The Surprising God

I recently had the pleasure to present a seminar on Trinitarian Theology to a group of pastors and ministry leaders gathered in Nashville, TN.  I've given this seminar several times to similar audiences with similar results: many expressions of joy, hope and even surprise; together with various questions. It is a great blessing and privilege to see people grow in their understanding of the life and the love that is theirs in union with the Father, Son and Spirit. A question that usually comes up is this: If all humanity is adopted already into God's family through the union of all humanity with Jesus, then why is there the need for Christian mission? The mission most have in mind is what has come to be known as the Great Commission to make disciples of Jesus in all the world, and then to baptize and teach those disciples. An understanding of Trinitarian Theology does not nullify this mission - quite the contrary, it establishes it. But perhaps it is establi...

I am doing research for my presentations at the upcoming 2009 WCG regional conferences ( click here for a list of dates and locations). My presentations will focus on family relations in light of the inclusion of all humanity in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this topic. My research took me to the  Per Crucem ad Lucem  blog, which references the work of Gary Deddo ( click here  to view a WCG interview with Deddo). A recent blog post summarized Deddo's book, “Karl Barth’s Theology of Relations.” Deddo presents Barth's understanding of our humanity (a trinitarian anthropology) and then examines the implications of that anthropology for family relations.  Below is an edited version of this blog post.  I hope you, as have I, will find it helpful in thinking prayerfully about our participation in the Triune life and love in the context of our homes and churches. A TRINITARIAN ANTHROPOLOGY ...

In my last post I addressed questions concerning the continuing humanity of Jesus. People are often surprised to learn that Jesus remains permanently fully human, even as he remains permanently fully divine. The Bible does not discuss in comprehensive, systematic detail the specifics of Jesus dual nature when he was on earth, nor now as he is in heaven. What the Bible does is to make many statements that cause us to think deeply about the nature of Jesus, and thus come to an understanding that is faithful to Scripture and to the nature of Jesus as he is revealed to be.   The early church had many years of discussion (and even division) concerning Jesus nature, and concluded that Jesus was (and still is), fully God and fully human: one person with two inseparable (but not co-mingled or confused) natures ( click here  to read the first creed that addressed Jesus dual nature, and here to read an additional creed that added to that understanding).  P...

I received the following question concerning what I have written about the doctrine of the continuing (permanent) incarnation of Jesus Christ: You state that "Scripture testifies that the incarnation continues - Jesus is (still and forever) fully God and fully human."  Could you please send me the scriptural basis that says that Jesus is fully human right now? I'm happy with the concept that through the incarnation Jesus was fully God and fully human, and therefore his death reconciled all humanity.  I'm happy that after the resurrection people saw him in human form, however, I'm struggling to understand how after the ascension, he remains fully human in human form. That is to suggest that he is in a physical place in a physical form, whereas I thought God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), is everywhere. Here is my response:  I’m happy to address your important question, namely: What is the scriptural evidence that the incarnation continues?  I address thi...