Thursday, April 29, 2004
A provocative book review from a pagan. Is this saying more about the framework of mainstream Christianity in America than about the book itself?
—Lou
Ugly as Sin
by Sacha Zimmerman
Post date: 04.29.04
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Tyndale House Publishers, 400 pp., $24.99)
I opened Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Glorious Appearing with my usual cluster of enlightened liberal assumptions. I was certain that this Evangelical book would further alienate me from Christianity by repeating the fire-and-brimstone analyses of contemporary moral issues that I have grown to associate with this kind of religion: sex before marriage, abortion, alcohol, divorce--all the "taboos" that ordinary and decent Americans are "violating" all the time. But this repulsive book, which now rides the top of the best-seller list the way The Passion of the Christ rode the top of the movie-grosses list a few weeks ago, did something completely different: It made me want to defend Christianity vigorously. Did I "see the light," or find Jesus, or otherwise metamorphose as a result of this book? Of course not. It's just that Glorious Appearing is such an ugly expression of Christianity that I could not help but think of all the beauty of Christianity that is missing from it.
In Glorious Appearing, we find ourselves on the edge of time as a people. The Rapture has come and gone, years of Tribulation have been waged, and now the day has come: Jesus Christ, with white robes and a white stallion, will ride to Earth on the clouds and once and for all embrace those who have come to see the light of God--and also smite his enemies to hell in the most monstrous ways imaginable. There have been many great pulps that wage wars of good versus evil, pulps that even have overt biblical overtones. Stephen King's The Stand is a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil that occurs after the majority of the Earth's population is wiped out by a particularly virulent flu. I read an interview with King a few years back in which he said that the reason people find his novel so compelling is that everyone imagines himself as one of the survivors--or, in the vernacular of the Rapture, one left behind. I think King is right: What is an abandoned world like? How do we recreate ourselves once we are back (at least materially) to the state of nature? Glorious Appearing handles these issues with biblical literalism. There are no allegories, no metaphors, no parables. There is nothing figurative or conceptual at all. Armageddon literally comprises lakes of fire, rivers of blood, men that melt in the face of Jesus, and other excruciating deaths that are part of the Divine Justice. The state of nature is the playground for the war between Jesus and Satan. Forget how you've lived your life; forget your questions, thoughts, opinions; forget reality. Accept Christ or die. I mean, really die.
This is the populist variety of Evangelicalism at its coarsest: a total faith based on total fear. There is no discussion of how Christianity as a religion has improved the characters' lives or filled them with love; rather, belief in Jesus is based on the proof of the Rapture and the years of Tribulation. Anyone who has lived through this time and not accepted Christ is downright stupid, downright evil. And that is as delicate as it gets in Glorious Appearing: You believe in Christ or you don't, and therefore you are rewarded or you go to hell. That is why the novel reduces religion to the basest eschatological expedience: Millions of people shrewdly convert on the last day of the world in a final recognition that the Messiah is coming, which seems to immediately absolve them of lives otherwise spent in "aberrant" religions or plain-old sin. Glorious Appearing is a fine document of present-day anti-intellectualism in America. Those who question the word of God as it is understood by the Evangelicals are just being influenced by the devil. Thinking people are renounced: Lucifer is just whispering in their ears. Spiritual indecision is considered narcissistic, and, as one believer in the novel puts it, "vain, proud. In a word evil." The possibility that some are thoughtful or otherwise intellectually engaged in understanding this new world order is either not considered or it is pathologized:
No one who lived through the Tribulation had it easy. That she had to live through it at all was her own fault--for having heard the message and ignored it for so long. She had not considered herself a rejecter. Leah had seen herself as an intellectual, a thinker, a ponderer.
Evangelists and evangelistic-minded friends had told her and told her that a nondecision was a "no" decision. She had argued. She wasn't saying no, she said; she was still thinking. Well, one of her well-meaning friends had said, don't think yourself into hell. Or into being left behind.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened. There is no nuance: Not to decide is to decide against. There are only two ontological possibilities in this Evangelicalism. The simplicity of this book is impossible to exaggerate. Page after page of the novel (it is really just a lurid sermon) is cribbed from the Bible to instruct the people to praise Jesus, for he is the one and true God; for otherwise they must face his wrath; for to love Christ is to reap eternal reward; for, again, he is the one and true God--and on and on and on, until what feels like the end of time.
And, yet, aside from being much more powerful than Satan, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the Jesus of this novel and the prince of darkness. Christ is not compassionate any longer, he has lost his patience with forgiveness, and he is happy to slaughter anyone who doesn't bow down before him, call him "Lord," and mean it. Meanwhile, all the believing heroes of the novel look on, practically cheering, "I told you so!" as millions are disemboweled, burned alive, or trampled to death. They banally regard millions of people as they are being butchered around them. Their notion of compassion in the midst of this sacred genocide is to wonder if perhaps they should shield their children's eyes. There is no mercy; the light of God is wrath, vengeance, and reward to those who worship Christ. All this traduces the most beautiful dimension of Christian thought. As I read this thing, I kept wondering whether somebody will finally defy Christ by speaking for Jesus.
But we are not exactly a thinking nation, and good versus evil is just a whole lot easier than the kind of thought that really goes into a consideration of the genuine complexity of Scripture. And so a lowest-common-denominator Evangelicalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the United States right now, and Glorious Appearing tops the charts. The Evangelicalism of LaHaye and Jenkins is just the kid at school whose answer to the question "Why?" is "Because." Since this kind of faith is unquestionable, it leaves you mainly with an impression of arrogance. In this universe of definitions, believers can define themselves into a position of superiority--which is as American as apple pie. America is Christian, America is right, God is on our side. It is a theology of national egoism. A last judgment--I mean a Last Judgment--is the best way to prove how right one is without having to work up any sympathy for those who are wrong. In Glorious Appearing, judgment has come and gone, wrapping up the Left Behind series, but, as any good thriller writers might, LaHaye and Jenkins have left room for the possibility of still another sequel. It seems, after a millennium of Heaven on Earth following the Glorious Appearing, Lucifer is released from Hell to test the people once more. With any luck they will pass the test. One way they could do so is by leaving the Left Behind series way behind.
Sacha Zimmerman is the assistant managing editor at TNR.
Copyright 2003, The New Republic
—Lou
Ugly as Sin
by Sacha Zimmerman
Post date: 04.29.04
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Tyndale House Publishers, 400 pp., $24.99)
I opened Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Glorious Appearing with my usual cluster of enlightened liberal assumptions. I was certain that this Evangelical book would further alienate me from Christianity by repeating the fire-and-brimstone analyses of contemporary moral issues that I have grown to associate with this kind of religion: sex before marriage, abortion, alcohol, divorce--all the "taboos" that ordinary and decent Americans are "violating" all the time. But this repulsive book, which now rides the top of the best-seller list the way The Passion of the Christ rode the top of the movie-grosses list a few weeks ago, did something completely different: It made me want to defend Christianity vigorously. Did I "see the light," or find Jesus, or otherwise metamorphose as a result of this book? Of course not. It's just that Glorious Appearing is such an ugly expression of Christianity that I could not help but think of all the beauty of Christianity that is missing from it.
In Glorious Appearing, we find ourselves on the edge of time as a people. The Rapture has come and gone, years of Tribulation have been waged, and now the day has come: Jesus Christ, with white robes and a white stallion, will ride to Earth on the clouds and once and for all embrace those who have come to see the light of God--and also smite his enemies to hell in the most monstrous ways imaginable. There have been many great pulps that wage wars of good versus evil, pulps that even have overt biblical overtones. Stephen King's The Stand is a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil that occurs after the majority of the Earth's population is wiped out by a particularly virulent flu. I read an interview with King a few years back in which he said that the reason people find his novel so compelling is that everyone imagines himself as one of the survivors--or, in the vernacular of the Rapture, one left behind. I think King is right: What is an abandoned world like? How do we recreate ourselves once we are back (at least materially) to the state of nature? Glorious Appearing handles these issues with biblical literalism. There are no allegories, no metaphors, no parables. There is nothing figurative or conceptual at all. Armageddon literally comprises lakes of fire, rivers of blood, men that melt in the face of Jesus, and other excruciating deaths that are part of the Divine Justice. The state of nature is the playground for the war between Jesus and Satan. Forget how you've lived your life; forget your questions, thoughts, opinions; forget reality. Accept Christ or die. I mean, really die.
This is the populist variety of Evangelicalism at its coarsest: a total faith based on total fear. There is no discussion of how Christianity as a religion has improved the characters' lives or filled them with love; rather, belief in Jesus is based on the proof of the Rapture and the years of Tribulation. Anyone who has lived through this time and not accepted Christ is downright stupid, downright evil. And that is as delicate as it gets in Glorious Appearing: You believe in Christ or you don't, and therefore you are rewarded or you go to hell. That is why the novel reduces religion to the basest eschatological expedience: Millions of people shrewdly convert on the last day of the world in a final recognition that the Messiah is coming, which seems to immediately absolve them of lives otherwise spent in "aberrant" religions or plain-old sin. Glorious Appearing is a fine document of present-day anti-intellectualism in America. Those who question the word of God as it is understood by the Evangelicals are just being influenced by the devil. Thinking people are renounced: Lucifer is just whispering in their ears. Spiritual indecision is considered narcissistic, and, as one believer in the novel puts it, "vain, proud. In a word evil." The possibility that some are thoughtful or otherwise intellectually engaged in understanding this new world order is either not considered or it is pathologized:
No one who lived through the Tribulation had it easy. That she had to live through it at all was her own fault--for having heard the message and ignored it for so long. She had not considered herself a rejecter. Leah had seen herself as an intellectual, a thinker, a ponderer.
Evangelists and evangelistic-minded friends had told her and told her that a nondecision was a "no" decision. She had argued. She wasn't saying no, she said; she was still thinking. Well, one of her well-meaning friends had said, don't think yourself into hell. Or into being left behind.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened. There is no nuance: Not to decide is to decide against. There are only two ontological possibilities in this Evangelicalism. The simplicity of this book is impossible to exaggerate. Page after page of the novel (it is really just a lurid sermon) is cribbed from the Bible to instruct the people to praise Jesus, for he is the one and true God; for otherwise they must face his wrath; for to love Christ is to reap eternal reward; for, again, he is the one and true God--and on and on and on, until what feels like the end of time.
And, yet, aside from being much more powerful than Satan, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the Jesus of this novel and the prince of darkness. Christ is not compassionate any longer, he has lost his patience with forgiveness, and he is happy to slaughter anyone who doesn't bow down before him, call him "Lord," and mean it. Meanwhile, all the believing heroes of the novel look on, practically cheering, "I told you so!" as millions are disemboweled, burned alive, or trampled to death. They banally regard millions of people as they are being butchered around them. Their notion of compassion in the midst of this sacred genocide is to wonder if perhaps they should shield their children's eyes. There is no mercy; the light of God is wrath, vengeance, and reward to those who worship Christ. All this traduces the most beautiful dimension of Christian thought. As I read this thing, I kept wondering whether somebody will finally defy Christ by speaking for Jesus.
But we are not exactly a thinking nation, and good versus evil is just a whole lot easier than the kind of thought that really goes into a consideration of the genuine complexity of Scripture. And so a lowest-common-denominator Evangelicalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the United States right now, and Glorious Appearing tops the charts. The Evangelicalism of LaHaye and Jenkins is just the kid at school whose answer to the question "Why?" is "Because." Since this kind of faith is unquestionable, it leaves you mainly with an impression of arrogance. In this universe of definitions, believers can define themselves into a position of superiority--which is as American as apple pie. America is Christian, America is right, God is on our side. It is a theology of national egoism. A last judgment--I mean a Last Judgment--is the best way to prove how right one is without having to work up any sympathy for those who are wrong. In Glorious Appearing, judgment has come and gone, wrapping up the Left Behind series, but, as any good thriller writers might, LaHaye and Jenkins have left room for the possibility of still another sequel. It seems, after a millennium of Heaven on Earth following the Glorious Appearing, Lucifer is released from Hell to test the people once more. With any luck they will pass the test. One way they could do so is by leaving the Left Behind series way behind.
Sacha Zimmerman is the assistant managing editor at TNR.
Copyright 2003, The New Republic
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Updated class notes:
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God’s Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life – Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden – A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 –2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan – His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
(More on this later.)
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) – Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death – Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” – Chap 2
4. A people indwelt – Chap 2
5. A people empowered – Chap 3 & 4
Part I – Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We’ve talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the “movement” was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means – he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of “Raising Up” to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is “raised up” and “seated him at the right hand”, we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the “raising up” of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death
3. “Enemies” at “peace”
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story – His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
Ephesians 2: Part 1 – The defeat of and freedom from our enemies.
Told in Story form not Theology
Who are our enemies? Critical question. We have to know who were fighting here. Chapter 2 reveals who are real enemies are and who they aren’t and what to do about them.
Our Enemies:
1. The devil – vs 2 – the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Matt 13:39; Luke 10:19; Eph 6:11,12; 1 Pet 5:8)
2. The law – Gal 3:10, 23-25, Col 2:13-15; Eph 2:15
3. Sin – Gal 3:22; Col 2:13-15
4. Death – I Cor 15: 20-28, 54-57; Rom 5:12 – 6:23
We are also “Raised Up” with Christ and seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
What are or Where are the Heavenly Realms?
1. Blessed us in the heavenly realms – (1:3)
2. Christ seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms – (1:20)
3. We are seated with Him in the heavenly realms – (2:6)
4. The Church and the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms – (3:10)
5. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – (6:12)
We are all in the Heavenly Realms right now! The Heavenly Realm is the dominion of God (Col 1:13) and everything is there. It is not some far off place that doesn’t mean anything now. It is a real place where very real things are happening.
What are we raised up for? As we saw before, to be raised up is to be set apart for a purpose
(hmmm – ecclesia, the church, = “called out ones”)
To the Praise of His glory – Eph 3-21 Glory in the church
Raised up to:
1. Show His incomparable riches of his Grace (What are his riches?)
Kindness, mercy, forgiveness of sins, wisdom and understanding, the Holy Spirit
2. Do what we were created to do – “good works”
We now have FREEDOM to be and do what were unable to.
We were prisoners locked up, unable to fight, confused, without hope
Restored to our true King
Enabled to fight again (eventhough the victory is assured the war is not over)
We are now able to LIVE for Christ with hearts full of hope and love
As His agents or Ministers of Reconciliation
Col 1:9-14; 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Cor 5:14-21
Ephesians 2 – Part 2 Our ‘enemies” at Peace.
Who did the Jews think of when they thought of their “enemies?” Gentiles
Who are the gentiles now in Christ – members of God’s Household!
Chapter 2 takes us through the amazing truth of how those who use to be enemies are now members of the same family – are a part of Israel!
On what basis was one considered a Jew?
On what basis is one now a member of God’s family?
IS THAT ALL???? This is an outrage to a good Jew. And not an easy thing for them to accept.
Remember Peter in Acts 10?
Now when we talk about Peace here what is going on? What do you think of when you think of Peace?
What is going on in the text? He himself is our Peace. He made Peace.
The greek word for Peace is Ireneaus – From which we get our English word Irony
What is irony? Having two things together that don’t usually go together.
This is the kind of peace Paul is talking about!
How is it accomplished?
What is the “dividing wall of hostility?”
Now there is one “new man” – a new constituency to Israel.
So why is this a big thing? Why should we be blown away by this? This is a social, political and economic bombshell. This is a redefinition of who Israel is.
This is the uniting of “all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
The church is the new Israel. This is where these social, political and economic realities need to be exhibited for the whole world to see. We should live differently because our God reigns and we give him authority over our whole lives and this equates to a radical new social reality. (See chapter 3:6-11) This should cross every barrier of race, economic status, gender, political party, etc.. Because Jesus is Lord every other identifying factor is less important. Because Jesus is Lord every other desire is laid at His feet. Because Jesus is Lord every opportunity for self advancement is subjugated to the needs of the whole. As one goes we all go.
Ephesians 2 – Part 3 A People Reconstituted - The Temple Restored
Paul is now about to bring it all back together, tie up the loose ends, connect the dots and help us see how all this relates to the big picture – the whole story. He wants to remind them of the Story of what God has been doing since the beginning and where they are in the story.
So he moves to a picture of two very significant ideas, concepts for the Jew:
1. God’s Household – His people
2. The Temple
(In studying the scriptures it is important to look for themes – reoccurring subjects that are dealt with throughout the bible. It is in recognizing and understanding these themes and their importance that we can get in touch with the heart of God.)
Eph 2
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
In referring to these ideas Paul connects to two very significant symbols in the Jewish mind.
What was the significance of the Temple? What was it’s purpose?
In order to understand these ideas, these symbols we must go back and see the history of their development.
So we go back to the Old Testament. To the beginning.
Genesis 3
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
The Story of Abraham
The Exodus – God calling his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 25
8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 29
42 "For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD . There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
44 "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
The Story of the Tabernacle in Israel’s history:
David’s thoughts and actions:
Psalm 132
Then we go to the Prophets and see the story continue when Israel returns from exile.
See Haggai 1-2:9
Then the Old Testament ends. The job is never completed
Then Jesus comes John 1:14 – he pitches he tent with men. He also declares that where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name – “I will be there.”
When he dies the temple curtain is torn in two by unseen hands.
And then Paul makes this declaration in Ephesians 2 that we are be being to become a temple.
Paul’s other teachings on this subject:
I Cor 3:1-17 – in the presence of division in the church, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s building, His Temple, and that if anyone destroys God’s temple – by being devisive – then God will destroy him. These are pretty strong words and they have to do with the unity of believers. And this is important because this is where God lives – this is His temple!
I Cor 5:5 – An interesting reference. In the context of church discipline Paul says that when the church is gathered “the power of the Lord Jesus is present.” Wow. This reminds us of Jesus’ own words, “where two or three are gathered, I will be there.” This is a strong indication that there is more going on in Jesus being present when WE are gathered together than the idea of “Jesus in me.”
I Cor 6:14-19 – most of the references to us being the body of Christ or His temple (or that of the Spirit) are plural. They refer to the gathering of the saints, to God’s household, his people corporate. It is not an individualistic thing. Yes, the Spirit does dwell in each one of us but that is not the emphasis. However, here, in chapter 6 we have the oft quoted verse, “don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” This is actually referring to the individual. But, please note the context (v.15 specifically) tells us that we are all members of Christ’s body. In the larger context, nearly the whole book of I Corinthians is a chastisement of the church because they are not living with regard to one another as being members of the same body. What one does affects the whole bunch. That is the point of this particular passage. It is not a reminder of personal, individual significance! It is just the opposite! Mind what you do because it affects everyone else and the corporate condition of the body of Christ, His temple.
2 Cor 6:14-7:1 – further discussion reminding the church that bonds, agreements, relationships with those outside the body are sometimes inappropriate because they go too far in uniting the body of Christ with unbelievers.
Peter’s teaching is the same:
I Peter 2:4-12
Rev 21
It ends where it started – God dwelling with His people
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And 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. 4He 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."
And what about the temple?
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
And the writer of the Hebrews confirms in a more in depth study chapters 8-10.
So, what conclusions can we draw?
Why are we here? To these buildings every Sunday?
What is our agenda? Our purpose?
Are we here to get refreshed? To get refueled for another week of survivor? J
We should not mistake the benefits for the purpose! There is another purpose.
Our gatherings – actually our whole lives - are for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. This is an awesome truth, both grand and glorious as well as sober and scary. But, if this is our calling, and it is, then we need to make it a priority. If fact, the number one priority of our lives should be to seek to understand and become the part of the body, the temple, the household of God we are meant to be.
Let me add a quote from Allen Wakabayashi’s book, Kingdom Come:
“So as you think about living out the kingdom of God, remember that Gods intent for the community of faith is to serve as a Spirit filled community before a watching world. Living out the kingdom is not an individualistic endeavor. The kingdom is not primarily a confederation of people working out salvation on our own, and the corporate nature of the kingdom is not meant to support individuals as they live out their kingdom lives or to meet their needs. Nor is it a community of people seeking to live out the kingdom under their own power. Living out the kingdom demands that we all serve in a Spirit-filled community that is seeking to witness to the kingdom before a watching world.” (Page 143,144)
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God’s Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life – Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden – A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 –2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan – His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) – Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death – Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” – Chap 2
4. A people indwelt – Chap 2
5. A people empowered – Chap 3 & 4
Part I – Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We’ve talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the “movement” was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means – he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of “Raising Up” to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is “raised up” and “seated him at the right hand”, we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the “raising up” of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death
3. “Enemies” at “peace”
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story – His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
Ephesians 2: Part 1 – The defeat of and freedom from our enemies.
Told in Story form not Theology
Who are our enemies? Critical question. We have to know who were fighting here. Chapter 2 reveals who are real enemies are and who they aren’t and what to do about them.
Our Enemies:
1. The devil – vs 2 – the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Matt 13:39; Luke 10:19; Eph 6:11,12; 1 Pet 5:8)
2. The law – Gal 3:10, 23-25, Col 2:13-15; Eph 2:15
3. Sin – Gal 3:22; Col 2:13-15
4. Death – I Cor 15: 20-28, 54-57; Rom 5:12 – 6:23
We are also “Raised Up” with Christ and seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
What are or Where are the Heavenly Realms?
1. Blessed us in the heavenly realms – (1:3)
2. Christ seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms – (1:20)
3. We are seated with Him in the heavenly realms – (2:6)
4. The Church and the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms – (3:10)
5. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – (6:12)
We are all in the Heavenly Realms right now! The Heavenly Realm is the dominion of God (Col 1:13) and everything is there. It is not some far off place that doesn’t mean anything now. It is a real place where very real things are happening.
What are we raised up for? As we saw before, to be raised up is to be set apart for a purpose
(hmmm – ecclesia, the church, = “called out ones”)
To the Praise of His glory – Eph 3-21 Glory in the church
Raised up to:
1. Show His incomparable riches of his Grace (What are his riches?)
Kindness, mercy, forgiveness of sins, wisdom and understanding, the Holy Spirit
2. Do what we were created to do – “good works”
We now have FREEDOM to be and do what were unable to.
We were prisoners locked up, unable to fight, confused, without hope
Restored to our true King
Enabled to fight again (eventhough the victory is assured the war is not over)
We are now able to LIVE for Christ with hearts full of hope and love
As His agents or Ministers of Reconciliation
Col 1:9-14; 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Cor 5:14-21
Ephesians 2 – Part 2 Our ‘enemies” at Peace.
Who did the Jews think of when they thought of their “enemies?” Gentiles
Who are the gentiles now in Christ – members of God’s Household!
Chapter 2 takes us through the amazing truth of how those who use to be enemies are now members of the same family – are a part of Israel!
On what basis was one considered a Jew?
On what basis is one now a member of God’s family?
IS THAT ALL???? This is an outrage to a good Jew. And not an easy thing for them to accept.
Remember Peter in Acts 10?
Now when we talk about Peace here what is going on? What do you think of when you think of Peace?
What is going on in the text? He himself is our Peace. He made Peace.
The greek word for Peace is Ireneaus – From which we get our English word Irony
What is irony? Having two things together that don’t usually go together.
This is the kind of peace Paul is talking about!
How is it accomplished?
What is the “dividing wall of hostility?”
Now there is one “new man” – a new constituency to Israel.
So why is this a big thing? Why should we be blown away by this? This is a social, political and economic bombshell. This is a redefinition of who Israel is.
This is the uniting of “all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
The church is the new Israel. This is where these social, political and economic realities need to be exhibited for the whole world to see. We should live differently because our God reigns and we give him authority over our whole lives and this equates to a radical new social reality. (See chapter 3:6-11) This should cross every barrier of race, economic status, gender, political party, etc.. Because Jesus is Lord every other identifying factor is less important. Because Jesus is Lord every other desire is laid at His feet. Because Jesus is Lord every opportunity for self advancement is subjugated to the needs of the whole. As one goes we all go.
Ephesians 2 – Part 3 A People Reconstituted - The Temple Restored
Paul is now about to bring it all back together, tie up the loose ends, connect the dots and help us see how all this relates to the big picture – the whole story. He wants to remind them of the Story of what God has been doing since the beginning and where they are in the story.
So he moves to a picture of two very significant ideas, concepts for the Jew:
1. God’s Household – His people
2. The Temple
(In studying the scriptures it is important to look for themes – reoccurring subjects that are dealt with throughout the bible. It is in recognizing and understanding these themes and their importance that we can get in touch with the heart of God.)
Eph 2
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
In referring to these ideas Paul connects to two very significant symbols in the Jewish mind.
What was the significance of the Temple? What was it’s purpose?
In order to understand these ideas, these symbols we must go back and see the history of their development.
So we go back to the Old Testament. To the beginning.
Genesis 3
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
The Story of Abraham
The Exodus – God calling his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 25
8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 29
42 "For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD . There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
44 "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
The Story of the Tabernacle in Israel’s history:
David’s thoughts and actions:
Psalm 132
Then we go to the Prophets and see the story continue when Israel returns from exile.
See Haggai 1-2:9
Then the Old Testament ends. The job is never completed
Then Jesus comes John 1:14 – he pitches he tent with men. He also declares that where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name – “I will be there.”
When he dies the temple curtain is torn in two by unseen hands.
And then Paul makes this declaration in Ephesians 2 that we are be being to become a temple.
Paul’s other teachings on this subject:
I Cor 3:1-17 – in the presence of division in the church, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s building, His Temple, and that if anyone destroys God’s temple – by being devisive – then God will destroy him. These are pretty strong words and they have to do with the unity of believers. And this is important because this is where God lives – this is His temple!
I Cor 5:5 – An interesting reference. In the context of church discipline Paul says that when the church is gathered “the power of the Lord Jesus is present.” Wow. This reminds us of Jesus’ own words, “where two or three are gathered, I will be there.” This is a strong indication that there is more going on in Jesus being present when WE are gathered together than the idea of “Jesus in me.”
I Cor 6:14-19 – most of the references to us being the body of Christ or His temple (or that of the Spirit) are plural. They refer to the gathering of the saints, to God’s household, his people corporate. It is not an individualistic thing. Yes, the Spirit does dwell in each one of us but that is not the emphasis. However, here, in chapter 6 we have the oft quoted verse, “don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” This is actually referring to the individual. But, please note the context (v.15 specifically) tells us that we are all members of Christ’s body. In the larger context, nearly the whole book of I Corinthians is a chastisement of the church because they are not living with regard to one another as being members of the same body. What one does affects the whole bunch. That is the point of this particular passage. It is not a reminder of personal, individual significance! It is just the opposite! Mind what you do because it affects everyone else and the corporate condition of the body of Christ, His temple.
2 Cor 6:14-7:1 – further discussion reminding the church that bonds, agreements, relationships with those outside the body are sometimes inappropriate because they go too far in uniting the body of Christ with unbelievers.
Peter’s teaching is the same:
I Peter 2:4-12
Rev 21
It ends where it started – God dwelling with His people
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And 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. 4He 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."
And what about the temple?
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
And the writer of the Hebrews confirms in a more in depth study chapters 8-10.
So, what conclusions can we draw?
Why are we here? To these buildings every Sunday?
What is our agenda? Our purpose?
Are we here to get refreshed? To get refueled for another week of survivor? J
We should not mistake the benefits for the purpose! There is another purpose.
Our gatherings – actually our whole lives - are for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. This is an awesome truth, both grand and glorious as well as sober and scary. But, if this is our calling, and it is, then we need to make it a priority. If fact, the number one priority of our lives should be to seek to understand and become the part of the body, the temple, the household of God we are meant to be.
Let me add a quote from Allen Wakabayashi’s book, Kingdom Come:
“So as you think about living out the kingdom of God, remember that Gods intent for the community of faith is to serve as a Spirit filled community before a watching world. Living out the kingdom is not an individualistic endeavor. The kingdom is not primarily a confederation of people working out salvation on our own, and the corporate nature of the kingdom is not meant to support individuals as they live out their kingdom lives or to meet their needs. Nor is it a community of people seeking to live out the kingdom under their own power. Living out the kingdom demands that we all serve in a Spirit-filled community that is seeking to witness to the kingdom before a watching world.” (Page 143,144)
Friday, March 19, 2004
Andy's Actual Sunday Class Notes:
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God's Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life - Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden - A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 -2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan - His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
(More on this later.)
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) - Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated - sin and death - Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” - Chap 2
4. A people indwelt - Chap 2
5. A people empowered - Chap 3 & 4
Part I - Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We've talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the "movement" was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means - he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of "Raising Up" to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is "raised up" and "seated him at the right hand", we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the "raising up" of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated - sin and death
3. "Enemies" at "peace"
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story - His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God's Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life - Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden - A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 -2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan - His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) - Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated - sin and death - Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” - Chap 2
4. A people indwelt - Chap 2
5. A people empowered - Chap 3 & 4
Part I - Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We've talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the "movement" was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means - he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of "Raising Up" to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is "raised up" and "seated him at the right hand", we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the "raising up" of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated - sin and death
3. "Enemies" at "peace"
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story - His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Reflection
"There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not
sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (Col 1:16-17)
and in reconciliation (Col 1:18-20). There can be no dualistic
division between some areas which he rules and others which
he does not."
--page 79, Colossians and Philemon, N.T. Wright
"There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not
sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (Col 1:16-17)
and in reconciliation (Col 1:18-20). There can be no dualistic
division between some areas which he rules and others which
he does not."
--page 79, Colossians and Philemon, N.T. Wright
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Notes from Andy's Ephesians series, installment one:
(think about this structure as you read/reread Ephesians for next week)
"Ephesians: Uncovering the Mystery of God's Plan"
How the plan unfolds: (chap. 1-3)
1. Christ Enthroned (and all things united)
2. Sin Defeated
3. Enemies at Peace
4. A People Indwelt
5. A People Empowered
1. Christ Enthroned- expanded upon:
v. 1:20 he is "raised up" not simply resurrected- a more significant terminology in Jewish mindset. cf OT passages referring to raising up: Psalms 80:14-19, 92:8-15, 94: 1-3,16-23, Isaiah 44:24-45:13 (Cyrus as a type/prefigure for Christ)
In chapter one, Paul is spelling out how Christ is actively working out (already/notyet) the Jewish/1st century expectations of the Messiah. Remember those expectations from NT Wright:
1. Return of the King
2. Overthrow Enemies
3. Vindicate the People
4. Restoration of the Temple
See how Paul ties the above mentioned themes of Ephesians into these themes. Look for Paul's use of Messianic language from Psalms and Isaiah to drive the point home.
(think about this structure as you read/reread Ephesians for next week)
"Ephesians: Uncovering the Mystery of God's Plan"
How the plan unfolds: (chap. 1-3)
1. Christ Enthroned (and all things united)
2. Sin Defeated
3. Enemies at Peace
4. A People Indwelt
5. A People Empowered
1. Christ Enthroned- expanded upon:
v. 1:20 he is "raised up" not simply resurrected- a more significant terminology in Jewish mindset. cf OT passages referring to raising up: Psalms 80:14-19, 92:8-15, 94: 1-3,16-23, Isaiah 44:24-45:13 (Cyrus as a type/prefigure for Christ)
In chapter one, Paul is spelling out how Christ is actively working out (already/notyet) the Jewish/1st century expectations of the Messiah. Remember those expectations from NT Wright:
1. Return of the King
2. Overthrow Enemies
3. Vindicate the People
4. Restoration of the Temple
See how Paul ties the above mentioned themes of Ephesians into these themes. Look for Paul's use of Messianic language from Psalms and Isaiah to drive the point home.
REFLECTION
From whales to waterfalls, the whole created order has in principle been reconciled to God. Like a sovereign making a proclamation and sending off his heralds to bear it to the distant corners of his empire, God has in Jesus Christ proclaimed once and for all that the world which he made has been reconciled to him. His heralds, scurrying off to the ends of the earth with the news, are simply agents, messengers, of this one antecedent authoritative proclamation.
— N.T. Wright
Colossians & Philemon
From whales to waterfalls, the whole created order has in principle been reconciled to God. Like a sovereign making a proclamation and sending off his heralds to bear it to the distant corners of his empire, God has in Jesus Christ proclaimed once and for all that the world which he made has been reconciled to him. His heralds, scurrying off to the ends of the earth with the news, are simply agents, messengers, of this one antecedent authoritative proclamation.
— N.T. Wright
Colossians & Philemon
Saturday, March 13, 2004
The Church as Subversive Community
Mike Bishop
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.[i]
For the past generation, one of the hottest topics among pastors and church leaders has been church growth. “Pastor, Pastor, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” Theories abound and models for 'doing church' come and go like teenage fashion fads. But in the middle of all this discussion and strategy a few very practical questions remain: "How does God intend his church to grow? What are the means by which the gospel of Jesus is spread? What is the job of the average Christian? How should pastors lead in this endeavor?" One attempt to answer these questions should be very familiar. For lack of a better name, I will call it the 'Church Growth' paradigm. Here are a few of this paradigm's basic assumptions:
A simple vision - bring the gospel of salvation in Jesus to the entire world by any means necessary.
Ethnic groups, generational groups, special needs groups, etc. are identified, studied, targeted, and advanced upon with this gospel in hopes that they will be assimilated into the Kingdom and a church.
Massive amounts of funding, personnel, strategy, planning, and leadership are necessary to pull off this enormous undertaking.
One of Church Growth's primary tools is to coax people into a special place once a week where God is the focus of the entire event (traditionally, a service on Sunday morning). The idea is that if people will think about God for a few hours on Sunday, maybe they'll also consider him the other 166 hours during the week. All manner of resources are expended to make those few precious hours as efficient and relevant as possible. Countless programs are concocted to try and connect people with God at other times. The amount of blood, sweat, prayer, and tears expended in this paradigm is extraordinary.
As a reward for all that effort, Church Growth has been extremely successful. The gospel has reached more corners of the world than ever thought possible in the last 100 years. But without going into the problems associated with Church Growth, let me propose another way to answer those fundamental questions. Let’s assume that you’ve tried Church Growth and found it wanting. Or, you’ve simply run out of silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row. This next paradigm I would like to describe is much less popular and remains largely untried in North America. Again, for lack of a better name, I will call it the 'Subversive Community'.
'Subversive' is an odd word to associate with Christian ministry, but that is only because of its uses in recent world history. Webster's defines 'subvert', "to overturn or overthrow from the foundation." It's origin is Latin, "subvertere, literally, to turn from beneath." Eugene Peterson has a great description of this paradigm's assumptions:
"Three things are implicit in subversion. One, the status quo is wrong and must be overthrown if the world is going to be livable. It is so deeply wrong that repair work is futile. The world is, in the word insurance agents use to designate our wrecked cars, totaled.
Two, there is another world aborning that is livable. Its reality is no chimera (illusion). It is in existence, though not visible. Its character is known. The subversive does not operate out of a utopian dream but out of a conviction of the nature of the real world.
Three, the usual means by which one kingdom is thrown out and another put in its place - military force or democratic elections - are not available. If we have neither a preponderance of power nor a majority of votes, we begin searching for other ways to effect change. We discover the methods of subversion. We find and welcome allies."[ii]
The Subversive Community's mission is not to bring the kingdom of God from without; it is to release the kingdom of God from within. Subversives do not "reach outside people and encourage them to come in." Subversives live and do their work ‘undercover’ where the world lives and breathes. Their goal is not escapism (trying to build a Christian utopia), but to show people how they can lay hold of life as God intended, in his Kingdom.
The Subversive Community understands that the world and its ways are false. It is constantly interacting with people at work, in the grocery store, or at home who are all in the prison of this world's system. These prisoners are quite happy in their assumed reality (especially the ones who have amassed quite a kingdom of wealth). But some secretly ask the question, "Is this really all there is to life?" The Subversive Community’s answer is not merely to inform them about the Kingdom, but to invite them to become participants in a whole new reality. The training program will be unique and cannot be rushed or broken down into a few 'principles' that are easy to swallow. Remember, the kingdom of God deals with every aspect of our lives. This training might just take a lifetime.
The chief aim of the Subversive Community is to train other subversives, which is really what the Great Commission was all about. So what are our tools? Where do we begin in this training? How do we train others? Again I'll reference Peterson from "The Contemplative Pastor":
"Prayer and parable are the stock-in-trade tools of the subversive pastor. The quiet (or noisy) closet life of prayer enters into partnership with the Spirit that strives still with every human heart, a wrestling match in holiness. And parables are the consciousness-altering words that slip past falsifying platitude and invade the human spirit with Christ-truth.”[iii]
Andrew Jones used to have on his website this tag line: “One who tells stories and throws parties.” Combine that statement with Peterson’s and you get the closest thing to a strategy for church planting available. I call it the “Three-P’s of Church Planting” – Prayer, Parables, and Parties.
Prayer
In the absence of building programs, 45-minute sermons three times a week, and an “outreach ministry,” there is prayer. The “wrestling match” to which Peterson refers is not the hand-wringing sessions most prayer meetings resemble. “Oh God, our culture is so bad. Why are people not coming to our church service anymore? Please bless our next outreach program so we can advance your kingdom.” Instead of asking God to bless our programs, we should be trying to bless His. This takes a willingness to do two things: ask and wait. Our community has grown through having times of prayer that include more silence than prayer. We are trying to learn corporately the ancient (and anti-Western) discipline of solitude and silence. As we’ve grown in our ability to hear God’s voice, we’ve found a few simple prayers that have been helpful:
“God, what have you created us to be in our community?”“How can we represent your Kingdom in our jobs, families, circles of friends, and neighborhoods?”
“Make us aware of your rule and reign today in every situation.”
“Lead us to men and women of peace that will provide contact with the world in places where your Spirit is working.” (See Luke 10)
Parables
The Subversive Community is a living story. It sees itself as a footnote to Chapter Three in the Story of God and His People. Simultaneously we are living within the Larger Story, the story of our faith community, and our individual stories. This has always been so, but the church has kept these stories stored away on a dusty shelf and tried to give the world the Cliff Notes instead. It’s time to take the musty books down and learn the art of storytelling again.
Jesus understood the deeply subversive nature of stories. He used parables like ticking time bombs of truth implanted in his hearer’s minds. They would sit there unprotected, challenging assumptions and coaxing the soul to establish a new foundation for life. N.T. Wright explains, “When Jesus announced the kingdom, the stories he told functioned like dramatic plays in search of actors. His hearers were invited to audition for parts in the kingdom. They had been eager for God’s drama to be staged and were waiting to find out what they would have to do when he did so. Now they were to discover. They were to become kingdom-people themselves.”[iv]
The Subversive Community can use parable in many different ways. Our community has utilized the Web to tell our story on a global and local stage. The recent web-logging craze (www.blogger.com) has enabled us to keep our story documented real-time and from the point of view of each participant. Music, art, and poetry allow the community to present the story in fresh, creative ways. Even something benign like how you design your house can communicate truth about the Kingdom. Parable is in its nature a creative act so it is most effective when you decide to be original and invite the Holy Spirit to tell God’s story through your life. Don’t just use someone else’s stories; come up with your own!
Parties
"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29) Jesus often used the party or feast to represent the kingdom of God. His first miracle was performed at a wedding reception, he feasted with his brand new followers Levi and Zacchaeus, and his most famous parable ended with a huge party for a prodigal son. Often, Christians think true spirituality looks more like fasting than it does feasting. But Jesus responds, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom?” (Luke 5:34) The Subversive Community knows how to party.
Our community has organized a few parties, which we call Kingdom Feasts. We invite friends, family, co-workers, people from other churches, and anyone else who wants to come. The last one was held at the beach where we cooked a ton of burgers and played volleyball in perfect South Florida weather. Another time we fried up a bunch of shrimp and worshipped into the night. But each time, our focus as participants is to demonstrate to ourselves and our guests that the kingdom of God is here.
The Subversive Community would never be caught trying to coax the world into a church building. It believes the church (which is you and me) exists primarily out in the world just being itself. But we are not passive observers of a world going to hell. We are here to overthrow the world’s assumptions about life and our hope for the future. Peterson now completes our job description:
“This is our primary work in the real world. But we need continual convincing. The people whom we are praying and among whom we are telling parables are seduced into supposing that their money and ambition are making the world turn on its axis. There are so many of them and so few of us, making it difficult to maintain our convictions. It is easy to be seduced along with them.
Words are the real work of the world - prayer words with God, parable words with men and women. The behind-the-scenes work of creativity by word and sacrament, by parable and prayer, subverts the seduced world. The pastor's real work is what Ivan Illich calls "shadow work" - the work nobody gets paid for and few notice but that makes a world of salvation: meaning and value and purpose, a world of love and hope and faith - in short, the kingdom of God.”[v]
[i] Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme, Check out this interpretation: http://www.rooneydesign.com/MaryMary.html
[ii] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, p. 34
[iii] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, p. 36
[iv] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus, p. 43
[v] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, pp. 36,37
http://whatischurch.com/toolbox/growth.html
Mike Bishop
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.[i]
For the past generation, one of the hottest topics among pastors and church leaders has been church growth. “Pastor, Pastor, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” Theories abound and models for 'doing church' come and go like teenage fashion fads. But in the middle of all this discussion and strategy a few very practical questions remain: "How does God intend his church to grow? What are the means by which the gospel of Jesus is spread? What is the job of the average Christian? How should pastors lead in this endeavor?" One attempt to answer these questions should be very familiar. For lack of a better name, I will call it the 'Church Growth' paradigm. Here are a few of this paradigm's basic assumptions:
A simple vision - bring the gospel of salvation in Jesus to the entire world by any means necessary.
Ethnic groups, generational groups, special needs groups, etc. are identified, studied, targeted, and advanced upon with this gospel in hopes that they will be assimilated into the Kingdom and a church.
Massive amounts of funding, personnel, strategy, planning, and leadership are necessary to pull off this enormous undertaking.
One of Church Growth's primary tools is to coax people into a special place once a week where God is the focus of the entire event (traditionally, a service on Sunday morning). The idea is that if people will think about God for a few hours on Sunday, maybe they'll also consider him the other 166 hours during the week. All manner of resources are expended to make those few precious hours as efficient and relevant as possible. Countless programs are concocted to try and connect people with God at other times. The amount of blood, sweat, prayer, and tears expended in this paradigm is extraordinary.
As a reward for all that effort, Church Growth has been extremely successful. The gospel has reached more corners of the world than ever thought possible in the last 100 years. But without going into the problems associated with Church Growth, let me propose another way to answer those fundamental questions. Let’s assume that you’ve tried Church Growth and found it wanting. Or, you’ve simply run out of silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row. This next paradigm I would like to describe is much less popular and remains largely untried in North America. Again, for lack of a better name, I will call it the 'Subversive Community'.
'Subversive' is an odd word to associate with Christian ministry, but that is only because of its uses in recent world history. Webster's defines 'subvert', "to overturn or overthrow from the foundation." It's origin is Latin, "subvertere, literally, to turn from beneath." Eugene Peterson has a great description of this paradigm's assumptions:
"Three things are implicit in subversion. One, the status quo is wrong and must be overthrown if the world is going to be livable. It is so deeply wrong that repair work is futile. The world is, in the word insurance agents use to designate our wrecked cars, totaled.
Two, there is another world aborning that is livable. Its reality is no chimera (illusion). It is in existence, though not visible. Its character is known. The subversive does not operate out of a utopian dream but out of a conviction of the nature of the real world.
Three, the usual means by which one kingdom is thrown out and another put in its place - military force or democratic elections - are not available. If we have neither a preponderance of power nor a majority of votes, we begin searching for other ways to effect change. We discover the methods of subversion. We find and welcome allies."[ii]
The Subversive Community's mission is not to bring the kingdom of God from without; it is to release the kingdom of God from within. Subversives do not "reach outside people and encourage them to come in." Subversives live and do their work ‘undercover’ where the world lives and breathes. Their goal is not escapism (trying to build a Christian utopia), but to show people how they can lay hold of life as God intended, in his Kingdom.
The Subversive Community understands that the world and its ways are false. It is constantly interacting with people at work, in the grocery store, or at home who are all in the prison of this world's system. These prisoners are quite happy in their assumed reality (especially the ones who have amassed quite a kingdom of wealth). But some secretly ask the question, "Is this really all there is to life?" The Subversive Community’s answer is not merely to inform them about the Kingdom, but to invite them to become participants in a whole new reality. The training program will be unique and cannot be rushed or broken down into a few 'principles' that are easy to swallow. Remember, the kingdom of God deals with every aspect of our lives. This training might just take a lifetime.
The chief aim of the Subversive Community is to train other subversives, which is really what the Great Commission was all about. So what are our tools? Where do we begin in this training? How do we train others? Again I'll reference Peterson from "The Contemplative Pastor":
"Prayer and parable are the stock-in-trade tools of the subversive pastor. The quiet (or noisy) closet life of prayer enters into partnership with the Spirit that strives still with every human heart, a wrestling match in holiness. And parables are the consciousness-altering words that slip past falsifying platitude and invade the human spirit with Christ-truth.”[iii]
Andrew Jones used to have on his website this tag line: “One who tells stories and throws parties.” Combine that statement with Peterson’s and you get the closest thing to a strategy for church planting available. I call it the “Three-P’s of Church Planting” – Prayer, Parables, and Parties.
Prayer
In the absence of building programs, 45-minute sermons three times a week, and an “outreach ministry,” there is prayer. The “wrestling match” to which Peterson refers is not the hand-wringing sessions most prayer meetings resemble. “Oh God, our culture is so bad. Why are people not coming to our church service anymore? Please bless our next outreach program so we can advance your kingdom.” Instead of asking God to bless our programs, we should be trying to bless His. This takes a willingness to do two things: ask and wait. Our community has grown through having times of prayer that include more silence than prayer. We are trying to learn corporately the ancient (and anti-Western) discipline of solitude and silence. As we’ve grown in our ability to hear God’s voice, we’ve found a few simple prayers that have been helpful:
“God, what have you created us to be in our community?”“How can we represent your Kingdom in our jobs, families, circles of friends, and neighborhoods?”
“Make us aware of your rule and reign today in every situation.”
“Lead us to men and women of peace that will provide contact with the world in places where your Spirit is working.” (See Luke 10)
Parables
The Subversive Community is a living story. It sees itself as a footnote to Chapter Three in the Story of God and His People. Simultaneously we are living within the Larger Story, the story of our faith community, and our individual stories. This has always been so, but the church has kept these stories stored away on a dusty shelf and tried to give the world the Cliff Notes instead. It’s time to take the musty books down and learn the art of storytelling again.
Jesus understood the deeply subversive nature of stories. He used parables like ticking time bombs of truth implanted in his hearer’s minds. They would sit there unprotected, challenging assumptions and coaxing the soul to establish a new foundation for life. N.T. Wright explains, “When Jesus announced the kingdom, the stories he told functioned like dramatic plays in search of actors. His hearers were invited to audition for parts in the kingdom. They had been eager for God’s drama to be staged and were waiting to find out what they would have to do when he did so. Now they were to discover. They were to become kingdom-people themselves.”[iv]
The Subversive Community can use parable in many different ways. Our community has utilized the Web to tell our story on a global and local stage. The recent web-logging craze (www.blogger.com) has enabled us to keep our story documented real-time and from the point of view of each participant. Music, art, and poetry allow the community to present the story in fresh, creative ways. Even something benign like how you design your house can communicate truth about the Kingdom. Parable is in its nature a creative act so it is most effective when you decide to be original and invite the Holy Spirit to tell God’s story through your life. Don’t just use someone else’s stories; come up with your own!
Parties
"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29) Jesus often used the party or feast to represent the kingdom of God. His first miracle was performed at a wedding reception, he feasted with his brand new followers Levi and Zacchaeus, and his most famous parable ended with a huge party for a prodigal son. Often, Christians think true spirituality looks more like fasting than it does feasting. But Jesus responds, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom?” (Luke 5:34) The Subversive Community knows how to party.
Our community has organized a few parties, which we call Kingdom Feasts. We invite friends, family, co-workers, people from other churches, and anyone else who wants to come. The last one was held at the beach where we cooked a ton of burgers and played volleyball in perfect South Florida weather. Another time we fried up a bunch of shrimp and worshipped into the night. But each time, our focus as participants is to demonstrate to ourselves and our guests that the kingdom of God is here.
The Subversive Community would never be caught trying to coax the world into a church building. It believes the church (which is you and me) exists primarily out in the world just being itself. But we are not passive observers of a world going to hell. We are here to overthrow the world’s assumptions about life and our hope for the future. Peterson now completes our job description:
“This is our primary work in the real world. But we need continual convincing. The people whom we are praying and among whom we are telling parables are seduced into supposing that their money and ambition are making the world turn on its axis. There are so many of them and so few of us, making it difficult to maintain our convictions. It is easy to be seduced along with them.
Words are the real work of the world - prayer words with God, parable words with men and women. The behind-the-scenes work of creativity by word and sacrament, by parable and prayer, subverts the seduced world. The pastor's real work is what Ivan Illich calls "shadow work" - the work nobody gets paid for and few notice but that makes a world of salvation: meaning and value and purpose, a world of love and hope and faith - in short, the kingdom of God.”[v]
[i] Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme, Check out this interpretation: http://www.rooneydesign.com/MaryMary.html
[ii] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, p. 34
[iii] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, p. 36
[iv] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus, p. 43
[v] Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, pp. 36,37
http://whatischurch.com/toolbox/growth.html
Friday, March 05, 2004
A few weeks ago we had two artists in our group talk about the connection between art and our view of heaven and hell. In light of the buzz about Mel's movie, The Passion, I thought it might be equally stimulating to see the connection between art and our evolving image of Jesus.
Take a tour of art history as it relates to images of Jesus at: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/22/story_2283_1.html.
Here are a couple examples:
This is The Epic of American Civilization: Modern Migration of the Spirit (Panel 21) by Jose Clemente Orozco, painted between the years 1932-34.
"For Orozco and other modern Third World artists, Jesus becomes the liberator, or, more narrowly, the icon of liberation. The oppressed have, from Jesus' own time on, clung to him in hope of release from injustice and from dominance by the ruling class. Images such as these become icons of hope."
--Stephen Cook
This is Head of Christ by Warner Sallman painted in 1940.
"Warner Sallman produced a modern popular image of Jesus that became one of the most-reproduced paintings of all time, showing up in countless church parlors and classrooms and on devotional materials. It became the dominant image of Christ in the 20th century and the one people most often recall when asked what Jesus looked like."
--Stephen Cook
When you are finished, you might want to bookmark this home site as a great resource! It's called New Testament Gateway: http://www.ntgateway.com/
Take a tour of art history as it relates to images of Jesus at: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/22/story_2283_1.html.
Here are a couple examples:
This is The Epic of American Civilization: Modern Migration of the Spirit (Panel 21) by Jose Clemente Orozco, painted between the years 1932-34.
"For Orozco and other modern Third World artists, Jesus becomes the liberator, or, more narrowly, the icon of liberation. The oppressed have, from Jesus' own time on, clung to him in hope of release from injustice and from dominance by the ruling class. Images such as these become icons of hope."
--Stephen Cook
This is Head of Christ by Warner Sallman painted in 1940.
"Warner Sallman produced a modern popular image of Jesus that became one of the most-reproduced paintings of all time, showing up in countless church parlors and classrooms and on devotional materials. It became the dominant image of Christ in the 20th century and the one people most often recall when asked what Jesus looked like."
--Stephen Cook
When you are finished, you might want to bookmark this home site as a great resource! It's called New Testament Gateway: http://www.ntgateway.com/
