He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Psalm 23 (NIV)
since autumn term 2008 ended two weeks ago, i have had a relatively restful christmas break (sabbatical?) in york. instead of travelling, i have been catching up with friends in york, reading n.t. wright's surprised by hope and spending time with God in prayer.
on this last day of 2008, i thank God for leading me through 2008 and revealing glimpses of His will for my life in 2009 (and beyond).
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
the following video (not made by me) happens to have pictures of york and newcastle!
The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want He makes me lie in pastures green He leads me by the still, still waters His goodness restores my soul
And I will trust in You alone And I will trust in You alone For Your endless mercy follows me Your goodness will lead me home
He guides my ways in righteousness And He anoints my head with oil And my cup, it overflows with joy I feast on His pure delights
And I will trust in You alone And I will trust in You alone For Your endless mercy follows me Your goodness will lead me home
And though I walk the darkest path I will not fear the evil one For You are with me and Your rod and staff Are the comfort I need to know
And I will trust in You alone And I will trust in You alone For Your endless mercy follows me Your goodness will lead me home
And I will trust in You alone And I will trust in You alone For Your endless mercy follows me Your goodness will lead me home
For Your endless mercy follows me Your goodness will lead me home
what do we mean when we talk about hell? i used to think that there is one kind of hell which we must avoid at all cost. then i concluded that there are two kinds of hell. but in my study of Scripture, it seems that there are three kinds of hell.
the abode of the dead
the first kind of hell is the abode of the dead (hebrew: Sheol, greek: Hades), where we all go to rest when we die.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave [Sheol], where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." - Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)
"Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave [Hades], nor did his body see decay." - Acts 2:31 (NIV)
Jesus Himself rested in the abode of the dead for three days and three nights, between His crucifixion and His resurrection.
"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave [Sheol] I called for help, and you listened to my cry." - Jonah 2:1-2 (NIV)
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." - Matthew 12:40 (NIV)
believers or not, we all go to hell (the abode of the dead) to rest when we die. believers or not, we all await resurrection from hell (the abode of the dead).
"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." - Daniel 12:2 (NIV)
"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." - John 5:28-29 (NIV)
the difference between believers and unbelievers is that believers are resurrected at the start of the millenial kingdom (the first resurrection), while unbelievers are resurrected at the end of the millenial kingdom (the second resurrection).
"I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection." - Revelation 20:4-5 (NIV)
the Valley of Ben Hinnom
the second kind of hell is the Valley of Ben Hinnom (hebrew: Ga Ben Hinnom, greek: Gehenna), a literal place in the Middle East where the lake of fire is, where unbelievers are thrown into following the second resurrection at the end of the millenial kingdom.
"They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom [Ga Ben Hinnom] to burn their sons and daughters in the fire - something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind." - Jeremiah 7:31 (NIV)
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell [Gehenna]." - Matthew 10:28 (NIV)
the deep place
the third kind of hell is the deep place (greek: Tartarus), where fallen angels are 'held for judgment' (2 Peter 2:4, NIV). it is probably similar, but not to be confused with the abyss (greek: abussos).
"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss [abussos] and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss [abussos], and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." - Revelation 20:1-3 (NIV)
excursus: the rich man and lazarus
surprisingly, the setting for Jesus' parable of the rich man and lazarus is the abode of the dead, not the Valley of Ben Hinnom (the greek word in Luke 16:23 which is translated as 'hell' is 'Hades', not 'Gehenna').
the point of the parable is not that there is any activity in the abode of the dead (there isn't), but that there is 'a great chasm' (Luke 16:26, NIV) between believers and unbelievers in the abode of the dead. in other words, there are no second chances in the abode of the dead.
just as 'heaven' refers to three different things in hebrew/greek, so does 'hell' refer to three different things in hebrew/greek. it is crucial to grasp this!
what do we mean when we talk about heaven? surprisingly, heaven is not where we go to when we die. (in fact, we go to hell (the abode of the dead) when we die - but that is for the next post.) in my study of Scripture, it seems that there are three kinds of heaven.
the sky
the first kind of heaven is the sky.
"As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." - 2 Kings 2:11 (NIV)
outer space
the second kind of heaven is outer space.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
the throne of God above
the third kind of heaven is the throne of God above.
"I know a man in Christ [this is Paul referring to himself] who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows." - 2 Corinthians 12:2 (NIV)
excursus: enoch and elijah
what about enoch and elijah? didn't they not have to experience death because God took them up to (the third) heaven?
"Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." - Genesis 5:24 (NIV)
"As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." - 2 Kings 2:11 (NIV)
the truth is that both enoch and elijah eventually died and are resting in hell (the abode of the dead) right now, awaiting the first resurrection. they did not have to experience death in a particular situation not because God took them up to the third heaven, but because God translated them into the first heaven (and then set them back down on land somewhere else).
we know that enoch eventually died (even though he did not experience death in a particular situation) because Hebrews 11:13 tells us that he was still living by faith when he died.
"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." - Hebrews 11:5 (NIV)
"All these people [Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham] were still living by faith when they died." - Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
we know that elijah eventually died (even though he did not experience death in a particular situation) because 'man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment' (Hebrews 9:27, NIV). 2 Kings 2:16 hints that elijah was not taken up to the third heaven in 2 Kings 2:11, but translated into the first heaven (and then set back down on land somewhere else).
"Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley." - 2 Kings 2:16 (NIV)
furthermore, elijah went up to heaven before 'the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah' (2 Kings 3:1, NIV). but Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat received a letter from elijah after he succeeded his father as king of Judah (cf. 2 Chronicles 21:12-15), at least 7 years later (Jehoshaphat reigned in Jerusalem 25 years). if elijah was taken up to the third heaven (not merely translated into the first heaven and then set back down on land somewhere else), then he could not have sent a letter to Jehoram at least 7 years later.
in any case, Scripture is clear that 'no one has ever gone into [the third] heaven except the one who came from [the third] heaven - the Son of Man' (John 3:13, NIV). paul's experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2 is one of a kind and may not even necessarily be anything more than a vision.
Much of "traditional" Christianity gives the impression that God has these rather arbitrary rules about how you have to behave, and if you disobey them you go to hell, rather than to heaven. What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, and his resurrection was the opening bell. And when he returns to fulfill the plan, you won't be going up there to him, he'll be coming down here.
But the story of the Bible, which is the story that I am telling you, is not - as many of you may have been brought up imagining - is not a story simply about random individual men and women, and whether they behave or misbehave, and whether or not they go to heaven or hell at the end. That is our Western reshaping of the story of the Bible, our fitting of it into different categories.
The story the Bible itself actually tells is the story of the creator God and His world, of the plan for humans within that world to manage creation and then to help in the task of putting it right.
- N.T. Wright, Reconstructing Hope (Harvard Graduate School Christian Fellowship Series, 18 Nov 08)
The Resurrection of the Son of God
This book addresses two questions which have often been dealt with entirely separately but which, I passionately believe, belong tightly together. First, what is the ultimate Christian hope? Second, what hope is there for change, rescue, transformation, new possibilities within the world in the present?
And the main answer can be put like this. As long as we see 'Christian hope' in terms of 'going to heaven', of a 'salvation' which is essentially away from this world, the two questions are bound to appear as unrelated. Indeed, some insist angrily that to ask the second one at all is to ignore the first one, which is the really important one. This in turn makes some others get angry when people talk of resurrection, as if this might draw attention away from the really important and pressing matters of contemporary social concern.
But if the 'Christian hope' is for God's new creation, for 'new heavens and new earth' - and if that hope has already come to life in Jesus of Nazareth - then there is every reason to join the two questions together. And if that is so, we find that answering the one is also answering the other. I find that to many - not least many Christians - all this comes as a surprise: both that the Christian hope is surprisingly different from what they had assumed, and that this same hope offers a coherent and energising basis for work in today's world.
'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' This was the last utterance of the Saviour ere he expired. While he hung upon the cross, seven times his lips moved in speech. Seven is the number of completeness or perfection. At Calvary then, as everywhere, the perfections of the Blessed One were displayed. Seven is also the number of rest in a finished work: in six days God made heaven and earth and in the seventh he rested, contemplating with satisfaction that which he had pronounced 'very good'.
So here with Christ: a work had been given him to do, and that work was now done. Just as the sixth day brought the work of creation and reconstruction to a completion, so the sixth utterance of the Saviour was 'It is finished.' And just as the seventh day was the day of rest and satisfaction, so the seventh utterance of the Saviour brings him to the place of rest - the Father's hands.
- A.W. Pink, Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross
*****
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." - Luke 23:34 (NIV)
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:43 (NIV)
"Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." - John 19:25-27 (NIV)
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Matthew 27:46 (NIV)
"I am thirsty." - John 19:28 (NIV)
"It is finished." - John 19:30 (NIV)
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." - Luke 23:46 (NIV)
"After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you - for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." - 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 (NIV)
in this morning's sermon at york baptist church, revd gary patchen showed that paul was always on the lookout for doors and windows of opportunities to preach the gospel, to inaugurate the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
indeed, paul exemplifies living in the present. after all, he could do no other.
paul boasts about his sufferings
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
- 2 Corinthians 11:22-29 (NIV)
there is no point living in the past because we cannot go back and change what has already happened. history and the will of God are not about "what ifs", but about "what is". there is no point living in the future either because we cannot go forward and predict what is going to happen. the only opportunities we can be sure of having are the ones right in front of us, the ones which arise from living in the present.
given that we live in a world with limited resources, opportunities come with opportunity costs. the opportunity to travel comes with giving up the opportunity to put the time and money otherwise spent to better use. the opportunity to be a postholder comes with giving up the opportunity to serve God more effectively as a non-postholder. the opportunity to be in a relationship comes with giving up the opportunity to be single. for that matter, the opportunity to be single comes with giving up the opportunity to be in a relationship.
"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." - Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)
"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." - James 4:13-17 (NIV)
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come - it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."" - Psalm 40:6-8 (NIV)
I wasn't sure if I should get the new ESV Study Bible or another NIV Bible to read in 2009. I decided to go for this one in the end because it's organised into 365 daily readings, uses Anglicised (instead of Americanised) text and has a nice design. And it's green.
I tried to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation over the past summer but didn't make it due to the lack of time, organisation and discipline. Hopefully this NIV Bible will prevent me from making any more excuses and be well-read over the next year (and many years to come).
The Law of the LORD
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
rather, that Jesus is 'fully God and fully man' means that in one sense, Jesus is fully God. in another sense, Jesus is fully man.
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." - James 2:26 (NIV)
fully God
Jesus is fully God in the sense that His spirit was of God.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." - John 1:1-3 (NIV)
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." - Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
fully man
Jesus is fully man in the sense that His body was of man.
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." - John 1:14 (NIV)
"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood." - John 1:14 (The Message)
"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 (NIV)
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV)
*****
even among christians, a common approach when having theological discussions is to say that 'the secret things belong to the LORD our God' (Deuteronomy 29:29a, NIV) and sweep everything under the carpet, as if this demonstrates our faith. nothing could be further from the truth (literally)!
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
faith is not believing in what we do not understand, but believing in what we understand. and we understand that 'all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV).
yes, 'the secret things belong to the LORD our God' (Deuteronomy 29:29a, NIV). but 'the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law' (Deuteronomy 29:29b, NIV).
just because we do not understand something (eg. the trinity, predestination, eschatology etc) does not mean that we can never understand it. in fact, it is precisely because we do not understand something that we should all the more seek to understand it.
to be sure, this does not mean that God will reveal it to us in our lives. at the same time, this does not mean that God will not reveal it to us in our lives. at the end of the day, we should seek to 'be filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18, NIV), the Spirit of truth who will 'guide [us] into all truth' (John 16:13, NIV).
The conception of Jesus calls attention to the glory that surrounds his birth. The virgin birth is not explained in detail by the New Testament. We are told simply that the Holy Spirit would come upon Mary and "overshadow" her. This overshadowing is not elucidated in terms of biology. It is reminiscent, however, of the divine power and method of creation itself. The act of divine creation demonstrates the power to bring something out of nothing. The conception of a baby in the womb of Mary is a divine act of creation ex nihilo, out of nothing. It is a work that only God can perform. The normal process of union of sperms and ovum is bypassed. This child is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are reminded here of the Genesis account of creation. We read in the biblical narrative this description of the original creation: "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). The hovering of the Spirit over the deep was the pulsating beginning of the universe. As the Holy Spirit overshadowed the deep and brought forth a created universe, so the same Spirit overshadowed a peasant virgin to conceive the Son of God.
- R.C. Sproul, Embarking on a Course of Redemption in Nancy Guthrie (ed.), Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons 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 glorious freedom 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 as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:18-25 (NIV)
if there ever was a land groaning as in the pains of childbirth, it would be the barren land in the movie.
the launch of the new creation
"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:22 (NIV)
the captain of the spaceship represents Christ, the federal head of the new creation (just as Adam is the federal head of the first creation) who is 'the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation' (Colossians 1:15, NIV).
"He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."" - Matthew 13:31-32 (NIV)
"Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen." - Psalm 72:18-19 (NIV)
excursus: Wall-E and Eve
Eve (the woman) complements Adam and thus completes the first creation in Genesis. similarly, Eve (the robot) complements Wall-E and thus completes the new creation in Wall-E. incidentally, as a signals specialist in the saf, i learnt that every technological device comes with a "male" plug and a "female" socket.
after being given a new body, Wall-E - though seeing, does not see; though hearing, does not hear or understand.
"This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."" - Matthew 13:13 (NIV)
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." - Hebrews 10:26-27 (NIV)
"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."" - 2 Peter 2:20-22 (NIV)
after being regenerated, Wall-E goes back to compressing trash. what?
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." - Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." - 1 John 3:6 (NIV)
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." - 1 John 3:9 (NIV)
happily, Wall-E comes to realise that he is a new creation and stops touching unclean things (literally).
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
""Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV)
the new creation in Wall-E mirrors the new creation in the captain, and both of them portend the new creation of the new heaven and the new earth. the movie ends with michael crawford's it only takes a moment:
And that is all that love's about And we'll recall when time runs out That it only took a moment To be loved a whole life long
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)
*****
"Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."" - Isaiah 6:11-13 (NIV)
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." - Isaiah 11:1 (NIV)
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." - Isaiah 55:8-13 (NIV)
"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more." - Isaiah 65:17-19 (NIV)
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
i was in durham again 2 weeks ago for a christian workshop on climate change. one of the keynote speakers was n.t. wright - after observing that the default windows xp wallpaper depicts a new heaven and a new earth, he went on to unpack the new creation in John.
beginning
it is well known that the first creation account in John mirrors the first creation account in Genesis.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light." - Genesis 1:1-3 (NIV)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." - John 1:1-5 (NIV)
new beginning
it is less well known that the new creation account in John also mirrors the first creation account in Genesis. having finished His work of the first creation in Genesis, God rested on the seventh day. similarly, having finished His work of the new creation in John, Jesus rested (in the abode of the dead) on the Passover Sabbath.
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3 (NIV)
"Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." - John 19:28-30 (NIV)
furthermore, the unfolding of the new creation in John mirrors the unfolding of the first creation in Genesis. the first creation in Genesis unfolds with the first Adam in a garden. similarly, the new creation in John unfolds with the new Adam in a garden.
"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." - Genesis 2:8 (NIV)
"At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." - John 19:41-42 (NIV)
*****
"But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." - Romans 5:15-19 (NIV)
"So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." - 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (NIV)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
*****
John 20 stresses twice (in vv. 1 and 19) that Easter is the first day of the new week. John has so ordered his gospel that the sequence of seven signs, climaxing in the cross of Jesus on the sixth day of the week and his resting in the tomb on the seventh, functions as the week of the old creation; and now Easter functions as the beginning of the new creation. The Word through whom all things were made is now the Word through whom all things are remade.
So far from Jesus' resurrection being an odd or isolated 'supernatural' event, breaking in as a sign of what God could do if he chose but normally doesn't, it is to be seen as the beginning of the new world, the first day of the new week, the unveiling of the prototype of what God is now going to accomplish in the rest of the world.
Mary supposes Jesus is the gardener; that's the right mistake to make, because like Adam he is charged with bringing God's new world to order. He has come to uproot the thorns and thistles, and to plant myrtle and cypress instead, as Isaiah promised in his great picture of the new creation that would result from the Word of God coming like rain or snow into the world.
Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."
But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?
- Jonah 4:5-11 (NIV)
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'"
- Matthew 20:9-15 (NIV)
The Parable of the Lost Son
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
"'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
- Luke 15:25-32 (NIV)
*****
"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy." - Proverbs 14:10 (NIV)
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." - 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NIV)
Two sons are looking forward to the death of their nasty but very wealthy father. Tired of waiting, they decide, independently of one another, to kill their father. The one puts some poison in his father’s whisky, and is discovered doing so by his brother, who was just about to do the same thing. The latter then allows his father to imbibe the deadly drink, and refrains from administering an antidote which he happens to have. The one son killed his father. The other merely allowed him to die. Did the former do something significantly more wrong than the latter?
My own view is that the actions are morally equivalent... other things being equal, it is just as wrong intentionally to refrain from administering an antidote to someone who is dying of poisoning as it is to administer the poison, provided that the same motive is operative in both cases. And, more generally, it follows that the distinction between killing and intentionally letting die is not in itself a morally significant one.
- Michael Tooley, An Irrelevant Consideration: Killing Versus Letting Die
The Parable of the Lost Son
"Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.'"" - Luke 15:11-12 (NIV)
You're out of rank, son. You're the younger son. What are you doing? The older son is the son who would be the only one who would have a right to make such a request, but no older son in his right mind would make such a request because you didn't get your inheritance until your father was what? Was dead! So to go to your father and say, "Could you please die?" is outrageous conduct...
"So he divided his property between them." - Luke 15:12 (NIV)
What? This is where the Pharisees would say, "Whoa, whoa. No father would do that. You don't give in to that kind of shameful attitude. You don't give in to someone that is that insolent."
But he did. He divided his wealth among them. He didn't have to wait until he was dead. He split it up. He gave two-thirds to the older son, one-third to the younger. This is a father abandoning his own honour. This is a father taking on shame. This is ridiculous. This is a very, very dishonourable son, but this is a more dishonourable father. This is a weak-willed father in the minds of the Pharisees. This is a father who is not protecting what must be protected. This is a silly kind of superficial love in their eyes.
And by the way, where is the older brother here? He is purposely not in the story. Jesus doesn't put him in the story here, but he should be in the story and that is another eye-roller here because the older brother had a responsibility to protect his younger brother from stupid things and he knew about the division because he got his two-thirds. Why didn't he stop this kind of insolent behaviour by the younger brother and why didn't he, of all things, do what the older son was committed to doing, protect the honour of his father?
- John MacArthur, A Tale of Two Sons (Voice of Christian Youth America Rally, 9 Sep 08)
to be sure, there are differences between tooley's example and the parable of the lost son. besides, the parable of the lost son is not primarily about killing vs letting die, the sin of commission vs the sin of omission. it is primarily about the Son of Man, who 'came to seek and to save what was lost' (Luke 19:10, NIV).
nevertheless, it is striking that both tooley's example and the parable of the lost son tell a tale of two sons who both want their wealthy father dead. in tooley's example, the first son puts some poison in his father's whisky and the second son does nothing about it because it is in his interests as well. in the parable of the lost son, the younger brother asks for his share of the estate and the older brother also does nothing about it because it is in his interests as well.
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." - James 4:17 (NIV)
*****
1. killing with the intention to kill (eg. the first son in tooley's example) is wrong. 2. letting die with the intention to kill (eg. the second son in tooley's example) is wrong. 3. killing with the intention to not kill (eg. killing in self-defence) is not wrong. 4. letting die with the intention to not kill (eg. passive euthanasia) is not wrong.
today i step down from my posts as a james cu small group leader and a member of the main cu international team. i thank God for the opportunity to be part of two different teams (one at the college level and one at the university level) over the past year, but i am also looking forward to serving in new ways in the upcoming year. besides, i will continue to be involved in james cu and main cu international events, just not as a postholder.
without the commitment of a post, i will be able to devote more time to:
1. God 2. church 3. housemates and friends 4. philosophy, politics and economics 5. playing chess for the university 6. reading and refining my theology 7. any other opportunities as they arise
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25 (NIV)
as a christian who happens to be a student, work - all work - is meaningful and good, and the evil that is unfinished work distorts and disrupts the good and cries out to be put right. as a christian who happens to be a student, you glorify God by putting the work to rights.
