Category: Hear From the President

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I love science—especially when it benefits our health. A few years back, many of us were delighted when a scientific study was published showing the health benefits of drinking red wine (in moderation, of course). Then other studies showed the health benefits of eating dark chocolate and drinking coffee (as many as 4-5 cups a day, though many would find that a bit much!). I eagerly await studies that, no doubt, will show the health benefits of eating mushrooms (true confession: I’m a mycophile—a lover of mushrooms—I prefer them fried).

Though there is disagreement as to the number of types of mushrooms (some say as many as 140,000) and the number safe for human consumption, nearly 100 types are currently being studied to determine their benefits to human health. A small number are proving to be immune-system boosters. You may recall that some of the most potent natural medicines (including penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline) are made from fungal extracts.

Limited atonement?

For good or for bad, mushrooms are highly potent. This is due to a remarkable capacity to absorb, concentrate and thus reflect the medium in which they grow. The doctrines we hold to are like that. Consider the doctrine of a limited atonement, which states that God created some people to be damned and others to be saved, with Jesus dying only for those predestined for salvation. Believing this doctrine has significant consequences in the minds and hearts of those who embrace it—leading at times to hating some people (the damned) while loving others (the saved). Defending this doctrine takes some creative double-talk, asserting, contrary to appearances, that God loves both groups. But how can God’s love be the same for both groups if he predestined one to be damned? Like a mushroom grown in a toxic medium, the bad that flows from this doctrine intensifies, calling into question the character and nature of a God who would will two absolutely opposite things for the people he created in, through and to (to be inherited by) Christ—those whose very existence is being upheld by Christ moment-by-moment (see Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Romans 11:36 and Hebrews 1:2).

The Bible declares that God loves all his creation—including all people. In the beginning, God declared all his creation “good.” He then sent his Son to save, not condemn, what had fallen prey to sin and evil (John 3:16-17). How is this creation-redemption sequence to be understood? Some tried to explain it with the theory of a limited atonement. This idea arose, in part, from a medieval cosmology, which reasoned that for God to know everything and not have his will contravened in any way, he had to decree and thus ordain everything in advance. But this line of reasoning has both a wrong premise and a wrong conclusion, making God out to be the author of sin and evil. But remember what Scripture declares: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). It is contradictory to conclude that God, who is “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17, KJV), is the author of sin and evil. The truth is that sin and evil came not from God but from creatures who, misusing their God-given freedom, brought about the opposite of good.

Those who defend the limited atonement doctrine try to get around these clear declarations of Scripture by saying that God allows sin but does not author it. They thus make a distinction between what God makes happen (his sovereign will of decree) and what he allows to happen (his sovereign will of moral command). While there is a moral difference between allowing something and causing something, making this distinction does not resolve the problem at all. If God in his sovereignty both wills the results and guarantees both outcomes, then saying that he wills but does not author sin (which he says he hates), is double-talk. If, as they assert, God wills what he allows, then the agency of others (those predestined for damnation) has no material bearing on the final state of things—no other agency than God’s is involved in the ultimate sense and thus no other agency than God is morally responsible for the final state of things.

The biblical teaching about salvation

We eliminate the need for any such double-talk when we embrace the biblical teaching that humanity was created by God for the purpose of eternal communion and fellowship with God. As finite creatures, we do not possess this eternal life, and thus we cannot give it to ourselves. Eternal communion and fellowship with the triune God can only be received as a gift from God—one he freely gives us, and one we must freely and continuously receive from him. Thus we understand that holy, eternal, personal relationship with God necessarily includes the need for freedom to receive it and to continually live in it. This freedom itself must be received as a gift given and maintained by God. This is exactly what God grants to us by his Holy Spirit, who delivers to us the freedom that was won by Jesus Christ in our place and on our behalf. In his own divine freedom, God gives freedom to all humanity. In doing so, he does not decree or will sin and evil into existence (though he knew we would misuse and abuse our freedom—throw it away, actually). From the foundation of the world, God knew what he would do in love (at great cost to himself) to save us from our predicament.

Karl Barth

In critiquing the doctrine of a limited atonement, Karl Barth taught that neither the Father nor Jesus do anything behind each other’s back. Jesus explained that he was sent to reveal the Father and that he did only what the Father sent him to do, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture reveals that Jesus is one (homoousios in Greek) with the Father, and through the Incarnation is homoousios with all humanity. The atonement is thus the result of Jesus acting according to his own nature as the unique God-man to remove all the barriers standing between us and God. Who Jesus was (and is) and what he did (and does) secures our trust and gives us the ability to speak of God’s redeeming work on behalf of all humanity.

Karl Barth understood that the idea of a limited atonement contradicts the entire truth and reality of the Son of God’s assumption of our “flesh” (meaning in the biblical context our human nature and fallen condition) and the reality of Jesus being the new head (the new Adam) of all humanity, not just part of it (see Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45). To believe in a limited atonement is to believe that Jesus is not for all (which he clearly is) and does not love all (which he clearly does), and to believe that Jesus and the Father, with the Holy Spirit, are not one in heart, mind, purpose, will, being and action (which they clearly are). Barth comments:

We cannot follow the classical doctrine [of the atonement] and make the open number of those who are elect in Jesus Christ into a closed number to which all other men are opposed as if they were rejected. Such an assumption is shattered by the unity of the real and revealed will of God in Jesus Christ (Dogmatics, II/2, subsection entitled, “The Determination of the Elect”).

Barth explained that there are people who know and live as the elect of God, and those who deny and live against it. The reality is that we are not given to know the number of people on either side.

Thomas F. Torrance

T. F. Torrance rejected both a limited atonement and univeralism, teaching that every human being will experience judgment (krisis in Greek, from which we get our English word crisis), in which it will be seen how each person responds to God’s loving forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption in Christ that is for all people:

God cannot hold Himself back forever, or rather the sinner cannot live forever entrenched in his independence, surrounded by all the defenses which he builds around his mortal life, in order to protect himself from God. So long as he lives on earth, he can hide himself in time, for as long as he is in time, God waits to have mercy upon him. But when he passes out of time in eternity, all his defenses fall away from him, and he stands naked before God. But in eternity he has no time for decision, for repentance, or for faith, for in time the voice of God calls to him and gives him time to make up his mind, and to answer. But when he passes from time into eternity, then all that has gone on in his soul comes to is ultimate crisis. Once that crisis begins, as so many of the parables of Jesus tell us, there is no time for preparation or action. It all happens in a flash, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye (from T.F.’s sermon “The approach to God,” in When Christ Comes and Comes Again, p. 133).

Universalism?

Because Barth and Torrance rejected the doctrine of a limited atonement, some mistakenly conclude they believed in a doctrine of universalism. They also reason that they were “light on sin,” teaching that it doesn’t matter what we believe or how we live. What these critics fail to see is the substantial difference between universal atonement (which is correct) and universalism (which is incorrect). Universal atonement means Jesus Christ’s atonement, which is not contingent upon human works, is sufficient for all humanity and efficient for all who respond to God’s love. Universal atonement does not mean that all will necessarily respond favorably and positively to God, receiving the free gift of relationship with him, entering with and through Jesus into eternal communion with the Father, Son and Spirit. All doctrines of strict universalism (and there are several) are biblically unsound, declaring that, in the end, all souls (human, and perhaps also angelic and demonic, even including Satan) will necessarily experience God’s eternal salvation. Some who embrace universalism even argue that repentance toward God and faith in Jesus are irrelevant.

Contrary to doctrines of strict universalism, the Bible teaches that there is salvation only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). In Christ (God’s elect One: the Messiah, Chosen One, Son of Man), all humanity is elect. God, who desires that all come to repentance, has created and reconciled all humanity for true fellowship with himself. Moreover, in Christ, God has already made gracious and just provision for all—even for those who at death appear not to have yet believed the gospel. But this reality of universal atonement does not necessarily mean that every person ultimately will accept God’s free gift delivered to them by the Holy Spirit. Eternal communion and fellowship with God cannot be forced. The Bible teaches that all who remain hostile to God (blaspheming the Holy Spirit) by their own choice cannot experience or enter into that fellowship (salvation). What they freely, personally decide in response to God, makes a difference in what they will experience. However, that personal response does not change the reality of who God is and what he has done on their behalf in and through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit.

Stay out of two ditches

There are two ditches we must avoid. On one side is the doctrine of a limited atonement, which mistakenly views God as creating some to have a loving relationship with him and others to be punished eternally for not loving him (despite the fact that he has not granted them the freedom to respond to his love). On the other side are the various doctrines of strict universalism, which mistakenly view God as not giving anyone a meaningful choice in the matter. Note that both ditches involve coercion, and thus are not the result of a loving relationship. It is just as coercive to say that God is going to make the entire world love him, as it is to say that he is only going to make a limited number love him.

The common error in these opposing ditches is in viewing God as a coercive “lover” who uses impersonal, mechanical or causal forces and legal maneuvers to bring about his two divergent wills. We avoid these ditches by staying well within the limits of the biblical revelation. Doing so allows us to hope for the salvation of all humanity (because of the universal extent of God’s grace) without presuming to know something that God has not revealed, namely, that all people necessarily will confess their sin and need for grace and thus receive their salvation from Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior.

Joyfully living in Christ, now and forever,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last week I noted that on the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension, God fulfilled the many Old Testament promises to send the Holy Spirit to humanity in a new way. You’ll recall that Ezekiel prophesied that God would give his people “a new heart” and put within them “a new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26, NRSV translation throughout). He also proclaimed that the “breath” or “spirit” of God (either translation is correct) would make the dry bones of “a vast multitude” come to life (Ezekiel 37:10). Joel quoted God as saying, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). Prophesying concerning this time, Jeremiah gave this declaration from God: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel… I will put my law [torah] within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

What other prophets implied, Jeremiah made explicit: the deep connection between God’s Spirit and Torah (meaning law, way or instruction). But what is the nature of that connection? The answer is found in the New Testament where Jesus spoke of himself as not abolishing the law but fulfilling it (Matthew 5:17). In like manner, Paul spoke of Jesus in this way: “For Christ is the end [telos] of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). Telos, which means “end” or “purpose,” speaks to the fulfillment of the goal to which a thing is related. For Paul, the Torah is fulfilled in Jesus because he is the embodiment of the law.

John addressed this same truth when he referred to Jesus as “the Word” who “became flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus embodied the ways of God—following them and then teaching them to others. For John, as the Word of God in himself, Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Torah.

In connecting Jesus with the Torah, John drew from the Old Testament scriptures and from Jewish tradition of his day (oral tradition that later was recorded in various Jewish writings). These sources present Moses as the one who brings the Word of God (the Torah) to God’s people. The correlation of Moses with God and with God’s instruction (the Torah) was deeply ingrained in Jewish thought.

Jewish tradition associated the Torah with the presence of God. The Rabbis taught that the tablets of stone on which were written the law were made of blue sapphire as a symbol of the heavens and God’s throne to which Moses was said to have ascended to receive the Torah written by the “finger of God.” The Torah itself makes a similar point: “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [on the Mountain of God], and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness” (Exodus 24:9-10). In John’s day and beyond the Rabbis referred to the Torah as life and light. But for John, Jesus is the eschatological life and light promised and expected in the Torah. Rabbis also referred to the Torah as the bread of life and truth. As you know, John attributed both to Jesus.

Some Jewish teachers taught that God first created the Torah, then used it as a tool in creating the cosmos. One Jewish commentary notes that when the Torah declares, “In the beginning when God created…” (Genesis 1:1), the word in can be translated “by,” and beginning understood as meaning the Torah. Thus they read the verse this way: “By the Torah when God created…” In like manner, they taught that God, working through the Torah, gave creation its order and moral structure. In contrast, John taught that God created the cosmos through Jesus (John 1:3). Thus the glorious things ascribed by the Rabbis to the Torah, were ascribed by John to Jesus, the Word of God incarnate.

In similar (and rather startling) fashion, John contrasted Moses (the mediator of the law/Torah) and Jesus. In John 1:17, he wrote: “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In understanding this and similar statements, it’s important to remember that John was interpreting the Old Testament through a Christocentric lens—reading it in light of the person, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus as being the promised Messiah. With that perspective, John wrote that Jesus, the one who came from the presence of God in heaven, is, in himself, the Word of God who then gave God’s instruction (word) to others. When Jewish religious authorities of John’s day marveled at Jesus’ teaching in the temple, Jesus chided them: “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (John 7:16). In speaking of the final judgment for those who reject God, Jesus claimed that, “the word that I have spoken will serve as judge” (John 12:48). Then Jesus explained why: “I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49). Jesus himself is the life and light of the world because he is the Word of God who perfectly fulfills God’s will, ways and instructions [God’s torah].

Like the words (Torah) given to Moses (though far better), the authoritative Word (Jesus) came from a heavenly origin. We note this in Jesus’ high-priestly prayer: “The words that you gave to me I have given to them…. I have given them your word” (John 17:8, 14). John taught that Jesus not only brings the Word of God to people, he is the Word of God come down from heaven to give life to the world. Whereas Moses shared the word (Torah) from God, Jesus is the Word. Only Jesus is the Word personified, the one who includes us in the very life of the Trinity.

But what about the Holy Spirit? How does he fit in? As we learn from John’s further teaching, along with other New Testament witnesses, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to work out in us and among us what Jesus, the Word of God, accomplished for us in his earthly life. The law written on our hearts, and the new life given to us by the Spirit are none other than Jesus the Word of God indwelling us by his Spirit.

Evermore realizing the real life we have in Christ,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

There are many themes that are appropriate to preach on the Day of Pentecost: God reverses the tower of Babel; God takes residence in his people; God gives spiritual unity; God gives new identity; God writes his law in our hearts; God reconciles people to himself and more. A theme that has been going through my mind in preparation for Pentecost this year is based on what Jesus said concerning what the Holy Spirit would do following his resurrection and ascension: “He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14, NRSV). There is a lot in this sentence. We know that the Spirit works to convict us of the truth that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We also know that he reveals that Jesus is our elder brother who unconditionally loves us and has reconciled us to the Father. But another way the Spirit fulfills what Jesus said, is by inspiring what we do in proclaiming the gospel message through our relationships and interactions with others.

We see a wonderful example of this when we read about the birth of the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost ten days after Jesus’ ascension. You’ll recall Jesus’ instruction to his disciples to wait for what would happen that day: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about’” (Acts 1:4). Because they followed Jesus’ instructions, the disciples witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit in great power. Acts 2:1-13 describes the gift they received that day, just as Jesus promised. First came a sound like a violent wind, then tongues of fire, and then the Spirit demonstrated miraculous power by giving the disciples a unique way to share the story of Jesus and its purpose for humanity (the gospel). Most, if not all, of the disciples spoke in this miraculous way, and the people hearing were amazed and perplexed to be hearing the story of Jesus in their own language and from people who they considered to be uneducated and uncultured (Galileans). A few in the audience mocked the unfolding event, accusing the disciples of being drunk (mockers still exist today, don’t they?). But the disciples where not drunk in the flesh (and it does violence to the text to suggest that they were “drunk in the Spirit”).

Peter’s sermon/testimony to the gathered crowd is recorded in Acts 2:14-41. Peter explained the validity of this miraculous event in which the language barrier was supernaturally transcended as a sign that all people would now be gathered together in Christ. In order to show God’s love for all and his desire that all be included in his international people, the Holy Spirit initiated this declaration of the gospel in the native languages of the audience. The Holy Spirit continues in our day to enable the proclamation of the gospel message in ways that are relevant and accessible to all people. He enables ordinary believers to bear witness to that message in ways that pierce the hearts of those God is calling. In doing so, the Holy Spirit points people to Jesus, the Lord of the universe who sheds light on everything and everyone in the cosmos.

The creed issued at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 has only this brief statement on the Holy Spirit: “We believe in the Holy Spirit.” Though the creed says much more about God the Father and God the Son, we should not conclude that the creed’s authors were giving the Holy Spirit the short end of the stick (thinking that the Spirit should be given short shrift, some, unfortunately, have wandered into tritheism). There is a reason for the relative anonymity of the Spirit in the Nicene creed. As theologian Kim Fabricius rightly notes in one of his books, the Holy Spirit is “the self-effacing and anonymous member of the Trinity.” As the Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son, he does not seek his own glory, but works to glorify the Son, who, in turn, glorifies the Father. One of the primary ways the Spirit does this work, is by enabling, inspiring and guiding us to participate with Jesus in his ongoing ministry to fulfill the Father’s mission to the world. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus does the heavy lifting in this ministry; yet he invites us to participate in substantial ways, including befriending, encouraging, helping and interacting with people—just like he did (and continues to do). When it comes to ministry, we might say that Jesus is the heart surgeon and we are his attending nurses. As we participate with him in his ongoing ministry, we experience the joy of what he is doing and we fulfill his commission to his church.

Nothing in the Hebrew scriptures or in the religious tradition of first-century Judaism would have prepared the disciples for the absolutely unique and dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost. Nothing in the symbolism of leaven (used by Jews during the Days of Unleavened Bread), would have led the disciples to expect the Holy Spirit to cause them to speak in other tongues so that they would be able to communicate the gospel message across cultural and linguistic barriers. Indeed, on that day of Pentecost, God was doing something new. Understanding this, Peter declared to the gathered audience that the “last days” had arrived (Acts 2:16-17)—a truth even more significant and amazing than the miracle of speaking in tongues.

In Jewish thinking the idea of the “last days” was associated with numerous Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of God. Peter was saying, in effect, that a new age had dawned. We rightly call it the age of grace and truth, the church age, or the age of the new covenant in the Spirit. As revealed on that Pentecost, since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God is working in the world in a new way.

Pentecost is a powerful reminder of this truth for us today. We do not observe Pentecost as an old covenant festival, nor as a required festival. Celebrating what God did on that day of Pentecost is part of church tradition—not only the tradition of our denomination, but of many others. Pentecost celebrates the saving acts of God in the last days involving a deeper working of the Holy Spirit, who renews, transforms and empowers us to be his witnesses—those who spread the good news in word and deed, in small and even sometimes extraordinary ways, and always to the glory of our God and Savior—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I’m reminded here of a grand quote by John Chrysostom. Chrysostom is the anglicized form of a Greek word that means “golden-mouthed.” This nickname came from his fantastic preaching. He said:

So the whole of our lifetime is a festival. For when Paul said, “Let us keep the feast” [1 Corinthians 5:7-8], he wasn’t referring to the Passover or Pentecost. He was pointing out that all time is a festival for Christians…. For what good thing has not already come to pass? The Son of God was made human for you. He freed you from death and called you to a kingdom. Now that you have gained such good things—and are still gaining them—how can you do anything less than “keep the feast” all your life? So let no one be downcast about poverty or illness or the cunning of enemies. It is a festival, all of it—our whole lifetime! (Homilies on 1 Corinthians 15.6).

Loving to keep in step with the Holy Spirit,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last week I reported on two GCI conferences I attended recently in South Africa. The first was for our International Mission Developers who met in Johannesburg with some of our national leaders and representatives from our home office. The second (called the Pan-African Conference) was for our pastoral leaders from throughout Africa who met in Bela-Bela (north of Pretoria) with those who attended the first conference.

We met for the Pan-African Conference at the Linga Longa Retreat Center, which is operated by our South Africa churches (that’s me at right, pointing the way in). The conference started Thursday evening and continued through Sunday, with about 110 attending conference sessions and over 170 at the Sunday worship service.

Among other topics, the conference addressed how the Holy Spirit affects traditional African religion, church planting, updates from various African regions, ministerial training and education, children and youth ministry, and a Q&A on how to teach GCI beliefs. It was a grand event!

Spending time with our wonderful pastoral leaders from Africa (pictured above and at the end of this letter) was a reminder to me of the value of viewing church leaders as faithful shepherds of God’s flock. This imagery is common in Scripture.

In the ancient middle-east, raising sheep and goats was an important part of the economy (it still is today). Sheep, goats and chickens were some of the first animals to be domesticated. Fairly low maintenance (“easy keepers,” we’d say), they yielded a high return for nomads and people with a more settled agricultural lifestyle. As noted in the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, the term shepherd was used historically (including in the Bible) to refer to leaders:

Because of the fundamental role of shepherding in the ancient world, the word “shepherd” became a common term for a ruler. The kings of Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were often referred to as shepherds who protected their people. This imagery formed the background for the Old Testament, where the same usage is found. God is pictured as the shepherd of Israel, concerned for every aspect of his people’s welfare. Rulers and leaders of the people are often referred to as shepherds (cf., e.g., Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Jeremiah 10:21; 12:10; 22:22; 23:1-2).

Though in our day it’s popular to think of sheep as dull or silly, studies show that they are actually quite intelligent. The Bible talks about sheep as hearing the master’s voice—able to distinguish their shepherd from all others. The Bible uses sheep and shepherds as metaphors to portray two truths: the helplessness of humanity to save itself, and the goodness of God, who lovingly cares for his sheep—especially those that are lost. The New Testament refers to Jesus as “the good shepherd” (John 10:11), “the great Shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20) and “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). To serve his flock, Jesus calls some people to serve as under-shepherds (called pastors)—joining with him in leading, protecting, feeding and caring for his sheep, including seeking after those that have gone astray.

I realize that serving with Jesus as an under-shepherd is not always easy. When I travel and meet our pastors around the world, I’m reminded of the struggles they face daily. In some cases we can offer them material assistance, and in all cases I try to give them encouragement by reminding them that they are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. They are not alone.

Like us, Jesus had many struggles, including conflict among his first disciples. Yet he shepherded them sacrificially: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-5). He also said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). He then spoke of them as the Father’s gift to him (John 10:29). Such statements reveal the heart and the commitment of our Chief Shepherd—the heart and commitment shared by his faithful under-shepherds.

The Christian life is not only knowing about our union with Christ. It’s also about living into that union, in communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As pastors, we’re called to lead people in the way of communion—joining with Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, in caring for his flock. I’m thankful for the shepherd-leaders that our triune God has provided within GCI, including those I met with recently at our Pan-African conference. I ask that you join with me in not only in praising God for these pastoral leaders, but also in praying for them.

Thanking the Chief Shepherd,
Joseph Tkach

PS: On our way home from South Africa, Tammy and I joined GCI’s Northampton, England, congregation in celebrating its 40th church anniversary. Over 160 attended a service with great singing and special music from two choirs. Roger Clark, John O’Donovan and Maggie Mitchell did an extraordinary job planning and coordinating the event.

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Here are pictures of some of the shepherd-leaders who attended the Pan-African conference:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I write, Tammy and I are in South Africa, where we have the joy of participating in two conferences with GCI brothers and sisters from various parts of the world. The first conference, now complete, was the International Mission Developers’ Conference in Johannesburg. The second, still in session, is the Pan-African Conference in Bela-Bela, north of Pretoria (see the map below). In this Weekly Update letter I’ll give you a brief report on each one.

Pan-African Conference

In this conference, hosted by Kalengule Kaoma and co-hosted by Tim Maguire, 70+ elders and other congregational leaders representing GCI churches in Africa are meeting with our Mission Developers and members of our home office team.

This is my first opportunity to meet several of our African church leaders. I’m humbled by their enthusiasm for the gospel and their love for our GCI church family. They traveled here from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Sadly, some African leaders were unable to attend the conference. Leaders from The Congo, Nigeria and Uganda could not obtain visas. Illness and other difficulties prevented the attendance of leaders from Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Namibia, Reunion, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania and Togo. Our prayers are with them and we hope to see them in the future.

International Mission Developers (MD) Conference

Prior to the Pan-African Conference, our International Mission Developers met for four days with several GCI national leaders (Anthony and Jane Gachanja from Kenya, Gavin Henderson from the UK, and Emmanuel and Margaret Okai from Ghana), and members of our home office team (Charles Albrecht, Gary Deddo, Rick Shallenberger, Nathan Smith, Greg and Susan Williams, Tammy and I). During the conference, which was hosted by Tim Maguire, each MD gave a report concerning the region they serve. I’ve provided excerpts of their reports below.

• John McLean, representing Australia, reported that churches that formerly preached what they were against, now share the inclusiveness of Christ. In a nation where helping others is part of the culture, our churches follow suit by reaching out to their communities, finding ways to help. They realize that if they want a seat at the community table, they must be actively involved within the community.

• Robert and Tonia McKinney, representing the Caribbean (standing in for Charles and Carmen Fleming, who were unable to attend for health reasons), shared that they are looking for more ways to equip the next generation. They also are training existing pastors and ministry leaders by offering ACCM classes throughout the Caribbean.

• Tim Maguire, representing the southern part of Africa, noted that he too is focused on training younger people for ministry. He shared that two younger men have recently been ordained and another has been approved. The “church under the tree” we’ve told you about is now meeting in a tent. That congregation consists of about 80% youth—they get excited when older people join!

• James and Shirley Henderson, representing Europe and the UK, talked about the challenge of being a Christian in Europe where believers are seen as suspect or archaic. Though this presents a challenge to our churches, they are excited about being part of GCI, and are reaching out within their communities. Much of the congregational ministry is conducted by volunteers, so James asked us to pray for these volunteers and for ideas on how to train and promote volunteerism.

• Eugene and Lulu Guzon, representing the Philippines, said that because of the relational nature of the Philippine people, evangelizing is more natural and people come to church because of those relationships. The latest trend is that people are coming to GCI because they find the message encouraging and positive—we have become known as a place to escape legalism. Over the last year, 150 members and three churches were added.

• Hector and Paulina Barrera, representing South America, are focused on discipleship. They have started a one-year training program to teach the Bible and theology to new leaders. Evangelical churches are growing in South America, and Hector and his team want to have leadership ready for that growth. Hector and Paulina will host next year’s MD Conference in Bogotá, Colombia.

• Kalengule and Nsama Kaoma, representing eastern and western parts of Africa, talked about working with youth camps and with youth and children’s ministries to identify potential new pastoral leaders. Kalengule also told about his Pastor’s Basket project where he gives volunteer or partially compensated pastors seed money to invest in helping sustain their families. Some grow vegetables, others bake bread or other products to sell.

• Gary and Wendy Moore, representing Canada, talked about how an influx of immigrants into Canada (most are Christians) are having a positive impact in Canadian churches. Many of our GCI congregations in Canada have partnered with our congregations in Africa. Their contributions have made a tremendous impact on the growth in these African congregations. Wendy shared a devotional suggesting the difference between Christians and non-Christians is not about behavior, church affiliation or adherence to a moral code, but about our attitude of gratitude. As Wendy said, “The big story is that God has created, man has fallen, God has redeemed and will bring redemption to completion. For that we are eternally grateful.”

• Rod and Ruth Matthews, representing southern Asia and the South Pacific, gave daily updates on the impact of the recent devastating earthquake in Nepal. Our ministry partner in Nepal, along with his family and the 16 orphans in his home, were not harmed, but the infrastructure in that nation will take years to rebuild. We’ve sent money from our GCI Disaster Relief Fund to help. Rod mentioned two young teachers in Myanmar who recently contacted us and are excited about translating GCI literature into their local dialects.

• Greg and Susan Williams, representing the United States and Mexico, shared stories from the U.S. about how God has built things seemingly ex nihilo (out of nothing). Greg’s prayer is that God, who can do anything, will continue building up GCI by allowing the impact of his love to move us forward. Susan gave updates concerning Grace Communion Seminary and answered questions about classes and degree programs. She said, “Visiting South Africa has been a remarkable experience that I will not forget. The beautiful smiles and generous hospitality were vivid reminders of the bond we share in Christ. Our joyful fellowship demonstrated the messages of Christ’s love given by several conference speakers.”

A highlight of the MD conference was a presentation from Gary Deddo entitled “Jesus Christ: Spirituality, Eschatology, and the Kingdom of God.” Gary noted that in the Christian life, hope is as important as faith and love. Our hope is in Jesus and his kingdom. We live now with the first-fruits (the down-payment) of the kingdom—having the inheritance, yet waiting in hope and with patience for the day when the glory of our Lord’s reconciling victory over death and evil will be fully revealed. The Father, Son and Spirit will bring to completion all that God has begun both in us and throughout the entire universe down through history. Living now in that hope (along with faith and love), we provide a living sign of the kingdom’s coming fullness and of Jesus’ present rule and reign in every area of life—in every relationship, including our primary relationship of worship with the Father, Son and Spirit.

Enjoying our international connectivity,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

If asked to identify the oldest living thing, some might point to Tasmania’s 10,000-year-old pine trees [1] or its 40,000-year-old shrub [2]. Others might point to the 200,000-year-old seagrass on the coast of Spain’s Balearic Islands [3]. As ancient as these plants may be, the oldest living thing is far older—it’s the eternal God, who is revealed in Scripture to be living love. Love is God’s nature, and the intra-personal love of the Trinity has existed from before creation. There never has been a time when true love did not exist because our eternal, Triune God is the Source of authentic love.

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (d. 430), emphasized this truth by referring to the Father as “Lover,” the Son as “Beloved,” and the Spirit as the love existing between them [4]. Out of his infinite abundance of love, the Triune God created all that exists, including you and me. In The Triune Creator, theologian Colin Gunton argues for this Trinitarian explanation of creation, noting that we must consider the whole biblical witness and not just the Genesis creation accounts. Gunton notes that this approach is not new—it’s how the early church understood creation. For example, Irenaeus noted that a Trinitarian perspective requires viewing creation in the light of what happened in Jesus. The God who created everything out of nothing (ex nihilo) did so with great purpose—out of love, in love, and for love.

As T.F. Torrance and his brother J.B. liked to say, creation was the result of the overflow of God’s love. This is seen clearly when God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). In the phrase “Let us…” we find a hint of God’s triune nature. Some interpreters disagree, saying that viewing this as a reference to the Trinity is to impose New Testament understanding on the Old Testament. They typically explain either that “Let us” is a literary device (the “majestic we”), or that God is talking with the angels as his co-creators. But Scripture never attributes creative powers to angels. Further, we should interpret all Scripture through the lens of Jesus’ person and teaching. The God who said “Let us,” was the Triune God whether or not ancient humans knew it.

As we read the Bible through the lens of Jesus, we come to understand that God’s creation of humankind in his image is a profound expression of God’s nature, which is love. In Colossians 1:15 and 2 Corinthians 4:4, we learn that Jesus, himself, is the Image of God. Jesus images the Father to us because he and the Father are one in being in a relationship of perfect love. Scripture tells us that Jesus is connected to creation (including humankind), referring to him as the “firstborn” of creation. Paul calls Adam (the first man), the copy (“type”) of Jesus “the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14 NRSV). Jesus is thus the prototype of all humanity. Paul also calls Jesus the “last Adam,” who as the “life-giving spirit,” renews fallen Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), thus transforming humankind into his own image.

As Scripture tells us, we have “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10), and “we all, who with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). He is the true Image of God, who in taking on our human nature, “tasted death for everyone.” By uniting himself to us, Jesus sanctified us and made us his brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:9-15). We have been created and now are being re-created according to the image of the Son of God who, himself, images for us the holy loving relationships in the Trinity. We are to live and move and have our being in Christ, who has his very being in the tri-personal communion of love of the Father, Son and Spirit.

In Christ and with Christ, we are God’s beloved children. But sadly, those lacking understanding of God’s Triune nature of love easily miss this important truth, embracing instead various misunderstandings:

• Tritheism, which denies God’s unity, claiming there are three separate and distinct gods, thus making any relationships between them external and not essential to God’s nature.
• Modalism, which teaches that God is a single being who appears at various times in one of three different modes. This teaching also denies any relationships internal and eternal to God.
• Subordinationism, which teaches that Jesus is a creature (or a divine being who is less than the Father) and thus not eternally the divine Son of God. This teaching also denies that God in his being is a triune relationship of holy love for all eternity.
• Other teachings, though affirming the doctrine of the Trinity, fail to grasp its deepest glory: that the Triune God is loving in his very being before there ever was a creation.

Understanding that the Triune God is, in his very nature, love, helps us see that love is the foundation of all things. At the center of that understanding is that all things come from and revolve around Jesus who reveals the Father and sends the Holy Spirit. Thus, the place to start in understanding both God and his creation (including humankind), is in asking this question: Who is Jesus?

It is inescapably Trinitarian that the Father has created all things and established his kingdom by placing his Son at the center of his plan, purpose and revelation. The Son glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies the Son. The Holy Spirit, who doesn’t speak of himself, constantly points to the Son, thus glorifying the Son and the Father. The Father, Son and Spirit delight in this triune interaction of love. And when we, God’s children, confess Jesus as Lord, we do so by the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father. As Jesus predicted, true worship is “in spirit and in truth.” When we worship the Father, Son and Spirit, we are worshiping the oldest living thing who, in love, created us to love him and dwell with him forever!

Feeling loved,
Joseph Tkach

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[1] http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=3240

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/20/world/australians-report-40000-year-old-shrub.html

[3] http://www.dogonews.com/2012/2/10/ancient-seagrass-may-be-the-worlds-oldest-living-organism

[4] Classical Trinitarian Theology, a Textbook by Tarmo Toom, T&T Clark, 2007, pp. 153-54.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Several years ago, a brother in Christ from another denomination approached me with a sense of urgency. He said he had a “word of knowledge” for me from the Lord. He said God wanted me to know that unless I went to a particular church in Toronto or Pensacola to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God would remove me from church leadership within six months and our denomination would disappear within a year. Wanting to be polite, I didn’t say what I was thinking: “I believe Jesus is telling me not to listen to you!”

Though I believe the Spirit, from time to time, gifts some with special wisdom and discernment, this brother’s message was clearly the invention of his own imagination. Over the years, many have felt the need to share with me a word of knowledge or a prophecy, which they claim is from the Lord. On one occasion, a gentleman declared that he wanted to anoint and ordain me. I explained that I already had been ordained and wasn’t sure why he wanted to anoint me (I wasn’t feeling sick—at least not until he mentioned this “word”!). It reminded me of the people who audition for one of those TV singing contests. Though they sound awful, they get angry when the judges won’t let them on the show!

Though I’ve had several of these experiences over the years, the only times the prophecy was true, was when it mirrored (coincidentally?) what already is revealed in Scripture. One time, a woman who said she was a prophetess brought me this message from the Lord: “God loves you!” She seemed taken aback when I replied, “He loves you too!” She seemed genuinely surprised when I then told her that God’s love for all people is one of the fundamentals of the faith. I mentioned that the old song is true, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I think she walked away disappointed.

On another occasion, a man told me that God told him to “wash my feet.” He seemed surprised when I replied that his message was more for him than for me—perhaps God was telling him to serve me and others in practical ways. It’s sad that some people are motivated to convey a “word of knowledge” for others, yet they do not hear God’s already-revealed word for them!

Those who have come to me with a word of knowledge or a prophecy generally have not brought a new revelation. Not a single one of these prophecies has come to pass. But that’s no surprise, because the purpose of prophecy is not to foretell the future but to point to Jesus, who is the center of God’s plan of redemption. As the apostle John wrote, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). Jesus declared that all Scripture (and that includes all its prophecies) point to him (John 5:39). As declared by the author of Hebrews: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is now our prophet, as well as our priest, sage and king.

When someone proclaims that the Spirit has given them a special gift, they (perhaps unwittingly) imply that the Spirit is operating separately from Jesus and the Father. Some even proclaim that the Spirit gets “the short end of the stick” when he doesn’t receive as much worship as do the Father and the Son. They seem to conceive of the Trinity as three-in-competition rather than three-in-communion. But let me be clear: The Spirit has not altered God’s plan of redemption; has not displaced Jesus as the center of all prophecy; and never works separate from Jesus and the Father. The Spirit never does anything outside the unity and communion of the Trinity.

Jesus explained that the Spirit is sent to guide us into all truth and in doing so does not speak on his own. He is sent to do the will of the Father. The Spirit comes from the Father, through the incarnate Son, and actualizes within us all that God accomplished for us in Christ. Elmer Colyer put it this way in an article entitled “Thomas F. Torrance on the Holy Spirit”:

Jesus, our brother, does all of this for us on our behalf and in our place in and through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is born of the Spirit. At his baptism, Jesus was anointed for us with the Spirit without measure, for he received the Holy Spirit into the very humanity Christ assumed in the incarnation. Jesus Christ lived out his entire earthly life and ministry in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Everything our Lord did, he did in the communion of the Spirit, including his death and resurrection. So it is no isolated or naked Holy Spirit who comes upon the church at Pentecost, but rather the “Spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:7), the Holy Spirit who was fully engaged in the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord.

Just as Jesus does not do anything behind the back of the Father, neither does the Holy Spirit work independently of the Father and Son. T.F. Torrance talked about the Spirit “hiding behind the Father” and bringing the “radiance of God’s glory to bear upon us.” The Holy Spirit does not have a separate agenda nor does he give messages separate from what the Word is saying. Note this from T.F.:

Like Christ the Holy Spirit is one in being and of the same being as the Father, but unlike Christ the Holy Spirit is not one in being and of the same being as we are, for he incarnated the Son but does not incarnate himself, he utters the Word but does not utter himself. He directs us through himself to the one Word and Face of God in Jesus Christ in accordance with whom all our knowledge of God is formed in our minds, knowledge of the Spirit as well as of the Father and of the Son. This is the diaphanous self-effacing nature of the Holy Spirit who hides himself, as it were, behind the Father in the Son and behind the Son in the Father, but also the enlightening transparence of the Spirit who by throwing his eternal Light upon the Father through the Son and upon the Son in the Father, brings the radiance of God’s Glory to bear upon us. We do not know the Holy Spirit directly in his own personal Reality or Glory. We know him only in his unique spiritual mode of activity and transparent presence in virtue of which God’s self-revelation shines through to us in Christ, and we are made through the Spirit to see the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father.

When the Scripture speaks of the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is not speaking of things separate from the Father or the Son. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.), are characteristics of the Son that we share in through the indwelling Spirit. Likewise, the gifts of the Spirit (including the “word of knowledge”) are not separate from the Father or the Son, and are given principally to encourage and embolden the faith of the recipient.

Let me close with this from T.F. Torrance: “What Jesus Christ does for us and to us, and what the Holy Spirit does in us, is what God himself does for us, to us, and in us” (Christian Doctrine, p. 95). Now that’s a word of knowledge!

Looking to Jesus, the one true prophet,
Joseph Tkach

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Note: the cartoons in this issue are used with permission from Naked Pastor (www.nakedpastor.com).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On the way out of church one Sunday, a young boy announced: ”Mommy, I’ve decided to become a minister when I grow up.” She replied, “That’s okay with us, but what made you decide that?” “Well,” said the little boy, “I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen.”

Thankfully, most of our pastors and other preachers are not into yelling, though I chuckle remembering being “yelled at” in sermons when I was growing up.

I’m reminded of another story about preaching: A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon. “How do you know what to say?” he asked. “Why, God tells me,” his father answered. The boy then asked, “So, why do you keep crossing things out?”

Certainly God puts in our hearts both the desire to preach and the content of the message, and yet we have our part to play—a part that certainly challenges us. When I sense God sharing something with me during times of study and meditation in Scripture, I often desire to share what I’m learning with others through a sermon or article. God, who desires to be known, uses our preaching to tell people about his nature, character, heart, mind and purpose as revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther said, “Beyond all the might and the power of the world and of all creatures, Christ proves his ability to draw the hearts of men to himself through the Word alone.” Our preaching should deliver God’s Word, the gospel, to God’s beloved children. In emphasizing the importance and power of that type of preaching, Martin Luther said this:

The lips are the public reservoirs of the church. In them alone is kept the Word of God… Unless the Word is preached publicly, it slips away. The more it is preached, the more firmly it is retained. Reading it is not as profitable as hearing it, for the live voice teaches, exhorts, defends, and resists the spirit of error. Satan does not care a hoot for the written Word of God, but he flees at the speaking of the Word (Luther’s Works, volume 18, p. 401).

Luther believed that the Holy Spirit was uniquely at work in the preaching of God’s Word. John Calvin held the same belief and emphasized a verse-by-verse, expository method. He would spend months preaching through books of the Bible. His series in Acts took more than three years. He gave 186 sermons in Corinthians, 353 in Isaiah and 200 in Deuteronomy. Now, I’m not recommending we do exactly as Calvin did. He preached ten times every two weeks, but most of us preach once a week at most. However, there is much to be said about having a thorough knowledge of Scripture—understanding who it is written to and what events were occurring when it was written, then keeping that knowledge under the umbrella of the most important exegetical question of all: Who is Jesus?

I marvel at what occurs between the delivery and reception of a sermon. The ideas the preacher seeks to convey sometimes are quite different from what an individual listener receives. On several occasions someone thanked me for “the very clear point” they heard in my sermon. When they describe that point, I wonder if they heard what I actually said! It’s not that they weren’t listening, or were hearing what they wanted to hear. God had a message just for them. That God often works in this way is one of the reasons I spend a lot of time in prayer during sermon preparation.

When I preach, I seek to follow Jesus’ method of using stories, humor and drama, with references to common practices of contemporary culture. Story-telling is one of the most effective tools in preaching. I seek to faithfully communicate the expository background/context of the passage, then illustrate the application of its main point by telling a relevant story. Though listeners may not remember all the background, they will often remember the story and its main point.

The church’s founding fathers, who also were preachers, tended to tell stories to effectively communicate the message of the gospel. In the book of Acts and the Epistles we find Peter, John and Paul sharing stories of their personal journey with Jesus. We also find this narrative approach in the sermons of such notable preachers as John Chrysostom (the “golden mouth” preacher), Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, John Knox, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon and David Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Though none of us are famous preachers, our sermons still are of great value, particularly when well-prepared. In his book for preachers, Between Two Worlds, John Stott says it takes at least 12 hours to prepare an effective sermon. Though many of our preachers are unable to devote that much time, I urge us all to make sermon preparation a high priority. As noted above, that includes time in prayer.

Effective sermons clearly communicate the gospel and leave the audience wanting more. Many of us have experienced a child squealing with delight when we lift them into the air and spin them around. Their first response is often, “Do it again!” So we lift and twirl them again, only to hear, “Do it again!” and again and again. When we tire and put them down, they still call out for more. Effective preaching is like that. When we tell the story and make our point, people respond with, “Tell us more!”

Jesus exhorts us to embrace a child’s wide-eyed enthusiasm and trust that wants more and more of God’s Word. There have been many times when I’ve heard a sermon that was 90 minutes or longer, but because it was so captivating, seemed only a few minutes long. Then there were other sermons that after only 10 minutes felt like two hours! That’s why I remind preachers that it’s better to finish with the audience wanting more, than to have them wish they had left early.

I thank our pastors and other preachers for their labor of love in giving effective sermons. Let us all remember that when we preach, we have opportunity to share the exciting, encouraging, powerful, inspiring and life-giving good news (gospel) of God grace. Concerning that grace, note this from T.F. Torrance:

Grace is to be understood as the impartation not just of something from God but of God Himself. In Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, God freely gives to us in such a way that the Gift and the Giver are one and the same in the wholeness and indivisibility of His grace.… (Reality and Evangelical Theology, pp. 14-15).

When people come to church, they need to hear from God about that grace. They need to hear about God’s love, and about how, in love, he works to change them from the inside out, and works to transform the entire world, often in hidden ways. As we bring this word (the gospel), through our preaching, I believe “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, NRSV) will be released into people’s lives. As a result, an energy and trust to live faithfully despite temptations and trials will be fostered in them by the Spirit. I pray you will not become weary in this vital task, and that together we will co-minister with Jesus, setting up signs of his kingdom through the effective preaching of his Word.

Now it’s time for me to get to work on my next sermon…

Preaching the Word with you,
Joseph Tkach

PS: Dan Rogers is putting together a course in preaching at Grace Communion Seminary. It takes a while for new courses to be developed and approved. We’ll let you know when this new course is first offered.

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Note: the three paintings above are public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Leading up to Holy Week, my Weekly Update letters have focused on Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. Now that Holy Week has come and gone, it would be easy to turn our focus elsewhere. But Jesus must remain our focus throughout the year. He alone is the final and ultimate revelation of who God is (Hebrews 1:3) and he alone is our mediator: “For there is one God, there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human” (1 Timothy 2:5 NRSV).

Jesus’ two natures—divine and human—are inseparably united in what theologians call the hypostatic union. And Jesus’ mission shows just how much God is with us and for us. Indeed, we can’t overstate the importance of Christ’s vicarious work—his work in our place, on our behalf. The truth that the atonement is accomplished by, in and through the incarnate Son of God, is truth that sets us free. Knowing who Jesus is and what he has done for us helps us grow in understanding the reconciliation we have with God and each other. In Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we are set free to love. Allow me to explain some related concepts:

Vicarious

In A Passion for Christ, the Vision that Ignites Ministry (a book Gary Deddo and I highly recommend), brothers Thomas, James and David Torrance define the word vicarious as “speaking and acting in place of another, on that other’s behalf.” They note that this is exactly what Jesus did for us in his life, death, resurrection and ascension. To speak of Jesus’ vicarious humanity is to indicate that all Christ did in his humanity was done in our place and on our behalf.

Recently, I’ve written about Jesus being baptized for us, going through the wilderness and being tempted for us, dying and entering into darkness for us, and rising from death into life in order to take us with him in the ascension to our Father. In all this work for our salvation, Jesus did not play a merely instrumental role (like a tool used to build something). Rather, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit planned together for Jesus to fulfill in his own Person and work the pivotal role in our salvation. The atonement, in its entirety, is accomplished in, with and through Jesus: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Objectification

God objectified himself in Christ without becoming impersonal. When the Son of God became human, he became an object we can see and touch and worship. He was God to man. And when Jesus assumed our humanity, he also became the appropriate response from man to God as led by the Holy Spirit. Note T. F. Torrance’s comment in his book, God and Rationality:

[Jesus Christ] is in Himself not only God objectifying Himself for man but man adapted and conformed to that objectification, not only the complete revelation of God to man but the appropriate correspondence on the part of man to that revelation, not only the Word of God to man but man obediently hearing and answering that Word. In short, Jesus Christ is Himself both the Word of God as spoken by God to man and that same Word as heard and received by man, Himself both the Truth of God given to man and that very Truth understood and actualized in man. He is that divine and human Truth in His one Person. In his incarnate constitution as God and man joined in reconciling union, Jesus Christ is both the objective revelation of God and the appropriate response and conformation of man to divine revelation. He is not only the Truth (cf. John 14:6) spoken from the highest, he is also the perfect response to that Truth, heard and actualized from within the ontological depths of the fallen humanity he assumed in the incarnation.

Mediation

I like to say that in the Incarnation of Jesus, we have “double fact.” Others call this the “twofold, inseparable movement of mediation.” First, as Torrance likes to phrase it, “Jesus is God’s language to humanity.” But it doesn’t stop there. Second, Jesus is humanity’s true and faithful response to God. Jesus Christ is our true word and gives true speech for humanity to God. In other words, Jesus Christ mediates the things of God to humanity and simultaneously mediates the things of humanity to God.

Let me illustrate this from God’s relationship with Israel, beginning with Abraham. The eternal Son of God, who is one with the God revealed in the Old Testament, later reveals himself, the Father and the Spirit when he becomes incarnate as the person Jesus Christ. Lovingly and patiently, God worked in covenant relationship with Israel as his chosen people. We see this with Abraham when God provided a sacrifice in place of Isaac, Abraham’s beloved son. In this event there not only was instruction against child sacrifice, it served as the prototype of what the Son of God would do himself following the Incarnation.

Because God knew that Israel would not (indeed could not) fulfill their side of the covenant to live as holy, obedient people, God gave his people under the old covenant a liturgy different than that of the pagans. While Israel and the pagans all celebrated spring and fall harvest festivals, Israel was given divinely prescribed patterns for worship that signified the fact that only God can forgive sin, remove guilt and reconcile people to himself. All of Israel’s sacrifices and ordinances, as well as the priesthood itself, were vicarious ways of covenant response to God.

Because of God’s faithfulness and love for Israel, he gave them an experiential way to worship. However, as the Old Testament tells us, Israel repeatedly abandoned worship as given to them by God. In doing so, they failed the mediating priestly mission that they had been given on behalf of all nations. In contrast, Jesus, through his life, death, resurrection and ascension, was the perfect, unfailing response to God that Israel was unable to provide.

Jesus not only took on Israel’s affliction of failure, he assumed all of humanity’s brokenness and made it his own in order to heal it. In this we see Jesus’ twofold ministry, the “double fact” I mentioned above. Jesus mediates and intercedes from God to humanity and from humanity back to God. The old covenant highlights this truth in a number of ways: “I shall be your God and you shall be my people,” “I am holy, be you holy,” and “I will be your Father and you will be my son.” These declarations concerning Israel are fulfilled perfectly in Jesus who is both the covenant-making God and the true, singular, faithful Israel. Note this related comment from T.F. Torrance in one of his papers:

It is the whole incarnate life of Christ vicariously and triumphantly lived out from his birth to his crucifixion and resurrection in perfect obedience to the Father within the ontological depths of his oneness with us in our actual fallen existence, that redeems and saves us and converts our disobedient alienated sonship back to filial union with the Father. That is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (“The Atonement, The Singularity of Christ and the Finality of the Cross: The Atonement and the Moral Order,” 1993).

Jesus is fully God and fully human—God with us and God for us. He is the Word spoken to humanity and the Word heard and received by humanity. He is God’s relationship to us—through him we are in relationship with God. He is the God others could see and hear and worship and he is our worshipful response to God. Jesus is our atonement. He is our mediator. He is our focus—not just during Easter season but every day of the year. It is in Jesus that we live and move and have our being.

Staying focused on Jesus,
Joseph Tkach

PS: On April Fools’ Day, folks like to make jokes. My son, Joseph Tkach III, was part of an online joke you can watch at http://youtu.be/IlCx5gjAmqI. It’s a tongue-in-cheek, fake commercial about a high-tech product in which my son plays chief innovation architect Dr. Joseph C. Minkhuni. Enjoy!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Near the end of his Gospel, the apostle John made these intriguing comments: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book…. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 20:30; 21:25). Given these comments, and noting differences among the four Gospels, we conclude that these accounts were not written to be exhaustive records of Jesus’ life. John says his purpose in writing was that “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The focus of the Gospels is to tell the good news about Jesus and the salvation that is ours in him.

Though in verse 31 John attributes salvation (life) to the name of Jesus, it’s common for Christians to speak of being saved by Jesus’ death. Though this short-hand statement is correct as far as it goes, relating salvation exclusively to Jesus’ death can stunt our understanding of the fullness of who Jesus is and all he has done to save us. The events of Holy Week remind us that Jesus’ death, though vital, is part of a larger story that includes our Lord’s incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension. All these are intrinsic, inseparable milestones of Jesus’ one redemptive work—the work that gives us life in his name. During Holy Week, and throughout the year, let’s look to Jesus—the complete salvation package.

Incarnation

Jesus’ birth was not the ordinary birth of an ordinary man. Unique in every way, it was the beginning of the Incarnation of God himself. In Jesus’ birth, God came among us as a human in the way all humans since Adam have been born. Remaining what he was, the eternal Son of God took on a whole human life, from beginning to end—birth to death. In his one Person, Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. In this stunning statement we find an eternity’s worth of significance that merits an eternity of appreciation.

Through the Incarnation, the eternal Son of God stepped out of eternity and into his creation of space and time to become a man of flesh and blood: “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).

Jesus was indeed a genuine full-fledged man, but at the same time he was fully God—one in being with the Father and Spirit. The birth of Jesus fulfills many prophecies and is the promise of our salvation.

The Incarnation did not end with Jesus’ birth—it continued throughout his earthly life, and continues today in his glorified human life. The Son of God incarnate (in the flesh), remains one in being with the Father and Spirit—the fullness of the whole God is present and active in Jesus—making the human life of Jesus uniquely significant. As Romans 8:3-4 says, “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Paul further explains that we are “saved through his life” (Romans 5:11).

The life and work of Jesus are inseparable—all part of the Incarnation. The God-man Jesus is the perfect high priest and mediator between God and man because he partook of the nature of man and reclaimed humanity by living a sinless life. His sinless life helps us understand how he can maintain a relationship with both God and man. While we typically celebrate his birth at Christmas, the events in Jesus’ whole life are always a part of our total worship, including during Holy Week. His life reveals the relational nature of our salvation. Jesus brought together, in his own person, God and humanity in perfect relationship.

Death

For some, the short-hand declaration, we are saved by Jesus’ death, carries with it the unfortunate misconception that Jesus death was a sacrifice that conditioned God into being gracious. I pray that we all see the fallacy of this notion.

T.F. Torrance writes that with a proper understanding of the Old Testament sacrifices, we will see Jesus’ death not as a pagan offering for the sake of forgiveness, but as a powerful witness to the will of a merciful God (Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ, pages 38-39). Pagan systems of sacrifice were based on retribution, but Israel’s was based on reconciliation. Under Israel’s system, rather than sacrifices and offerings being given to earn forgiveness, God provided them to cover for and remove the people’s sin so that they would be reconciled to God.

Israel’s sacrificial system was designed to make manifest and to witness to God’s love and mercy, pointing to the purpose of Jesus’ death, which is reconciliation with the Father. Jesus death also defeated Satan and the power of death: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Paul adds that Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Jesus’ death is the atoning part of our salvation.

Resurrection

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, which fulfills many Old Testament prophecies. The author of Hebrews tells us that Isaac being saved from death is a picture of resurrection (Hebrews 11:18-19). The book of Jonah tells us that Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster “three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Jesus related that event to his death, burial and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-40; Matthew 16:4, 21; John 2:18-22).

We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection with great joy because it reminds us that death is not permanent. It’s a temporary step toward our future—eternal life in communion with God. At Easter we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death and the new life we will have in him. We look forward to the time spoken of in Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The resurrection is the hope of our salvation.

Ascension

Jesus’ birth led to his life and his life led to his death. But we cannot divorce his death from his resurrection and we cannot separate his resurrection from his ascension. Jesus didn’t just come out of the grave and live as a human being. Now a glorified human, Jesus ascended to the Father, and it was not until that great event occurred that he finished the work he started.

In the introduction to Torrance’s book Atonement, Robert Walker wrote this: “The ascension is Jesus’ taking of our humanity in his person into the presence of God into the union and communion of the love of the Trinity.” C.S. Lewis put it this way: “In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend.” The glorious good news is that in ascending, Jesus took us up with him: “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 2:6-7).

Incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension—all vital parts of our salvation and thus our worship during Holy Week. These milestones point to all Jesus has accomplished for us through his whole life and whole work. Throughout the year, let’s take in more and more of who Jesus is and all of what he has done for us. He is the complete salvation package.

Holy Week blessings to you and yours,
Joseph Tkach