PP 12578/03/2013 (032108)

A Magazine Of Christian Understanding Jul - Sep 2017MCI (P) 128/05/2017

The one, tri-Personal God.

“I am making all things new!”

The kingdom of God.

p.5

p.12

p.18

2 The Plain Truth

Editorial

by

Dr. P. Sellappan and Alyson Souza

God is ineffable, meaning, He is awesome and beyond description, comprehension, and grasp. However, this does not mean that we cannot

know Him, or enter into a personal relationship with Him. We can know Him, even intimately - by His spirit.

We cannot discover God by ourselves No matter how hard or how long we try, we can never

discover God all on our own1. We can only know Him as He chooses to reveal Himself to us by His spirit, and it is the desire of His spirit that we know the deep things of God.

This is where religion errs! Religion has us scrambling and trying real hard to discover and understand God by relying on our own observations and ideas, our own theories, concepts, principles, and experiences. It’s no wonder we have well over 30,000 denominations in our Christian religion alone, and that’s not even counting all the other world’s religions! Sadly, our many make-believe gods have led us into all sorts of unhealthy relationships, rituals, and practices, where we feel chronically plagued by guilt and shame, and never able to experience the rest that comes by knowing we are profoundly and deeply LOVED by this God who relentlessly pursues us. 

God is transcendentGod is uncreated, transcendent, and

has always existed! Humans, on the other hand, are created and finite. This means that there will always be a knowledge gap between God and man - and an element of mystery – no matter how well or how long we have known Him. We will never exhaust our understanding of God, and what can be discovered in Him will be like the dawning of a new day - throughout all of eternity!

Referring to this knowledge gap/mystery, God’s prophets and apostles acknowledged plainly that God was beyond their understanding or grasp.

Through the prophet Isaiah God declares: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts… and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

God is infinite in every way - in power, knowledge and wisdom, as well as in love and mercy, kindness and goodness. God ever remains mystical and we will always be intrigued. Sometimes we are afraid of Him, of what we don’t understand and may feel, even though God is always loving, gracious and self-giving! He is the one who relentlessly desires a relationship with us; who pursues and moves toward us, inviting us closer, even when we mis-perceive His motivations and intentions.  And even if/when we reject His invitation to come closer, there will NEVER be a time when He stops loving

us… and forever surprising us and offering Himself to us in fresh and creative ways. Why? 

God longs for us to know HimIn spite of being transcendent and infinite, God aches

for our closeness, for a loving, intimate, and reciprocal relationship with us. God’s hope is that we come into the light of His loving desire and live in a devoted relationship of mutual affection. What married person doesn’t want this with their spouse? What parent doesn’t want this with their child? 

God wants us awake and aware, conscious of the love we have and share together, because it is this conscious awareness that changes and transforms our lives, and is the source of all of our blessings!

On the one hand, God communicates that He is beyond our grasp, yet on the other, He reveals His craving and desire to know us, and that we might intimately know Him, even if it be only in baby steps - and little by little.

Didn't He broadcast this desire when He wrapped Himself in flesh (Jesus), and in taking on human form? Once and for ALL, He communicated WHO HE IS, what HE DESIRES (US), and HOW He wants us to live - so that we might experience JOY, PEACE, and ABUNDANT LIFE, NOW and forevermore.

Jesus, who bore the exact image and likeness of God, also fully identified with us. This God/man showed us what God is really like, in His very essence and being. He was, and is, loving, gracious, merciful, kind, long-suffering, and self-giving. This means that no matter how far away from God we feel we are, we really aren’t separate from God! “The full measure of everything God has in mind for man indwells him. He initiated the reconciliation of ALL things to Himself. Through the blood of the cross God restored

the original harmony. His reign of peace NOW extends to every visible thing upon the earth as well as those invisible things which are in the heavenly realm.”2 It is our indifferent MIND-SETS that alienate us from God whereby we live lifestyles of annoyances, hardships, and labors. BUT GOD has NOW FULLY RECONCILED and RESTORED US to our ORIGINAL DESIGN!

This ought to give us confidence to approach His throne of grace with boldness! 

We come to know God as we journey through our lives, and in relationship with Him and others.

Remembering that GOD IS LOVE helps us in wanting to come close and receive His UNCONDITIONAL love, and have an intimate relationship with Him. Learning this takes time and is a process of growing in our belief and trust that He is always good and always loving.

God reveals Himself

Continued on page 7

July - September 2017 2017 3

A Magazine Of Christian Understanding

cover story 5 The one, tri-Personal God.

God is a relationship being.

articles 8 Pentecost: Extraordinary life in ordinary time.

The Holy Spirit teaches and guides us.

10 Sinners in the arms of a loving God. God loves sinners.

12 “I am making all things new!” We are a new creation in Christ.

15 Love, not atonement. God’s love saves us, not our sacrifices.

16 The Shack: A story of healing or heresy? This movie can heal those who are hurting inside.

18 The kingdom of God. It will be radically different.

22 Jesus: the one and the many. He represents all humanity.

regular features 2 Editorial

4 What our readers say

19 Another angle

20 Speaking of life...

21 Tammy’s turn

23 Hmm… Something to think about.

Contents

Issue No. 7 Volume No. 21

Jul - Sep 2017 PP 12578/03/2013 (032108)

Editor Dr. P. Sellappan

Managing Editor Low Mong Chai

Co-ordinator Susan Low

Editorial & Advisory Committee Alyson Sousa

Devaraj Ramoo

Teo Kah Ping

Wong Mein Kong

Wong Teck Kong

Design Ravi K Alamothu

MalaysiaOffice Address:

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Singapore Jurong Point Post Office, P.O. Box 054, Singapore 916402

The Plain Truth is published four times a year as funds allow, and issponsored by Grace Communion International, which is a member ofthe National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia. It followsa non-denominational editorial policy and provides a message ofpractical help, hope and encouragement from a Christian perspective.- For Non-Muslims Only -

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ISSN 1675-3100. Copyright Grace Communion International, 2017.

191816128

4 The Plain Truth

What our readers say:

Although The Plain TruTh is sent free of charge, it is not without cost. Each copy is made possible by the generosity of others. So we are very grateful for those readers who send a donation, and make it possible for us to continue to publish the good news of the Gospel. Donations should be sent to the addresses listed on page 3 or sent electronically to the bank account:

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We welcome your comments. Letters for this section should be addressed to:“Letters to the Editor”, The Plain Truth, P.O. Box 2043, Pusat Bisnes Bukit Raja, Pos Malaysia Bhd., 40800 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.or sent via electronic mail to:ptasiamy@gmail.comThe editor reserves the right to use letters so addressed in whole or in part, and to include your name and edit the letter for clarity and space.

I have a question: Some say God created Jesus to provide humans a perfect example to follow. Is this teaching correct?

Maria Petaling Jaya

Ed: Jesus was not created like Adam was. His birth was different. He was begotten of the Holy Spirit. Before he assumed humanity, he had always existed as the Son of God, as the Word of God, as the second member of the Godhead with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He came 2000 years ago as God incarnate, as God in the flesh. He is fully God and fully man, Son of God and son of man. His mission was to unite God and man and reveal the true God and our true self/identity. Yes, he did set a perfect example for us to imitate. But we must realize that we can never attain the perfect life he lived. A better way of looking at it is: He lived the perfect life that we failed to live and has given us his perfection as a free gift. That alone gives us right standing with God. That alone makes us righteous and holy.

I have a question. The bible talks about “dominions, principalities, strongholds, rulers, thrones and powers”. Do these refer to bad angels or just bad people?

Anonymous

Ed: Some say these refer to bad/fallen angels, influencing people to do evil. But there are others who say they refer to the collective human evil often manifested in religion, politics, philosophy, social order and lifestyle. They say the ‘principalities’ here refer to ‘principles’ (twisted desires/mind-set) operating subtly in humans that they are not even aware of it. So they are naturally prone to do evil. This makes sense as several verses in the bible seem to suggest. For example: The apostle Paul also tells us “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” (Romans 8:7) James also tells us “…each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:13-14) Again he tells us “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You desire but do not have, so you kill.”(James 4:1-2) When masses participate in toxic politics, religion, philosophy, social order and lifestyle, we experience the kingdom of darkness. We can see that happening in many communities around the world.

My family and I thank you and your co-partners for supplying us with this wonderful magazine which inspires me in so many ways. May the blessed hands of God be with you all in your daily undertakings.

Subramaniam Paul Seremban

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I have always enjoyed reading your articles. They are very refreshing and serve as a revision in my bible class. The articles examine this present challenging world from different perspectives and offer age-old solutions from the bible. Thank you for the very good work done. Do continue and we pray the good Lord will guide and sustain you always.

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Francis Tan Singapore

The Plain Truth, as the name implies, is just that—the plain Gospel Truth! A very attractive and readable magazine, the articles are presented clearly and concisely, emphasising the need to live our lives based on the Word of God, the foundation for Christian living. Keep shining! God bless you.

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wonderful work done. Thank you and God bless you.

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Dear editor, keep up the good work in God. We have deposited RM 200 into your Plain Truth account. Thank you.

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Ed.: Thank you all for your generous contribution – greatly appreciated!

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July - September 2017 5

Cover story

The one, tri-Personal God

A common misunderstanding of the doctrine of the Trinity is to think that it teaches three gods (tritheism). But that is not the case. The

historic, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity upholds one God (monotheism) while teaching that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How can God be one and three? The answer is important to understand, not merely as a point of doctrine, but as a way for us to understand and thus relate to the one, tri-Personal God.

Three Persons, one beingTo be faithful to the biblical revelation, early church

teachers declared that God is one in being and three in Persons. In indicating what each of the three are, they utilized  the Greek New Testament word hypostasis, which in  ancient Greek  has a range of meanings: nature, substance, image, essence. This range is reflected in the various translations of Hebrews 1:3 where the Son of God is declared to be “the express image of [God’s] person [hypostasis]” (KJV translation). The NASB and ESV translate hypostasis as “nature,” the ASV as “substance,” and the NRSV and NIV as “being.” Down through the ages (including in the ancient creeds of the church), when referring to the Trinity, hypostasis  was most often translated into the Latin word persona (and thus  person in English—I have more to say below about the limitations of this word).

Having chosen hypostasis  to refer to the three personal distinctions of God, these same teachers chose the Greek word ousia (meaning being) to refer to God’s oneness. Put together, hypostasis and ousia convey the reality revealed in Scripture that God is one in being (ousia) and three in Persons (hypostases). Thus  the early church theological consensus used hypostasis  (person) to refer to the three personal and eternal realities that stand forth in distinction and in relationship to each other in God’s one ousia (being).

The personal names of the three Persons that constitute the one God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) were, of course, given to us by revelation. And with that revelation came the fact that there are three Persons, not two or four or an infinite number. Note that these teachers did not say that God is one being and also three beings, or one person and also three persons. How God is one is different from how God is three.

Therefore, speaking precisely, we would say that there are “three real and eternal distinct Persons in the one God.”

Limitations of languageTheologians realize that the word “person” in

English is not perfectly adequate to use in speaking of God’s three personal distinctions (hypostases) in relationship. This is because the way we understand persons in our creaturely experience carries with it the idea of separate individuals  or different beings—an idea that does not apply in reference to God. As Athanasius noted, we must think of God theologically, not mythologically whereby we would project human, creaturely concepts onto God, as if God were a created thing.

It’s important to understand that theological language about God is necessarily analogical wherein

by Dr Joseph Tkach

The Shield of the Trinity (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

6 The Plain Truth

there can only be partial overlap of meaning of the two things being compared—a prime example being the use of the word “persons”  in speaking of the hypostases  (the three distinct Persons) of the one God. There are points of overlapping meaning between the Persons of the Godhead and human persons that we can affirm, but there are then points that do not overlap—things that apply only to creatures and not to God and vice versa. When it comes to humans, persons remain distinct in being—they remain individuals, no matter how close (“one”) they might be relationally. But when it comes to God, the distinctions of the divine Persons (hypostases) occur within the one being (ousia) of God.

Because God is not a creature (a created being), we do not use the word Persons when speaking of God in the exact same way we use persons when speaking of human relationships, including relationships within the human family. While there are real relationships within God’s one being, those relationships are not between separate beings. The three Persons of the Trinity, through their absolutely unique relationships with one another, constitute the one being (ousia) of God in a way that is quite unlike the oneness within a human family. The relations between the Persons of God are very different from the relations that we creatures experience. In God, the relationships constitute them one in being. That is not the case for human beings. Recognizing that we are thinking analogically, we must keep in mind that the uncreated God cannot be explained in terms of the relationships within a created human family. Trying to do so would lead us into mythology and even idolatry. Recall that some pagans taught and believed that the gods are family. They also believed that the gods were sexual beings!

God is tri-personalThe relationships that occur between the three Persons

within the one eternal being (ousia) of God are neither external to the Persons or to the being of God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit can and do communicate with one another. Within the one being of God there is communion (fellowship) from all eternity, even before creation (John 17:1-26; Hebrews 1:8-9). The tri-personal God was never lonely.

When the Bible speaks of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, each are called God, each speak and, as Jesus tells us, each act and exhibit attributes of personhood such as knowing, loving and glorifying one another. Capitalizing the word Person  is one way we indicate that the word is being used in a special way in referring to the personal distinctions within the Godhead. The word Person, understood rightly,  gives us a word that emphasizes God’s personal-ness in his own being (nature), and in relationship to us as human creatures.

Grounded in the biblical revelation, early church teachers found various ways to speak of God as one in being and three in Person. Following Jesus’ teaching concerning his being “in” the Father and the Father being “in” him (John 10:38; 14:10), they spoke of the Persons “in-existing” one another (enousios in Greek). They also coined the theological term perichoresis to signify that the divine Persons “mutually indwell” or “envelope” one another, making room or space for one another. Other ways perichoresis has been translated is that the divine Persons “co-inhere” or “interpenetrate” or are

“convoluted” or “involuted” with one another. The idea being conveyed is that the whole of God is present in each of the divine Persons and that all the works of the Triune God are indivisible—the three Persons always work jointly, each contributing uniquely to that work. Such a perichoretic relationship only pertains to God and to no creature or creaturely reality. God is God alone; there is none other like him.

Upholding God’s oneness, distinction and equality

The framers of the Trinity doctrine understood it to be vital to uphold simultaneously three things about God: the eternal oneness or unity of being, the eternal distinction or differentiation of the three divine Persons, and the eternal equality of divinity of the three Persons. Thus, the historic, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity preserves for us both the biblical revelation that there is but one God and no other, as well as the biblical testimony that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equally divine and true God of true God. It should also be noted that the doctrine of the Trinity was never meant to explain all of what God was or how exactly God exists in a triune way. It was meant to protect the mystery of God while affirming the most faithful way to understand, as far as we can, the revelation of God in Christ and according to Scripture. It was meant to lead us to faithful worship!

Those who claim that the doctrine of the Trinity teaches three gods demonstrate a lack of understanding of the doctrine, which as I’ve already noted is monotheistic, not tritheistic. There is only one being that is God, and this one being is tri-personal, with each of the three divine Persons having full possession of the divine nature. All three Persons of the one triune God possess all the attributes of deity. British theologian Colin Gunton explained it this way:

The Father, Son and Spirit are persons because they enable each other to be truly what the other is: they neither assert at the expense of nor lose themselves in the being of the others. Being in communion is being that realizes the reality of the particular person within a structure of being together. There are not three gods, but one, because in the divine being a person is one whose being is so bound up with the being of the other two that together they make up the one God. (The Forgotten Trinity, page 56)

The three-in-one God at workAs we approach Holy Week followed by Ascension

Sunday and Pentecost, keeping in mind what these days remind us of, let’s be inspired and comforted knowing that the one God who is three in Person brought about our salvation. Our Redemption was accomplished by the whole God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Triune God is actively at work in our world—in our lives! In that regard, note this from Colin Gunton:

If you were to ask him how God works in the world, what are the means by which he creates and redeems it? Irenaeus would answer: “God the Father achieves his creating and redeeming work through his two hands, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Now this is an apparently crude image, but is actually extremely subtle. Our hands are ourselves in action; so that when we paint a picture or extend the hand of friendship to another, it is we who are doing it. According to this image, the Son and the Spirit are God in action, his personal way of being

“

July - September 2017 7

1 John 6:44

2 Colossians 1:19-20

3 John 5:39

4 Matthew 11:27

and acting in his world—God, we might say, extending the hand of salvation, of his love to his lost and perishing creation, to the extent of his only Son’s dying on the cross. Notice how close this is to the way in which we noticed John speaking in his Gospel. The Son of God, who is one with God the Father, becomes flesh and lives among us. This movement of God into the world he loves but that has made itself his enemy is the way by which we may return to him. The result of Jesus’ lifting up—his movement to cross, resurrection and ascension—is the sending of the Holy Spirit—another paraclete, or second hand of God the Father. The Spirit

is the one sent by the Father at Jesus’ request to relate us to the Father through him. (The Triune God of Christian Confession, p. 10)

The next time you hear someone object to the doctrine of the Trinity, claiming it teaches three gods, I hope you’ll be able to explain to them the difference between tritheism and the actual doctrine of the Trinity. Perhaps you’ll also be able to share with them the wonderful truth of the mystery and glory of the tri-personal God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. ❏

Additional Reading

Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity (IVP)

The apostle Paul tells us that the whole creation is waiting eagerly for the children of God to be revealed. God truly desires that we receive Him and His love, and that we participate in His creative works. He longs for us to join Him as co-creators and co-rulers. This requires that we awaken, so that we can learn, grow and mature, and it’s OK if it happens incrementally, moment by moment, and little by little. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever…”

As God in the flesh, Jesus did not come to threaten, control, judge and condemn people. He came to serve us. He freely mingled with all sorts of people - the poor, the needy, and sinners. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and comforted the hurting. He preached glad tidings to ALL, and invited EVERYONE to come and participate in His life and love.

Jesus poured out His life for humanity. He assumed our sin, suffered its consequences, and died for us… as us! Then, He rose and ascended into heaven, and NOW sits at the right hand of God. In doing all this, Jesus secured our eternal salvation, son-ship, inheritance, and all things pertaining to life and God. 

The prophets experienced God’s presence from time to time, but their understanding was still limited. They knew God only in part, but not fully. Even the things they knew were not always correct or accurate. For example:

Abraham, hailing from a pagan nation, believed God required human sacrifices. That’s why he didn’t even protest when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac! After all, human sacrifice was the accepted practice in his time and culture.

Righteous Job couldn’t understand why he had to endure such great affliction and pain. He even attributed his suffering to God. Later, however, when God confronted him, Job admitted to God that he had misunderstood God’s intentions, and had spoken foolishly, revealing that he (Job) was really confused about God and what motivates and animates Him!

The disciples too didn’t always figure out God’s true nature correctly. Jesus had to correct their wrong interpretations of Old Testament scriptures. For example:

Jesus told them, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Again, He told them, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 

On another occasion, when some Samaritan’s refused passage through their village, Jesus’ disciples got so angry that they wanted to call fire down from heaven to consume them, but Jesus rebuked His disciples for their revengeful spirits.

When Jesus, the God/man lived on earth, He taught, and modeled, and lived a way of always forgiving others, of praying for, and loving our enemies, of choosing to replace evil with good… In living this way, Jesus revealed the TRUE heart of God.

Despite their vast knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures, the Pharisee’s, who were considered the most devoutly religious in their day, made plain that they really didn’t know God either! Jesus Himself declared to them, “You search and keep on searching and examining the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those very scriptures that testify about me; and still you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.”3

Jesus also said, “… No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.”4

How about today? Do we presume to know God accurately and perfectly? Do we always interpret and understand the scriptures correctly? For example, do we believe that “God will only forgive us if we forgive others?” Is God’s forgiveness conditional? Of course not!  

Humility in the face of mysteryLet’s remember that none of us can claim to have the

full knowledge of God, or to know God perfectly. Let’s not pretend to always understand how He operates in this world either. Rather, let’s choose humility, and be willing to say, “I don’t know.” We must be willing to admit that we are sometimes wrong. The gospel is not about how right we are anyway! THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT HOW LOVED WE ARE … and we are LOVED even when we are wrong! Remembering this helps us abide in the LOVE we have always had, and makes us conduits of that same AMAZING LOVE. 

May we remain open to this continual revelation of God’s love… allowing it to flow NOW and FOREVERMORE. ❏

Continued from page 2

8 The Plain Truth

by Michelle Fleming

Introduction

Pentecost, marks the transition from the Easter season to what the liturgical calendar calls “ordinary time.” During the Easter season, we

reflect on God’s redemption through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Following that, our focus switches to living out the mystery of the life of Christ. Doing so is impossible without what Pentecost commemorates—the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon humanity. Pentecost is the day on which we move from spectators in the gospel story to active participants. It is the day the church, the body of Christ, was born.

Pentecost is a day of fulfillment. The Jews celebrated it as Shavuoth (the Festival of Weeks) when they would wave the first fruits of the harvest in thanks to God. In Acts 2, we learn that the promise of Pentecost is fulfilled in the sending of the Holy Spirit, an event hearkening back to Jesus’ promise to his disciples recorded in Acts 1:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”1

Then in his sermon given to the assembled crowd

on Pentecost, Peter notes that this outpouring of the Spirit fulfills Joel’s prophecy:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 2

On Pentecost we celebrate God’s faithfulness and the fullness of life experienced in relationship with him, in Christ, by the Holy Spirit. The account of Pentecost in Acts describes an exciting eruption of God’s wind and fire washing over the lives of those present. The disciples were blown from the Upper Room out into the streets, boldly declaring the good news of Jesus crucified and risen and the Spirit outpoured.

Today, the same vibrant Holy Spirit is our Counselor and Comforter, encouraging us and propelling us forward in the abundant life God has for us. John 3:8 compares the Spirit-filled life as one blown and controlled by a wind that one “cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” A life led and empowered by the Spirit requires a life of trust in the faithfulness of the Father to fulfill his promises and meet our needs. We set our sails, wait for the wind, and allow the Spirit to lead and unfold in God’s perfect timing.

Pentecost: Extraordinary Life In Ordinary Time

by

Michelle Fleming

July - September 2017 9

1 Acts 1:8

2 Acts 2:17

3 Philippians 3:8-11

4 Luke 9:23

5 Romans 6:4-7

6 Romans 8:15-17

Pentecost tells us that the power of the resurrection is not just for us—it is in us! We don’t have to be fearful and begin relying on ourselves. In the storms of life we don’t have to start powering and steering our own boat. Instead we trust the Spirit to both empower and guide us. We remember how the Spirit empowered and led those first disciples into the streets of Jerusalem and from there to the whole world, bearing the message of Christ.

The Holy Spirit’s outpouring on men and women, slave and free, to spread the gospel in all languages imparted the power of the cross in a personal, collective and universal way that both began and then sent the church on mission. The finished work on the cross assures us of eternal life, but it also impacts the way we live our temporal lives. As we transition into Ordinary Time, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to make the gospel story our story. We are blessed to in turn be a blessing.

Our lives are shaped and transformed by the presence and power of the risen Christ, who sends the Spirit to empower and direct us. Let us receive motivation from this day to re-set our sails, to listen for and respond to the direction the Holy Spirit is pointing us toward for the season ahead. I invite you to take some time to pray and/or journal through three questions we’ll now take a look at. This will help you to experience a personal Pentecost—to discern how God is calling you to live out the gospel during this next season in your life.

The three questions follow the pattern of season now concluding: Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Pentecost.

1. Good Friday: Name my deathsMoving from Easter season, what must I leave behind in order to live out what God has for me in this next season?

In Philippians 3, Paul reassures us that the righteousness we receive through our faith is worth whatever we surrender at the cross.

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.3 

Saying yes to Jesus is the best decision we can ever make. But often we do not count the cost—we do not recognize that saying yes to Christ will mean saying no to some things that we are still holding in our hearts and with our hands. To experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection, we must also participate in his death. Dead to self, alive to Christ! Note Jesus’ words:

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.4

Yes, we want the power of his resurrection, but perhaps we don’t think about what parts of our current

lives must die so that Christ can mold us, through the Spirit, into new creations. So ask God—“Lord, what are you asking me to surrender in order to make room for the new life that you are cultivating in me?

2. Easter Sunday: Claim my birthsResurrection is not just an event—it is the answer to the problem of endings. The miracle of Easter is that God did not merely resuscitate Jesus into the same life. Jesus first experienced death, then received a new life. We are invited to share that new life—in Jesus’ resurrected, glorified humanity. Note Paul’s words:

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”5

We often want God to resuscitate what we have lost, rather than replace our human dreams with God-sized dreams. We want the solution to our longings to be a resuscitation, but what Jesus, through the Spirit, provides for us is a resurrection.  Our hope is not merely to begin again (renewing old dreams), but to start anew—a new creation—the revealing of the kingdom of God in our lives.

So ask yourself, “What new life do I see rising up in my life?” Perhaps it’s a new habit, an opportunity to start a new relationship (or an entirely new chapter in an old one), new hopes, new dreams. Claim them!

3. Pentecost: Listen for my directionAsk the Holy Spirit to come close and give you what you need to step out into your next season—into the extraordinary life that is yours to live in ordinary time. Our life in Christ and by the Spirit is resurrection life. Jesus’ resurrection life is ours because the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ. Note what Paul declares:

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!”6

As you reflect on these words and the promises made so clear by the season we’re now leaving, remember that on Pentecost the disciples of Jesus were sent out into the world. Where is the Spirit sending you? Where is he sending us? Is there a person or community you as an individual and we as a community are being called to connect with or invest in during this next season? Listen to what the Spirit is saying, then obey. Amen. ❏

10 The Plain Truth

The world will probably be converted into…a vast ocean of fire, in which the wicked shall be overwhelmed…their heads, their eyes, their

tongues, their hands, their feet, their loins, and their vitals, shall forever be full of glowing, melting fire…they shall eternally…feel the torments…without any end at all, and never, never be delivered.”

This scary description of an ever-burning hell comes from the pen of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), the most influential Christian theologian of Colonial America and one of its most powerful preachers. Edwards’ sermons, such as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” taught that the unrepentant and spiritually lazy would end up in an ever-burning hell-fire. We can understand why people listening to Edwards and other preachers with a similar message might, as some did, wail and shriek in horror, writhe in fearful hysteria and even go insane.

This brand of hell-fire preaching has been a long-standing and common strain woven into the fabric of the church throughout much of its history until recent times. However, you probably won’t hear a hell-fire and brimstone sermon in church today.

Hell—to preach or not to preach?

Several evangelical scholars—including F. F. Bruce, Michael Green, John Stott, John W. Wenham, to name a few—have voiced opposition to the traditional view of hell. Clark Pinnock, a Canadian theologian and biblical scholar, didn’t mince words in the book Four Views on Hell. He wrote: “Everlasting torture is intolerable from a moral point of view because it pictures God acting like a bloodthirsty monster who maintains an everlasting Auschwitz for his enemies whom he does not even allow to die.”

Although Pinnock has drawn fire from some of his more conservative colleagues, his view of hell-fire preaching is shared by many Christian teachers and scholars, even if they don’t state their objections in such stark terms. They, like Pinnock and a growing number of others, “consider the concept of hell as endless torment in body and mind an outrageous doctrine” and a “theological and moral enormity.” This might

be an understatement when we consider the fact that some who teach an ever-burning hell (such as Edwards) also teach that God has chosen only a tiny minority of people for a heavenly life and has automatically, from eternity, planned for everyone else to go to a fearful destiny in hell forever.

Not every Christian teacher and theologian agrees that the idea of an ever-burning hell as torture chamber is a ghastly teaching. Some insist that we need more preaching about hell. Larry Dixon, writing some years ago in  Moody magazine, decried the lack of hell-fire preaching. “When was the last time you heard a sermon on hell?” he asked. “In your witness for Christ, have you recently warned anyone about eternal judgment?”  Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson say we must “proclaim the whole counsel of

God—yes, including hell—to Christians and non-Christians alike.”5

Some Christian teachers believe that people need to be prodded with fear to get them to commit to Christ. Dixon insists, “ S e l f - s u f f i c i e n t North Americans will never really listen to the gospel if we don’t at some point warn them about judgment.” His view is, “If all we speak of is love and affirmation, comfortable pagans will politely listen for a while, say they were happy for us, and go

on their way.” He concludes by saying, “Unless they fear His wrath, many won’t seek His love.”

This approach seems to assume that Americans don’t already believe that some kind of “hell” exists. It appears to be a wrong assumption. In virtually every poll taken in recent years, a majority of Americans say they do believe in a real hell. According to a mid-2007 Gallup poll, 69 percent of respondents said they believed in hell. In some polls, the percentage of people expressing their belief in hell has been even higher.7

Where does a person’s belief about hell come from? Ultimately, from the Bible. The problem is that a lot of misinformation has been mixed in with the biblical teaching about hell. God has been all-too-often pictured as an angry Judge, ready to toss people into the torments of hell with minimal provocation. But that is an unbiblical view both of God and hell. The Bible

Sinners in the Arms of a Loving God

“by

Paul Kroll

July - September 2017 11

1 Matthew 25:41

2 Hebrews 10:27

3 1 John 4:8

4 Ephesians 4:24

5 Romans 5:8

62 Corinthians 5:19

7Colossians1:19-20

81 Timothy 2:4

92 Peter 3:9

testifies that God has no intention of condemning people to “hell” out-of-hand. His goal is to save us from our sins and heal our spiritual brokenness.

Gaining perspective on hellEvery New Testament author has something to say at

least indirectly about hell by speaking of a future self-judgment on anyone who willfully rejects God’s loving grace and the good life God has purposed from eternity to give to his human children.

Here’s a saying from Jesus about anyone who remains faithless: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”1 In  Mark 9:43, he spoke about those who might “go into hell, where the fire never goes out.” The book of Hebrews speaks of “a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”2

Hell is serious, so we don’t want to discount it, because the witness of Scripture does not do this. We must seriously think about the fact that some kind of hell does exist, whatever its nature might be, if we believe the testimony of the Bible. The question remains: What kind of a hell does the Bible teach and who actually ends up there?

Many Christians have a legalistic view of God’s relationship with humanity. They see God as a condemning Judge, who is angry with the world and throws “bad people” into the flames of hell for all eternity. He carries only “good people” with him into an eternal heavenly bliss.

God is for us, not against usThe witness of Scripture gives us a different picture.

It tells us that the Triune God has opened the door of his accepting love for everyone. God, who is love,3 is so devoted to saving humanity from the destruction of sin that he took the human condition on himself. He entered his creation as a human being in the Person of his Son.

Jesus, God in the flesh, took on our fallen human nature and remade it in his perfect and righteous image, forgiving and destroying human sinfulness. In Christ, we are enabled “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” which means we are his own work, created in Christ in his image.4 It’s all God’s doing for us and in us through Christ and by the Spirit.

Robert Farrar Capon writes, “The old baloney about heaven being for good guys and hell for bad guys is dead wrong. Heaven is populated entirely by forgiven sinners… and hell is populated entirely by forgiven sinners. The only difference between the two groups is that those in heaven accept the forgiveness and those in hell reject it.” Capon’s words resonate with Scripture. In Christ, God reconciled humanity to himself even while people were still his enemies and in spiritual darkness. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” wrote the apostle Paul.5 Even when people hated God and were totally ignorant of his eternal promise for all humanity, they “were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”

Paul insists this gift of God’s grace and love is meant for  everyone! “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against

them.”6   Everything  in heaven and earth has been reconciled to him in Christ. 7

What does this have to do with hell? If we’re going to talk about how anyone could end up in hell, alienated from God, we have to first understand that this is contrary to what God wants for everyone. That’s why he has already acted to save everyone.  No one  need ever go to hell, except by their own stubborn choice.

Who’s in hell and why“Whatever we say about hell must be said under

the rubric of a universal and effective reconciliation of all things in Christ,” says Capon. “If we choose to explain how hell can be, we must somehow say that Jesus accepts our choosing of it without willing us into it  in any deterministic way.”  God wants everyone to be saved, to experience forever the joy of fellowship with him. But love is not love if it is forced. God will, in the end, let us have what we want. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’”

Hell is not a jail or a place into which God tosses people he hates. Hell is a state of denial of who God is and who God created us to be—reconciled in Christ, in eternal relationship with him, sharing his life. Hell is refusing to accept the love of God, preferring instead the selfish world of our own making. Those in hell are there because they want no fellowship with the God who made them and loves them. Those in heaven are there because they throw in their lot with Christ, accept him as Savior, follow him as Lord, and trust in his loving and free grace. Lewis wrote, “No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”

People in hell are there in spite of God’s will for them, not because of it. They have what they want, not what God wants for them. God condemns no one to hell by predetermined decree. The testimony of Scripture gives us the gloriously good news that God our Savior “wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”8 He is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”9 Hell is a dismal, tragic, gloomy and unnecessary disaster. It contradicts everything God wants for us. ❏

References 

Jonathan Edwards,  The Works of President Edwards, Vol. 7, Worcester, MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1809.

William Crockett,  Four Views on Hell, Zondervan, 1992.

Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A Peterson, Hell Under Fire, Zondervan, 2004.

Larry Dixon, Whatever Happened to Hell,  Moody magazine, June 1993.

Robert Farrar Capon,  The Mystery of Christ  …And Why We Don’t Get It, Eerdmans, 1993.

Robert Farrar Capon,  Between Noon and Three, Eerdmans, 1997.

C.S. Lewis,  The Great Divorce, Simon & Schuster, 1996.

12 The Plain Truth

“I am making a ll things new!”

byDr. P. Sellappan

Jesus tells us, “I am making everything new!”1 That is a very bold statement and claim. Can we trust him? Many don’t. What about us – you and me?

We might ask, “Why make everything new?” Isn’t there some good stuff here that we want to preserve?

The apostle John gives us the reason: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Another version puts it: “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”2

John is not referring to God’s beautiful creation like the flowers, trees, birds, streams, mountains and the majestic universe. Rather, he is referring to our proud, boastful, self-centred and destructive lifestyle that leads to envy, jealousy, pride, prejudice, fear, violence, confusion, anguish and misery. That’s why Jesus has to make everything new.

Bored or dissatisfied with your life?Many are! They wish their life could be better; that

they had more joy filled relationships with their family, relatives, colleagues and neighbours. They wish they were smarter, better looking, had more health, and more money.

We all strongly desire good things for ourselves, and the ones we love. We sometimes feel discontent with what seems a mundane, mediocre, humdrum life, and wish life were more exciting, and that we felt happier and more fulfilled. Our disillusionment is not necessarily or always a bad thing, and when honestly observed, can actually awaken us to a God given and deep desire for relationship, for connection, for union with the One whose Image and likeness we have been made.

But we messed up our lives. We became blind (spiritually) and failed to discern right from the wrong and good and bad. Our perception of God and of ourselves became twisted, distorted. We don’t see God as he really is, and what he was offering us. And we don’t see who we really are, and what we are made for. Our twisted perception of God and of ourselves is what got us here – to this place of mundane, mediocre, bored and unfulfilled lives.

However, like Adam and Eve whose perceptions of an always good and loving Father became twisted, our disillusionment can draw our gaze away! If we don't turn back to God, we can lose sight of the One who desires us, the One who formed us in our mother's wombs, and who calls us His BELOVED. Unfortunately, when our perception becomes obscured and distorted, we no longer see God as He really is, or that what He is offering us is ALWAYS GOOD. We don't see who we really are, and the LOVE we were made to receive and to give away. This twisted way of seeing God and of perceiving ourselves is what traps us in discontent and

disillusionment! To try to gain for ourselves what we think will fulfill us, we often chase after what pleases our eyes, what feeds our egos, and what stokes up our pride. And sometimes, we simply want to escape our longings and numb our desires, which can lead to all sorts of addictions!

King Solomon is a classic example of a man who in the latter part of his life lived a very frustrated and disappointed life. Although he had everything going on for him - power, fame, riches, wisdom, many subjects, and hundreds of wives, he was apathetic and indifferent! Chronically exasperated, he cried, "Vanity of vanities, all is emptiness!"

Sometimes the things that we desire and crave actually perpetuate our unhappiness, don't they? Often, it is only when we become more conscious and honest about this that we can begin to see and collaborate with God's vision for us. You see, we really don't know what we want when we lose sight of this God who desires us, who made us to live lives of communion, creativity, fun, passion and adventure!

Until we encounter this God who desired us into existence, and whose desire for us sustains our every breath even NOW, we will continue to live unfulfilled lives and NOT the lives we were designed for.

Jesus came that you might live life to the fullest!

It has never been the desire of God that we live disillusioned and unfulfilled lives, but that our lives are joy-filled and abundant. He hates to see us wallowing in our squalor- feeling miserable and pitiful. When we feel this way we don't reflect the passion, joy, and hope He created us for. He came to deliver us from sorrow and sadness, and to restore us to the life of our design.

How did Jesus do this? Well, when He willingly died on the cross, He untwisted all that was twisted up within us; our blindness and mis-perception, our resulting brokenness and wrongdoing (we call it sin) was ALL crucified with Him, and so our old sinful selves died there on the cross too! Because Jesus (the last Adam) did this, our connection with the first Adam was completely severed! It was the end of the human race that descended from Adam.

Talking about this new reality, Apostle Paul exclaimed:

“…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized  into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?    We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death…” 3

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”4

Yes, Jesus, representing humanity vicariously, died for us. Not just for us, but as us. He crucified our old sinful self. That’s why Paul confessed, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the

July - September 2017 13

“I am making a ll things new!”Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”5

You have been raised to new life!You - your sinful self - died with Jesus 2000 years ago.

You were buried with him, but thank God, he raised you up with him in his resurrection. When he rose from the grave, you rose with him. Not just you, but all humanity. That might be a startling revelation to some reading this article.

Paul lays out this awesome truth beautifully so everyone might believe:

“…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.    For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,  that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,  he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.    The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore do not let sin reign  in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,  but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”6

Yes, Jesus destroyed your old life descended from Adam and recreated you in Christ Jesus, in his image and likeness. Paul echoes this truth thus:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”7

The truth is Jesus has bound himself to humanity inextricably! That means you belong to him. Your identity is in him. He is in you, and you are in him. There is no separation whatsoever. He has stamped his perfection, innocence, holiness and righteousness

on you. That makes you truly holy and righteous (not your good works or good behaviour). He did all these for you, as you.

While we may not see all these things clearly, yet, in faith, we believe that God raised us to new lives and seated us with Christ at the right-hand of God. Paul declares this truth thus:

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…” 8

So, we truly have new lives, and a new way of being human, in Christ. God believes in us so much that He created us in His image and likeness and provided and modelled for us in His son Jesus a way to live as He lives; to LIVE LOVED, and to participate in a creative, expansive, and adventurous life! What we need to ask ourselves is: Do we believe? Do we have faith? Unfortunately, we have made faith only about

believing IN Him, when really, if we are honest, our belief in Him sometimes wavers, and is at best imperfect! True faith is really about agreeing with God about God, and believing what He believes about you.

How does your new life look like?

To get a glimpse of what your new life looks like, you must look at Jesus’ risen life.

We will be humans.

Jesus lived as a man, died and rose as a man, ascended as a man, and is seated at the right hand of God

as a man. He didn’t become a spirit being. He was man, is man, and will be man forever.9

His humanity is our humanity. His life is our life. Just as he was raised as a human, we too will be raised as humans, not as spirit beings.

If Jesus had not assumed our humanity, our salvation is at stake! Why? Because he healed only what he assumed. He had to be a perfect human in the Godhead to represent us, to be our eternal mediator and intercessor. Short of that we have no salvation.

The apostle John was fully persuaded and convinced of this truth. That’s why he warned believers against false preachers (whom he called antichrists) who went around preaching that Jesus didn’t rise in bodily form.10

14 The Plain Truth

1 Revelation 21:5

2 1 John 2:16

3 Romans 6:3-4

4 2Corinthians 5:14

5 Galatians 2:20

6 Romans 6:4-14

7 2Corinthians 5:17

8 Ephesians 2:6

9 Acts 13:37-38;

1 Corinthians

15:47-49; 1

Timothy 2:5;

Hebrews 10:12

10 1 John 4:1-3

11 Revelation 1:18

12 Revelation 21:3-7

13 Colossians 1:12

14 Romans 15:7

15 Romans 8:15;

Galatians 4:5-7;

Ephesians 1:5

16Ephesians 1:4-6

We will have glorified bodies.What will our glorified bodies look like? They will look

like we look and we will be readily identified as we are and have been known here, only without the ravages of age, time, and space, because they will be glorified. Jesus has a glorified body, one that looks like He looked while here on earth, but one that is no longer subject to or limited by age, time, or space. That means we will not age or become old (as we do now) because we will not be time-bound. That also means we can be here and there at the same time because we will not be space-bound. Didn’t Jesus say “I am who I am” (meaning, not subject to time limitation)? And didn’t Jesus appear/disappear at will when manifesting to his disciples (meaning, not subject to space limitation)? Wow! It sure sounds like quantum mechanics/physics where a particle can be here and there at the same time! (Quantum mechanics deals with the principles governing the behaviour subatomic particles at nanoscopic levels.)

We can live in union with God now!

As the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in union with each other, we too can live in union with God (who is a Trinity), as well as with everyone else. We can trust the LOVE that created us from the beginning, and that we have been FULLY reconciled to that LOVE, and live NOW as children of God (LOVE), and as loving brothers and sisters. Believing LOVE is what created us, and living loved is what causes us to want to give ourselves to one another in this same self-giving love...adoring, valuing, and enjoying one another.

We can be uniquely ourselves.

THANK GOD, His Kingdom is not made up of clones. That would be real boring! We are FULLY reconciled and COMPLETELY united with God NOW, and yet still we are distinct and unique. Being created in His likeness allows for diversity and otherness and still somehow reflects His Image! How exciting that there remains unity in diversity; and as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and yet distinct from each other, so are we.

We can live the life god designed for us now!

Yes, the abundant life. No more the dull, monotonous, mediocre and bored life. As distinct humans who have been made in His image and likeness, we can live lives filled with joy, peace, friendship, fun, laughter, passion.

We can participate in a god reflected life marked by creativity and adventure.

God has called us to collaboration and co-creation from the beginning. Loves beauty...its wonder...and expansion in this world, in the universe, and the many galaxies is what we have been invited to co-operate with and participate in! What we have been called to is so much more exciting than make-believe movies like Star Trek, or Guardians of the Galaxy. This NOW life is so much more than what we have dreamed about or imagined!

Wow! You might wonder that this Gospel is far-fetched and unrealistic? In fact, in us, it is still un-realized, but that is ONLY because of our un-belief! We can't seem to fathom the enormity of God's GOOD NEWS - His LOVE and DESIRE for us! We haven't believed that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! Oh Lord, HELP OUR UN-BELIEF!!!

Let’s wake up to the life of our design!The risen Jesus declared to Apostle John: “I am the

living one. I died, but look - I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”11

He also declared to John: “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.” 12

The Gospel truly is mind-stretching, revolutionary and awesome. What is really holding us from believing this wonderful, awesome life-giving Gospel?

When someone introduces a ‘miracle’ working drug that could heal chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and hypertension and gives us testimonials to prove it, we readily believe and buy the drug even if the claims are highly exaggerated. The drug may do us some good, but seldom as advertised.

How about the Gospel? The Gospel is the Good News that in Christ Jesus, God has done everything necessary so we could live and experience his glorious life. It tells us that while we were yet sinners (before we confessed our sins) he forgave us, reconciled us to himself, qualified us for his kingdom,13 and accepted14 and adopted us as his sons/daughters.15He has given us freely all things, even himself, and the vast universe he created. He gives us all these because we are his beloved children. He predestined us for this kind of life because we were in Christ before the foundation of the world, before there was time, before we drew our first breath.16 This is the true Gospel.

We might exaggerate the efficacy of a drug, but we can never exaggerate the true Gospel, what God offers to us. The Gospel is often maligned, twisted, misinterpreted and under-stated. Gospel means Good News, not just for some select few religious people, but for all.

Yes, the risen Jesus has made all things new! So we can start living our new life, his kind of life, here and now, and forever in his kingdom. We don’t have to wait another day! Jesus has come and made his dwelling in us by his Spirit. He lives, moves and has being in us. He empowers and energizes us to live his adventurous life. May your new life in Christ take root and burst forth into the glorious life that God has always intended for you from before the foundation of the world, and even before you drew your first breath.❏

July - September 2017 15

1 Ephesians 1:42 H e b r e w s7: 27;

9:12; 10:10

All the great religions of the world talk a lot about death, so there must be an essential lesson to be learned here. But throughout much of religious

history our emphasis has been on killing the wrong thing and avoiding the truth: it’s you who has to die, or rather, who you think you are—your false self. It’s never someone else!

Historically we moved from human sacrifice to animal sacrifice to various modes of seeming self-sacrifice, usually involving the body. For many religions, including immature Christianity, God was distant and scary, an angry deity who must be placated. God was not someone with whom you fell in love or with whom you could imagine sharing intimacy or tenderness.

The common Christian reading of the Bible is that Jesus “died for our sins”—either to pay a debt to the devil (common in the first millennium) or to pay a debt to God the Father (proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, 1033-1109). Theologians later developed a “substitutionary atonement theory”—the strange idea that before God could love us God needed and demanded Jesus to be a blood sacrifice to ‘’atone’’ for our sin. As a result, our theology became more transactional than transformational.

Franciscan philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) was not guided by the Temple language of debt, atonement, or blood sacrifice (understandably used in the New Testament written by observant Jews). He was instead inspired by the cosmic hymns in the first chapters of Colossians and Ephesians and the first chapter of John’s Gospel. For Duns

Scotus, the incarnation of God and the redemption of the world could never be a mere mop-up exercise in response to human sinfulness, but the proactive work of God from the very beginning. We were “chosen in Christ before the world was made.”1 Our sin could not possibly be the motive for the divine incarnation; rather, God’s motivation was infinite divine love and full self-revelation! For Duns Scotus, God never merely reacts, but always freely acts out of free and unmerited love.

Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity (it did not need changing)! Jesus came to change the mind of humanity about God. God’s abundance and compassion make any scarcity economy of merit or atonement unhelpful and unnecessary. Jesus undid “once and for all”2 all notions of human and animal sacrifice and replaced them with his new infinite economy of grace. Jesus was meant to be a game changer for religion and the human psyche.

This grounds Christianity in love and freedom from the very beginning; it creates a very coherent and utterly attractive religion, which draws people toward lives of inner depth, prayer, reconciliation, healing, and universal “at-one-ment,” instead of mere sacrificial atonement. Nothing “changed” on Calvary but everything was revealed—an eternally outpouring love. Jesus switched the engines of history: instead of us needing to spill blood to get to God, we have God spilling blood to get to us! ❏

© https://cac.org/love-not-atonement-2017-05-04/

by Fr. Richard Rohr

Love, Not AtonementLove, Not AtonementLove, Not Atonement

16 The Plain Truth

The Shack: A Story of Healing or Heresy?

Perhaps you’ve noticed the reviews. One theologian claimed The Shack movie (produced from a book by the same title) was “the greatest deception

foisted on the church in the last 200 years” while another called it “undiluted heresy”. Others even called it “blasphemy.”

Conversely others praised it for returning wonder, beauty and mystery into their faith. “The Shack helped my friend return to Christ” was one grateful person’s response. Singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith’s quote can be found on the cover stating that The Shack will leave you “craving for the presence of God.”

Wow, we had better be sure of what we are talking about here. This is no mere movie review! Some claim your salvation is on the line, both those advising to watch and not to watch! It could either save your faith OR shipwreck it! How in the world do we navigate through the immense polarizing opinions within the so-called one Body of Christ? No wonder many folks just throw up their hands and walk away. But is it really that complicated? No, it isn’t. While some are not bothered by the critics, this article is provided for anyone who wants to be a little more equipped to answer those making disturbing accusations toward  The Shack message.

The accusations are unfortunate, for the world desperately needs to know that what God believes about us is far more important to get right before our beliefs about Him which are constantly dependent upon us unraveling all the contradicting theology! We are told, “We love because He FIRST loved us.” Thank God He is “The Author and finisher of our faith”!

Exploring the Scriptural, Historical, and Aca-demic Support for The Shack.

First we need to be reminded that the context is a dream which means it is to be taken as a type of parable or metaphor. Jesus used parables to communicate and parables were meant to be interpreted by their main thrust not for their details in order to create a “systematic theology.” For instance, if you took Matthew 25 literally in detail you would have to deduce that salvation is by works. In the parable of the 99 sheep you could conclude that God abandons us in order to find the lost. And is God really a cranky judge who begrudges to answer a woman in need? We realize we must interpret the parables through the lens of the overall Story of God or we will be very confused indeed. Also we know enough to filter them by what we know of the nature of God not by details in the story.

by Kathryn Hannula

“

July - September 2017 17

1 Genesis 1:262 Psalms 22; John

1; Matthew 1:233 Matthew 5:44;

Luke 23:34; Ephesians 4:32

4 2 Corinthians 5:19; 2 Corinthians 15; Colossians 1; Revelation 21

5 Genesis 1:26, 276 Genesis 1:31;

Psalms 107:1; James 1:17

7 Ephesians 3:17–19

8 Zechariah 12:10

The Shack: A Story of Healing or Heresy?

Now, let’s unpack some of the breath-taking themes of The Shack in light of scripture:

1. God is not an isolated “Omni-God” but rather a relationship of mutual love, a unified “us-ness” overflowing to their creation. (“Let us make man in our image…”1)

2. God is not a distant God but rather present in our joy and celebration as well as our deepest darkness and pain. He is the incarnate God who is with us and willing to enter our world in a way that we can comprehend.2

3. God is our source of and model for all forgiveness.3

4. God is a God of reconciliation, restoration and resurrection.4

5. God is neither male nor female but is represented by His image and likeness as both male and female.5

6. God is good even though this life is painful and we don’t understand.6

Each one of these is an essential, vital, crucial, key and indispensable theme found within the scriptures. Have I emphasized that enough? How many books or movies have tackled and successfully wrestled with these foundational scriptural subjects, especially the nature of God in the midst of evil? (This age-old question is called “theodicy”.)

Again, we can see that The Shack addresses and focuses on THE most important truths of the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ found in scripture – that He is GOOD, He is LOVE, He is GREAT and that He is WITH US IN THE FLESH. These are enormous concepts to portray in any form but Paul Young and Lionsgate have powerfully and convincingly done it!

How Does Historical Christianity Line Up With The Shack?

Next, we will reveal the historical support of the theology of The Shack in the early church fathers. Athanasius, who penned the Nicene/Apostle’s Creed, was very much in agreement with the identification of Christ with mankind in his incarnation:

“For we were the purpose of his embodiment, and for our salvation he so loved human beings as to come to be and appear in a human body.”

“For the Lord touched all parts of creation, and freed and undeceived them all from every deceit.”

“Paul also said, ‘being rooted and grounded in love, that you may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.’ 7 For the Word unfolded himself everywhere, above and below and in the depths and in the breadth: above, in creation; below, in the incarnation; in the depths, in hell; in breadth, in the world. Everything is filled with the knowledge of God.”

“For of what use is existence to the creature if it cannot know its Maker? How could men be reasonable beings if they had no knowledge of the Word and Reason of the Father, through Whom they had received their being? They would be no better than the beasts, had they no knowledge save of earthly things; and why should God have made them at all, if He had not intended them to know Him? But, in fact, the good God has given them a

share in His own Image, that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, and has made even themselves after the same Image and Likeness. Why? Simply in order that through this gift of Godlikeness in themselves they may be able to perceive the Image Absolute, that is the Word Himself, and through Him to apprehend the Father; which knowledge of their Maker is for men the only really happy and blessed life.”

In The Shack Mack is shown how Papa and the Spirit also bear the scars of the cross. An early theologian named Clement of Rome wrote a letter to the Corinthians where he noted the union of God the Father and Christ as he called Christ’s sufferings “His sufferings”.

“Content with the provision which God had made for you, and carefully attending to His words, ye were inwardly filled with His doctrine, and His sufferings were before your eyes.”

Clement also spoke of “The blood of God,” Christ as “The only true God,” “The only-begotten Son and Word, before time began,” “Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ,” “God being manifested as a man, and man displaying power as God.”

These church fathers taught, as do the scriptures, that while there was distinction there was solidarity and unity in the death of Christ: Yahweh says “They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced.”8  

Is There Solid Theology to Support the Themes of The Shack?

Lastly we can show substantial validation of The Shack’s theology by very godly and outstanding theologians. Dr. C. Baxter Kruger has written a scholarly book unpacking the rich biblical and historical underpinnings of The Shack called The Shack Revisited: There is More Going On Here Than You Ever Dared to Dream. (This book was not written in tandem with The Shack’s release or a collaboration. Baxter was given The Shack by a friend and had never heard of Paul Young. As he read, he could not believe the way in which Young so accurately represented the Incarnation and Trinity biblically and historically as that was Dr. Kruger’s doctoral area of study under J. B. Torrance in Aberdeen, Scotland. He immediately contacted him and they became fast friends.)

Another book that is an easier read and does a very thorough job of dispelling the myths and fears that certain theologians have created is God, the Bible and The Shack by Gary and Cathy Deddo.

ConclusionAs you can see there are two very different reactions

to The Shack. I hope this overview has revealed how The Shack offers healing and hope to a world entangled in the worst lies about God propagated by the Accuser who has been “a liar from the beginning.” May the story continue to defend God’s character as love, His nature as good and His ways as perfect in the midst of life’s chaos, the voice of atheists and the religious confusion. These are not small themes in the scripture – they are the most monumental and pivotal. This is what The Shack has so courageously undertaken and so marvelously achieved.❏

http://portorchardnazarene.org/uncategorized/the-shack-a-story-of-healing-or-heresy/

18 The Plain Truth

1 John 18:372 John 19:23 Daniel 7:144 Revelation 21:

3, 45 Matthew 13:

31, 326 Mark 1:157 2 Corinthians

5:20

The kingdom of God

by Paul Hailey

When Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus replied that the reason for his birth was

to be a king.1 Because of his claim of kingship, the Roman soldiers put a crown of thorns on his head and mocked him saying “Hail, king of the Jews!”2 Later they crucified him and continued to ridicule the idea of him being a king--he was totally powerless, suffering and dying. How could he be a king?

But three days later Jesus came to life, ascended to heaven to sit on the right hand of the Father waiting the time when he will return as a conquering king. His kingdom, the kingdom of God on earth, will be everlasting.

The prophet Daniel was given a glimpse of Jesus receiving the kingdom. “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”3

That is good news, very good news! The flawed kingdoms and governments of our world will be no more.

The future kingdom

Dramatic worldwide changes are coming! Isaiah, Amos, Zechariah, and other Bible books tell of the magnificent future world:

Jesus will bring world peace. No more war—military weapons will be re-tooled into useful instruments. All nations will seek the Lord to learn of His ways. Barren deserts will blossom. No more hunger. He will bring justice to the poor and needy. Wild animals will be tamed. People and nations who have been dispersed will be regathered to their home lands. Children will play in the streets, safe from harm.

What a picture of happiness and harmony!

The Apostle John gives us a foretaste, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”4

Jesus will be a compassionate kingUnfortunately some believe Jesus will be a harsh

king, sternly judging and punishing all who have done

wrong. True enough, He will necessarily subdue all who will be waging war at His return. But when He, the King of Peace, restores peace He will act gently and lovingly as He did while on the earth, only on a worldwide scale.

During His ministry, He healed many who were blind, deaf, or stricken with leprosy or palsy. He raised the dead to live again. He fed the hungry. He preached the gospel--the good news of salvation for all humanity. He forgave sinners. He calmed storms. He was a friend of sinners, entirely unselfish, focused on the welfare of others. As the Almighty King of God’s Kingdom He will do the same throughout the entire world. His character will not change.

But there is something else we should consider.

The kingdom of God has already begunJesus spoke often of the coming kingdom. In his parables he com-pared the kingdom to a mustard seed that is tiny, but grows into the largest plant in an herb gar-den.5 When he began to preach he said the kingdom of God was “near.”6 He was announcing the arrival of the future king. Most people didn’t understand his proclamation. But, as the future king, he was laying the founda-tion for the kingdom of God that would eventually fill the entire earth. He called apostles and disciples to preach the gospel and establish churches. Today He con-tinues to call disciples like you and me to proclaim and participate in building the kingdom of God.

We who understand the message of salvation and have accepted Jesus’ as our Lord and Savior, are privileged to be His “ambassadors”, or representatives on earth while He awaits His return.7 As His ambassadors, as inept as we are, we are invited to be His representatives here and now and to participate in the growth of the tiny mustard seed. He gives us abilities and opportunities to share the gospel with others. We all can, in our own limited and feeble ways, emulate his life of service through our words and actions.

Someday King Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness. It will arrive with the sound of a mighty trumpet and loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Until that glorious time, let’s pray for His kingdom to come and for opportunities to be His faithful ambassadors.❏

July - September 2017 19

1 Matthew 14: 15-21

2 Matthew 25: 34-40

Another angle

To those who care

by Devaraj Ramoo

From time to time I drop by an orphanage in the city where I live to render a little assistance for the care of about thirty children who live there. On one

occasion when I arrived in the evening the caretakers of the orphanage were just bringing in three new children. I observed the children as they held on to their little bags and made their way into their new home. The signs of fear and anxiety were clearly obvious on their faces. These children arrived at the orphanage after being driven out from the homes of their relatives. Their father had abandoned them and their mother had to work doing odd jobs to put food on the table. Having lost their home these children were forced to stay with relatives who eventually wanted them out. Now they were at the only place where they could find some shelter to call a home.

The caretakers of the orphanage are a young couple who have made it their life calling to care for destitute and abandoned children. However, theirs is a journey of faith as they receive no funding from the authorities. They depend solely on funds from kind donors and occasional assistance from churches. Donations are hard to come by due to the difficult economic situation that has affected almost everyone. The cost of living has gone up considerably but even with lesser funds the children still need to be cared for. Otherwise, where would they go?

We live in an age where social problems have reached unmanageable levels. So many families experience disruption. Divorce, abuse, alcoholism, gangsterism and brutality has caused the most vulnerable, that is, children to suffer in unimaginable ways. They are beaten, sexually abused, shouted at, and threatened as they are left to the mercy of unkind relatives or strangers. The signs of abuse are apparent as the children arrive at the orphanage. Here is their last hope to find some semblance of a family where they could experience kindness.

In the book of Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 17 God gives some clear instructions to the people of what is expected of them. He implores them to change their ways and stop sinning. He also tells the people to defend the fatherless and plead for the widow. Today

some travel great distances to preach the gospel and do missionary work. But many of us are not able to go to distant countries or have the physical strength to do missionary work in remote parts of the world. However, we all have the means to help those near us. Orphanages, old folk’s homes, homeless people on the streets, the poor, are all around us. We all know of families that are struggling to put food on the table. We all know people who need help to pay for medical bills or children who barely have enough to eat. Could we not become the manifestation of the love of Christ by reaching out to them? As a teacher I know many of my students come to school hungry. These teenagers would rather starve than tell someone that they are hungry. A few of us have set up a fund for these teens to ensure they receive a meal during their recess at

school.

When Jesus preached, multitudes gathered to hear him. On one occasion thousands had gathered in a remote area just to hear his message. At the end of the day the disciples asked Jesus to dismiss them so that they could return. However, Jesus said that these people might collapse due to hunger as they had to walk a great distance to return. He provided for them. One of his greatest miracles was to feed about five thousand people with five loaves of bread and a few fish which he multiplied miraculously.1 As God

Incarnate he knew people needed food. As those who follow Christ are we insensitive to the suffering of those around us? Could we not help alleviate the hardship faced by someone near us?

Jesus puts it in the right perspective. When he returns in glory those who inherit his kingdom are found to have a unique quality. Jesus says, “When I was hungry you gave me food; I was thirsty you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in.” The puzzled people ask when they had provided such things to the Lord. To this Jesus answers, “Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”2 Would you reach out to someone today and make a difference? ❏

20 The Plain Truth

Speaking of life...

A tale of Two Teachers

by Dr. Joseph Tkach

I grew up as a grandson of immigrants. Both of my grandfathers had journeyed to America as adults, one fleeing a revolution and the other seeking his fortune.

But both of them shared a similarity – they both hoped to see their culture passed down to their grandchildren. So I endured many an afternoon of “tutoring.”

My Russian grandfather would recite the Russian alphabet like he was announcing a cattle auction. I tried hard to keep up, but always fell behind. When he finished, he would say, “Okay, now you try.” I’d start at the beginning and maybe make it a few letters in, but sooner or later, I’d always fail. And with each failure, my Russian grandfather would threaten to spank me if I didn’t do better next time.

On the other hand, my Greek grandfather wanted me to learn Greek. But he took a different approach. Rather than threatening punishment and zooming ahead, this grandfather would start slow, saying the first five letters of the Greek alphabet before pausing, and giving me the chance to actually learn. When I needed help, he graciously stepped in, prompting me. And when I succeeded, he always rewarded me with a slice of baklava.

This is my Tale of the Two Teachers. Both wanted me to learn their language (for good reasons!).  But one worked as a taskmaster of the Law, prodding me on, disappointed whenever I made a mistake, and trying to motivate me mainly by threats. The other worked under the code of grace, gently and patiently working with me, step by step – forgiving a misstep and rewarding a success with love.

But let me be clear, when I make this contrast, I don’t mean for anyone to conclude that I loved one grandfather more than the other. That’s just not true. In fact, I love them both – just as I love both the law and grace.

What I want to show is that grace is more powerful than the law to bring about God’s good purposes. See how Paul writes about it in Romans:

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned in sin the flesh, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.1

God made a covenant of grace with Israel, to be their God and to enable them to be a channel of blessing to the future generations of all the families of the earth. The law was added in 430 years later to give them clear instruction about how to live within that covenant and serve notice as to when they were departing from it. It was never meant to give them righteous loving hearts. It could not protect them from temptation to sin. It was weak and could never bring about God’s

covenant purposes for his people. It mostly was simply demanding and condemning.

But by the working of God’s grace in us, we are given new natures. The Holy Spirit gives us a share in Christ’s own mind and heart and we are transformed from the inside out and enabled to live a Christ-centered life as his beloved children. Our Triune God has wonderfully worked out a way for us to share in his “culture,” to learn his language of faith, hope and love and to be channels of his blessing to others. Now that’s a reward that far surpasses even baklava! I pray that we all come to know God’s covenant love and grace ever more powerfully in our daily life.❏

1 Romans 8:3-4

July - September 2017 21

Tammy’s turn

The view from the Cross

During the weeks leading up to Easter, Christians tend to focus on what happened while Jesus hung on the cross, in particular the pain and humiliation

he endured. Some books and devotionals urge us to let our thoughts linger on the agony he suffered and even go so far as to suggest literal participation. Self-flagellation used to figure prominently in some sects, though it’s not practiced much today. But some still practice self-inflicted figurative suffering, dwelling on the gruesome details of crucifixion in an effort to get inside the pain Jesus experienced.

Most often, we might picture ourselves there, as one of the onlookers, crying with sadness and disbelief that the Son of God had to go through such an ordeal. Per-haps we feel guilt too, as we realize our sin put him there. While it’s good to understand and appreciate the gravity of the sacrifice, both on the part of the Father and the Son, I would like to look at it from a different perspective, that of Jesus, as he experienced it.

The subject is too extensive to cover everything, but a few things stand out: first, he and his Father had planned it from the beginning. He knew what was go-ing to happen and told his disciples about the suffering he would endure. As some have said, this was not plan B, but always the way to our salvation and redemption.

Second, many focus on Psalm 22, which he quoted:

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Psalm 22:1), but they stop there, wrongly assuming the Father turned his back on Jesus because he became sin. In Psalm 18, we discover that God heard his cries for help and rushed to his side: “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep wa-ters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me…. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me” (verses 16-19).

Jesus was never in doubt that his Father loved him and would move heaven and earth (Psalm 18:7-15) to bring him to the “wide-open field” (MSG) or “a spa-cious place” of his resurrected life, at the Father’s right hand (vs. 19).

And last, the cross wasn’t child abuse, as some declare with cries of revulsion, vowing never to believe or trust in a God who would do that to his son. Rather, it was the ultimate expression of love, as Jesus willingly laid down his life for us. The amazing love of the Triune God took him there, kept him there and brought him to the exalted place of Savior and King. The same God who moved heaven and earth to rescue his son from death and in so doing, conquered death for us, moved heaven and earth to save us,  because he delights in us. He will one day bring us to that spacious place of eternal life in his presence – all for love. ❏

by Tammy Tkach

22 The Plain Truth

1 Luke 22:31-322 Hebrews 6:20;

7:25-28; 8:1-63 Hebrews 2:114 John 20:175 John 20:196 Hebrews 2:117 Ephesians 1:48 Hebrews 10:

10, 149 Ephesians 1:10

Jesus: the one and the many

In chapter two, JB points out the encouraging truth that Jesus Christ knows all about us: "He has been through it all - through suffering and death and

separation." In Jesus we are blessed to have a High Priest fully able (and willing) "to carry us through all we face into resurrection life."

Hallelujah!How thankful we can be that Jesus, our High Priest,

"is touched with a feeling of our infirmities, interceding for us, opening our hearts by the Spirit." When we are unable to pray (rightly or at all), we need not fret, for Jesus prays for us. When we suffer, we need not add fear to our struggle, for Jesus hears our groans and intercedes for us, just as he did for Peter in his many struggles with fear, doubt and misunderstandings.1

Our loving Father in heaven has graciously given us Christ and the Holy Spirit to draw us to himself in worship. Yet, as JB notes, it's all too common for Christian teaching and preaching to...

...throw people back on themselves with exhortations and instruction as to what to do and how to do it [instead of directing people] to the gospel of grace---to Jesus Christ, that they might look to him to lead them, open their hearts in faith and in prayer, and draw them by the Spirit into his eternal life of communion with the Father. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is the grammar...of grace, the grammar of our pastoral work.  

To rightly understand prayer and all other aspects of our worship of God, it's vital to understand the New Testament teaching concerning Christ's mediatorial priesthood---the reality that "we have someone who stands in for us to do for us and in us what we try to do and fail to do---someone who lives forever to intercede for us 2 and who gives us the gift of the Spirit to share in his intercessions."

Noting that  The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines prayer as "an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ," JB points out that we pray "in the name of Christ" because of what Christ has done and is doing in our name (that is, on our behalf). In several ways we see this mediatorial role of Christ foreshadowed in the actions of Israel's High Priest in the Temple of the Day of Atonement:

1. Jesus comes to us from the Father to be our one High Priest as both God and human. As human, he is "bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, in solidarity with all humanity." As one of us he offers to the Father "that worship, that obedience, that life of love in unbroken intimate communion" that we are unable to offer due to our fallenness. 

2. Jesus "consecrates himself for this ministry of leading us into the presence of the Father"---we

see this in Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17:19. Jesus, we are told, is "the one for the many"3 and his life of prayer is fundamental to his self-consecration on our behalf. 

3. Jesus offers himself on our behalf in death, "saying amen in our humanity to the just judgments of God" against sin. In doing so, "he does not appease an angry God to condition him into being gracious, but in perfect acknowledgement of the holy love of the Father for a sinful world, seals God's covenant purpose for all humanity by his blood."

4. Jesus enters heaven (the holy of holies) on our behalf, there to intercede for us.4

5. Jesus returns to us from heaven, by the gift of the Spirit, to both bring us his peace5 and to share with us his apostolic mission to the world6 "as a royal priesthood with the word of forgiveness."

In these ways, we see Jesus, the One (our High Priest and Mediator) acting on behalf of the many (all humanity). As JB notes, only Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, is able to fill this dual mediatorial role, for he, uniquely, is both God and man. Consider these stunning implications: When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, our humanity was born again in and with him. When Jesus was baptized by the Spirit, suffered, died, rose again and ascended, all humanity was included in his "representative vicarious humanity." And now, in heaven, Jesus, fully divine and still fully human... 

...presents us in himself to the Father as God's dear children, and our righteousness is hid with Christ in God---ready to be revealed at the last day.... Because Jesus has lived our life, offered himself through the eternal Spirit without spot to the Father in our name and on our behalf, as the one for the many, God accepts us in him. We are accepted in the beloved son---immaculate in him, and only in him - "[holy] whole and blameless in his sight."7

All of this wondrous truth, this awe-inspiring, earth-shattering reality, is behind what it means when we pray "in the name of Christ." JB elaborates:

Because of what [Christ] has done and is doing for us in our name, we worship the Father in Christ  as well as through Christ....  Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant, the one in whom God draws near to humanity in covenant love and the one in whom we draw near to God through the Spirit. In worship we offer ourselves to the Father "in the name of Christ" because he has already in our name made the one true offering to the Father, the offering by which he has sanctified for all time those who come to God by him,8 and because he ever lives to intercede for us in our name. The covenant between God and humanity is consecrated in his person.  

by Ted Johnston

Review 3 of James B. Torrance’ book:Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace

Continued on page 23

July - September 2017 2017 23

letters

Sayings by Richard RohrThere are three things we have to let go of. The first is the

compulsion to be successful. Second, is the compulsion to be right - especially theologically right. (That’s merely an ego trip, and because of this “need” churches split in half, with both parties prisoners of their own egos.) Finally, there is the compulsion to be powerful, to have everything under control.

You come to God not by being strong, but by being weak; not by being right, but through your mistakes.

Most of us were taught that God would love us if and when we change. In fact, God loves you so that you can change. What empowers change, what makes you desirous of change is the experience of love. It is that inherent experience of love that becomes the engine of change.

Once you experience being loved when you are unworthy, being forgiven when you did something wrong, that moves you into non-dual thinking. You move from what I call meritocracy, quid pro quo thinking, to the huge ocean of grace, where you stop counting or calculating.

It is at the bottom where we find grace; for like water, grace seeks the lowest place and there it pools up.

God is always bigger than the boxes we build for God, so we should not waste too much time protecting the boxes.

There is nothing to prove and nothing to protect. I am who I am and it’s enough.

Maturity is the ability to joyfully live in an imperfect world.

Every time God forgives us, God is saying that God’s own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us.

Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.

All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those around us.

Religion is one of the safest places to hide from God.

If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without love is self-centeredness; forgiveness without love is self-abasement; fortitude without love is recklessness; generosity without love is extravagance; care without love is mere duty; fidelity without love is servitude. Every virtue is an expression of love. No virtue is really a virtue unless it is permeated, or informed, by love.

The path of descent is the path of transformation. Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines.

I have committed myself to joy. I have come to realize that those who make space for joy, those who prefer nothing to joy, those who desire the utter reality, will most assuredly have it. We must not be afraid to announce it to refugees, slum dwellers, saddened prisoners, angry prophets. Now and then we must even announce it to ourselves. In this prison of now, in this cynical and sophisticated age, someone must believe in joy.

Everything has to be understood in opposition to something else. For some dang reason, the ego prefers to make one side better than the other, so we choose. And we decide males are better than females, America is better than Canada, Democrats are better than Republicans. And for most people, once this decision is made, it is amazing the amount of blindness they become capable of. They really don’t see what’s right in front of them. Once you see this, it’s an amazing breakthrough, and that is the starting place for moving away from dualistic thinking.

Hmm...

Sayings by Richard Rohr

It's vital to understand this reality that Jesus truly is the new covenant---"the one and the many." This is no mere concept or principle. Jesus is not merely an "ideal embodiment of humanity." No, there is an "absolute uniqueness to the person of Christ," as JB notes:

[Jesus] is deeply concerned for every single one of the many to bring every single one into personal union with himself, to share his personal union with the Father.... Thus in Jesus Christ "the one and the many" means at once the one for the many, the one who stands in for the many, the many represented personally in the one, the one who comes by the Spirit to each one of the many whom he loves and knows by name...

Glory to God!Because of who Jesus is (fully God and fully human),

and because of what this God-man did (and continues to do) on our behalf, as our representative and substitute (through his vicarious humanity), Jesus fulfills God's purposes of love and obedience and worship for all humankind. JB comments:

What was lost in the one man ("in Adam") - communion with God---is restored and fulfilled for each one of us in Christ ("the last Adam"), and held out for us by the Spirit in the Lord's Supper [note here the importance of the sacraments]. This, of course, is the Pauline doctrine of Romans 5 and Ephesians 1 - that God's great purpose is that "he might gather together in one all things in Christ."9  

This concept of recapitulation [emphasized by Irenaeus], of the fulfillment of God's purposes for humanity in and through the inclusive and vicarious humanity of Christ, received fuller elaboration by Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, and the Cappadocian divines in their statement that "the unassumed is the unredeemed".... [Jesus] assumes that very humanity which is in need of redemption, and by being anointed by the Spirit in our humanity, by a life of perfect obedience, by dying and rising again for us, our humanity is healed in him, in his person. We are not just healed through Christ, because of the work of Christ, but in and through Christ. Person and work must not be separated. ❏

Continued from page 22

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