Human and Divine

A question came up in a recent small group study about the character of Jesus. By character, I more specifically mean the ‘nature’ of Jesus as fully human and fully divine. Scripture is pretty clear in its description of him in this way. Jesus, a man who lived, walked, ate, socialized, healed, taught, died in a middle eastern section of the world during the first century thought himself to be ‘god’. Based on the questions that came up in my small group, it may be well worth a look again, even for those who have been steeped in the church for some time.

What would you and I think of the sanity of a man who walked into our coffee shops and described himself as divine? This isn’t after all the medieval era where spiritual superstition made room for such an overlap in dimensions. The enlightenment long took care of even allowing such an overlap, and even went as far as getting rid of anything that can’t be proved with logic and science.

The historical Jesus has been studied and can by most people at least be accepted as a good moral teacher. Though, as C.S. Lewis has pointed out, that to reach such a resolve would require us to turn a blind eye at his claim of divinity. How could a good moral teacher make such claims, unless the source of those claims (the Bible) is what is truly false.

On the other side of the fence is the divine Jesus. The Jesus who was in fact God in the flesh. To reside in this area of belief simply requires a basic belief in a God who would choose to have something to do with this world and the lives of the people who live here. It is not a huge stretch that God could heal the sick if he so chose. That God could even raise from the dead if it really needed to happen.

With these two options defined this way (which I don’t believe can even be considered a ‘nutshell’ answer because it doesn’t do justice to either side), we find ourselves having to put them to the side for a moment. Many who find themselves part of the ‘conservative’ branch on the evangelical tree have to think what it is that we believe about the relationship between heaven and earth.

I promise that I will come back to the issue of the divinity and the humanity of Jesus, but before I do that we need to consider the relationship between ‘the divine’ and ‘the humane’ of reality in general.

For the sake of keeping this article simple and direct, I am going to go on the assumption that there is in fact a ‘heaven’ and there is in fact an ‘earth’; that there is in fact ‘divine’ and that there is in fact ‘human’. What we believe the relationship between the two of these dimensions is very important to how the story that the Bible is telling plays out in our lives. Consider the implications of the possible scenarios:

Heaven and Earth are completely separate from each other.
This is your classic Gnosticism. God is ‘out there’ somewhere, and is probably at least a little disappointed with what is going on here. He will get involved in the affairs of this world, but it is impossible to know how or when or why. Heaven is good. Earth is bad. Our goal in life is to be saved by grace so that we can ‘get out of here’. You will see this played out in the Left Behind Theology. If this is your school of thought, then you are going to have a hard time coming to peace with Jesus being divine and human, because one is ‘good’ and the other is ‘bad.’ “Jesus couldn’t possibly be bad. But the Bible says he is both. So I guess I will have to say that I believe it, though by default I will probably lean towards the divine rather than the human.”

Heaven and Earth are the same thing.
This view is the opposite of the one that I just described. There doesn’t tend to be a distinction between the divine and the human dimensions of reality, and usually by default, will tend to put more attention on the human side of things, and whether they admit it or not, will push God out of the picture for the sake of ‘experience’. Experiences, whether good or bad, tend to be judged by ‘myself or those who think like I do.’ Ultimate authority is subjective, and life will tend to become very human centered and the divine takes becomes a bumper sticker or a slogan on a tshirt.

Heaven and Earth are touching each other but we are unable to see the connection unless God reveals it.
This, I believe, is the Biblical description of reality. This is how a Jewish convert to Christianity in the first century would have understood the context in which our texts were written to them. Early Christians would have understood heaven as God’s dimension of the created order. Early Christians would have understood earth as the space, time and matter that you and I are familiar with. In the beginning there was an open connection between the two. God dwelt with the first humans pretty freely and they with Him. It was only after the fall that a separation took place. How would the early Christians have understood this separation?

Imagine with me for a minute that you are seated within a performance hall waiting for a play to begin (similar to the Dogwood Center if you are from my home town.) You are in the audience, and the players are on the stage. Now, during this time of waiting for the beginning of the performance, and large curtain separates you from the players on the stage. For all practical reasons, the play could go on without the curtain opening, but you would feel as if a refund were due you for the ticket price. The ‘magic’ of the performance is only complete when the curtain opens and both the players and the audience are able to be a part of the evening.

That is a very simple illustration of how the early Christians would have understood the relationship between heaven and earth. Both dimensions are very real, and aware of each other, and alive with anticipation for each other, but separated by a ‘curtain’ because of the fall that sin created. In scripture, it is revealed that God does from time to time ‘pull the curtain back’ so that people can get a glimpse of how close the two dimensions are together. The early Christians would have had a sense that heaven is much closer to us than many of us who are considered ‘conservative’ do.

In 2 Kings 6:17 we read: Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

We are not led to believe that this young man was shown a far off world across space and time, but rather into another dimension of the reality that you and I live in. A dimension that is kept from our sight until revealed to us by a living God that is indeed very close.

In Revelation 21, we read: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…and I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Here, we are not led to believe that Heaven is a place that we go after we die, but belonging in the present to the people who will become a part of the ‘making all things new.’ Early Christians would have understood they were a part of the new creation that was being brought about by the resurrection of Jesus now, and were to order their lives accordingly. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

So, how does the early Christian understanding of the relationship between heaven and earth; between the divine and the human have to say to us today. Perhaps we will be able to find some peace in our conflict between the two as we look at the nature of Jesus.

For Jesus, the Son of God, the curtain that separates heaven and earth was not an issue. It is the mystery of our faith. Jesus had all access to both sides of the curtain at all times. It is in light of this that he was able to know fully what His Father desired Him to do; and it is in this same light that He is able to relate completely with what it means to be human. He understands our longing for the words of Revelation to come true. He understands our longing for a time when there will be no time for tears, and no time for death, and no time for mourning or crying or pain, because he exposed Himself to what it means to be us. Beautiful us. You see, for Jesus has been given all of the authority of heaven and earth, and He will one day remove the curtain of time and space and make all things new. And He will show us how good and wonderful this creation is. Jesus understands our lives, and He desires us to become a part of life in the wake of His death shattering resurrection. Here, and now, until He comes to make all things new.

So, what I would like you to do now, is go back up to the top and consider what you believe to be the relationship between heaven and earth, the divine and the human. Is one bad and one good? Are they the same? Or, are they separated by the sin birthed curtain until they can be made one?

After considering this, let me ask you…How will you live with the Son here and now?

No Reincarnation in China

Here is a good one that I found over at Ben Witherington's site:

You have got to love it. The Chinese government, in order to have some control over certain social aspects of Buddhism in China has issued Order No. 5-- from the Administration of Religious Affairs. Cutting to the chase basically this order says that no Buddhist monk has permission to return from the dead, by way of reincarnation, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT APPROVAL. If only the first century Jewish authorities and Pilate had thought of issuing such an edict as well!

One Week Away

Dear friends,

In one week, we are starting the Ultimate Reality series at the church.  Part of our participation in this series will be a website that is being tweaked now to be ready for group interaction.  This idea came from a suggestion by Lew Weeber that we provide a way for the people to interact with the material and each other.

As we move into these final days before beginning of this series, can you do me a favor?

Please visit the website:
www.ultimatereality07.com

Check it out.  Offer suggestions.

What types of weekly polls would you like to see?
What are some other links can we have on the site that will helpful for faith growth in people?
What else does the site need?

Then, come back to this blog and share your ideas with this group.

I'd really appreciate your work with this.

 

Does God accept us as we are?

By Steve Cornell

Religious clichés are common. “God helps those who help themselves.” “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” “Money is the root of all evil.” None of these is biblical but many use them as statements from God. Other religious clichés are used to excuse poor behavior. “Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven” we’re reminded. “We’re all sinners” offers more relief from a guilty conscience.

The use religious clichés is not new. Scripture records and corrects a number of them. For example, Corinthians justified sexual immorality with the phrase, “food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them.” They argued that the body was not of eternal and spiritual significance, therefore, immorality was acceptable. This misguided rationalization (based on Greek mythology) occasioned a corrective response from the Apostle Paul (cf. I Corin. 6:12-20).

A more contemporary cliché that could be misleading is the statement: “God accepts us as we are.” Is this true? According to Jesus, it depends on what you think you are. Jesus told a parable about certain people who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18). Jesus referred to two men going up to the temple to pray — the one a Pharisee, the other a tax-gatherer ( a despised person in first century Judaism). The Pharisee began by thanking God that he was not like the sinners of society and then went on to recite his own notable virtues. The tax-gatherer stood at a distance with downcast eyes, pleading for God’s mercy and identifying himself as a sinner. The conclusion? The admitted sinner was accepted before God and the self-righteous Pharisee found no approval with God.

This parable reminds us that only those who see themselves as sinners in need of God’s mercy will be accepted by God. The best of human achievements cannot grant us favor with God. Only those who humbly acknowledge their unworthiness are granted acceptance with God. Put another way, “what we are” is the problem. All people have fallen short of God’s glory and are in need of His merciful salvation.

The Bible says; “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble” (I Peter 5:5-6). The proud person rejects God’s authority over his life and defiantly declares his independence of the Creator. This person could be self-sufficiently religious (as the Pharisee) or totally irreligious. The issue is far deeper then external activities.

The broken and contrite heart God will not despise (Ps. 51:17). Through the prophet Isaiah, God said: “To this person will I look (with favor,) to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2). Does God accept us as we are? It depends on what you think you are?