I won’t take too much of your time with this.  I could bore you really quickly with the Reformation and the ideas about the Sacraments (Lord’s Supper and Baptism) in the minds of Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, specifically.  I have a long, long way to go in understanding the course of human history since the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom here on earth!

I’m doing a case study on Luther and the sacramental views he had.  Specifically, it’s the argument of the 1500’s over “real presence” – what the Catholics referred to as Transubstantiation.  It is the idea that the body of the Lord Jesus somehow penetrates the loaf and the wine at the supper, some sort of mystical embodiment not in physical terms… but in some sort of “essence” within the elements of the Lord’s supper.  You see there was a humongous argument going on in those days over the doctrinal position one took on such things, and Luther fell into a camp more of “consubstantiation” than transubstantiation.  Basically, Luther’s take was that the Lord could not possibly “embody” the elements, but though there is no physical change in substance, Christ is present in the bread that we eat.  Luther didn’t care “how” Jesus was present in the eating of the supper, but he just wanted him there in the elements of the eating.

What is the point?  I come from a Restoration heritage, a position that came down through the ages and was a product of the hundreds of years of attempt to Reform – all the way back to Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and others.  Though Luther is still thoroughly Catholic here, he is trying to reform, or bring back the truth of the New Testament Christian doctrines.  Where I came from, was the heritage that came down through Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, Methodists, and many other combinations of denominational craziness.  So by the 1800’s, there was a simple plea to break loose from the chains of dogma and doctrine – not true Christian doctrine, but in fact the dogma of “the Church” (Catholic Church).  Things that they value as authoritative as the text of the Bible itself; Church history, which they would argue is more valuable than the text in many cases, because the text was compiled finally by the late 200’s, or 300’s.  Church history stretches back all the way back to Pentecost and the Apostles.

I digress – the point is this; How do we celebrate the supper?  The sacraments of the church were doctrines and became holy in and of themselves.  But how would Jesus have intended it to be memorialized?  We seem to have a western world take on “memorials” and the Lord’s supper is no exception.  What about our observing what Jesus said to observe?  “As I have washed your feet, so you should wash one another’s feet.”  When Jesus said that, was he laying down a commandment for the Lord’s supper from now on?  Or was he laying down a principle of service, of self-sacrifice, of genuine understanding of WHO and WHAT Jesus was!  The eating of the meal together was a celebration of his love, sacrifice, and resurrection – but how often have we made it an occasion of morbid silence?  His dying was sad, in fact it was brutally evil, and the work of Satan.  But it was the plan of the Creator!  It was God’s plan for his son to die, and rise up to save us from sin.  To defeat death once and for all!  Our eating of the supper must be sacred and holy.  But it should be understanding the covenant Jesus set up as well.  That “you should love one another, even as I have loved you,” and our celebration of the Lord’s supper should be a feast of celebratory occasion!  Praise God for the steps of the journey that led to where we presently are.  And though those men of 500 years ago served God with a deeply Christocentric lifestyle, they were simply steeped in dogma and tradition to the point that even their steps “OUT OF” the dogma, – to reform – the Church, were still deeply Catholic in nature.  Praise God for the memorial, and may he help us to understand what he wants us to understand when we “discern the body rightly,” as in I Corinthians 11.

Many Christians want to return to the New Testament brand of Christianity.  Many from the heritage I grew up in want to restore N.T. Christianity in theory and practice, and I agree.  I truly believe we need to restore the true religion that Jesus taught about – and preached/quoted from Micah 6:6-8:

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
       and bow down before the exalted God?
       Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
       with calves a year old?

 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
       with ten thousand rivers of oil?
       Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
       the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
       And what does the LORD require of you?
       To act justly and to love mercy
       and to walk humbly with your God.

Now, let’s go back and re-read that passage and do the fortune cookie exercise… Except we’re going to put “On Sunday” at the END each sentence of those 3 verses. 

I’m in a class this week at Lipscomb called, “Critical Interpretation of the New Testament.”  We’re talking about a number of issues that had a deep impact on the early Christian atmosphere and experience.  What “canon” did they have to study from?  Did they just flip over to 2 Peter and read about the Day of the Lord?  Far from it… the early Christians may have had the 2nd letter of Peter.  But if so, it would have been rolled up most likely as a papyrus scroll, in the pottery urn with many other scrolls.  They might have had random letters or gospel accounts.  They may have had random Hebrew texts as well, or if they were “rich” and fortunate, a copy of the Septuagint (LXX) – or Greek translation of the Old Testament.

Their faith and Christian walk was far more incarnational than specifically doctrinal; by incarnational, I simply mean that it was far more active in ethical and daily walk than we often may do.  Whether we intend to or not, we often reduce our Christian identity to a doctrinal set of rules, or sometimes a life limited to the building we meet in as a church.  In true restoration thinking, and in Jesus’ true teaching, the kingdom is in US.  Not in the building, nor in some corporate entity that is greater than our own personal identity.  None of this is to say doctrine didn’t matter… quite to the contrary – just read the Corinthian letters or the letter to the Romans, or any other epistle that addressed certain topics.  But our problem is a problem of orientation.  Orientation not in the sense of “learning” – but in the sense of our point of view; our location in time and place versus their contextual period and place and time understanding the instruction much more clearly.

I am learning in this class a deeper appreciation for scripture than I ever have had.  It is precious, and what we have is what the Spirit intended for us to have.  And yet as God’s children today, we must not be guilty of Bibliolatry – that is – worship of the word (or Bible) itself, rather than the God, the Savior, the Spirit, and living the reciprocal life of love and service that the true Word (Jesus) leads us to live.  THAT is what I want to restore.  Not merely the dogma of the early church.  In the coming days/weeks, I’ll try to take several issues from different epistles and contextualize them into their time, place, and application. 

LORD, may you help us to be humble.  You are all powerful and glorious, and Father I pray for your guidance for us all.  For us to glorify you and live in your Son Jesus, and that we will demonstrate the Kingdom’s coming in our lives, by the very presence of our King’s love and perfect teachings. 

Never have I had a clue about the Gnostics until this class I’m taking.  And reading through the Patristics (early fathers) has solidified my understanding amazingly well compared to where it was before!  I knew this about the Gnostics: they were people who didn’t believe in the deity of Jesus, they hurt themselves physically in some sort of effort to appease God or “the gods” or something…  In the last week I have learned the following:

• they were slowly pulling Christians away because of warped twisting of what scripture said
• they truly believed to “harm” the body was holy, and was approved and applauded by the “un-named” One, the Father.  They actually get that justification from the covenant God made with Abraham through circumcision, citing Abraham’s cutting away of his flesh as perfect demonstration of his willingness to sacrifice himself to God.  Interesting twist, huh…
• the Gnostics truly believed that gnosis (knowledge, in Greek) was the true way to come back to God.  Intellectual understanding and enlightenment of the Aeons (creatures the great “mother” created with her tears, not from water of earth) and understanding of one’s true place with God was what true salvation was all about.
• Jesus was “a” son of God, and was a representative of the logos (the Word) as the Father’s communication with his people.  He was indeed SAVIOR, but only for those who needed him… in other words, if you had already ascended to your lofty intellectual understanding of God, you did not need this man’s sacrifice for you.
• Jesus could not have been GOD, because for the Eternal one to inhabit this filthy shell of earth and earth’s humanity would not be possible.  However, they were on the same team, and I’m still trying to understand exactly what the Gnostics believed Jesus’ true role was.
• Jesus did in fact rise from the dead for the Gnostics, but it was the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word, which is far superior than this physical earthly dust.  That power demonstrated the WORD, and showed glory to God… drawing believers closer to the Eternal Ineffible One.

Crazy!  Irenaeus was one of the first great fathers to view church history as authoritative ONLY insomuch as it was in accordance with Apostolic tradition.  Either handed down verbally or recorded in scripture by Paul, Peter, etc.  He is the first great theologian to represent the Eastern Mediterranean/Asia Minor school of theology.  That school focused on the Father as a God who loved his people, created covenants with them, and in fact was a Shepherd who brought care to his people.  Jesus coming to redeem his people was part of the Father’s master plan to bring us back into communion with him.

I look forward to more study of Irenaeus, and his amazing grasp of scripture, his ability to use logic and rational discussion and dispute and discredit faulty reasoning by the Gnostics and others.  What a great study!

This week in Historical Theology we’re talking about a number of things.  Specifically we’re reading some good stuff by the early church fathers, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen (of Alexandria).  Also we’re reading Alister McGrath’s Historical Theology as our continual text and a book by Justo Gonzales that takes a fresh look at the typical thought of these great early theologians.

One of the thought questions this week was:  4.      Summarize and comment on Origen’s trinitarianism.  What is the relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit?  What is the economic function of each?

Interesting question…  To save you from going down to the dusty section of the Christian book library, I’ll do my best to summarize Origen’s thought on the subject, and my post to our class in attempt to answer it!

 – I’ll try to summarize and then offer some specific points from the text.  For Origen, God
is the fullness of all things, “admitting within Himself no addition of any kind.”  He is the
autotheos (or God-in-Himself) and he is above all things.  He is the one of preeminence
in the Godhead, and the one to whom the Son and the Spirit submit.  The SON is Theos (God)
but is not the autotheos (God-in-Himself.  The SON is the
incarnational wisdom and truth of the FATHER, and no wisdom and/or truth can be
discerned except what was first brought into creation through the Son.  He is the
embodiment of wisdom and truth, and as John says, Christ is “the way, the truth, and the
life, and no one comes to the Father but by him.”  The SPIRIT is the means by which God
takes up his dwelling in his people.  God cannot dwell with his people except by the
Spirit’s presence. 

In terms of ECONOMIC function, God doesn’t need money.  🙂  The Father is ALL – lacking in nothing
and being far more glorious than we can perceive, almost like the SUN from our human
eyes.  The Son and Spirit are the ways for us to recognize God and come to him, and for
him – in return to COME INTO us. I must say, after reading this amazing document, I am far more “illumined” about the
nature of the Son and Spirit than I am the Father.  When I was a kid (14 or 15) and
became a disciple of Christ, the elders of our church told me, “you can preach/talk about
anything, except the ‘indwelling of the Holy Spirit.'”  I know know they were speaking
tongue-in-cheek, although there definitely was a stigma of mystery surrounding the
nature of the Spirit and His role.  Nobody wanted it talked about because nobody really
knew the mysteries of the Spirit.  Perhaps – according to Origen – that was one reason
many of them did not seem to have God LIVING within them… their deep confusion
about the Spirit being merely a facade for their own lack of God’s presence (the Spirit
himself) in their lives.  The Son, Jesus is REAL!!  How amazing is God that he would send
himself in Human form, and what amazing life would that man have lived, because he
was, in fact, God? 

Far too much for one post.  Maybe a research paper… or a book, or a thousand books! 
Thank you all for reading.

I’ve begun another great graduate course… “Historical Theology”.  In the first week’s module we’re talking about the
influence of several key individuals and/or perspectives from early on, and also the influence of history and historical perspective on the establishment of our theological standards.  It’s interesting how much of our fishbowl we see when we DON’T read the historical backgrounds… for example, who all has argued this before, what kind of controversy it sparked in the church, what its long-lasting effect was on the church, etc.  I can’t help but think of the Deity of Jesus controversy that sparked in the 4th century when Arius and Athenasius sparred with one another over this issue.  Specifically, it was the question of “how can Jesus be man/God at the same time?  The human condition is imperfection, sin, etc… so how can He be God and Man?”  I never would have known about this until I started opening some books!  I guess I would have stayed in my fishbowl about this issue, and only referenced the current situation, current personalities who argue about that issue, and I could only relate to modern commentary on it.  So the opportunity to get into these topics is making me a better student of the word… I hope!

So one of our discussion questions this week was this;  “Is Ignatius an egotistical, power-hungry manipulator, or a devout martyr who has a genuine concern for the church? “ Great question!  At first glance, this man’s teaching, letters to churches, etc. almost seem to promote martyrdom in some sort of self-seeking, self-righteous way, almost like an early-day rebellious group of Christians who said, “we’ll die for our faith, no matter what you Romans say… hmmmpphhh!!!”  But in fact it seems from Ignatius’s own statements through many places, he clearly shows himself to be a humble servant of God.  Note his own words below and decide for yourself.Referencing the authority of Bishops and Apostles, the apostles could command in a general manner, while the jurisdiction of a bishop is limited to one community.  He said, “Shall I, when permitted to write on this point, reach such a height of self-esteem, that though being a condemned man, I should issue commands to you as if I were an apostle?” (Tral. 3: or according to the longer version, “I do not issue orders like an apostle.”) “I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man; they were free, while I am even until now a servant.” (Ign. Rom. 4.)

Great study.  Ignatius was – I believe – one of the great stalwarts of the early Christian faith.  We would do well to study the impact and writings of these early guys, who went to the death for the cause of Christ.  NOT MILITANTLY, as if to rid the world of sinners or “infidels” as some of the radicals do, but humbly; so as to be willing to die if necessarily caught, and forced into the corner.  In so doing, it was thought that we may be honored to suffer and die as our Master did; persecuted for unjust, personal causes.

When’s the last time you saw a truly beautiful thing?  I don’t mean just taking the time to stop and see the gorgeous flowers, or perfect bermuda grass in downtown Nashville – but something like a Daddy holding his baby girl’s hand walking through Wal-Mart?  The smile on your wife’s face after the two of you enjoy a sweet remark by your children.  The sunshine on a bright Spring day…

God has blessed his children beyond all measure!  Today was just one of those days.  For some reason I felt like God was simply smiling on us and every time I turned around there was something that was a blessing. 

At bedtime recently, I’ve been telling the kids about different miracles of Jesus.  Healings, feedings, resurrection of Lazarus; all of them say something marvelous about the Master.  Tonight, we talked about the man who was lowered through the roof by his friends.  They were so desperate to help their friend, they dig, cut, punch – or whatever! – through the ceiling of the home, to lower their friend into Jesus’ presence.  Interesting – the crowd is so amazingly packed that they can’t even get through with a lame man!

We typically think about Jesus healing the lame man with this story from Luke 5.  One of the most fantastic things about this passage though, is the fact that Jesus does not heal him immediately.  He sees the faith of this man, and he said, “your sins are forgiven.”  WHAT???  The Pharisees that are there are about to jump out of their skin.  It is only after Jesus ears the grumbling and reads their hearts’ content that he says, “so you’ll believe I have power to forgive sins, stand up and walk.”  The miracle is the by-product of this situation!

The beautiful thing I saw tonight was my son’s face when I told him this story.  I told him that Jesus said “your sins are forgiven” first… and when I explained the rest of the story, and asked him what it said about Jesus.  He said that it “means Jesus is good at life.”  Yes, he is good at life…  he had a complete command of our realm, over the human body, and over every thing on earth.  What a beautiful thing!  Praise God for sending his Son, Jesus. 

Father – thank you for loving us, thank you for your Son and his selflessness.  Father, please heal our nephew Ethan.  He is a little child, whom Satan’s curse has unduly punished… please heal his cancer and let him grow to live a long, healthy life.  You have done so much in him already that is praiseworthy!

In Proverbs 8:12, something happens that I’m pretty sure I’ve never truly begun to grasp.  Wisdom, is referred to in the First Person.  “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence, I possess knowledge and discression.”  He (wisdom, but presumably Solomon speaking) speaks of his attributes and how he is better than gold, better than choice silver, fame, or riches. 

One of the most amazing things to me about wisdom is beginning in verse 22, when he says that the Lord brought him forth as the first of his many creations.  That he brought WISDOM forth as the first of his many creations!  That Wisdom was along side with the Father as he watched all creation come to be, and that he has seen the innermost parts of God.  Read it for yourself below, and see if you are not impressed with the necessity to get to know “Wisdom” better; not as a person – as he is depicted here – but as a quality, which we know Solomon is actually saying.  It is the deepest of important qualities that we should learn to be of influence to others.  It is not more important than holiness, nor honesty, nor all that is wrapped up into holiness; but in terms of the influence we have on others, nothing will have a stronger impact, ESPECIALLY when it is combined with holiness, and others see that we truly are children of God. 

“The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;

    ²³ I was formed long ages ago,
       at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

    ²⁴ When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
       when there were no springs abounding with water;

    ²⁵ before the mountains were settled in place,
       before the hills, I was given birth,

    ²⁶ before he made the world or its fields
       or any of the dust of the earth.

    ²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place,
       when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

    ²⁸ when he established the clouds above
       and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

    ²⁹ when he gave the sea its boundary
       so the waters would not overstep his command,
       and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

    ³⁰ Then I was constantly ^[e] at his side.
       I was filled with delight day after day,
       rejoicing always in his presence,

    ³¹ rejoicing in his whole world
       and delighting in humankind.

    ³² “Now then, my children, listen to me;
       blessed are those who keep my ways.

    ³³ Listen to my instruction and be wise;
       do not disregard it.

    ³⁴ Blessed are those who listen to me,
       watching daily at my doors,
       waiting at my doorway.

    ³⁵ For those who find me find life
       and receive favor from the LORD.

    ³⁶ But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
       all who hate me love death.”

So – back to Restoration Thinking.  I have repeatedly been thinking about the structure of the heritage that I grew up in.  I adored many men and women of faith, mostly in my small environment of North Alabama growing up.  But as I continue to grow, read, and pray, I understand that I was exposed to a fairly small fish tank.  Not that there was inherently anything wrong with that, but in fact, it was almost an inbred spiritual family; in which the challenged thought or genuine question of interpretation of scripture was often refused and/or quickly dismissed as immature.

As I read Barton Stone and David Lipscomb particularly, I find in these men a type of thinking that refused to be boxed in by man-made barriers.  They stood on scripture, as the only truly authoritative standard by which they would state their convictions, and quite literally would stake their complete faith in God’s word, and not on the reputation they would have in others’ eyes. 

When Christians read and study the word of God (and we MUST read and truly study, in context), we must try to read the way the readers would have read it.  There is no way we can know what their questions would have been, to which Paul or the other writers would be replying, nor the lenses of cultural environment through which they perceived the letters.  But one thing we can do, is pray, read, study, and make a stand.  Knowing in our hearts that God will judge us, and that he wants our complete devotion and obedience; including self-sacrifice, holiness, and contrition because of our sins.  However, the joy of His grace overwhelms us!  To the point that the weight of our sinful past becomes light.

There’s a great, great scene in Toy Story, the first great digital animation by Disney’s Pixar Studios.  Tom Hanks and Tim Allen were superb, and there’s a “fight scene” where Woody (the cowboy doll) is so angry at Buzz Lightyear (the Space Ranger toy), that Buzz simply cannot or will not realize that he is really a toy.  There is a point in which Woody “loses it”, and totally frustrated with Buzz for Buzz’s saying, “I must go, I’ll be late to report to Star Command.”  Woody has had it!  He screams, “YOU ARE A TOOOO-EEEEEY!!!  You’re not the real Buzz Lightyear, doh… well you’re an action figure!!!”  Buzz calmly looks at Woody and with straight face, says, “You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.”  That is unfortunately the way many of our brothers react when some nearly want to scream for their lack of open-heartedness; as if they are so blinded by their concrete “knowledge” of good standing, that they can’t see the “Mattel” printed on their arms.  Yet they are so perfectly sure that they are standing firmly in the foundation of the Apostles of 2000 years ago.  The strange thing is, you can’t draw a straight line ANYWHERE in the descendence of the early Christian church.  Specifically I’m referring to those who judge and withdraw themselves from others, based on things that they do with the silence of scripture.  I remember seeing numerous diagrams when I was a kid, the “tree” of Christendom and denominations.  The off-shoots and curvy branches began with the Apostate followers in the 3rd century.  The straight line at the bottom?  The never-bending, unrelenting, never-changed church?  Yep, that’s where I grew up.  Just ask me, I can prove it.

I am not intending to be antagonistic with this post.  I truly do cherish my heritage for many great lessons, spiritual backbone, and memory work.  I just want to be real!  I need HELP being real!  I don’t want to construct my own straw man of Christian faith and then bow down do it in reverence.  Father, may you bless us all with humble hearts and the willingness to grow with an openness to the word.  May your Spirit dwell within us, and daily lead us back to you.