Alpha and Omega

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26

“And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil…” Genesis 3:22 a

“Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Genesis 11:7

One really must wonder what the Hebrews thought about God’s “us” statements quoted above.  Of course theologians have long noted the use of the plural “Elohim” to identify God in the Hebrew text, but a valid question remains:  Who was God talking to?  Whoever it was (lets use “X”) surely must be critical to our understanding of everything that follows.  Look at each of these references again.

“X” shares God’s creative power…Genesis 1:1

“X” shares God’s personal image…Genesis 1:1

“X” shares God’s understanding…Genesis 3:22

“X” shares God’s dwelling place…Genesis 11:7

Here in the opening act of God’s great dramatic play we are introduced to the main characters; and like the opening of a Shakespearean production, we are immediately eavesdropping on a conversation.  God is carrying on a conversation with a nameless party or parties who share His power, His image, His knowledge, and His dwelling place.  Who could the mysterious “X” party be?  “X” is not immediately identified, but is spoken of as if the reader would be naturally aware of its presence.

Orthodox Christianity would contend this represents the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Bruce Marshall’s Trinity and Truth speaks of the “epistemic primacy” of the trinity. In other words, all true knowledge of God starts with this concept.

Understanding the triune nature of God is a great difficulty.  Augustine said it this way:

“If you deny the trinity you lose your soul, if you try to explain the trinity you shall lose your mind.”

In spite of this ontological conundrum, we believers assert its truth, for this deep mystery is revealed in a very real way as God’s story unfolds.  While the Holy Spirit is a vital subject all its own,  the deepest mystery of “X” is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

As we examined in the last post, Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 reveal a strikingly similar set of facts.  We might add that Hebrews 1:1 plainly brings it all together, stating this:

^“1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

And Paul in Ephesians the first chapter adds the following:

^“3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

It can be no coincidence that so many of the canonical books (including Genesis) begin with the premise of Jesus Christ as present in person, in power, and in purpose at creation.  He is the triune God, the Word, the Creator, and the Redeemer.

How truly awesome it is to know He is the Omega; but how much more incredible still when we see so clearly in the Scriptures that He is the Alpha.

The Christian Creation Account: God Hints at the Resolution to the Divine Drama

“In the beginning God created . . .” (Gen. 1:1)

“In the beginning was the Word . . .” (John 1:1)

Throughout the course of history, there have been many different explanations for the origin of the cosmos. Ancient cultural traditions abound with varied, mythological legends about gods forming the earth. Much of modern science has attempted to abandon theistic explanations for the existence of the world, opting instead for naturalistic approaches. Christianity has its own explanation for the beginning of all things: A transcendent and immanent God created it.

Genesis 1 and 2 contain the Christian creation account. These chapters tell the story of God creating the earth in six days, followed by a day of rest on the seventh day. The method by which God creates the world is speaking; He speaks the world into existence. Significantly, the first thing that God creates is light. The last thing God creates is man – the most glorious part of God’s creation.

As marvelous as the creation account is to Christians, the story is not finished with Genesis 2. The story is not as glorious if we do not see the creation account as a foreshadowing of the grand purposes of God in creation. God creates knowing that sin will come into the world in the very next chapter – Genesis 3. And yet, through the creation itself, God hints at the coming of the one who will save the creation from the decay of the fall.

Consider how John the apostle understands creation in light of the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the “Word” who was with the Father in the beginning (John 1:1). At creation, the “Word” does what words do: He spoke (John 1:3). Christ is the “light of the world” (John 8:12). And Jesus, God himself, becomes a man (John 1:14). Lest we forget the day of rest, Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath who brings healing and rest on the seventh day (John 9).

The creation story is about Jesus? Yes. There have been many different explanations for the creation of the world. Only the Lord of history could have begun the divine drama by hinting at the resolution. The transcendent God becomes a man in order to bring light, speak words of redemption, and offer rest to those who believe in Him.

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

What exactly is a “witness”?  The word is used in two ways in modern English.

The first use describes a person who simply observes something.  It means you were an onlooker as an event occurred.  It might be used in a sentence like this:  I was a witness to Saturday’s football game.

The second use is found in a legal setting, in which someone signs as a witness to a notarized document, testifying to the validity of a signature.  Better yet is the actual witness who provides testimony in a court of law.  An example might go like this:  I was a witness in a murder trial.

In Hebrews 12, we have a unique statement.  After spending an entire chapter listing a number of well-known Bible characters who exhibited faith as well as alluding to other anonymous individuals who lived by faith, the Hebrew writer says the following:

^“1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:1-3

When you consider the previous post “Moralism for the Masses“, it is ironic that today this author heard a sermon in which the speaker very eloquently explained how this Hebrews passage alludes to a great host of the faithful who have passed-on and who serve as examples for our emulation.  In another dimension, they look down on us as witnesses to our own struggles in living Christian lives.  Like spectators along the sidelines of a spiritual marathon, they watch us and shout, “We did it!  You can do it!   Don’t give up!”  We also see Jesus Himself standing at the finish line, urging us to complete the race.

Is this really what is being taught here?  In all the New Testament, the word “witness” or “witnesses” is almost always a reference to those who “bear witness”.

Is there anything in the Hebrews 12 passage that suggests all the faithful from history can see us?  Is the writer really suggesting they are “observers” of our lives?  From the context and a rather common sense exegesis of this text, the answer is clearly “no”.  It’s the second definition above – somebody who testifies to something, not somebody who observes an event.

What we have in Hebrews 12 is not a great cheer-leading team in the clouds.  It’s all the faithful from the past who are “witnesses” testifying to something.  What is it they testify to?  Better yet, who are they testifying about?  The answer is in the context.  Because of these witnesses, we are told to endure hardship also, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” .

Can we look at their examples of faith?  Yes.  Should we?  Yes.  We can draw encouragement from these stories, but their real purpose is not to give us moral support.  We are to look upon the one they bear witness to, the one to whom they point us.  We look upon Jesus.  The sitting Jesus.  The Jesus who completed His work of justification.  They testify of Him; and He is so much more than the “head cheerleader” urging us to finish the race.  He ran the race for us – the one we couldn’t run on our own, and He has already made the victory ours through His sacrifice and our faith.

All the cheers of the faithful are of no value compared to the comfort of knowing Jesus won the race for all of us.  It is this confidence that motivates us to press on, to endure to the end.

Which sounds better:  “You can do it!” or “Have faith – I have done it for you!”?

Which motivates you more to action:  Grit and determination or gratitude?

Think about it.  That’s what Hebrews 11 and 12 is all about.

Roadsigns

It’s amazing when one opens the Bible and recognizes more and more how every story God included in His great book points the attentive reader to the person and the work of Jesus Christ.  As you read what follows in this blog, remember this:  We are not saying every story in the OT was written as a type or allegory of Christ.  That would be an overstatement.  However, they do ultimately point us to Him is we look closely.

It is fascinating when you think about the fact that there could have been any number of stories told of any of the millions of Jews (and other ancient peoples) who populated the earth.  However, the Bible obviously records a precious few of them.  Why?  Did these stories simply represent the best examples for emulation (or avoidance) by future generations?  There were others, no doubt, that could have taught moral lessons and principles.  So why these particular stories?  Why Cain and Abel, Joseph, David and so many others we could name?

These are all like roadsigns pointing to the same destination – not merely a chronological progression to, but a theological framework that finds its purpose and strength in the man Jesus Christ.

Think of these few examples.  Abel, rejected by his own brother and slaughtered, leaving a legacy of a pleasing sacrifice to God.  Joseph, rejected by his own brothers and sold into slavery but ultimately delivering his people and the Gentile Egyptians from death by famine.  David, rejected and ridiculed by his own brothers but slaying the giant Goliath on behalf of all his people and receiving the anointing as king.  See a pattern here?  Where does it end?

Jesus - rejected by his own brothers and by his own people.

Jesus - the greater Abel, offering the one and only truly pleasing sacrifice to God.

Jesus - the greater Joseph, delivering Jew and Gentile from death.

Jesus - the greater David, defeating the giants of sin and death on behalf of his people.

The entire Bible is the story of Jesus.  The stories are not recorded by coincidence or simply to teach moral lessons.  All the “heroes” of the Bible fail.  None of them perfects his or her character completely.  They all are sinners before God.  Although their overall faith is an example to us, we aren’t called to emulate them per se, because they only offer a reflection of our own sinful selves.  Even the great works they did often prove elusively inimitable to us.  We needed deliverance from our sin, not another example for us to fail in following.  All of this points to the culmination of time, space, and history:  the person and saving work of Jesus the Christ.

This is not a secret.  Jesus makes it plain as day.  Just read:

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:27

“He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”   Luke 24:44

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.” John 5:46

The purpose of the OT is to bring us to Christ.  Simply amazing.

Think about this as you read your Bible.  It will change the way you see some things.  You will begin to rely more on Jesus’ work and not your own.

Moralism for the Masses

The Bible is about people – people who display for us how God wants us to relate to Him.

The Hebrew writer teaches that the Scriptures give us a great “cloud of witnesses” who serve as examples to us today.  The Bible is full of stories about men and women like Abraham, Moses, Deborah, Joseph, Rahab, Gideon, David, Elijah, Naaman and many others who set examples of righteousness for us to follow.

Of course they had their flaws, but this just proves they were human like we are.  We should be diligent to take on their godly traits and strive to please God the same way they did.  We can even learn from their mistakes!

Be courageous like Moses!  Be willing to sacrifice anything for God – even your son – like Abraham!  Be patient through trials like Joseph!  Be obedient like Naaman!  Be honest or trouble will follow you like it did Jacob!  Don’t get caught up in our sinful culture like Lot did!  There are many others.

Learn from these great biblical examples, for only those who live pure lives can hope to live eternally with Heaven as their reward!

Do the statements above sound good to you?  Do they make sense to you?  What would you think if it was suggested  these statements are wrong or at least are not completely correct?  If such a statement would bother you, then please consider these questions:

Why do we have the stories in the Bible?

What are we meant to learn from stories in the Bible?

Who is the Bible about?

Let’s examine this together.

First of all, there is some truth in the statements made above.  We are meant to learn from the the stories in the Bible.  We should strive to please God.  Courage, sacrifice, patience, honesty and obedience are traits we should desire for our own lives.  The Bible characters can and do reveal these truths to us.  So what’s the problem?

To put it simply, the Bible was not written to leave behind a sort of “Aesop’s Fables” from God.  That would be what some theologians have termed moralism.  Think about it – even pagan (not meant pejoratively) cultures like the Greeks, the Chinese and others have collections of stories encouraging the same ethical behavior and virtues as do the Bible stories – honesty, wisdom, patience, fair dealing, contentment and the like.

This should encourage the question, “Then what makes the Bible different?”  That is a good question indeed.

The first answer might be: Well, the Bible is from God, and Aesop’s fables and the sayings of Confucius are from men.  Fair enough, but the Muslims teach most of the same ethics as do the Christians.  So do the Hindus and Buddhists.  All major religions and most secular philosophers agree that honesty, fairness, etc. are virtues humans should strive to possess.  So the answer, “The Bible is from God” (albeit true) doesn’t quite get it.  Let’s narrow this down some more.

What is the real difference between Christianity and other world religions?  Here’s a little hint…it’s in the name.  It’s Christ.  Jesus Christ is the difference.    So how does this relate to our original set of questions above?  What does Jesus have to do with the stories in the Old Testament?  Now we’re getting to the important question.  Here’s the answer…everything.

The Bible is not a book about people.  Sure, it has people in it – real people,  but the Bible is really a book about just one person – Jesus Christ.  It’s the gospel, which means good news.  The “good news” is not that God has established a set of moral principles so we can attempt to live up to them.  That would be bad news.  The good news is that Jesus has met the requirements of righteousness for us.

The Bible is not just another book of examples to follow and stories with morals to them;  it’s a book of stories and examples which demonstrate how Jesus eliminated the need for seeking justification by such moralism.

The key here is the word justification.  Jesus did not eliminate the need for good, moral living.  He eliminated the need for justification on the basis of our own good, moral living.  Justification comes by faith with godly living as its result, and faith that does not result in that kind of change in behavior is not a saving faith.

Some teach the idea of “imputed righteouseness” – that Jesus met all the requirements of the law and became sin (our inability to live up to God’s law) for us so we could exchange our sin for His righteousness.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:21

While the pure idea of “imputed righteousness” is debated, we must admit that our own righteous deeds weren’t and aren’t good enough to stand alone as our justification before God.  It they were, there would have been no need for Christ to live sinlessly and die sacrificially.  Standing before God, we will not be able to point to our own spotless record, but only to the spotless of record of Christ, by whose blood we are cleansed.  It’s like the old hymn The Solid Rock we often sing:

When He shall come with trumpet sound O may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne

You might be thinking, “Okay, okay.  I see your point, but why all of is this so significant?  How does any of this really impact my reading of the Old Testament and other Bible stories?”

In the next post, Roadsigns, we’ll give a brief glimpse into how the Bible can be read without reducing it to mere moral exhortation and with an eye on the good news of Jesus Christ.  Some would call this “Biblical Theology” or “Christocentric”.  We’ll follow that up with a more detailed set of articles exploring the Bible from a Christocentric (Christ-centered) perspective.

Why Theology?

Theology:  the study of God.  Is it really necessary for Christians?

“Theology is over my head.  I don’t need it.  It’s too complex.  What really counts is your actions.  These deep questions that have no clear cut answers achieve very little.”

Ever heard something like that?  It’s a common complaint about the study of theology.  Maybe you’ve thought the same thing.  Theology, to many folks, is too esoteric, too academic, too difficult.

But, theology is necessary.

Why?

There are thousands of different answers to the question.  Many of them are probably valid.  To this writer, however, theology is necessary to bridge the gap between the biblical text and 21st century Christian living.

For instance, look at Romans 3:24:  “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  What significance does this verse have for my life?  The only way I can answer the question about this verse’s significance for me is to ask theological questions:  What is grace?  What is justification?  What is redemption?  How did redemption come by Christ Jesus?  Is this statement merely confined to first century practice?  Or, did Paul mean for all Christians of all time to draw application from it?  What has Paul been talking about previously in Romans?  Who is the “all?”  On and on we could go with theological questions.

Most every Christian has asked theological questions without even realizing that he or she was doing so.  Every thoughtful Christian has asked what a particular passage meant or how it applied to them.  Every struggling Christian has asked why God allows them to suffer.  These are all questions of theology.  And, it just seems to be human nature to attempt to ask and answer the questions of theology.

Theology is necessary?  Absolutely.  We couldn’t walk the Christian walk without it.