Recap: In Post 17, I expressed agreement with A.W. Tozer that all error in Christian doctrine is the result of "imperfect and ignoble" thoughts of God. I opined that the error is often compounded by theological sophistry, the practice of spinning passages and manipulating words and definitions until they conform to some presupposed ideology - an unfortunate habit of many biblical scholars - a practice George Orwell warned was "designed... to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
So, beginning with Post 18, we began to establish a foundation for sound Christian doctrine from three basic building blocks: God, Jesus, and man. Then, in the final two posts, we turned to the cross, where God and man; the holy and the unholy; heaven and earth - all convene in a divinely wonderful, catastrophic collision.
The Destruction of the "Temple"
Ever since the days of Moses, the temple/tabernacle was the designated place where God and man would meet and conduct God's business. The priest, whose role was to represent man to God, would enter the temple, meet with God, and make sacrifices to atone for man's sins. God would be appeased (temporarily), and life would go on... until the next appointed meeting.
At the cross, God and man convened at the temple for the final time. Let me say that again - at the cross, God and man convened at the temple for the last time. But this was a meeting like no other. First, the temple was not the one constructed by man but the one offered by God himself -the true temple, the eternal temple.
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. (John 2:19-21 ESV)
And, unlike all the other meetings, the priest wasn't the only one in attendance (although He was there, too). God had summoned everyone to the meeting - a summons that could not be refused. The whole world was present - the entire mass of sinful humanity.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:33 ESV)
Then, as was customary, a sacrifice was made - an atonement for sin. But unlike the many countless times before, this atonement was "once for all" (Heb. 10:10), a final offering - the perfect and eternal lamb was offered to atone for the "sin (collective, singular - all sin) of the world" (John 1:29). The "temple" was destroyed along with all in attendance (2 Cor 5:14), and for the moment, the world was restored to perfect harmony with God (2 Cor 5:19). The scales of justice were balanced for the first time since before the fall of Adam.
Three days later, as prophesied, a new "temple"- a new world, really - arose from the ashes and with it, a new way for man to be reconciled with his Maker. The righteousness required by God was now available to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Rom 3:21-22).
How impactful was the cross? The apostle Paul realized that everything he thought he knew from his extensive Pharisaical training was reduced to rubble in the overwhelming firestorm of the cross. So Paul cleared his theological slate and "determined to know nothing... except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2 NASB). The cross changed everything.
God's "New World"
"The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.” - N.T. Wright
In the "new world" - the post-cross world - all are invited to belong. In the "new world", the Law of Moses gives way to the Law of Christ (Gal 6:2). In the "new world", the exclusivity of Jesus' pre-cross ministry ("No one can come except..."), gives way to the wonderful inclusivity of the post-cross teachings (Come to me all..."). As post-cross Christians, we are inhabitants of the "new world unveiled by Jesus Christ." As post-cross Christians, we are subjects of the new king, one King Jesus. And all are invited to the banquet of the King.
True Christian Doctrine
God is holy. If the god you worship is not holy - always right and always just - he is not the God of the Bible. If your god is random, capricious, whimsical, favoring some people and disfavoring others, cruelly punishing them for what sins they cannot resist (by God's own decree), he is not the God of the Bible.
God is glorious. If the god you worship favors acts of power, wrath and destruction to display his glory, over goodness, grace and mercy, he is not the God of the Bible. If your god sacrifices people for the sake of his glory rather than the God who sacrificed his glory for the sake of his people, he is not the God of the Bible.
Jesus is God. If you do not see God when you gaze upon Jesus, you are not beholding the Jesus of Scripture.
Humans are divine. If you believe that there is no divine glory in being human and that God, in the Fall, has reduced human beings to animal-like status - unable to respond to him in any positive way, with no spiritual sensibilities whatsoever, then you have misunderstood the inherent glory imparted by God to every human being and you have underestimated the love and the grace of God.
The cross changed everything. The "true north" of all Christian doctrine is the love of God as expressed in the forgiveness and redemption of Jesus on the cross. Any doctrine that loses sight of God's love for the world - the whole world - as displayed by the cross, has lost its way, is not biblical. Any doctrine that does not affirm that the cross was the beginning of an open door of saving grace to all, is not Christian.
Final Thought
The Bible reveals the story of a holy and glorious God who, out of an unfathomable love for us, the pinnacle of his precious creation, willingly sacrificed his glory to become a servant to all, and to suffer humiliation and death on a cross The Bible reveals a God who would rather die an inglorious death on a cross than give his sinful, yet beloved, creatures what they deserve. The irony is, that in doing so, he achieved more glory than any display of power, wrath and destruction could ever muster. But he knew that.
“When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves--that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.” - N.T. Wright
Next Post: In the next post I'll present a short excerpt from my upcoming book, God's Elect - The Chosen Generation - (due out in the fall). Here's a link to the next post:
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