The Interprenetration of Heaven and Earth

By Creation, the Incarnation and the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ is the interpenetration of heaven and earth, of eternity and time, of divinity and humanity – of God and humankind. He is the image of the invisible God, in whom all the fullness of divinity dwells in bodily form, and in whom we are made complete and become partakers of the divine nature. All are created through Christ, by Christ, for Christ and in Christ. All are in Christ, and Christ is in all, giving being to all. 

The Son is the Image of the Invisible God, the Firstborn Over All Creation. 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, whether on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20) 

The eternal purpose of God in Christ is the reconciliation of all in heaven and on earth to himself and to each other, through Christ, through the blood of the Cross — to bring all together in unity, everything in heaven and on earth summed up in Christ. The word St. Paul uses for this in Ephesians 1 is anakephalaiomai, using a root, kephale, that refers to the head. 

God did this when he revealed to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up [anakephalaiomai] all things in Christ – the things in heaven and the things on earth. (Ephesians 1:9-10 NET)

Christ has not merely come in the fullness of time but he himself is the fullness of time, in which all in heaven and on earth are made one — with Christ as the Head. What does this mean, then, but that all in heaven and on earth finally become the Body of Christ? For there is no Head without a Body. Just a few verses later, Paul deepens the significance of this:

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be Head [kephale] over everything for the Church, which is his Body, the Fullness of Him Who Fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:19-23) 

Christ is the one who fills all things, the whole of creation, in every way — and the Church is that fullness. Christ and His Body, the Church, are the interpenetration of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth mutually indwell one another, yet there is no separation or confusion. They truly meet and participate in one another, but neither loses its identity. Nothing is erased but everything finds its true meaning and purpose as all are gathered together in Christ. 

Christ the Unity of All Things

All Creation participates in the being of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is created by him, through him, for him, and in him. Everything holds together in him. St. Paul speaks of the mystery of God’s eternal will and pleasure, to bring all in heaven and on earth to unity, all summed up in Jesus Christ.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. (Colossians 1:15-17)

God made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment — to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:9-10) 

Creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:19-23)

We are each connected with one another and with all that is. Through Christ, God created all things and formed us from the earth. In the Incarnation, Christ united Himself with humankind — and so with all creation. The whole world groans together with us, awaiting the revelation of the children of God.

Eucharist and the Moment of the Cross

When we come to the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to the moment of the Cross. Not to a moment like it, but to that very moment. For in God there is only one moment, neither past nor future, but eternal. The Eucharist is not another sacrifice, but participation in the once-for-all sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Let Your Heart Be Silent and Still

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

“The LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

“The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” (1 Samuel 3:10)

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1) 

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

“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) 

Let your heart be silent and still, 
for only then can you hear the voice 
of the Shepherd whisper softly, “All is well.”

Becoming the Body of Christ

The Bread of Eucharist (“Thanksgiving”) is a real and true participation in the Body of Christ. The Cup of Eucharist is a real and true participation of the Blood of Christ. There is only one body and one Eucharist, and in that one Eucharist, that One Cup, that One Bread we have a real and true participation in the One Body of Christ. 

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

Paul was speaking the language of real participation. Modern Evangelicals largely follow the philosophy of Nominalism, but neither Paul nor the Greeks nor the Hebrews nor the Christians held any such way of thinking. They understood that the reality of a thing is not found in the words or thoughts we assign to it but in the thing itself. So when Paul says that the Cup of Thanksgiving is a participation in the Blood of Christ, he is not saying that the Cup is like the Blood in some figurative sense but that the reality of the Cup and of the Blood is inseparable.

Our feelings, whatever they may be, have nothing to do with this reality. It is an impoverishment that so many today who deny the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist keep trying to wrap the Eucharist up in the language of feelings, thoughts and sentiments. If the Eucharist were nothing more than the thoughts and sentiments we bring to it — no matter how uplifting those thoughts and warm those sentiments, or how much joy or tears they generate in us — then it would be empty ritual and quite unnecessary, for there are any number of ways of generating such thoughts and feelings. The Christian faith is not about empty ritual; if we make it into  that, we make it into a lie. The true gift of the Eucharist that Christ has given for us to feed upon is his Real Presence — Body and Blood.

The Bread of Eucharist does not merely generate sentiments about the Body of Christ but participates in the reality of His Body given for us. The Wine of Eucharist does not merely generate thoughts about the Blood of Christ but participates in the reality of His Blood shed for us. When we partake of the consecrated elements, we are partaking of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ — and so do we become the Body of Christ.

Faith is Following Jesus

What is faith? Our Lord Jesus shows us in John 10:22-28, contrasting the unbelief of the Jewish leaders with the faithfulness of his sheep, who hear his voice and follow him:

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 

It is significant that this encounter takes place during the Festival of Dedication, which celebrated not only the rededication of the Temple but also honored faithfulness to God. The irony here is thick: those who see themselves as guardians of fidelity stand face to face with the One to whom the Temple points — yet they remain closed to him. “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly,” they say, but their problem is not lack of information, for Jesus has already told them, and showed them in numerous ways, that he is God’s Anointed One. Yet they remain in their unbelief. It is not merely doubt they express but resistance.

I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Faith in Jesus Christ is not theoretical or conceptual. It is not an abstraction, a mere assent to statements about him, or a relationship with ideas about him, whirling round and round in our head without ever connecting to our life, to who we are, to what is real. Faith is a real, tangible, livable relationship with Lord Jesus himself.

Faith is not a contractual arrangement.
Faith is not a mental calculation.
Faith is following Jesus. 

Following the Way of Grace

To follow Christ is not contrary 
to the way of grace — it is the way of grace. 
To follow Christ is to experience salvation. 

Repentance and the “Wee Little Man”

It is often thought that repentance must precede forgiveness, and some think it strange that it should ever be thought the other way around, that forgiveness precedes repentance. Yet there are several Scriptures that demonstrate just that. For example, there is the story of Zacchaeus, that “Wee Little Man” of Sunday School lore, but which first appears in the Gospel According to Luke:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)

It was an act of forgiveness and acceptance that Jesus ate with Zacchaeus. To eat with someone was to acknowledge them as part of one’s circle of friends. When enemies broke bread together, it was a gesture of peace and reconciliation, effectively declaring an end to hostilities. Jesus offering to eat with Zacchaeus signaled his acceptance of Zacchaeus. Grace and forgiveness and table fellowship came first, and it transformed Zacchaeus such that he responded with repentance and restitution. 

God is always the initiator of repentance and faith. It is always a movement of divine grace, which is to say that it is always a movement of divine forgiveness, and it enables us to respond. Forgiveness comes first. Even as Jesus hung on the Cross, he prayed for those — including us — who crucified him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). 

Divine forgiveness does not make repentance unnecessary but it makes repentance possible. It goes before and prepares the way for us turn to Christ in faith.

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

Zacchaeus, that “Wee Little Man,” 
was enabled to repent because 
he was forgiven.