spotlight can be equal to two
hundred thousand to one million-candle power. Now you have got a light!
Christians, members of “The Body”, are lights
in the world, but just like these artificial lights, the candle, flashlight,
and spotlight, we too seem to vary in our brightness. Now being a Christian is not all about
candlepower. What I mean is that being a Christian is not about trying to be
the one shining the brightest. Instead, Christians are much more like the light
of an individual candle. And because of
this, it takes us all working together to represent ‘The Light’ of Christ in
the world, if we are going to shine into the darkness.
The Church’s
mission has always been to be a light in the world, but Jesus was “The Light of
the World” who came to dwell among us, to teach us a better way of being. In Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5,
he gives to us a mirror to see ourselves as we really are, to show us what we
can and should be. Every time I look
into this mirror, I walk away humbled and ashamed, yet challenged to become a
brighter light, rather than to walk away from it as I did at age eighteen. “The Church” is a similar mirror in which
when we peer into it, we should see the reflection of Jesus Christ looking back
at us. However, we have a long way to go
for that to happen. Jesus tells us that just like the human body, “The Church”
possesses strong and weak members, but also reminds us that we are all equal
because we are from the same body.
Even when I
was in college studying Christianity, I was still suspicious and distrustful of
the members of “The Body”, and especially of all of the branches or
denominations of religious faith communities.
But with a strong faith in God as revealed in Christianity, I knew that without belonging
to a church, I was missing the good life.
While arguably I could learn all about theology, and scripture on my
own, I could not practice its core values, hear the preaching of the word
(Bible), partake regularly in the sacraments of baptism and Lord’s Supper, nor
in the fellowship and discipline of a Christian family.[72] As an individual on my own, I was still a
light, albeit a very dim one.[73]
As a
Pentecostal, in my youth I have sat under numerous sermons on eschatology,
which simply means- the study of, or belief in, the Last Days. The “Last Days” is the term given to designate
that Christian’s believe time is linear; that it is going in one direction,
with a purpose, possessing a beginning and an end. As Christians we look in hope for the
end. While the map of history is laid
out in the scriptures, the stops or waypoints along the way are unknown. For the most part we do not know the details
of how or when the end of days will come.
In the last decade the interest in the end of days, has generated news headlines, books, movies,
etc. Much of
popular culture has embraced the idea that the end is near. As I see conflict
in the Middle East (a veteran myself), and the nation of Israel as its focal point, with no
end in sight, mixed with so many other things.
I can’t help but to recall past teachings from my youth and wonder. I am amazed at how different the world has
become in the last one hundred years compared to the scope of history, and I am
still looking for a good explanation for what we see going on in the nation of
Israel in this century.
However,
with those things in hindsight, I do embrace the eschatology of “Now, But Not
Yet.” This term implies that at the
cross, Jesus conquered the ruler/rulers of this world.[74] When Jesus was resurrected and ascended into
the heavens, the end of days really began, so much that the end could come now
at any time the Father chooses it. So
“now, but not yet” implies that the world is different than it was before
Christ. As I have said before in this paper, I believe
the world may have been a much stranger place than the one we experience
today. However, through Jesus’ self
sacrifice on the cross, Satan, better
known as the Devil, was defeated. Whatever position or authority (if it was
ever legitimate) that Satan possessed, was taken from him at the cross. I believe that Satan is still a powerful
being. But since the cross, “The Church” has been dealing with a wounded
serpent, in contrast to the past when I believe Satan did not try to hide his
existence or influence from the world. [jlh8]
In the world
we live in now, “The Church” is still doing battle with the wounded serpent,
who has undertaken a more guerilla warfare type of attack than conventional
means. This implies that Satan is still
present on earth, and his influence is real, yet very hard if not humanly
impossible to discern. It is for this
reason that “The Church” must be a strong light in the world, so we can shine
into the darkness. How are we lights though?
The Bible
speaks of the Holy Spirit being able to produce in us fruits of the Spirit; a
type of spirit led virtues that over time the Holy Spirit causes us to
produce. Just as a newly planted fruit
tree takes years (3-5) to bare enough fruit to harvest, so will the Holy Spirit
need time in our lives to prune us so that we might bear fruit.[75] These
fruits prepare us to be children of God, and accept the responsibility
that is given to us as heirs of God and family members. And so it
is in our faith communities that Christians gather together; as temples,
as individual trees, in order to become like orchards that are capable of
offering and sustaining life to each other and those in the world in need.
In a very real way, The Church has become the
“Tree of Life.” In sharing the Bible and our values as taught
by Jesus with the people of the world, we are offering them a different set of
values, a different way of life, a different story, and a different master. The Church, in this capacity, acts as God’s
priests to the world as it was intended to be, as we shine light into the
darkest corners of the earth. It is here
in the now that The Church waits for the not yet. In the now, I continue to be sustained by the
Holy Spirit, and I wait in expectation for the return of Jesus Christ, with
hope that the Father will soon choose to restore the creation, and gather The Church
in. [jlh9]
[1]
The Enlightment-The scientific and intellectual developments of the 17th
cent.–the discoveries of Isaac Newton,
the rationalism of Réné Descartes,
the skepticism of Pierre Bayle,
the pantheism of Benedict de Spinoza,
and the empiricism of Francis Bacon
and John Locke–fostered
the belief in natural law and universal order and the confidence in human
reason that spread to influence all of 18th-century society. This led to a rational and scientific
approach to religious, social, political, and economic issues promoting a
secular view of the world and a general sense of progress and perfectibility. (Columbia
Encyclopedia)
[2] Ancient
gods, long forgotten are those that predated Christ but were thought to be
forgotten in the modern world. Druids- wiccans/known as witches, Norse-gods of
the Vikings, Hindus-gods of India,
Native Americans- an animistic belief system, and those of the Far East-Shinto.
[3]
This chapter may have many words and ideas that the reader may not understand.
This is just a preview of what is to come, when these ideas and concepts will
be explained in depth. Please be
patient.
[4]
Belgic Confession Article #2 “The Means By Which We Know God”
[5] Romans 1:19-20 For what
can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the
world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been
understood and seen through the things he has made.
[6]
Belgic Confession Articles # 3,4,5 “The Written Word Of God, The Canonical
Books, The Authority Of Scripture”
[7]
The doctrinal position of the authority of scripture as held by the Reformed
Church of America.
[8] A
theologian in this sense, is one whose life studies are devoted to God. Barth uses this term “wholly Other” to
designate the great divide which exists between God and humanity.
[10]
The Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort are the
recognized confessions of faith by the Reformed Church.
[11]
Merriam Webster defines supernatural as 1 : of or relating to an
order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially :
of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil
2 : departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature
2 : departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature
[13] Belgic Confession Article 12 “The Creation of All Things”
[14]
This refers to the being of God, not in reference to the incarnation of Jesus
Christ, Son of God, who was born of the virgin Mary and who suffered died and
was brought to life again.
[15]
Exodus 6.
[16] Deuteronomy 30: 15 “See, I set before you today life and
prosperity, death and destruction.”, Deuteronomy 32:39 "See now that I myself am He! There is
no god besides me. I put to death
and I bring to life, I have
wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand, Job 1:21
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed
be the name of the LORD."
[17] Belgic Confession Article 13 “Doctrine of God’s Providence”
[18] Marriam Webster defines omniscient as 1 :
having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge
2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge
[19] Humanity is the crown of the creation story in the book of
Genesis. In Psalm 8, one can further see
the unique position humans have over the earth.
Romans 8:19 speaks of creation waiting eagerly for the children of God
to be revealed. Matthew 25:34 "Then the King
will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation
of the world.
[20] Belgic Confession,
Article 14 “The Creation and Fall of Humanity”
[21] Romans
1, Belgic Confession, Article 2 “The Means By Which We Know God”
[22]
This view of creation as sacrament is espoused by Alexander Schmemann’s For the Life of the World. A
further reformed definition of sacraments can be found in Q&A # 66
of the Heidelberg Catechism.
[23]
Belgic Confession, Article 14 “The Creation and Fall of Humanity” - This is
referred to by theologians as “the Fall.”
[24]
For a Reformed perspective that addresses biblical passages and further
examines providence, refer to Heidelberg Catechism Q 27-28, Belgic Confession,
Article 13 “Doctrine of God’s Providence”
[25]
Belgic Confession, Article 13 “Doctrine of God’s Providence”
[26] Refer for further information to the Council of Nicaea.
[27] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm This is a Catholic
website that offers an extensive look at the interpretation of the Holy
Trinity. A further definition can be
found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity In Christianity, the doctrine
of the Trinity states that God is one being
who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling
of three persons: the Father,
the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth),
and the Holy Spirit.
Since the 4th century, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine
has been stated as "one God in three persons," all three of whom, as
distinct and co-eternal persons, are of one indivisible Divine essence, a simple being.
[28]
Belgic Confession, Article 8 “The Trinity”
[29]Belgic
Confession, Article 9 “Scriptural Witness on the Trinity” , NT references Matthew 3:16, 28:19, 2
Corinthians 13:14, 1 John 5:7, Luke 1:35.
OT references which are more controversial, but point to the plurality
of God- Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa
6:8, Gen 18.
[30]
Refer to Belgic Confession, Article 10 “Deity of Christ”, Article 19 “The Two
Natures of Christ”
[31]
Gospel of John 1:1-2.
[32] Genesis 1:26-27.
[33]
Belgic Confession, Article 14 “Creation and Fall of Humanity”
[34]Merriam
Webster defines priest : one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a
religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God.
[35] Another attribute of God is that God is holy, one who is pure, set apart,
and unblemished. Because of this sin in the Garden humans could no longer
remain in the presence of God, or in the presence of the Tree of Life. God is also a just God who demands justice
when wronged. Yet God is a merciful God
who loves and provides for humans and creation.
The story of Genesis and the entire Bible is a testimony to this.
[36]
“The Fall” was a fall from grace, whose consequence of hitting the ground
(spiritually) was instant death. This is
what sets the doctrine of “The Fall” apart from an Armenian view that would
argue that humanity was injured, but the injury was not fatal.
[37]
Belgic Confession, Article 15 “The Doctrine of Original Sin”
[38] Heidelberg 6, 9, Belgic Confession, Article 17 “The
Recovery of Fallen Humanity”
[39] Heidelberg 5-9,
[40]
Total Depravity is hostile in that its critics claim, that it devalues the good
things humans around the world are capable of doing. It would be silly to state that humans are
totally evil, rather depravity gives a name to our sinful condition/nature.
[41]
By the “good” I mean that nothing we do is without a motive or self interest,
for our gain.
[42] Most people are familiar with the term
reincarnation, that comes to us from Far Eastern religions. Reincarnation generally means to be reborn
after death; to begin a new life, sometimes as another human, but often as an
animal. The Incarnation of Christ means
simply that God was born as a human for the first time as baby Jesus.
[43] “The Fall”- a theological term for the
entering of sin into the world by Adam and Eve, when they disobeyed God in the
Garden of Eden.
[44] Heidelberg Q&A 12-18,
[45]
These events mark some of the Jewish people’s most significant moments in their
salvific history. To do justice to these
example one will have to do a bit of their own research.
[46]
Belgic Confession, Article 21 “The Attonement”
[47]
John 3:16
[48]
In jest statement that refers to many Christians beliefs that God has allotted
a certain
[49]
This is another matter of faith, whose details can not be proved in scripture
or scientifically. It is the belief of
the Church’s earliest creeds, Nicene and Apostle’s.
[50]
This paper does not have the freedom to go into the depth of kenosis, but I
find it an interesting conversation if Jesus remained all powerful, or if the
Father empowered him in his human form.
[51] Heidelberg 45
[52] Heidelberg 49
[53]Heidelberg 37, I believe Jesus is the suffering servant of
Isaiah 52 and accompany chapters, which labels him “the man of suffering.”
[54]
The Psalms attest to this.
[55] Joel 2:28 “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men
shall see visions.”
[56] Heidelberg Q&A #54, Belgic Confession, Article 16
“Doctrine of Election”, Canons of Dordt Articles 7-14. “The Church” refers to a remnant, a people who God has redeemed (bought
with the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross) to be God’s adopted children, to
be with forever. “The Church” is often
misunderstood to just represent Christians from the time of Pentecost. Yet I
believe “The Church” represents all those in Jewish history or anyone else that
God chose to shower grace upon.
[57]
Sacraments are visible signs of God’s invisible grace. Sacraments are also signs and seals of God’s
promise of covenant and salvation.
[58]
Baptismal Liturgy, “Worship the Lord”
[59]
Leviticus 14:25, Revelation 7:14, Exodus
12:23
[61] Matthew 26:29
[62]
In this chapter I cannot separate my experiences from my beliefs, because my
experiences have shaped how I view the church, eschatology, and ethics.
[63] Belgic Confession, Article 27 “The Holy
Catholic Church” and Heidelberg
Catechism Q/A 54.
[64] I
take my stand as an inclusivist, arguing that salvation is from Christ alone,
but who Christ saves is beyond our knowledge, and that grace may abound beyond
our understanding.
[65] With Abraham we see a covenant being
made with the blood of animals. The next
covenant was made with Moses when he received the “Ten Commandments”, followed
up by the Davidic covenant with King David of Israel.
[66] As a prior military police sergeant, I look
at the law as a beneficial gift that when followed offered peaceful communal
living with one another. Without law
there is chaos and anarchy.
[68]
Pentecost is covered in Chapter 4- Holy Spirit of this paper.
[69]
Here lies a problem, the question has been posed, “If humans are created in the image of God,
are we not already temples” I suppose
God did create humans with the intention of being temples, but can a temple
definitively be a temple without the indwelling of a god, until then are they
not just buildings.
[70] John 4:21-23
[71]
Belgic Confession, Article 29 “Marks of the Church”
[73] My mother struggles with this situation, as she is
wheel-chair bound, and no church in the area is handicap accessible. Although they did offer to put her in the
basement by the intercom speaker- so sad.
[74] Heidelberg Catechism Q/A
#47.
[75] These virtues are listed in Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.”
