What's the Difference?

Ultimately, as we get more Trinitarian and 'eternal' in our theology..

we should be mapping every aspect of Christian life and mechanics to the unchanging dynamics and character of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as they have always interacted with each Other

But yet not everything is the same....

there is one other element to add in that is different from what has been happening in eternity

The Cross (meaning from incarnation to ascension)

The Cross is necessary because when God created - creation was outside Himself, as in creation is separate from Him
And so He goes into creation to bring it back to Him

We can summarise all of creation into 1 being - Adam

Adam (the fullness of created things) is apart from the Other Being - Christ (in which is the fullness of Deity)

Adam first must break, then Christ comes into Adam, then Christ must break, then Adam comes into Christ

now then we are back to eternal Trinitarian dynamics - church incorporated

what ever is 'left over' is thrown away... a strange new dynamic of eternal sinfulness

Throwing out stones

Here is yet another post on creation vs new creation...

The old house (tent) or temple is not going to stand - "not one stone will remain"

This temple was ruined from the beginning, and is destined to fall
the Law props it up... little sticks to prevent it from collapsing on itself

then an 'oddly shaped stone' is removed - since it is thought to be the cause of the problem

that stone is found to be Christ - which was all that was keeping the ruin from total destruction - then that old house is destined for collapsing, and does so at increasing rate and intensity

the odd stone, becomes the cornerstone of the new house

one by one, the old house-makers (the fallen angels) in charge of the house and the ones that set up the Law-beams try to get rid off more corrupt stones

they throw them out to the Odd stone - which they stack up beautifully in this new dynamic house that moves - it is a Living House - not something stagnant

The old house finally runs out of odd stones, and collapses, being cast into the eternal rubbish heap

the new house is incredible, and is sealed with fire - the black stones turn into diamond, wonderfully reflecting the light of the White stone, the Cornerstone, constantly flowing (modern architecture is barely catching up to this), brilliant, and full of life

The Father enters His House, handed back to Him by the cornerstone, and what a house it is... for all eternity

The Scaffolding of The City Of God

Eden was never God's plan...

It was a taster for us..

God is a city-builder - His goal is the heavenly Jerusalem on Mount Zion

In preparation for His City
He builds the scaffolding (the tent) of the current creation

The scaffolding is necessary - it shadows the design, it gives some semblance of the product
Yet the scaffolding is like a mere seed compared with an oak tree - it pales in comparison

The scaffolding is flimsy and temporary
(much like the OT law & covenant)
The finished city is eternal and powerful
(think CS Lewis on the strength of the blade of grass in the new creation that can pierce through the old body's feet)

This creation is the scaffolding for the new creation
The flesh is built to be the vessel for the Spirit

However in having efficient construction - the scaffolding is consumed in the creation
The Flesh is infused with the Spirit (cf Irenaeus)

Jesus came and was built in the scaffolding of the flesh
then filled the flesh with the substance of the Spirit
(man shall not live by bread alone...)

The Spirit then infuses the flesh
and now needs the final process - the kiln/furnace - the fires of judgement

the testing that completely fuses flesh with Spirit - to create a spiritual body
the dross or the remnant of the scaffolding is then burned away

leaving the new creation
Here then in Christ in His eternal resurrection form
Here is our destiny - now we are still being infused, some are waiting for the permanent fusing
All creation will follow suit

Then is Zion built in glory, and the Father joins in His Creative work finished

The Idolatrous Creation?

Been hearing lectures on General Revelation and irked by them

if general revelation (the supposed generic and universal revelation of God in creation, providence and conscience), is supposed to give a non-salvific view of God - then surely creation is idolatrous!

creation proclaims Christ.

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/creations-voice-proclaims-what/

Acts 14:15-17 15 "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

What does this mean? that men understood this?
No it implies you've been looking at the Word of God in the rain and the Bread of Heaven being witnessed to in creation and you haven't seen anything!
Those Zeus guys and Hermes - they're vain things - there is a Creator God you don't know!

Acts 17:23-24 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Again, what about this... ?
It implies that YOU DON'T KNOW this God - HE is UNKNOWN to you. Thus I, Paul, am explaining and REVEALING Him to you....
you are without excuse.... look at that statue...

Creation proclaims Christ.

We cannot see Christ because we are sinful.
The fact that we cannot understand God by looking at creation reveals that we do not know God... it works the same way as how people don't understand Jesus' parables

because the Word of God is the same everywhere..
the Scriptures, Creation, Providence, etc... all point to Christ
and all work in the same way

in Christ, you understand
outside of Christ, you realise you are condemned and you don't know Him.

Surely you cannot know half of God!
the God of Creation is the God of redemption - all solely revealed in Christ
it is very weird if creation and providence reveal only the toenails of Christ... which is basically what this theology is saying

i'm not even going to get into human conscience... surely if anything this one creates the MOST idols!

Contemplating creation...

Baby Josiah Menon has just come into the world!

I was wondering before the beginning of creation if the conversation between the Father and the Son through the Spirit went something like this:

"We're going to have more children"

"It'll change our lives forever - no more just us three Persons"

"Yea awesome!"

"You do realise we're going to lose a lot of rest for the next... oh.. 10,000 years"

Theistic evolution and hermeneutics

Glen here.

Last Saturday I was surrounded by Anglican curates on post-ordination training. We discussed how to read the bible. It was decided by a good majority of them that God did not desire the total destruction of the nations in the land (Deuteronomy 7:1-6). God is not into ethnic cleansing you see. Primitive cultures might be. The Israelites committed the atrocities and wrote about it after the fact (much much later apparently). And they claimed divine justification for it. But God didn't actually tell them to destroy the nations.

Anyway, sounded to me quite similar to how even evangelicals read Genesis 1.

"Yeah, we know what it says. But that's not how it happened. Now we know better, we can read back into it what really happened. It was actually very much like what the wisdom of today would tell us."

Well that was the link I drew.
Maybe you draw a different one...

Creation

Colossal discussion on creation and creationists here:

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/the-evolution-of-a-creationist/

The real question is of course - how do you relate to Scripture?
also... are you actually reading what it says?

Intelligent Design

While I am all for a 6-day, young earth theology of creation I do question the use of 'creation science' as an apologetic for the gospel. Still more do I question 'Intelligent Design' as a stepping stone towards either creationism or biblical faith.

This post lays out the dangers of buying into such natural theology.

Ben Stein - Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

New movie out..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGCxbhGaVfE

dunno if it is in the cinemas near you.. although intelligent design isn't nearly as good as biblical creationism, perhaps a stepping stone?

Make me and mould me....

Another great article from Glen....

The Living God is One who forms. He is the Potter, the yozer,[1] who forms humanity,[2] our hearts,[3] our eyes,[4] our spirit,[5] our days,[6] Israel,[7] light,[8] life,[9] indeed the whole world.[10] He does so by degrees. And He does so along a trajectory of death then resurrection.

In the beginning God created (bara) the heavens and the earth. But, as the very next verse describes, this creation began ‘formless and empty’ (tohu wabohu). The Spirit, in brooding power, hovers over a scene associated, throughout the Scriptures, with judgement.[11] Only then, by the power of the Almighty Word is light, life and order brought to the creation. By the Word the formless and empty world is formed (days 1-3) and filled (days 4-6). And this occurs in the context of a judging Word – judging in two senses. First the Word separates – light from darkness, dry land from waters etc. Second the Word evaluates – ‘It was good.’ In this process the world is brought gradually to shalom and ‘it was very good.’

The first creation narrative ends with this purpose clause in the Hebrew:

tAf)[]l; ~yhiÞl{a/ ar”îB’.

Literally this means ‘God created (bara) in order to make (asah).’ The word bara is used almost exclusively of God’s creative activity.[12] In the intensive (piel) stem bara conveys the sense of cutting down, clearing a space.[13] On the other hand asah in the intensive (piel) stem can mean squeeze or caress.[14] This tells us something of the meaning of these verbs (which are here in the normal qal stem). Taken together with the purpose clause contruct we see that God’s bara activity prepares the ground for His asah activity. The LORD begins creation by clearing a space for the purpose of continuing His work upon that creation. He makes and then moulds. Again we see that the LORD forms in stages. First the outline then the filled out reality.

Humanity follows this pattern – first Adam is ‘formed’ from the dust of the earth and the breath of the LORD. (Gen 2:7). Next Eve is formed from the death-like sleep of the man. (Gen 2:21-24). Out of this deep-sleep (tardemah) in which violence is done – his side is pierced – he is raised up to consummation with bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. The formation of humanity was a process and one which journeyed through darkness and pain before something better resulted. It is not too much to say that even in the first two chapters of the bible the process of formation is set before us as one of death and resurrection.

This is the way of the LORD. His formation begins with raw materials but is perfected in stages and through suffering. All things in God’s economy are to be formed through death and resurrection. The people of Israel as the seed of Abraham are filled by Christ, the Seed of Abraham. The law is the form of the covenant and is filled by the gospel events. The land (eretz) from (Dead) Sea to (Mediterranean) Sea is filled by the whole earth (eretz!) from Sea to Sea. Our bodies are seeds to be transformed in death and resurrection to immortal glory (1 Cor 15:44). Ultimately all this happens through the true Adam – the Last, Heavenly Adam. He fills full Adam’s Headship over creation, He fills full the land, the people, the law and through death and resurrection brings it all to glory. Even the Son Himself is made perfect through suffering. (Heb 5:8-9).

In all this we see that Eden is not the point. Adam is not the point. Adamic humanity is not the point. Israel and its worship is not the point. All these things are passed through death and resurrection – from Eden and beyond to the New Jerusalem; from Adam and beyond to the Heavenly Man; through Israel (and its worship) and beyond to the Church of Jesus Christ. And so the Christian knows two incontrovertible facts: First, all things are forward-looking. The best is yet to come – in the process of formation we are optimists. Secondly, the path to better things is through suffering. The road to resurrection blessing always goes through the cross. In the process of formation we will also be realists.

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[1] Isaiah 45:7,9; 64:8; Jer 18:6; Zech 12:1; cf. Rom 9:21

[2] Gen 2:7; Isaiah 43:1

[3] Psalm 33:15

[4] Psalm 94:9

[5] Zech 12:1

[6] Psalm 139:16

[7] Isaiah 43:21

[8] Isaiah 45:7

[9] Gen 2:19

[10] Psalm 95:5

[11] ‘Darkness’, ‘waters’, ‘the deep’ are all symbols of judgement. So too ‘formless and empty’, cf Jeremiah 4.

[12] Even the exception of Ezekiel 21:19 may be in order to maintain a parallelism with God’s activity in v30

[13] Josh 17:15,18; Ezek 23:47

[14] Ezek 23:3,8