Presence of God (2)

Theology!

Now what are your assumptions, thoughts, ideas when you hear that word??

Big books that only weird people read

Academic and out of tune with reality.

Endless discussions on minuta

Facebook debates.

All that is wrong with the christian faith.

Prideful 

I wanna take theology out of the castle chambers and show its relevance 

to the truck driver.

The father of 4

The person who hasn’t read a book in 3 years. 

What it is??

God — logos 

Study and knowledge of God

We practice theology whenever we pray, Worship, think or speak of god

It’s been said that the Bible is like a body of water in which a child may wade and an elephant may swim. The youngest Christian can read the Bible with profit, for the Bible’s basic message is simple. But we can never exhaust its depth.

Everyone is a theologian

Men, you’re a theologian in your home.

You’re called to convey knowledge of God to your kids, wife.

Many struggle because there are many layers to theology

systematic

practical

historic

biblical

What is the goal of theology??

The glory of God 

It can be viewed in 2 ways — the beauty and presence of God. 

Raymond Ortlund Jr. said, “The glory of the Lord . . . is God himself becoming visible, God bringing his presence down to us, God displaying his beauty before us.”

I wanna show the goal and the necessity of theology at one time 

Goal is the presence

Theology helps us understand that. 

Big Idea

It’s my goal to enlarge your vision of god, the world and what God is in the business of accomplishing 

Biblical theology of presence of God

Many read the Bible as tid-bits of info.

Random collected letters and books.

We miss the unity of the Bible. 

We’re gonna look at 

Garden Temple

Tabernacle/temple

Walking temple

City temple

What it means for us in our daily lives

Garden Temple

We open up the scriptures to find a rich theology of the divine presence

Genesis opens up with a vision of creation /Eden itself as a temple. 

God and humanity have unhindered relation.

Speaks about God walking in the cool of the day. 

Presence of God

This was the original intent and goal of creation.

Man was made for this world. 

A few words on Adam and eden. 

Eden is delight.

Eden is filled with Gold and onyx, mentioned in  — precious stones — we’ll see in a little again.

Its a garden. There is a tree of life at the center. 

Adam is a priest — work it and keep it. 

The first word is abad in Hebrew, and it basically means work. But that’s not the only way it’s translated into English. Sometimes it’s translated “service.” So work is service.

 Its also a word that means worship.

Apparently, work and worship can be one and the same thing. 

We like to separate the too. One happens at work the other happens at church. 

Genesis gives us a vision that all of life could be one of worhsip. 

The Hebrew verbs ‘ābad, ‘to serve, till’, and šāmar, ‘to keep, observe, guard’, — we’ll see in a little. 

As Adam and Eve were to begin to rule over and subdue the earth, it is plausible to suggest  they were to extend the geographical boundaries of the Garden until Eden extended throughout and covered the whole earth.29hat

the opening chapters of Genesis enable us to reconstruct God’s blueprint for the earth. God intends that the world should become his dwelling place.

 Alexander, T. D.

The Fall tragically alters the divine presence dwelling In an intimate way on the earth

From now on, Gods presence is mainly associated with heaven. 

Humans are led out east of eden.

2 Cherubim are placed guarding the entrance to the garden

But the goal of the scripture as we’ll see is for the restoration of Eden on a global scale. In other words. The presence of God to dwell with humanity again. 

Tabernacle

God doesnt give up.

He wants to dwell among the people. 

Garden of Eden was the first archetypal temple, and that it was the model for all subsequent temples.

Beale 

-the responsibility of “guarding” the garden temple: God “stationed the cherubim … to guard the way to the tree of life” ()

God commanded Moses to make two statues of cherubim and stationed them on either side of the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies

-The tree of life itself was probably the model for the lampstand placed directly outside the holy of holies: it looked like a small, flowering tree with seven protruding branches from a central trunk

- “on the walls of the temple round about” and on the wood doors of the inner sanctuary were “carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers” (6:29, 32, 35); “carved pomegranates”

- The entrance to Eden was from the east (), which was also the direction from which one entered the tabernacle and later temples of Israel.

the Old Testament temple was a microcosm of the entire heaven and earth

God commissions the construction of a special tent, the manufacture of which is described in considerable detail in the second half of Exodus.

1.the outer court represented the habitable world where humanity dwelt; 

(2) the holy place was emblematic of the visible heavens and its light sources; 

(3) the holy of holies symbolized the invisible dimension of the cosmos, where God and his heavenly hosts dwelt

: “And he built the sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he founded forever.”

. Likewise, both writers understand the garments of the high priest as symbolizing the cosmos

Gold and onyx - same matieral as eden.

In we are told that God constructed the cosmos (heaven and earth) by wisdom (ḥokmâ), understanding (tĕbunâ), and knowledge (daʿat). Likewise, when humans build a house, according to a text later in Proverbs (24:3–4), the project requires this very same triad of qualities.

As overseer of tabernacle construction, Bezalel is filled () with ‘wisdom’ (ḥokmâ), ‘understanding’ (tĕbûnâ), and ‘knowledge’ (da’at), precisely the same triad by which God is said to have created the world in .

Temple

Since the tabernacle and temple were both perceived as being models of the earth, it is unsurprising that tent and building metaphors are used in the Old Testament to describe the created world.57 The author of states, ‘He stretches out the heavens like a tent.’58 In a similar vein, pictures the cosmos being constructed like a building:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Other passages see the earth as a building with foundations and pillars (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; ). These descriptions of the earth may have been influenced by the Israelites’ perception of the tabernacle and temple as cosmic models

‘The temple was a small-scale model and symbolic reminder to Israel that God’s glorious presence would eventually fill the whole cosmos.’

 Alexander, T. D. (2008). From Eden to the New Jerusalem: Exploring God’s Plan for Life on Earth (p. 42). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity.

The presence departs.

A new temple is built 

God’s initial messages to Ezekiel, however, chillingly predict that Jerusalem and its temple will soon be destroyed. In a vision that transports Ezekiel to the temple itself, he witnesses the ‘image of jealousy’ alongside the altar, seventy elders of Israel offering incense to ‘every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel’,

God says to Ezekiel, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary’ ()? In the chapters that follow, Ezekiel witnesses the departure of ‘the glory of the God of Israel’ from the temple as judgment is executed upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem

The whole of what we call the Second Temple period, roughly 538 BC onward, is characterized by this sense of divine absence; God is gone, and he hasn’t come back. That is the problem faced by the prophet Malachi; the priests are bored and slack in their liturgical duties because, though they’ve rebuilt the Temple, there’s no sense of YHWH having returned, as Ezekiel had said he would

 N.T. Wright. (n.d.). How God Became King.

And thats the point.. he said he would. 

The word is that the presence will return. 

The glory of yahweh will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Jesus

God with us

John picks up this theme ... The Word became flesh and kai eskenosen en hemin, “set up among us his skene,” his “tent”

He tabernacled among us 

We gazed upon his glory, glory like that of the father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (1:14), we should get the point loud and clear.

I will destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. 

John describes Jesus not only as the Temple in person, but as the one in whom everything that would normally happen in the Temple is fulfilled, completed, accomplished

----festival, presence, priesthood, and now sacrifice—have devolved onto Jesus. This is the heart of John’s “high Christology.”

\

 we are to look at Jesus and see in him, however strange it may seem, the personal presence of Israel’s God, coming to be with his people and rescue them from the plight their sins have brought upon them

 N.T. Wright. (n.d.). How God Became King.

The Temple-City

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’ ()

And I saw no temple, for the Lord god almighty and he lamb are the temple.

The city lies foursquare; its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. ()

it is a perfect cube.

As states, ‘The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high.’ The New Jerusalem also resembles the Holy of Holies in that both are made of gold. While, according to , the inner sanctuary was overlaid with gold, records that ‘the city was pure gold’.12

12 The main furnishings of the tabernacle were also gold-plated. In the Bible, gold is often associated with the divine presence.

As golden cubes, the Holy of Holies and New Jerusalem are clearly connected. Since God dwells inside both of these structures, we may reasonably conclude that the entire New Jerusalem is an expanded Holy of Holies

 Alexander, T. D. (2008). From Eden to the New Jerusalem: Exploring God’s Plan for Life on Earth (p. 20). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity.

The wall is built of jasper, while the city itself is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations are adorned with jewels: jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, cornelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst.

Surprised by Scripture. (n.d.).

So right now, not everybody knows about God’s kavod; some people are blind and oblivious, but in the near future, everybody will know about it. Because the awareness of God’s kavod will fill the earth like the waters cover the sea.

Us 

 In other words, God no longer dwells with his people in a sanctuary which they make for him; he dwells in them, and they are his temple.96

John talks about us reigning with God — genesis 1 language. 

Peter and priesthood

Paul and being built up together as a holy temple for the Lord

However, Beale links with and proposes that we have here ‘the conception of God’s saints being the true temple of God’s presence … and extending that presence throughout the earth by means of their witness’.104

We through the spirit have the presence of God living in us. Which are echos of what God will do to the whole cosmos. 

The early Christians believed that they were the true Temple of God, filled with God’s glorious presence by his Spirit and called to reveal that glory to the world. 

They therefore saw themselves standing in a relation to all other temples, Jewish and pagan, as the reality stands to the parodies.

After You Believe . (n.d.).

Conclusion

This is the goal of theology. 

The immersion into the divine presence.

Knowing God

Expeince God

There is a danger that theology becomes all about me. 

I know more

Im the smart one.

Reading more books

Knowing the great theologians 

Being able to spare in theological circles 

That doesnt give you the fruits of the spirit

That doesnt necessarily make you a person that is open and receptive to the presence of God. 

Im not speaking to you as someone who has arrived. 

Personal Story

I love theology

But I noticed that I allow my love for theology to replace my love for the goal of theology — the experience of the presence of God. 

Pursuit is for vain means

judt more knowledge 

I had a hard time listening to sermons because I would critiqe them. I would love to say that Im free from that. Its a journey. 

Example:

You can know but fail to realize the goal that theology pushes us towards. 

James k.a smith and reading about healthy eating while devouring a hot dog at Costco. 

Take prayer. 

You can read about it

Study it 

Long for it 

But unless you actually 

The temptation is to be a conasiour in theology.

the right theology 

the right books

the right teachers 

The goal of theology is always to move beyond our study into an encounter with the Glories God himself.

The end goal is behold gods presence and be carriers of that presence.

How can we practice the presence?

Listening to a talk on theology and presence

Singing about the love of God 

Discussing with friends 

Those are beautiful but come In rare accurances. Maybe a few times a week. 

Theology is spoken about in conferences 

And Talked about at meetings 

But its lived in the kitchen over patatoes

In the living room with the kids

Behind the steering wheel of the mdx or the new Volvo VnR 300 semi.

Nail gun in hand

Practicing the presence means 

God isn’t just a Sunday thing

John Wesley and his encourgament to his followers. 

Be electrified daily.

He understood the soul grows if its watered daily. 

They had places where they could have the fire burn within.

Brother Lawrence

What had that Brother Lawrence said?

“The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer.

And in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees.”

Close with a question

What is keeping you from the presence?

Hurry — slow down, eat a meal, enjoy the goodness and presence of God.

Sin or a grey area.

Watching peaky blinders.

There's a book by Brother Lawrence called "The Practice of the Presence of God." It's a great, amazing little book of thoughts and journal entries from Brother Lawrence who devoted his life as a monk to cultivating an awareness of God at all times and doing all things. And he says, "The way to practice the presence of God is by renouncing, once and for all, whatever does not lead to God."

At the center of the new jersualem is the tree of life thats available for all.

Its because Jesus climbed the tree of death on our behalf.