If God created the universe, what created God?
We, as sentient and at least somewhat intelligent humans, exist. That’s not debated by most people. How, however, did we get here? Where or who did we come from? And if God created us, who or what created God?
Panspermia
Some have speculated that we got here through panspermia or even directed panspermia.[1] Panspermia is the hypothesis that microorganisms were seeded to our planet through meteoroids, comets, asteroids, or even from alien life forms. That just moves the question back. Where then did life come from (to say nothing of matter)?
Interestingly, some have speculated what it would take for us to seed life to another planet by blasting off a rocket with microorganisms onboard. Some believe we could carry out a “Genesis” mission to an uninhabited planet within 50 to 100 years.
Of course, the mission would require a lot of really smart people working in coordination with a lot of really smart people. And it would cost a lot of money and use things like ion thrusters and really advanced robots. So, starting with life and intelligence, it may be possible to seed life to other planets (assuming they are fine-tuned to support life). But again, this just pushes the question back and proves the need for intelligent design.
Multiverse or many worlds hypothesis
Another hypothesis to explain the origin of life on earth (specifically intelligent life on earth) is the multiverse theory.[2] Yes, this should remind you of all the crazy stuff that happens in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This theory is interesting and problematic for a number of reasons. It’s more science fiction than fact.
- It is, by far, not the simplest explanation. This is problematic (see: Occam’s razor).
- It’s nonsensical. One could then postulate that there is a near-infinite number of you, or of Loki. Loki was a cool show but the questions multiply as the “Lokis” multiply.
- There’s nothing that we have observed that would lead us to logically conclude that there is or is likely a multiverse (it seems, rather, that those arguing for this position are just frantically trying to get away from the reality of the existence of God[3]).
If God created the universe, what created God?
Here are the options:
- The universe somehow sprang from absolute nothingness completely on its own.
- The universe inanimate has existed eternally and that something somehow exploded and eventually led to the life forms we have now.
- The universe was created by a powerful and eternal Entity.
Each of those options is honestly hard to fathom. Which makes the most sense?
The universe somehow sprang from absolute nothingness completely on its own.
This is not something we really observe. In our experience and observation, something does not come from nothing. If even a simple pool ball is rolling on a pool table we assume it was set in motion by something. We don’t assume it moved although no force whatsoever acted upon it (What about quantum particles?[4]).
There’s a story about a scientist making a bet with God. The scientist bets God that he can create life. The scientist grabs some dirt and sets off to work. When a voice from heaven said, “Get your own dirt!”
“It is a vain hope to try to give a physical account of the absolute beginning of the universe. Not only must the creation event transcend physical law, it must also,… transcend logic and mathematics and therefore all the scientific tools at our disposal. It must be, quite literally, supernatural.”[5]
The universe has eternally existed.
If the expansion of the universe were an old VHS video that you could reverse, you’d see the contraction of the universe into an infinitesimally small singularity—back into the nothingness from which the universe sprang.[6] Thus, the Big Bang actually matches with what Scripture says. That is, the universe—all the matter that is—came into being at a finite time, ex nihilo, out of nothing.
The universe has not existed eternally.
The universe was created by a powerful and eternal Entity.
It makes sense to say, doesn’t it, that anything that begins to exist must have a cause of its existence?[7] I think that makes a lot of sense. I mean a pool ball on a pool table isn’t going to move unless someone or something causes it to move.
This is especially the case when we consider the extreme fine-tuning necessary to allow for life, especially intelligent life. “On whatever volume scale researchers make their observations—the universe, galaxy cluster, galaxy, planetary system, planet, planetary surface, cell, atom, fundamental particle, or string—the evidence for extreme fine-tuning for life’s sake, and in particular for humanity’s benefit, persists.”[8]
God is the Uncaused Cause, the Unmoved Mover. God is. He is the Creator.
But then, who or what created God?
Anything that begins to exist must have a cause of its existence. The thing with God is, He did not begin to exist. He has always existed. Therefore, He needs no cause or creator. He is the Creator.
“The Cause responsible for bringing the universe into existence is not constrained by cosmic time. In creating our time dimension, that agent demonstrated an existence above, or independent of, cosmic time… In the context of cosmic time, the causal Agent would have no beginning and no ending and would not be created.”[9]
This is, in fact, what the Bible says about the LORD God. It says, “the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Is. 40:28) and it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 cf. Ps. 136:5; Is. 45:18; Col. 1:16).
The universe has not always existed. Instead, “the universe was brought into existence by a causal agent with the capacity to operate before, beyond, unlimited buy, transcendent to all cosmic matter, energy, space, and time.”[10]
God revealed Himself to Moses as: “I Am who I Am” (Ex. 3:14). God is the One who Is. He is the Existing One. He is the One who is beyond and before time and matter. And as such, He is able to create time and matter.
If God’s existence doesn’t need an explanation then why should the universe’s existence need an explanation?
“This popular objection is based on a misconception of the nature of explanation. It is widely recognized that in order for an explanation to be the best, one need not have an explanation of the explanation (indeed, such a requirement would generate an infinite regress, so that everything becomes inexplicable). If astronauts should find traces of intelligent life on some other planet, for example, we need not be able to explain such extraterrestrials in order to recognize that they are the best explanation of the artifacts. In the same way, the design hypothesis’s being the best explanation of the fine-tuning does not depend on our being able to explain the Designer.”[11]
How should we respond to the One who created the universe?
That’s a big question. But, I’ll take it further, how should we respond if the Christian understanding of God is correct? What if the Programmer coded Himself into the program like the Bible talks about?
If what Scripture says of the Creator entering His creation is true, as I believe it is, then I think it clearly follows that we should be amazed and submit to the One who has shown Himself to be the Lord.
We must all, however, make that choice on our own. I can’t make it for you. But I, for one, am awed and astounded that the Creator would enter His creation to rescue His creation.
Not only that but the Creator was crucified (see Col. 1:15-20). As Jesus was making purification and propitiation for sin by bearing our sin on the cross, He was simultaneously upholding the universe by the word of His power (Heb. 1:2).
How should we respond to the One who created the universe and yet loves us?! I believe we should respond in reverent worship:
Notes
[1] E.g. Francis Crick, Life Itself: Its Nature and Origin (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981).
[3] “The many worlds hypothesis is essentially an effort on the part of partisans of the chance hypothesis to multiply their probabilistic resources in order to reduce the improbability of the occurrence of fine-tuning” (J.P. Moreland & William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003], 487). Ironically, “the many worlds hypothesis is no less metaphysical than the hypothesis of a comic designer” (Moreland & Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, 487).
[4] “There is no basis for the claim that quantum physics proves that things can begin to exist without a cause, much less that [the] universe could have sprung into being uncaused from literally nothing” (Moreland & Craig, Philosophical Foundations, 469). Even if one follows the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics, “particles do not come into being out of nothing. They arise as spontaneous fluctuations of the energy contained in the subatomic vacuum, which constitutes an indeterministic cause of their origination” (Ibid.). This very brief explanation is helpful: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quantum-field-theory-what-virtual-particles-laymans-terms-javadi/ and also see: http://atlas.physics.arizona.edu/~shupe/Indep_Studies_2015/Homeworks/VirtualParticles_Strassler.pdf
[5] David A. J. Seargent, Copernicus, God, and Goldilocks: Our Place and Purpose in the Universe, 114.
[6] A better illustration would actually be a balloon losing its air. When considering the expansion of the universe it’s amazing to consider that eventually the universe will grow dark because the speed of the expansion of the universe will eventually be too great for us to observe our cosmic surroundings.
[7] “Everything restricted to the cosmic timeline must be traceable back to a cause and a beginning” (Hugh Ross, Why The Universe Is The Way It Is, 132).
[8] Ross, Why The Universe Is The Way It Is, 124. See e.g. Hugh Ross, “Fundamental Forces Show Greater Fine-Tuning” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/connections/fundamental-forces-show-greater-fine-tuning, Fazale Rana, “Fine-Tuning For Life On Earth (Updated June 2004)” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/fine-tuning-for-life-on-earth-updated-june-2004, and Seargent, Copernicus, God, and Goldilocks, 121-127.
[9] Ross, Why The Universe Is The Way It Is, 132.
[10] Ibid., 131.
[11] Moreland & Craig, Philosophical Foundations, 487.
*Photo by Tyler van der Hoeven
Is the world enchanted?
Is the world enchanted? Or merely natural? Deterministic? Are we just chemical processes that have been wound up and will wind down? Or, is there a “ghost in the machine”?
Is there something before and beyond? Can everything be coolly explained or is there an Unexplainable? Could it be that fantasy and fiction are tapping into something true? Something fantastic and far beyond us?
Are there spells and spirits, or are we mere decomposing skulls with sinews?
The world we inhabit: is it wondrous, consisting of beauty, mystery, as well as sad irony? Or is the world a mere and meaningless blip before the heat death of the universe?
Is “the cosmos,” as Carl Sagan has famously said, “all there ever was and all there ever will be”?
If so, what explains the wonder and wild nature of life? What explains the science fiction like rhinoceros and the beauty and rapture of art? What explains those moments, those brief moments, with family or friends that feel so right?
Most people today, believe it or not, believe in some form of Higher Power.[i] Yet, that should bring up various questions. Like who or what is this Power? Is the Higher Power good or bad or indifferent and are their other powers? I believe we’d be wise to ask and pursue answers. This seems especially true for those who do believe in some form of Higher Power. If such a being exists, or may exist, wouldn’t it make sense to care?
I believe there are subtle hints all along the road of life that point us to something out of sight. Markings or tracings of something; distant echoes of a not distant presence; the quiet speech of the spirits.
Those moments of silence under the glow and vastness of the sky, the moon reflecting the glory and splendor of the sun, speak. Those moments speak not to our heads but reverberate in our hearts. Those moments awaken. They call us beyond, they say there is more.
We must ask: what if there is more? If so, what good, what beauty, and yet what hideous evil might there be? And, if there is more, if there is the equivalent of witchcraft and evil, what spells might be possible and cast?
Perhaps a sort of blindness? A dullness to what is real?
If there is more, and evil, beyond the great beyond, might there be a battle? A cosmic battle? A Saruman and Sauron? A Voldemort? A Frodo? An Aragorn?
Could our lives have cosmic significance?
Is the world enchanted?
There are many ways to contemplate and answer this question. And we all answer it one way or another. We just may not think it through as intentionally as we should. I propose we that’s not a good way forward. If the world is “enchanted” in some way, it would be good to know. Perhaps very helpful to know. Because, to use The Lord of the Rings as an example, what if we are in the equivalent of Hobbiton, but there is a hoard of raging orcs on their way?
The Bible says the World is Enchanted
If the world is enchanted, it is more wondrous and wonderful than we could possibly know. But it may also be more dangerous.
That’s actually what the Bible teaches about the reality of the world we live in. It is, so to speak, “enchanted.” It is “placed under a spell.” Like the witch in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia that made an enchantment over the whole country so that it was always winter and never Christmas. What if there truly is “an evil power loose in the world, independent of human beings, a power that has an agenda of its own, and this power can only be defeated by another power greater than itself”?[ii]
What if there is a spiritual realm? What if there is more than the merely physical? Curiously, Christians talk about fiction made real. Christians talk about a hideous dragon set to destroy and deceive. They talk about an enemy that is crouched low like a lion ready to pounce and attack (1 Pet. 5:8). And they talk about a “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) that is subtly influencing the world to lead it astray (Rev. 12:9). Satan’s influence is often less perceptible than the wind but with all the devastation of a furious tornado.
Isn’t it True that the World is Filled with Wonder?
The world, not just the hills, are alive with the sound of music. The universe roars with echoes of life. Sometimes we are just not quick to notice, perhaps we’ve become callous to the call of creation. G.K. Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales say that apples were golden only to refresh the forgotten moment when we found that they were green. They make rivers run with wine only to make us remember, for one wild moment, that they run with water.”
A quick google will return wonder: Walakiri beach sunset, Halong Bay, Huangshan. Most images will do. Or think of the amazing ability of a chameleon or the weird wiggles of an octopus or just look at a peacock spider. What a world we inhabit! What a surprising and often beautiful world we live in. C.S. Lewis wisely said, “Reality is very odd, and… the ultimate truth, whatever it may be, must have the characteristics of strangeness.”[iii]
There are some things in nature that you would never expect to happen and yet they do. Wildly, wood frogs freeze and die, then thaw out and come back to life. Or consider this, someone in a one-dimensional reality would have trouble conceiving of a two-dimensional reality, let alone what that reality would be like. Someone in the two-dimensional reality would have a greater likelihood of conceiving of and pondering a three-dimensional reality because they already know that there are more than one-dimensional realities. They know things that seem impossible to the one-dimension reality are very much possible.
We live in reality that sometimes doesn’t feel like reality. Should we speculate that there may be a spiritual reality; something different than the dimension that we are so used to? And what if that reality is more real than our current reality, and what if that reality is actually more present than we can conceive?
Leanne Payne shares an interesting thought,
Our eyes cannot see cosmic, gamma, or X-rays, nor ultraviolet, infrared, radar, television, or shortwave radio waves—not to mention other known and unknown wavelengths of light… Man’s other sensory organs are just as limited. What we ordinarily speak of as ‘the supernatural’ may consist of those parts of creation beyond our narrow sensory capacity.[iv]
The True Fantasy?
The Christian story—the true myth—is similar to many amazing myths in literature. But with a big difference: The Christian story claims to be true. “The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the Dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history.”[v] Similarly, Nancy Pearcey says, “The great events of the New Testament have all the wonder and beauty of a myth. Yet they happen in a specific place, at a particular date, and have empirically verifiable historical consequences.”[vi]
And is it not clear, that in most myths the evil person/force of the story would be happy if people thought that evil did not really exist? It seems to me that would be a worthy goal of evil, to make people think evil and enchantment weren’t real. Imagine the spell one could wield on the world if the world couldn’t imagine that there was such a thing as spells?! As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
The world is enchanted. In the original use of the world enchanted. The world is ‘under a spell;’ ‘bewitched,’ ‘utterly delighted,’ ‘captivated,’ ‘fascinated,’ and ‘charmed’ by someone or something. I believe this someone is Satan, and the spell is sin. The curse and fall of humanity have long since happened. The fall was not just the fall of humans but encompasses the fall of angels. We are in a cosmic story. The Christian Bible tells us that the myths are not magical enough for the reality of the truth.
We may not wish for the world to be this way. But that is not for us to decide. As Gandalf said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Of course, that’s not to say that all is bad. The story of the Bible is a wonderful, almost unbelievable story, that starts with a beautiful couple in a bountiful garden paradise and ends with a host of their descendants in an eternal paradise. The Bible is a comedy, not that it’s funny—though it has its funny parts—but because it has a U-shaped plot. That is, it starts out great but then a terrible seemingly insurmountable problem is introduced, but thankfully it doesn’t end in that sorry state.
As in any good fantasy there is a hero. And, as any good hero, He has many names: Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Son of God, Immanuel, Redeemer, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Good Shepherd, Creator, Great High Priest, Holy One, King of kings, Lamb of God, Light of the World, Prince of Peace, Savior, and Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is the truemythic hero. He is Aragon and Frodo. He is Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. He is Aslan and Ransom. He is Iron Man, Black Panther, and Captain America. He is Avatar Aang. The God/Man, the Hero, offers rescue to the whole world.
The Bible is a big, amazing story. It surpasses Marvel and the Lord of the Rings. It tells us about God making the universe. It tells us about angels rebelling against God and starting a cosmic battle. It tells us about deception and romance.
It tells us that God became man and that this GodMan—Jesus Christ—had superpowers. And He used His superpowers for good. He fought the evil enemy, He defeated and cast out the great dragon’s evil henchmen.
It looked like the GodMan was going to win. He was going to defeat all the bad guys and even rule the world. He had a large, loyal following.
But, something happened. The GodMan, the all-powerful One, died. He died. He that brought people back from the dead, died.
That, that was unexpected.
damp, dark, cold, and silent
enveloped in a shroud in the earth
the Life lay lifeless
the only thing that truly is,
is not?
the Life lay lifeless?
the Immortal Infinite slain?
With the GodMan’s death, hope died. The GodMan’s followers fled in fear. They didn’t know what had happened… they hid in fear, hid for three days.
But the GodMan returned. He defeated death. He rose from the dead.
damp, dark, cold, and silent
from life’s surmise
but from a different gaze
outside of life’s maze
Life lay not lifeless
but death is now dead
defeated!
in violence He brought victory!
enveloped in mystery
the great God of history
was slain, for you, for me
the foil was sprang
it brought Him great pain
our sin is the hand that bore it
yet He took our blame
to purchase our name
He bore the frame of our cross
through vile, the victory
in wrote woe, to wonder
The Bible claims and shows us that this really happened. It’s not a “once upon a time” story. Although, for all those who trust Jesus as the Hero and Lord that He is, they will live “happily ever after.”
From Genesis, the very beginning of the Bible, through Revelation, at the end, we see one unified true cosmic story. We see God making a very good and beautiful world. But we see the serpent enter the scene and humans depart from God’s good plan and we see the devastation it brings. The world is torn in two. Relationships are ruined and rebellion spreads. The whole world whirls.
But, as God promised, He was not done. He loved the broken world and would be broken Himself to fix it.
The Bible tells the story of a terribly fierce dragon set to destroy the entire world. It’s really not so different from the Marvel myths in some ways. But it claims to be true, and it recounts the tales of one hero. A hero that loves the planet, the whole world, so much that He died for it. He, however, didn’t stay dead. He was so great and powerful that even death itself couldn’t defeat Him.
The story of Scripture is different from Marvel and other myths in various other ways. For one, it claims repeatedly to be true.
So, is the world enchanted? If you have suspicions that what you see in the physical world is not all there is, the Bible says that your suspicions are correct. The Bible says there is more. A lot more.
Jesus’ resurrection proves to us, the world is indeed enchanted. There is more to the world than we can see with our mere eyes.
But, just as there was fear and trepidation by the first brave souls aboard a boat, there is a healthy type of fear that we should have. These are very uncharted seas.
Life is not something to take lightly. There are spirits, and angels, and fallen angels. There is a dragon set to defeat us all. We may not see him breathe fire, but what comes out of his mouth is deceptive lies.
The enchantment of this world is all the more dangerous because it’s elusive. We don’t see the spell. Many disbelieve. But the reality is, there is more than meets the eye.
Christianity gives an answer for the strangeness that we sense in the world. Christianity gives a solid reason for believing in the spiritual realm and for us ourselves having a spirit.
Humans are not robots or automatons. At least that’s what the Bible says. Our actions matter. Our lives and decisions matter, even eternally. They ripple through the corridors of time. There was and never will be a meaningless moment.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
Friends, our lives matter, our actions matter, our voices matter. That, at least, is true from a Christian perspective. If, however, as Carl Sagan said, “The cosmos is all there ever was and all there ever will be,” then this world is not enchanted and meaning is limited to what you make it.
I believe, however, if we knew a millionth of the magnitude of our lives, we’d be moved to wonder and crippled by the significance of it all. Our lives, every action, has significance because this world and this life is not all there is. So, friends, let’s live fierce, purposeful lives because we have purpose. Our lives matter more than we can fathom.
If there is more than the material, more than meets the eye, then what are we? What then are humans?
Are there Reasons to Believe in Enchantment?
Yes, beyond the fact that most people think there is more to the world than meets the eye,[vii] there are practical reasons for believing in enchantment. There are good reasons for believing in the existence of God. As the philosopher Alvin Plantinga has said, there are some very good arguments for believing in the existence of God, “arguments about as good as philosophical arguments get”[viii] (see chapter 3 on God). “If God is, what he is has far-reaching consequences for our lives—who we are, how we live, and what happens after death,”[ix] and I would say, what’s possible.
In other words, if God exists, then it seems clear that spirits and thus the spiritual realm exists. If this is true, as it seems to be, then there is a lot unseen and unknown that can act in and on the world, as we know it. This, at least in some ways, is a rather frightening reality.
There are different ways of being on a beach. If you confuse them, it won’t be good. Taking the day off to play in the sand and the ocean with your kids calls for relaxation, a good book, boogie boards, and sand toys. Being on the beach on D-Day during WWII is obviously a much different experience. War and relaxation are very different. If the two are confused it won’t turn out well. The Bible tells us that the earth we are on is not just for rest and relaxation because we are also at war. We have an enemy seeking to kill, steal, and destroy (Jn. 10:10).
If we are on the “beach of life” and we see it merely as a vacation and a day in the sun but it’s actually D-Day, then we will get utterly destroyed. If we are in an unseen battle then we should anticipate opposition and adversity. We should expect subtle and sneaky attacks.
The problem is not just out there, however. Yes, it’s in the world but it’s also in our own flesh. Sin is “bred in the bone,” it’s in our DNA.[x] And there’s also a devil. There is an external evil acting in the world, acting on our hearts. So, it seems we must “take a fearless inventory of our own hearts. No one is free from the Power of Sin and Death. No one has power in himself to help himself. No one can say to herself, well, I’m not a murderer, so I’m not so bad.”[xi]
We are very likely to be outwitted by Satan and his fellow conspirators when we are unaware of their schemes, let alone their existence.[xii] We live in a magic world. Satan lies, hinders travel (1 Thess. 2:18), and even appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). At least, that’s what the Bible says. The Bible says we are in a world where sinister evil lurks. But it also tells us about God’s rescue mission in Christ Jesus.
The world is at war. There is an enemy always seeking to do harm. We are in a world of magic, good and bad. As C.S. Lewis has said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.” But the Bible says that the boss of the universe is good. And that’s a good thing. The Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Phil. 2:10-11). The sinister Satan will finally and decisively be defeated, never to work his woe again.
What do you think? Is the world “enchanted”? Is there an unseen spiritual realm? And if so, what ominous evil might lurk and unknowingly influence the world? If there are unseen evil spiritual forces at work, are there good forces at work as well? And what side are you on? Who or what are you being led by?
Questions to Consider
- Are there things that lead us to expect that the world is enchanted?
- What if the world is enchanted and “a great dragon” actually exists?
- If it’s possible the world is enchanted, is it also possible that our lives have significance beyond our physical lives?
- Fleming Rutledge, once said, “Unaided human beings can make no lasting headway against evil.”[xiii] What do you think about that? Is that true? How does history seem to answer that question?
Notes
[i] Jeffrey M. Jones, “Belief in God in U.S. Dips to 81%, a New Low” June 17, 2022
https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx
[ii] Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, 93. Eerdmans. Kindle Edition.
[iii] C.S. Lewis, “Christianity and Culture.”
[iv] Leanne Payne, Real Presence: The Christian Worldview of C.S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1988), 23-24.
[v] C.S. Lewis, “Myth Became Fact” 58 in God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1970).
[vi] Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo, 211.
[vii] Jeffrey M. Jones, “Belief in God in U.S. Dips to 81%, a New Low” June 17, 2022
https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx
[viii] Alvin Plantinga, Knowledge and Christian Belief (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2015), x.
[ix] Esther Lightcap Meek, Longing to Know (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 17.
[x] Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, 96.
[xi] Rutledge, Advent, 97.
[xii] See 2 Corinthians 2:11.
[xiii] Rutledge, Advent, 93.
*Photo by TOMOKO UJI
How should we pray and ask God to make us holy?
How should we pray?
How should we pray and ask God to make us holy? Here we look at an example model prayer that reflects the priorities of Scripture.
Example Prayer
Father, You have raised us with Christ, so help us, we ask, to set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at Your right hand.
Do Your sanctifying work by the Spirit as we believe in the truth.
Father, sanctify us by faith in Your Son Jesus Christ.
LORD, it is You who makes us holy.
We need You.
We want to be made holy so that we will be useful to You and be prepared to do every good work that You have for us to do.
Help us, therefore, to put to death what belongs to our earthly nature.
We know that the blood of Christ cleanses us from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve You—the living God!
We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Father, we thank You that we have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by Your Spirit.
We have been sanctified in Christ Jesus but we are still called to be Christ’s holy people.
Our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
So, help us to be holy not only positionally before You but also in practice.
God, You have done so much to bring us to Yourself!
You have provided Jesus who makes us holy through His own blood.
We know that by one sacrifice Jesus has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
So, don’t stop now!
Jesus has made us perfect forever!
But we are still being made holy.
So, help us!
We know that it is Your will that we should be sanctified.
We need You to help us and sanctify us by Your Spirit.
So, do that we plead as Your children through Christ.
We know as Jesus said, that no branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can we bear fruit unless we remain in Your Son Jesus.
So, help us remain in Your Son and so bear much fruit.
Sanctify us by the truth; Your word is truth.
We want to be made holy.
And we know that without holiness no one will see the Lord.
So, help us!
Sanctify us!
God, we are confident of this, that You who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
So, may You sanctify us through and through. That our whole spirit, soul and body would be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is in His name that we ask all of this.
Amen.
Explanation of Prayer
To write this prayer I read and meditated on a lot of New Testament passages connected to sanctification. So this prayer is replete with language and imagery from the New Testament. Here are the passages that there are direct allusions to or quotations of: Ex. 31:13; Jn. 15:1-4; 17:17; Acts 26:18; Rom. 6:6; 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Phil. 1:6; Col. 3:1, 5; 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 9:14; 10:10, 14; 12:14; 13:12.
*Photo by Ismael Paramo
Do we live for a mere inscription on a tomb?
Is there meaning to this madness? Is it just a rat race and then nothing but a cold, silent, and rotten end? Do we live for a mere inscription on a tomb? An inscription that will inevitably fade with the passage of time?
Seneca Said,
“When you see a man often wearing the robe of office, when you see one whose name is famous in the Forum, do not envy him; those things are bought at the price of life. They will waste all their years, in order that they may have one year reckoned by their name… Some, when they have crawled up through a thousand indignities to the crowning dignity, have been possessed by the unhappy thought that they have but toiled for an inscription on a tomb” (“On the Shortness of Life“).
Christ gives much more to live for. Christ gives us motivation for going “through a thousand indignities.” Christ gives meaning and motivation because through His resurrection our labor in the Lord—whatever it is—is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58)! We can please the Lord and work heartedly unto the Lord in whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:23-24)!
So, the goal of a Christian is not to “wear the robe of office” or be “famous in the Forum.” The goal of a Christian is to put a smile on the face of God their Father and hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Perhaps that will entail being famous in the Forum or wearing the robe of office but the Christian is indifferent. The Christian’s goal is the same whether a pauper a prince: “He must become greater; I must become less” (Jn. 3:10). Christians know that when they do what’s right, they are still unworthy servants; who have only done what was their duty (Lk. 17:10).
So, no; we, or at least Christians, do not live for an inscription on a tomb. But rather for the One who forever takes us beyond the tomb. We live for the veil to lift so we can see the full marvelous glory of God; so we can continually taste of the goodness of God. It is about God and His glory. He deserves all glory and our very purpose is found in enjoying His glory and glorifying Him in the myriads ways that He has called us to.
Christians “crawl” up through a thousand indignities to the crowning dignity of eternal and endless delight.
So, no matter what they tell us, or no matter what we feel, there is a telos. There is a point. There is meaning.
Our end does not have to be the grave because of God.
_
*Photo by Ronni Kurtz
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is in vogue
I recently looked at #exchristian posts on Instagram. There are a lot of them. It’s pretty popular to recount what is wrong with the Church. Why? And how far should it go?
What’s deconstruction?
Deconstruction is more than just saying what’s wrong with church. A lot of times it’s saying what’s wrong with the Christian faith. It’s saying Christianity is essentially stupid. That’s often what deconstructionists say. But, they don’t so often set out to prove their claims.
Memes in no way prove that a worldview has no meaning or validity. And proving that there are problems with a church, the Church, or particular people in the Church is not the same as proving that Christianity gives an inaccurate picture of the world.
Deconstruction has happened before
Deconstruction is not new. The hashtags are new but deconstruction has actually been happening since the beginning of Christianity.
For example, the apostle Paul and other early Christians argued for the truthfulness of Christianity while others sought to disprove it (see Luke 1:3; Acts 1:3; 9:22; 17:3; 18:4-5, 28; 19:8; 24:25; 26:22-26; 28:23).
People have sought to deconstruct all sorts of aspects of Christianity. Early Christians were accused of cannibalism because of confusion over the Lord’s Supper. They were accused of atheism because they didn’t believe in the pantheon of Greek gods. And they were accused of political disloyalty because they wouldn’t give ultimate allegiance to the empire or offer sacrifices to the emperor.
There are things that should deconstruct
Many memes convey important messages, important critiques that should be taken to heart. There are many sad and despicable things that happen in the church. My family and I have experienced some of those things.
Spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, making idols of pastors, legalism, pridefulness, inhospitality, just to mention a few, are unacceptable and should be condemned as such. Many movements have important things that should be gleaned from them. There are things that can be learned from #exchristians. There are also things that should be confessed and cried over.
Jesus Himself “deconstructed” things
Jesus criticized the religious leaders. He was a rebel with a cause. He reached out and welcomed the Samaritan woman even when that was socially unacceptable (Jn 4). Jesus tipped tables in the Temple. He composed a letter through the hands of John partially to critique and challenge the Church (Rev. 2-3).
Jesus wasn’t silent. He brought up stuff but also proposed solutions. The apostle Paul modeled the same approach.
I believe church leaders should take the same approach. They should take the opportunity to listen, learn, and lovingly address problems.
How does one know what should be deconstructed?
Friedrich Nietzsche, the famous and influential German philosopher, came from a very devout family. Yet, he ended up a very articulate deconstructionist. He very poetically and memorably said: God is dead and we killed him.[1]
Nietzsche didn’t stop there, though. He spelled out what that means for our lives. He reasoned, and I think rightly, that if God is dead, then there is no actual meaning or morality. It is might that makes right. The strong slay and the strong say what is right and what is wrong.
Nietzsche lit a fuse and dynamited God and with Him all basis for morality and actual meaning.[2] So, how much should be deconstructed and destroyed? How do we know? On what basis can we judge what is right and wrong?
If we’re going to prune for the sake of health and good fruit, how much do we cut back? If we cut back too far do we not lose all hope of fruit and flourishing?
There is a point to pruning but if we prune back the very existence of purpose that seems like a cut too far. It seems to me that’s not going to serve the purpose of the pruning.
If one of the problems we’re critiquing is people’s failure to love it seems foolish and unproductive to cut off the possibility of the existence of actual love. And yet, that seems to be what many are doing. Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist said in his book, The God Delusion, that morality and love are simply a “blessed precious mistake;” a happenstance of evolution.[3]
Yet, as G.K. Chesterton said, if we rebel against everything we lose the grounds and ability to rebel against anything. So, is there a basis for actual truth? If so, what? And how does one know? If not, how does one know what should be deconstructed?
What are the reasons for deconstruction?
“Christian” Hypocrisy
Christians and so-called “Christians” often fail to live the Christian ethic. They fail to live a life of love. Often they even carry out evil actions. Sexual abuse seems to have even become prevalent. And so people reason, not so unreasonably, that Christianity is pointless if not also a plague on society.
Problems with people acting immorally, of course, don’t actually prove that Christianity is a shallow or wrong worldview though. This is especially the case if people are using Christian criteria to critique Christianity. Yuval Noah Harari has said,
“Americans got the idea of equality from Christianity, which argues that every person has a divinely created soul, and that all souls are equal before God. However, if we do not believe in the Christian myths about God, creation and souls, what does it mean that all people are “equal”?[4]
It doesn’t make sense to say Christianity is wrong and yet also use Christian morality as a measurement of what is morally wrong. If someone is to critique Christianity they must have an epistemological basis to do so. That is, they must have knowledge of what is right and wrong.
Is that knowledge just innate? If so, why? And how does it work?
Empty Dogmatism
Some people grew up attending a church that only offered empty platitudes and forced dogmatism. Their genuine questions were not able to be asked and certainly weren’t honestly answered. And so, when they confronted challenges or hostility with their beliefs they give it up. They don’t feel they have solid grounds for continuing to be committed to it.
Morality
Some “former Christians” deconstruct Christianity not because of reasoned augmentation but because of Christian morality. Some people don’t like what Christianity says about sexuality or other moral issues.[5] So, they criticize Christianity on moral grounds although they may have no warranted ground for their sense of morality.
Notes
[1] See his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
[2] Nietzsche grounded meaning in a doctrine he called “eternal recurrence.” He essentially proposed living in such a way that if your life was to eternally reoccur that you would be living in such a way that it would be less terrible. Nietzsche grounded purpose in this fictitious notion. Fictitious because Nietzsche did not actually believe in God or in the reoccurrence of our lives.
[3] Dawkins says, “Could it be that our Good Samaritan urges are misfirings”? By Dawkins account we have “programmed into our brains altruistic urges, alongside sexual urges, hunger urges, xenophobic urges and so on…. We can no more help ourselves feeling pity when we see a weeping unfortunate (who is unrelated and unable to reciprocate) than we can help ourselves feeling lust for a member of the opposite sex (who may be infertile or otherwise unable to reproduce). Both are misfirings, Darwinian mistakes: blessed, precious mistakes”). (Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 252-53).
But, if we are brutes, why shouldn’t we be brutal? Nietzsche, for instance, promotes the strong acting like “large birds of prey” and freely abusing the weak “lambs” because after all that’s what comes naturally and there is no God to impose morals. He said, “I expressly want to place on record that at the time when mankind felt no shame towards its cruelty, life on earth was more cheerful than it is today,… The heavens darkened over man in direct proportion to the increase in his feeling shame at being man” (See par. 7 of the Second Essay in On the Genealogy of Morality).
Jean-Paul Sartre said, “The existentialists… thinks it very distressing that God does not exist, because all possibility of finding values in a heaven of ideas disappears along with Him; there can no longer be an a priori Good, since there is not infinite and perfect consciousness to think it. Nowhere is it written that the Good exists, what we must be honest, that we must not lie; because the fact is we are on a plane where there are only men” (Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions, 22).
If we don’t acknowledge God then the moral laws that flow from His character are gone as well, and we are left with blind skepticism and relativism; every person doing whatever is right in their own eyes. As we consider this we should never forget that, as Martin Luther King Jr. exhorted, “everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal.’”
[4] Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (New York: Harper, 2015), 109.
[5] As Romans 1 says, “people suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
Photo by Aaron Burden
How can we refuse to bow like Daniel’s friends?
How can we refuse to bow like Daniel’s friends? How can we as the Church in exile stand strong and share the love of Christ?
Dandelions
I was reading about and thinking about dandelions the other day. I want to warn y’all, what I’m about to say is a little controversial and some of you may disagree. But, I think dandelions are cool. And actually pretty.
Dandelions, and this may not surprise you, have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant. And, did you know, every part of the dandelion is useful? The root, leaves, and the flower. They can be used for food, medicine, and dye for coloring.
Dandelions have had quite an impact and have actually helped a lot of people. Birds, insects, and butterflies consume the nectar or seed of dandelion. Dandelions can be used to make wine and used as a substitute for coffee.
There have been times when dandelions have been appreciated for what they are, but that is not the season we’re in right now in America. We’re in the season of trying to kill dandelions and we spend a lot of money collectively on pesticides to do so.
But, as we know, dandelions are very resilient.[i]
The Church
In some ways, church history parallels the history of the dandelion. The church has had its season when it’s been celebrated. When people have seen the benefits of the church. The church, however, has also had its seasons when people have wanted to kill the church, even willing to use pesticides.[ii]
The Church in America is in exile. And more and more that is being made empirically clear. Of course, theologically it’s always been clear.
The book of Daniel has a lot to teach the Church in exile. How can we stand tall and bright like a dandelion when the whole world bows?
How can we be like dandelions? How can we be like Daniel and his friends? How can we stand when many want to cut us down? How can we adapt and even populate and grow in this often hostile climate? (Timothy Keller has some very helpful thoughts on that question here)
How are we, as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to be faithful in a faithless world? Answering these questions is one of the main purposes of the book of Daniel.[iii]
How can we refuse to bow like Daniel’s friends?
Romans 15:4 tells us that “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.” Daniel has a lot to instruct us about living in exile. We’ll particularly be considering Daniel chapter 3 here.
In Daniel 3 we see the King, Nebuchadnezzar, sets up a huge idol. It’s ironic because God, the true King, is the one who sets up kings. We see 8 times in Daniel chapter 3 that the king “set up” the idol (Dan. 3:1-3, 5, 7, 12, 15, 18). But in Daniel 2:21 we see that it is God, the real King, that sets up kings:
“He changes times and seasons;
He removes kings and sets up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
So, the first lesson for us if we are to stand is to see that it is God, the true Lord, who is Sovereign.
Second, we must see the prevalence of idolatry.
We may not see actual idols all over in America, but they are there. The truth is: an idol is most massive and mighty when never mentioned. Satan, the father of lies, would like to cover our eyes to our culture of idolatry. We’ll continue to bow if we don’t know we’re bowing.
So, we must see that idolatry is the cultural air we are breathing. We are not immune. We are not untouched. Idolatry is not just out there. It is very often in our own hearts. Therefore, we must search and destroy every idol in operation in our hearts.
What even is idolatry? The New City Catechism says, “Idolatry is trusting in created things rather than the Creator for our hope and happiness, significance and security.”
Four questions to help you find your idols:
-
- What brings negative emotional responses?
- Where do you put your hope when things go well and when things go wrong?
- Who do you compare yourself to?
- How have you turned good things into ultimate things?
Third, be present to bless.
Notice Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to comply with idolatrous practice but they aren’t wholesale against Babylon. They worked hard in the government and were a blessing to Babylon. That’s us too. We need to “come out of Babylon” as it says in Revelation 18:4. But, that means we need to not partake of Babylon’s value system. We’re not to partake of the sins of the world as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:10, we are not to leave the world.
We’re in Babylon, to bless Babylon. We have different values than Babylon but were not to always just bash Babylon or the Babylonians.
Fourth, die rather than partake in idolatry.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are explicitly commanded to bow an idol, which is a clear violation of the 2nd of the 10 Commandments (Ex. 20:4-6). Listen to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response: “Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (v. 18).
They were willing to die rather than take part in idolatry. Very often I’m afraid we might be closer to the opposite of that. We’re more than willing to die for our idolatry.
We, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, should die rather than partake in idolatry. As it says 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Dear friends, flee from idolatry”!
Fifth, we may face various fires.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced literal fire and each remained strong in the Lord. You have or will face fire as well—mockery, judgment, or various other obstacles—but as Christians, we can stand because we know Jesus stands with us.
We can stand when we stand in Him. We can refuse to bow, when we bow to Him.
Further, our fellowship with Christ is often nearest and dearest in the furnace of affliction; I suppose that is because all distractions are burned away. In those moments we can know, deeply know, the One who matters most.
But, sixth, no matter what we face, we know God is with us.
Over and over we may be cut down but because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can stand tall like a dandelion; strong, resilient, and bright. And point to the One who is the One True Lord of the universe.
Dear Christian brothers and sisters, remember: God doesn’t promise that He will necessarily keep His people from the fire. But, He does promise that He will be with His people in the flame (Ex. 3:12; Is. 43:2; Matt. 28:18-20; Heb. 13:5; 1 Pet. 4:12-14). Ultimately we see Christ faced the ultimate fire so no matter the fire we face, we can face it with hope. We can face it standing on His promises. God’s promise to be with us finds its fullest fulfillment in Jesus, who is Immanuel—God with us.
How should we respond to the God who is with us through the fire and through the flame? How should we respond to Jesus who waded into the fire of affliction? How should we respond to the One who went through the furnace of the wrath of God completely alone? How should we respond who did all that for us?
We should bow to Him in reverent submission and we should lovingly share the news with “all the peoples, nations, and languages” that He alone is worthy of our worship.
Conclusion
Remember dear brothers and sisters, today the world says bow to every idol, but on the last day everyone—every tribe, language, nation, and tongue—will bow to Christ the King (Phil. 2:10-11).
Let’s bow now. Let’s bow in reverent submission. Jesus is worthy of our worship—of all worship!
So, as you drive around or mow and see dandelions, think about God’s sustaining and persevering power that He gives. He is with us no matter what we face! So, we can stand like resilient dandelions, unbending, pointing to the Creator who alone is worthy of worship.
Notes
[i] Most of this was taken from Jen Kerr.
[ii] And actually, in the world today, each of those things is a reality simultaneously depending on where you are. We just happen to live in a place and time in America where “dandelions” seem to be less and less popular.
[iii] The narrations in the book of Daniel of God’s power in the midst of severe opposition serve an important purpose: the encouragement of exiles.
*Photo by Amy Earl
Why read? An argument for the importance of reading
Why read? Why am I committed to reading? For one, words matter. They matter to me and they mattered to Jesus and Paul too. I think words and reading should matter to you too.
Jesus read
Jesus apparently read or at least retained what He heard as a kid. He listened to the teachers and asked them questions and “all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Lk. 2:47). So, words mattered to Jesus and especially God’s words.
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He fought off the temptation by quoting Scripture (Matt. 4). Jesus clearly knew the Scriptures. He quoted from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 13, verse 16, and chapter 8 verse 3.[1]
Jesus read in the in the synagogue (Lk. 4:16) as was the custom on the Sabbath (Acts 15:21).
Paul read
Paul in Romans 3:10-18 quotes from ten different passages. And he did it from memory. It is unlikely that he would have looked up those passages in a nearby scroll. He certainly didn’t look it up in a concordance in the back of his Bible. No. He would have read those passages and memorized them. Scripture, however, was apparently not the only thing that Paul read and could quote. He also quoted popular poets (Acts 17:28).
Paul was in prison in Rome and he was writing his dear friend Timothy. He asked Timothy for a few items. First, we see he wants him to come before winter (2 Tim. 4:21) and bring his coat. Second, we see the importance of reading along with warmth, Paul wants his books and parchments too (2 Tim. 4:13).
Reading was important for the Apostle Paul.
You should too
Reading allows us to learn and glean from people in places and times we otherwise wouldn’t. Reading can facilitate wisdom. C.S. Lewis talks about the importance of prioritizing time-tested books.
I think there is a lot of wisdom in what Lewis said. I think our first priority should be the reading of Scripture. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time and the most translated book of all time. And Scripture gives us “the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68).
So, read books but especially read the Bible. Reading is important because God had revealed Himself and His will through revelation.
How to read more?
The number one advice I have is to prioritize reading. And deprioritize other lesser things, like social media. If reading is important, make sure it’s important in practice. Also, check out my advice “10 Ways to Read More Books in 2021.”
Read. Jesus and Paul the Apostle did.
Notes
[1] It’s important that we realize that the tempter also knows Scripture. In Matthew 4:6 the tempter quotes from Psalm 91:11 and 12 to try to cause Jesus to sin.
*Photo by Seven Shooter
Conquer?
As we said before, the book of Revelation is in three literary categories. It is a prophecy, apocalypse or revealing, and a letter.[1] It’s specifically a letter to seven churches in Asia. Revelation, however, is also written to us. And there is a lot of application and encouragement for us today.[2]
What does it mean to conquer? Is this talking about an armed conflict? Is this passage talking about conquering by force?
When I think about “conquering” here, I think of a sporting event. Whether baseball, soccer, basketball, football, track, or whatever; they all have difficult aspects to them. So, to win you have to overcome those obstacles. You have to sacrifice. You have to stay motivated. You have to beat the other team.
It’s not always easy and it’s not always fun. It’s challenging. So, that’s what sports are like. And, that’s what the Christian life is like. “‘Victory’ is not a matter of military might, political influence or athletic achievement; rather, it entails enduring faithfulness to Christ and his Word and spiritual conquest against sin and evil.”[3]
One of the reasons we must work to conquer is because there is one who would like to conquer us. In fact, he often kills us (Rev. 11:7; 13:7). So, the word “conquer” is fitting because life in some ways is war. We are in a cosmic battle, our lives and our allegiances matter.
Christians conquer the beast and the wicked one “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they [love] not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). Christians are in a serious war.
“We, the church, are the paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines. We, the church, are the resistance fighters in the territory occupied by the Enemy. We, the church, are the beleaguered guerrillas waging a war of liberation against ferocious odds. We are the landing troops securing a beachhead while being fired upon from massive fortifications.”[3a]
Revelation tells us this. And it tells us that we must conquer. We must work to win. We must overcome the challenges to have victory!
What are some of the challenges we face?
Christians at that time had various challenges. They were accused of cannibalism because of confusion over the Lord’s Supper. They were accused of atheism because they didn’t believe in the pantheon of Greek gods. And they were accused of political disloyalty because they wouldn’t give ultimate allegiance to the empire or offer sacrifices to the emperor.
We, of course, don’t have any of those challenges but we certainly have other challenges.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face? Perhaps actually living out your faith and making it your own. Maybe it’s living in a growing anti-Christian culture. Or it could be negative media influences and sexual temptation. It could also be your own self-image, what you think about yourself. It could be your consumed with what others think about you or maybe you’re consumed with things, items you want to have.
We may have different challenges, but we have challenges nonetheless.
This brings up an important question. Revelation 21:7 says that the one who conquers will be the son or daughter of God. On the other hand, it would seem if one does not conquer they won’t.
Does conquering save us?
The short answer is “No.”
We are not saved by conquering. We are saved by trusting in Christ our great conqueror. Titus 3:5 says, Jesus “saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” And Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
If, however, we are saved by faith we must continue in faith. We must continue to trust, continue no matter the opposition we face. So, we’re not saved by conquering but if we’re saved we will and must conquer.
Revelation is a means of grace to that end. It tells us that we cannot give in or give up. We must give our all. Revelation helps us continue by telling us we must conquer.
Revelation is like a coach cheering for us. It’s saying, “Keep going! Don’t give up! Keep your head up! Remember your motivation!”
So, conquering does not save us but it is vital that we conquer. It is vital that we run the race with endurance; that we keep our eye on the praise. We can’t be passive.
What specifically does the coach of Revelation have to say about conquering?
Revelation talks about conquering a lot.[4] Therefore, it’s an important theme of the book of Revelation. This is especially the case in chapters 2-3 (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21). So, what are the main takeaways from Revelation about the Christian call to conquer?
If we are going to be Christian conquers we need to…
1. See the glory and goodness of Christ
Seeing the glory and goodness of Christ is a big part of what the book of Revelation is about. When we see how awesome and worthy of worship Jesus is it motivates us to continue on following Him. It motivates us to be the conquerors we’re called to be.
As Dennis E. Johnson has said, “The church under attack needs not only to see the splendor of our King but also to hear his imperial edicts, assuring us that he knows our situation, probing and exposing our subtle alliances with the enemy, and lifting our sights to the city that is destination of our pilgrimage.”[5]
The book of Revelation is addressed to seven churches and Jesus has a word for each of them. He has encouragement, rebuke, or some mixture of those. But, in each of the parts where Jesus is addressing the specific church, there is a powerful description given of Jesus.
Jesus “holds the seven stars” (Rev. 2:1) and yet He is the one who “died and came to life” (Rev. 2:8). Jesus “has the sharp two-edged sword” (Rev. 2:12) and “has eyes like a flame of fire” (Rev. 2:18). He “has the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 3:1). He is “the holy one, the true one” (Rev. 3:7), “the faithful and true witness” (Rev. 3:14).
Before we get into anything else we need to see how awesome Jesus is. That’s the progression that Scripture shows us. We won’t care about being the conqueror we’re called to be if we don’t care about Christ. If we don’t see the glory of Christ, we won’t care to listen to Him.
The other day my sister-in-law had a really cool shirt on that she had received from running in a 5K. After I saw the shirt I was instantly interested in running in the 5K. I saw “the glory of the sweet t-shirt” and it made me consider running in a 5K in a way I haven’t considered in a long time.
When we see something cool, beautiful, and glorious, it grabs our attention. We need to have our attention grabbed not just by t-shirts and a shiny new iPhone; we need to see the might and majesty of Christ.
Seeing how awesome Jesus is, is a prerequisite to being a conqueror.
This is important for a lot of reasons, for one, Satan wants to conquer us and he uses various means to try to.
1) Distraction: Babylon has all sorts of devilish and deceitful delights.
2) Deception: Trusting the beast for deliverance. Seeing the beast as worthy of worship instead of the lamb who is the lion. Or giving into the deception of false doctrine.
3) Dominance: Another device of the devil is violent persecution. Christians paradoxically conquer by being conquered.
How can we keep from being distracted and destroyed by Satan’s schemes? Instead of being distracted, we need to, again and again, be attracted to Christ, the one alone who is worthy of all our attention.
Can I also say, however, that the one who is the Lion—who is fierce beyond imagining—is also the gentle and lowly Lamb. Jesus, though worthy of all glory and the one who holds the stars, is also accessible. He is the same one who said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ.”[6]
We’re likely to fall in one ditch or the other. We’re likely to think of Christ as just chill and nonchalant.[7] Or, we think that Jesus is completely unapproachable and cares nothing for us. Both of those are false. Jesus takes our sin seriously because He loves us and wants what’s good for us. Jesus is good and glorious.
Look what happened when John saw Jesus:
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18).
The “terrifying description of the Lord Jesus must have created shock when this letter was read”[8] to the churches. I’m sure it was sobering.
We must see and savor the supremacy of our Savior if we are to be protected from the devil’s deceitful schemes. Our vision of Christ must eclipse our vision of the world’s distractions.
So, if we are to conquer as Christ calls us to we need to see how good and glorious Christ is and we also need to…
2. Hear His approval (or rebuke)
We generally naturally want to please our coaches, parents, and teachers. And that’s actually not an inherently bad thing. It can be really encouraging to hear someone you look up to say, “Good job.” It’s just the way we are as humans.
I remember playing football and hearing people cheer my name, for whatever reason, that was motivating and seemed to give me more energy to play hard. Can you relate to that? Have you ever been in a race and towards the finish line people start shouting your name and encouraging you? It helped you push just a little bit harder, didn’t it?
That’s what we see in Revelation 2-3. Jesus is Himself coaching us. Cheering for us.
A good coach will give a lot of encouragement but there is a time for rebuke too. Coaches will know that and will do both.
Sometimes the team needs to hear “good job” and sometimes they need to hear how they can do better.
Jesus is the ultimate coach. He knows how to give us the encouragement or rebuke that we need.
Jesus coaches the churches addressed in Revelation. Some of the churches receive encouragement. They’re doing a good job. Ephesus is told that they’ve done a good job holding to right teaching and enduring (Rev. 2:1-7). Smyrna was encouraged too; they are spiritually rich and are enduring persecution (Rev. 2:8-11). And the church in Pergamum is commended for holding tight to Christ’s name and not denying Him (Rev. 2:12-17). Thyatira is encouraged for its growing love (Rev. 2:18-29) and Philadelphia is exhorted for patiently enduring and keeping God’s word (Rev. 3:7-13).
A few churches, however, do not receive any encouragement. They are simply rebuked. Sardis is said to have dead works (Rev. 3:1-6). “The church at Sardis was like a museum where stuffed animals are exhibited in their natural habitats. Everything appears to be normal, but nothing is alive.”[9] Laodicea is spiritually blind, bankrupt, naked, and lukewarm (Rev. 3:14-22). That’s not what you want to hear. Yet, if that’s the truth it’s gracious because it’s needed.
Some of us might need to hear a strong rebuke. We need to hear Revelation 3:15-16: “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless” (The Message).
Remember, “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4 cf. 1 Pet. 2:11). Therefore, if we’re not loving and living for Christ we need to hear His rebuke. If we hear and heed Christ’s rebuke now, we’ll rule with Him in the end.
What rebuke do you need to hear?
Honestly. Really consider that question. It is a gracious thing if it helps you to conquer as Christ calls us to conquer.
If there’s a rebuke we need to hear, we want to hear it. It will help us. We also need to…
3. Remember the rewards for the conquerors
As we have said, Revelation is a revealing. It tells us the way things are. It doesn’t say it will be easy to hear and it doesn’t say we’ll necessarily like it, but Revelation opens up the truth to us.
And the truth is, we must conquer or face the consequences. Because the reality is, there are only two sides in the cosmic battle that we’re all in.
There’s the serpent that brought the curse on one side, and the Savior that took the curse on Himself on the other. There’s the devil that deceives, and the divine Lord that delivers on all His promises. The king of chaos or the good King of all Creation.
As Brian Tabb has said,
“The rivalry between the Lamb and the murderous beast presses Christians to choose whom they will serve. Followers of the Lamb will celebrate his consummate victory over his foes and serve him for ever in paradise (19:14; 22:3–5), while the nations under the serpent’s sway who bind themselves to the beast will face the same terrible judgment in the lake of fire (19:21; 20:10; 21:8).”[10]
I won’t deny the heaviness of the book of Revelation. It does not act like a slick salesman trying to dress something up even if it means lying. No. Revelation is sometimes rough to read because it is honest to
reality. But, better to know reality and be able to respond to it then being sold something that’s not true.
And the good news is there is a bunch of rewards promised to those on Christ the King’s side. Jesus emphatically calls us to listen. So, listen to what He has to say:
“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God’” (Rev. 2:7).
“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Rev. 2:11).
“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it’” (Rev. 2:17).
“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations” (Rev. 2:26).
“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5).
“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Rev. 3:12).
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev. 3:21).
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and she will be my son” (Rev. 21:7 cf. Rev. 15:2).
Do you know why Christ is making that repeated point? He’s saying, “I know it’s hard. I get that. I know it’s hard but it’s worth it. He’s laying out the incentive for us.”
Conclusion
He knows there are temptations. He knows the Devil wants to destroy. He knows Satan wants to slither to us and whisper his lies.
So, Jesus, as our good coach and King, is saying: “Don’t back down! Continue! It’s worth it!”
Listen to this from Revelation 14:9-11:
“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
This is serious stuff. This is why Jesus is so adamant that we conquer. And so, as verse 12-13 says, “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”
We need to know Christ calls us to be faithful until the end
Christ’s call to follow Him to the end because He is good. He’s that good. He’s worth the extreme cost that must be paid.
As Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool that gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Notes
[1] “First, the Apocalypse clarifies for readers that the Creator God – not Caesar – has ultimate authority and thus deserves ultimate allegiance. Second, John’s prophecy challenges readers to resist and repent of spiritual complacency, worldly compromise and false teaching, while holding fast to the sure promises of God. Third, Revelation comforts afflicted believers with assurances that the supreme Judge will hold their oppressors accountable, will vindicate his people and will secure a glorious future for those who conquer” (Tabb, Brian, All Things New).
[2] Dennis E. Johnson has said, “The seven churches of Asia belong to their first-century setting, but they are also case studies in the conflict that confronts all churches in all the world” (Triumph of the Lamb, 93).
[3] Tabb, Brian, All Things New.
[3a] Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, 265.
[4] “The verb nikaō occurs seventeen times in the Apocalypse and is variously translated ‘overcome’, ‘conquer’ and ‘be victorious’. The term draws upon multiple spheres of meaning, including military conquest, victory in athletic competitions and faithfulness amid opposition. In the Apocalypse the ‘victory’ motif highlights the tension between the earthly and heavenly perspective on the church’s situation in the world. On the one hand, John writes from exile to the seven churches as their companion in tribulation (Rev. 1:9). Jesus’ followers face poverty and slander (2:9), imprisonment (2:10), weakness and rejection (3:8–9) and even death ‘for the word of God and for the witness they had borne’ (6:9; cf. 2:10, 13; 20:4). Further, the beast is permitted to war against and conquer (nikēsai) the saints (13:7; cf. 11:7). On the other hand, each of the prophetic messages to the seven churches concludes with a promise of eschatological blessing in the new creation for ‘the one who conquers’ (tō nikōnti). In the climactic vision of the New Jerusalem, the Almighty on the throne declares, ‘The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son’ (21:7). Thus the Apocalypse presents the people of God ironically as conquered conquerors, who experience present suffering and defeat yet await ultimate victory (Tabb, Brian, All Things New).
[5] Dennis E. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 93-94.
[6] Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, 20.
[7] We find a very telling theological statement in the movie Talladega Nights, “I like to think of Jesus as wearin’ a Tuxedo T-shirt, ’cause it says, like, ‘I want to be formal, but I’m here to party too.’ I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party.” We often have self-conceived versions of Jesus. We may not say that we think Jesus is “wearin’ a Tuxedo T-shirt” but we do very often have misconceptions about who Jesus is.
[8] John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near, 73.
[9] John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near, 83.
[10] Tabb, Brian, All Things New.
Does the concept of justice even make sense today?
Humans, I believe, want justice. I believe that is a natural and good desire that is innate within us. Where, however, does the concept of justice come from? How do we know what is right and what is not right? Does the concept of justice even make sense today?
The theme of the day is, “Have it your way,” “Do what’s right for you.” It’s, “You be you.” It’s, “You be happy.” It’s, “Free yourself from the oppressive shackles of society, family, and really any expectation at all.”
Don’t discard what’s valuable
Now, to use a disturbing and fitting analogy, we often sadly throw the baby out with the bathwater. No matter what the baby or the bathwater is. We throw them both out. I don’t think we should completely throw out the baby (of course!). I think there’s some definite truth to “doing what’s right for you,” “being yourself,” “being free from oppressive shackles,” “being happy,” and even “having it your way.”
But, does that mean that there’s not an actual right way to live? Does that mean that the actual best version of yourself might not require humility and the admitting of wrong? Do all restrictions have to be considered oppressive shackles (perhaps a train is most free on the tracks!)?
If there is actual truth and justice it might not just convict the bigoted and intolerant, it might convict me of wrong. If there is such thing as actual wrong, I’m not immune from justice’s scale. I myself could be found and wanting. Perhaps it could be found out that me “having my own way,” is not the way, is not right?
What if there is no actual truth or justice?
If, however, “moral truths” are nothing more than opinions of an individual and are thus infallible then what grounds is there for justice? If we believe in “truth” by majority—truth by popular consensus, then which majority, on which continent, at which time in history? And how is this actually very different than Nazism and “might makes right” morality?
People’s cry for justice would then be nothing more than mere power grabs, people asserting themselves over others. Crying out for justice would be nothing more than enforcing one’s own or a group’s preference on others. That does not seem very tolerant. “Who are you or who are y’all to enforce your opinion on me?”
When we say we can’t actually know what is truly right or wrong it undermines the concept of justice.[1] If we can’t truly know what is just how then can we have justice? If we can know what is just, how? Where do we get this concept of justice from?
So, is there actual truth and justice?
Can we know? Or, are we left in the dark to grope our way?
I believe our flourishing as a society is bound up with the truth. Our happiness is collectively tied to knowing how to live and living that way.
If the majority collectively says there is no actual truth then we will walk in epistemological darkness. And in the darkness, we will fall. We will trip into a thousand blunders.
If we say we cannot know what is truly just, then justice will wane. If there is no just, there is no justice. If there is no conviction that we are at least sometimes wrong, there will be no conviction that anyone is wrong. But, if there is the conviction that we are sometimes wrong, there must be a confession that there is actual truth.
There is a price to moral “freedom.” That cost is to shut the lights off and to walk in darkness.
I believe the concept of truth and justice makes sense today
I believe truth is precious. Although truth at times has rough edges. And at times I collide into it’s jagged ends.
“The modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything” (G.K. Chesterton).
“If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see” (C.S. Lewis).
“Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis on which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights” (Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny).
So, truth sometimes tears into us and sometimes hurts because it’s actually there. We get hurt when we act like it’s not. Because it is. We intuitively know this, because we care about justice. We care about people “getting what’s coming to them.” Because the concept of justice makes sense even today?
How, however, can we know the truth? And what hope is there for us who have been measured and found wanting on the scales of justice?
___
[1] Steve Wilkens and Mark L. Sanford, Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives, 95.
Using songs of ministries you disagree with?
What are your thoughts on using songs of ministries you disagree with?
I was recently asked this question by a dear Christian. I really appreciate this sibling in Christ and I appreciate their desire to honor our Lord. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.
First, this is an important question because music is very important and teaches (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:18-19).
And those who teach are held to a higher standard and must give an account (James 3:1).
Second, there is a lot I disagree with regarding a lot of different ministries.[1]
I disagree with Presbyterians when it comes to some topics but gladly sing their worship songs and count them as my dear brothers and sisters. We should not, however, sing songs that are not theologically true. I believe all songs that are sung in public worship should be evaluated to make sure they are theologically accurate and beneficial.
Third, I believe we should also note that God speaks through and uses all sorts of people and things.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul rejoices that the gospel was being preached even when it was being preached from envy and rivalry (Phil. 1:15-18). God used Balaam and even spoke through the mouth of a donkey (Num. 22:1ff). Paul quoted secular poets.[2] Israel plundered the Egyptians (Ex. 11:2-3; 12:35-36). They took things that were not used for God’s purposes and used them for God’s purposes.
“All truth is God’s truth.” Augustine said, “let every good and true Christian understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master.”[3]
John Calvin said something similar: “All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God.”[4] And he says this in his Institutes of the Christian Religion:
“Therefore, in reading profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears.”[5]
This actually happens a lot in biblical scholarship. There is a lot that Christian scholars glean from nonChristians and those who are heterodox and even heretics (e.g. historical studies and grammar).[6]
If there is a place to learn from and quote thoroughly secular writers and artists it seems there is a place to also learn from and quote Christian writers and authors even when we disagree on important matters. I will say, however, that this point should be caveated with the fact that Paul said not to associate with someone who bears the name of brother but acts like an unbeliever (1 Cor. 5:11). So, this is not a carte blanche principle.
Fourth, of course, it would be ideal that all sources be thoroughly orthodox.
It should also be said that sometimes a qualification is in order so that people know that just because a certain person is referenced it does not mean that their whole system of belief or ministry is supported. I believe this is a wisdom issue. Nowhere does Scripture spell out what exactly this should look like in practice.
Fifth, we benefit from a lot of resources we don’t fully agree with.
I disagree with C.S. Lewis on some important issues but I have gleaned abundantly from his ministry. Also, Reginald Heber, the author of the famous hymn “Holy, holy, holy” was an Anglican priest and bishop. I believe that Jesus is our great high priest (Heb. 4:14-16) and I believe in the priesthood of all believers but I don’t agree with the modern-day office of priest. But, I’m still thankful to sing “Holy, holy, holy.”
Sixth, conscience may not permit some people from using resources from some ministries and that is okay.
Regarding issues about questionable matters, I have found these 13 questions helpful.
Lastly, here are some questions to consider.
I have found these four questions very helpful from Todd Wagner:
1. Are you examining everything you consume (sermons, books, music, movies) through the lens of God’s Word?
2. Does the song stand on its own, proclaiming the truth of God’s Word without explanation?
3. Is it possible to separate the truth being sung from the error of its associations?
4. Would using the song cause us to actively support an errant ministry?
So, I personally do not typically have a problem singing songs of ministries that I disagree with if the song that is being sung is correct theologically and will bless and build up the body of Christ.
___
[1] For example, there is a lot I disagree with about Bethel. See e.g. “9 Things You Should Know About the Bethel Church Movement.”
[2] Acts 17:28, Epimenides of Crete (c. 600 BC) and the Stoic poet Aratus (c. 315–240 BC).
[3] On Christian Doctrine, II.18.
[4] See John Calvin’s commentary on Titus 1:12.
[5] II.2.15.
[6] On this topic, I found “Plunder Scholars” by Guy Waters helpful.
*Photo by Edward Cisneros
in X 