Theology and Church
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Doctrine
Leaning too far: misunderstanding the truth about Christ and God
As Christians developed their understanding of what the Scriptures taught about the nature of Christ and the nature of God, some explanations were not quite right. Some needed more fine tuning, and some were so wrong that they destroyed the heart of the Christian faith. Many of these controversies came to a head in the fourth and fifth centuries. The Great Creeds were the church's attempt to state the scriptural teaching.
Here is a simple summary of the more famous heresies, together with some suggestions about how these beliefs can still be seen today. They are grouped under three headings:
References to books with more information are given at the end.
1. Emphasising the Humanity of Christ
1.1 Ebionism: Jesus is human but not God
This teaching developed in the second century. It is associated with a Jewish Christian group known as the “Ebionites” (from a word meaning “the poor”). It denied the divinity of Jesus and regarded him as just a human. Later more sophisticated versions of this developed (see below).
Kelly 139f Karkkainen 64
The belief that Jesus was just a human and not God in any sense is held by many outside the church, but some who claim to be Christians also hold views like this, eg Unitarians.
1.2 Adoptionism (or dynamic monarchianism): God adopted Jesus
At the end of the second century and the beginning of the third, a teaching emerged that has been called “dynamic monarchianism”, or more accurately, “adoptionism”. It states that Jesus was only a man, but a very good man. God’s Spirit or the Christ descended on him at his baptism and then he had the power to do miracles. But he was not divine (although some said that he was deified after the resurrection).
Paul of Samosata who lived in the mid third century is a famous representative of this teaching. He said the “Word” was in Jesus but denied any self-existence or personality to this Word – it was just what God commanded Jesus to say or do. The “Son” was just the church’s name for the inspired man Jesus Christ and the “Spirit” was just a way of referring to the grace given to the apostles. This teaching aimed to protect the idea that God was one. God was the Father alone who created everything. The term “monarchianism” refers to the unity of God.
Kelly 115f, 117f , 316f Karkkainen 67
The idea that Jesus was a great human who was filled with God’s Spirit or even adopted later into God’s life is attractive to those who want to emphasise the power humans have to change their lives and world. It is also attractive to those who downplay the supernatural, or who want humans to be the measure of what is right and the ones who should be in control of their lives. The Qur’an claims that Jesus was created like Adam, and that they did not kill him or crucify him, but only thought they did, and he was lifted up to God.
2. Emphasising the Divinity of Christ
2.1 Docetism: Jesus is divine but not really human
This teaching claims that Christ’s humanity and sufferings were unreal (docetism comes from a word that means “appears or seems”). It was related to Greek ideas of divine impassibility (God cannot suffer) and the impurity of matter. So Christ did not come in the flesh but only as spirit and just appeared as flesh. The sufferings on the cross were an illusion because the body was an illusion.
Kelly 141f Karkkainen 64
Modern versions of this belief occur in many forms where Christians spiritualise the Christian faith and regard the heavenly and spiritual as superior to the human and earthly. It can be seen in approaches to the Bible that see it as a divine book in a way that ignores the humanity of the human authors – where the historical and biblical contexts are ignored in favour of a direct spiritual inspiration. It can be seen in both Biblical literalism and in a spiritualising of the Bible.
2.2 Apollinarianism: Christ is divine with his human nature and mind taken up into divinity
Apollinarius of Laodicea (310-390), rejected the idea that Jesus had a human mind and will. The flesh of Jesus was joined in absolute oneness of being with the Godhead. Jesus had one nature composed of impassible divinity and passible flesh. He taught that the divine Word was substituted for the normal human psychology in Christ. The purely divine mind replaced the real human mind in Jesus. Others objected that this was virtually docetic and showed that Jesus was not a real human. If Christ lacked the human mind and will, he was not really human. This view also clashes with the gospel picture. Furthermore without a human rational soul and will the Word cannot save because that is where sin was committed.
Kelly 289 Karkkainen 73
This belief shows itself in the focus on Jesus as a person with great divine power using his human body as a kind of vehicle for his divine activity. Where the humanity of Jesus is downplayed he can be seen as a kind of supernatural super hero. And the consequence is that Christians may see themselves in the same kind of way, focussing on spiritual power or experience and treating ordinary human abilities and activities as inferior.
2.3 Nestorianism: Christ is two persons who are not really joined together
Nestorius came from Antioch but was made the Patriarch of Constantinople in 428. He probably did not hold the belief he was accused of teaching – at least not in the form of what is called Nestorianism. This teaching arose from concerns Nestorius had about the term “theotokos” (bearer of God) as it was applied to Mary. He wanted another term added to it (“anthropotokos” –human-bearing), or better in his view was “Christotokos” – Christ-bearing. He claimed that the God-head could not be carried in a woman’s womb for 9 months, or wrapped in baby clothes, or buried in a tomb. The solution was to describe Jesus Christ as being two persons joined together in a kind of moral union, not in a real union. The idea was to keep the two natures of Christ separate, so as not to say that God died or suffered (or was born).
Kelly 310, 324 Karkkainen 76
A modern form of this belief is the tendency to separate the human from the divine and to keep the divine as an experience which is separate from ordinary human experience. Christians who separate their life into spiritual and non-spiritual parts can act out this belief. It tends to keep God out of the ordinary business of life, and make more of religious experiences.
2.4 Monophysitism (or Eutychianism) Christ has one nature only: the human is absorbed in the divine
Cyril of Alexander was a strong opponent of Nestorianism and put forward what appeared to be a doctrine that Christ had only one nature. Eutyches was a monk in Constantinople (378–454), who put forward the idea that the human and divine natures of Christ which he received from Mary and his Father were merged into a single nature in which the divine absorbed the human. This was a docetic form of monophysitism, similar to Apollinarianism. (Monophysite – having one nature).
Kelly 331f, 341f Karkkainen 75
Like Apollinarianism this belief tends to downplay the human aspect of Christian life and focuses on the divine and spiritual. In reading the Bible it tends to ignore the human and historical background of the text as though it is only a spiritual message from God.
3. Protecting the Unity of God
3.1 Economic Trinitarianism: God is one, and shows himself in different aspects at different times.
Irenaeus, who lived in the second century, helped to develop an early understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. God in himself is Father of all things and is one, but contains in himself from eternity his Word and his Wisdom. In creation and redemption God manifests Word and Wisdom as Son and Spirit. “…by the very essence and nature of his being there is but one God, … according to the economy of our redemption there are both Father and Son …” [quoted by Kelly 105]. The main idea is that God is known to act as Word and Spirit in the economy of our salvation, that is in the way he carries out our salvation. This early idea of Trinity is not of three co-equal persons but of a single person, the Father who is the Godhead itself, who acts in history with his mind or rationality and his wisdom. Unlike modalism the three were real distinctions in the eternal being of the Father. Later forms of Economic Trinitarianism may be correct as descriptions of how the Triune God acts in our salvation. However on its own this view either does not do justice to the eternal relations of the three persons in the Godhead, or confuses the intrinsic relations with the economic actions of the Trinity.
Kelly 108f
The sophisticated and controversial aspect of this concerns whether Christ was subordinate to his Father only while he was on earth, or whether the Son was eternally subordinate to the Father (ie whether the economic Trinity is also the ontological Trinity). Some extend this principle of subordination to human relations in marriage and the church. The more popular versions are probably modalistic (see below).
3.2 Modalism (or Modalistic monarchianism, or Sabellianism) God is one and expresses himself in different operations
This teaching tried to hold together the oneness of God and the divinity of Christ. It taught that the Word or Son was not a distinct person from, or other than, the Father. Early versions of the teaching accepted the idea of patripassianism (ie that the Father suffered on the cross. The theory is that if Christ was God he must be identical with the Father).
In the third century Sabellius developed a more sophisticated version. He said that the Godhead was a monad that expressed itself in three operations (he used the analogy of the sun that radiates warmth and light). The Father was the form or essence and the Son and Spirit were modes of self-expression. The one Godhead was the Father. For redemption the Godhead was projected like a ray of the sun and then withdrawn. Then later the same Godhead operated as Spirit.
An important problem was how could different members of the Trinity appear at the same time in the act of salvation if they are merely different names for the one being?
Kelly 119f, Karkkainen 68
This is a common attempt to make sense of the Trinity while maintaining the unity of God. There are different versions. Some describe the different persons of the Trinity as the one God acting under different forms or names in different eras. Others think of the persons of the Trinity as attributes or characteristics of God not as self existing persons within the Godhead.
3.3 Arianism: The Son is not God
In the early fourth century Arius, from Alexandria, developed ideas that were already being discussed concerning the absolute uniqueness and transcendence of God. He and others said that since God was indivisible the being or essence of the Godhead could not be shared or communicated. So everything else must have come to exist by an act of creation out of nothing. God is God the Father. The Son is the one God used for creation etc. Titles such as Son of God were courtesy titles only. Therefore (according to Kelly p227f),
1. The Son must be a creature whom the Father formed out of nothing.
2. As a creature the Son must have had a beginning
3. The Son can have no communion with and no direct knowledge of his Father.
4. The Son must be liable to change and even to sin.
Kelly 226f, 236f
The sophisticated version of this is seen in the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is seen also in beliefs about Jesus that regard him as a supernaturally endowed or even divine person but not the same kind of being as God, or that see the Father as superior to the Son.
References
JND Kelly Early Christian Doctrines 5th Revised Edition 1977 Continuum Publishers ISBN 0826452523
Velli-Matti Karkkainen Christology: A Global Introduction 2003 Baker Academic ISBN 0801026210
Dale Appleby 2007
- Details
- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Doctrine
Predestination and Election
Are we free agents in our salvation? Is it up to us on our own to respond to the gospel and be saved? Or does God have a hand in it? If we think that God is involved in our response to the gospel in what sense can we be responding freely of our own accord?
These kind of questions are asked when we think we are, or should be, free agents. But another set of questions might ask how it is that anyone will be saved. How is it likely that humans with such obstinate wills would ever submit themselves to Jesus' rule, and benefit from his death for them?
The fact is that God chooses some people to be saved. He predestines them to be like Jesus. He does this because otherwise no one would turn to him. He does it because he is gracious and kind. He does it because he is the sovereign Lord of all who organises his world the way he wants it to be. He does it in such a way that people are freed to respond to his gospel and not reject it.
As we look first at the biblical evidence some definitions may help.
Predestination describes what God has decided in advance to do for his people. It is about the destiny that God has prepared for those who love him. It implies that God has planned an outcome before the creation of the world. This destiny is to be understood within the wider context of God's eternal plan for his creation.
Election is the act of choice whereby God chooses an individual or group for a purpose or destiny which he decides. In the Bible God's election is sovereign, gracious and eternal. It is not dependent on human response or faith.
1. PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION IN THE BIBLE
The Bible gives us an amazing and wonderful picture of God's gracious involvement in our salvation. The salvation is described as a destiny God has prepared for us in advance. The destiny is to be God's sons and daughters, to be made like Jesus and to be glorified. God makes sure we enjoy this destiny by graciously choosing us to be part of it and then calling us through the gospel so that we are justified by faith. All this is due to God' s mercy.
1.1 The Old Testament
1.1.1 God's Purposes
As we read the Old Testament there is no doubt that God has a plan and a purpose for what he has made. God governs human history to bring about his purposes for humankind. He doesn't let it go on its own way without his involvement. He is the God who involves himself in the affairs of people (Deut 4.32-40; 2 Kings 19.25; Is 22.11). He does this to accomplish his own sovereign purposes.
As God carries out his purpose he chooses certain people to be the object and instrument of his gracious design. For example Abraham and his seed will be blessed and will be a blessing to the world (Gen 12.1-3). God chooses some and not others and ordains them for particular tasks and destinies. e.g. Isaac (not Ishmael, Gen 17.17-22); Jacob (not Esau, Gen 25.21-23); Judah (not his brothers, Gen 49.8-12). Some of these choices have far-reaching implications - they are election to life with God (Rom 9.1-5). They are chosen to fulfil God's purposes not their own.
1.1.2 Election
The choice of Israel in the Old Testament is based on God's mercy and love, not on anything in them.
"The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt." Deut 7.7-8. (See also Deut 7.6-11; 9.4-6; 10.14,15; 14.2; 32.8,9; Is 41.8,9).
God was free in his election. He was not restricted to an equal division of grace - its very inequality proving it to be gracious.
"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Ex 33.19
1.2 The New Testament
1.2.1 God's Plan
In the New Testament God's plan comes to its fulfilment in Christ. It is a plan which is to include Jew and Gentile alike (Eph 1.3-10; 3.3-11), and in which they are to be adopted as God's sons (Rom.8.29). It is no longer just Israel that God is concerned with, but people from all nations and tribes.
1.2.2 God's Election
Israel as God's elect
The New Testament assumes the view of the Old Testament that Israel is God's elect people. Sometimes we misread the New Testament as though it was referring to Christians without distinction, but some passages are referring to Christian Jews, or to Old Testament Israel (see Rom 9.11; 11.7,28; Ac 13.17).
Jesus as God's Chosen One
Jesus is spoken of as God's chosen one at his transfiguration (Lk 9.35; see also 1 Pet 2.4). In a sense he is elect Israel at that point, the faithful remnant who will bring about salvation for his people. Christians are elect "in him".
Jesus The Chooser
That Jesus himself took the initiative in calling his disciples is clear.
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last." John 15:16. (See also Jn 6.70; 13.18; 15.19).
The Father Draws
It is also clear that Jesus saw his Father as the prime mover in people coming to believe in him.
"No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44 (See also Jn 6.37,39,45; 17.2,9).
God Chooses
Luke has a clear idea of God's role in bringing people to believe.
"... and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers." Acts 13:48, NRSV (see also Ac 2.47; 11.18; 16.14).
He sees God's action as the means and cause of people coming to faith in Christ. Another way to think of this is that salvation is due to the grace of God (see Ac 11.21-23; 14.27; 15.7-9; 18.27).
Paul also is convinced about God's role in election, both for Israel (Rom 9.11; 11.5,7,28) and for those who believe in Jesus (Rom 8.33; 1 Cor 1.26-29; Eph 1.4; 1 Thess 1.4; 2Thess 2.13,14; 2Tim 1.9).
Christians as God's Elect
There are numerous passages which refer to Christians as God's elect.
"Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." 2 Tim 2:10, NIV. (See also Matt 24.22,24,31; Mk 13.20; Col 3.12; Tit 1.1; 1 Peter 1:2; 2.8,9; 2 Pet 1.10; Rev 17.14).
1.2.3 God's Predestination
God's choice is with a view to a particular destiny. This is described in slightly different ways.
"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." Romans 8:29,30, NIV.
"No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began." 1 Corinthians 2:7, NIV.
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:4-12, NIV.
The destiny God has for us is to be one of his sons and to be like his Son. It is also connected with being glorified.
2. THE NEED FOR GOD'S PREDESTINATION & ELECTION
But why does God have to get involved like this? Why does he have to choose anyone and predestine them to eternal life?
The need for God to predestine some to eternal life, to choose them and call them, is seen when we grasp clearly the nature of human sin. Human nature is biased towards sin; we have a rebellious heart; our inclination is away from God. There is no tendency that leads us to have faith in him.
If God left us to our own wills, no one would be saved because no-one would want to be. Some ask why God chose the Jews in Old Testament days. We might well ask - what would it be like if he had chosen no one? If the world had continued as it was in Abram's day. Would any one be in a saving personal relationship with the living God now? Quite unlikely. Outside God's covenant people the truth is too suppressed to lead people to salvation.
That is why God has to take a hand in our response. Jesus spoke about being born from above or born again (Jn 3.1-15), about children born of God (Jn 1.13). God graciously chooses some so that there will be people in heaven. It is another way of describing how God overcomes our unwillingness.
This is a very fundamental idea. If we see humans as being in a neutral state and predestination to be a matter of God moving them to the good or bad corner then we have misunderstood the Bible. Humans began in the good corner, moved to the bad corner by their own choice and don't want to leave it. Predestination and election describes how God rescues some from that state and brings them to the good corner.
There is a mistaken view of human willingness and ability to respond to God which thinks that people have it in themselves to believe and obey God. (Sometimes this view is called Arminianism.) But this view fails to take account of the sinfulness of human nature. Salvation, justification, conversion etc. are seen in the Bible to be a divine miracle from beginning to end. (See Matt 16.17; Jn 1.9-13; Rom 8.7,8; Eph 2.1-10; Phil 1 .6; 2.13.)
3. THE BASIS OF PREDESTINATION & ELECTION
3.1 Why does God choose some and not others? What explains his choice? God's will is the only explanation. The plan and purpose of God finds its cause solely in God himself. It is caused neither by our worth or our need. He loves us because he loves us. He chose us because that was his will and his good purpose.
3.2 This shows us that predestination and election arises from the mercy and grace of God. We are not saved because of what we do, only because of God's grace. He does not save us because of our faith or our worth. He does not repay a debt - a debt which can never be due. Unconditional election is based on God's grace and demonstrates his mercy as the absolute cause of our salvation.
3.3 God's plan of predestination and election was formulated before the foundation of the world (Eph 1.4,5). That means it had no regard to our worth or otherwise. Human goodness or need is not a basis of predestination. Human worth is a result of it. He chose us to be holy and blameless. He didn't choose us because he knew we would be holy and blameless, but so that we would be like that. His plan is formed in eternity. It is an eternal plan. It is absolute and unconditional (Rom 9.11).
4. THE PURPOSE OF PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION
4.1 God's overall purpose is to unite all things in heaven and earth with Christ as head (Eph 1.10).
4.2 His purpose in predestination and election from our point of view is to make us his sons (Eph 1.5); for us to be holy (Eph.1.4); to conform us to the image of his Son (Rom 8.29); to confound human wisdom and pride (1 Cor 1.26-29); to save us (2Thess 2.13); for obedience (1Pet 1.2); for justification (1Pet 1.2); to declare God's glory (Eph 1.11,12; 1 Pet 2 .9).
4.3 From God's point of view, predestination and election has the purpose of promoting his glory and exalting his grace (Eph 1.6,11,12, 14).
5. STAGES IN GOD'S PLAN
Paul in Rom 8.28-30 outlines five stages in God's plan of salvation: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification.
foreknowledge. Generally in the Bible "know" means to take note of, to relate to. To foreknow means to establish a relationship in advance of the time it is experienced. It has the idea of "foreloved" (Rom 11.2). But the sense is that what is known about a person has no bearing on the plan: the emphasis is that God has always known us, regarded us, set his eye on us. The emphasis is on the knower and the relationship he makes with the one he knows. It is not knowledge about, but knowledge of - i.e. a relationship. It doesn't mean that God knew in advance what we would be like; it means that God established a relationship with us before we were born. He loved us in advance.
predestined: he gave us the destiny of being conformed to the likeness of his Son.
called: through the gospel (2Thess 2.13,14) in order to fulfil his purposes (Rom 8.28). This calling is effective because the Holy Spirit sets us free to hear and obey the gospel (Rom 8.1-4). God shines his light into our hearts so we are able to see his glory in the gospel (2 Cor 4.3-6). Only by the work of the Holy Spirit can we be freed to respond to the gospel.
justified: by grace (Rom 3.24), by blood (Rom 5.1), by faith (Rom 5.9).
Since calling and justification are things we know now, they are evidence of God's predestination. So if you have been called and justified that is sufficient evidence that God has predestined and chosen you to be his child. The opposite is not necessarily true, since there is still time for a person to come to repentance and faith. The emphasis is on the positive aspect of what has been done.
glorified: that is we share the glory of God (1Cor 2.7; 2 Cor 3.18).
Rom 8.29,30 is a glorious unbreakable chain wrought by God himself, to achieve the complete fulfilment of his purposes for humankind.
6. PREDESTINATION AND ASSURANCE
Since our salvation originates in God's eternal and gracious purposes, we are confident that God will complete what he began.
6.1 Jesus said as much himself.
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."" John 10:27-30, NIV.
Salvation is altogether by grace and therefore God is as likely to complete it as he was to begin it. We depend on him and he says he is reliable and will not let us go. It is in this promise that we trust. Our salvation is not dependent on our faith but on God's mercy.
6.2 Romans 8 is the great passage.
v1 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,"
v28-30. The unbreakable chain - God's plan and call are sure.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."
v31-39. Here is the absolute assurance of God's power and trustworthiness. God is for us; God didn't spare his own Son; we are God's elect. It is God who justifies; Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ is exalted and intercedes for us; Christ loves us; nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is the great conclusion of the doctrine of predestination and election. It is a doctrine of grace and mercy. It tells how rebellious sinners are brought back and adopted as God's children; it tells that God did this by a sure and eternal plan - in which he predestined certain people to be his people. He chose them to be in Christ, to be like him and to share his glory and riches. It tells the reason why there are any people loving God now; and it exalts and declares the wonderful grace of God, because it shows that salvation is entirely and absolutely the result of free, unconditional grace.
7. THE BIG QUESTIONS
7.1 Predestination to Death?
Does a doctrine of predestination to life imply a predestination to condemnation? We need to be careful in defining this question.
7.1.1 God did not predestine Adam to sin in the first place.
7.1.2 That Adam's descendants share his guilt and his now corrupted nature is part of the just judgement of God, but is not predestination as the Bible sees it. We are not predestined to corruption. Corruption is a judgement on sin.
7.1.3 The children of Adam are by nature, children of wrath (Eph 2.3); vessels of wrath (Rom 9.22), their end is destruction. That is their destiny from Adam's time on, unless God saves them. It is a just judgement. But it is not predestination. They are still invited and commanded to respond to the gospel; salvation is still offered to them, they are still objects of God's love.
7.1.4 So it is not a question of a predestination to be sinners.
7.1.5 It is a question of whether God predestines them to remain sinners (i.e. to stay in the bad corner). The Bible states that God does allow people to remain sinners, he gives them up to their sin (Rom 1.24,26). This is seen as a just judgement, but it is not spoken of as predestination. Furthermore God still makes himself known to them and sends the gospel to them.
7.1.6 Here we are at the point where logic wants to take over: "If he hasn't chosen some to life, he must have chosen them to death." That may be logical but it is not the way the Bible says it. The Bible says God condemns the sinner to death. But this is a just judgement. It is in line with the sinner's will, and with God's justice. Already by their own wilful choice, humans have destined themselves to condemnation. They are already in that state. Predestination and election deal with how God gets them out of that predicament. Predestination is not a form of determinism.
7.1.7 The difficult verses in Rom 9.10-24. To study this passage in depth see the commentaries; but we can point out:
1) God's purpose of election is the main thing (11)
2) Is God unjust? (v14) - no he has mercy as he wills (since no one deserves it).
3) Why does he find fault (v19)? - God does what is right and is not to be limited by the ideas of his creatures. The difference between the vessels (v22, 23) is God's mercy, not their works.
7.2 Is Foreknowledge of Faith the Reason for God's Predestination & Election?
The Arminian says that predestination is only the consequence of belief. "He who believes will be saved". That is, we are predestined to salvation as a consequence of God knowing we would believe. But foreknowledge is not knowledge about what we will be like, but rather knowledge in advance of what God will do, based on what he has already done - i.e. established a relationship with us. Election is not because of works (Rom 9.11, Eph 1.4). It is not because of our worth. Rather our works and worth are the result of predestination. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10, NIV. (See also Eph 1.4,5).
7.3 Is It Fair That God Chooses Some and Not Others?
7.3.1 Election is not connected with fairness or justice. It is connected with mercy. What is connected with fairness and justice is judgement.
7.3.2 God has always dealt with people unequally. This diversity shows the unsearchable depth of the divine mercy and judgement.
7.3.3 Why doesn't God choose all people? We are not told the answer to this question. But we know that God is under no obligation to treat people equally. God does not owe anything to humans. Nevertheless he always acts rightly and justly.
7.3.4 In Rom 9.6-13 Paul sets himself to prove that there is nothing in the promise made to Abraham which bound God to allow all Abraham's descendants to inherit the promises (i.e. Isaac is chosen, not Ishmael; Jacob, not Esau). Inheritance comes by election, not necessarily by natural descent. God's choice is also shown to be independent of human merit. Notice in this case that the purpose of the election is to bring about the salvation of Gentiles as well as Jews.
7.3.5 The main point is that we don't know all the mysteries of God's will.
But
- we must trust God to be righteous.
- no one will be in hell except by their own choice.
- no one will be in heaven except by God's gracious choice.
7.4 Does Belief in Predestination and Election inhibit Evangelism?
On the contrary, I believe it strengthens our motivation towards evangelism. Our confidence is in God who always fulfils his purposes. We know that it is through the preaching of the gospel that God calls people to himself, thus we know there will be positive responses to our evangelism. It also frees us from the anxiety and the resort to complicated techniques that occurs when we think it all depends on us.
7.5 Does Belief in Predestination Lead to Laziness?
No! Just as God calls us to repentance, so he leads us through sanctification. God has prepared good works for us to do. That is as much a part of his purpose as the call to repentance. In Rom 12.1, Paul appeals to the Romans to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. The ground of his appeal is the mercy of God. Because God has shown us his love and mercy we ought to live for hi
Of Predestination and Election.
Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us , to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely; they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
From Article XVII of the 39 Articles of Religion of the Anglican Church. A Prayer Book for Australia p479.
Dale Appleby 2008
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Death and Resurrection of Christ
The End of Death (Genesis 1-3 1 Corinthians 15)
[This sermon is also available in MP3 format here.]
I want to ask a question about one of the things that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.13-14.
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain." NRSV
What is so important about the resurrection that without it the message is useless or vain? Why is it, that if the resurrection did not happen, the gospel is of no use whatsoever? Why is the resurrection the central thing?
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Evangelism and Mission
Growing Churches & Multiplying Disciples in the Mega-City: Are we up to it?
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"Growing Churches & Multiplying Disciples in the Mega-City" is available as a downloadable pdf file, ready to be printed as a small booklet. Click here to view, right click to save to your computer |
One of the questions I have often pondered is how the church can grow in a mega-city? There are plenty of people for sure. In some ways the modern city is like the first city of refuge, Babel, in that it is a place where people congregate for their security and livelihood. But mega-cities are at the same time scattered places. Distance, the tyranny of traffic, the isolation of high rise apartments, and the ubiquitous security defences tend to separate rather then bring people together.
How could the church grow in such an environment? With difficulty, is the short answer. The external and internal constraints are great. But before I get too far ahead of myself, some will ask why does the church need to grow? And which church are we talking about?
Read more: Growing Churches & Multiplying Disciples in the Mega-City
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- Category: Advent Christmas Epiphany
The Astonished Heavens
“The creation is craning forward just to get a glimpse…”
Reflections on Christmas Themes
by
Dale Appleby
"The Astonished Heavens" is available as a downloadable pdf file, ready to be printed as a small booklet.
Click here to view, right click to save to your computer
Contents
Fame in Heaven 4
The Star 6
Peace on Earth? 8
Suitable only for … 10
Seeing the Light 12
A Dangerous Secret? 13
What Profit? 15
Call him Jesus – but who is he? 17
Call him Jesus – and 19
Foolish Questions? 21
The Nativity Story 23
What kind of excitement? 25
The Hijacking of History 27
The Noisy Secret 29
Why not? 31
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Advent Christmas Epiphany
Shocking Christmas
This sermon is also available in MP3 format here.
Christmas is quite shocking. At least the big event at the heart of Christmas is. It is like the good shock we get when a very important person visits our home unexpectedly. We may wish later that the place had been cleaned, or that we had said at least something that was intelligent, but as we recover from the shock we feel pleased that we were honoured by their visit - even if we are not quite sure why they came.
We could feel like that about the birth of Jesus, because this is the creator of everything coming to visit and live with his creatures. Presumably he thinks this is important. Or he thinks we are important. Or we could think we were important because of his visit. All of that is true. But why?
Why did the Son of God want to, need to, take on human life, become a human being while still remaining God? And here is a different kind of shock. It was not that God needed to do something but that we needed him to do something. He saw that we had a problem that is focussed on death.
Heb 2.14-15 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
We see the answer to why he became human by observing what he did with the humanity he took to himself. Did he turn it into something glorious and noble, did he become the epitome of the legendary great human? Quite the opposite: as a human he seemed very ordinary and weak.
Phil 2.7,8 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross.
The great shock is that he took the humanity to death. He killed it off. He took on humanity in order to put it to death.
Heb 2.17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.
Gal 4.4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
To redeem humanity, to bring it back because of its sin, its rebellion, its turn-your-back-on-God and treat-him-like-a-servant attitude. Because it not only deserved death as Adam was told, but needed it.
Rom 8.3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh
Which doesn't paint humans in a very good light. But then God is not a painter, he is a creator. His interest is not in renovating humans, or giving them a make-over, but in recreating them.
The greatness of the shock of bringing Jesus' humanity to death is deepened when we see what God did next. He raised it from death. He didn't leave the humanity in the grave as though he was finally rid of it. He raised it to a new life.
1 Cor 15.21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
The raised Jesus is the human divine Jesus who was killed. He took the humanity of Adam to death, and through death to a new life which is now directly connected with Christ rather than Adam. A new start has been made, a new humanity created out of the old. The shock is that God intends that humans should live in an entirely different way. The new life for humans is directly connected with the life of Christ. Who is no longer on the earth.
Eph 1.20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come
It is still the same human and divine Christ who is now seated in the highest place. The humanity has not been left behind. The shocking fact that he has taken humanity to the throne of God gives a clue to God's intention for us.
Eph 2.6,7 God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
But how shall we enjoy this new life? It is not a life given to us independent of Jesus. It is not ours to do with as we like. It is the life of God as we know it in our relationship with Christ.
Col 3.2-4 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
So many shocks. That God sets such value on us that he goes to such great lengths to bless us in this way. And also that he declares that we do not deserve this life but that we have forfeited what he gave us in the first place. In fact that we live under the shadow of death - a death promised by God in the beginning. But it is through death (the death of the New Human) that God does away with the judgment that hangs over us, and also brings to an end the old corrupted humanity and from it raises up a new human, united with himself in Christ.
Such a wonder. That humans who were once made as the image of God, should in the end share the likeness of God's only Son.
1 John 3.2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
Why did God the Son take human flesh? Why did he want to become a human? Why did the Father send his only Son into the world?
1 John 4. 9,10 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
So? These are the kind of shocks applied to someone whose heart has stopped beating. Do you, will you live for this God who loved you so much? The new life is directly connected with Christ himself.
2 Corinthians 5:14,15 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
1 John 4. 11,12 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Dale Appleby
Christmas Day 2005
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- Category: Advent Christmas Epiphany
The Enigma of Jesus' Baptism
Psalm 2; Isaiah 42.1-7; Mark 1.4-11
Was Jesus' baptism significant for him? A pivotal event? Or just play acting for the benefit of the crowd? Why did a sinless person (if he was sinless) need to be baptised?
Crowds come out to John to be baptised, they confess their sins asking for forgiveness. In the crowd is a visitor from Galilee. He too is baptised. Outwardly he is just one of the crowd. No one observes anything special about his baptism. But he does.
Private Vision
Jesus has a private vision. He sees heaven split open and the Spirit descending on him - in a gentle anointing - like a dove. And he hears a voice speaking to him.
Of what benefit was this vision? If he was the Son of God why did he need the Spirit to come on him, and why did he need God to tell him he was his Son? Of course as we read the story we remember promises made in the Old Testament (eg Ps 2, Is 42) about the coming servant or child who would be anointed with the Spirit of God and save his people.
Trinity Vision?
But this vision, while it affirms those promises, may be much more profound than that. Because this looks more like a private conversation between the persons of the Triune God. It is as though the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are working together in the ministry Jesus is beginning.
One of the frustrating things for us is the lack of explanation for this vision. How do we know it happened? Presumably because Jesus reported it to his disciples later. But why did he not explain what it meant? Why did they not ask him more questions about it? The report of the vision, at this stage of the Mark's gospel, is an enigma.
An Enigma?
But although it is a puzzle, it does tell us quite a lot. It reveals to us things we had no way of knowing otherwise. It shows that something was being coordinated within the Trinity. More than that it shows us the relationships between Father and Son and between Spirit and Son. There is no possibility of us knowing such relationships exist unless the Son tells us. We are given a glimpse into not just the fact of the relationships but to the nature of them.
And as we listen to the report of this vision we get a glimpse of an extraordinary cooperative work in which the Father and Spirit are involved in the work of the Son. Later theologians tried to put into words the nature of this relationship. One of their attempts is the Nicene Creed which we use in church. As they discussed this in the next few centuries some, helped by John's gospel, came to the awareness that the unity of God was such that whatever the Son did was what the Father was doing. That what the Spirit did was done in and through the Son, that the works of the Father were the deeds of the Son.
This vision gives us a glimpse into that united working. It is appropriate at the beginning of Jesus' ministry that the Father, the Spirit and the Son are all seen to be cooperatively involved in what the Son is about to do.
A Sinner?
But what is he doing? And did he confess his sins like all the others who were baptised by John? Mark is silent on the question. But a big clue to the answer lies in the very next event. The Spirit sends Jesus out into the wilderness for forty days to be tested by Satan. That is a good test. And although Mark does not tell us the outcome, we know Jesus resisted the temptations.
So perhaps we can assume Jesus had no sins to confess. But if so why be baptised? I suppose we can see Jesus wishing to join into John's movement. To align himself with John's preaching, to associate himself with the repentant sinners who were looking for forgiveness.
It is possible to read this story and say that there is not explanation of it, no answer to our questions about what it meant and why it happened. But it is also possible that the explanation is quite lengthy, that it requires certain other things to happen, and other information to be provided before it is possible to explain it. Perhaps the rest of Mark's gospel is the explanation. And the questions which are left hanging enigmatically in the air at the beginning are answered by the end.
The Heart
Because this baptism is not only pivotal for Jesus, it represents the heart of his mission. Later (10.38) he will ask two of his ambitious disciples whether they can be baptised with the baptism he is to be baptised with. He is referring not to this baptism but to his death. And yet there is a connection. As he has followed the crowds down into the Jordan, so later he will take them and their sins down into waters of death. And trust the Father to raise them up again with him.
By the end of the gospel it will be much clearer that John's baptism was able to offer forgiveness to sinners because Jesus offered his life as a ransom for them. At the beginning he is connecting himself with both the message and the symbol of his mission.
And at the beginning the Father, the Spirit, and the Son are all seen to be involved in the mission, because this is a mission of the Triune God. It is not a solo effort by Jesus. What Jesus does is the work of the Father. The deeds of God are done by the Spirit in and through Jesus.
There was no play acting here. Rather we are given a profound glimpse into the cooperative work of the Almighty God in making it possible for repentant sinners to be forgiven.
Worth being thankful for!
Dale Appleby