MENU

Theology
Category

On April 27, 2023 By In Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

Cross Wisdom

“If God is all-powerful and all-good, how is the existence of evil possible? Either God is not all-powerful and, therefore, can do nothing about the evil, or if God is all-powerful, then he is not all-good.” This has been the “gotcha” question for many unbelievers through the centuries. There are answers to this question, but unbelievers who ask this are rarely satisfied with them. The issue is not so much a “purely theological” or “purely philosophical” dilemma. The issue is personal and moral as much as it is dogmatic. If I were to believe in a god, he must be a god who is all-powerful and uses that power to allow me to live my life without negative consequences. I want a god who frees me from all suffering no matter how I live. Some unbelievers may be more sympathetic to the sufferings of others, angry with the God they don’t believe in because he allows innocent people to suffer horribly. If they were God, they would arrange the events of history much differently.

What is God’s answer to this wisdom? The cross. The all-powerful and all-good God who created and sustains the world took on the flesh of man in the Person of his Son to absorb his own wrath against the sin of man and reconcile the world to himself.

Who in his right mind would believe such a message? This is insanity! An all-powerful, all-good God would find ways to avoid pain for himself and me. The word of the cross is a stumbling block to the postmodernist and foolishness to the modernist.

The rebuttals against the cross reveal not that God exists as an eternal dilemma but that unbelievers are insane. Those who scoff at the message of the cross are reality deniers. God is the Creator and sustainer of reality, and if our thoughts don’t align with his, then we are the ones with backward thinking.

Paul engages this battle of wisdom with the Corinthians in his opening salvo in his first letter. God reveals his wisdom in the cross of Christ. Period. To understand this wisdom, you must submit your mind and heart to God’s wisdom. No worldly wisdom will reason itself to God. The world cannot know God through its own wisdom (1Cor 1.21). We mistakenly believe that if man is educated adequately, he will be convinced. Think about it. No one can actually believe that the existence of logic, the ability to communicate coherently, and love can come from utter randomness. That is insanity. People must be able to understand that. Right? Nope. They refuse to see it, and you can’t convince them if they are committed to worldly wisdom. To people such as this, the cross will never make sense.

“But what about those philosophers who reason their way up to a higher power?” Paul would answer, “Did that higher power die on the cross for you? If not, it is an idol and no god at all.” “What about the scientists who give proof of an intelligent designer?” Well, they might have some good things to say, but is this intelligent designer the one who dies on a cross? If he is not, he is an idol. “What about the religious professional who believes that we are all going to the same god, just climbing up different sides of the mountain?” Well, there are serious conflicts between all of these various stories. The crux of the conflict is that all other religions of the world don’t have a God of the cross. “What about the person who believes in spirituality?” If his spirituality doesn’t include the fact that the Spirit proceeds from a crucified God, then his spirituality is worldly wisdom and futile. He still doesn’t understand the world because he refuses to submit to the wisdom of God.

Why does the cross make sense? Paul answers that question when he says, “It pleased God” to use this “moronic” proclamation of the cross to save those who believe (1Cor 1.21). God determined in himself that the cross is the way the world is put in order and moves toward its purpose. Whether or not the cross satisfies the wisdom of man doesn’t matter. Man doesn’t get a vote. His opinion and pleasure don’t determine the purpose of creation, especially since he is a part of it and has his purpose defined by his Creator.

Therefore, man’s fundamental calling is to submit to the wisdom of God by embracing the message of the cross and then living out this cruciform wisdom. Cruciform wisdom patterns its life according to the self-giving love revealed by God through the cross. Worldly wisdom trains you to look out for yourself, using and stepping on people to exalt yourself. Cruciform teaches you that exaltation comes through humbling yourself and serving others. Worldly wisdom trains you to indulge yourself in the name of liberty. Cruciform wisdom teaches you to deny your impulses for the joy set before you. Worldly wisdom teaches you to take vengeance on others, holding on to bitterness and unforgiveness until your sense of justice is satisfied. Cruciform wisdom teaches you to forgive even as God has forgiven you for Christ’s sake.

The world will think you are crazy, but you are the sane one.

Read more

On April 24, 2023 By In Theology

Eastern Orthodoxy: Probing an Audacious Claim. And Finding It Wanting.

Let us not forget that the divide between Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism is wide and perilous. The Eastern church boldly claims that it is the one true Church, and that those (like us) who worship outside its bounds have never received the Lord’s Supper, hold to manifold heresies, are born of schism, and can have no assurance of salvation.

It ought not, therefore, be thought that our differences are trifle, or are peripheral in nature, or merely matters of liturgical taste. It is true that some modern Orthodox thinkers leave room for the possibility of salvation outside the Eastern Church, but nothing definitive can be said. Orthodoxy has spoken fairly clearly over the centuries. There is no salvation outside the Church.

Wrestling with such claims of exclusivity has troubled me mightily over the years. I well remember the anxiety and inner turmoil I felt while exploring Roman Catholicism as a young Christian. The sense of authority on offer, their interest in things ancient, the finely chiseled doctrine, the vast number of adherents—these all pressed upon me a deep sense of epistemological uncertainty, causing not a few dark nights of the soul.

I could wish that Eastern Orthodoxy didn’t make such bold claims, but they do; and given what I have experienced in recent years, my guess is that many of you reading this know of friends or family who have headed East.

Enter Father Josiah Trenham.

(more…)

Read more

On April 20, 2023 By In Culture, Family and Children, Theology, Wisdom

The Glory & Shame of Family

God made man glorious and destined him for greater glory. Between these glories, he would move from glory to glory incrementally. Man’s glory is wrapped up in his calling to take dominion over the world. To obtain that glorious state of rule over the creation, man must become better than he is and more than he is. With this, his responsibility grows, and he becomes weightier.

Fundamental to this progressive glorification is the family. God initially made man more than he was by creating the woman and making her one flesh with him, adding to the man. Future children born from this relationship will continue to add glory, making man more than he was, better than he was, and expanding his rule over the earth.

(more…)

Read more

On April 13, 2023 By In Counseling/Piety, Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

Faith & Shame

“For we walk by faith and not by sight.” So says the apostle Paul in 2Corinthians 5.7. Paul is, of course, dealing with a particular issue in that context, but this statement is a general principle of the Christian faith that he is applying. Paul is laying down the way Christians must walk in every area of life: by faith. Faith is relying upon what God says and having your thoughts, actions, and affections shaped according to his word. Faith is thinking Christianly.

Learning this way of life is a struggle. We have enemies within and without. Our own sin and our own word of authority fight submission to what God says. We hear the voices of the world echoing the words of the devil, “Has God really said?” God’s authority is challenged in our lives at every turn. We are tempted not to listen to him and exalt our own word or the words of others above his, conforming our lives to those words.

(more…)

Read more

On April 9, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Wisdom: By Me Kings Reign

“By me kings reign.” ~Wisdom

Proverbs 8.15

In his resurrection, Jesus is declared to be the “Son of God with power” (Rom 1.4). Whenever we hear of Jesus being the Son of God, our minds might immediately race to claims of divinity. Though Jesus is the incarnation of the eternal Son, that is not exactly what Paul is talking about. The “son of God” title has a long and storied history among men. Adam is the son of God (Lk 3.38). Israel is God’s son, his firstborn (Ex 4.22, 23). David’s son is God’s son (2Sm 7.14; 1Chr 17.11-14). All of these mortals rightfully claimed the title “son of God.”

There are many layers of meaning to the title. One of those layers speaks of being a king. Adam was the original king of creation, having been given dominion over everything on earth (Gen 1.28). This kingship passed through Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob became Israel, the man, and then Israel, the nation. Israel came to be embodied in the king of Israel, David’s son. The Father promised David’s son that he would inherit the nations, ruling them with a rod of iron (Pss 2; 110).

(more…)

Read more

On April 8, 2023 By In Theology

What is Holy Saturday (Blessed Sabbath)?

The Passion Week provides vast theological emotions for the people of God. Palm Sunday commences with the entrance of a divine King riding on a donkey. He comes in ancient royal transportation. That royal procession concludes with a Crucified Messiah exalted on a tree.

The Church also celebrates Maundy Thursday as our Messiah’s commandment to love one another just as He loved us. We then proceed to sing of the anguish of that Good Friday as our blessed Lord is humiliated by soldiers and scolded by the unsavory words of the religious leaders of the day. As he walks to the Mount his pain testifies to Paul’s words that he suffered even to the point of death. But hidden in this glaringly distasteful mixture of blood, vinegar, and bruised flesh is the calmness of the day after our Lord’s crucifixion.

After fulfilling the great Davidic promise in Psalm 22, our Lord rests from his labors in the tomb. Whatever may have happened in those days prior to his resurrection, we know that Christ’s work was finished.

The Church calls this day Blessed Sabbath or more commonly Holy Saturday. On this day our Lord reposed (rested) from his accomplishments. Many throughout history also believe that Holy Saturday is a fulfillment of Moses’ words:

God blessed the seventh day. This is the blessed Sabbath. This is the day of rest, on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works . . .(Gen. 2:2)

The Church links this day with the creation account. On day seven Yahweh rested and enjoyed the fruit of his creation. Jesus Christ also rested in the rest given to him by the Father and enjoyed the fruits of the New Creation he began to establish and would be brought to light on the next day.

As Alexander Schmemann observed:

Now Christ, the Son of God through whom all things were created, has come to restore man to communion with God. He thereby completes creation. All things are again as they should be. His mission is consummated. On the Blessed Sabbath He rests from all His works.

Holy Saturday is a day of rest for God’s people; a foretaste of the true Rest that comes in the Risen Christ. The calmness of Holy Saturday makes room for the explosion of Easter Sunday. On this day, we remember that that darkness of the grave and the resting of the Son was only temporary for when a New Creation bursts into the scene the risen Lord of glory cannot contain his joy, and so he gives it to us.<>vzlomannyeзачем нужно наполнение ов статьями

Read more

On April 8, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Holy Saturday: Wisdom’s Patience

Some situations must be endured. There are no quick fixes, easy outs, or immediate relief. From the common cold to grieving the loss of a loved one, there is no speeding up the process. There is only patience and hope.

Jesus was born with the promise of being exalted to be Lord of all, but exaltation doesn’t come immediately after the manger. He must grow in wisdom. Wisdom must endure not only arduous situations but also the normal passage of time. There is no rushing it. Training takes time.

(more…)

Read more

On April 7, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Dying For Wisdom

Jesus has been a faithful son in the old creation, taking it as far as possible. John records this in his Gospel as Jesus performs the first seven of eight signs. These signs were mighty acts, much like the signs and wonders Yahweh worked in the land of Egypt to deliver his people. From turning the water into wine to raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus faithfully executed his mission as the new and last Adam to take dominion over the creation and rule it in wisdom.

Raising Lazarus from the dead was the seventh sign. It was a mighty act, to be sure. It was good, but there was also something not good about it: Lazarus would die again. This was as far as the old creation could go. To bring the world into the place the Father desires, where sin’s death-sting will no longer have a stranglehold on man, the Son must have more power and wisdom.

(more…)

Read more

On March 31, 2023 By In Theology

The Death of Death in the Death of the Devil

In our last episode of the season, I argue that the devil is finally vanquished at the end of history, which is at the end of 1,000 years. His death is narrated in three themes:

a) The Devil Descends from Misery to Misery: His life is a history of failures and head-crushing.

b) The Devil Cannot Keep the Gospel From Going to the Ends of the Earth: While he had much liberty in deceiving the nations in the Old Covenant, he is bound and, therefore, cannot prevent the Gospel from reaching the world.

c) The Devil is released at the end of history for his final humiliation: He will be destroyed, but prior he will be maximally humiliated. The triumph of Jesus will lead to his mockery before all the nations.

Resources:

See Season 3, Episode 7, for the first part of this short series

Subscribe for $1 a month as we prepare to launch season 4

Read more

On March 30, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Growing In Wisdom

“By me kings reign.” ~Wisdom

Proverbs 8.15

Wisdom is a gift of God that is developed by responding faithfully in the crucible of discipline. Wisdom does not come merely by reading books, listening to sermons, or receiving counsel. All of those things and more are necessary, but there is no substitute for experience, the place where your senses are exercised by habitual practice to discern good and evil (Heb 5.14). Discipline involves suffering; therefore, no discipline is pleasant but painful (Heb 12.11). However, it is only through discipline that we are trained in wisdom, and wisdom is necessary for us to grow up to be like God and to accomplish our mission of dominion in the world. To become kings, we need wisdom. To gain wisdom, we must endure suffering.

The pattern for gaining wisdom through suffering is established in the beginning, even before the fall. God’s son, Adam, was created as an individual man who was given the task of dominion. That task could not be completed alone. God declared that it was not good that man should be alone. God led his son to see that his condition was not good as he exercised his first act of dominion by naming the animals. Adam sees that they come in pairs, male and female. They correspond to one another. He doesn’t have a female who corresponds to him. So (using a bit of imagination here), he calls out to his Father, “All these animals come in pairs as male and female. I’m alone. This isn’t good. I need a female who will correspond to me.”

(more…)

Read more