Ignorance honors God?

Questions are in vogue. They make us feel humble and submissive. We are seeking, asking, knocking. We are on our knees. But answers can make us seem arrogant. They have the potential to splinter us into even more denominations. And what if we're wrong . . . ? How can a man ever comprehend God? If we could somehow wrap our mind around him, wouldn't that belittle him? I would much rather just sit in the wonder of him, saturating in the mystery, absorbing each subtle thrill of curiosity and awe. Isn't that what worship is? But God created humans with spirits specifically that we might know him. Imagine me connecting with my wife the way we tend to connect with God: "Laurie, you are a woman. I could never comprehend you (there is some truth to that). Just let me catch a glimpse of your beauty. Just let me feel your presence next to me on the couch. I don't expect you to speak to me, you have already written letters to me in the past. But if you do, I will write your words in a diary and treasure them. Your body is made up of so many complex systems---internal organs, muscles, tendons, and molecules---I could never understand you fully. I just want to bask here in your glory. I just want to imagine the day I'll really be able to know you . . ." Now I realize that Laurie and I are both humans, and God and man are different, but I believe that God created man that he might have fellowship with him just as fully as Jesus had fellowship with his disciples. Yes, it means that we have to learn how to connect with him in more subtle ways than speech and facial expressions. But those means are fully available to everyone who has been made alive in Christ. I don't have to understand God's omnipresence to know that he is with me. I don't have to understand God's omnipotence to rest safely in him. I don't have to understand God's love to embrace it. Should my children keep me at an "honorable" arms-length because they don't know how to drive a car or pay the mortgage? Should I keep Laurie at an "honorable" arms-length because we have different anatomies? If God gave his people a Holy Spirit to "guide them into all truth," why do we keep God at an "honorable" arms-length and generally resort to knowing him through Bible study, our pastors, and our brains? Obviously, I am generalizing here, which is dangerous. There are many Christians that have vibrant relationships with God. But I'm thinking about the general trends of our Church today. The fact that we have so many questions and so few answers is a sad testament to our times. It is like a body that was so enamored with the mystery of the brain that it rejected the nervous system, preferring the humility of paralysis to the arrogance of life and function. Do you agree? Disagree? What do you see happening in the church?

Back From the Dead - Part 2

Life and Death are consistent themes from Genesis to Revelation. In fact, the most central events of the Bible--the Fall of Adam and the Fix of Jesus--are focused primarily on life and death.

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God told Adam and Eve that the day they eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. The serpent insists otherwise. Did they die on that day?

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No. And yes. I guess it depends on how you define "death."

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Death, in essense, is the separation of a life source and a host. In physical death, it is the separation of body and spirit. In spiritual death, it is the separation of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. These deaths are not always eternal.

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Think of death as turning off a light. You flip the switch and the electricity is separated from the light bulb. Death. Darkness. Turn it on and the connection is re-established. The bulb comes to life. Illumination.

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Often it is the context, not the original language, that gives insight into which death and life is being referred to. For example: The wages of sin is death . . .

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From one perspective, you could see that verse as a warning to sinners that their lifestyle is foolish and will ultimately result in their physical deaths. From another perspective you could say that sin is what separates God and man, creating spiritual death. Many Christians choose to include both answers, saying that spiritual death ultimately results in physical corruption and death, though I think that most of the evidence for this view is based in many Christians bobbing their heads in unison rather than Scripture itself.

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However, if you go on, you must match this "death" with the ensuing "life": . . . but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

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So was Jesus coming to give physical life? Of course not. The people were already alive. What about corruption and eventual death? Did Christians start to look healthier than pagans? Did they start to live noticeably longer? If the wages of sin has something to do with our physical bodies, then the gift of Jesus would also have to affect our physical bodies. That's simple logic. Otherwise the sin of Adam is more powerful and pervasive than the salvation of Jesus.

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But although we do see a change in our spirits at salvation, we do not necessarily see a change in our physical bodies, therefore we must assume that the wages of sin is spiritual death--a separation from God.

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Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

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For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 a

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." John 10:10-11 (both spiritual and physical life mentioned back to back)

So Adam's sin brought a curse to all men. The curse was death. And what is man going to do when separated from God's Spirit? Miss the mark. Every day. All day. Sin is the only option. a Jesus came to reconnect God and man, to put the spiritual nervous system back between the body and the head in order to make righteousness an option. And what did he do to bring us from spiritual death to spiritual life? He physically died and rose again. a More to come . . . a Thoughts?

Back From the Dead - Part 1

It seemed fitting to resurrect Frank with the topic of resurrection. Unfortunately, after Frank finished a hellish few months of work, he took Spring Break too seriously to come out with a post on or around Easter Sunday. He apologizes. But after being dead for so long . . . well, you wouldn't understand. Christians get so excited on Resurrection Sunday. Jesus leaves the tomb alive and well, having conquered sin and death. The salvation work is finished. The pastor of my church (and I suspect many others) went into a lot of detail about how the resurrection must be historical fact, how Jesus is alive and well today, but . . . will you excuse me a moment as I stick on my cynic hat? If my Christian grandmother dies, I wouldn't say that Death has had its way with her. I wouldn't consider her really dead just because she didn't crawl back out of the coffin and ascend bodily into heaven. People actually celebrate at Christian funerals, assured that their loved ones are safe and sound, alive in heaven. So Jesus comes back bodily from the grave, walks around for a few weeks, then goes straight to the place he would have gone anyway. Where is the victory there? It seems more like a delay, a farewell tour, a victory lap . . . but not necessary for salvation. I grew up believing that it was the death of Jesus that made salvation possible. There were scriptures that led me to believe that sin was plastered in or on Jesus (as if it was some sort of black goo) while he was on the cross, forcing God to turn his face (as if he doesn't look on sinful people every day). Then, when the Romans crucified Jesus, sin was crucified with him. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Romans 7:16-17 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. I Peter 2:24 But what is sin? Missing the mark, right? How can you kill "missing the mark"? Shoot it? Stab it?If sin is not physical or material, how can it be killed? Secondly, how could it dwell within a body? Another thing: Paul seems to think that the salvation work is incomplete without the resurrection, which means the work was not completed on the cross. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. I Cor 15:16-17 Since the death and resurrection is central to our life and hope, shouldn't we understand it completely? I grilled the Christians in my 10th Grade Bible class on this, and not one of them could logically explain how the death and resurrection of Jesus saved anyone. Can any of you answer these questions? (remember, I still have my cynic hat on) 1) If Jesus was forgiving sins before the cross (he claimed that authority) then why couldn't he have just forgiven everyone without going to the cross? Was his authority limited? 2) If Jesus conquered sin and death, why do we still sin and die? 3) Why was the resurrection necessary for the salvation of sins? 4) Why was a physical resurrection necessary?

Literally?

The Bible cannot always be taken literally. While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat. This is My body." Matt 26:26 Weird. But . . . I guess it must be. I mean, Jesus doesn't lie, right? Apparently cannibalism is one of the great sacraments of Christianity. . . . all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. I Cor 10:3-4 So when the devil wanted to turn rocks into break, he was talking to the right guy. Since Jesus was a rock and his body is bread, it makes sense. This also explains why Jesus took so long to come save the Jews. He was a rock. How often did literal thinking confuse the people around Jesus? Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "He said that because we did not bring any bread." Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" These seem like ridiculous scenarios. How could these people be so dense? But at the same time, how can we be sure that we're not making the same mistake? Most of us imagine hell as a place of utter darkness with a lake of fire in the center. Wait? Fire and darkness? Somehow our minds accept the contradiction. After all, the Bible is God's Word. Hey, maybe the flames are invisible. Or maybe there is meaning in darkness and fire, meaning than can help our physical minds to somehow grasp a spiritual place. Like a blind man getting a sense of blue by holding a piece of ice. Same applies to heaven. Lions and lambs? Streets of gold? No symbolic language there. What about prophecy? How many Jews rejected Jesus based on their literal interpretation of prophecy? Jesus did not ascend to the throne of David, therefore he was not the Messiah. What about the Parable of the Talents? For some reason all parables are understood to be physical things describing spiritual things--seeds, leaven, pearl, treasure--but in this particular case, Jesus is actually talking about money, right? In this one case. Right? Or, wait! He means our . . . talents. Christians, what is the great and valuable gift that God has given to us through Christ? Money? The ability to play piano? This may seem valuable to me, but I'm not the one telling the parable. What is valuable to Christ is the very thing he came to give--LIFE. The Holy Spirit. And that Spirit is to bear fruit, not just sit dormant in our spirits until Christ returns. Why do we twist these parables into pocket-sized, practical life lessons? The people had Solomon for that. Jesus didn't work at OSH. Bottom line: God sees the world from a Creator's perspective. Often he speaks in symbols, types, and shadows to explain things that would be difficult for physical creatures to understand. If we don't want to sound like the Pharisees, the Disciples, or Nicodemus we need to begin to understand that perspective.

New Direction

This next subject matter runs the risk of attracting spiderwebs and dust to this blog, but I'm willing to take the risk. I have learned that in Christian circles the most action comes from taking prayer requests. A close second, though more dangerous, is to bring up something controversial, like predestination, homosexuality, or speaking in tongues, though it's important to steer away from any solid answers. Third, talk about something obscure like the Nephilim or the mysterious undeaths of Enoch, Elijah, and Moses. That always helps to keep the eyelids from sagging. Why are we so easily bored? Maybe it's because everything seems to gravitate around something we've already heard a billion times. We know that Jesus died for our sins, we're on our way to heaven, we're doing our daily devotions, avoiding sin as much as possible, and now we just want a little support. Since we have to meet every week, it also might be fun to find interesting or controversial tidbits from the Bible to keep us talking, though we're not always sure what good it will do on a practical level. Back to prayer requests. The subject I want to bring up doesn't often come from the pulpit, but to ignore it would be to ignore the very thing that, for me, has shed a great deal of light on the Scriptures and has erased any doubts I have of the existence, character, and work of God. In fact, when the Holy Spirit began to teach me, this is where He started. The concept was presented to me while I was at Bible school back in '98. Every student was required to read through the Old Testament, so I cheerfully read through books like Genesis and Exodus, and dutifully pushed through books like Leviticus and I Chronicles. As I was chewing through the log of mid Ezekiel, I came across a passage that stuck in my brain like a splinter. In chapter 40, the prophet has a vision of an angelic man who takes him through the temple with a measuring rod and proceeds to measure every single item in great detail. Every single item. After several chapters of mind-numbing geometry, the man said something that struck me as odd: "As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws and write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them." If they are ashamed of their sin, tell them . . . about a building? Be sure to mention that the width of the entrance gate is ten cubits and the length is thirteen cubits. Also, don’t forget, the porch of the gate is eight cubits and the side pillars are two. How could these numbers do anything for the sin of the Jews? I thought about this for a long time before coming to an interesting conclusion. Before I could understand the meaning of a created object, I had to understand the perspective and intention of the creator. In other words, God designed the temple with more than practical uses in mind. There is also symbolic meaning, and the symbols should be enough to expose our sin and show us how to deal with it. A look at Hebrews 8:4-5 only reinforces this concept: Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law, who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle, for, "See," He says, "that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain." Copy and shadow of heavenly things? The pattern of this physical object is important. And as we see in John 2:19, Jesus was staring at this building when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (speaking of his own body). In a sense, he was the building. The temple is full of symbols of Christ, from the sacrificial system in the outer court; to the bread, incense, and golden candlestick in the inner court; to the red, blue, and purple veil, and the Ark of the Covenant behind it. The temple is the ultimate sin exposing/sin expelling machine. But the building is only a big, complicated advertisement for the TRUE sin exposing/sin expelling machine--the person of Jesus Christ. Interesting how Jesus called the temple his Father's house. Isn't that what his body was? No wonder he threw those money changers out of there. But this was just the beginning of a concept that would unravel so much of my own superstition and bring so much clarity in the years to follow.