Having Two Legs

Archives For Theology – Ecclesiology

Jesus is Not the Church

May 9, 2013 — 1 Comment

If the church identifies its structures, its leadership, its liturgy, its buildings, or anything else with its Lord — and that’s what happens if you ignore the ascension or turn it into another way of talking about the Spirit — what do you get? You get, on the one hand, what Shakespeare called, ‘the insolence of office’ and, on the other hand, the despair of late middle age, as people realize it doesn’t work… Only when we grasp firmly that the church is not Jesus and Jesus is not the church — when we grasp, in other words, the truth of the ascension, that the one who is indeed present with us by the Spirit is also the Lord who is strangely absent, strangely other, strangely different from us and over against us, the one who tells Mary Magdalene not to cling to him — only then are we rescued from both hollow triumphalism and shallow despair.

- N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 113.

In Ascension, Bible - Luke, Church Calendar, Theology - Christology, Theology - Ecclesiology

Boot Camp #2: Triune Love & Covenant Life

April 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Introduction
The Gospel that we looked at last week implies a certain view of God and therefore of man made in His image. The good news that Jesus died for our sins and was raised again for our salvation is only the tip of the iceberg.

The most famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16)

Notice two things: God has an “only begotten son.” This implies that there is already community/family in God Himself. Second, notice that God loves. In 1 John, it says that God is love. Furthermore, here, John says that God’s love extends to the world. Last week we established the fact that ever since the first sin of Adam, man has been ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God. This has brought death and destruction and confusion and pain into the world. Again, John says that because of God’s great love for the world, He gave His only Son (cf. Rom. 5:8). And we know that this love is an overflow of the love God the Father has for His Son (Jn. 3:35, 5:20, 10:17, 17:24).

Finally, we have the final marching orders of Jesus after His resurrection: “Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” (Mt. 28:19-20)

Putting all of this together, we should make several points: First, here we have what Christians call the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a word that the Church coined early on to describe the One, True God as a “Tri-Unity” – God is three persons that exist eternally as only one God. We do not worship three gods. Nor are we Unitarian. Much could be said on this, but we’ll keep our comments short: 1. There is only one God because this is how God revealed Himself to Israel (Dt. 6:4). 2. This one God exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. Three persons in One God. 3. The Trinity is how love and community are inherent in the nature of God. God is Himself a community of persons that share eternal love with one another. 4. Man was created to share in this Triune community of love. But we rebelled and rejected God’s love and built our own cities and kingdoms in anger and bitterness and bloodshed. But God in His mercy came and sought us by His own Son who suffered in our place, rose up victorious over the curse of death, ascended to heaven and poured out His Spirit upon all who believe. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 Corinthians, Bible - Hebrews, bible - John, Bible - Romans, Manalive, Theology - Ecclesiology, Theology - Sacraments, TRC

Priest as New Creation

November 12, 2012 — 2 Comments

In Exodus 39, the priestly garments are made with the echoing refrain: “… as the Lord commanded Moses.”

It’s no accident that this refrain is repeated 7 times, mimicking the seven days of creation:

Day 1: Light & Darkness: 39:1: Holy garments for service

Day 2: Firmament: 39:2-5: Ephod

Day 3: Dry Land, Seas, Seed bearing plants: 39:6-7: Onyx stones for the shoulders w/ the names of the children of Israel

Day 4: Rulers in the Firmament: Sun, Moon, & Stars: 39:8-21: Breastplate with 12 precious stones bearing the names of the sons of Israel

Day 5: Birds & Fish: 39:22-26: Robe

Day 6: Man & land animals: 39:37-29: Coats, hats, pants, and sash of linen

Day 7: Holy Sabbath: 39:30-31: Gold crown bearing the inscription: Holiness to the Lord Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 Peter, Bible - Exodus, Theology - Ecclesiology, Worship

Good Works as Starting Glory-Fires

February 23, 2012 — Leave a comment

Please note: All the best stuff in here is cheerfully and unabashedly stolen from James Jordan.

Servant Leadership Talk for Knight’s Festival at Logos School

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Mt. 5:14-16)

Introduction
I’ve been asked to speak to you about service, being servants as Christians to and for the world. Jesus says that our good works are part of the light that we are commanded to shine before men. I want to talk to you today about light and fire and how they are related to serving others.

In the Beginning
In the beginning God created the world. Everything He made was good except for the fact that Adam was alone. That was not good. So God made the woman out of the side of Adam, and He brought the woman to help Adam and then it was all good. It is not good for man to be alone, and this is not just a statement about bachelors. This is a principle for humanity in general. Isolation is not good. God made people to live in community, to help each other, to serve each other. God made Adam out of the “adamah” which is the ground, the dirt. God made the woman out of the side of man and called her “ishah” which comes from the word for “fire.” In fact, Adam is also given a new name at the very moment that the woman is created and named. He is named “ish” which is obviously also related to the word “fire.” When the glory flame is cut out of Adam’s side, he is glorified. He is lit on fire. When he marries “ishah,” he receives a new name too. They are called “Adam” together, and the man can be called by that name. But they are called “Ish” and “Ishah” respectively. The help and companionship of the woman glorifies the man. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Exodus, Bible - Genesis, Bible - Matthew, Bible - Romans, Justice & Mercy, Lent, Pentecost, Theology - Ecclesiology, Theology - Pneumatology

The New Eve

February 8, 2012 — Leave a comment

We frequently struggle with holding corporate and individual realities and demands in balance. Salvation is described in both individual and corporate terms going back to the nation of Israel and culminating in the New Covenant in descriptions of the Church as the bride of Christ and the New Jerusalem, the city of God coming down out of heaven.

How do these realities fit together? In one sense, the individual seems to take priority: in the end, everyone will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive justice for the deeds done in the body. Since we die alone, it stands to reason that we stand before God by ones.

And yet, so often, the exhortations, the indictments, the accusations come in the form of the second person plural: the King James “ye” and the southern “ya’all”.

In Ezekiel’s prophecy, Israel is a valley full of dead men’s bones, and she must be resurrected and reborn. Nicodemus is told the same thing, and Jesus assumes he knows what this means and explains that He has come to save the whole world, holding the two realities still closely together. Evangelicals tend to emphasize the individual side of this and at best give lip service to the corporate side. Continue Reading…

In Evangelism, Grace, Pastoral Theology, Preaching, Theology - Ecclesiology

Jesus is the Sabbath

November 15, 2011 — 1 Comment

Jesus is the Christian Sabbath in flesh. In the New Covenant, Sabbath is not a particular demarcation of time so much as it is a particular way of being in the world, by being in Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Sabbath rest between the times, between the past and the future. He is the holy place, the safe place of God’s presence in the now. He keeps us safe by His Spirit from the haunting of the past and the fear of the future.

But this “holy place,” this Sabbath day, this sacred “time” — is currently manifested in the Body of Christ by the Spirit. The Church is the Sabbath of the New Covenant. This is particularly, explicitly manifested in the gathering of the Church together on the Lord’s Day to celebrate the great Memorial Feast, the Eucharist. As the saints feast together and “remember” one another and care for one another and the weak and the poor and the hungry from house to house, the Sabbath is extended and shared just as the Fourth Commandment always required.

This doesn’t do away with the wisdom of setting a day aside for this enormous task, and Jesus Himself initiates a pattern of visiting His disciples on the first day of the week following His resurrection. But the Sabbath was never meant to be kept for itself; people were not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was always for people. The Sabbath was for being the presence of Christ in this world, for remembering covenant, keeping covenant, giving life, healing, sharing, feasting. The Sabbath was made for man. Jesus is the Sabbath made flesh, and the Church is that flesh in this world, for this world, by the working of the Spirit.

In Against Christianity, Justice & Mercy, Sabbath, Theology - Ecclesiology, Theology - Sacraments

22nd Sunday in Trinity: Fourth Commandment 2

November 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

Introduction
The first half of the Ten Words are all about priorities and loyalties: No other gods, honoring God’s true images, honoring and bearing God’s name/word, and the fourth commandment requires God’s people to prioritize God’s mission of building His holy house in this world.

Sabbath is For Building God’s House
In Exodus 35, God reiterates the Sabbath command a couple of times (cf. Ex. 34:21-26), all on the heels of the golden calf episode and running right into the command to begin building the tabernacle (Ex. 32). Notice that the Sabbath command is not only repeated with severe sanctions (Ex. 35:2), but there is also a curious prohibition against having a fire in your own house on the Sabbath (Ex.35:3). The key to understanding the prohibition is with what follows. As we noted previously, the Sabbath is to be a day that is outward focused, looking to give rest to others (Ex. 20:10). Here Moses reiterates the Sabbath command and then immediately relates the Lord’s command that an offering be taken up for the construction of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:5-10). The Sabbath is for building the house of God, and therefore in the Old Covenant giving priority to your own house was considered treacherous.

The Building Materials
With Exodus 35 in mind, the beginning of Acts shows us what the new tabernacle looks like. The “house” of God was always aiming to be people, but in the New Covenant, the Spirit comes upon people making this explicitly and completely true (compare Ex. 40:34-38, 1 Kgs. 8:10-11 with Acts 2:1-4). This also explains the instinctive offerings of the first Christians (Acts 2:40-47, 4:32-37). If the Church is the new tabernacle made of people, then the community of the Church becomes the house. All that we are becomes the “materials” for building. This also adds significance to the New Testament language of being a body (Rom. 12:5, Rom. 12:12, Eph. 4:11-13). Continue Reading…

In Bible - 2 Thessalonians, Bible - Acts, Bible - Exodus, Sabbath, Sermon Outlines, Theology - Ecclesiology

Small Community = Larger World

November 9, 2011 — 1 Comment

The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world… The reason is obvious. In a large community we can choose our companions. In a small community our companions are chosen for us.

-G.K. Chesterton, cited by Tim Chester, Total Church, 113.

In Against Christianity, Church, Theology - Ecclesiology

Holiness is Practicing the Presence of God

November 8, 2011 — 1 Comment

Today the sermon is on the fourth commandment. And as we gather for worship, I want to urge you to think particularly about the requirement to make the Sabbath holy. This is related to God’s command that His people be holy, as He is holy. When Moses first meets with God, the presence of God consecrates the ground around the burning bush, making it holy ground. God’s presence is holy because God’s presence is perfectly safe. There is no shadow of turning with Him; there is no blemish, nothing harmful. But sin is a virus, a poison, nothingness breaking into God’s good creation. Sin and guilt and death are black holes that suck the goodness out of this world.

This happens both individually and corporately as a body. Individually, it can be tempting to think that sin is just like coloring outside the lines. It’s not good, but not really that bad either. It’s a mistake, a mix-up, like spilling your milk. Oops, I got drunk last night. Oops, I looked at porn again. Oops, I was really harsh and critical. But the Bible says sin is a dangerous poison that destroys. Telling lies, being stingy, holding grudges, refusing to forgive, losing your temper with your wife, speaking harshly to your children: this is like a leak in your gas line, like letting your exhaust run with the garage door closed. Most people would never dream of leaving their kids in the car under those circumstances, or staying in the house with a gas leak, but your individual sinful habits are poisonous like that.

Corporately, we fail to be a holy people in so far as we don’t uphold one another. Do we pray for one another like we ought? Do we remind one another of the promises of God? Do we encourage one another in obedience? Hold one another accountable for godly disciplines or repenting of sin? Or if we see someone slipping, see someone getting into trouble do we pull them aside and gently correct them? If someone is in a bad relationship, is hanging out with fools, wasting time with stupid movies, holiness in community means speaking up. Holiness means working together to form habits and rhythms of life that protect one another, that guard against sin for one another, that give life to one another. But if we just assume that we’re supposed to mind our own business, this is a failure of holiness.

Being holy, and being a holy people is practicing being the presence of God in this world, being the life-giving presence of God for and to one another. This isn’t presumption because we have been given the Holy Spirit. God dwells in you. His presence is with you wherever you go.

In Bible - Exodus, Exhortations, Sabbath, Theology - Ecclesiology, Theology - Pneumatology

Holiness is a Mighty Fortress

October 31, 2011 — Leave a comment

I have a Meditation for All Hallows Eve up over at Credenda.

In Church, Church Calendar, Pentecost, Theology - Ecclesiology, Theology - Pneumatology