Recap: We have been constructing a biblical foundation for sound Christian doctrine. In the last post - "The Human Enigma" - we saw evidence of a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde nature in man. On the one hand, we are made "a little lower than the angels,... crowned with glory an honor" (Psalm 8:4-5). On the other hand, we are described as "slaves to sin" (Rom 6:6) and "only evil continuously" (Gen 6:17). In the previous post, I argued against the common Calvinistic teaching that, since the Fall, man, by nature, is like Mr. Hyde - an evil, godless, depraved creature. completely unable to respond to God in any positive way, or to discern spiritual things, including the gospel. I presented evidence that the Bible does not support the notion that the Fall caused a complete spiritual disconnect between man and God at all. After the Fall, God continued to display his goodness, mercy and grace, and man, despite his sinful nature, continued to strive to please God. So, if we are not the depraved, godless souls described by Calvinists, what are we?
Only human?
"I'm only human!"
There's an old adage that says, "Being human is a privilege, not an excuse." One of my all-time favorite quotes regarding the biblical view of what it means to be human comes from C.S. Lewis:
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. . . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. (The Weight of Glory, p 15)
While we might nitpick at some of the theology expressed in that quote, C. S. Lewis understood that there is a certain glory in all things created by God (1 Cor 15:40), and a very unique glory and divine dignity that God has imputed to all people, in part because we are created in his image (Gen 1:27) and with the potential for immortality.
Depraved or Glorified?
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
The Psalm above reveals a God who was intimately (and lovingly) involved with every aspect of our development. We were created, formed, knitted together, wonderfully shaped, molded and crafted by a God who personally oversaw every intricate detail to ensure that we were adequate reflections of his own glorious image. Then, to these precious creatures, he gives "life, breath and everything else" (Acts 17:25). Finally, God gives all people a conscience (Rom 2:15), a spirit (1 Cor 15:44, 2 Cor 4:16), the ability to know him through creation (Rom 1:20) and the ability to love (1 John 4:19).
Let’s call this group of God-given human features the “basic human glorification gift pack”. Everyone, without exception gets the basic package. These wonderful gifts are what make us human - a far cry from the godless creatures proposed by Calvinism who deny any inherent glory in man (1Cor 15:40-41). I can’t find a single statement in Scripture that would indicate that any person, even the worst offender in God’s kingdom, failed to receive these basic human endowments from God. They represent the glory of simply being human. So, where do we go wrong?
The Human Problem
Humans have two problems: God, and us. First, a holy God is a huge problem for someone with a bent toward sin. Second, we, unfortunately, have a bent toward sin.
In the previous posts, we saw where God was holy - righteous and just - and that Jesus is the exact imprint of (God's) nature. We also noted that God can never act contrary to his nature, meaning he can never be unrighteous or unjust. That, in no small part, is what makes him God. By contrast, the Bible describes man's nature in various ways, but it's rarely good. We are "wicked", "depraved", "detestable", "lawless", "evil" - just to name a few. However, unlike our Maker, God has given us the ability/grace to choose to behave contrary to our natures. God has given us freedom. We have the freedom to resist, to avoid, to oppose, to refuse, to defy all of those ungodly tendencies, and choose to be righteous and just, to love and to bless. In this regard, we can actually do something which God cannot do - we can change. We have been given the ability to act apart from our inherent natures. We can actually become new creatures (2 Cor 5:17). God (fortunately), cannot.
Super-Glorified
Although every man, woman and child is endowed by God with the "basic human glorification gift pack", Paul speaks of a potential to obtain additional gifting, divine enablement, superior levels of glorification, that can only be achieved by beholding, with unveiled face, the one who is the "radiance of God's glory" - Jesus Christ (Heb 1:3).
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 ESV)
As we gaze upon Jesus (figuratively speaking) we become transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be like him. Despite what God said through Isaiah all those years ago ("my glory I give to no other" - Isa 42:8), to those who will believe in him through the apostles' message, Jesus glorifies with the same glory given to him by the Father.
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (John 17:22 ESV)
Simply put, after the cross, there were those who, by believing in Jesus, were elevated to an even higher level of divine glory - well beyond the basic human glorification package.
Next Post: In the next post we'll turn our attention to the cross. Here's a link to the next post: https://www.bibleinsights.net/post/post-23-the-wondrous-cross
Kommentare