priestly Christology, pt. 1

We have been studying Hebrews as a church, which is awesome for me because it coincides with some studying I've been doing on worship theology. Hebrews is pretty key in worship theology, and was actually one of the first books I was directed to by some other material I was reading.

I felt like when I spoke on July 18, I really rushed through the introduction to Jesus' high priest role. So I wanted to hit the main thought again here.

The priestly Christology found in Hebrews probably has a bunch of very important implications for Christians, but the two I really zeroed in on were: 1) Jesus is our worship leader, and 2) Jesus is our mediator. The two are probably not that different in the abstract, but I did make a couple of distinctions for analytical purposes. For now, I will just cover the first.

For me, understanding that Jesus is our worship leader came from reading Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace by Torrance. In this book, Torrance discusses something he calls the Incarnational Trinitarian Model of Worship. To be incredibly brief about this, essentially what I learned from Torrance is Jesus has two roles in this model: 1) he is the spoken word of forgiveness from God to humanity (the God-humanward movement) and 2) he is the perfect response of worship back to God (human-Godward movement).

Interestingly, the writer of Hebrews alludes to the same double-role when, in chapter 5:1 (and elsewhere), he discusses how the high priest offers "gifts and sacrifices." 9:14 defines "gifts and sacrifices" a little more: the gift is forgiveness, a clean conscience, redemption; the sacrifice of course, is the blood of Christ. Really, these could be taken as same things Torrance describes in his worship model as the dual functions of Christ. The gift of forgiveness is spoken in Christ, and Christ responds in perfect humility or sacrifice--the one and only perfect act of worship.

What this link ultimately means then, is that as we continue studying Hebrews and worship, and evaluating our worship and liturgy, we have to understand that we must come under the leadership of Christ in our worship. Of course, this has numerous practical implications. For me, this means in our liturgy that the song selection and other aspects of our services must point us to Jesus. It also means that our worship, far from just appealing to our own sensibilities and preferences, must be in line with Christ first.

We cannot hope to offer a perfect sacrifice of worship, as Jesus did. But as we come under his authority and leadership, we can learn to be better worshippers.

Jeff

God's kingdom

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to speak about something I've been soaking in for quite a while: God's Kingdom and my (your) relationship to it. Luke 5 provides a picture of what God's invitation to us can look like by describing how he invited Peter to follow him and become a "fisher of men."

I started by characterizing the Kingdom of God. It's another one of those phrases that cloys many Christian listeners--so much so it has almost lost meaning. But it's not just a nice metaphor. God actually has sovereign rule over all that is his. And we live in a unique period in history, in that his kingdom as actually begun taking form (this happened when Jesus came to the world). Yet we do not yet see "all things put under his feet" as it says in Hebrews. Somehow, the kingdom has begun, but it's not complete or perfectly fleshed out. This is my understanding of what theologians refer to as the already-not yet eschatological tension.

My primary argument is Christians struggle to recognize the bigger picture of God's kingdom. A good example is the doctrine of personal salvation, which in many Evangelistic circles seems to be the point of every discussion. This can result in a shortsighted worldview, since salvation appears to really only be one part (though an important part) of God's kingdom.

Fortunately, God reminds us many times through Jesus' teaching in the gospel accounts that he is all about his kingdom. Jesus said in Luke 4:18 it was for this reason (to preach the Kingdom of God) that he was sent. Moreover, in Luke 5, we see an example of Jesus inviting Peter into the work of the kingdom. Encouraging and very relevant stuff for someone like me, who for the last couple of years has been completely frustrated with every aspect of my life.

There are 3 assertions about God we can draw out of this story.

1) Again, God is about his kingdom.

2) He is the inviter.

3) He goes before us (recall Jesus' words to Peter in the Matthew version are "follow Me")

And, primarily regarding the first and second assertions, there are 4 implications for us, the invited:

1) The invitation always involves helping build his kingdom.

2) We have to RSVP to the invitation.

3) We must watch for the kingdom to converge on our world.

4) God gives us our job.

The 3rd assertion about God (He goes before us), is not a subpoint: it's everything. This is the basis for every work and every miracle of the kingdom.

On Sunday, I tried to explain this concept by means of Augustine's notion of prevenient grace. I believe prevenient grace (grace that goes before, prior to salvation) is an example of how we follow God's leading. I must attribute my own knowledge of this concept to Mark Rutland, president of ORU, whose message on the subject I just recently heard.

The superlative example, however, is the resurrection of Christ. It was by his resurrection that the power of God's kingdom was unleashed on the world, and it is because of his resurrection that our faith, and the works we do for the kingdom, are not in vain (1st Cor 15). When we follow Christ, we get to share in the hope of our own resurrection, and we also get to enjoy the restoration of his kingdom as we beginning fleshing it out in the here and now--this time of already-not yet tension. NT Wright gives a full discussion of this concept in his book Surprised by Hope. A great read.

Hope anyone who reads this finds encouragement and peace. I know what it is like to "toil all night" without seeing the eternal value, and I think this is a good framework to begin understanding how God invites us into work with him.

Jeff

focus

I'm reading a business book entitled "Focus" by Al Ries. In it, he argues at length that companies need to narrow their objectives and product lines. He provides a multitude of examples of companies that either became less focused and less profitable, or more focused and more profitable.

This focus notion easily applies on the individual level. Am I spread too thin? Am I going in too many directions? Are there too many things competing for my time and other resources? And am I ineffective as a result? These are the questions I've been asking myself.

Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll recently pinpointed a good example of someone who was very focused: Jesus.

In the past, I've taken Jesus' ministry to be something a little more on the unfocused side. The way the narratives read makes his destinations and interactions with people seem without pattern. But when Driscoll brings up a passage in Luke 4, I realized I was wrong.

Jesus has just finished a full days' worth of ministry, healing people and exorcising demons. It had been going on all night and was now morning, and he tries to withdraw to a "deserted place." Yet the crowds of people follow him and beg him to stay. Jesus response is one of focus: "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent" (v. 43). He had the chance to do more good in Capernaum, but realized it didn't fit into his personal mission; and, beyond that, when he realized it he said no.

I need to get to that level of focus.

of success

I caught something I'd never noticed in the book of Luke recently. It's in the familiar story of Jesus inviting Simon, James and John to follow him. Usually this passage is used as an example of what it takes to follow Jesus: dying to ourselves, leaving behind everything. People seem to like to quote v. 11: ". . .they forsook all and followed Him" to emphasize this point.

That is a key point of the passage. But I never really considered that Jesus' invitation comes on the coattails of a very successful fishing trip. Jesus had just helped them reel in probably one of their biggest catches ever (v. 9 states the people who witnessed it were "astonished" at the catch). They had just hit a load, and this could have meant a change of economic fortune for them. For sure it was a solid payday.

We don't know what their outlook was before they got the catch. Luke's narrative is pretty passive as far as this is concerned, but we can imagine an unsuccessful fishing trip would be pretty frustrating if a person's livelihood is at stake. Maybe Simon, James and John's fishing partnership was on the brink of failure. Maybe they needed a catch that day just to make ends meet. Regardless, I'm assuming even a small catch would have been a reward, and for it to be of the magnitude described in the passage, I bet the partners were overwhelmed.

An extension of this story into modern culture might go something like this: 3 friends own a small shop together. When the economy slowed in 2008, their business couldn't move its inventory and its financials looked pretty grim. Business was slower than ever and the company was near bankrupt. One morning, the 3 friends gave themselves an ultimatum. "Ok," one said. "If we don't end today in the black we have to call it quits. If we shut down now we can cut our losses."

A Hours went by. No sales. Not even a customer. One of the owners began to shut down the shop and switched off the open sign.

Just then, a recent acquaintance stopped by and offered some unwelcome marketing advice. "Turn that sign on!" he said. "You can't get customers if they don't know you're open!"

Then the strangest thing happened. Customers began to walk in. First one, then a couple more. Before long, the shop was filled with them. And they weren't even looking for deals. Items were being pulled off the shelf in bulk, and the owners could hardly keep up with all the sales. They kept the shop open several hours late, and that day ended up being the most profitable day they had ever had. They couldn't believe it.

Cheesy, I admit. But it helps me recognize something.

When I achieve a "success"--whatever it may be--I usually take that as a sign that I'm on the right track and should keep going. The bigger the success, the stronger my resolve in my path. In the story above, why in the world would the business owners quit now? They've just had their best day in retail ever.

But is this wrongheaded thinking? In the Luke story, Simon, John and James left their profession immediately after a tremendous success. Why? Because they had the opportunity for success on a much grander scale: catching men instead of fish--participating in the work of the Kingdom instead of the work of this world. And Jesus seemed to use the material success of a gigantic fish catch as a metaphor, as if to say: "if you think that was awesome, come see what else we can do."

I wonder if I've ever had a fish catch like the one these three experienced. Then I wonder if by blessing me with it, Jesus was really trying to invite me to do something much bigger. If so, I'm afraid I might have been busy basking in the success of the fish catch and planning my next trip.

spirit and truth

Oops, I think I may have forgotten about our blog.

I wanted to post a brief summary about what I spoke on yesterday morning: worship in spirit and truth. This is a phrase I hear people in the Church using frequently, but frankly I have never understood it. The phrase comes in John 4 while Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman, but after listening to Driscoll's teaching on idolatry, I believe a working definition of "true worship" comes out of Romans 1 (worship of the Creator rather than the created).

The central point is that "spirit and truth" is a necessary pairing, because the first leads to the second. Once we've been born into the spirit realm (recognizing that this in itself requires the work of the Holy Spirit - 1st Cor. 12:3), we undergo a process of spiritual maturation, wherein we are postured to begin understanding the things of God (truth). Truth always comes by the Spirit's revelation.

This concept has several implications for the modern Church. The problem we see with the Samaritan woman is her preoccupation with material issues: 1) the deepness of the well, 2) Jesus having nothing with which to draw water, and 3) the theological debate of where to worship (Piper). Because we know from Romans 8:7 that the carnal mind is antithetical to the things of God, I argued that the fixation on physical things has a "crowding out" effect on the things of God, leaving us susceptible to idolatry. Like the Samaritan woman, sometimes we become preoccupied with trivialities (e.g. where to worship). In the modern Church, I think our physical fixations are sometimes manifested in concerns over style and our fear of irrelevance. This also happens at the individual level. Under this model, we adopt "functional saviors"--things we believe will get us out of our personal hells and into our heavens (Driscoll).

Secondly, we have to know whom or what we worship. Jesus challenges the Samaritan woman on this same point in John 4, after she throws out question of where to worship. Christians worship the triune God, and we should exert ourselves to understand what that means.

Another key implication is on the value of corporate worship. Because revelation of truth comes by the Spirit, discovering the truth requires as many gifts of the Spirit operating as possible (see 1 Cor. 12:4-11 for a list of spiritual gifts) This is why gathering together for moments of worship is critical.

This is obviously a very brief summary, so I'd like to reference a few resources I used in case anyone wants to do more research.

• John 4:7-24 - main text
• Romans 1
• 1st Cor. 2:9-16, 12:1-11
• 2nd Cor. 5:17
• Teaching by Mark Driscoll on idolatry
• Liturgical Theology by Simon Chan
• Sermon by John Piper on John 4

Thanks for reading,

Jeff