The Surprising God

Dante & Virgil in Hell A discussion of "last things" (eschatology) necessarily addresses the subject of hell. It's a hot one right now (forgive the pun!), due in large part to Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins" ( click here to read a helpful review of Rob's book written by Jonathan Stepp, who agrees with most of Bell's conclusions, but notes that Bell does not reason out of a theology that is fully Trinitarian and incarnational). So what are we to think about hell? What does the Bible say? And how do we understand what it says in the light of the revelation about God and humanity given us in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ? It seems to me that the biblical revelation concerning hell is often misrepresented. People routinely read back into Scripture modern conceptions of hell that have more to do with Dante's fanciful imagination (in the epic poem, " Divine Comedy ") than with what Scripture actually says. A case in...

This post was contributed by worship leader Mike Hale. The March 2011 edition of Christianity Today contains five thought-provoking articles related to worship, including an excellent article by John Kossler, The Trajectory of Worship: What’s really happening when we praise God in song? Kossler (currently professor of pastoral studies at Moody Bible Institute) begins by warmly describing his worship journey of nearly forty years, and the colorful variety of songs, settings and fellow worshipers, including early memories of the Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church and the Lost Coin Coffee House. But having previously considered himself a man of wide-ranging eclectic tastes, raised on everything from Beethoven to Bix to the Beatles, and “baptized by immersion in the waters of musical diversity,” he admits to a more recent time in which he became a ‘worshiping curmudgeon’—trying hard not to begrudge others of worship music that was not of his choosing, but becoming quite annoyed nonetheless. ...

This post concludes a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 . We'll look now at Fairbairn's view of the last things  (eschatology). A key point made by Fairbairn concerning God's work to redeem humanity, including at the coming eschaton, is this: ...All the arrows point down, not up.... At no point in the biblical panorama is redemption a matter of our rising up to achieve a higher condition ourselves. Instead, at every point, God comes down to us, and at every point, this world is the focus of God's gracious activity. (p225)  At the creation of humanity, God came down and walked among us in the Garden of Eden. Then, in order to reverse the fall, he came down as one of us to live our life, die our death and give us new, redeemed life. Then when Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, returned to his Father in heaven, he sen...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  8 . [revised 4/27/17] Fairbairn now addresses the related topics of adoption, conversion, faith and Christian living. Adoption and conversion Fairbairn locates the moment of our adoption at the point of personal belief (conversion), noting that, "our believing/receiving [Christ] makes us children of God." (pp184-5). In making this statement, Fairbairn is careful to uphold the biblical perspective that though God, in Christ, has reconciled all humans to himself in and through the Christ (via the "hypostatic union" of the divine and human natures in one Person), it is those who, enlightened by the Spirit, receive Christ in faith, with repentance who are "born again" (John's term) and so are "adopted" (Paul's term) becoming "children of God" through the work of ...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  7 ,  8 . Fairbairn addresses the related topics of   redemption and  immortality,  citing the patristic fathers who, "wrote of the death of Christ in terms of its undoing our death" (p163). As noted by the fathers, by virtue of the fall (Adam's transgression), we humans are mortal , that is, subject to death ( corruption ). However, God created us for immortality - our "share by grace in the natural immortality that characterizes the persons of the Trinity." (p163) How can what was lost be restored? Note comments from Athanasius: What should God have done? Demand repentance from men for the transgression? For one might say that this was fitting for God, that as [humans] had become subject to corruption by the transgression, so by repentance they might retur...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 . Fairbairn equates salvation with adopted sonship  by which we, through the Holy Spirit, share in Jesus' own relationship with his Father. God adopted humanity as his own dearly loved children ( Gal 4:4-6 ) through the incarnation, birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of his "only begotten Son", Jesus Christ (see John 1:18 , KJV). In union with Jesus, humanity is embraced, forgiven, reborn, exalted and through the power of the Holy Spirit given to share in the Son's unimpeded fellowship with his Father. Note these comments from Fairbairn: The Son has become human in order to make himself our adopted brother, so that we, having become his adopted sisters and brothers, could then become the adopted daughters and sons of his natural Father, God. The Son by na...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 . Fairbairn advocates the Christ-centered approach to biblical interpretation utilized by many of the church fathers. That approach begins with the  central message  of Scripture (what the fathers called  the rule of faith ) and then understands a specific text in that light. In this way, one starts with the broad context (story) of all Scripture and only then focuses on the narrow particulars. Unfortunately, we often do the reverse. We read a particular passage, then look only to its immediate (narrow) context to determine its meaning. When we do so, the broad context and thus the true meaning is often distorted or entirely missed. Fairbairn elaborates, pointing to the church father's understanding of the rule of faith: We [tend to] start with...

This post was contributed by worship leader Mike Hale. While we are each created as unique individuals, we are also created for relationship with the Triune God, and with all creation—especially with others in the worshipping community. In his essay Baptism and the Christian Community , the late British theologian Colin Gunton described the worshipping community—the church—as being new creation in Christ by the Spirit. Gunton points to the relational aspect of the ever-changing church community, and says that to baptize a person is to bring that unique person into "….the sphere of the Spirit’s working, into the place where his or her gift may be exercised for the glory of God. The Spirit is the Spirit who creates the community of the Last Days, that worshiping body that is brought into the presence of the Father in the Son and by the Spirit." "Baptism, therefore, brings persons into relation with that community, so that they are now by means of a sacramental action ...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 . Fairbairn refers to the doctrine of the Trinity as "the gateway to understanding Christian life" (p50).  Last time , we noted Fairbairn's understanding of the Trinity: God, who is three (tri-personal), is one in substance ("God-ness") and fellowship (triune communion) (p55). But what does this mean for our lives? According to Fairbairn, just this: though we do not and cannot share in God's substance,  God created us to share in his triune fellowship (p56). Indeed, this sharing in the love and life of the Trinity, which the Patristic fathers referred to as theosis,  is the essence of human life.   He comments: ...We are meant to remain creatures and thus remain lower than God but at the same time to share in the fellowship and love that ha...

This post continues a series in the book   Life in the Trinity  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 . In chapter 3, Fairbairn addresses differing views of the Trinity. He notes that, "the Western church has emphasized the oneness of God..."  whereas, "the Eastern church has stressed God's threeness." Why the difference?  Because, "whether one starts with the one or the three depends on how one interprets the flow of biblical revelation about the Trinity" (p39). The Old Testament emphasizes God's oneness (e.g. Isaiah 43-45 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ). Then the New Testament testifies to this one God's threeness (the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God). Both ideas are true and essential, but a problem arises when they are reduced to a mechanistic formula. Instead, the Bible speaks of God's oneness and threeness in a  relational con...

This post was contributed by worship leader Mike Hale. On this blog we typically focus on the larger themes and theology of Trinitarian life and worship rather than on specific worship songs. But here’s a new hymn about that Divine and human reality. In searching for Trinitarian worship music, Jonathan Stepp decided to write a new song – Hymn to the Trinity . Surprising perhaps, since Jonathan isn’t a song writer, but then again considering the theme of the hymn, perhaps not so surprising, since Jonathan is a church pastor in Nashville TN who for years has poured himself into preaching and writing about Trinitarian life—the good news that the Son of God lives in humanity and shares with us the relationship he has with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jonathan often refers to this as “the adopted life” – the life in which we are all participants now that the Trinity and Humanity are together in Jesus. Jonathan (along with Tim Brassell) developed The Adopted Life website and news...

This post begins a series in the book   Life in the Trinity,  an introduction to theology with the help of the church fathers  by Donald Fairbairn. For other posts in the series, click a number: 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . Dr. Fairbairn presents an important and helpful overview of incarnational Trinitarian (Christ-centered) theology. A key feature is following the patristic fathers in emphasizing the Biblical doctrine of adoption.  This emphasis contrasts with Western Protestant theologies that tend to follow the reformers in emphasizing justification. In this context, adoption (and its correlate, sonship ) tends to be relegated to a believer's forensic (legal) standing before God. Donald Fairbairn, professor of early Christianity at Gordon- Conwell Theological Seminary However, in the East (and now in Fairbairn's book), adoption is placed front and center where it is viewed as fundamentally  relational : " a sharing by grace in the f...

Edwin Searcy It seems that the Holy Spirit is transforming the church's understanding of mission. In Mission or Mission (an article on page 3 of the Sept/Dec 2003 issue of  The Gospel and our Culture ), Edwin Searcy (congregational minister at  University Hill Congregation , United Church of Canada, Vancouver, B.C.) describes how his understanding of mission has changed: For most of my life mission has referred to a journey with a purpose, undertaken by an individual or a group. As a teen I watched every mission to the moon with fascination. Growing up in the United Church [of Canada] I learned that the Mission and Service Fund was our calling to "live love." As a minister I worked hard with congregations to craft mission statements that gave direction to our objectives and goals. Mission had to do with us, with what we needed to do, because, as we said to ourselves, "God has no other hands but ours." But I am undergoing a conversion in my life because of a ...

David Torrance In a recent essay David Torrance notes that a knowledge of the vicarious humanity of Jesus , "is crucial to our understanding of Christ and of Scripture" (p.1). He shows that the eternal Son of God, through whom all things were created and have their being, became human in the person of Jesus Christ. In his humanity (while remaining divine), Jesus is the representative and substitute for all humanity. Thus what happened (and continues to happen) to Jesus, applies to us all. This stunning truth tells us that our salvation is not merely something that Jesus did for us, but who Jesus is for us, as one of us (the Incarnation continues!). Our salvation is thus far more than a legal (forensic) transaction that was accomplished by Jesus's death to pay for our sin. His death did accomplish that necessary payment (praise God!), however, it is the total scope of Jesus' continuing vicarious humanity that accomplishes and secures our salvation. Our salva...

This post was contributed by worship leader Mike Hale. Some will recognize that statement as a reminder from St. Augustine of the rich blessing and importance of singing to God. Or in light of a Christ-centered incarnational theology, we might even say the blessing and importance of singing with God—being included in the prayers and praises of the risen and ascended Jesus in the heavenlies. Yet when it comes to congregational singing, some folks are (or at least seem to be) reluctant to participate. My old friend joked recently that he doesn’t have ‘the gift of worship’—said he’s ‘worship challenged.’ Well, at least he’s joking. He’s fully supportive of church worship, but when the music starts, he’s just not the most boisterous worshipper among us. We get it. I’m not personally a fan of worship leaders pleading with those in attendance in an attempt to coerce more participation, more volume, more smiles, more intensity, more this and more that, during a worship service. (For one...