Category: Hear From the President

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It was a sunny day in winter—the kind you wish for in Chicago where I grew up. I was about four years old at the time and my mom decided I should put on short pants and go outside to play.

As a kid, I hated short pants and so I argued and protested, telling my mother, “I won’t wear those pants!” But she was in charge, so I ended up wearing the short pants, but refused to go outside and play. That didn’t go off too well either! I don’t remember the details except that, in anger, I told her I didn’t love her and was going to run away from home. I ended up hiding in our garage until almost dinnertime and then decided I’d better go back inside before my dad got home. I recall that when I went back in, my mom said she had prayed for me to not get too lost and to come home. And then she told me that she loved me, even though I might not love her. By the time my dad got home from work and dinner was served, the whole incident was forgotten. Recently, I mentioned it to my mom and she had no recollection of the incident, though she quickly added that she still loves me.

My mom’s assurance of love warmed my heart. Though I never doubted her love, just hearing those words was affirming and made me stop and think of all the things she has done for me over the years. I can honestly say I love my mom because she first loved me. She loved me before I was born. I’m also reminded that I was loved even before she loved me.

God reassures us that he has loved each of us from “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4 NKJV). From the beginning, his plan focused on his Son becoming for us “the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8 NKJV). In reconciling love, Jesus Christ would be our “suffering Servant.” Note Isaiah’s prophecy:

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:3-11 ESV)

All this was because of God’s love for humanity—a parental love that, determined before the world’s foundation, was revealed conclusively at the cross of Christ. Note T.F. Torrance’s comment:

This is what we believe to be the significance of the cross of Christ—in him we believe that God himself has come into the midst of our human agony and our abominable wickedness and violence in order to take all our guilt and its just judgment on himself. That is for us the meaning of the cross. If I did not believe in the cross, I could not believe in God. The cross means that while there is no explanation of evil, God himself has come into the midst of it in order to take it upon himself, to triumph over it and deliver us from it. (Preaching Christ Today, p. 28)

There is no greater love, and I know you join with me in proclaiming, Praise God!

Good Friday will soon be here. This important day in the Christian calendar (March 25 this year) reminds us of the depth of God’s love. For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. Jesus so loved the world that he went to the cross bearing all our sin and the suffering, pain and alienation that goes with it. He went to such depths to conquer death itself and the power of evil that holds us in its grip.

Good Friday reminds us that Jesus’ death is good news for all—even for those who try to hide and run away from God, like I hid from my mom. I was a dumb little kid who tried to ignore and discount my mom’s love. I didn’t get what I wanted so I lashed out in anger and pretended she didn’t love me. It’s sad how many adults are just as foolish in pretending that God doesn’t love them. But like my mom, God loves us in spite of our foolishness. Even when we say “no” to God, he says “yes” to us. And he calls out to us all to come back to him and live in daily fellowship and communion with him as our Lord and Savior, the very source of our life.

What God has done for the whole world cannot be fully grasped in the feeble words of this short message. But what he did for us on the cross is the perfect demonstration of costly, reconciling love. On Good Friday, Jesus “tasted death” on our behalf, in order to permit us to participate in his glorious triumph. And he forgives and loves all people—even those who claim to despise him. Good Friday reminds us that we love God because he first loved us, demonstrating his love conclusively in the cross. His love is not just for those who believe—it is for all people, for all are his beloved children. I pray that this Good Friday we all will understand more deeply the truth and power of that love.

Inspired by God’s love,
Joseph Tkach

______________________________

Here are some articles you might find useful in your preparations for Holy Week:

• Gary Deddo’s articles Don’t Cry for Jesus (http://www.gci.org/jesus/dontcry) and Did You Kill Jesus Christ? (http://www.gci.org/jesus/youkill)
• GCI articles about Jesus the week before his death (http://www.gci.org/jesus/book3b)
• GCI articles about the death of Jesus (http://www.gci.org/jesus/book4)
• Michael Morrison’s article, Why Did Jesus Have to Die? (http://www.gci.org/disc/07-whydie)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Though interesting and vital, the study of history often leads to disagreement as people align with differing perspectives concerning the historical record. Depending on one’s country of origin, generation, race, religion, gender and other factors, people often emphasize some aspects of the record while diminishing (or even selectively revising) others. In some cases, they even embrace false statements that have been repeated so often they have become accepted as historical fact.

Is religion the cause of most wars?

A case in point is the often-repeated statement that “religion is the cause of most of the wars in human history.” This claim has been popularized by a wide array of well-known people, including British atheist Richard Dawkins and American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (see her quote below).

The problem with this claim is that it does not align with the facts of history [1]. As illustrated in the chart below (drawing on data in The Encyclopedia of Wars) there were about 1763 wars between 8000 BC and AD 2000 and religion was the underlying cause in only about 123 (7%) of those conflicts.

Did Christianity oppose science?

Another often-repeated claim is that during the Enlightenment (the period typically defined as stretching from 1685-1815), non-Christians and atheists worked to advance the role of science against the opposition of Christians. That claim is also false. Leading up to and during that period Christians were generally not anti-science and, in fact, were at the forefront of the advancement of scientific discovery.

Contrary to one of the assertions of the conflict thesis, which seeks to pit theology against science, the Enlightenment was not characterized by antagonism between Christianity and science. That flawed thesis, which arose in the mid-1800s, was debunked by historians of science in the mid-1970s (as noted in Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion, in which Ronald Numbers debunks false information including that related to the incident between Galileo and the Catholic Church). Though shown to be untrue over 40 years ago, the conflict thesis continues to be widely promulgated, even by those who ought to know better (journalists included).

The truth is that not only did Christianity not hold back scientific advancement, but many of the great discoveries of science were made by scientists who were Christians, including such men as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Gregor Mendel, Asa Gray, Lord Kelvin and Michael Polanyi. Though not Christian, Einstein was a theist who believed in an intelligent, transcendent God. He once said, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

But what about the Dark Ages?

Though bias in interpreting history can never be totally eliminated, there are times when the “fog” of bias becomes so dense that it obscures the truth entirely. But when bias is held to a minimum, reality can shine through. An example is the use of the term “Dark Ages” to identify the period between the 6th and 14th centuries. Most historians have stopped using that term because it gives the false impression that during that period (also known as the “Middle Ages”) there was pervasive ignorance accompanied by little development in knowledge, a situation exacerbated by the Church in its promulgation of unscientific, religious “superstitions.” But this narrative is simplistic and fails to account for the true history of that period, as Ronald Numbers notes in the book cited above.

Does Christianity promote misogyny?

In our day it’s fashionable to claim that Christianity is responsible for many of the world’s ills, including that of misogyny (hatred of and/or prejudice against women and girls). Aligned with that claim is the notion that the Bible is a deeply misogynistic book and famous Christians from Tertullian to C.S. Lewis had a low view of women. Though bolstered by the practice in some churches of excluding women from leadership, such claims are largely wrong (I can hear my grandfather saying that people who make them “are a few colors short of a rainbow!”).

The fact of history is that misogyny arose not in Christianity but in paganism, particularly in the wake of the Enlightenment when supposedly “enlightened” people became so “smart” they concluded that belief in God was unnecessary. For example, Frederick Nietzsche (1844-1900) in Thus Spake Zarathustra, wrote that, “God is dead.” In the same essay he wrote, “Thou goest to women? Do not forget thy whip!” Nietzsche’s thinking was influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), who in On Women wrote this:

Women are instinctively crafty, and have an ineradicable tendency to lie… As lions are furnished with claws and teeth, elephants with tusks, boars with fangs, bulls with horns and the cuttlefish with its dark, inky fluid, so Nature has provided woman for her protection and defense with the faculty of dissimulation, and all the power which Nature has given to man in the form of bodily strength and reason has been conferred on woman in this form. Hence, dissimulation is innate in woman and almost as characteristic of the very stupid as of the clever.

The claim that misogyny arose from Christianity and the Bible is akin to “the skunk calling the rose stinky.” Jesus long ago debunked false claims that men are smarter than and superior to women. He did so by dying for men and women and including both in his resurrection. Both men and women are predestined in Christ, and as the apostle Paul eloquently explains, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NKJV).

Without erasing gender differences, Paul affirmed a mutual interdependence between men and women: “Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God” (1 Corinthians 11:11-12 NKJV). Note that Paul wrote this long before the beginning of the modern feminist movement.

Positive contributions of Christianity

There always will be those who claim that Christianity is the cause of much of what is wrong in the world. It is true, of course, that some Christians have caused harm, and some still do, typically by living out misguided, sub-Christian beliefs. But these negative impacts have been far outweighed by the positive contributions to mankind made by Christ-followers. Christians founded most of the hospitals in the Western world, providing care for people regardless of their religious beliefs. [2] For centuries Christians have positively affected education, science, technology, music, literature and the arts. They have been strong advocates for human rights, care for the mentally ill, the eradication of slavery, promotion of marriage and the family, and equality for all under the law. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1:16). To that I say “amen” and add that I’m proud to be a Christian—an ambassador for Christ.

Walk in truth

Though some will continue to distort history to make a point or gain an advantage, historical revisionism never changes the truth. Therefore we need to beware historical revisionism and walk in truth—following and worshiping the Son of God who came to impact the world in a powerful and positive way. As his ambassadors, we are invited to participate with Jesus in living and sharing the gospel, and in so doing making a positive impact in the world. Though Jesus is always bringing about change in the world, he never does so by revising the truth. He doesn’t need to because the truth is always good news! Jesus, who is the truth, always establishes truth. Let us follow his lead.

Rejoicing in truth,
Joseph Tkach

________________

[1] See the article by Rabbi Alan Lurie at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-alan-lurie/is-religion-the-cause-of-_b_1400766.html.

[2] See the Christian Medical Fellowship article at http://admin.cmf.org.uk/pdf/helix/spr00/11history.pdf.

In his letter this week, Dr. Tkach concludes a three-part series on the topic of God’s grace (for the other two letters in the series, click here and here).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that grace “is not unlimited” or that it “has its requirements.” Some even accuse those who emphasize God’s love and forgiveness as promoting what they disparagingly refer to as “cheap grace.” On one occasion my good friend, GCI Pastor Tim Brassell was accused of preaching “cheap grace.” I love his reply: “No, it’s not cheap grace I’m preaching. It’s far better than that—it’s free!”

It was theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, who popularized the term cheap grace. He used it in making the point that God’s grace, which is unearned, is experienced as a person embraces and then lives out the new life that is theirs in Christ. Apart from that life of discipleship, what a person experiences will be less than God’s fullness—it will be an experience of “cheap grace.”

The lordship salvation controversy

Unfortunately, Bonhoeffer’s teachings concerning grace (including his use of the term cheap grace), along with his teaching concerning salvation and discipleship, have often been misunderstood and misapplied. A case in point is the decades-old debate known as the lordship salvation controversy. A leading voice in that debate, a well-known five-point Calvinist, often asserts that those who claim that a personal profession of faith in Christ is all that is required to be saved are guilty of advocating “cheap grace.” He then argues that to be saved, one must make a profession of faith (accepting Jesus as Savior) and produce a certain level of good works (obey Jesus as Lord).

Though both sides in this debate make valid points, I think both make errors that would be avoided if they would start their discussions not with the human response to God, but with the response of Jesus to God. By starting there they would see Jesus for who he truly is—both Lord and Savior. They would proceed by understanding that, as a gift of grace, we are being led by the Spirit to share more and more in Jesus’ own response to the Father on our behalf.

From this Christ-centered, Trinitarian vantage point they would view good works not as what earns salvation (or as something that is superfluous), but as what we are created to do in our union with Christ (Ephesians 2:10). They would also view salvation as being entirely unearned, resulting not from works (including our personal profession of faith) but from the works and faith of Jesus on our behalf (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:20 KJV). They would then conclude that there is nothing they can do to save themselves or to add to (or to maintain) their salvation. As noted by the great preacher Charles Spurgeon, “If we have to put one stitch into the garment of our salvation, we shall ruin the whole thing.”

Grace is Jesus’ work for us in all its aspects

As we’ve noted in this series on grace, we ought to have much more faith in Jesus’ works (his faithfulness) than in our own. It does not devalue the gospel to teach and believe that our salvation is not the result of our works, but is accomplished entirely by God through his grace. As noted by Karl Barth, “No one can be saved in virtue of what he can do. Everyone can be saved in virtue of what God can do.”

The Bible teaches that anyone who believes in Jesus “has eternal life” (John 3:16, 36; 5:24) and “will be saved” (Romans 10:9). And there are verses that admonish us to follow Jesus, living out our new life in him. Any approach to God and his grace that separates Jesus as Savior and Jesus as Lord is wrong-headed. Jesus is one whole, undivided reality who is both Savior and Lord. As Savior, he is Lord. As Lord, he is Savior. Attempting to dissect that reality into two separate categories is not helpful nor is it productive. Doing so creates a two-class Christianity that opens the way for people to exert their judgment upon who is and isn’t a believer in Jesus. It also tends to separate our being from our doing.

A bifurcating of Jesus and his salvation is grounded in a transactional view of salvation that separates justification from sanctification. But salvation, which is entirely of grace in all its parts, is about a relationship with God that leads to life transformation. The grace of God that saves us accomplishes our justification and our sanctification in that Jesus himself, by the Spirit, is both our righteousness and our sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30).

The Giver of salvation is, himself, the Gift. United to Jesus, by the Spirit, we share in all that is his. The New Testament sums it up by calling us a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is nothing cheap about this grace because there is nothing cheap about Jesus and the life we share with him. Indeed, that relationship results in repentance, in leaving the old person behind, and in walking in newness of life. God, in love, desires the perfection of his beloved and has provided for that in Jesus. Anything less would not be loving. As Calvin used to say, “Our whole salvation is complete in Christ.”

A misunderstanding of grace and works

When the focus is on the exact nature of our response and understanding, and on the production of good works, some will mistakenly believe that an ongoing contribution of good works is necessary to maintain our salvation. The fear is that a focus on the grace of God through faith alone will result in the granting of license to sin (a topic I addressed last week). The silliness of that idea is that grace does not ignore the consequences of sin. Also, such wrong-headed thinking separates grace from the very being of Jesus, as if grace is a commodity for transaction that can be doled out in bits and pieces, separated from Christ. In effect, the focus on good works ends up promoting disbelief that Jesus did everything required to save us. It wrongly affirms that Jesus only began the work of our salvation and now it is up to us to behave in a certain way in order to maintain it.

Christians who fully embrace God’s freely-given grace do not believe it gives them license to sin—just the opposite. Paul was accused of preaching too much grace so that “sin may abound.” But that accusation did not cause him to change his message. Instead, he charged his accusers with distorting his message and went on to clarify that grace is not about making exceptions to rules. Rather, faith in God and his grace works itself out in love (Galatians 5:6 ESV). Paul said that the aim of his ministry was to bring about the “obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5 ESV; Romans 16:26 ESV).

Salvation is by grace: Christ’s work from start to finish

We have a certifiable debt of gratitude to God, who sent his Son in the power of the Spirit to save us, not condemn us. We understand that no amount of good works can make us righteous or holy, because if it did, there would be no need of a savior. Whether one’s emphasis is on the obedience of faith or the faith of obedience, we must never undervalue our need for Jesus as our Savior. He has judged and condemned all sin and has forgiven us for eternity—a gift we receive as we believe and trust in him.

It is Jesus’ own faith and works—his faithfulness—that saves us from start to finish. He imputes to us his righteousness (our justification) and by the Holy Spirit he shares with us his holy life (our sanctification). We receive both gifts of grace in the same way: by trusting in Jesus. What Christ has done for us, the Holy Spirit works out within us. We are directed to believe that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). If anyone does not participate in what Jesus is doing in them, then their profession of faith is empty. Instead of receiving God’s grace, they are resisting it by presuming upon it. Certainly we want to avoid that mistake, but let’s also avoid embracing the false idea that our works somehow maintain our salvation.

Eternally grateful for the fullness of God’s grace,
Joseph Tkach

In his letter this week, Dr. Tkach continues a three-part series on the topic of God’s grace (for the other two letters in the series, click here and here).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So goes the old adage. But when the topic is God’s grace, it does not apply. Nevertheless, some people insist that grace truly is too good to be true, and seek to counterbalance it with law to avoid what they see as license to sin. Their sincere, though wrong-headed efforts are a form of legalism that robs people of the transforming power of grace, which flows from the love of God poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

The good news of the grace of God in Christ

Jesus (who is the grace of God) came declaring the gospel (Luke 20:1 ESV), the message of God’s grace toward sinners (which, last time I checked, includes everyone). But the religious leaders of his day didn’t like that message because it seemed to place all people (including those they saw as less righteous than themselves) on the same, level playing field. For them, Jesus’ message of grace (the good news), was decidedly bad news. On one occasion, Jesus gave this reply to their protests:

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. (Matthew 9:12-13 ESV)

Though we embrace the gospel—the message of God’s grace in Christ—it was repugnant to the self-righteous, religious types of Jesus’ day. That same message still rankles those who believe they must try harder and behave better in order to earn God’s favor. “How,” they wonder, “can we possibly motivate people to work hard, live right, and look to a spiritual leader for direction, if we tell them they are already under grace?” They can’t imagine any other way to motivate people than by emphasizing a legal (contractually-based) relationship with God.

Please understand, it’s good to work hard in God’s service. Jesus certainly did—his work is the ultimate achievement. But remember that Jesus, who was perfect, came to reveal the Father to us. And in that revelation there is pure good news that tells us that God’s economy is better than ours—he is the inexhaustible source of grace—love, goodness and forgiveness. We don’t pay taxes (things to earn God’s grace) for God’s government to work—he’s in the business of graciously helping humanity out of the pit it has fallen into.

Perhaps you remember the story about the traveler who fell into a pit and was struggling to get out. Several people came along and saw his struggle. The sensitive person said, “I feel for you down there.” The reflective person said, “It’s logical that someone would fall into the pit.” The interior designer said, “I can give you some ideas on how to decorate your pit.” The judgmental person said, “Only bad people fall into pits.” The curious person said, “Tell me how you fell into the pit.” The legalist said, “I believe you deserve your pit.” The tax agent said, “Are you paying taxes on that pit?” The self-pitying person said, “You should have seen my pit.” The Zen Buddhist said, “Just relax and don’t think about the pit.” The optimist said, “Cheer up! Things could be worse.” The pessimist said, “Be prepared! Things will get worse.” Jesus, seeing the man (humanity) in the pit, jumped in and lifted him out. Now that’s grace!

Some people don’t like the logic of God’s grace. Believing that their hard work helped get them out of the pit, they see it as unfair that others get out without working equally hard. But the nature of God’s grace is that God is equally generous to everyone. Though some may need forgiveness from bigger debts than others, the same arrangement extends to everyone no matter their circumstances. God doesn’t just talk love and compassion; he demonstrated it by sending Jesus into the pit with us in order to lift us all out.

Those who embrace legalism tend to misread God’s grace as promoting a libertine, spontaneous, and unstructured lifestyle (the antinomianism I wrote about last week). But that is not the case, as Paul noted in his letter to Titus:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

Let me be clear about this: in saving people, God does not leave them in the pit. He does not abandon them to a life of immaturity, sin and shame. God’s grace does not tell us that having forgiven us for falling in, it’s OK for us to remain in the pit. Jesus saves us so that we, by the Spirit, will rise from the pit to the new life of sharing in Jesus’ righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 14:17).

The parable of the workers in the vineyard

Jesus taught about God’s unconditional grace in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). Regardless of how long they labored, all the workers were given a full day’s wage. Naturally (humanly) those who worked the longest were upset, believing those who worked less hours received more than they deserved. I suppose those who worked less also believed they didn’t deserve what they received (I relate to that viewpoint!). Indeed, grace by its very nature does not seem fair—but since the judgment of God (represented by the landowner in the parable) is in our favor, I simply praise God for his grace! I have not fooled myself into believing that if I worked hard all day in the vineyard I would somehow earn God’s grace. Grace can only be gratefully, humbly received as the free gift that it is.

I love how Jesus contrasts the groups of workers in his parable. Perhaps some of us would identify with those who, having worked long and hard, think they deserve more than they received. But most of us, I’m sure, would identify with those who were given far more than they earned. It’s only with a perspective of gratitude that we are able to appreciate God’s grace, understanding just how desperately we need it. Jesus’ parable teaches us that God gives salvation to those who have not earned it (indeed, it cannot be earned). It also points out that religious legalists complain that grace is unfair (too good to be true)—how can God, they reason, reward those who have not worked as hard as they have?

Motivated by shame or gratitude?

Jesus’ teaching undermines shame, which is the primary tool legalists use to pressure people into conforming to God’s will (or, more often, to their will!). Shame is the opposite of the motive that flows from grace, which is gratitude for God’s love. While shame focuses on the self with its sin, gratitude (which is the essence of worship) focuses on God and his goodness. Speaking from my own experience, being motivated by shame (and the fear that goes with it) is a poor substitute for being motivated by gratitude for God’s love, goodness and grace.

Unlike the legalistic obedience motivated by shame, obedience motivated by gratitude is fundamentally relational (heart-to-heart)—what Paul refers to as “the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 16:26). That’s the only kind of obedience Paul endorsed, for it’s the only kind that truly glorifies God. Relational, gospel-shaped obedience is our grateful response to the grace of God. It was gratitude that motivated Paul in his ministry, and that motivates us today to participate in what Jesus is doing in the Spirit, through the church. By God’s grace, that sort of ministry leads to life transformation.

In Christ, by the Spirit, we are and always will be the beloved children of our Father in heaven. All God asks is that we grow in his grace and in doing so get to know him better (2 Peter 3:18). That growth in grace and knowledge will continue now, then throughout eternity in a new heaven and new earth.

To God be the glory!

Rejoicing in the truth of God’s grace,
Joseph Tkach

In his letter this week, Dr. Tkach begins a three-part series on the topic of God’s grace (for the other two letters in the series, click here and here).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Martin Luther famously referred to Christians as “simultaneously saints and sinners.” His slogan was originally written in Latin: simul justus et peccator (where simul is the root of our English word simultaneously; justus means just or righteous; et means and; and peccator means sinner). If taken literally to mean that we live simultaneously in states of both sinlessness and sinfulness, Luther’s slogan would be a contradiction. But he was speaking metaphorically, addressing the paradox that on this side of the fullness of the kingdom of God we are never completely free of sin’s influence. Though reconciled to God (saints), we do not live perfect, Christ-like lives (sinners).

In constructing his slogan, Luther picked up on some of the apostle Paul’s language to make the point that at the heart of the gospel is a “double imputation” where our sin is “imputed” to Jesus, and his righteousness is “imputed” to us. This legal terminology of imputation provided a way to express what is legally true (and thus actual), but what may not be clearly visible in the life of the one to whom it applies. Luther also was saying that, apart from Christ, Christ’s righteousness never becomes our own possession (under our control)—it is a gift that is ours only as we receive it from him. We receive that gift by being united to the gift’s Giver, for in the end, the Giver is the Gift. Jesus is our righteousness!

Luther, of course, had much more to say about the Christian life than this one slogan, and though we agree with much of the slogan’s intended meaning, there are aspects with which we disagree. Note, for example, J. de Waal Dryden’s critique in the following quote from his article in The Journal of the Study of Paul and His Letters (I thank my good friend John Kossey for sending the quote to me):

[Luther’s] slogan helpfully summarizes the principle that the justified sinner is declared righteous by the “alien” righteousness of Christ, not according to the individual’s own inherent righteousness. Where this slogan proves unhelpful is when it is adopted, whether consciously or not, as a foundation for sanctification [the Christian life]. The problem lies in the continued identification of the Christian as “sinner.” The noun peccator signals more than simply a deformed moral will or a propensity toward illicit acts; it defines the ontology of the Christian. The Christian is not only “sinful” (in actions) but a “sinner” (in being and identity).

In psychological terms, [Luther’s slogan] mollifies moral guilt but perpetuates (and even promotes) shame. The self-interpretive image of the “justified sinner,” while it proclaims forgiveness, undermines the same forgiveness by reinforcing an understanding of the self as sinful to the core, precisely because it categorically excludes a transformative element that would lift the sinner to a higher station. The Christian is left with a pathological self-understanding, reinforced by common practices that habituate this perspective as a Christian virtue. In this way, shame and self-contempt become virtues to be fostered, instead of vices to be censured. (“Revisiting Romans 7: Law, Self, Spirit,” JSPL (2015), 148-149)

Embracing our new identity in Christ

As Dryden notes, God does “lift the sinner to a higher station.” In union and communion with God, in Christ and by the Spirit, we are “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV), being transformed to “participate” in God’s “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). No longer are we totally wretched humans yearning to be free from our sinful nature. Rather, we are God’s adopted, beloved, forgiven children being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Our thinking about Jesus and about ourselves radically changes as we embrace the reality of this new identity. We do so realizing that it is ours not because of who we are, but because of Christ. It is not ours due to our faith (which always is imperfect) but because of Jesus‘ faith. Note how Paul addresses this in his letter to Christians in Galatia:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, KJV, emphasis added)

Paul understood Jesus to be both the subject and the object of saving faith. As subject, he is the active agent who authors faith. As object, he responds as one of us with perfect faith, doing so in our place and on our behalf. It is his faith and faithfulness, not ours, that gives us our new identity and makes us righteous in him. [1]

As I noted in my Weekly Update letter a couple of weeks ago, in saving us, God does not merely wipe our slate clean and leave us to our own efforts in following Christ. Rather, by grace, God enables us to joyfully participate in what he has done and is now doing in and through us. Grace, you see, is more than a gleam in our heavenly Father’s eye. It originates in our electing Father who gives us gifts and promises of complete salvation in Christ, including justification, sanctification and glorification (1 Corinthians 1:30). We live out each of these aspects of our salvation by grace, in union with Jesus, by the Spirit who is sent into our very beings as the adopted, beloved children of God that we are.

Thinking about God’s grace in this way changes our perspective on just about everything. For example, as I go about my daily routine, I might wonder what I’m dragging Jesus into. But as I think about my life from the perspective of my identity in Christ, my thinking is transformed to understand that it’s not what I’m dragging Jesus into, but what he’s doing that I’m being called to share in. This transformation in our thinking is what growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus is all about. As we grow closer to him, we share more fully in what he is doing. This is the concept of “abiding” in Christ that our Lord spoke about in John 15. Paul referred to it as being “hidden” in Christ (Colossians 3:3). There can be no better hiding place, because “in Christ” is where there is nothing but goodness.

Paul understood that the purpose of life is to be in Christ. Abiding in Jesus instills within us an assured dignity and the destiny that our Creator intended for us from the beginning. This identity sets us free to live in the freedom of God’s forgiveness rather than in debilitating guilt and shame. It also sets us free to live with the sure knowledge that God, by the Spirit, is transforming us from the inside out. That is the reality of who we, by grace, truly are in Christ.

Misconstruing the nature of God’s grace

Sadly, some people badly misconstrue the nature of God’s grace, seeing it as license to sin (the error of antinomianism). Paradoxically, that error most frequently occurs when people try to fit grace and a grace-based relationship with God into a legal framework (the error of legalism). Within that legal framework, grace is misread as God making exceptions to legal rules. Grace then becomes a legal excuse for inconsistent obedience. When that is how grace is understood, the biblical concept of God as Father, disciplining his beloved children, goes right out the window.

Trying to force-fit grace into a legal framework is a terrible, life-robbing mistake. Lawful works do not maintain righteousness, and grace is not about making exceptions to legal rules. This misunderstanding of grace leads, typically, to libertine, unstructured lifestyles that are contrary to the grace-based, gospel-shaped life that Jesus shares with us by the Spirit.

Transformed by grace

While this unfortunate misunderstanding of grace (with its wrong approach to the Christian life) can seem to reduce guilt, it unwittingly misses the grace of transformation—the love of God coming into our hearts by the Spirit to truly change us from the inside out. Missing this truth leads ultimately to shame that typically is grounded in fear. Speaking from my own experience, I can say that being motivated by shame and fear is a poor substitute for being motivated by grace—motivated by the transforming love of God who justifies and sanctifies us through our union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Note Paul’s words to Titus:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

God has not saved us only to abandon us to shame, immaturity and sinful, destructive lifestyles. By grace he saves us so we can live, by grace, in his righteousness. Grace means that God never gives up on us. He continues to give us the gift of a share in his Son’s union and communion with the Father, and the gift of the Spirit who is committed to transforming us into Christ’s likeness. Grace is what our whole relationship with God is about!

In Christ, we are and always will be the beloved children of our heavenly Father. All he asks is that we grow in grace and in our knowledge of him. We grow in grace as we learn to trust him to be our all in all, and we grow in our knowledge of him as we follow him and spend time with him. God not only forgives us by grace, as we walk and talk with him in a life of obedience, he transforms us by grace.

Our relationship with God, in Christ, by the Spirit is not something that grows to some point where we have less need for God and his grace. Rather, our lives are contingent upon him at all points. He makes us new, cleansing us from the inside out. As we learn to rest in his grace, we come to know him better and love him and his ways more completely. And the more we know and love him, the more we will sense the freedom to rest in his grace, free of guilt, fear and shame. Paul sums it up this way:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

Let us not forget that it is Jesus’ faith—his faithfulness—that saves and transforms us. [1] As the author of Hebrews reminds us, Jesus is “the author [founder-ESV] and finisher [perfecter-ESV] of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV).

Joyfully embracing my identity in Christ,
Joseph Tkach

P.S. To learn more on this topic, I recommend Dr. Gary Deddo’s essay, “The Christian Life and Our Participation in Christ’s Continuing Ministry.” You’ll find it online at www.gci.org/christian-life.

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[1] For posts on The Surprising God blog about the faith of Christ that both saves and transforms us, click here and here.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My close friends are amused knowing I’m no fan of mountain climbing (nor hiking, for that matter). When asked if I want to go for “a walk,” I typically ask a few questions before answering. Will it be a brief, casual walk, or a hike (and do they know the difference)? If it will be longer than a Sabbath day’s journey, it falls into the category of a hike. If it requires changing into another style of shoes, it’s a hike. If it requires walking on an incline for more than 25 feet, it’s a hike. I developed these qualifying criteria (along with a few others) after starting out on too many walks only to discover they were actually hikes. I’ve done my share of hiking, including some mountain climbing, and for me the thrill is gone. While my friends take their hikes, I’m happy to sit comfortably sheltered with a good book and a nice beverage, awaiting their return.

That being said, there was a journey about 2,000 years ago to the top of a mountain that perhaps gave rise to the common phrase, “mountaintop experience.” What happened there is known as the transfiguration—an event recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Had I been invited to take part, I assure you I would not have hesitated (despite my no-hike rule!). Why? Because the leader was none other than the one who calmed storms, pulled money from a fish’s mouth, fed masses, and healed all kinds of diseases. I gladly would have climbed the mountain of transfiguration with Jesus. I’m sure you feel the same.

On Transfiguration Sunday (February 7, this year), many Christians commemorate the transfiguration as an event of great significance in helping us understand our new covenant relationship with Jesus. I believe one of the best ways to understand that event is to be reminded of the prominent role that mountains play in several of the Old Testament stories. Mt. Ararat is where Noah’s ark came to rest. Mt. Moriah is where God provided a lamb for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac. Mt. Sinai is where the Ten Commandments (the covenant between Israel and God) were given. Mt. Nebo is where Moses was allowed to see the Promised Land before he died. Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal together formed an amphitheater where the people heard proclaimed the old covenant blessings and curses. Mt. Carmel is where the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place. Mt. Zion is where the city of Jerusalem was built. When mountains are part of the story, something big is going on!

According to the New Testament, Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountaintop to pray. Luke tells us that as Jesus was praying there, his appearance changed, and his clothes “became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29). And if that isn’t mountain-topping enough, Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared, also in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus about his death, resurrection and ascension—the text says, “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Luke then adds this:

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his [Jesus’] glory and the two men [Moses and Elijah] standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (He did not know what he was saying).” (Luke 9:32-33)

Talk about the ultimate mountaintop experience! Having just awakened, Peter likely could not believe his eyes, and can you imagine what he was thinking at the time? “This is great… I don’t want this to end… let’s stay here awhile.” In the midst of his excitement he suggested the immediate building of “three shelters” (booths or tabernacles). But before Peter could say more, a cloud appeared and covered them and they became frightened. And if that wasn’t amazing enough, they heard a voice from heaven saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (Luke 9:35); or “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5); or “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7). According to Luke, when the voice finished speaking, the disciples “found that Jesus was alone” (Luke 9:36). The point being made for the benefit of these three disciples (and all others both then and now) is this: Jesus is supreme. He is superior to the Law (represented by Moses) and the Prophets (represented by Elijah). These twin pillars of the old covenant administration not only point to Jesus, but pale in significance before him.

As the old covenant faded from view, Jesus, the new covenant, remained with them. Only one luminary was now present for the disciples to honor and, with Jesus revealed for who he truly is, for them to worship. Given that revelation, there was no need to erect a shelter (a tabernacle, which is an old covenant custom). I believe this revelation also was showing these disciples something of the mysterious reality that theologians refer to as the hypostatic union—the miraculous joining of two natures (human and divine) in the one person of Jesus—a joining that (in the words of the Council of Chalcedon of AD 451) is “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”

Though it’s hard to know exactly what James, John and Peter understood at that moment, over time, through the illumination given by the Holy Spirit, they clearly got the point as we see in their New Testament writings. In his epistle, James alludes to the transfiguration in referring to “the Lord of glory” (James 2:1 ESV). In his Gospel, John refers to the transfiguration in writing that, “we have seen his glory” (John 1:14 ESV). And in one of his epistles, Peter refers to the transfiguration this way:

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

What a journey (what a hike) these disciples had with Jesus! And our Lord continues to move his followers forward, “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV). We journey on as we participate with Jesus in his ongoing ministry, through the Spirit, to the world—a life that includes sharing in both his joys and sufferings. Let us keep our hiking boots on so we may continue following, knowing that he is leading us toward the mountaintop experience above all others—the moment of our glorification when we’ll see Jesus “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). God speed that day!

Hiking with you,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As you well know, our lives are constantly bombarded by advertising. Ads appear about every five minutes on television and radio, pop up as we browse the Internet, and are ubiquitous in print media and on billboards, benches and even buses. Though some of these ads are clever, I find most to be annoying, intrusive time-wasters.

To believe many of these ads you’d have to practice what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “suspension of disbelief”—the temporary acceptance of events or characters as credible despite that they ordinarily are seen as incredible. The movie series Star Wars is a case in point, asking us to suspend disbelief to accept the idea that a gorilla-like character named Chewbacca can copilot a futuristic starship named Millennium Falcon! Many ads these days are equally fanciful, though once in a while one comes along that aligns with reality. My prayer is that the testimony of our lives is one such credible advertisement—a walking, talking ad for the gospel!

When the apostle Paul proclaims that we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV), he is reminding us that our lives should positively advertise Christ and his gospel. Though some of us are more colorful or clever in the way we do so, all of us, through our union and communion with God, are living, flesh-and-blood, walking, talking ads for the new life in Christ. That, of course, is a rather sobering thought since we want our lives to turn people to Christ, and not be an annoying, obnoxious promotion that prompts people to turn away from him.

Having the mindset that we truly are walking, talking ads for the gospel will, no-doubt, impact what we say and how we behave. It will keep us mindful that our day-to-day lives, which can seem so routine, have great meaning and purpose. It’s easy to lose sight of the reality of God’s omnipresence and of our enduring union with Christ by the Spirit. But these are realities, and God truly does want to use us as channels of his redeeming grace to the world. He does so in many ways, both ordinary and extraordinary. Sometimes he calls upon us to share a meal with an unbeliever—“eating and drinking to his glory” (1 Corinthians 10:31-33). Other times he calls upon us to verbally share the gospel story with an unbeliever, or to extend forgiveness in Jesus’ name to one that has wronged us. Sometimes God acts in and through us in miraculous ways to restore a broken relationship or participate in his healing of a person’s broken body. There are many ways for us to be walking, talking ads for the gospel.

We need to think about the topic of evangelism in light of the truth that Jesus already is Lord and Savior of all humanity. The kingdom already has been inaugurated and those who are following Jesus live already in communion with the Father, Son and Spirit. Though we live life now in a temporary human frame, and much of what we say and do is conditioned by our physical limitations and the circumstances that surround us, our true identities are found in the reality that we already are children of God who are co-heirs with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). This being so, our lives should reflect (advertise!) these profound, though somewhat hidden realities. Jesus promised to give us power by his Spirit to do so and thus be his faithful “witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

Being a walking, talking ad for the gospel means that what we do and say is highly significant. While our behavior does not earn us salvation, living faithfully in Christ does have behavioral expectations. Because we represent Christ, our lives should reflect who we know him to be—one with the Father and the Spirit in a triune communion of love. God, who is relationship, has created us in and for relationship. This reality should impact the way we interact with other people (unbelievers included). First, we should interact with them knowing we are children of God and wanting to reflect his love out to others. Second, and of equal importance, we should interact with unbelievers knowing that they too are children of God who need to experience the love of their heavenly Father.

Paul put it this way, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16). His point is that our behavior matters because we no longer live our lives for ourselves—we live it for God and for others. “For the love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Paul follows this up by calling us “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20) in the context of telling us that we are called to participate with Christ in his ongoing ministry of reconciliation. I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if every follower of Jesus lived with a mindset of reconciliation based on love rather than condemnation. What if we treated others as who they truly are—children of God—doing everything we can to help them turn to the One who died for them? What if we looked at others the way God looks at them, knowing that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV)? Although the salvation of others does not ultimately depend on our witness, we experience joy knowing we were involved in God “making his appeal” to others “through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

It is a pleasure and privilege to take part in what God is doing to transform people as they receive the good news of their reconciliation and enter into loving communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And though I can’t change the way people think and act, I can (and do) pray that God will continually remind me that I’m a walking, talking ad for the gospel. I also pray that he will guide me to be the most joyful and effective ad (ambassador for Christ) possible. I encourage you to join me in this prayer.

Living and sharing the gospel,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Fred Sanders, professor of theology at Biola University, wrote a humorous blog post in 2009 that assigned alternate meanings to the word GRACE used as an acronym to stand for different Christian groups and perspectives. Though it’s a bit esoteric (and sometimes off-center), I’ve quoted below part of his post, hoping to bring a smile to your face and then to make a point.

What does GRACE stand for?

• Existentialist: Genuine, Real, Authentic Christian Existence
• Catholic Mysticism: Gazing Raptly At Consecrated Eucharist
• Emergent church: Generational Resentment Against Conservative Evangelicals
• Arminians: God Respecting Autonomy Conditionally Elects
• Theonomist: Gospel Requires Absolutely Crushing Enemies
• Pentecostal: Glossolalia Received After Conversion Experience
• Evidentialist: General Revelation And Convincing Explanations
• Charismatic: Gombala Ramazoody Alleluia Chombalahombala Essanahanashanahana
• Cessationist: Generally Renouncing All Charismatic Experiences
• Socialist: Government Redistribution Allows Communal Economics
• Presuppositional Apologetic: Gospel Repentance Accomplished, Circularity Ensues
• Feminist theology: Gender Revolution Anticipates Church Evolution
• Open Theist: God reconsiders, And Cooperates Exquisitely
• Eastern Orthodoxy: Greek, Russian, Antiochene Cultural Expectations
• Anglo-Catholic: Getting Ritualistic After Cranmer’s Execution
• Roman Catholicism: Getting Right Archbishop Catholicizes Everything
• Fundamentalist: Gotta Really Agressively Confront Ecumaniacs
• Calvinists: God Rejects And Conversely Elects
• Dispensationalists: Getting Raptured After Charting Endtimes

This list makes me chuckle, though neither Sanders nor I mean any disrespect. We may not agree with all these groups and perspectives on every point of doctrine and practice, but all authentic Christians agree we are saved by grace and called to share this life-changing gospel with all people everywhere.

As a church, GCI proclaims that Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension is good news for all. We provide congregations where people are welcomed into fellowship and helped to grow in our Lord’s grace and knowledge through worship and sharing in Jesus’ ongoing works of service, in the Spirit, to the world.

That is what we are about—what we stand for, and I thank God that, more and more, we are known for what we are for, rather than (like the cartoon) what we are against.

As our name (Grace Communion International) indicates, we are for sharing God’s love for all people all over the world, and bringing them into communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We desire people everywhere to grow in right, loving relationship with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. Rather than to be known for what we oppose, we aspire to be known for what we are for—actively sharing God’s grace, forgiveness, inclusion, hope, love, faithfulness, communion and mercy. This is our aspiration as a denomination, as congregations and as individuals.

In all things, we seek to be for what God is for. What is that? In John 3:16 we learn that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son. Then in John 3:17 we learn that God did so not to condemn the world, but to save it. God, in Christ, is for us (all of us!)—that is the powerful lesson we rehearsed in the recent Advent/Christmas season. God’s desire is that we live in loving relationship with him and with each other. In this understanding we do not presume that we have all knowledge or have obtained perfection, but like Paul, we press forward, motivated by our “upward call” in Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14 ESV).

Of course, being for certain things means God is against whatever opposes those things. And we should follow suit, just as we are shown in Scripture. However, we ought not switch priorities—God is against what opposes his purposes in order to protect and bring about what he is for. He rescues and redeems us from sin and evil (which he is against) in order to accomplish what he is for, namely, making us his glorified children who share in Jesus Christ’s own sonship and communion with the Father by the Spirit. Were God not for something, there would be no reason for him to be against anything. This is the trajectory of Paul’s thought in Romans 5 where he acknowledges the fall, our sin, and the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. But then he uses the phrase much more (four times for emphasis) to show that we are saved for something: “Much more,” he writes, by receiving “the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness,” we will “reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). Karl Barth makes a similar point in Church Dogmatics:

Divine grace is primary and the sin of man secondary, and…the primary factor is more powerful than the secondary…. We cannot contradict the order which [God] establishes. We are forbidden to take sin more seriously than grace, or even as seriously as grace. (The Doctrine of Creation, part 2, vol. 3, 41)

It is my continual prayer that as a church we be known for being a safe place where people find love, hope, recovery and healing from bad doctrine, church abuse and infirmed teaching and counseling. I pray we be known as a church that fulfills John 13:35—known for our love for one another. I also pray we be known for joyful participation in the work of God—the work Jesus defined this way: “The work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).

What are we for? We are for God, who is for his people, just as we see and hear in Jesus. Our work is to introduce people to Jesus, helping them trust him, receive his forgiveness and share in his own faith, love, hope and joy. We are for following Jesus, the head of the church (Colossians 1:18), as he through the Spirit and the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17) leads us to participate with him in fulfilling the Father’s mission.

We are for living and sharing the gospel, giving birth to all kinds of churches in all kinds of places for all kinds of people. That is our motto, our mission/vision, and our passion. I pray it is our constant focus.

May we be known for what we are for,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A friend of mine was telling me about the first time he and his wife saw their new home. Viewing it online, they realized it was empty, so they decided to drive by for a closer look. To their chagrin, they could only peek inside—the windows were partially blocked by curtains and blinds. It wasn’t until a realtor let them inside that they got the full picture. Some of what they found was what they expected, but some was not what they expected at all. Their experience reminds me of the struggle we Christians, given our finite minds, often have understanding (“seeing”) such profound concepts as infinity, eternity and time. Trying to understand is like trying to see every nook and cranny of the inside of a house by looking through the front door keyhole. There is much to see, but the view is obstructed. Though we seek to understand, it’s a struggle—a collision of the finite with the infinite.

Barth on God, time and the Incarnation

As we read about these concepts, though we recognize the words, we’re not always sure what we’ve just read. A number of you have told me this has been your experience in reading theologian Karl Barth (I relate!). At times when reading Barth’s Church Dogmatics I’ve written more than a page of notes on a couple of his paragraphs, nevertheless, I wonder if I’ve understood what he wrote. It certainly takes work and patience to grasp Barth, but I find it well worth the effort—it’s like digging through rock in search of gold. Sometimes you come across amazing nuggets without realizing what you’ve found. But then you have that “aha moment”—it’s like someone has turned on the lights in a dark tunnel and you’re now able to see the gold right there in your hand.

One of the nuggets in Barth’s writing is his teaching that the Incarnation is the proper starting point for all true doctrine. Since the pre-incarnate Son of God is the Old Testament’s Creator and Lord, and the incarnate Son of God (Jesus) is the New Testament’s Savior, it makes sense that everything truly does begin and end with Jesus Christ—he is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13). Along those lines, Barth wrote this:

Whenever Holy Scripture speaks of God as eternal, it stresses his freedom. It takes him emphatically out of the realm of man and men, away from all history and all nature. It sets him at the beginning and end of all being and on high above it and unfathomably beneath it. (Church Dogmatics, vol. II.1, page 609)

This statement takes some pondering to mine the gold it contains, so let’s ponder together. Barth is linking God’s eternality with his freedom, making the point that for God to be truly God, he must be truly free—he must not be dependent on anything, and that includes time itself. This makes sense, for were God constrained by time, he would have to do things, allow things, or orchestrate things within a particular period or epoch of time. Were that the case, God would not be truly God—he would cease, for example, to be omnipotent. Barth is helping us understand that time cannot be God’s equal, nor a constraint upon him, nor a boundary that hems him in.

The idea of God being constrained by time arises not from Scripture but from paganism, including the Greek mythology concerning Kronos, who is one of the pantheon of gods known as the Titans. This myth does not align with the biblical revelation that God, who is eternal, created everything and there isn’t anything that exists that he did not create, time included. The Bible reveals that time has no power over God—there is nothing that has power over him, nor can anything exist prior to him. There cannot be anything that exists eternally with the same freedom including time itself. Either God has divine freedom and is the creator of time, or God is subservient to it and therefore not truly God. By definition, God is self-existent—as theologians say, he has aseity. God is wholly other—dependent on nothing, existing himself, before he created time. God exists in divine timelessness. Or, we can say, he has his own kind of time—time that is uncreated and eternal. The uncreated Father has and makes time for the uncreated Son (eternally!), and the Son has and makes time (eternally!) for the Father, all in the Holy Spirit. Now that’s a nugget that takes time to ponder!

The Incarnation in relation to time

With that thought in mind, let’s consider now the Incarnation in relation to time. The apostle Paul wrote this: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4 ESV). In the phrase, “When the fullness of time had come,” Paul says more than we may have noticed. This phrase does not mean that God was waiting around for a specific moment in time to act. Barth helps us understand by noting that eternity is something constant (immutable) while time is transient (mutable). Time was created and flows forward and is changing—moving from the present into the past in anticipation of the future. God, who inhabits eternity, is not subject to change like that. Nevertheless, in the fullness of time, eternity entered time.

The apostle John made a similar point in writing this: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This profound statement tells us that God has revealed himself within time and space without ceasing to be eternal. God, who inhabits eternity, takes time into himself and, in his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, takes on temporality. Just as the Incarnation means divinity has taken on humanity, it means that eternity subsumes time—it includes within it temporal time. In Jesus, God has made time for us, taken time for us. God has redeemed our time by graciously bringing it into fellowship and communion with his own time—his eternity.

Barth argued that neither time or eternity can be understood independently from the Incarnation. This reality fits hand-in-glove with the paradox of Jesus being both fully human and fully divine. Leaning too far in either direction leads to the heretical errors of Ebionitism (which diminishes Jesus’ divinity) and Docetism (which diminishes Jesus’ humanity). God is both temporal and eternal—temporal because eternity has subsumed temporality, and eternal because time has no power over him. There is a huge deposit of gold to ponder here!

The Incarnation reveals that, by grace, eternity includes time and does not exclude it. In the person of Jesus, the eternal entered time without ceasing to be eternal, raising us temporal beings through Jesus to participation in God’s eternity. In other words, Jesus’ coming in the flesh changes time for all time. We are in Christ and he is in the Father, and the Father is in him, and we are included in their eternity. Note Paul’s words:

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Rejoicing in glorious realities

Yes, you and I live in time, yet because of Jesus, we also live in eternity. This is an amazing nugget—a profound truth we struggle to grasp, but struggle we must, though it’s like peeking into a home through a crack in the curtains. Once we enter the home, we’ll see much more than we have ever dared to expect. In the meantime let’s hold fast to the nuggets we have—the precious knowledge that, already, we are alive with Christ; already, we have been raised to new life with him; and, already, we have been seated with him in the heavenly realms. He has shared with us his eternal life while we remain creatures, his created children. As the apostle Paul put it, “What is sown [created] is perishable [mortal, subject to death], what is raised is imperishable [not subject to death]…” (1 Corinthians 15:42 NRSV).

What we grasp now about these glorious realities is just a foretaste—there is much more to see and to comprehend. In the meantime we celebrate the profound, joyous truth that through the Incarnation Jesus has entered time and became one of us in order to take us out of time and bring us into his eternity. When we are glorified and we see our Lord face-to-face, our minds will be enabled to grasp more fully what we now see “through a glass darkly”—our glorious, eternal union and communion with the triune God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit for all eternity. God hasten that day!

Rejoicing in the Incarnation,
Joseph Tkach

PS: In the United States, January 18 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For some insights about Dr. King’s important contributions, see my January letter to donors at http://www.gci.org/letter/1601.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family were able to be together during the recent holiday season, which in the U.S. traditionally begins with Thanksgiving and extends through Christmas and New Year’s Day. In accordance with the historic, orthodox Christian worship calendar, the season begins for most Christians in late November with the four Sundays of Advent, followed by Christmas Day, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and Epiphany. Advent celebrates Jesus’ comings, including his first coming (Incarnation and birth) and his second coming (bodily return in glory). Christmas reminds us that Jesus’ Incarnation and birth started everything anew. Epiphany, which occurs on January 6 (and typically is celebrated the prior Sunday), celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the world. This pattern of worship begins the liturgical year with a wonderful reminder that Jesus is at the center of everything God has done and is doing for the salvation of the world. In this letter, I will focus on celebrating Epiphany.

The word epiphany means to “show,” “make known,” or “reveal.” T.F. Torrance beautifully summarizes its biblical significance:

The New Testament constantly thinks of the Parousia [meaning “arrival” or “revealing”] in terms of epiphany, for the relation between the today and the eschaton [referring to the climax of history] is much more a tension between the hidden and the manifest, the veiled and the unveiled, than between dates in calendar time. What is still in the future is the full unveiling of a reality, but the reality itself is fully present here and now. Epiphany reminds us that with the birth of Jesus, God became God with us (Immanuel). With this advent, the Kingdom is now present to us in the person of its King—unveiled (revealed) to us personally, as we await, in hope, the full unveiling (revealing) yet to come when Jesus returns bodily in the fullness of his glory, ushering in the fullness of his Kingdom in a new heaven and new earth. (Incarnation, the Person and Life of Christ, p. 316)

On Epiphany we rejoice in the unveiling of God with us in the person of Jesus. That revealing occurred in the past (Jesus’ first coming), continues in the present (Jesus coming to us through the indwelling Spirit), and will culminate in the yet-future return of Jesus in glory. Jesus, God unveiled to us, come!

On Epiphany, Christians typically commemorate two important events in Jesus’ first coming: the visit of the Magi to pay homage to the infant Jesus (typically celebrated by Christians in the West) and Jesus’ baptism (typically celebrated by Christians in the East). Through his baptism, Jesus was revealed to be God’s unique “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:16-17 ESV).

Through the Magi’s visit (Matthew 2:1-2), Jesus was revealed to be Lord and King of all humanity (Jews and Gentiles alike). The Magi were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as King, and thus through them, the incarnate Christ was revealed to the wider world. Their act of worship (Matthew 2:10-11) corresponded to Simeon’s prophetic statement that Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:25-32). This was one of the earliest indications that Jesus’ vicarious life embraces all people, nations and races.

Commemorating these events on Epiphany reminds us of the mission of the church. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to participate in what our Lord is doing, by the Spirit, in all the world. We are called to share in his work to reveal himself and his salvation—a salvation that he has made available to all humanity.

Epiphany reminds us that in our union with Christ, we can enjoy communion with him as we participate with him in his continuing mediation and ministry for us and the whole world. This includes what he is doing to reveal himself to be who he truly is: the Light of the world. As we think about our calling, Epiphany reveals to us that we are not thrown back upon our own resources and efforts in this participation, but that all things are in and under Jesus, the Lord and Savior of all. In that we trust and rely, and because of that we celebrate!

Looking forward to another year of life in and with Christ,
Joseph Tkach

PS. For additional information about Epiphany, see the recent Surprising God blog post at http://thesurprisinggodblog.gci.org/2015/12/advent-and-epiphany.html.