The Atoning Love and Holiness of God

God is love. The greatest demonstration of his love for the world is that he gave his one and only son to rescue and redeem us. Even while we were yet in our sins, God’s love was toward us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God is holy. He is unique and incomparable. He is not like any other god that can be imagined. He transcends every category. His holiness is his otherness, but also his nearness. He is mystery, yet he is light, and by his light we can see. He is creator, and far beyond his creation in every way, yet not far away from his creation in any way. He is always present. Heaven and earth reveal his glory, and he has made humankind in his own image, to be like him.

The love of God and the holiness of God are not in contention. God’s holiness is not something that is separate and distinct from his love, but his love is holy and his holiness is revealed in his love. God is love, something that can be said only of God and of no other. We are created to reflect his love, through love for each other, but it cannot be properly said of us that we are love. But God himself is love, and there is nothing holier than that. There is nothing in God’s holiness that prevents him from being love, and nothing in his love that prevents him from being holy.

Atonement is about reconciliation between God and humankind. We rebelled and turned away from God, but God never turned away from us. God has never needed to be reconciled to us, for his love has always been toward us. We, however, needed to be reconciled to God, turned back toward him. But God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son in order to do just that.

The atonement resolves a problem, but it is not a problem between the love of God and the holiness of God. It is the problem between a God who is holy and a people who are not. The holiness of God is not a problem for the love of God, nor is the love of God a problem for the holiness of God.

There is nothing about the holiness of God that prevents the love of God from forgiving us our sins. Nor is there anything about the holiness of God that requires that God must first take retribution or have revenge on someone before he can forgive us our sins. God, in his holy love and his loving holiness, is free to forgive whomever he chooses.

The problem, however, is that forgiveness does not free us from our brokenness. It does not set us free from the power of the devil. It does not set us free from death. It does not produce a holy life in us. It does not turn us back to the Father. It is for this reason, then, that Jesus went to the cross.

It was at the cross that Jesus not only wiped out the list of charges that was against us but he also disarmed the principalities and powers, the malignant entities behind evil in kingdoms and cultures. He made an open spectacle of them and triumphed over them by the cross (Colossians 2:14-15).

It was at the cross that Jesus destroyed “the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil” and set free “those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

And it was at the cross the Jesus broke the power of death itself, for “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).

So now the life and faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah himself is available to us, to dwell within us, to transform us, conforming us to God-likeness, to the image of Jesus himself, the image we were originally created to bear. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This is the atonement (at onement) that not only forgives us but sets us free and changes us, turning us back to God and holiness. Not through retribution or wrath but through the holy love of God revealed in Christ.

The Atoning Sacrifice

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood — to be received by faith. (Romans 3:25)

Quite simply, our English word, “atonement,” is the joining together of two words: “at onement.” It is essentially about reconciliation, restoring oneness where there has been estrangement. Theologically, there are two words that have been used to talk about the atonement we have with God through the blood of Jesus the Messiah. The first is propitiation, which is about appeasing and averting the wrath of God. The second is expiation, which is about removing the sin or offense.

The words used for “atonement” in the Bible are the Hebrew word kippur and the Greek hilaskomai (and its related forms). You might recognize kippur from the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur, “Day of Atonement.” The Septuagint version of the Old Testament translates kippur as hilaskomai. Kippur generally has to do with covering, cleansing or the removal of sin (expiation), although there are a few instances of interpersonal relationships where it may have the sense of appeasement (propitiation). The sacrifices related to atonement are about expiation, purification, sanctification or dedication. The “mercy seat” in Leviticus 16:2 is the place of atonement. The Hebrew word there is kapporeth, from the word kippur. The Septuagint translates it as hilasterion, from the word hilaskomai.

Let us look now at how Paul speaks of the “sacrifice of atonement” in Romans 3:25. “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement.” The Greek word translated by the NIV as “sacrifice of atonement” is hilastarion, the word used in the Septuagint for “mercy seat,” the place of atonement. There are a few English versions, including Young’s Literal Translation and the Lexham English Bible, that translate it that way in Romans 3:25.

Several English versions translate it — wrongly, I think — as “propitiation.” This make no sense, for this reason: It was God himself who offered Jesus as the atoning sacrifice. If it were propitiatory, seeking to avert the wrath of God, then we should have to suppose that God was trying to appease himself — as if he were at odds with himself and needed to be reconciled to himself. But the fact that it was God himself who offered the sacrifice of atonement indicates that God was already graciously and mercifully disposed toward us. It was because “God so loved the world,” not because God was so angry at the world, “that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).

This was not an act of retribution but an act of mercy. It was not an offering God made because he needed to be appeased but an offering he made because he already wanted to be gracious to us. God was not trying to gain God’s own good will toward sinful humanity but the cross was the manifestation of God’s good will toward sinful humanity. God was not reconciling himself to us, turning himself back toward us — for he had never turned away from us. Rather, in offering Jesus as the “sacrifice of atonement,” God was turning us back toward him, that we may be at one with him.

Did God Abandon Jesus at the Cross?

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). (Mark 15:34)

Jesus’ cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” has often caused Christians to think that God had abandoned him there. Some have further supposed that this was because God is too holy to look on sin, and so, too holy to look on Jesus as he was bearing our sins.

This cry, however, does not mean that God had forsaken him. It does not even mean that Jesus felt abandoned by God on the cross. It is, rather, the first line of Psalm 22 and, in typical Jewish fashion, Jesus was evoking the whole psalm. There are several elements in that psalm that prefigure the cross, and what we discover when we read through the entire prayer is that God did not forsake the author at all. In verse 24, the author even affirms that God has not forsaken him. In fact, in the latter half of Psalm 22, we see that God heard his cry — and delivered him.

Likewise, at no time on the cross did the Father ever forsake the Son. Quite the opposite, we see that Jesus commended his Spirit into the hands of the Father, and the Father delivered him from death by means of the resurrection.

The Christian faith is that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit — the Trinity. Though there are Three Persons in the Godhead, this does not mean that God is divided into three parts, each being one-third God. They co-inhere, existing together in one substance. Early Church Fathers as well as some modern theologians, have referred to this as perichoresis, the divine interaction and interpenetration of the Three in one Being. It is impossible, then, for one person of the Trinity to ever forsake another. It would be God forsaking God’s own self and that would be the dissolution of God.

The prophet Habakkuk, in the Old Testament, prayed to the Lord and said, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing” (Habakkuk 1:13). This has been offered by some as the reason God had to abandon Jesus on the cross. Jesus was bearing the sin of the world, so God turned away from him because he is too holy to look upon sin. However, in addition to the ontological problem created by God forsaking God’s own self, there are a couple of other problems with that supposition.

First, it ignores what Habakkuk immediately went on to say. Within the same verse where he tells God that God is too pure to look on evil, he then asks, “Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” In other words, “Why then do you look on evil?” What Habakkuk had assumed to be true of God in the first half of the verse is contradicted by his complaint in the second half.

Second, the life of Jesus suggests something different. In the Gospel, Jesus is seen having table fellowship with publicans (tax collectors) and sinners (Mark 2:16). This was one of the complaints the Pharisees had against him. In the book of Hebrews, however, Jesus is called the “express image” or “exact representation” of God’s being — yet that did not mean that he had to turn away from publicans and prostitutes and sinners. He looked on them, beholding them with eyes of love, because he came to redeem them.

When we consider the context of Psalm 22:1 and the identity of Jesus in relation to the Father, there is no reason to imagine that God the Father could not look upon God the Son, Jesus, in his sin-bearing role. It becomes nonsensical and contradictory to the nature and being of God to suppose so.

God never turned away from Christ. Indeed, God has never turned away from us. For it was not God who needed to be reconciled to us — it was we who needed to be reconciled to God. And that is exactly what God was doing at the cross. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). The cross was not God’s act of retribution but God’s act of reconciliation.

Not Divine Wrath But Divine Willingness

What Christ suffered on the cross came as no surprise to him, or to the Father. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” John 3:16 says. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). It was necessary for the salvation of the world, and the LORD, whom Christians understand as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, was willing for it to be so. We see this in Isaiah 53, which the Church has understood from the beginning to be about Christ and the atonement.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:6-10)

The LORD was willing to lay on the Son the “iniquity of us all,” but notice that it does not say he laid divine retribution on him. The St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint version puts it this way: “The Lord delivered Him over for our sins.” The Brenton translation of the Septuagint translates it: “The Lord gave him up for our sins.” It was not God’s wrath that Jesus faced on the cross but the terrible perversity and waywardness of sin that infects us all. That is what put him there, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were willing for it to happen. The purpose was not retribution but restoration. It was a “chastening,” a correction for the people of God in order to bring them shalom — wholeness.

Clement of Alexandria, an early Church Father (AD 150-215), spoke about it this way: “‘The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,’ that is, to correct our iniquities and set them right. For that reason, he alone is able to forgive our sins, he who has been appointed by the Father of all as our educator, for he alone is able to separate obedience from disobedience” (Christ the Educator 1.8.67-68).

We also see the willingness of Jesus the Messiah in his humanity. In Isaiah 53, though Messiah was oppressed and afflicted, he did not open his mouth in defense but let himself be led like a lamb to the slaughter. In the Gospel, Jesus said of himself, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18). He offered his life willingly, for love. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). In the Garden of Gethsemane, betrayed by Judas and surrounded by an armed mob, Jesus told Peter, “‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’” (Matthew 26:52-53). He showed divine restraint and went willingly to the cross.

As Isaiah continues, we see that it was the LORD’s will to “crush” Messiah and “cause him to suffer.” In a recent post, we looked at how the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew text) speaks of this, not as crushing and causing the wounds of Messiah but as cleansing his wounds. However, even taking the Masoretic Hebrew text into consideration, it is not the wrath of God but the willingness of God that is portrayed here.

God is said here to be the cause of Messiah’s suffering, but the injury of Jesus the Messiah was actually done by faithless Jews leaders and pagan Roman hands. God did not make them do it, as if it were not already in their hearts to do so, but God allowed them to do what was in their hearts, having a greater purpose in mind — making the life of Messiah an “offering for sin.”

In the Old Testament, a “sin offering” was not a propitiation, averting the wrath of God, but an expiation, removing the offense. It was not about divine retribution but about removing the sin and cleansing the sinner. Notice in Isaiah 53 that it was the LORD who was making Messiah an offering for sin. This was not God trying to placate himself toward his people. Rather, the fact that he himself was the one making the offering demonstrates that he was already graciously disposed toward his people.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist called Jesus, “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Not, “The Lamb of God, who takes away the wrath of God.” In First John, the sacrificial death of Messiah is understood not as averting divine wrath but as cleansing us from sin: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:9).

Isaiah 53 is not a demonstration of God pouring out his wrath on the Suffering Servant, nor is the sacrificial death of Jesus the Messiah on the cross. It is a display of the loving willingness of God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — to forgive, cleanse and restore God’s people to fellowship.

The Cross Was Not Divine Retribution

Isaiah 53 is about the Messiah, the Christ, showing him as the Suffering Servant. Christians find in this a portrayal of the cross and the atonement. Many Christians — certainly not all, nor even all evangelicals — understand the atonement to be about Christ suffering the wrath of God in our place, being punished by God for our sake. I held this view myself for many years but have given it up because I cannot find it taught in Scripture.

More than that, it seems to me to contradict the example and teaching of Jesus Christ, who is called the “exact representation” of God (Hebrews 1:3). He taught us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to do good to them and to forgive. In view of that, it seems a major disconnect to understand the cross as God taking revenge. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at Isaiah 53 and notice a few things.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5)

By whom was Jesus despised and rejected — by God? No, certainly not by God. Not at any time. It was men who held Jesus in contempt and sought to be rid of him, even though he identified with them in their suffering and pain. In the Gospel, Jesus’ ministry of healing and exorcism is understood as the fulfillment of this.

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17-18)

There is not the slightest hint here that it had anything to do with Jesus the Messiah bearing the wrath of God.

Jesus came to heal his people and deliver them from bondage and oppression. Yet, on the cross, he was thought by some to have been the object of divine retribution. Pounded by God. Stricken by God. Afflicted by God. But the truth of the matter was quite different, on two counts.

First, what happened to Jesus was not on account of any lawlessness or sinfulness of his own. It was because of the lawlessness and sinfulness of his people, which came to full force at the cross. See how Stephen describes it in Acts 7:51-53.

You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him — you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.

It was not the wrath of God but the rage and wickedness of men that put Jesus on the cross.

Second, what happened to Jesus was not divine retribution, not on his own account nor anyone else’s. The Hebrew word Isaiah uses, musar, speaks of something very different. The NIV translates it as “punishment,” but it is not the same word translated as “punish” in the previous verse. Several other versions translate it as “chastisement,” because it is about discipline and correction, not about retribution or wrath.

“The chastisement that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed,” Isaiah says. Notice how he speaks indirectly about it. God was not chastising Jesus on the cross — there was nothing in Jesus that needed correction. But what happened to him there served as a chastening and correction for the people of God. We can see an example of this in Acts 2, when Peter preached the gospel to the Jews gathered at Jerusalem for Pentecost. He told of Jesus and how they had crucified and killed him by wicked hands (v. 23). He concluded his sermon with, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (v. 36).

Now, notice the response, in verse 37: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” Friends, those people were chastened by the realization that they had rejected and crucified the Messiah, whom God anointed as Lord over all. They were filled with regret and shame and desired to be put right with God. Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

What happened at the cross chastens us, corrects us and turns us back to God. The cross is where we receive forgiveness, where we find our peace and are made whole. What happened at the cross was not angry God pouring out retribution on Christ instead of on us. It was Christ facing the full force of evil and wickedness in the world — and defeating it for our sake! It was where he disarmed the principalities and powers, where he broke the power of sin, the power of the devil, even the power of death.

At the cross, it was the world that sought retribution and poured out its anger. But God poured out his love for the sake of restoration. For God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.

Did God Punish Jesus on the Cross?

Was the cross a punishment God inflicted on Jesus? One verse that is used to teach that it was is Isaiah 53:10. Isaiah 53 is about the Suffering Servant, who is understood to be Messiah. This passage, then, is understood by the Church to be about the cross and the atonement. Let’s read it, first, in the New International Version, which is in agreement with most other English versions.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer. (NIV)

Other versions have it similarly: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief” (New King James Version). “And Jehovah hath delighted to bruise him, He hath made him sick” (Young’s Literal Translation). “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (English Standard Version).

Was the cross really about God crushing Jesus, bruising him, making him sick? I used to think so, and this was a verse I used to teach that. I taught that Jesus took God’s punishment in our place, that God crushed Jesus, venting his anger on him so he would not have to vent it on us. This is known as the penal substitutionary theory of atonement, at least as it is most commonly taught. In recent years, however, I have had to let that theory go, because what I have seen in Scripture leads me to a different conclusion, a different understanding of the cross.

So what about Isaiah 53:10, then? Are the English versions quoted above the best rendering of Isaiah’s words? They are direct translations of the Hebrew text, at least of the best one that is available today, but do they give us the best sense of what Isaiah prophesied?

There is another family of translations that is very ancient. It is known as the Septuagint, also referred to as the LXX. A couple of hundred years before Christ, a group of Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek for the benefit of post-exilic Jews who were scattered in Greek-speaking countries and had forgotten the Hebrew language. The traditional story is that these Jewish scholars were seventy in number, which is why this collection is call Septuagint, which means “seventy,” as do the Roman numerals, LXX.

Now, here is why the Septuagint is important for us consider: It was the version of the Old Testament Scriptures that was used by the early Church, even by the apostles themselves. Whenever the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament, guess which version is used — the Septuagint!

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at how the Septuagint renders Isaiah 53:10. I could give you the Greek words themselves, which would be a simple cut and paste, but since many do not read Greek, I will quote the Brenton version, which is a classic English translation of the LXX. Then I will tell you about the Greek verb that is used:

The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. (Brenton)

The Greek word for “stroke” is plege and here speaks of a wound that has been inflicted by a blow. The verb for “purge” is katharizo and means to cleanse or purify. It is where we get our English word “catharsis.” The St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint version has Isaiah 53:10 this way: “The Lord wishes to cleanse Him of His wound.”

The important thing to notice here is that God does not crush or bruise the Messiah, or make him sick. God does not inflict any wound on him. Quite the opposite, God is shown as cleansing and healing the wound!

The LXX reading seems to me more like what I find in the New Testament concerning the cross. When I think, for example, of how Peter and Stephen preached the gospel in the book of Acts, the cross was not something God did to Christ but something wicked men did. What God did was to raise Christ from the dead.

Isaiah 53 presents us with a stunning image of what Christ suffered in the atonement. But I do not think it is a picture of God crushing, bruising or punishing Christ. It is, rather, a portrait of God delivering Christ — and us through him.

Christianity and American Culture

Christianity is not the same as American culture. Many Christians have forgotten that. The Christian faith has always been counter-cultural and subversive to every culture that does not recognize and honor Jesus as Lord. In the days of the apostle Paul, the surrounding culture was very different from the Christian faith. It was Caesar who was honored as Son of God, Savior and bringer of peace to the world. “Caesar is Lord,” was the proclamation. So, Paul and the Church were being very counter-cultural and subversive by the proclamation of the gospel: “Jesus is Lord!” It was the announcement that Jesus, not Caesar, is King over all the world, the Lord of heaven and earth.

The proclamation remains the same today as ever: Jesus is Lord. Jesus — not the Supreme Court, not Congress, not Barack Obama — is Lord, even over America. That is the message we bring, the good news we can offer. But we must offer it with love, not out of anger or fear. For God is love, and the way of King Jesus is love, who gave himself for all. He did not come to condemn but to invite, to rescue, to set all free from every bondage, including the bondage of culture and every power structure.

So let the Christian faith be clearly seen as distinct from the surrounding culture. We serve a different King. Let not your heart be troubled, then. We’ve been here before.

God Will Be All in All

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

The day is coming when God will be “all in all.” It is the consummation, the culmination, the ultimate fulfillment of the gospel. God will not just be all in some, or some in all — he will be all in all. But before we talk about what that means, let’s take a moment to realize what it does not mean.

First, “all in all” does not mean that God will become his creation, or that the creation will become God. In another letter, Paul says, “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” (Romans 11:36). Everything that has been created comes from God, through God and for God. This does not mean, however, that everything is God or that God is everything. God remains God and the creation remains the creation. Creation reflects the glory and attributes of God, but it is always dependent upon God. Its existence is not inherent within itself but is purely a matter of God’s creative love and sustaining grace.

Second, “all in all” does not mean that we somehow lose our own identity in God. God has always existed as the divine community of the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. None of the Three ever lose their own identity but each remains who he is, ever and always. Likewise, when God becomes all in us, we do not lose our identity. God remains who he is; we remain who we are.

So what does “all in all” mean? In 1 Corinthians 15, we see that there are some things that are to be destroyed: all dominion, authority and power — and death. This is not the destruction of persons, human or otherwise, but of the evil that influences kings and cultures and is behind all the oppressive structures that afflict humanity. Their power, even the power of death, was broken at the cross of Christ. They will not prevail against the purpose of God.

“All in all” means that everything will be in perfect alignment with God. What cannot be brought into line with him — dominion, authority, power and death — will be destroyed. But everything God has created will be reconciled to him. Notice the all-inclusive nature of what Paul says about Christ in his letter to the Jesus-followers at Colosse:

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:16-20)

This is what the cross and the atonement is about: reconciliation. Everything that has been created by God, whether in heaven or on earth, is being turned back to God, brought into proper relationship with him through King Jesus the Messiah. This is God’s pleasure and purpose, and no dominion, authority or power, not even death itself, can stop it.

“All in all,” then, is about everything and everyone — all creation — being restored and brought into fellowship with God. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

A Fellowship of Light

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:3-4)

Fellowship, intimate relationship with God, is what salvation is all about. On the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). “Eternal life,” which is the life of the age to come, is not merely something that is gained by knowing God, it is knowing God, and knowing Jesus the Messiah, who is himself life. Knowing God is the essence of eternal life.

John and his associates experienced this fellowship with God, but he also wanted those to whom he ministers in this letter to experience it, too. And he wanted to experience it together with them, for our fellowship with God unites us together in holy community with each other as well. It is in this community that we find our joy complete — loving God and each other, and being loved by God and each other.

That is why John writes this letter. Yet there is an issue he must address and it has to do with light and darkness: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 5:5). “Light” is about what is good and true and just. Darkness is about what is evil. John the Gospeler writes:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

Darkness is incompatible with light, evil is incompatible with good, for light overcomes darkness and good overcomes evil. When we have fellowship with God, he will not lead us into darkness but into light, and into good, not evil. John brings out an important implication:

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

Our “walk” is our manner of living. If we profess to have fellowship with God, who is light, yet we practice sin and live in darkness, our claim is hollow because we are not living it out. The truth of our relationship with God is not just theoretical, something to know, but it is also practical, something we do. In John’s day, as in our own, there were people who thought it was sufficient to know or believe certain things about God, and if one had this knowledge, one knew God. But John shows us that if we are not living out the truth, we do not know God.

Now, our fellowship with God is not based on what we do but is revealed in what we do. A life marked by what is good and true and right — in a word, by godliness — is not the cause of divine fellowship but the fruit of it. When we have fellowship with God, even our doing is a gift of his grace. So if we walk in the light that God is in his very being, our fellowship with him becomes evident.

It is not only our fellowship with God that John has in mind. It is also very much about our fellowship with each other. The body of John’s letter is about how walking in light and keeping God’s commandments demonstrates that we truly know God and share in the divine life he brings. God’s commandments are here summed up very simply as faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and loving one another (1 John 3:23). If we have no love for each, we are living in darkness. But when we walk in love, we show that the life of God, the life of the age to come, is at work in us.

John adds that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, and this is very important, for it is this that enables us to walk in the light and share the life of God together with each other. For we are yet learning to walk in the light and live the life of love, and we often fail or fall short. But there is no condemnation in Christ, who manifested the love of God and gave himself up to the cross for our sake.

Drawn Up Into the Divine Dance

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)

Our fellowship, says John, is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus. The Greek word for “fellowship” is koinonia, and speaks of partnership and participation, of community and what is shared in common.

The Trinity is its own community, its own koinonia. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have joyful and eternal fellowship with each other. Early Church Fathers referred to their relationship as a perichoresis, a divine interpenetration or interweaving with each other. Three persons, perfectly united in One — God.

How is it, then, that we could even begin to have fellowship with the Three-in-One? What could we possibly have in common that would enable us to enjoy partnership and participation with God? The answer is found in Jesus the Messiah. 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (1 John 1:1-2)

John and the apostles experienced him in his humanity. They could see him, hear him, touch him — he was as real to them as they were to each other — yet they came to understand that he is the Word of life who was from the beginning, who was with God and, indeed, is God (John 1:1). They recognized him both in his divinity and in his humanity, the two perfectly joined together in one — Jesus the God-Man.

Our fellowship with God, however, is not simply that Jesus participates in human nature with us. It goes much deeper than that: Through Jesus the Messiah, we participate in the divine nature.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4)

The Greek word for “participate” here is koinonos, from which comes koinonia, the word for “fellowship.” In Jesus the Messiah, we who were created to be like God in the first place now share in the divine nature — he gathers us up into himself. By his divine nature, the life of Messiah at work in us by the Holy Spirit, we participate in holy community with God, drawn up into the divine dance of the Three, to enjoy loving fellowship with them forever.

Random Thoughts

More thoughts culled from my random file. About divine love, relationship with God and new life in Christ. Some have come to me in moments of quiet reflection, some in interaction with others. Many have been tweets and Facebook updates. Some have been posters. Offered as “jump starts” for your faith.

• The sacraments (e.g., baptism and communion) are not merely outward signs of an inward faith but the outward signs of an inward grace. Though our faith in Christ may often be weak, the grace of God towards us is always strong.
• Discipleship is learning to live in the fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Eschatology is not about the end of the world but about the end of the age. It is about the new creation, which has already begun for us in Jesus the Messiah.
• A new twist on an old saying: Pray as if everything depends upon God. Work as if everything depends upon God.
• Fear is at the root of all kinds of issues, and it is a terrible bondage. It is an “orphan” spirit, desperately looking for, and never finding, a father. However, God has not given us the spirit of fear that leads us into bondage again but the Spirit of Adoption by which we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). And when God’s love is perfected in us, it casts out fear. When we fear, it is because we are not trusting in the love of God.
• We were conceived in the divine love and fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• At the cross, God did not pour out his wrath on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ poured out the wrath of God on sin, death and the devil.
• In King Jesus the Messiah, all are made new. Come to him. Trust him. Follow him.
• We are created for greatness, though it often comes in ways that seem small and insignificant — but that is because we have gotten things upside down.
• If God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, how in the world could anyone ever be insignificant?
• Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Do thou likewise. Therein lies greatness.
• All that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son. The Spirit reveals them to us — and we are caught up into divine fellowship.
• God is Love. Love pours himself out for others. And so Love fulfills all.
• God is love. In God, there is one who loves, one who is loved, and one who is the love between them. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• There is not a soul in this world who does not long for the glory and presence of the Lord. Many just do not realize it yet.
• God is love, and a consuming fire. He burns away everything that cannot be loved.
• The love of God never gives up on us, never ceases to work for our good. Even in hell, God is love.
• The Christian life is infinitely impossible to live on our own — but intimately available to all in Christ who is our life.

More random thoughts …

The Prevailing Unity of the Trinity

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, though they are three in number, yet they are one in nature, one in substance. They dwell in each other, participate in each other, have intimate fellowship with each other. The early Church Fathers thought deeply about these things and theologians have referred to the mutual fellowship and participation of the Three as perichoresis, the interweaving of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a sort of divine choreography.

The Three are glorified with the same glory, which is the greatness of their goodness revealed. In his divinity, the eternal Son of God always possessed this glory, but in his humanity, which happened in time, this glory was given to him.

The Three also love with the same love. There is only one love, for God is love and God is one. And it is out of the abundance of their love for each other that the world and humanity came into being.

In the garden of Gethsemane on the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed for the same unity for his disciples, and all who believe through them, that we may all be one. This is not only unity with each other but also with God — for there is no unity apart from God, who alone is one.

Just as the Father is in Jesus the Son, and Jesus is in the Father, so Jesus prayed that we may be in the Father and the Son. Jesus is in us just as the Father is in him. We are in the Father, Son and Spirit, and they are in us. So we are taken up into the divine interweaving of their fellowship.

The glory Jesus received from the Father is the same glory he shared with the Father before the world began (John 17:5). This is the glory he gives to us, so that we may be one, just as the Father and Son are one. It is a complete unity that Jesus prays for us, for the love the Father has for us is the same love he has for Jesus — love itself is one and cannot be divided.

The Church always confesses the mystery of the Trinity: One God, three Persons. And though Jesus has two natures, fully human and fully divine, we confess that these natures are perfectly united in one person. The unity Jesus prays for his disciples is the unity — the wholeness — of the Three and of Jesus in his divine and human natures.

The truth about all who are in Christ is that, though we be many in number, yet we are one. We are one body, and though the body has many members, yet it is still one body — the body of Christ. This unity is not something we must somehow accomplish for ourselves — it has already been done by Christ himself — but we must learn to live out this oneness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

The unity we have with each other is the same unity we have with the Father, through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Thus we partake of and participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). What God is in his own being, he shares with us in grace. It is given to us so that we may enjoy fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit, the same fellowship they have always enjoyed together with each other from before the world began. This unity is all-encompassing and is why Jesus came.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19-20)

In the end, heaven and earth, though they be two, shall be fully and completely one. And God shall be all in all. The eternal unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit shall prevail in everything.

The Glory of the Three Revealed in Us

He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you. (John 16:14-15)

The ministry of the Holy Spirit in us and through us is all about King Jesus the Messiah. He speaks to the world through us about Jesus in regard to sin, righteous and judgment. He guides us into all Jesus wants to teach us. Everything he does is to glorify Jesus, showing the greatness of his goodness.

Whatever belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son, and the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to the Son (and the Father) and reveals it to us. The Spirit “takes” it because it belongs to him just as much as it does to the Father and the Son.

So the Three — Father, Son and Spirit — share all things in common and are made known to us by the Holy Spirit. This is by no means a lesser intimacy than the disciples enjoyed before, when Jesus walked with them. He could only be with them then. But the coming of the Spirit would bring a greater intimacy because Jesus would now be in them — and in us.

The Spirit does not just reveal Jesus to us but also in us. And Jesus does not just reveal the Father to us but also in us, through the Spirit. In this way, then, the glory of God is revealed to us, in us and through us. The Father reveals it by sending us the Spirit, who glorifies the Son, who glorifies the Father.

The Spirit to Guide Us

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:12-13)

Jesus had been with the disciples for three years, teaching and training them, yet there was still much more they needed to learn. But now there seemed to be two problems. First, they were not yet ready to learn what else Jesus wanted them to understand. Second, Jesus would soon be going away, ascending to his throne at the right hand of the Father.

This would indeed have been a problem, except that Jesus promised that the Spirit of God would now come to be in the disciples as well as with them. And now Jesus himself would likewise be in them as well as with them — through the Spirit (see Ascension and Pentecost). The Spirit would be a paraclete. Paraclete is a Greek word that is variously translated as Advocate, Helper and Comforter. And now Jesus calls him the “Spirit of Truth.” The Spirit of God who would soon come upon them would guide them the rest of the way, leading them into all they would need to know. He would show them the truth.

Today, we almost always think of truth in propositional terms, and there is certainly a propositional aspect to the truth about Jesus the Messiah. However, the New Testament understands truth to be a person — Jesus himself. Earlier, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He does not simply show us the way — he is the way. He does not merely bring us life — he is life. He does not just teach us the truth — he is the truth.

When the Holy Spirit guides us into “all the truth,” then, it is all about Jesus. Indeed, he reveals to us Jesus himself. That is why the Holy Spirit does not speak on his own, independently of the Lord Jesus. He speaks only what he hears and tells us the things Jesus wants to say to us. That is the same way Jesus himself operated. Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing (John 5:18), exercised no judgment independently of what the Father judged (John 5:30), spoke only what the Father told him to say (John 12:49-50). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are always in agreement.

Jesus also said that the Spirit would tell of what is to come. It is unclear exactly what this refers to. Perhaps prophetic understanding in general. Perhaps revelatory understanding about the things the disciples themselves were about to see and experience. Perhaps the many things Jesus still had left to teach them, unfolding for them in the days ahead, revealed to them, and through them to us in the Scriptures. The overall point is that the Church will never be at a loss, for the Spirit is always here to help us understand.

The Spirit and Sin, Righteousness and Judgment

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is all about King Jesus the Messiah. In the Upper Room on the night before he was crucified, Jesus described three things that the Spirit would do in and through the disciples when he came upon them. We will look at these over the next few days. First, there is this:

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)

When the Spirit came on them, he would show that the world had been wrong about Jesus of Nazareth. One of the points of the Gospel According to John was to draw the distinction between those who received the Lord Jesus and those who rejected him, but especially that John’s readers might be among those who received.

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:11-12)

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (John 3:18)

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

Bringing out the truth of these things would not simply be the work of the disciples but that of the Holy Spirit working through the disciples. In one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to the disciples, he said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21-22). Imparting the Holy Spirit to them was very much part of sending them out to testify about King Jesus.

When the Holy Spirit came, Jesus said, he would prove the world to be in the wrong about three things: sin and righteousness and judgment.

• About sin, because they did not believe on Jesus the Messiah. Yet he is the one who came to deal with the problem of sin and destroy its power. The unbelieving world crucified him, yet it was at the cross that Jesus broke the power of sin — for the sake of the world.
• About righteousness, because Jesus has ascended to his throne at the right hand of the Father. His kingdom establishes the righteousness and justice of God in the world, and will continue to do so until it is complete. “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet,” so that in the end, God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:25, 28).
• About judgment, because the “prince of this world” has now been condemned. This was a reference to satan. The cross was not God’s judgment upon Christ but Christ’s judgment upon satan and all his works. Earlier that week, when Jesus came into Jerusalem for the final time, he said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:30-31). The power of the devil was broken at the cross, and the principalities and powers of this world were disarmed.

The Holy Spirit has come to reveal the truth about these things through us as well as to us.

Ascension and Pentecost

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

It is more than appropriate that Ascension and Pentecost occurred just ten days apart. It was necessary in order to bring heaven and earth together. Jesus, the God-Man, fully human as well as fully divine, ascended to the throne as King of Heaven and Earth. In him, humanity is eternally and irrevocably a part of heaven. But that is only half of the story. The other half is Pentecost. On the night before he was crucified, Jesus spoke to the disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit:

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:15-18)

Jesus would be going away. Yet, paradoxically, he would also come to them. He would not leave them on their own, as orphans. The Father would be sending the Holy Spirit — the Advocate, the Helper, the Comforter — not only to be with them, as he already had been, but to be in them. And so Jesus himself would be not just with them but in them, because the Spirit of God, who is the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of Christ.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:9-11)

Because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, Paul can speak of Christ himself dwelling in us, for it is the life of Christ that the Spirit ministers to us: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Elsewhere Paul speaks to us of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Lord Jesus dwells in us by the Holy Spirit.

This could not have happened if King Jesus had not first ascended to his throne. For both the Ascension and Pentecost are part of the victory of God and the reconciliation of heaven and earth. Jesus the God-Man ascended to heaven and the Spirit of God descended to earth. As the Holy Spirit does his work and all the enemies of God are put under the feet of King Jesus, the connection between heaven and earth will be made complete and, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:28, God will be “all in all.”

Ascension and Redemption

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:3)

The Ascension of King Jesus the Messiah to his throne at the right hand of the Father shows that the problem of sin has been fully dealt with. He has done everything that needs to be done about it. The author of Hebrews speaks about it in several ways in his letter — as atonement, as forgiveness, as ransom or redemption — but here at the beginning, he gathers it all up in the word “purification.” In Jesus the Messiah, we are made pure before God.

This is very much a manifestation of the kingdom of God and therefore very much a part of King Jesus being “taken up in glory.” Paul makes the connection for us in his letter to the church at Colosse, telling how God has “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

The Ascension of the Messiah demonstrates that the power of sin has been broken, for he is now King over all of heaven and earth. The cross and resurrection is the victory over sin, death, the devil and the “principalities and powers” — the demonic influences that lurk behind every evil empire and culture — they have all received the “death blow.”

We have not yet seen the end of it, though, because we are still living in the time when the victory of Christ is being worked throughout, and the enemies of Christ are being put under his feet, so that, in the end, God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:25-28). How is he accomplishing this? Through his body, the Church, by the power the Holy Spirit. That is the point of Pentecost, which followed ten days after the Ascension and is why Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that changes us, and through us, changes the world.

Taken Up in Glory

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

Luke records that Jesus was “taken up to heaven” (Acts 1:2) and he depicts the event for us in Acts 1:9-11, where Jesus is “taken up” before the eyes of the apostles. In his letter to Timothy, Paul uses the same Greek verb for “taken up,” lambano, that Luke used in Acts 1:2.

“Taken up to heaven” and “taken up in glory” both refer to the same thing: The Ascension of King Jesus the Messiah to the right hand of the Father. This event, though often neglected by many Christians, is a very important part of the “mystery” about which Paul now writes in his letter to Timothy. And it is from this mystery that we discover the source of “true godliness,” which is the restoration of our God-likeness or God-centeredness; that is, our reconciliation with God.

Though we often think of a mystery as something hidden, every mystery is eventually revealed. In the New Testament, mystery is about what has now been revealed to us in the Lord Jesus. It begins with the Incarnation, when God became a human being and dwelt among us — Jesus “appeared in the flesh.” It finds its completion in the Ascension, when Jesus was “taken up in glory.” Paul describes both aspects in his letter to the followers of Jesus at Philippi.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

It is important to understand that when Jesus was “taken up in glory,” it was by no means a departure from his “appearing in the flesh.” That is, he did not give up any of his humanity but remained fully human as well as fully divine. It is as the God-Man that he ascended to his throne at the right hand of the Father, from which he rules over heaven and earth. This is truly a mystery for us to dwell on: The King of the Universe is both God and man. And in this, God is reconciling all things in heaven and on earth to himself.

Just as in the Incarnation, when the Son of God humbled himself to become human, so also in the Ascension, humanity is glorified with the Lord Jesus. In other words, when he was taken up in glory, we were taken up in glory with him. Paul speaks further of this in his letter to the followers of Jesus at Ephesus:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Being made “alive with Christ” is about the new resurrection life we have now in him (and which will one day be followed by the resurrection of our physical bodies from the dead). But being “raised up with Christ” is about our participation with the Lord Jesus in his ascension, for we are “seated with him in the heavenly realms.” His ascension is our ascension, his glorification is our glorification and his place at the right hand of the Father has become our place, too.

The great mystery that begins with the Incarnation and ends with the Ascension is the source and substance of the reconciliation of heaven and earth and the new life centered on God.

Taken Up Before Their Eyes

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)

It had been forty days since the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He had been with them during that time, teaching them about the kingdom of God, about the “promise of the Father,” and about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God.

Then, after all this, “he was taken up before their very eyes.” What a stunning event this must have been for the disciples to witness, and apparently one that took them by surprise. They stood there looking intently into the sky even after Jesus disappeared into the clouds. When Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit, it likely tipped them off that Jesus was going off somewhere. But they were probably not expecting it to be like this.

So they stood there gazing upward, we don’t know for how long. They had to be brought back “down to earth” by the angels, two figures dressed in white who suddenly appeared beside them. “Why do you stand there staring up into the sky?” the angels said.

That seems like a very odd question. Had the angels arrived too late to witness the amazing thing that had just happened? Did they not know what was going on? But of course they did know, and now they were going to help the disciples understand — whenever God or his angels ask us a question, it is not to gather information but to bring revelation.

The angels continued: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Just as surely as they had seen Jesus taken up into heaven, he would come back — and in the same way. He had suddenly been hidden by the clouds; he would suddenly appear again upon the clouds.

In the Bible, the imagery of God riding upon the clouds is about God coming in judgment, to set things right in the world. Jesus ascended to heaven, all authority having now been given him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and took his place at the right hand of the Father, the place of ruling and reigning. When he came again “with the clouds,” it would be the fulfillment of the kingdom. The prophet Daniel spoke of this:

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14).

It was all about the kingdom of God, just as Jesus had taught them all along. And now the coming of the Holy Spirit was at hand, who would empower them to proclaim the good news that Jesus, the Anointed One of God, was now King over all. So they returned to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, just as Jesus had instructed.

Random Thoughts

Some thoughts culled from my random file. About love, relationship with God and new life in Christ. Some have come to me in moments of quiet reflection, some in interaction with others. Many have been tweets and updates. Some have been Instragram posters. Offered as “jump starts” for your faith.

• When we delight ourselves in the Lord, he is delighted to give us the desires of our heart, because the desires of our heart are then shaped by his.
• There are some things I need to know today, and a lot of things I don’t. Wisdom is in knowing the difference.
• God opens wide his hand toward us and calls us to open wide our mouths toward him (Psalm 81:10 and 145:16). How big is your expectation?
• Prosperity does not come because of what you keep but because of what you give.
• Jesus is the image of the invisible God? It sounds almost like a koan.
• Words are creative — and powerful. Handle with care.
• It is in clothing ourselves with humility and serving one another that we are clothed with greatness in the kingdom of God.
• The Christ life is infinitely impossible to live on our own — but intimately available to all in Christ, who is our life.
• The Algebra of Love: God is love; love gives and serves. (1 John 4:8; John 3:16; Mark 10:45)
• The Algebra of Stillness: Be still and know that the LORD is God and that God is love. (Psalm 46:10; 1 John 4:8)
• The blessing of God is recession-proof.
• Being right with God is not about rules and regulations but about relationship. Rules and regs wrap and warp the soul in death. Divine relationship with God in Jesus Christ is a fountain of life and joy.
• The gospel in terms of Colossians 1:19-21 — God reconciles all things in heaven and on earth to himself, by Jesus the Messiah, making peace through the blood of the cross. What if “all” really means all?
• Love, mercy and forgiveness are not contrary to justice but are the highest expression of it. We discover that in the cross, where justice was most profoundly served.
• The justice of God is not about finding someone to wail on but about breaking the power of evil and removing what separates us from God and each other.
• In the beginning, Love created the heavens and the earth.
• The announcement of the gospel is not that God is taking us to heaven but that heaven has come to earth. We are living in the days of the outworking of what God has done in Jesus the Messiah.
• In Jesus the Messiah, God has reconciled everything in heaven and earth to himself. Faith in Jesus is learning to live in that reality.

More random thoughts …

Divine Humble-Mindedness

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Abba Anthony, the earliest of the Desert Fathers, said, “I have seen all the snares of the devil spread out on earth and I said with a sigh, ‘Who can pass these by?’ and I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Humble-mindedness.’”

Jesus said, “Come to me. Take my yoke. Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” It is no sign of weakness that Jesus is gentle. True gentleness does not come from weakness but from strength. Jesus, the Messiah King and Son of God, is the Almighty. Yet he is gentle and gracious toward the weak (which includes all of us).

He is gentle because he is “humble in heart.” Or “humble-minded,” as St. Anthony of the Desert might say. People often misunderstand the nature of humility, but C. S. Lewis nails it squarely on the head: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Humble mindedness is not about disparaging ourselves, it is thinking more about others than ourselves. It does not take anything away from our identity or worth but it recognizes the divine identity and worth in others, for we are all created in the image of God and we are all people Christ came to redeem.

Love is humble minded. It does not think about itself but about others. God is humble minded, for God is love. Within the Trinity, the Father does not think about himself but about the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son does not think about himself but about the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not think about himself but about the Father and the Son. The Three are all about each other, all about love.

This is the humble-mindedness the Lord Jesus demonstrated when he became human and made his dwelling among us. He did not come to be served but, rather, to serve and to give his life for others. He came to lay down his life for us.

This same sort of humble-mindedness is what he would have us learn. It is the antidote for the weary and burdened way of the world. It is an easy yoke because it is one that Jesus bears with us, and he has already done the “heavy lifting.” We are secure in him, so there is no need to control or manipulate others. His strength becomes our strength, so we can learn to be gentle. As we follow him, he shows us the path of the humble heart. And it leads to rest for our souls.

(See also Divine Humility, Divine Greatness)

How the Kingdom Comes

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)

Shortly before he ascended to heaven, the risen Lord Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem, where they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This caused them to ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (There is a connection between this baptism and the kingdom — see The Kingdom of God and the Pouring of the Spirit.)

They were asking a question about timing but the answer they received was not what they were expecting. Jesus took it in a very different direction. The times and dates were set by God’s authority. In other words, it was none of the disciples’ business. God works his plans in his own time, and we don’t have to consult a calendar before we can trust him that all will be well.

So, it was not a Yes that Jesus gave them. But then, it was not a No, either. They were asking about the when of the kingdom, but the answer Jesus gave was about the how:

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Yes, when King Jesus comes again, he will judge the nations by the gospel. That is the point of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25. The nations will be judged according to whether they have received or rejected “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” that is, his disciples. But in the meantime, he sends his disciples out into the world to be his witnesses in all the world, to proclaim that Jesus is King and make disciples of all nations (see Matthew 28:18-20). All who believe the gospel of the King will be prepared for the return of the King.

This great commission Jesus gives his people is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Luke, who is the author of Acts, records these words of Jesus in his account of the Gospel:

This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:46-49)

This “power from on high” is the same as the “Spirit poured out on us from high,” that Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 32:15). The Holy Spirit “clothes” Jesus’ disciples with power to give witness concerning Messiah to all the nations. As we see throughout the book of Acts, this power is expressed through the boldness of their proclamation, as well as through the healings, miracles and exorcisms which demonstrate the reality of King Jesus the Messiah and the presence of his kingdom.

The Kingdom of God and the Pouring of the Spirit

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:1-5)

For forty days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples several times and talked to them about the kingdom of God (see Forty Days of Kingdom Revelation). One day, he told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift the Father promised. The gift he was speaking of was the Holy Spirit. Jesus had spoken to them before about him and the ministry he would perform (see, for example, John 14 and John 16). Even John the Baptist had taught from the beginning that, although he baptized with water, the one coming after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now that time was at hand, mere days away.

As Jesus spoke of this, the disciples gathered around him and asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It may seem odd that Jesus was speaking about the Spirit but the disciples were asking about the kingdom of God. Were they suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder? Why were they interrupting Jesus and, seemingly, changing the subject?

The reason is that, as Jews, they understood quite well that being baptized with the Holy Spirit had very much to do with the kingdom of God. The coming of the Spirit and the coming of the kingdom were both eschatological (that is, “end time”) events and were linked together. The presence of one indicated the presence of the other.

This was the promise God had made to his people long ago through the prophets. In Isaiah 32, the prophet speaks about the kingdom of God: “See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice” (v. 1). He describes what things will be like until then: “The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks …” (v. 14). But then he speaks of the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit: “... till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest” (v. 15).

When the kingdom of God came, the Spirit of God would be “poured on us from on high.” So when the Spirit was poured out from on high, this would indicate that the kingdom of God had begun. And now here was Jesus the Messiah, risen from the dead, teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God and telling them that in a few days they were going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of God was about to poured out on them from on high! So they very naturally thought about the kingdom of God.

This raised a question: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” See, in Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming king and the kingdom, and the Spirit being poured out, he also spoke of how God would judge the nations (Isaiah 34). And it was this that the disciples were asking about. Was King Jesus now going to judge the nations?

Israel was still in a sort of exile. Though many Jews had returned to the homeland, they were still under foreign domination, as they had been for centuries. First it was the Persians, then the Greeks, and now it was the Roman Empire that occupied the land. So, the question the disciples were asking, not unreasonably, was whether God was now going to free Israel from the nations.

They were asking a question about timing, but the answer they received was not what they were expecting. Jesus took it in a very different direction … as we will see next time.

The Divine Initiative of the Christian Life

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)

The truth of the Christian life is that it is the work of God in us, by His Spirit, to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is all about love and manifests the life of Christ in us. It is all by divine grace, through faith, and not by our own effort to become anything. This does not mean, however, that we are simply dead weight, being shuttled about by God. Rather, we must be attentive to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the work God is doing in us.

The Lord Jesus, although he was fully divine as well as fully human — or perhaps we should say because he was fully divine as well as fully human — was always attentive to the Father. He did only those things he saw the Father doing and said only those things he heard the Father saying. Our new life in Christ means that we, too, have the capacity to see what the Father is doing and hear what he is saying, and so we, also, must be responsive.

We must likewise be attentive to the Lord Jesus. He is our example, and God is conforming us to his image, that we may be like him and reveal the Father even as Jesus did. We are disciples, learning Jesus. To be Christian means that we are following him — not being dragged along behind him.

We are also to be attentive to the Holy Spirit, who reveals the Lord Jesus to us and guides us into the life of Christ. He shows us Christ, who shows us the Father, who sends the Spirit. The Spirit empowers us, enabling us to do what pleases God. He also enables our wills to desire what pleases God. But he comes to empower us, not overpower us. So we are still responsible to yield to him and allow him to do his work in us.

The initiative of the Christian life, every step of the way, is always God’s, his work in us — and that is a matter of grace. Our work is simply to respond to his gracious initiative — and that is a matter of faith. So shall we fulfill his good purpose.

Psalm 1, Prosperity and the Path of Your Listening

Blessed is the man
    Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.

(Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV)

Every month I pray through the Psalms. Today is the first of the month, so I begin again with Psalm 1. This psalm is a wisdom psalm. It is about what you listen to, because what you listen to is what will fill your heart, and what fills your heart is what you will do and what you will speak. What you choose to listen to will determine the path you take — and whether or not you will prosper. What you speak will reveal which path are choosing.

The man who listens to the counsel of the wicked will do what do they do and end up mocking what they mock. Though they might seem to flourish, it will only be for a season, and they eventually will be blown away like chaff. The godly, on the other hand, listen to the instruction of the Lord, letting it fill their hearts. They will end up doing and speaking what builds up, not what tears down, and their results will be very different — a prosperous and fruitful life, established and strong, that becomes a blessing to others as well as themselves. And they will endure from season to season.

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
    And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
    But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
    Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

(Psalm 1:6 NKJV)

Unfortunately, even at our best we often fail to listen well, and so, to live and prosper well. There is only one who has ever fulfilled the word of the LORD perfectly, and that is the Lord Jesus, who is the Living Word of God. But the goodness of the gospel is that he comes to live his life in us. He shows us what faithfulness is and what a truly prosperous life looks like.

What is more, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, to produce in us character of Christ and the fruitfulness of God that blesses the world. The fruit of the Spirit consists chiefly of love, which fulfills all the law of God. As we listen to the instruction of the Lord, revealed through the Living Word, the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, we will discover the prosperity that changes the world for the better.