Tag: universe

Principles

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 18 – Entering the Dance

Principles

[Bible references: Genesis 1; Psalm 19:1-4; Isaiah 28:23-29; Romans 1:18-20; 2:14-15; 13:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13]

We cannot establish the kingdom of God nor overcome the powers of evil in our own power. While Jesus has overcome the powers of the world, we do not know when he will return to finish the deed to fully establish his kingdom and fully rid the world of the presence of evil. But we can continue to work on the mandates he gave us at the beginning and rephrased at the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you, which extends from our original directives to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and to subdue it and rule over all the creatures.

From the beginning of the church, we can see that while some people were sent out with the express purpose of spreading the gospel, most people stayed within whatever vocation they had, living in their own communities, sharing their resources, and supporting one another. Those that stayed in their vocations, did not change their vocations although they may have changed the way they pursued their vocations.

Albert Wolters suggests several principles that can help guide the way in which we pursue our vocations:[1]

  • The universe that God created was good.
  • The structures/institutions created by people should reflect God’s character and his wisdom as revealed through creation and his word.
  • The structures/institutions created by people are vested with God’s authority.
  • The universe reveals God’s glory.
  • Wisdom is “ethical conformity to God’s creation.”
  • The will of God for our life can be known through his creation, our conscience, His word, spiritual discernment.
  • Since God’s initial creative activity in forming the universe, God has been creatively developing the universe either directly through his own work or indirectly through his people. Part of that development includes the development of societal and cultural institutions.
  • Even without the fall, people would still be expected to develop the garden and other aspects of civilization as part of our role in stewarding what God has given us
  • When Christ returns, He will restore the earth.[2]

Whether we are directly communicating the gospel in our vocation or not, we may hold the narrative of the gospel as public truth to be shared.[3] The first communicators of the gospel were eyewitnesses who could say, “That which we have seen and heard … we declare to you.” As the church, we are entrusted with the responsibility of sharing that same truth, not in a forceful way but in the way of Jesus and his apostles who affirmed what they knew and invited others to respond in dialog.

[1] Wolters, Albert M. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview, William B. Eerdmans Publishing 1985, 2005. eBook Chapter 2

[2] Wolters, Albert M. “Worldview and Textual Criticism in 2 Peter 3:10” Westminster Theological Journal 49 (1987) 405-413 allofliferedeemed.co.uk/Wolters/AMW2Peter3.pdf

[3] Newbigin, Leslie. . “An Introduction to the Theology of Religions: Biblical, Historical & Contemporary Perspectives” Gospel As Public Truth, Intervarsity Press 2003

Observe

Read Psalm 19:1-4. How can our work reflect the glory of God?

Immanuel

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 11 – The Kingdom Enters

Immanuel

[Bible references: Psalm 140-141; Matthew 9:10-13; 21:18; Luke 2:51-52; John 4:4-7]

When we look past the angelic announcements of Jesus’ birth and the visit by the Magi, there is a human ordinariness of Jesus humble birth experience in an overcrowded home and then his life on earth growing up. That ordinariness belied the incomprehensible idea that the one who created the universe could inhabit a human embryo then go through normal biological growth processes to become a human boy and then mature into an adult. Once we accept those things by faith, we can begin to see how the Creator of the universe could identify closely with us as he could have real human experiences of hunger, thirst, tiredness, etc.

Reflect

In this life it can seem that God is not present. How do you handle those moments?

Observe

Read Matthew 9:10-13; 21:18; Luke 2:51-52; John 4:4-7. How do you imagine a relationship with Jesus?

Generous and overflowing shalom

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 2 – The God who created

[Bible references: Genesis 1; Psalm 69:16; Zechariah 8; Luke 15:11-32; Romans 1:20; 8:18-23; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 9:8; Revelation 21-22] 

When God created the universe, he was creating order out of disorder, assigning purposes for everything in the universe. When he assigned purposes to the places and things in the universe, when things functioned according to how he created them … they were “good.”[1]  And when in the midst of all those good things he placed image-bearing creatures that also reflected his character, everything was “very good.”

God is good because he delights in the existence of something other than himself.[2]

However, when in the midst of that very good universe, those image-bearers rebelled, they and the world they inhabited suffered the consequences. Yet, in spite of that rebellion, God relentlessly pursued those image-bearers with the intent of restoring not only them but restoring all of creation to the good condition that He originally intended. The Bible is the story of how God’s original purposes will be carried out despite the constant rebellion of his image-bearing creatures – and how the good and very good, creation will endure the brokenness of the rebellion to be finally restored to the good and very good purpose that God had intended.

Within that story of creation and the relentless pursuit which followed, God’s character is revealed as he poured himself out even to the point of taking on the form of a man and the giving of himself to the humility and suffering of being tortured to death on a cross. Even though all of creation is now marred by the rebellion, it is possible to examine the character of God as it is revealed in this outpouring of himself into his creation and into his image-bearers.

Revisiting Genesis 1:1, we see God creating … everything in the heavens and the earth. The rest of that passage shows the orderliness in how the creation happened. We see that as God creates each set of creatures or things that God declares them to be good. Then after God creates humans, he declares “it was very good.” We will see later in Genesis those things got messed up, but at this point the core of everything in the universe, everything was good and beautiful and working as it should. Certainly, as we look around us now, it would be hard to say that everything is working as it should, but at the beginning, everything was good.

That goodness was further amplified when, despite the rebellion of his image-bearers, God tirelessly invited them over-and-over again to come back to him even though they would continue rebelling over-and-over again. The generous invitation and re-invitation would be highlighted by Jesus’ parable which has been commonly called the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32) in reference to the wastefully spending son. But the parable could equally be called the “Prodigal God”[3] in reference to the father who represents extravagant giving of God.

These continuous and generous offers from God are meant to draw us to himself so that he could restore to us the good and generous life that God has intended from the beginning, life free from suffering and pain, life full of joy and peace, wholeness and health, contentment and completeness,[4] which is all captured by the Hebrew word, shalom.

“The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight — a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.” [5]

[1] Walton, John, H. “The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate. (Proposition 5) InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition. “good” refers to a condition in which something is functioning optimally as it was designed to do in an ordered system – it is working the way God intended”

[2] Weil, Simone.

[3] Keller, Timothy. “The Prodigal God” Riverhead Books 2008, www.timothykeller.com/books/the-prodigal-god

[4] Refiners Fire ‘Meaning of the word “Shalom;”’ Blue Letter Bible “Word search: Shalom” Refiners Fire www.therefinersfire.org/meaning_of_shalom.htm

[5] Plantinga Jr., Cornelius. “Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin,” Eerdmans Publishing Co – A. Kindle Edition. (p. 10)

Observe

Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. Discipleship is a process of “being transformed”. Ultimately it is something that happens to us – but it is something we can co-operate with by engaging is spiritual disciplines. What kinds of changes need to happen in our lives that would make it natural to invite someone else into discipleship?

Transcendent and Immanent

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 2 – The God who created

Transcendent and Immanent

[Bible references: Genesis 1; Psalm 139:2-3; Isaiah 6:1-5; 40:21-31; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Matthew 10:29-31; Acts 17:27; Romans 8:29; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3]

Genesis tells us there was a time when the universe, the heavens, and the earth, began to exist. Before that moment of time, they did not exist – but before that beginning there was God and then God created the universe. From that starting point, we can see the transcendent nature of God. He was not part of the universe but apart from the universe. Fortunately, we are not simply left with a God who is unreachably “out there” leaving us to fend for ourselves. In some incomprehensible fashion, while God is “out there” existing outside of Creation, He is simultaneously inside Creation … everywhere at once.[1]

This paradox of God’s transcendence (existing outside of Creation) and immanence (existing everywhere within Creation) has sometimes bewildered many who try to examine it through sheer logic.

God is other and set apart from everything else, that he is in a class by himself. God is not just quantitatively greater than us, but qualitatively different in his greatness. He is transcendent, infinitely above or beyond us. The true God is distinct, set apart, from all that he has made as the only truly self-sufficient Being. All his creatures depend on him; he alone exists from within himself. “And the true God is distinct, set apart, from all that is evil. His moral perfection is absolute. His character as expressed in his will forms the absolute standard of moral excellence. God is holy, the absolute point of reference for all that exists and is good. Across the board he is to be contrasted with his creatures. At heart he is a glowing-white center of absolute purity … But thankfully for us, God is not just transcendent; he is also immanent. Simply put, God is near. God is wholly present with and active in the created order. God is near us, present with us, active on earth and involved in our world. He is present and active in nature, in history, in our lives. He acts in this world and dwells with his people … Both truths must be affirmed. The two ideas must be kept together in biblical balance. Only Christianity has the right mix. Pantheism denies God’s transcendence. Deism denies God’s immanence. Only Christianity affirms both, especially as seen in the incarnation. [2]

As we unwrap the significance of this paradox, we discover many interesting attributes of God. Here are a few:

Regarding God’s Transcendence

  • God’s existence apart from creation, and apart from the brokenness of the world is described as his holiness. This holiness is so profound that mortal, sinful people (as we all are) could not stand to be his presence.
    • God’s omnipotence is seen in his ability to not only create the universe, but in his ability to sustain it.

    • God’s omniscience is seen in his knowledge about the hairs on our head, our everyday actions and even in our destiny.
  • God is omnipresent, present everywhere all at once.

Regarding God’s Immanence

  • Although God is apart from the universe, He is the one who holds the universe together.
  • God is present throughout the earth and available to all who call for him and even to those who are not calling for him.

In the chapters ahead, we will examine many of the ways God has inserted himself into the middle of creation and even address how God is involved in ways we can’t even imagine.

[1] Compelling Truth. “What is the meaning of ‘perichoresis’?” Compelling Truth www.compellingtruth.org/perichoresis.html

[2] Meuhlenberg, Bill. “On God’s Immanence and Transcendence, Culture Watch, 5 Aug 2013 billmuehlenberg.com/2013/08/05/on-gods-immanence-and-transcendence . The first portion is a quote from Thomas Trevethan

Reflect

If you’ve had a chance to look at the stars at night or at large landscape scene that’s miles long, what goes through your mind? (e.g., Getty Images, “Stars in the sky”; Fine Art America, Landscape photographs fineartamerica.com/art/photographs/landscape )

Observe

Read Isaiah 40:21-31. How does knowing s knowing Yahweh give us hope?

Reprise with variations

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

Reprise with variations

[Bible references:  Genesis 1; Psalm 8; 111; Exodus 8:16-19; John 21:1-14; Romans 8:19-22; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4; 5; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 21-22]

“The creation of the world seems to have been especially for this end, that the eternal Son of God might obtain a spouse towards whom he might fully exercise the infinite benevolence of his nature, and to whom he might, as it were, open and pour forth all that immense fountain of condescension, love, and grace that was in his heart, and that in this way God might be glorified. [1]

God created the universe for his glory, and within that, humans were created to experience the true joy of living, to bear the fruit of His nature, to reflect His presence. We are designed to be image-bearers of God himself, stewards of the creation He inserted us into as we reflect the very character of God. The exercise of stewardship is seen in the process of “subduing” and “having dominion” over the earth (its creatures and it resources), and in being “fruitful” and filling the earth. God’s initial reaction to creating us was, “It was very good.” His intent was that we would fill and take care of the earth, all the while reflecting His character to each other and to His creation.

In the beginning, heaven and earth were joined at the Garden of Eden. It was a place where the Creator could have communion with his image-bearers and walk in the garden with them. The garden was the perfect place for the image-bearers to develop and begin working out the intended future of filling the earth and ruling over it as co-regents with God.

He gave us unimaginable delight and freedom, but that very freedom He gave us was joined to a responsibility, a responsibility that was wrongly used and caused immense far-reaching damage – damage we could not possibly undo – the whole universe is groaning, waiting for to be restored. Our pride-laden rebellion damaged the relationships between each other, between us and God, between us and the world and even between heaven and earth; but God had a plan from the beginning, a plan which is now underway, to ultimately restore what was lost and undo that damage[2] and bring us to our intended destination – an earth filled with and ruled by image-bearers and where heaven and earth are rejoined so that the image-bearers can walk with God once again.

“Jesus’ own teaching during his brief public career simply reinforced the Jewish picture. He redefined a lot of ideas that were current at the time – notably, of course, kingdom of God itself, explained in many coded parables and symbolic actions that God’s sovereign, saving rule was now breaking in, even though it didn’t look like what his contemporaries had imagined and wanted.”[3]

Ultimately, we will be freed from the bondages of sin and death and all the relationships that are now damaged will be restored. In fact, in a timeline that we cannot fully grasp, God waited from the beginnings of mankind until 2000 years ago to defeat the power of sin and death and begin the process of restoring His kingdom on earth. Then He told us that someday, he will complete that process and he will return in the fullness of his glory to fully restore all things at that time. We just don’t know when that will be.

Our hope looks at the resurrection of Jesus as a harbinger of the resurrection that awaits all those of us who will be united with Him in our own transformed bodies in the new heavens and the new earth.

‘… what is the ultimate Christian hope? …what hope is there for change, rescue , transformation, new possibilities within the world in the present … if the Christian hope is for God’s new creation, for “new heavens and new earth,” and if that hope has already come to life in Jesus of Nazareth, then there is every reason to join the two questions together … “God’s kingdom” in the preaching of Jesus refers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but to God’s sovereign rule coming “on earth as it is in heaven.” [4]

Furthermore, our hope doesn’t ask for us to simply wait for that time when the Kingdom of God is fully restored, but that we can be part of God’s plan to bring the Kingdom of God into our broken world.

[1] Edwards, Jonathan, “Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume Two,” SERMON II. THE CHURCH’S MARRIAGE TO HER SONS, AND TO HER GOD. Ed. John E. Smith, Yale University Press, 2009(p. 62)

[2] Bible Project “Pursuing God, Heaven and Earth,” Bible Project www.pursuegod.org/biblical-themes-an-animated-explanation-of-heaven-earth

[3] Wright, N.T. “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” Harper Collins 2008. Kindle Edition(p. 18).

[4] Wright, N.T. “Surprised by Hope” Harper Collins 2008. Kindle Edition (pp. 4-5, 18)

Reflect

Speaking strictly from what we know from science, we seem to be random life forms on a random planet in a random spot in the universe. In that perspective, having an anthropocentric view of the universe seems absurd. But knowing what the Creator of heaven and earth has revealed to us, the universe was designed to be inhabited … by us! How does that change your view of the universe?

Observe

Read John 21:1-14. What does this passage suggest about our resurrection bodies?