Bookends in John - Glory of God and Belief in God

The Gospel of John is perhaps the simplest book of the New Testament in terms of grammar and writing style. It does not contain many flashy turns of phrase, subordinating clauses, or strings of synonyms like in Luke or Paul. It can be read and understood on a grammatical level by the youngest of readers - no wonder it is often the first book read by novice Greek students!

Yet, on a theological level, John is the deepest in the whole Bible. It is often called the "Spiritual Gospel" in contrast with the synoptics (which are not spiritual?!). Some of Paul's letters like Romans can be studied and digested paragraph by paragraph as a logical argument pieced together, but it is often said of John that the individual parts cannot be understood unless the whole Gospel is understood. Today I want to look at two key verses in John's Gospel, one at the beginning and another at the end, and hopefully help us dive more clearly into this great Gospel.

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

This is not an unfamiliar verse to many. In the 13 verses that precede it, we see the cosmic beginnings of the universe: all things were created through this grand Word that was with God and strangely, was actually God. Now in our verse we are told that this Word is the person of Jesus Christ who, though being God, became man and became the manifestation of God's glory. Matthew calls him Immanuel, God with us. John calls him the dwelling place of glory, which can only remind the Israelites of the Temple, the place where God's Holiness was most highly displayed. For example, in Exodus 40:35, we are told that the cloud, which was God's physical guiding presence for Israel, dwelled over the tent, and God's glory filled the tabernacle. The very word for tabernacle means "dwelling place," and the same Hebrew root is borrowed by John for the incarnation of the Word. So many have suggested we could better translate Christ as having "become flesh and tabernacled among us," to remind us of the way he resided among us just like the various places in the Old Testament where God resided with Israel: the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and the temple (it is also convenient to not confuse this word with the more common word in John, "abide" or "remain," a theme beyond the scope of this post!). The Son of God came down from heaven, became fully man, full of grace, full of truth, and showed his glory to the world.

 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. - John 20:31

This verse, near the end of the Gospel, is also very well-known. Our response to John's Gospel is simple and brief: believe. Believe in Jesus as who he says he is, the anointed Messiah fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies (including the Temple, as well as providing the New Covenant, the grand Prophet of Moses, the full embodiment of Wisdom, our High Priest, our King, our Redeemer, our Savior and Lord), the divine Son of God who was sending the Holy Spirit after him. Believe in this Christ, put your trust in him, put your full dependence upon him. For no one else grants life, nothing else can grant life except Jesus Christ. Without Christ we are dead (Eph 2:1), we are in darkness, blind, we are unclean and wicked before God, ignorant of the Truth, unable to know the Word.

John 1:14 serves well as the topic statement for the rest of the Gospel. All of the signs display the glory of God in the miraculous and yet human workings of Jesus. The discourses spread throughout the book proclaim the grace of God in full truth, that Christ calls all to himself. John 20:31 serves as the corresponding purpose statement. Through 20 chapters, John is nearly done with his presentation of Jesus' interaction with the disciples, and the call which heretofore has been indirectly given in the story is now directly given to us, the audience: believe in this glorious Christ. Will we answer as Nathanael, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" and receive life from Jesus? Or will we rest in our own knowledge and assumptions as the Pharisees, and remain in our guilt (John 9:41)?

Is Christ the Lord, or is He your Manager?

The LORD is my manager;
I’m equipped with what I need to be successful.
He makes sure I have enough to eat and drink,
And that I’m not too stressed out.
He gives me what I need to get by;
He communicates good advice
so I can keep him satisfied with my progress.

I came across this excellently-written "Semi-Psalm 23," and the ironic realities gripped me. I go through life doing nearly everything on my own. I'm pretty smart, I have decent means to get through life. I give lip-service to what Christ provides for me but little more.

But when the darkness closes in and I feel half-dead,
I’m frightened by all the pain that grips me,
Because you seem so far away from me,
And your distant management of my life leaves me alone and afraid.


I have not known any real hardship. I have tried hard to rest content with what I have, and I really have never been in a place where I didn't know how I was going to eat or whether or not I would be provided for. Yet, somehow I still let the pressures, the stress, the distraction of this life overtake my inner emotions and I let Christ become a fading distance. Sometimes out of guilt or shame, sometimes out of fear, I run into myself instead of to the riches of Christ.

You do let me help myself to the leftovers from your table,
Which I suppose is better than what my enemies get.
You acknowledge my presence at dinner,
And you let me pour a little wine into my cup.
I guess I have an adequate and decent life most of the time,
And I can always stay at the LORD’s house for a few days if I ever feel the need.

Obviously the writer of this poem was making a satire off Psalm 23, where God is our great Shepherd leading us where we need to go even in times of suffering. I think another passage in the Bible can unlock the truth of how Christ relates to us. Instead of the lackadaisical approach to Christ portrayed here, consider the precious words of Colossians:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

…The riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Our local church is just beginning a study into this wonderful book about Christ and his Lordship over us. I am excited to study again the greatness of who Christ is and what He has accomplished in my life. I pray it is a time of renewal and revived focus on making great the name of Jesus and no longer trying to rely on our own strength.


    If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

A Revolution

My soul clings to dust; give me life according to your word! ... Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. Psalm 119:25,27

I apparently wrote this in a private email with a friend in 2007, referring to the time in my life when I was first getting serious about becoming a disciple of Christ:

Oh you mean 1 Corinthians 7? Yeah there's some intense stuff in there.
Basically what Paul is saying is that there's a lot of distractions
that come with being married and growing a family and whatnot. I think
the general principle to get out of that is that you're not ready to
date or anything until you're willing to stay single. On the side, I
remember that verse pretty well from the first time I read through the
Bible [in 2002, between 8th and 9th grades],
because I pointed it out to [other friend] as this revolutionary verse that
could change the way people think about relationships.

Who knew God's Word had such amazing advice? As a 14/15 naive, nerdy kid I hoped for such, but I had no idea the riches contained in the Bible. Now 8 years later, and it still amazes me every time I open it.

Parallel structure in Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:1-10 had long been a nice "power" passage for me, but it wasn't until about the 95th read through/study of it a few months ago that I noticed a nice parallelism in Paul's writing (also, I have a hard time remembering how to spell words with a mix match of single and double consonants. parralel? paralell? parrallell? accomodate? accooomadayteee?).

In verses 1-3, we have these indictments of we used to be before Christ:

• Dead through trespasses and sins. The word for dead is νεκρος - you are spiritually without a pulse. Grammatically I like to point out that this verse still applies even if you throw out half the Bible and don't believe in original sin; it's because of our individual sins we are dead, not because we are dead, therefore we sin. The law indicts us all.
• Following the course of this world, the prince of the air, ie, the devil. Notice Paul says this is an indictment of "all", even himself.
• Children of wrath. This is pretty intense, we were born dead, and into the family of wrath.

But then in one of Paul's usual epic, divine contrasts, "but God" steps in verse 4 and flips everything:

• Even while we were dead, God made us alive. I call grace the "spiritual defibrillator." You can't yell "clear" and throw on the pads yourself when your heart's stopped, God did that for you.
• Raised up with Christ and seated in the heavenlies - this is an interesting phrase which we can ponder the meaning of, but it stands directly opposite our previous position; instead of following this world and the prince of the "air," we now follow Christ who is in the heavenly places.
• We will be shown the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness, no longer bearing God's wrath. Praise Him who gives such grace to those who do not deserve it!

After a transitional statement about our workmanship and our purpose in God (v8-10), Paul presents another amazing study in contrast about the Gentiles place in Christ. He does not the inclusive "we" in this section since he was born into Judaism, but I think it's safe in most theological circles to assume that Jews post-Christ, unless they make a personal decision for Jesus, are no longer in the family (even if the Israelite nation is one day brought back to prominence in God's kingdom, its members will all be Christian), so this passage now applies equally well to all present day men and women.

We start with the before, v11-12:

• Separated from Christ.
• Alienated from the nation of Israel (God's chosen kingdom), strangers to the covenant.
• Having no hope, without God (literally, atheist).

And, the amazing after, v13 and following:

• Brought near. What brought us near? (Singing) "Nothing but the blood of Jesus."
• In peace, made us all one; the "dividing wall" is referring to the inability of Gentiles to enter the sacred parts of the temple in Jerusalem. We are now fellow citizens and saints in the household/body/building/temple of God.
• We have access now in one Spirit to the Father, through Jesus. What an amazing work of the Trinity!

Meanwhile, religiosity in the Middle East

http://www.barnabasfund.org/Said-Musas-handwritten-letter.html


Yesterday I wrote about a teenager who stood up for his faith and his conscience (though there is debate among Christians about the wisdom and actual piety of his decision) and his biggest consequence, outside of the bad PR? He had to forfeit a high school match. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world we see stories about men like Said Musa, a convert to Christianity in (still US-occupied, mind you) Afghanistan. He is a physician for the local Red Cross and has a family, but for months now he has been stuck in prison, without a lawyer and with much torture from his fellow inmates and prison guards. He stands to be executed in the near future, all because he will not renounce his stance that Jesus Christ is Lord and Son of God.


His response, in a letter sent to the US: "I also agree with the sacrifice [of] my life in public, I will tell the faith ... and other believers will take courage and be strong in their faith."


What a Pauline response! I desire to be touched by the gospel as this man, who can so strongly echo Philippians 1:12-14 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Religiosity in (post)Modern Times

"Wrestling with Conviction" is the title of a new editorial on Espn by blogger/magazine columnist extraordinaire Rick Reilly. He talks about the story of a high school wrestler who, out of his family's deep religious conviction for treating women with respect, decides not to compete against a girl in his Iowa state tournament. Reilly touts back: 


"Does any wrong-headed decision suddenly become right when defended with religious conviction? In this age, don't we know better?"


This is an interesting argument coming from ESPN, not exactly an organization known for its great philosophical repartee. The whole of Reilly's article does little more than energize the typical pro-feminist position: Let the women take on any man, any time; it's no matter that the girl in question actually did lose her next two matches handily.


Going back to Reilly's rhetorical questions, the answer to the second is easy: no we don't, actually we generally assume the opposite. The battle cry of this generation is "Do what's right for you and I'll do what's right for me and we'll both be better for it." On the other hand, the message of orthodox Christianity has always been "Do my decisions line up not with my personal feelings and motivations, but with the authority and commands of God's Holy Word?"