What happens when Jesus Christ is not the center of it all? With regard to the unbelieving Jesus is obviously not the center, and the result is detrimental. For the believing, however, the result can be subtle but very dangerous. When our worldviews are not Christ-centered, then they are by default man-centered. One’s perspective can be tested by answering the question – What is the ultimate purpose for the death of Christ?
One less than adequate answer has come from Christian music. In 1999 Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche wrote a song that taught many Christians they are God’s highest priority. Ironically, much of the song “Above All,” extolls God very appropriately. The writers sustain a clear note that God is the one above all. Then, in a surprising twist of words the last line of the chorus sings to Jesus, “You took the fall and thought of me, above all” (Above All, Integrity’s Hosanna! Music, 1999). In a single turn of a phrase the song goes from being God-centered to being man-centered.
While it is true that salvation is personal and that God loves us with a personal love, this song’s message is harmful because it says human beings are not merely important to God; it says they are God’s highest or ultimate purpose. For something or someone to be important, or even significant, does not mean that something or someone must be above all, i.e. ultimate.
A few years later in 2003, another song hit Christian radio that made a stronger statement. In the song, “To Ever Live Without Me,” the writers gave a man-centered answer to the question above as well. The chorus ends with the shocking statement that Jesus gives his life in sacrifice, “Cause You would rather die, than to ever live without me” (Blake Smith, Brian White, Chad Chapin, and Joe Beck, To Ever Live Without Me, River Oaks Music Company, a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing, 2003).
So, what is the ultimate purpose for the death of Christ? John Piper gives us a good answer when he writes, “Redemption, salvation, and restoration are not God’s ultimate goal. These he performs for the sake of something greater: namely, the enjoyment he has in glorifying himself.” In that same essay he explains that, “the purpose of Jesus’ death was to glorify God” (Desiring God, 264). Where did he get such an idea?
In the gospel of John 12:27-28, Christ’s death and God’s glory are connected when Jesus prays, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Jesus indicates that the primary purpose of the cross is to glorify the Father. He says, “It was for this very reason.” Jesus could have indicated any number of reasons why he came because there are many. But at this moment of anguish, it is the purpose of God’s glory which he identifies as the primary reason for his going to the cross.
In John 13:31-32 at the conclusion of the Passover meal, we read these words, “When therefore he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him immediately.’” It is important to note that the pronoun ‘he’ in verse 31 refers to Judas. As soon as Judas leaves the room Christ makes this statement concerning his own impending crucifixion. The meaning is unmistakable. Because Judas has gone out to do his appointed work of betrayal, the time for the Son of Man to be glorified in the work of the cross has arrived.
In addition, John 17:1-4 records the opening words of one of Jesus’ most important prayers,
Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus’ own understanding of the cross is connected to the manifestation of God’s glory, and this understanding is ultimate. Many Christians make the cross primarily about saving sinners. Don’t misunderstand; John 17:2 is clear that Christ’s work is about redeeming sinners, but the passages above also indicate the cross is about much more. Understanding how saving sinners and glorifying God work together comes from the priority we place on them. The cross is about redeeming sinners, but the act of redeeming sinners is not ultimate – it serves a greater purpose. The death of Christ is ultimately about displaying the glory of the Father and the Son.
Catching on to the difference between these two perspectives is the difference between believing God is the center of the universe or believing you are the center of the universe.
I hope that helps,
Pastor Andy
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Jesus Christ: The Center of It All
In my childhood I enjoyed reading all kinds of books. When reading books related to history, I recall thinking the historical abbreviations BC and AD stood for “Before Christ” and “After Death.” These indicators mark history by putting Christ at the very center of our recorded past. When this system was first introduced, however, Christ’s life was not the center. Instead, His life marked a new beginning. Regardless, for those Western civilization has considered, the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to be transformational.
You can imagine my embarrassment when I discovered I was only half right about the abbreviations. BC certainly stands for the time period prior to Christ’s birth, but if AD stands for that time after his death, we fail to account for the 33 years of history between Christ’s birth and crucifixion. AD is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase anno domini, which means “in the year of our Lord.” To the architects of this system, Jesus Christ was worthy of the honor of preimmanence in all things.
Having entered the university “in the year of our Lord 1990,” you can imagine my dismay in discovering that some scholars had decided to propose a new system. For a variety of reasons, and some of them positive, the scholarly world became very sensitive to anything that smacked of Western imperialism. Many believed that basing our calendar on the birth of Jesus was insensitive to cultures and societies outside of the West and its Christian heritage. There certainly is truth to this observation.
Therefore, the academic community chose a new label to replace anno domini. The new label was “the common era,” which was to be abbreviated CE. It should be obvious that the old designation for the earlier time period would also change. “Before Christ” would now become “Before the Common Era,” which would be abbreviated BCE. You may have seen this in text books and wondered what it all meant.
I commend the academies for attempting a stab at cultural humility. Let’s face it, academics are not known for this character trait. Nonetheless, even the scholars recognized how nearly 2000 years of written history would not allow for an entire recalculation of the past. That would simply be too confusing. So, call the time periods what you will, the days and years were still being calculated by the birth of Christ. Due to the confusion and apparent redundancy of the system, CE and BCE have never really caught on and has all but fallen out of use.
In spite of all this, the greater issue is not our calendars but our hearts. The grace of God is mediated to us only by the cross of Christ. The sins of humanity may only be removed by the power of the savior’s death and resurrection. For this reason he deserves first place in our lives. Paul understood this when he wrote in Colossians chapter one that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
For all who live in the West, Jesus stands at the center of our calendars. But, more and more it seems he is not at the center of our living. I am not advocating any kind of cultural Christianity. I am simply using the calendar as an illustration. Jesus’ work on the cross is the centerpiece of history whether we recognize it as such or not.
To quote that very insightful author of Southern fiction, Flannery O’Connor, “If Jesus is raised from the dead, then that changes everything.” Indeed it does.
That in everything he might have supremacy,
Pastor Andy
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I have never really excelled at math. Oh, I do okay. I took a few advanced math courses in high school and college, but they were not easy. Concepts, however, delight me. The field of Accounting has the concept of imputation. Imputation is the act of crediting money to accounts or people. The money did not belong to that account or person, but it was reckoned to them as though it did. Such a concept is necessary at times for balancing business or personal accounts. And, since the reckoning is done with real money, no one ever says it is a legal fiction.
The Bible never uses the word imputation to describe Christ’s work on our behalf, but it certainly utilizes the concept. The Bible describes our sin as being credited to Jesus – our sin is reckoned to him that he might bear it on our behalf. Isaiah 53:6 says, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” A little further in the chapter he says, “My righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many.” These passages teach that our transgressions have been reckoned to God’s servant that he might suffer their due penalty.
Imputation is also found in the New Testament. Upon seeing Jesus, John the Baptist exclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In 2 Corinthians 5:21 the Apostle Paul says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.” Again, Paul writes in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.’” Throughout church history teachers inside and outside evangelical circles have tried to deny imputation. The most recent is N.T. Wright. I am sure he has an alternative explanation for these passages, but if Jesus did not bear our sin on the cross there is no basis for forgiveness.
Leaning on the vocabulary of the altar, the writer of Hebrews 9:28 adds his thoughts to the growing evidence, “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Finally, the apostle Peter tells us, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
When Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath by dying on the cross, he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This cry, known as the cry of desolation, indicates a moment in Christ’s life where he is abandoned by his heavenly Father. The Father does not abandon Jesus forever, but he does abandon him. The Father pronounces judgment on sin, and Christ experiences the isolation of the execution of God’s justice. Recorded in Mark 15:33-39 as a part of the crucifixion narrative, Jesus’ words make little sense if he is not in fact bearing our sin at this moment.
The question on Christ’s lips is often misunderstood. Was Jesus asking a sincere question? Not in the sense we normally think, for Jesus was certainly aware of why his Father had forsaken him. All we need to demonstrate this is to look to Mark 10:45, which clarifies Christ’s understanding of the cross, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Instead of believing Jesus ignorant of the full implications of the crucifixion, we ought to understand his words in light of their source.
The cry of desolation is a quotation from Psalm 22. In this Psalm, David asks why God has taken so long to vindicate him. By the end of the psalm it is apparent God has rescued David, and the cry has turned into praise. It makes good sense to understand Jesus words as not only expressing the cry of Psalm 22 but also the confidence. Therefore, when Jesus asks, “why have you forsaken me?” he, like David, is asking, “How long will this last?” The question is crucial. The Son of God is not required to make an eternal payment, but any payment made must be complete. In other words he does not have to suffer forever. Rather, he suffers fully. Consequently, once full payment is made, Christ’s suffering comes to an end and “he will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11).
One does not need to be a math whiz to grasp this concept. For this the mathematically challenged ought to be thankful. Let us, however, be more thankful that Jesus has indeed taken our sins upon himself. For if our sin is not imputed to him, his righteousness, which is the reward of his suffering, cannot be imputed to us. May we therefore praise our Lord, that out of God’s heart of love, the scales of justice are balanced, our ransom is paid – our sins are forgiven!
Loving the doctrine of Imputation,
Pastor Andy
The grace of understanding comes through thinking as opposed to not thinking. – John Piper
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When confronted with God’s wrath, many people find it difficult to reconcile it with his love. Deeds of justice and mercy are often viewed as mutually exclusive, as though one cannot be merciful without sacrificing some sense of justice. Likewise, one cannot be just without sacrificing mercy. Thankfully, this is not true. Justice and love are not Biblically contradictory. They are complementary. In fact, the righteous requirements of God’s law demand mercy. Micah 6:8 is a great example, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
The Bible’s use of the term propitiation is another example. As a Christian, one of the words you must know is propitiation. As a companion word for the phrase cup of wrath, it has the potential to deeply enrich our devotion to Christ. It only occurs 3 times in the New Testament but captures an incredibly important concept. A propitiation is a sacrifice that appeases the wrath of God. For many, the question is whether Christ’s wrath-appeasing death is an act of justice or an act of love.
Thankfully, the death of Christ, like a multifaceted diamond, can never be reduced to a single issue. His death is not about justice or love; it is about justice and love. The Apostles Paul and John show us these two sides of propitiation. Both Apostles tell us Jesus has been put forth as a propitiation, but they emphasize two distinct, yet complementary, sources for his sacrifice.
The Apostle Paul explains how Jesus is our propitiation for a demonstration of righteousness in Romans 3:23-26,
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
As Paul surveyed the scope of history, it appeared God had played the role of doting Grandfather. The “sins previously committed” were the unpunished sins of human history. Had God blinked at sin? If so, God had ignored his law and could not be Holy. In answer, the cross stands on this landscape of history as the decisive moment God no longer “passed over the sins previously committed.” When Jesus hung between heaven and earth, he truly received the punishment of God’s people, manifesting God’s holiness. This wrath, displayed in Christ’s crucifixion and satisfied in Christ’s person, is God’s righteous response to the transgression of his holiness.
Make no mistake. This was no capricious temper tantrum of pagan deity. This was the judicial wrath of the Sovereign Creator of the world. The punishment Jesus bore is consistent with the principles of righteousness laid out in Scripture. The deeply wonderful impact of Paul’s message concerning how Jesus satisfies the righteous demands of God’s law, is that simultaneously a strong message of God’s mercy begins to emerge.
The Apostle John, in 1 John 4:8-10, turns the diamond of the crucifixion, enabling us to see the sparks of mercy emerging,
“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent his only begotten 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 propitiation for our sins.”
Same subject – different reason. One Apostle says Jesus is a propitiation for reasons of justice; the other says he is a propitiation because God loves. The only viable conclusion is that Jesus’ death is a wrath satisfying sacrifice simultaneously dispensing justice and mercy. Said a little differently – Though under no obligation to redeem sinful man, God’s heart of love moved him to provide the sacrifice necessary to meet his own righteous demands.
The Apostolic two-sided description of Jesus’ death as a propitiation helps the cross begin to make sense. Dr. Piper has rightly observed, “If God’s justice does not demand the death of his Son, then the extreme suffering of Jesus feels like a gross overreaction.” But, God’s justice does demand it. Let us therefore be thankful that God has not withheld it. Let us be thankful that in love our Lord has given it. We have transgressed God’s holy law, and that is no small thing. We are the ones who deserved the punishment of God’s wrath, but Jesus is the one who received the punishment on our behalf. This is the cup he drinks. Blessed be the name of our infinitely just and infinitely loving God.
In Awe of God,
Pastor Andy
The grace of understanding comes through thinking as opposed to not thinking. - John Piper
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In Gethsemane we hear Jesus boldly pray, “Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Jesus is resolved to accept his Father’s will, but he hints that he might rather not drink the cup set before him. I don’t think it wise to suggest Christ has a begrudging spirit – he simply knows how bitter the cross will be. Anyone a little too eager for such suffering could be considered unstable. Jesus’ response seems just right.
Jesus’ description of the cross as a cup he is to drink has a rich biblical background. He most assuredly has in mind the cup of God’s wrath described in Jeremiah 25 and Isaiah 51. The reference from Gethsemane found in Mark 14, however, is not Jesus’ first use of the metaphor. In Mark 10 Jesus uses the image of cup drinking as a synonym for what James and John labeled, “in your glory.”
The Sons of Thunder make a bodacious request, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” What a moment in the story of the Apostles! Their petition is a Peter-esque foot swallowing, and Jesus response is so on target, “You don’t know what you are asking.” He then follows with a question, “Can you drink the cup I drink…?” The brothers assure him they can, but Jesus informs them the seats they request have already been assigned.
This conversation makes it evident the phrase in your glory means different things to Jesus and his apostles. They envision a political triumph of apocalyptic proportion; Jesus envisions the much more humble, sinner redeeming work of the cross.
The connections all seem clear to Mark, the gospel writer. On cue, he describes the crucifixion and reports, “They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.” It is good that we all know hindsight is 20/20 – this fact keeps us from being too hard on James and John. Yet, we often miss it ourselves, even though literarily speaking, the connection between the cup, the cross, and Christ’s glory could not be more apparent. When Jesus dies on the cross, he drinks the cup of God’s wrath and thereby unveils his glory.
If the concept of a wrathful God is a concept that bothers you, this is an event in the life of Christ with which you will surely struggle. In addition, to call an act as gruesome as the cross a moment of glory may also seem a bit much to some. But, the link between the two in the mouth of Jesus seems inescapable. You must, furthermore, remember that God is not capriciously angry at humans. The wrath in the cup is judicial in nature. We have transgressed his law, and God can never be accused of being an indulgent Father. The cross is necessary for justice. Otherwise it might be said that God looked at the sins of his people and blinked.
It was also necessary for Christ to suffer on the cross because of God’s love. We must never pass over the unity between Father and Son in their trinitarian relationship. “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son,” may never be construed as a hint of discord between the two. The Son of God labored in perfect harmony with the Father, for he is the one who said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
In his dying Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath for the purposes of justice and love. Too often we miss the multiple purposes of Christ’s consumption of the cup of wrath. When Jesus satisfies the wrath of God against sin, there is a simultaneous manifestation of justice and mercy – righteousness and love. Because God’s righteousness and love are demonstrated by Christ, we are moved to surrender to God’s wisdom and perfection. He knows best and does what is best. He does for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Thanking God Jesus drank my cup,
Pastor Andy
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As a child I could be mischievous. Around age 8 I decided to play mad scientist in my grandmother’s kitchen. While she was busy with other things, I pulled out the “chemicals” from her refrigerator (anything liquid), and I mixed a secret potion designed to grant super powers to anyone who consumed it. When I was discovered, an investigation was undertaken to determine the contents. When the adults decided I had put nothing truly harmful in my scientific concoction, I was made to clean my mess and drink the elixir. Needless to say, I did not receive great powers, and some things were never meant to be consumed.
The Bible tells of another cup filled with unspeakable bitterness, the cup of God’s wrath. Jeremiah 25:15 reports, “Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.’” In addition Isaiah 51:17 tells us, “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.” More foreboding than any poison, this cup of wrath is the judgment of God against human sin. As a symbol used throughout Scripture, this cup has the potential to not only teach us about the bitterness of God’s wrath but also the sweetness of his grace.
If you are wondering how a cup of wrath can teach us about grace, then you have asked a good question. The answer, however, is not complicated. Simply ask yourself when such a cup was ever consumed. Mark 14:35-36, the record of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane, holds the answer, “And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” God’s answer to his son was to not remove the cup. Instead, he appointed Jesus to drink that cup as his own decisive intervention in history on behalf of sinful man – and Jesus drank it to the dregs.
The New Testament uses a word to classify Christ’s work on the cross that describes the act of cup drinking better than any other – that word is propitiation, a sacrifice that appeases the wrath of God. Three scriptures, Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, use this term in reference to Jesus’ death. When Jesus died on the cross, he drank the cup of God’s wrath, serving as our propitiation. For NIV users checking the passages, the word is translated sacrifice of atonement, but it still means the same thing.
Affirming the truthfulness of God’s wrath against sin is important for comprehending what God did for his people in the sacrifice of his son. Downplaying or denying the wrath of God as some Biblical scholars do, makes it difficult to recognize what Paul means when he says in Ephesians 2:3 that we, “were by nature children of wrath,” or in Romans 1:18 that , “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Denying the wrath of God also prohibits us from grasping the profound sweetness of grace. Turning back to Ephesians 2, allow Paul to finish his sentence, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!” Indeed we have!
That grace was secured for us on the Cross. By his own death Jesus suffered the punishment of God’s wrath against sin. He drank a cup we could not bear to drink. The contents of the cup of wrath were surely bitter. As I contemplate those contents I am certain we all agree there are some things no one should drink. I am equally certain all Christians are extremely thankful Jesus did just that.
Celebrating Christ as My Propitiation,
Pastor Andy
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The Apostle John records Christ’s important teaching on the essence of salvation. In John 17:3 we read, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Surely this knowledge only comes to those whose sins are forgiven in Christ, but when describing the ultimate gift of grace, that gift is knowing God.
No one purchases a plane ticket in order to merely possess a piece of paper. The ticket symbolizes something greater. For the ticket to be of any value, one must get on a plane and go somewhere. Too many people think of their salvation experience like buying a ticket. The problem is, they never get on the plane. The ticket, therefore, is worthless. When “salvation” is nothing more than walking an aisle or filling out a card, that “salvation” is like a man who buys a ticket and does not get on the plane. He may have a piece of paper, but he is not going where he desires. Said a little differently, just because a person does not want to go to hell does not mean they want a relationship with God.
Therefore, when considering our salvation in Christ, we must understand that our salvation is more than a mere escape from punishment for sin. The great gift of our salvation is God himself. If we only seek escape from sin’s punishment, we will be in danger of missing God, and consequently, the escape we so desperately want.
Yet, what I propose is not an either/or proposition. Salvation always takes aim at our hearts in two directions. There is that which we are saved from and that which we are saved to. We are saved from our sin, but additionally – as well as more importantly – we are saved to commune with God.
Imagine a drowning man just a few feet from a pier. In our lost condition we are more than drowning; we are dead. But, since this metaphor is so common, I thought it best to work with it for this point. So, for the sake of illustration let’s continue. Jesus is standing on the end of the pier, and he rescues the man, pulling him to the dock. After the man is safely sitting on the dock, Jesus walks away never to be heard from again. Practically speaking, many people “become Christians” in this manner, and it is very dangerous to assume such an experience is a real salvation. Jesus does not save us for the mere sake of getting us out of the water. He saves us to enjoy a sweet communion with us. When Christ rescued us on the cross, it was not that we might remain on the pier. Rather, we get up, follow the savior, and walk with him in gratitude for what he has done.
For this reason the Apostle John emphasizes Jesus’ description of the essence of eternal life as knowing God. Such knowledge is no mere head knowledge; it is heart knowledge with content. Knowing God is about experiencing a redemptive relationship with our maker. To be certain, the cross saves us from our sins, but it also saves us to a true communion with God – A communion we treasure when we are indeed saved from our sins. Conversely, where there is no such communion with God, there is no salvation. Jesus died on the cross and was raised to life again for both aspects of salvation – the from and the to.
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When many Christians speak of the fatherhood of God, they often fail to make important distinctions. God is the father of us all, but does he extend a fatherly relationship to all humans in the same way?
God is a father in two senses. He is the father of all humanity by the virtue of creation, and he is the father of all believers in a different sense by virtue of redemption. In like manner God loves humanity in two senses as well though they are not as distinct. God has a common grace love for all humanity, but this love is not identical with saving love. God, in Christ, extends saving love only to those who put their faith in Christ and repent of their sins. The common grace love is more general in nature while saving love is profoundly specific in nature. God’s fatherhood in creation is linked with common grace love, and God’s fatherhood in redemption is linked with that more specific love believers receive through Christ.
Paul gave voice to the first aspect of God’s fatherhood while preaching to the Athenians. He used a quote from their own poets to demonstrate what Scripture teaches in Genesis. He says in Acts 17:28-29, “Even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.” Paul emphasizes God’s general fatherhood in creation to establish the obligations all humans have to God, obligations we have failed to meet.
Paul addresses the more particular manner in which God is father in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” He says it again in Galatians 4:4-7, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
These observations are helpful in many ways, but they are particularly helpful in sorting out what the Bible says about God’s wrath – specifically the way his wrath is expressed in judgment and discipline. Apart from Christ all humans are what Paul calls, “objects of wrath.” By virtue of creation every human being is obligated to honor and obey God, which is something no one has done perfectly. Humanity’s failure to honor and obey God has incurred God’s righteous judgment. Therefore, unless some decisive action is taken to change our condition, we will remain objects of God’s judicial wrath, even though he is rightly our father in the most general sense.
The decisive action needed to change the human condition is taken in the work of Christ on the cross. In the passage from Galatians quoted above, Paul points to the work of Christ as the basis for any right to cry out to God as “Abba, Father.” Only those who are found trusting in Christ can lay claim to God’s fatherhood in a saving fashion. Those who savingly trust in Christ have no fear of God’s wrathful condemnation (Romans 8:1). We who believe are no longer objects of God’s wrath. There is, however, a fatherly discipline. The writer of Hebrews explains, “have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’”
By God’s grace through faith in Christ, I rejoice to be counted a son of God. Though we may find ourselves disciplined as sons, in Christ we will never find ourselves the objects of God’s judicial wrath. Such delight is the fruit of comprehending these distinctions in God’s fatherhood, wrath and discipline. Even from John 3:16 we see how God’s love moves from the general to the specific. God does indeed love the world, but his decisive intervention in the sending of his one and only Son is applied only to those who believe. In one sentence John surveys the whole scope of God’s general and specific love – and by inference God’s general and specific fatherhood.
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Monday morning has come, and I am pondering our worship from yesterday. I am moved to write you in order to attempt a crystallization of yesterdays message. Upon reflection I am certain I said what I am about to repeat, but I am not certain I said it this clearly.
2 Corinthians 2:15 says we are the aroma of Christ. This fragrance is life to those being saved, and it is death to those who are perishing. Therefore, the question is not whether we are the odor of life or the odor of death. The question for application is – are we the odor of Christ or the odor of something else, like self?”
You see the aroma of Christ, faithfully perfumed in the world, is the odor of life and the odor of death. That is why the orange blossoms are such an appropriate analogy. First, in the world of flowers they are extremely pungent. Second, they smell exquisitely sweet to some and devastatingly dangerous to others, i.e. those with allergies. The orange blossom is one flower, with one odor producing two very different responses. Likewise, when we are faithful to Christ we cannot help but be life to some and death to others.
The gospel does not save everyone, and I know that is a grievous thought for many of you. It grieves me also to think that there would be many who would reject what I believe to be the delectably sweet aroma of Christ. However, this truth safeguards us from the pitfall of man-pleasing. While I deeply wish everyone responded to the gospel favorably, this wish can lead me astray if I change my work from being faithful to Christ to being attractive to human beings. Think it over, that which is attractive to the world is not often faithful to Christ – is it?
Faithfulness to Christ never allows us to be callous, but neither will it allow us to change the gospel or fail to preach the gospel simply because someone disagrees – or finds it offensive.
I will be praying for all of you this week that your life’s fragrance is the aroma of Christ. Pray for Hope and me as well. I am traveling to Louisville, Ky for the Together for the Gospel conference. If you would like to learn more take a look at www.t4g.org. I don’t relish the idea of being away from the family. Pray not only for my physical protection, but spiritual and moral protection as well. I look forward to returning to you soon in the excitement of what God teaches me in these few days.
From your pastor’s heart,
Pastor Andy
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When it comes to the presence of God in the life of a believer, what Scripture actually teaches us may be far sweeter than anyone might have first considered. The reason is that God’s presence with his people in the Old Testament was not guaranteed to be permanent for individuals. Many times in the Old Testament the Spirit of God would come and go based on a person’s obedience.
Consider Samson. Once he broke his vow, the Spirit of God left him. King Saul is another example. The Holy Spirit left him and was replaced by an evil spirit that tormented him. So, when David prays in Psalm 51, we get a sense David had real concern God would leave him because of his grievous sin. He prays,
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
David had committed adultery, lied, and murdered. He was aware that God had ceased to dwell with his forefathers for equally grievous sins, and he was genuinely afraid. Therefore, he repented.
The prophets of Israel, however, foretold a day this would all change. Through Jeremiah and Ezekiel God promised to do something more for his people than he had done previously. In Ezekiel 36 the prophet says God would give a new heart and a new spirit, and Jeremiah, in chapter 31 of his prophesy, calls this event a new covenant. Even though both prophets summarize these respective promises with the old summary, “you will be my people, and I will be your God,” something more is happening. God is revealing through this promise the hope of his permanent presence. No longer will he be distant; no longer will he come and go. In the new covenant he will reside in the hearts of all his people forever.
The New Testament is full of confirmation that this is exactly what the ministry of Jesus gives the people of God. Jesus grants the great gift all Scripture anticipates, God himself for all his people. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In [Christ] you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Galatians 2:20 records, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Also, Galatians 3:14 reiterates, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. “ More poignant is Colossians 1:26-27, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In these texts the whole scope of Redemptive history culminates in the permanent indwelling presence of Christ in his people.
It gets even better. This presence of God is the presence of all of God. Romans 8:9-11 teaches this when it says,
9However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
This text displays the unity of the Trinity. “Christ”, “The Spirit of God”, “the Spirit of Christ” and “the Spirit” are used interchangeably in the passage. As a Christian you have received the great gift of the gospel, God himself. Yes, God himself residing permanently in the believer as promised throughout the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New – All of God, all of the time.
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