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Month: December 2015

Published on Leave a comment on Top Posts of 2015

I Gave My Life To Jesus - A video poem

"Stop giving your life to Jesus, He's the Giver delivered for you."

A Ton of Puns

100 of my least terrible one-liners.

Genesis 1 and Science

It's hard to think of a piece of literature more supportive of modern science. It affirms Laws Above, A World Out There and Minds Fit To Coordinate Both.

Preaching Judgement: Three Thoughts -

1) Our job is not to save God from the 'guilty' verdict;
2) We don't bring hell to the world, hell is here. We bring reality and then hope;
3) The quintessence of hell is not sin's recompense so much as mercy's refusal.

The Place of Apologetics In Our Proclamation

The summary of some lively discussions about apologetics and evangelism.

Quick Answers to Quick Questions

16 Twitter length answers to questions of faith (to prove that I do believe in answering questions!)

The Nature of God: Triune From The Beginning

In witness to Muslims, this is vital.

Cannonball feat. Given B - The Way Out Is The Way Down

Our Easter video including some stunning animation and an epic score from Josh Lucas and Guvna B.

Four Kinds of Christmas

Our multi-platform outreach this Christmas

Original Sin: What's Not To Like?

The doctrine of original sin is holistic, communal and authentic - everything our culture prizes.

Preaching Is Not Resourcing The Devout, It's Raising The Dead

The Sunday sermon is central to the church's missionary task. Here are some convictions that should revolutionise the way we approach it.

Little Child, For You

Why did we baptise our 6 week old daughter? Here are 21 reasons.

Selected Sermons:

Mission in Isaiah

Psalm 88: Can Despair Be Worship?

Shining, Sowing and Investing: The Nature of God's Outgoing Kingdom

David and Goliath: The Victory of your Champion

How Can God Forgive Paedophiles?

Promising Applicants or Little Children? To Whom Does the Kingdom Belong?

Various Other Creative Projects

BeLoved - our Valentines Day outreach

Jesus Our Risen Sun - a song especially for light parties.

A Poem For Trinity Sunday

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Published on 3 Comments on Reading Between The Lines – Through The Bible in 366 Famous Phrases

In 2016 I'm going to be video blogging my way each day through the Bible, phrase by phrase. We will travel from Genesis to Revelation - from "In the beginning" to "Hallelujah", stopping off at each famous line along the way. Lines like "The writing's on the wall", "He gave up the ghost", and "They turned the world upside down."

Hopefully it will give you an overview of the Bible's big story but most of all I trust it will give you an enlarged picture of Jesus Christ: the origin, centre and goal of all Scripture.

In advance of these 366 posts, I've been doing some pilot episodes as a Christmas devotional. They're just shot on my phone at home and are a bit longer than the 6-7 minute episodes scheduled for the new year. But have a look...

In the new year we'll shoot them on proper cameras and the episodes will be shorter but you get the idea. If you want to join in on Reading Between The Lines, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or like our Facebook page. That will keep you up to date with each new devotional.

With prayers that this will bless, encourage and equip many,

Glen

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Published on 1 Comment on Is the Allah of Islam the Father of Jesus?

The question is rarely phrased this way (largely because anyone who's read the Quran - Muslims especially - will tell you, Of course not. Allah emphatically denies it!). But people are again discussing the issue of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. So here are some thoughts I shared over at Between Two Worlds a few years ago on this post.

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? If you pay attention to what both religions are saying it turns out to be incredibly offensive to say Yes - given how insistent both religions are about their respective theological claims.

Here are some points in no particular order:

1) Let's let Allah define himself:

"He does not beget nor is he begotten." (Sura 112)

The Quran defines the god of Islam explicitly as not the God of the Bible. Let's respect Muslims enough to let them define who their god is. He is not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We honour their faith by speaking of Allah as another god - that is how Allah defines himself. From our perspective we cannot speak of Allah as anything other than an idol - anything else fails to take Muslim faith on its own terms.

2) Can anyone really imagine the prophets addressing the Edomites, Philistines etc saying 'Yahweh is very much like Baal/Molech/Asherah'? Never!

The question for the nations is not 'Do you believe in God?' But 'What god do you believe in?' Whether you're evangelizing in north Africa or north America "God" cannot be assumed.  In fact "God" is the least obvious word in our evangelistic encounters.  How on earth do we get to a position where people make it the point of commonality!

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At this point a commenter replied that the 'Baal' analogies do not work because Allah is thought to be 'the transcendent Creator' and not simply a power within the world.  He claimed that a Muslim convert would have to repent of many beliefs but not his belief in 'God as infinite transcendent Creator.'

To this I replied...

3) We don't say "Baal is called 'Lord' and receives worship therefore no convert from Baalism needs to repent of their notions of Lorship or worship."  Of course they will have to repent of all of this.  So then why would anyone claim that a belief in the 'infinite transcendent Creator' is of a different order?  Fundamentally I see this as committing two errors.  It is to say...

A) 'Transcendent Creator' is more foundational to God's being than His triunity.

B) The Muslim means roughly the same as the Christian when speaking of the 'Transcendent Creator'

I strongly disagree with both.

A) i) If God is transcendent Creator you've made Him dependent on creation.

A) ii) It is a position that leads to Arianism. Athanasius complained that Arius' error was to conceive of God as Unoriginate and then to consider trinity. On this trajectory he could never affirm the homo-ousios of One whose being was 'ek tes ousia tw patri' (out of the being of the Father). Similarly if your conversation with a Muslim begins with some 'bedrock' notion of transcendence before introducing them to Jesus it will necessarily mean introducing them to one who is less than the transcendent one. You'll have shot yourself in the foot from the very beginning. Let's not define Jesus out of full deity before we've even begun. We therefore must not begin on the Arian trajectory of affirming transcendent Creator first - Jesus will not come out very well from such a starting point!

B) Only the God who exists as Himself in relations of otherness can actually have a relationship with creation in which we can know Him as transcendent. 'Transcendent Creator' is dependent on trinity (not the other way around). The Muslim account of transcendence is completely confused (as is every unitarian account). Allah is a prisoner of his 'transcendence' - by definition cut off from any relationship with it (whether transcendent or immanent).

'Transcendent Creator' is neither the foundational nor a shared understanding of the living God. And it's not desirable that it should be.

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At this point my interlocutor (rightly) suspected I was denying the possiblity of true philosophical reflection on divinity apart from Christian revelation.  He claimed I was being overly Barthian. I replied with these points...

4) In terms of theological method, "Christ alone" is not a Barthian novelty!  It's difficult to think of a more crucial verse in the history of the church for theological method than Matthew 11:27: "No-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

To this let's add John 1:18; 14:6 and Colossians 1:15. To this let's add the continual Scriptural witness that we are blind, dead, enemies of God unable to know Him apart from His Word to us.  (e.g. Ps 14:2; 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:21).  These plain and central truths cannot be evaded by crying 'Barthian'!

5) Nicea's "The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth" was a deliberate and crucial choice of order. Triunity precedes creation. Of course it does - unless we want to define God as dependent upon creation.

6) Even Jews who have the Scriptures do not know the Father if they reject the Son. (cf ALL OF JOHN'S GOSPEL!)

7) To go over a previous point - there are tremendous Arian dangers of considering 'Creator' more foundational than trinity. Once you have assured your Muslim friend that she really does know God and that the God she knows is definitionally the infinite, transcendent Creator, do you really think you've helped her towards faith in Jesus of Nazareth? Have you not just given her every reason to reject divine honours (thus defined) being attributed to Christ. Won't she simply thank you for confirming her own doctrine of God which by definition precludes Jesus from being anything more than a prophet??

Athanasius rightly said 'the only system of thought into which Jesus Christ will fit is the one in which He is the starting point.'

The Rock upon which we build is nothing and no-one else but Christ.  Let's be clearer on this whether we're evangelizing Muslims or our friends in the pub.  They do not know God and besides - why would we want to confirm for them a sterile, non-relational doctrine of God in the first place?  Let's tell them, 'The god you had thought existed was not God - let me tell you about the living God who is unlike anything you've imagined.  His name is Jesus. Here is a God you can truly believe in!'

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Published on Leave a comment on Reading Between The Lines: A New Vlog Series

In 2016 I'm going to be video blogging my way each day through the Bible, phrase by phrase. We will travel from Genesis to Revelation - from "In the beginning" to "Hallelujah", stopping off at each famous line along the way. Lines like "The writing's on the wall", "He gave up the ghost", and "They turned the world upside down."

Hopefully it will give you an overview of the Bible's big story but most of all I trust it will give you an enlarged picture of Jesus Christ: the origin, centre and goal of all Scripture.

In advance of these 366 posts, I've been doing some pilot episodes as a Christmas devotional. They're just shot on my phone at home and are a bit longer than the 6-7 minute episodes scheduled for the new year. But have a look...

In the new year we'll shoot them on proper cameras and the episodes will be shorter but you get the idea. If you want to join in on Reading Between The Lines, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or like our Facebook page. That will keep you up to date with each new devotional.

With prayers that this will bless, encourage and equip many,

Glen

Published on Leave a comment on Tweet Repository continued

Today we think of Christ's exclusivity as a barrier to evangelism. In the OT it was the heart of their joyful message: Who is like the LORD?

Terence McKenna: "Modern science is based on the principle: ‘Give us one free miracle, and we’ll explain the rest.’... This miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing.

There is no-one like Jesus. Fact.

Perhaps the Bible does have an ontological argument for God, but with Jesus as the Subject. "None greater can be conceived" than *Him*

A God who incarnates is greater than a God who never meets us; a God who bleeds for the world is clearly greater than mere transcendence etc

Mark 10: For "little children" heaven's gates are as wide as Jesus' arms. For the self-sufficient they are as narrow as the eye of a needle.

God GIVES our life to us [Father]...
then God GIVES His life for us [Son]...
and then God GIVES His life in us [Spirit]

The Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul. Christians believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Many disputes about the Spirit (His Person, prominence, role and gifts) sounds scarily like Subordinationism vs Tritheism.

We are to be God-like (Eph5:1). According to context (Eph4:32) how does God-likeness look? It looks like lavish and undeserved forgiveness

God does not save you so He can love you. He loves you and therefore saved you. (Psalm 18:19) #LoveComesFirst

Some prayers confuse the Persons ("Father thank you for dying...") Worse, others ignore the Persons and speak of "God" in the 3rd person.

True prayer happens in the 2nd Person.

God's grace is God Himself. It is His overflowing life: the Father anointing the Son beyond measure.

A Christ-less God is as idolatrous as a Father-less Christ.

Last week and this week I had *long* convos with the same atheist after Alpha. Tonight it went Much better. The difference? We ate together

Human love comes into being thru that which is pleasing to it. God's love does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. (Luther)

When engaging magicians and mediums why are Christians more likely to believe in 'contamination' than when we engage Muslims & materialists?

Jesus is Lord of all lords just as the cross is the throne of all thrones.

Jesus isn't just a Bigger Lord (as though the cross is just a Bigger throne). He conquers all Lords by serving beneath them.

As u see Jesus moving towards tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, SINNERS... hear Him say John5:19 "I only do what I see my Father doing."

The theology of the cross is "down and out". It reaches down to the depths then out to the ends of the earth.

The Arian Jesus relates to God like the moon to the sun. The Biblical Jesus relates to God like sunshine to the sun.

(Heb 1:3) The Son cannot empty Himself *of* divine glory. His divine glory *is* His self-emptying.

I don't need my daughter to change world. I just need her to know the One who already has

One man suffered&died for sin to redeem the cosmos: Christ
This only makes sense if one man suffered&died for sin to curse the cosmos: Adam

"The world was made so that Christ might be born" David Fergusson

Ecclesiastes: good&bad swallowed by grave
Job: Good suffers bad
Song: Good shares all w beloved
Prov: the wise life in union with the Good

Ecclesiastes: Life before Christ
Job: Christ the righteous servant suffers and is vindicated
Song: Union with Christ
Prov: Life in Christ

"Progressive revelation" in the Bible is fine so long as we're clear that revelation prrogresses *from* Christ not *to* Him.

Worry: talking to yourself about your problems
Prayer: talking to your Father about His promises

Romans 8 repeats "IN all these things..." IN our battles God is working to bring good, v28.

IN our suffering we are more than conquerors v37 Not "after", not "above", not "instead of", not "besides"... "IN". Right here, right now...

At best Yom Kippur hit 'snooze' on sin. The cross hit 'dismiss' forever. Hebrews 9:9-14

We are hidden WITH Christ IN God(Col3:3). Christ originally is the One taking refuge in God (cf The Psalms). Now, in Him, His refuge is ours

I'm about as interested in 'the concept of God' as I am in marrying 'a carbon based life form.' It's *Jesus* who has won my heart.

It's so sad (and common) when hurting people say "It's too hard to be Christian right now." As though Jesus is a burden borne by the strong

Re-reading the Quran (nothing to do w recent events) I'm struck again: it's overwhelmingly adjectives not verbs that are connected to Allah

Compare the instruction of the Quran with the stories of the Bible. Or the Pillars and 99 Names with the Creeds. The God of Jesus *acts*

You can doubt Christ's Lordship by bemoaning your lack of health or wealth.
You can also doubt it by bemoaning your lack of cultural power.

Sometimes debates about atonement sound like a skirmish at the temple over which sacrifice is more important. All the while Aaron's ignored.

Muhammed. Darwin. Jesus. Mao. The State. The Free Market.
Each can produce extremists, right? So think: whose radicals harm? Whose help?

People are calling my festive poem "contrived" but I think you're gonna love my ode to a scary isthmus

Published on Leave a comment on Tweet Silo

Evangelists often slip in prayer and church as "the fine print" of the gospel offer. In fact communion with God and His people is the goal.

Loving sheep means bashing wolves.

All anger is righteous. It's just usually self-righteous.

Societies flourish under the rule of law.
Families depend on the rule of grace.

The law makes righteousness compulsory. The gospel makes it compelling.

This is why our OT theology must go beyond shadows & types. We must see how the OT already has a Christian doctrine of *God*

Trinity is not a problem to solve, it's the answer.

The Angel of the LORD is either mad, bad or God (e.g. Gen 16; 22; 48:16; Ex 3; Judges 2; 6; 13)

What a man is - alone, with an uncooperative sat nav, patchy reception and running 20 minutes late - that he is and no more.

Before Jesus baptises others, He has a baptism to undergo (Matt 3:11 -> 13-17). It's the same for us (Mark 10:39).

Such a 'baptism' means suffering in solidarity with others while knowing the Father's love, the Spirit's filling and Jesus' presence.

Baptism = an essential prerequisite for evangelism. I don't just mean conversion or an experience of the Spirit but knowing God in suffering

Quranic apologetics: U won't find a "Surah like it" (a comparable chapter of Scripture)
Biblical apologetics: U won't find a Saviour like HIM

"God is light" does not temper or qualify "God is love", it explains it. God's love blazes. God's love is a consuming fire.

Jesus does not offer 'full life' as opposed to 'mediocre life' (John 10:10).
He offers 'full life' as opposed to 'death' (John 5:24)

Life: don’t assume, presume or consume it.
Entomb it.
God will exhume it.

"And over all these virtues put on..."
...a cynical attitude?
...a witty persona?
...good looks?
...a know-it-all air?
No. "Love." (Col3:14)

The world will not flock to church 4 fun activities or cultural/philosophical analysis. The 1 thing they think we might know about is Jesus

For the Christian, "union with God" is not the finish line, it's the foundation.

Grief is hellish: "A darkness that is felt." "Weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth." An absence that becomes an all-consuming presence.

Other ancient near eastern cultures: The nations are terrible but we are the best.
OT Israel: The nations are terrible but we are the worst.

Abraham, the man of faith, fulfilled the law even apart from law (Gen26:5)
Moses, the man of law, failed 2 inherit cos he broke faith (Dt32)

We are seeds. Dying to live

Christmas / Easter / Pentecost,
Crib / Cross / Crown,
Flesh / Blood / Spirit,
Bread / Wine / Water,
Jesus is given to us body, soul & spirit

Trinity was never the "deification" of Jesus (as though we know what "divine" means apart from the Son). Trinity=the Christianization of God

4th Century: The Creed= Christ Alone applied to doctrine of God
16th Century: The Reformation= Christ Alone applied to doctrine of salvation

Trinitarian debates are really about securing "Christ alone." If Jesus is THE Word of God then He cannot be inferior cos He IS the Standard.

2) Whose name do we call on for salvation? / Who is the Saviour?

3) Is Jehovah fundamentally "Father"? Without an eternal Son, He can't be, can He?

4) If the Father is a superior *being* to the Son (because He is "Head", 1Cor11:3), am I a superior being to my wife?

5) How could Jehovah be Father/Light/Speaker/Head without Christ His eternal Son/Radiance/Word/Body?

Having said all this, our JW's most striking question was this: "Why hasn't your church knocked on my door? Acts20:20" Great point!

- I can't forgive if they don't deserve it.
- You can Only forgive if they don't deserve it.

If Jesus isn't Lord I don't know who is. And neither does anyone else (John1:18; 14:6; Col1:15; 2Cor4:4).

You don't have a Jesus-shaped hole in your world. You have a Jesus-shaped world.

God's son redeemed from slavery into a whole new kingdom of life and hope - the story of Israel (Ex4:22); the story of the cosmos (Phil2)

Paul doesn't say "Let the one who boasts cut down on their boasting" he says "Let them boast in the Lord." The expulsive power of a new brag

If the narcissism of social media bothers you (and it should), the answer is not policing others or prohibiting yourself but proclaiming Him

Productive Christian living is not spinning plates or laying bricks. It's far more fruitful and far less busying. It's abiding in the Vine.

In 1Pet5:5-7 anxiety is linked to pride. We imagine our lives&futures are in our hands. We humble ourselves *by* casting our cares on God

"When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark... For you'll never walk alone." (Lev 26:12)

"I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better." Abraham Lincoln

In Christianity forgiving a sin is virtually the opposite of excusing a sin.

Does forgiveness pervert justice? No.
1 Forgiveness requires justice
2 Forgiveness rises above justice
3 Forgiveness re-establishes justice

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But this guy Jesus... What if *He's* actually God??" <--- #evangelism Not: "What if Jesus is GOD?" Instead: "What if JESUS is God?" The former assumes people already know God. The latter lets Jesus define Him

Published on Leave a comment on Four Kinds of Christmas

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WORDS:

“Every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” Ebenezer Scrooge.

SCROOGE

I like the darkness... at least it’s cheap,
I keep adjusted to the gloom, the creeping doom,
that soon consumes the earth in tombs,
I hum its tune. Assume its tone and make my home right here
in the only world we know.
This world of woe.
Let others throw their festive flings,
I think I’ll keep my five gold rings.

SHOPPER

Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves,
She loves the doves.
Yeah shove it on the card above.
...No never fear my dear, I’ll pay it all...
Next year.

For now we’ll drink to Christmas cheer!
And deck the halls with tinselled bling,
Forget what our tomorrows bring
We’ll raise a glass of festive sherry,
Eat and drink and be quite m...

SANTA

Merry Christmas everyone! And what's your wish for me, my son?

A hamper full of festive fun!
With snowdrops, rainbows, furry mittens;
unicorns and mewling kittens.

Santa's sleigh may bring them near, but were you good for me this year?

Why YES, I think. I didn’t sink as low as some I know...
although…
Hey, No!
Father Christmas, mind your own business!

The kids might believe but they are naive.
I know for certain, I see through the curtain.
But when you strip it all bare, what exactly is there?

See Scrooge looks darkness full in the face,
embracing the chill but he loses the will to hope

The Shopper copes better, throws off fetters,
wears garish sweaters, but becomes a debtor,
spending now but nothing later,
tending down into death’s crater.

Santa offers Christmas cheer,
the most wonderful time of the year,
but is it real?
At least Scrooge knew the deal with the dark.

In this stark world can we face facts like Scrooge?
Then paint it rouge like the Shopper?
Proper banter like Santa,
But below the Ho, Ho, Ho, can we know a truth beneath treacle?

Good news of great Joy for all people?

STABLE

Are we able to strip back to the stable,
This fable made flesh, our Maker enmeshed in the mess.
To bless us, possess us, and be heaven’s Yes to our race.
To embrace us in grace, evermore in our place.
Pledging flesh, blood and bone. To exchange a throne for a manger.
Endangering all to be present to you. To be God’s present to you.

If you’re Santa or Shopper, or any such thing.
If you’re shepherd, or Mary or Joseph or king.
For this the herald angels sing.

In Him the Light shines and all is forgiven.
To you this Christmas Child is given.

 

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Published on 1 Comment on The Trinitarian Old Testament

It is sometimes claimed that the Hebrew Bible's doctrine of God is essentially unitarian. It seems to me that anyone who makes such a claim is out of touch with how the church has always read the Scriptures and they have clearly not been paying attention to the Bible itself.

In this post I will simply (and very briefly) draw attention to 24 passages in which we see plainly a multi-Personal revelation.

My point is not that the OT betrays hints, shapes and shadows of triune structure.

My point is not that NT eyes can see trinitarian themes in the OT.

My point is not that we go back as Christians and now retrospectively read the trinity into the OT.

My point is not that the OT gives us partial suggestions of trinitarian life that are then developed by NT fulfillment.

My point is that these texts read on their own terms and in their own context (as the Jewish, Hebrew Scriptures that they are) demand to be understood as the revelation of a multi-Personal God. The only proper way to understand these texts is as trinitarian revelation. These texts are either to be understood triunely or they are mis-understood – on their own terms or any others!

Ok. Here we go – 24 Scriptures to consider:

  • Genesis 1. Verse 1: “In the beginning Elohiym… ” Here is the God to Whom we’re introduced. A plural noun! One that takes a singular verb. The grammatical oddity is meant to make us sit up and take notice. Our plural God acts as one. And His plural counsel (v26) “Let us…” gives rise to a united creation of a plural humanity – male and female to image His own life.
  • Genesis 3. The Voice of the LORD God (v8) who comes to walk with Adam and Eve is also the LORD God (v9)
  • Genesis 16. The Angel of the LORD (v9) is also LORD and God (v13)
  • Genesis 18&19. The LORD who appears to Abraham (18:1) is Judge of all the earth (18:25), yet He excercises His divine prerogative in union with “the LORD out of the heavens.” (19:24)
  • Genesis 32. Jacob wrestles with the Man (v24) who is the Angel (Hosea 12:4) who is God (Gen 32:28,30)
  • Genesis 48. The God who is God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is Shepherd and the source of blessing (v15) is the Angel of God (v16).
  • Exodus 3. The God of the burning bush is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (v6) and the great I AM (v14). He is also the Angel of the LORD (v2) and will bring the people to worship Godon the mountain (v12).
  • Exodus 19. The LORD on the mountain (v10) warns Moses that in three days the LORD will come to the mountain (v11) and things will be very different then. Sure enough, three days later, the LORD descends on the mountain (v18) and then the LORD descends on the mountain (v20)!
  • Exodus 33. Moses meets face to face with the LORD in the tent of meeting (v11) but the LORD on the top of the mountain he must never see (v20-22).
  • Joshua 5&6. The Commander of the LORD’s army (5:14) who fights for Israel to deliver her is also the LORD who is worthy of worship (5:15; 6:2)
  • Judges 2. The Angel of the LORD brought them out of Egypt and established His covenant with them. (v1-4)
  • Judges 6. The Angel of the LORD (v11-12) brings the LORD’s blessing (one who is Sovereign LORD, v22). Yet the Angel, as another Person is Himself the LORD (v14) with the same divine majesty (v22-24).
  • Judges 13. God sends the Angel of the LORD (e.g. v9) who is Himself God (e.g. v22). And the Spirit fills Samson (v25)
  • Psalm 2. The Son Whom we are to kiss and find refuge in (v12) is the Anointed Son of the Father through Whom is exercised all divine rule and authority.
  • Psalm 45. The most excellent of men who rules the nations as Champion and King is called ‘Lord’ by His bride and ‘God‘ by His God. (v6,7)
  • Psalm 110. David knows two Lords who converse in their rule of the nations. There is the LORD and there is the Kingly Priest who is David’s Lord.
  • Proverbs. The Wisdom of God who creates (8:30) and gives new life (8:35) through granting the Spirit (1:23) is also possessed by the LORD (8:22)
  • Isaiah 9. The government of God’s righteous kingdom will be on the shoulders of the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (v6). Yet He is One who is born and through Whom the zeal of the LORD will accomplish His work (v7)
  • Isaiah 48. The great I AM, the first and the last who created the heavens and the earth and who called Israel (v12,13) is One who is sent from the Lord GOD along with His Spirit (v16)
  • Isaiah 63. The Saviour sends the Angel to save, yet they grieve His Holy Spirit (v9-10)
  • Ezekiel 34. The Shepherd of Ezekiel’s prophesy will be the LORD Himself (v12-22), yet this loving, kingly rule is exercised through the Prince, His Servant David (v23-24) who does all that the LORD is said to do as Shepherd and who rules for the LORD.
  • Daniel 7. The Possessor and rightful Ruler of the Kingdom that shall never pass away is the Son of Man (v13,14) who inherits the kingdom from the Ancient of Days (v9-12).
  • Micah 2. The Shepherd who will gather the remnant of Israel is the LORD (v12) who will set at their head a King who is also called ‘LORD’ (v13)
  • Zechariah 2. The One Sent from the LORD Almighty (v7,9,11) is the LORD Himself to live among the Israelites as the gentle, righteous, saving King of 9:9 (compare with 2:10)!

In all this my argument is not that these are hints of trinity but that they are texts that can only ever be understood from the perspective of a multi-Personal God. When two Persons called LORD are interacting in the text (when we see plainly “true God from true God”) then an understanding of God as uni-Personal is just dead wrong. It must always have been dead wrong for it could never account for the Hebrew Scriptures as written.

The only God there is is trinitarian and His revelation has always been such.

For more on Trinity in the Old Testament, see this series.

 

Published on Leave a comment on It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Sermon Prep…

It's time for preachers to think about the Carols services, Christingles, Nativity plays, etc.

It's also a time to miss a golden opportunity.  The golden opportunity is to preach a theology of incarnation. But, year in and year out, this chance is missed in evangelical churches.

Our mentions of incarnation boil down to the Abrupt, the Apologetic or the Anselmian.

The Abrupt:

“God in skin. Weird huh? Anyway…”

The Apologetic:

“Jesus shows up in time and space which means that we can verify the truth through historical methods, and really the New Testament documents are very reliable don’t you know…”

The Anselmian:

“God basically wants to acquit his elect and so needs a Scapegoat to take the fall. And there he is the manger. Weird huh?  Anyway…”

My twitter feed is full of encouragements to preachers to 'get beyond the manger'. Many people seem worried that preachers might focus on the wonder of the incarnation itself. At Christmas! The very idea.

I completely agree that crib and cross go together, but if that's true, where are all the Easter encouragements: "Hey preachers! Don't forget the incarnation on Good Friday!" The answer is nowhere. Which is a problem.

I'd love to hear three different 'A's this Christmas. I'd love for preachers to bring out the Athanasian, Atoning, and Abasing themes.

The Athanasian Incarnation:

“In this marvellous exchange, He becomes what we are, that we might become what He is”?

The Atoning Incarnation:

"Here is God-With-Us, come to make us at-one in His very Person!"

The Abasing Incarnation:

"My God is so small, so weak and so helpless, there's nothing that He will not do... for you!"

I wonder if we shy away from the Athanasian incarnation because we don't want to get into (or don't properly understand) the trinitarian theology that makes sense of it.

I wonder if we shy away from the Atoning incarnation because ontology has no place in our thinking about atonement. This is also why our Easter sermons contain no theology of resurrection - only a 'proof that the cross worked'.

I wonder if we shy away from the Abasing incarnation because we default to a theology of glory and are uncomfortable with the little LORD Jesus.

If any of these guesses are anywhere near the mark, let me suggest a remedy.  Read Athanasius' On the Incarnation and hear the kind of Christmas message that has warmed the hearts of millions down through the ages.  Get started here as you listen to Mike Reeves read extracts.

And for what they're worth, here are three of my own posts on incarnation:

Incarnation and Trinity

Incarnation and Creation

Incarnation and Salvation

(For good measure here’s a paper on Athanasius and Irenaeus)

These are some talks in which I've tried to preach this theology...

 

Christmas is God laying hold of us - Hebrews 2:14-18

Evangelistic carols service – Four Approaches to Christmas (and to Life) Isaiah 9:2-7

Christmas is for Dark Places

 The Coming King - Psalm 72

In the beginning… – John 1:1-2

The Word became flesh – John 1:14

Christmas brings a crisis – John 1:15-18

Student Carols – Isaiah 9  (different to the other Isaiah 9)

Luke 1:26-38

All-age: Christmas turns slaves to sons – Galatians 4:4-7

All-age Carols Talk: Christmas is weird – Phil 2:5-11

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Here are some all-age songs on the same theme and our Christmas videos

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What resources have you found helpful?  Please share the wealth in comments...

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