Clarifying Our Vision of God

Clarifying our Vision of God & the Gospel But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. I Cor. 1:23-25 “The cross reveals God’s person (who he is) but also his kingdom (how he reigns).” Brad Jersak “The genuine exclusiveness of the Christian revelation of God lies here (the cross). No one can have an adequate view of the heart and purposes of the God of the universe who does not understand that he permitted his son to die on the cross to reach out to all people, even people who hated him. That is who God is. But this is not just a “right answer” to a theological question. It is God looking at me from the cross with compassion and providing for me, with never-failing readiness to take my hand to walk on through life, wherever I may find myself at the time.” Dallas Willard Where is the best place to see atonement* theology? *A synonym for reconciliation. Through the ministry of Jesus Christ we are reconciled with God. By grace, Jesus restores us to oneness with God – to the unity and harmony God intended since Eden. Atonement theories have been proposed to explore the ‘how’ of atonement. Unfortunately the theories have become so dominant they take on ‘gospel’ status and actually displace the actual gospel story. “ Our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ. We do this best, not by protest or political action, but by enacting a beautiful presence within the world. The western church has had a four-century experiment with viewing salvation in a scientific and mechanistic manner, presenting it as a plan, system, or formula. It would be much better if we would return to viewing salvation as a song we sing.” Brian Zahnd “ Our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ. We do this best, not by protest or political action, but by enacting a beautiful presence within the world. The western church has had a four-century experiment with viewing salvation in a scientific and mechanistic manner, presenting it as a plan, system, or formula. It would be much better if we would return to viewing salvation as a song we sing.” Brian Zahnd “ Our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ. We do this best, not by protest or political action, but by enacting a beautiful presence within the world. The western church has had a four-century experiment with viewing salvation in a scientific and mechanistic manner, presenting it as a plan, system, or formula. It would be much better if we would return to viewing salvation as a song we sing.” Brian Zahnd “ Our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ. We do this best, not by protest or political action, but by enacting a beautiful presence within the world. The western church has had a four-century experiment with viewing salvation in a scientific and mechanistic manner, presenting it as a plan, system, or formula. It would be much better if we would return to viewing salvation as a song we sing.” Brian Zahnd God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:1-3a (NASB) Incarnation: God becoming Flesh In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 The Incarnation refers, not to just the birth of Christ, but to His entire life. Jesus lived the life that perfectly reveals the true nature of God AND the true nature of what man is to be (created in the image of God.) Atonement begins… “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” Mt.1:20-23 So, what is God like? Recall who Jesus was on earth; how he arrived, how he lived, how he died, and how Jesus overcame—his way of overcoming represents the only exact representation we have of God’s sovereign rule “If God sent His son to reveal himself, if Jesus showed us how true sovereignty works, what real power does, and what victory looks like-on earth as it is in heaven- then the King of Kings rules and reigns like Jesus of Nazareth.” Brad Jersak “A king who dies on the cross must be the king of a rather strange kingdom.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer Mt.20:25-28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mt.11:28-29 For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isa.57:15 “Kenosis”…cruciform power (Phil.2:1-11) Far from giving up, hiding or hindering God’s nature, Christ’s kenotic life is the revelation of God’s glory, the expression of God’s nature. “While the early church typically used kenosis only the describe the Incarnation, the Incarnation itself is all about revealing who God is in both his self-giving humility and his self-revealing glory….Jesus’ humility, meekness and servant heart were never a departure from God’s glory and power, but actually define it and demonstrate it.” B. Jerzak “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt.5:3 What if the first beatitude- is a vision wherever God, wherever Christ, wherever we risk emptying ourselves of self will and self rule to make space for the other—that is where the kingdom of God-love rules and reigns. Thus, kenosis (Paul), or love (John), is the heart of who God is By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. I John 3:16-18 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. I Jn. 4:14-15 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. I Jn.4:16 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. I Jn.4:11-12 I Jn.4:17-21 Remember this question? How would you present the gospel without making it about going to heaven? Mark 10:17-31 inherit eternal life treasure in heaven enter the kingdom of God who can be saved in the age to come “The world does not consist of 100 percent Christians and 100 percent non-Christians. There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so.” C S Lewis When people define “Christian” in terms of having satisfied the minimum entrance requirements for getting into heaven, it always leads to “where to set the bar” debates.” That is why, when it comes to the question of who is in with God and who is out, Jesus and the New Testament consistently focus on the center, not on the boundaries. Another way to say it is the way Dallas Willard put it: “A disciple is someone whose ultimate goal is to live their life the way Jesus would live if he were me.” John Ortberg If we think of salvation as acquiring the right afterlife by affirming correct doctrine, it becomes a static and stagnant thing. It leads to tremendous frustration that people inside the church and out often have with reality— we talk about wonderful spiritual realities but do not know how to pursue them. We are only window shopping. J Ortberg