For what God is doing in Scripture–particularly when we attend to the canonical context–is offering a theologically thick description of Jesus Christ. It is precisely by responding to the various illocutions in Scripture–by believing assertions, by trusting its promises, by obeying its commands, by singing its songs–that we become “thickly,” which is to say covenantally, related to Christ.
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Drama of Doctrine, 68.
Monthly Archives: August 2009
On the Word and Spirit Together
For by a kind of mutual bond the Lord has joined together the certainty of his Word and of his Spirit so that the perfect religion of the Word may abide in our minds when the Spirit, who causes us to contemplate God’s face, shines; and that we in turn may embrace the Spirit with no fear of being deceived when recognize him in his own image, namely, in the Word.
John Calvin, Institutes IX.3
Go With the Heidelberg Instead: Waking Up in the Joy of Jesus Christ
1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own, but belong–
body and soul,
in life and in death–
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…
(The Heidelberg Catechism- 1563)
This is the better way to ‘start the day.’ The simple introduction of this catechism speaks volumes. The implications are weighty. The question of comfort goes directly for the heart of man–we all want ‘comfort.’ We are pleasure seekers. This appetite is the first to rush in each day as we come out of sleep. We come to consciousness wanting comfort. Stop then.
Oh for the grace to stop then and recite these words from the Heidelberg Catechism! We are saying to our souls, “Indeed you do want comfort! And what is true comfort but that I belong to God–that He has made me His own in Jesus Christ.” Amen.
It is good to belong to Jesus.
Thielicke Again, and Again…
The conclusion of Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians insists that reading once is not enough. His humble presciption goes like this:
If you will, keep these preliminary remarks in your memories as a motto to stand over all our work in dogmatic theology (41).
Perusing through my highlights and notes from a couple of years ago demolishes any pretense I formerly had that “got” his stuff. It certainly resonates. I affirm his points. But I should read this small work again, and again, and again.
The King Gets What He Wants
““As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”
(Psalms 2:6-8 ESV, italics mine)
“May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!”
(Psalms 20:4 ESV, italics mine)
“O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah”
(Psalms 21:1-2 ESV, italics mine)
The King gets what He wants. This is a picture of sovereign rule. It is the quintessential picture of the King of kings–the One who is most blessed forever (v. 6). He does possess the ends of the earth. He had made Gentiles His own. His reign is universal and I want to be swallowed up in it. The supremacy of this King is for my good.
Because His request was granted, the dog writing this post takes refuge in Him.
A Thought on Original Audience as One Audience
Concerning Augustine and Luther, Brock writes:
From their Psalms exegesis we learn that the foreignness of the Bible, properly understood, is the foreignness of life in the Spirit within which faith awakens to discover itself. In this sense, the disciples have no advantage: we are all contemporaries with Christ.
(Brian Brock, Singing the Ethos of God, xix)
We are contemporaries with Christ. Biblical application comes best when see the continuity between us and the ‘original audience.’ We look in categories of Creator and creatures/Savior and sinners and then realize that there is really just one audience, and we’re part of it.
We Should Beware: Radical Love for Jesus Does Not Create Snobs
We should beware–in the name of ‘not wasting our lives,’ we could become self-righteous and sadly uncharitable. We should beware of the wartime-lifestyle-go-to-the-hard-places-snobbery that thinks ministering in places vacant of gang graffitti and homeless people is somehow second rate. I believe in ministry of a radical flavor–holding our lives cheap, seeking that city which is to come, going to the places nobody else wants to go, heralding the surpassing worth of Jesus above all things. Amen. We should do this. And at the same time, we should understand that it takes more than a zip code to actualize this kind of ministry. And if we aren’t careful, we’ll create this false picture of how it looks and we’ll form these nonspoken leagues–one Major and another Minor–there are superstars and rookie wannabees… ‘those guys go there and these guys come here.’ And this is wrong.
We should remember that the gospel is needed everywhere. This doesn’t mean that we just go anywhere. Be strategic. Seek the Lord. But never forget that the folks down at the hardware store where ‘everybody knows your name’ and the prostitute in New Orleans who sells her body for crack have one thing in common–they both need the gospel. The wrath-bearing death of Jesus Christ on the cross is their only hope, period. And God would say that same thing of Mayberry that he would say of Los Angelos–”I have many in this city who are my people.” He sends servants to both to go and stay, and we should be thankful for that.
So let us not be weak and pass judgment on our brothers by the neighborhoods in which they serve. Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Instead, let us be grateful and pray for our brothers. Pray for radical ministry for these whom God has sent and is sending everywhere… and let us go to the hard places with all that in mind.
Are We Like Them?
The prophets have words of judgment to God’s people who have broken the Sinai covenant. We shouldn’t be too quick to distance ourselves from them in the name of New Covenant. After all, what distinquishes the New Covenant from the Old is not a matter of who we are.
It is precisely because we are so much like the fickle-hearted idolaters that the New Covenant is necessary. The complete inability of man is made clear. So God intervenes. He brings a work into action that is totally His, and has to be His or it won’t happen.
The prophets are describing me–who I would be now if God had not made a promise that is mostly about Himself–one that was sworn with all His heart and with all His soul, one that gives a Spirit who seals and keeps.
The New Covenant is entirely God-centered. How else could it be good news?
God Would Hate Me
The truth that God hates pride does not make me be unprideful– it condemns me. It makes me feel horrible, unworthy, undeserving, inadequate, crappy. It brings me to the despair of life itself. Pride is not lofty for me. It is a voice that insists to me that God “has the wrong guy,” that “God would never use someone like this.” The bare reality that I want people to like me too much grieves my soul. I hate it. I hate me because I love me. The diagnosis is there. My heart is messed up. I am a sinner. I am would be condemned.
Here is good news. Jesus Christ died for my pride. He bore the penalty owed to me because of my prideful heart. He calls me to something greater than myself. This is what I need to believe when I am assaulted. Gritting my teeth and clinching my fist, while repeating “be humble” in my head, does not work. I need to see Jesus.
My desire and prayer for you and me is that we see Jesus–that we see Jesus and be amazed that He would die for us.
Summary of My Summer: Some Personal Interaction with Theological Interpretation of the Bible
“A theological interpretation of the BIble is more likely to be critical of readers than of the biblical authors or biblical texts. It is not that text criticism and other forms of criticism have no role; it is rather a matter of the ultimate aim of reading. Those who seek to interpret Scripture theologically want to hear the word of God in Scripture and hence to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom 12:2). In this respect, it is important to note that God must not be an ‘afterthought’ in biblical interpretaion.”
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, What is Theological Interpretation of the Bible?
“Ok. Count me in.”
Jonathan E. Parnell, here
