World War 0: Resentment and Reconciliation

We Christians seem ready to acknowledge that when we were saved, we became part of a spiritual war. But did you know that we were part of a spiritual war before we were justified? The Bible teaches that before salvation we were enemies of God (Romans 5:10)  and that we were not only alienated but also hostile (Colossians 1:21-22).

Despite the persistent myth that everyone has a longing for God deep down inside, fallen humanity hates God and is at war with Him. In the context of the holiness and wrath of God, modern theologian R.C. Sproul observes:

“By nature, our attitude towards God is… a posture of malice… God is our mortal enemy. He represents the highest possible threat to our sinful desires. His repugnance to us is absolute, knowing no lesser degrees. No amount of persuasion from philosophers or theologians can induce us to love God.” (R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 180-1; Emphasis in original.)

As evidence, he points to the way that humanity did treat God when He appeared in the person of Jesus, whom he calls “the supreme curve buster.” (Sproul 61). Imperfect people tend to resent those who are perfect, like the lonely student who gets the only A on the impossibly hard exam that the rest of the class failed, and God is the ultimate target of morally flawed humanity’s resentment.

Still, don’t all cultures reveal an innate impulse to worship something? God is indeed the One who “satisfies [the soul’s] desires with good things” (Psalm 103:5),but what we really long for are the benefits He gives. We want to have our guilt taken away, to feel accepted by someone greater than ourselves, to somehow escape death, etc. Yet we want those desires met without having to stand before the Judge of All the Earth whom we have offended and in whose presence we are undone.

If none desire God, how are we saved? The good news is that even though people do not desire God, God has desired people. Ephesians says of Jesus,

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility… that he might… reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14-16)

Jesus Christ made it possible for humanity to be reconciled to His Father, and the Father draws us to His Son. A.W. Tozer wrote,

“We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. ‘No man can come to me,’ said our Lord, ‘except the Father which hath sent me draw him,’ and it is by this prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God.” (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 11-2. Emphasis in original.)

God is winning the war by making peace with His enemies. Someday He will come in full force to end the war, but in the meantime, “let us draw near” to God “by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us,” “all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19-25) 

Word Up! Divine Revelation, Pt. 2

When God reveals Himself, He often uses words. Part one discussed revelation through creation and conscience.  Part two explains the words of special revelation.

3. His Inspired [or Prophetic] Word: Scripture

God has revealed Himself through His Inspired Word. He breathed out words to the prophetic authors, both spoken to their generations and recorded, and these writings are scripture. The Greek word “scripture”, graphe, literally means “writing”. Scripture tells all about God’s character and historical actions. Unlike creation and conscience, it conveys God’s message of redemption.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets (Hebrews 1:1)
 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) [*Note: Everyone should memorize this. No one should quote it in a Category II round. It’s a great passage that’s over-overused.]

4. His Living Word: Jesus Christ

Jesus is the Word of God. He is God, and he spoke and acted on earth as God. He revealed the Father, being His exact representation for anyone to see.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1:1, 14, 18)

 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:2-3)
 

[Jesus said] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (See John 14:6-9a) 

God reveals Himself using words. He spoke creation into being, wrote His law into human hearts, inspired holy writings, and lived on earth as a human. Although God (being infinite) is not fully comprehendible, He certainly has made Himself knowable to humanity.

A note of caution: in the first speech I gave with this outline, I didn’t mention General and Special Revelation.  A parent judge wrote multiple constructive comments (and marked me down several ranks relative to both other judges) about needing the traditional categorization.  He wrote that he liked my outline but still seemed to think I missed the “right” answer.  So be sure to mention it if you use this pattern. 

Wow, Look at That Idea!: Jesus as the Word of God

Consider this: are words physical or conceptual things?

On the one hand, words are empirical; they can be heard aloud or seen when written. The letters or characters on a page can be measured and touched, and with the right instruments, sound waves can be measured according to size and frequency. They are made with one’s mouth and hands, certainly physical things.

On the other hand, we know that words aren’t just squiggles or vibrations. The Declaration of Independence isn’t important as a piece of paper with ink, but because the ideas it contains were central to the founding of our country. Telegraphs in Morse code existed because the buzz of dots and dashes contained a message from someone far away, not because people were still waiting for dubstep to be invented. Words mean things. If they didn’t contain an idea, they wouldn’t be words.

In other meaningful squiggles, it’s a trick question: words are both physical and conceptual. Words communicate thoughts and ideas between people by being concrete, empirical units. They convey the invisible by being visible.

The apostle John called Jesus the Word of God in his gospel and first epistle: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14)
 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3) 

 I've heard explanations of the Greek term “logos” as meaning some sort of mystical force of reason in the universe, and while the ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers are fascinating, I'm not persuaded that the context supports this claim. (That's not saying it can't have a double meaning, of course.) Both passages describe Jesus as the eternal God who took on physical human form to reveal God more fully. Jesus Christ Himself is the communication of the Father to humanity. He conveys the invisible by being visible. He is The Word of God.  

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation… For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 1:15, 2:9)  

What's the Word? Divine Revelation, Pt. 1

Theologians who discuss Divine Revelation typically start by distinguishing between General and Special Revelation. This distinction is solid theology, and it can be helpful. However, since these terms aren’t in the Bible, I’d like to spark your imagination to see Divine Revelation in a new way. In this pattern of organization, God has revealed Himself through four types of words:

1. His Spoken Word: Creation. Creation is the result of God’s words: He literally spoke the universe into existence. His act of speaking (a fancier term is “locutionary act”) resulted in what He made revealing both His existence and His character. Although creation is marred by sin, it still shows its Designer’s fingerprints. Creation makes it clear that the Creator is worthy of worship. 

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (Psalm 33:6-9, ESV) 

 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm19:1-4a) 

 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20) 

 2. His Written Word: Conscience. God has high moral standards, and He hasn’t left humanity in the dark about what those standards are. Although not everyone will agree about what to do in a tricky ethical dilemma, there is a common understanding across cultures that a moral law exists, and there tend to be similar ideas of what the virtues or rules are. This is because God has written His moral law on human hearts; even though consciences can become corrupted, they still testify to God’s existence and moral perfection.

 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:14-15) 

In the traditional explanation, both creation and conscience would comprise General Revelation. They are insufficient for salvation but nevertheless reveal important truths about God. Part two will discuss two other types of Words by which God reveals Himself. Teleport yourself to Part Two to keep reading!