22: These words give me goosebumps. Jesus, forever bound by human flesh, ascends to the very throne room of the Ancient of Days as recorded in Daniel 7. Coming on the clouds of Heaven, He takes His seat at the right hand of the Father. Here is reason enough to do away with the notion of Heaven being a dimensionless non-space, where spirits float in the aether. In reality, the throne room must be more solid than the upper rooms of our own world. He was able to walk through walls here, but not because He was ghostly. The walls themselves were but shadow to His resurrected body. Just as the flood is a shadow of baptism, and baptism a shadow of the cross, so this world, in all its glory, is a shadow of what lies ahead. Shadows are not more substantive than the object which casts it. Indeed they pale in comparison. Heaven, therefore, casting the shadow we call Earth, must be more real, more solid, more definite than we can know or dream. Heaven alone holds the throne that will support His glorified body. Heaven must be not only real, as in having an address, but also solid, a place suitable for the human body. We should think of Heaven as Lewis does in The Great Divorce, as a spatial existence where we in our present state resemble smoke and shade, but in the glorified condition carry the full weight of real bodies, borne by a very real ground. Too often, Christians are frightened by the thought of a disembodied existence where gregorian chant is our only means of communication. This is a lie and has done much to damage our perception of who Jesus is and what He is currently up to. He sits enthroned, on a throne we would break our knuckles on were we to rap it. A physical throne for a physical God. From this very real throne, He rules the nations of men.
This truth should bring us comfort. To think of our Lord as He is, sitting enthroned in a real throne, one we could touch were we there, instead of in some abstract space that somehow sits outside of existence, gives our mind real handles to grasp the Lordship of Christ. Consider this. If Heaven is a dimensionless non-space, then Jesus really only exists in our thoughts as we think of Him on a throne. With this mindset, when trials come we place our hope in an abstract thought that even we don't really understand, even though the thoughts are ours. But if Jesus, fully God and fully Man, sits in a real location, then He really does rule, for it is suddenly outside our own minds, and not dependent on our willing it into existence. This is the truth behind our hope. Jesus does not rely on us to be what He is. He does not require our mental comprehension nor our mental assent to rule as Lord and King. Here lies the danger of our speaking of Jesus sitting on the throne of our hearts. Through the Spirit He does enter our very person, working to change us from the inside out. But Jesus of Nazareth Himself sits at the right hand of Power, judging the world. Indeed, angels and powers and authorities have been subjected to Him. Here again is our comfort, and the thrust of Peter's encouragement to the Dispersed. Every angel, every demon, every king, every counselor, every lord, every governor, every mayor, every city councilman will answer to the authority of Jesus Christ. As Jesus Himself told Pilate, "You would have no authority over Me at all unless it was given you from above." That authority has been given to our crucified and resurrected Lord. It just goes to reinforce what Peter has been saying. When you suffer, which you will, trust in Him who rules the one at whose hands you suffer. Trust the One who writes your story, the dark parts and all. As Kuyper majestically proclaimed, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” This is hope-full. This is bedrock comfort. As David asks, "Where can I flee from your presence?" The answer is nowhere.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Musings on 1 Peter (3:21)
21: It has been said before that our God loves to tell stories. The whole body of His revealed Word speaks to the same thing, has at its base the same story. In the fabric of historical events the Master Author weaves types and shadows, the very form of the story being a prophet of things to come. This truth alone is enough to give one courage. It means our Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. Everything we experience, every trial we go through, every joy we are given comes to us from the pen of the Author of life. If that rubs you the wrong way, if you feel constricted by the complete and total sovereignty of God, consider life without it. We can not pick and choose the things that come from God. Either everything or nothing. If nothing comes from His hand then we are lost for there is no God. If nothing comes from His hand then there is something outside God Himself. If there is something outside God, then God has a beginning, a source, a font from which He sprang. If He did, and we live in a world along side God, as it were, then at least these three problems arise. First, all of Scripture must be thrown out. It no longer speaks truth, and therefore is of no value to people. Second, all hope is lost, for we cannot trust in God to right all wrongs, to defend the defenseless, to save people from their sins. Third, all of life becomes meaningless, for if there are things God does not know, or is not in control of, then there is no hope of final judgment. If there is not final judgment, then there is no justice in the world. If there is no eternal justice, then life on this earth descends into chaos, into utter nonsense. What does it matter if I steal from my neighbor? (As a side note, this is the very real and logical end of the evolutionist. This is why it is so dangerous for Christians to try and find middle ground between the Bible and the Theory of Evolution. Notice I did not say science.) If God did not create the world, if He does not continue to sustain it, and if that means He does not have complete and total sovereign control over every single detail of every single life, both human and non, then there is no foundation to what Paul says when He declares his confidence in the love of God through Christ. Only if God created the world can we say "Neither death nor life, nor angels or principalities." Only if He continues to sustain this world can we say, "Nor things present nor things to come, nor powers." Only if He has complete and total sovereign control over every single detail of every single life can we say, "Nor depth nor height, nor any other created thing in all of creation." Only then can we have hope that nothing can separate us from the love of our Father, which has been proved in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. So put away the desire for control in your lives. Don't be concerned with free will and the power to choose. Sit back in faith and watch the story of your life unfold before your very eyes, with all its ups and downs, trusting a Father who loves you, who knows your need better than you ever could. Every page of your story has been written for two reasons: That God may be glorified through you, and that you might learn to rest in Him. By such rest we are conformed to the very image of Christ.
Turning back to Peter's words here we see the story of the flood fulfilled. From his perspective, the flood, while remaining staunchly historical, was a foreshadowing of things to come. It was a story of death and resurrection, new life being achieved through the medium of water. Now this is not to say that the water itself has any magical properties about it. But the image of water, both in literature and in the physical world, carries with it a suitcase full of meaning: cleansing, quenching, life-giving power. The Greek word behind the phrase, "which corresponds to this" is the word we get 'type' from. The thrust of the word in this context implies 'resemblance,' but the plain meaning of the Greek word is 'hard' or 'solid.' This is helpful as we think of the historical events of the Old Testament as shadows or pictures of realities explained in the New. Where before God spoke in pictures and poetry, He now speaks in fullness and flesh. Now that Christ has come, and has 'tabernacled' among His people, all shadows have fallen away before the light of the Son. We no longer speak as in the early dawn, waiting for the sunrise. We speak as those who stand in the full light of day. In the flood, the Lord brought salvation to 8 people, by allowing them to pass unhurt through the water that was death to the rest of creation. They were saved, and given a new world in which to be fruitful and multiply. This, according to Peter, pictures the reality of baptism. Just as Noah was brought through the death-waters of the flood, so too we are brought through the death-waters of baptism. Just as his family was given a recreated world to fill and be fruitful in, so too we are given a world which is being made new. We too have been commissioned to be fruitful and multiply, to have dominion over all the Earth, for He who has all power and authority in Heaven and on Earth is our Head, even the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, this Baptism itself is picture, a symbol, of the death and resurrection story. Baptism is not simply a washing away, though we are cleansed in the regeneration of the Spirit. It also answers the demands God makes of all who would be His children. Just as the flood was a shadow pointing to the solid reality of baptism, so baptism itself is a shadow pointing to the even more solid reality of Christ's death and resurrection, the Baptism, the ultimate death-waters. Our baptism is a means of uniting us to His, not that the mere outward motions perform the trick. It is an attendant ceremony that gives visual, palpable testimony to the God-worked reality. Much like a wedding. It is not the mere outward form of the wedding that unites man and wife. But neither does God work outside the ceremony, generally speaking. The wedding ritual puts into flesh that which God works "behind the scene." So too the ritual of baptism is the incarnation of what the Spirit has accomplished through the ministry of the Word, namely a heart of flesh for a heart of stone. This we name for ourselves. It is ours by gift. It is the air first breathed coming out of the water.
Turning back to Peter's words here we see the story of the flood fulfilled. From his perspective, the flood, while remaining staunchly historical, was a foreshadowing of things to come. It was a story of death and resurrection, new life being achieved through the medium of water. Now this is not to say that the water itself has any magical properties about it. But the image of water, both in literature and in the physical world, carries with it a suitcase full of meaning: cleansing, quenching, life-giving power. The Greek word behind the phrase, "which corresponds to this" is the word we get 'type' from. The thrust of the word in this context implies 'resemblance,' but the plain meaning of the Greek word is 'hard' or 'solid.' This is helpful as we think of the historical events of the Old Testament as shadows or pictures of realities explained in the New. Where before God spoke in pictures and poetry, He now speaks in fullness and flesh. Now that Christ has come, and has 'tabernacled' among His people, all shadows have fallen away before the light of the Son. We no longer speak as in the early dawn, waiting for the sunrise. We speak as those who stand in the full light of day. In the flood, the Lord brought salvation to 8 people, by allowing them to pass unhurt through the water that was death to the rest of creation. They were saved, and given a new world in which to be fruitful and multiply. This, according to Peter, pictures the reality of baptism. Just as Noah was brought through the death-waters of the flood, so too we are brought through the death-waters of baptism. Just as his family was given a recreated world to fill and be fruitful in, so too we are given a world which is being made new. We too have been commissioned to be fruitful and multiply, to have dominion over all the Earth, for He who has all power and authority in Heaven and on Earth is our Head, even the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, this Baptism itself is picture, a symbol, of the death and resurrection story. Baptism is not simply a washing away, though we are cleansed in the regeneration of the Spirit. It also answers the demands God makes of all who would be His children. Just as the flood was a shadow pointing to the solid reality of baptism, so baptism itself is a shadow pointing to the even more solid reality of Christ's death and resurrection, the Baptism, the ultimate death-waters. Our baptism is a means of uniting us to His, not that the mere outward motions perform the trick. It is an attendant ceremony that gives visual, palpable testimony to the God-worked reality. Much like a wedding. It is not the mere outward form of the wedding that unites man and wife. But neither does God work outside the ceremony, generally speaking. The wedding ritual puts into flesh that which God works "behind the scene." So too the ritual of baptism is the incarnation of what the Spirit has accomplished through the ministry of the Word, namely a heart of flesh for a heart of stone. This we name for ourselves. It is ours by gift. It is the air first breathed coming out of the water.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Musings on 1 Peter (3:18-20)
18-20: It is with verses like these we are reminded that the writers of the New Testament do not have modern sensibilities. And thank the Lord they do not! We live in an age where the spiritual realm is either mocked as ridiculous and laughable, or feared as taboo and wicked. If modern science cannot test it, it cannot exist, says the first camp. Only witches and workers of dark magic have anything to do with the spiritual realm, says the other. These two camps are both wrong and fail to understand a world in which Christ has risen from the dead. Instead of causing fear and anxiety about "weirdness," these verses should be a reason to rejoice, for they proclaim most majestically the triumph of the empty tomb.
First, Peter succinctly states the Gospel. Jesus suffered and died once. He being righteous had no need to be judged. There was no sin in Him that needed to be paid for with blood. He did not suffer for His own sake. He, being the Son of Man, identified with us in our weakness, and became our representative. As Adam was our head and fell at the first tree, so Christ has become our head and mounted that tree so that we might be reconciled to God. Our first head drove us out of the Garden, whereas our second Head brought us back. In Him, in the righteous One, we, the unrighteous, find our home. In Him we see God.
This righteous One was put to death in our stead. This was His plan all along. He, being both Son of Man and Son of God would die for us, once and for all. As Man, He represents all mankind; as God, He brings the Divine presence to His people, tearing the temple curtain in two. Peter next says that while Jesus was dead in the flesh, yet alive in spirit, He proclaimed His victory to Satan and his host of demons. Jesus had told His disciples that He had come and bound the strongman and was going to plunder his house. The spirits in prison are these bound demons. Their power has been taken away. All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Jesus, and the fallen spirits, demons, were the first to hear about it. This passage tells us two things. One, that the spirit world is real. It is not something to be laughed at, nor is it to be feared. It simply is, like apples. The spirit world is a created 'substance' though admittedly vastly different from our own sensed experience. But it is created nonetheless, and as such has always been under the sovereign rule of God. Before the time of Christ, angles played a different and more substantial role in the politics of this world. The Archangel Michael, the prince of Israel, is said to have contended with the prince of Persia, another archangel, presumably fallen. Though fallen, this archangel of Persia held some office that was recognized as legitimate in the scheme of the Old Covenant world. With the advent of Christ, all was about to change. Demons, or fallen angels, were being cast out left and right, and the head demon, Satan himself, was rejected and defeated in the wilderness. In the crucifixion, Jesus put the final nail in the coffin of the demonic hosts' very real authority over the sons of men. Their wicked rebellion, dating back to the days before Noah, was finally, and completely put to an end. This is what Jesus went and told them. At the risk sounding inappropriate, I imagine Jesus giving them a full on raspberry. In effect, He tells them, "Your days are done. I win. You lose." Any authority they had has now been given to the Conquerer of death. This is the second thing this verse tells us: Jesus is now King, and no one can contest His rule.
Far from being a troublesome text, these are words of solid hope and joy. We will suffer as Jesus suffered. We are counted as righteous in the economy of God, and so will suffer as the righteous do in a fallen world. But we do not suffer alone. Nor are we left to the whims of devils. Our Lord sits on His throne, high and lifted up, the train of His robe filling the temple. He has triumphed over death and his minions. Therefore, do not fear. The spirit world is real to be sure, but we serve the God, who as both Spirit and Man, reigns over all things from on high. This is our God. In Him we find peace.
First, Peter succinctly states the Gospel. Jesus suffered and died once. He being righteous had no need to be judged. There was no sin in Him that needed to be paid for with blood. He did not suffer for His own sake. He, being the Son of Man, identified with us in our weakness, and became our representative. As Adam was our head and fell at the first tree, so Christ has become our head and mounted that tree so that we might be reconciled to God. Our first head drove us out of the Garden, whereas our second Head brought us back. In Him, in the righteous One, we, the unrighteous, find our home. In Him we see God.
This righteous One was put to death in our stead. This was His plan all along. He, being both Son of Man and Son of God would die for us, once and for all. As Man, He represents all mankind; as God, He brings the Divine presence to His people, tearing the temple curtain in two. Peter next says that while Jesus was dead in the flesh, yet alive in spirit, He proclaimed His victory to Satan and his host of demons. Jesus had told His disciples that He had come and bound the strongman and was going to plunder his house. The spirits in prison are these bound demons. Their power has been taken away. All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Jesus, and the fallen spirits, demons, were the first to hear about it. This passage tells us two things. One, that the spirit world is real. It is not something to be laughed at, nor is it to be feared. It simply is, like apples. The spirit world is a created 'substance' though admittedly vastly different from our own sensed experience. But it is created nonetheless, and as such has always been under the sovereign rule of God. Before the time of Christ, angles played a different and more substantial role in the politics of this world. The Archangel Michael, the prince of Israel, is said to have contended with the prince of Persia, another archangel, presumably fallen. Though fallen, this archangel of Persia held some office that was recognized as legitimate in the scheme of the Old Covenant world. With the advent of Christ, all was about to change. Demons, or fallen angels, were being cast out left and right, and the head demon, Satan himself, was rejected and defeated in the wilderness. In the crucifixion, Jesus put the final nail in the coffin of the demonic hosts' very real authority over the sons of men. Their wicked rebellion, dating back to the days before Noah, was finally, and completely put to an end. This is what Jesus went and told them. At the risk sounding inappropriate, I imagine Jesus giving them a full on raspberry. In effect, He tells them, "Your days are done. I win. You lose." Any authority they had has now been given to the Conquerer of death. This is the second thing this verse tells us: Jesus is now King, and no one can contest His rule.
Far from being a troublesome text, these are words of solid hope and joy. We will suffer as Jesus suffered. We are counted as righteous in the economy of God, and so will suffer as the righteous do in a fallen world. But we do not suffer alone. Nor are we left to the whims of devils. Our Lord sits on His throne, high and lifted up, the train of His robe filling the temple. He has triumphed over death and his minions. Therefore, do not fear. The spirit world is real to be sure, but we serve the God, who as both Spirit and Man, reigns over all things from on high. This is our God. In Him we find peace.
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