Philippians 2:5-11 & Kenotic Theology

Sunday night we'll be discussing Philippians 2:5-11 - the most discussed passage in the entire book. This is a central passage in our understanding of the Person and Nature of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us not simply overlook it and pretend it doesn't matter. It is one of those passages that defines our faith.

The context of this hymn/confession given to us by Paul here regards unity, humility, and joy. Verses 1-4, Paul exhorts the church to be unified. The key to unity is humility and the outcome of this is joy. From there he moves from the exhortation - "be unified in the gospel - to the example. And here he points to us to Christ.

Perhaps the most debated verses of this portion of Scripture is vs. 5-7. Some have suggested that Jesus surrender portions of His deity by becoming a man. Usually people point to His omnipresence, omniscience, etc. This is know as the Kenosis Theory or Kenotic Theology and it has some real problems with the text and with its implications.

In his book Systematic Theology: An Introduction, Dr. Wayne Grudem argues against the Kenotic Theology and shows why the traditional view is better.

Beginning with this text, several theologians in Germany (from about 1860-1880) and in England (from about 1890-1910) advocated a view of the incarnation that had not been advocated before in the history of the church. This new view was called the "kenosis theory" and the overall position it represented was called "kenotic theology." The kenosis theory holds that Christ gave up some of his divine attributes while he was on earth as a man. (The word kenosis is taken from the Greek verb kenoo, which generally means "to empty," and is translated "emptied himself" in Phil. 2:7.) According to this theory Christ "emptied himself" of some of his divine attributes, such as omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, while he was on earth as a man. This was viewed as a voluntary self-limitation on Christ's part, which he carried out in order to fulfill his work of redemption.

But does Philippians 2:7 teach that Christ emptied himself of some of his divine attributes, and does the rest of the New Testament confirm this? The evidence of Scripture points to a negative answer to both questions. We must first realize that no recognized teacher in the first 1,800 years of church history, including those who were native speakers of Greek, thought that 'emptied himself' in Philippians 2:7 meant that the Son of God gave up some of his divine attributes. Second, we must recognize that the text does not say that Christ 'emptied himself of some powers' or 'emptied himself of divine attributes' or anything like that.  Third, the text does describe what Jesus did in this 'emptying': he did not do it by giving up any of his attributes but rather by 'taking the form of a servant,' that is, by coming to live as a man, and 'being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2:7). Thus, the context itself interprets this 'emptying' as equivalent to 'humbling himself ' and taking on a lowly status and position. Thus, the NIV, instead of translating the phrase, 'He emptied himself,' translates it, 'but made himself nothing'(Philippians 2:7 NIV). The emptying includes change of role and status, not essential attributes or nature.

A fourth reason for this interpretation is seen in Paul's purpose int his context. His purpose has been to persuade the Philippians that they should 'do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves' (Philippians 2:3), and he continues by telling them, 'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others' (Philippians 2:4). To persuade them to be humble and to put the interests of others first, he then holds up the example of Christ: 'Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, 

Now in holding up Christ as an example, he wants the Philippians to imitate Christ. But certainly he is not asking the Philippian Christians to 'give up' or 'lay aside' any of their essential attributes or abilities! He is not asking them to 'give up' their intelligence or strength or skill and become a diminished version of what they were. Rather, he is asking them to put the interests of others first: 'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others' (Philippians 2:4). And because that is his goal, it fits the context to understand that he is using Christ as the supreme example of one who did just that: he put the interests of others first and was willing to give up some of the privilege and status that was his as God.

Therefore, the best understanding of this passage is that it talks about Jesus giving up the status and privilege that was his in heaven: he “did not count quality with God a thing to be grasped” (or “clung to for his own advantage”), but “emptied himself “ or “humbled himself “ for our sake, and came to live as a man. Jesus speaks elsewhere of the “glory” he had with the Father “before the world was made” (John 17:5), a glory that he had given up and was going to receive again when he returned to heaven. And Paul could speak of Christ who, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9), once again speaking of the privilege and honor that he deserved but temporarily gave up for us.

The fifth and final reason why the “kenosis” view of Philippians 2:7 must be rejected is the larger context of the teaching of the New Testament and the doctrinal teaching of the entire Bible. If it were true that such a momentous event as this happened, that the eternal Son of God ceased for a time to have all the attributes of God—ceased, for a time, to be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, for example—then we would expect that such an incredible event would be taught clearly and repeatedly in the New Testament, not found in the very doubtful interpretation of one word in one epistle. But we find the opposite of that: we do not find it stated anywhere else that the Son of God ceased to have some of the attributes of God that he had possessed from eternity. In fact, if the kenosis theory were true (and this is a foundational objection against it), then we could no longer affirm Jesus was fully God while he was here on earth. The kenosis theory ultimately denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and makes him something less than fully God. S.M. Smith admits, “All forms of classical orthodoxy either explicitly reject or reject in principle kenotic theology.”

It is important to realize that the major force persuading people to accept kenotic theory was not that they had discovered a better understanding of Philippians 2:7 or any other passage of the New Testament, but rather the increasing discomfort people were feeling with the formulations of the doctrine of Christ in historic, classical orthodoxy. It just seemed too incredible for modern rational and “scientific” people to believe that Jesus Christ could be truly human and fully, absolutely God at the same time. The kenosis theory began to sound more and more like an acceptable way to say that (in some sense) Jesus was God, but a kind of God who had for a time given up some of his Godlike qualities, those that were most difficult for people to accept in the modern world. -Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 550-552


For more:
Grudem on the Deity of Christ 
The Gospel Coalition on the Deity of Christ 
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ:  Christ Our Mediator  
Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ:  Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ  
If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age 
December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Human
December 19, 2012 - Jesus is God

The God Who Became Man: Millard Erickson on the Implications of the Humanity of Christ

In preparation for tonight's Bible study, I came across the following paragraphs from Millard Erickson's great systematic theology text Christian Theology regarding the implications of the doctrine of Christ's humanity.  We wholeheartedly affirm the deity of Christ, but too many of us, as Evangelical, Conservative, Baptist Christians, fail to reflect, study, and apply the important doctrine of Christ's deity.

What Erickson offers below is a good summary of the practicality of this doctrine.  Remember that all doctrines are practical and all of us are theologians. Thus what we believe about the doctrine of Christ (Christology) matters and thus it is important to consider both the deity and the humanity of Christ.  Erickson gives us a good sample as to why.

1.  The atoning death of Jesus can truly avail for us.  It was not some outsider to the human race who died on the cross.  He was one of us, and thus could truly offer a sacrifice on our behalf.  Just like the Old Testament priest, Jesus was a human who offered a sacrifice on behalf of his fellows.


2.  Jesus can truly sympathize with and intercede for us.  He has experienced all that we might undergo.  When we are hungry, weary, lonely, he fully understands, for he has gone through it all himself (Heb. 4:15).


3.  Jesus manifests the true nature of humanity.  While we are sometimes inclined to draw our conclusions as to what humanity is from an inductive examination of ourselves and those around us, these are but imperfect instances of humanity.  Jesus has not only told us what perfect humanity is, he has exhibited it.


4.  Jesus can be our example.  He is not some celestial superstar but one who has lived where we live.  We can therefore look to him as a model of the Christian life.  The biblical standards for human behavior, which seem to us to be so hard to attain, are seen in him to be within human possibility.  Of course, there must be full dependence upon the grace of God.  The fact that Jesus found it necessary to pray and depend upon the Father is indication that we must be similarly reliant upon him.


5.  Human nature is good.  When we tend toward asceticism, regarding human nature, and particularly physical nature, as somehow inherently evil or at least inferior to the spiritual and immaterial, the fact that Jesus took upon himself our full human nature is a reminder that to be human is not evil, it is good.


6.  God is not totally transcendent.  He is not so far removed from the human race.  If he could actually live among us at one time as a real human person, it is not surprising that he can and does act within the human realm today as well.


With John we rejoice that the incarnation was real and complete:  "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

-Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 737-738.

Let me also point you to one other point hinted at in the list above (regarding Jesus' work as our Intercessor and Mediator).  And that is the fact that the sacrifice of God only is problematic for a number of reasons.  First of all, God is eternal and not subject to human weakness and the Fall.  In other words, God can never and will never succumb to death.  But there is another reason beyond this obvious point.  Jesus has to be both God and man because both are necessary for Him to be our propitiatory sacrifice and our mediator.  How?  The Docetic belief that it was God (who only "appeared" to be a man) who was on the cross is problematic for the same reason that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away human sin (Hebrews 10:4).  Animals aren't human enough to be the perfect sacrifice and mediator for salvation.  Similarly, if Christ is not both Divine and Human, then He is not human enough to be the perfect sacrifice and mediator for our salvation.  Christ, as our Mediator, must be both.

This is why Paul boldly proclaims, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).


For more:
Sermon - December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Man  
GBC - Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ:  Christ Our Mediator  
GBC - Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ:  Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
GBC - Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ  
GBC - If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age
Blogizomai - We Are All Theologians: The Root of Everything We Are and Do 

November 7, 2010 - God is Jealous

Here is the audio and notes from this past Sunday where we discussed the Doctrine of Divine Jealousy.  There has been little written on the subject as compared to other theology proper doctrines.  I consider this to be an important topic and one that Christians should think about more. If God is jealous, then I am loved.





Audio
Notes


For more:
Repost - Is God Jealous?:  Oprah Weighs In 
October 31, 2010 - God is Holy 
October 24, 2010 - God is Immutable 
October 10, 2010 - God is Sovereign  
September 19, 2010 - God is Provident 
September 12, 2010 - God is Creator 

MacDonald on Divine Sovereignty

One of my favorite pastors is James MacDonald who serves in Chicago, IL.  He has had a major influence in my life and I have had the joy of meeting him and even visited his church once.  I highly recommend his book Gripped by the Greatness of God in which he walks us through a number of passages in Isaiah and discusses how what the text says about God affects us today.  What we believe about God is central to all that we are and believe.

One of the chapters in the book is on the Sovereignty of God.  MacDonald, like myself, holds to a high view of God's Sovereignty.  Therefore, MacDonald suggests that Divine Sovereignty means:

• God is the Ruler of all.
• God answers to no one.
• God can accomplish whatever He wants – in all things.
• God sees history from beginning to the end.  No obstacle or adversary can hinder His plan from happening.
• God is afraid of nothing.  Ignorant of nothing.  Needing nothing.
• God always knows what’s best, and He never makes a mistake.  (69)

MacDonald then adds the following:

Sovereignty means God is in control of it all.  He’s over things we see and things we don’t see.  Stuff we understand and stuff that if we even glimpsed it for a second would blow us away. Sovereignty means it’s all His.  Nothing can stop what He purposes from happening.  Not people, events, or time.  Get it?  What God plans, He delivers.  What God wants, God gets – His way and His timing, on time, every time.  That applies to what you’re going through today . . .  (69)


For more:
GBC - Charles Hodge on Sovereignty 
GBC - God's Sovereignty Defined:  AW Pink on God's Sovereignty 
Theology - Jim Wallis and Open Theism 
Theology - The Sovereignty of God 
GBC - Weekly Recommendation - "Restore My Soul" 

Charles Hodge on Sovereignty

I continue to study and prepare for the upcoming Sunday where we will discuss the Doctrine of Divine Sovereignty.  A good summary of this doctrine, though wrapped in deep theological language, is found in Charles Hodge's wonderful Systematic Theology Volume I.  What follows is the verbatim quote from the book.  What I like is how Hodge offers some of the Bible's clearest statements of Sovereignty and anything we do to minimize God's sovereignty runs foul in light of what the text actually says.  Scripture is clear. God is Sovereign.  Wholly.  Completely.  Fully.  Universally.  To reject, ignore, or minimize any of that is to believe in a God much smaller than the God of creation and of Scripture.

I encourage you to read the following though it may be deep and at first difficult.  I do believe it is a good summary of the doctrine.  The quote is taken from here.  You can read the entire Systematic Theology work of Charles Hodge by clicking here.

§ 15. Sovereignty.

Sovereignty is not a property of the divine nature, but a prerogative arising out of the perfections of the Supreme Being. If God be a Spirit, and therefore a person, infinite, eternal, and immutable in his being and perfections, the Creator and Preserver of the universe, He is of right its absolute sovereign. Infinite wisdom, goodness, and power, with the right of possession, which belongs to God in all his creatures, are the immutable foundation of his dominion. “Our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever He pleased.” (Ps. cxv. 8.) “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan. iv. 35.) “All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine.” (1 Chron. xxix. 11.) “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Ps. xxiv. 1.) “Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.” (1 Chron. xxix. 11.) “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine.” (Ez. xviii. 4.) “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Is. xlv. 9.) “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” (Matt. xx. 15.) He “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph. i. 11.) “Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. xi. 36.)

From these and similar passages of Scriptures it is plain, (1.) That the sovereignty of God is universal. It extends over all his creatures from the highest to the lowest. (2.) That it is absolute. There is no limit to be placed to his authority. He doeth his pleasure in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. (3.) It is immutable. It can neither be ignored nor rejected. It binds all creatures, as inexorably as physical laws bind the material universe.

This sovereignty is exercised, (1.) In establishing the laws, physical and moral, by which all creatures are to be governed. (2.) In determining the nature and powers of the different orders of created beings, and in assigning each its appropriate sphere. (3.) In appointing to each individual his position and lot. It is the Lord who fixes the bounds of our habitation. Our times are 441in his hands. He determines when, where, and under what circumstances each individual of our race is to be born, live, and die. Nations, no less than individuals, are thus in the hands of God, who assigns them their heritage in the earth, and controls their destiny. (4.) God is no less sovereign in the distribution of his favours. He does what He wills with his own. He gives to some riches, to others, honour; to others, health; while others are poor, unknown, or the victims of disease. To some, the light of the gospel is sent; others are left in darkness. Some are brought through faith unto salvation; others perish in unbelief. To the question, Why is this? the only answer is that given by our Lord. “Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight.”

Although this sovereignty is thus universal and absolute, it is the sovereignty of wisdom, holiness, and love. The authority of God is limited by nothing out of Himself, but it is controlled, in all its manifestations, by his infinite perfections. If a man is free and exalted, in proportion as he is governed by enlightened reason and a pure conscience, so is he supremely blessed who cheerfully submits to be governed by the infinite reason and holiness of God. This sovereignty of God is the ground of peace and confidence to all his people. They rejoice that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; that neither necessity, nor chance, nor the folly of man, nor the malice of Satan controls the sequence of events and all their issues. Infinite wisdom, love, and power, belong to Him, our great God and Saviour, into whose hands all power in heaven and earth has been committed.

God's Sovereignty Defined: A. W. Pink on The Doctrine of Divine Sovereignty

This Sunday we'll be looking at the Doctrine of Divine Sovereignty.  Perhaps no one has written a better summary than this taken from A. W. Pink's wonderful book, The Sovereignty of God.  If you read one book on Divine Sovereignty, read this one.  The following is taken from chapter 1 of his book.  The chapter is called "God's Sovereignty Defined."

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as Head above all" (1 Chron. 29:11).

The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts, and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But, today, to make mention of God's Sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse would be the Sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it should be so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology should be so sadly neglected and so little understood.

The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor among the nations" (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.

How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.

To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the bounds assigned by his Creator, and that God is now practically a helpless Spectator before the sin and suffering entailed by Adam's fall, is to repudiate the express declaration of Holy Writ, namely, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain" (Psa. 76:10). In a word, to deny the Sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.

The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.

Sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God. He is Sovereign in all His attributes. He is Sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be dormant, and then it is put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness-what happened? God exercised His power, His people were delivered and their cruel task-masters slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord swore that He would "have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Exo. 17:16). Again, when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God's power was signally displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress-what happened? Israel did not draw a bow nor strike a blow: the Lord stretched forth His hand and the walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell after this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!

Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the Sovereign exercise of God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His power and David was delivered from Goliath, the giant; the mouths of the lions were closed and Daniel escaped unhurt; the three Hebrew children were cast into the burning fiery furnace and came forth unharmed and unscorched. But God's power did not always interpose for the deliverance of His people, for we read: "And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb. 11:36, 37). But why? Why were not these men of faith delivered like the others? Or, why were not the others suffered to be killed like these? Why should God's power interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to be stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?

God is Sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut. 8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of these questions is, Because God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He pleases.
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin, hence the miserable are deserving of punishment not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is a contradiction of terms.

God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No; he told Israel, "The LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut. 3:26). Now mark the second case: "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech Thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years" (2 Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves, and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord would not hear me," and died; but to the other it was said, "I have heard thy prayer," and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of the truth expressed in Romans 9:15!-"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

The Sovereign exercise of God's mercy-pity shown to the wretched-was displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda where lay "a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water." Among this "great multitude" there was "a certain man which had an infirmity thirty and eight years." What happened? "When Jesus saw him He, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but when I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John 5:3-9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not told that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which entitled him to receive special favor.

Here then was a case of the Sovereign exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole of that "great multitude" as this one "certain man." But He did not. He put forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer, and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the others. Again, we say, what an illustration and exemplification of Romans 9:15!-"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ah! that is a hard saying, who then can receive it? It is written, "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from Heaven" (John 3:27). When we say that God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody*; if He did, He would love the Devil. Why does not God love the Devil? Because there is nothing in him to love; because there is nothing in him to attract the heart of God. Nor is there anything to attract God's love in any of the fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are, by nature, "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). If then there is nothing in any member of the human race to attract God's love,* John 3:16 will be examined later.

and if, notwithstanding, He does love some, then it necessarily follows that the cause of His love must be found in Himself, which is only another way of saying that the exercise of God's love towards the fallen sons of men is according to His own good pleasure.

In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must he traced back to His Sovereignty or, otherwise, He would love by rule; and if He loved by rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law of love then is He not supreme, but is Himself ruled by law. "But," it may be asked, "Surely you do not deny that God loves the entire human family?" We reply, it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13). If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that before they were born or had done either good or evil, then the reason for His love was not in them, but in Himself.

That the exercise of God's love is according to His own Sovereign pleasure is also clear from the language of Ephesians 1:3-5, where we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will." It was "in love" that God the Father predestined His chosen ones unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, "according"-according to what? According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then? According to what He foresaw they would become? No; mark carefully the inspired answer-"According to the good pleasure of His will."

We are not unmindful of the fact that men have invented the distinction between God's love of complacency and His love of compassion, but this is an invention pure and simple. Scripture terms the latter God's "pity" (see Matt. 18:33), and "He is kind unto the unthankful and the evil" (Luke 6:35)!

God is Sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for grace is favor shown to the undeserving, yea, to the Hell-deserving. Grace is the antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial enforcement of law. Justice requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less. Justice bestows no favors and is no respecter of persons. Justice, as such, shows no pity and knows no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied, grace flows forth. Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but "grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21), and if grace "reigns," then is grace Sovereign.

Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God*; and if unmerited, then none can claim it as their inalienable right. If grace is unearned and undeserved, then none are entitled to it. If grace is a gift, then none can demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the free gift of God, then He bestows it on whom He pleases. Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of sinners is not beyond the reach of Divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace, boasting is excluded and God gets all the glory.

The Sovereign exercise of grace is illustrated on nearly every page of Scripture. The Gentiles are left to walk in their own ways while Israel becomes the covenant people of Jehovah. Ishmael the firstborn is cast out comparatively unblest, while Isaac the son of his parents' old age is made the child of promise. Esau the generous-hearted and forgiving-spirited is denied the blessing, though he sought it carefully with tears, while the worm Jacob receives the inheritance and is fashioned into a vessel of honor. So in the New Testament. Divine Truth is hidden from the wise and prudent, but is revealed to babes. The Pharisees and Sadducees
*An esteemed friend who kindly read through this book in its manuscript form, and to whom we are indebted for a number of excellent suggestions, has pointed out that grace is something more than "unmerited favor." To feed a tramp who calls on me is "unmerited favor," but it is scarcely grace. But suppose that after robbing me I should feed this starving tramp-that would be "grace." Grace, then, is favor shown where there is positive de-merit in the one receiving it.

are left to go their own way, while publicans and harlots are drawn by the cords of love.
In a remarkable manner Divine grace was exercised at the time of the Saviour's birth. The incarnation of God's Son was one of the greatest events in the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence was not made known to all mankind; instead, it was specially revealed to the Bethlehem shepherds and wise men of the East. And this was prophetic and indicative of the entire course of this dispensation, for even today Christ is not made known to all. It would have been an easy matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every nation and to have announced the birth of His Son. But He did not. God could have readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the "star"; but He did not. Why? Because God is Sovereign and dispenses His favors as He pleases. Note particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the Saviour was made known, namely, the most unlikely classes-illiterate shepherds and heathen from a far country. No angel stood before the Sanhedrin and announced the advent of Israel's Messiah! No "star" appeared unto the scribes and lawyers as they, in their pride and self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures! They searched diligently to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to them when He was actually come. What a display of Divine Sovereignty-the illiterate shepherds singled out for peculiar honor, and the learned and eminent passed by! And why was the birth of the Saviour revealed to these foreigners, and not to those in whose midst He was born? See in this a wonderful foreshadowing of God's dealings with our race throughout the entire Christian dispensation-Sovereign in the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favors on whom He pleases, often on the most unlikely and unworthy. *

It has been pointed out to us that God's Sovereignty was signally displayed in His choice of the place where His Son was born. Not to Greece or Italy did the Lord of Glory come, but to the insignificant land of Palestine! Not in Jerusalem-the royal city-was Immanuel born, but in Bethlehem, which was "little among the thousands (of towns and villages) in Judah" (Micah 5:2)! And it was in despised Nazareth that He grew up!! Truly, God's ways are not ours.


Taken from Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics.  To read the whole book, click here.

This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Spirit

Perhaps the Person most neglected in the Trinity is God the Holy Spirit.  There are many reasons for this, and time prohibits much depth here.  One should note, however, the hesitancy of many Christians, including Southern Baptist, on saying much about the Spirit is partially due to the continued rise of the Charismatic movement.  Pentecostals like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, and Todd Bentley have given Christianity a bad name and unbiblical practices like uninterpretted and ecstatic tongues, being slain in the Spirit, and holy laughter are so prevalent by those who abuse the doctrine of the Holy Spirit have led many Christians to the other extreme of ignoring Him.

Let us then offer a brief, yet biblical understanding of the third member of the Divine Trinity.  The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 says:

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. [1]

The BF&M 2000 is right to begin by pointing out the full deity of the Spirit.  Just as God the Father and God the Son are fully Divine, separate yet unified, so too the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Son yet separate from the Father and the Son.  Those who deny this doctrine are walking on dangerous heresy.

Perhaps what the Spirit is most known for is His work in inspiring Scripture.  The Spirit, via the will of God, has granted us a text that points us to Christ which utilizes the personalities of various writers throughout a vast time of human history (from the days of Moses to the Apostle John) to reveal the will and words of God.  But that is not all that the Spirit has done or continues to do. 

Perhaps most central to the Spirit’s work is His work in salvation.  Only the Spirit can soften the hard hearts of men leading them to the cross and repentance.  Only the Spirit can regenerate the believer to be more like Christ.  And only the Spirit is present within the believer offering guidance and assurance.  The Son saves, the Spirit sanctifies.  In the realm of salvation, perhaps we can sum up the work of the Trinity as follows: The Father initiates.  The Son propitiates.  The Spirit regenerates.

The Holy Spirit is central to all that we are.  Each member of the Trinity was involved in Creation (including our creation) and each member of the Trinity has worked to bring about our salvation.  But it is the Spirit, under the authority of the Father and the work of Christ, that guides us towards holiness.  Therefore, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), to produce the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), pray in the Spirit (Jude 20), be poor in the Spirit (Matthew 5:3), be in the Spirit (Romans 8:9), serve in the Spirit (Romans 12:11), be joyful in the Spirit (Romans 14:17), love by the Spirit (Romans 15:30), and be unified in the Spirit.

In all of this the Spirit is pointing us to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.  In an act of humility and submission, the Spirit submits to the will of the Father pointing us to the Son.  The Spirit seeks the glory of the Father through the praise of His creation.  The Spirit is always pointing us to Christ and the Father.  Let us, then, look to Christ, guided by the Spirit, being conformed to the image of Christ in our daily lives.  The Spirit is not someone that leads us into utter nonsense so commonly portrayed on TV, but is a working Person of the Trinity actively involved in our lives pointing us to our Savior.  God is Spirit (John 4:24) and let us worship Him, as Jesus said, in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).


[1]  The BF&M 2000 offers the following references:  Gen 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Ps 51:11; 139:7ff.; Is 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Cor 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess 5:19; 1 Tim 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17.


For more:
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God
This is Who We Are  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Son 


*  Regarding the above picture.  The Holy Spirit is often portrayed in the image of a dove.  This is common even in Scripture.  When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended like a dove (see Matthew 4).

September 19, 2010 - God is Provident

Here is the second installment of our ongoing series on the Doctrine of God.  This time we discussed the issue of Divine Providence.  This is a difficult issue and there is much more here than we could discuss in 30-40 minutes.  I encourage you guys to dig deeper on this issue.  Remember that Divine Creation gives us meaning and purpose while Divine Providence gives us hope.  Every late phone call I get I find myself leaning on His Divine Providence.





Audio
Notes


September 12, 2010 - God is Creator 


For more:
Calvin on Providence 
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God:  What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God
April 18, 2010 - Haggai 2:1-9 - And the Lord Said, "Get-r-Done"
August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6 - The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence 
Esther 4 - God's Providence 
Providence and Prayer:  Carson Responds 
This is Who WE Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God   
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father

September 12, 2010 - God is Creator

We began a new series of messages this past Sunday.  We are looking at the Doctrine of God (known as Theology Proper).  By studying various attributes of God we will gain insight into who it is we are worshiping.  Perhaps there isn't a more important question than who is God?  I believe that a right view of God will lead to a right view of life, man, and everything else.  All that we do reflects our view of God as this series will reveal.

We begin, then, with God as the Divine Creator.




Audio
Notes


For more:
What Creation Reveals About God 
Expelled 
Driscoll Sermon:  God is Creator 
Commentary - Causation and the Existence of God:  How Scientists Continue to Prove Aquinas's Point - Part 1
Commentary - Causation and the Existece of God:  How Scientists Continue to Prove Aquinas's Point - Part 2
Commentary - Creation or Manipulation:  The Limits of Man and the Evidence for God 
Commentary - Just Add Universes:  The Foolishness and Motivation Behind Atheism's Leap of Faith 
GBC - Has Science Buried God?  A Helpful Video 
GBC - Lewis on the Accident of Evolution 
Commentary - Natural Morality:  The Disconnect Between Darwinism and Morality  
Commentary -John Lennox: The New Atheism and the Gospel
Commentary -D'Souza: Are Atheists Cultural Christians
Commentary -Survival of the Moral: Can Man Be Moral Without God?
Commentary - Re: Survival of the Moral: Can Man Be Moral Without God?
Commentary -Freud's Wish Fulfillment: Why Atheism Can't Explain Atheism
Commentary -The Atheist Debates
Commentary -Atheism Is Not Great - The D'Souza and Hitchens Debate
Review -"Atheism Remix" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Review -"The Delusion of Disbelief" by David Aikman
Review -"The End of Reason" by Ravi Zacharias
Review -"Friedrich Nietzsche" by George Burma
Review -What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza
Shortblog -The Conversion of Francis Collins

This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - God

Amanda and I disagree regarding food.  I like my bacon to still have meat and fat on it.  Amanda, on the other hand, likes for her bacon to be so burnt it could hold up a bridge.  I like my steak to be medium-rare while she likes hers to be like charcoal.  We also disagree with buffets.  I love them and always try to get my money’s worth by stuffing my face.  Amanda, however, isn’t so fond of them.  Why is one of the many mysteries of marriage.

Buffets are great because one can easily pick and choose what they want.  I like steak, but I don’t like broccoli, so I’ll take the steak and leave the broccoli.  I especially like fixing my own desert: a chocolate chip brownie covered in Hersey’s chocolate syrup with chocolate ice cream on top covered again with more Hersey’s chocolate syrup.  Is your mouth watering yet? – mine is.

Buffets are great when it comes to food, but not so great when it comes to theology.  In our postmodern, relativistic, tolerant society, we have turned our understanding of God into a buffet of beliefs.  We want a God of love, but don’t want the wrath and judgment part.  In goes God’s love, out goes His righteousness. We want a God who is personal yet distant enough to not hold us accountable.  In goes God’s as personal, out goes His Omnipresence.  We want a God who is like us and our culture and so we reject His Immutability.  In other words, though God created us in His image, we have to return the favor.

Thankfully, God isn’t limited to our wants and needs.  God is not clay that we can mold and shape.  The motivation behind such theology is to turn us into gods where we determine truth, morality, and righteousness.

God is greater than our imagination.  The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 writes concerning God (before venturing into discussing the Trinity):

There is one & only one living & true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, & personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, & Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness & all other perfections. God is all powerful & all knowing; & His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present & future including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, & obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

If I can sum up this description of God is would be: God is beyond human language and description.  By my count, the BF&M 2000, in this one paragraph, uses approximately twenty different adjectives to describe God.  The statement of faith says that He is one, personal, the Creator, the Redeemer, infinite, holy, perfect, Omnipotent, Omniscient, triune, and eternal just to name a few.

This is an important reality when we speak about God: our human language is limited and cannot adequately describe God.  This is why so many confessions of faith and theologies utilize multiple and countless adjectives to describe God.  He is greater than our human language.

But there is a serious danger at this point.  Though we can never fully describe or grasp God, that does not mean that we ought not seek to understand and study His character.  Many in modern evangelicalism that simply ceases to try to explain or understand God.  This is a convenient way of excusing licentiousness and bad theology.  After all, how can you say that your theology is right when theology (the science and study of God) is impossible since God is beyond human description?

At this point we must admit that though God is beyond complete understanding, He has clearly revealed Himself to us.  Our responsibility is to take what He has revealed about Himself and affirm, believe, and apply those truths.  We know God is holy because the angels in heaven sings such wonder (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).  We know that God is immutable because Scripture clearly says that He does not change (Malachi 3:6-7a; Romans 11:28-36; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17).  We know that God is love because it has been revealed to us (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16).  We could do this all day.  Christian theology is not the art of guessing about God.  Yes, God is beyond words, but that does not mean that God cannot be known at all.  In His grace, God has not only revealed Himself in the creation and in our conscience, but also through the canon of Scripture.

This means that we have a responsibility in understanding, studying, and applying what God has revealed.  Scripture, at its center, is direct revelation from God about God.  Apart from the Bible we would know very little and what could be known would be speculative.  If God can be known (though not exhaustively), are we taking advantage of it or are we simply leaving our Bible’s on the shelf until next Sunday?  We say much about God, but because of our infrequent study of Him, we know very little about Him.  We struggle and want to know where God is and yet are unwilling to understand His nature.  All theology is practical and the study of God is no different.  If God is Omnipresent (everywhere) then I am not alone.  If God is immutable (unchanging) then my salvation is secure.  If God is holy then injustice and evil will be judged and I need not retaliate.  If God is forgiving, then I know how to forgive.  If God is love, then I know how to love.  If God is Sovereign then I need not fear.  If God is provident, then I need not worry about tomorrow.  If God is creator then I know that I am not an accident and God has a purpose for me.  Will I fulfill and do His will?  Though I struggle, I know God.  Though I mourn, I know God.  Though I am worried and anxious, I know God. 

There is a God and He has made Himself known to us and what we know is far beyond our comprehension.  So though we cannot pull God down, let us instead lift Him up and praise Him name as he truly is.  Thanks be to God that we are not in the dark but can enjoy the light of truly knowing who God is.  To study and encounter God is to be overwhelmed.  Are you overwhelmed?



For more:
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction 
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture  

Grudem on Prayer: Why Bother?

This upcoming Sunday, we will be looking at the issue of prayer in the Sermon on the Mount.  We will be spending 3 weeks on the subject covering Matthew 6:5-15.  This week we will be looking at verses 5-8 regarding how not to pray (verses 9-13 tell us how to pray).

But through all of this, as I study, I am asking myself the question:  why should we pray?  After all, in vs. 8, Jesus clearly says that God already knows what we need before we ask it, so why bother?  Here is an answer given by theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem offers in his best-selling, world renown Systematic Theology:

God wants us to pray b/c prayer expresses our trust in God and is a means whereby our trust in him can increase.  In fact, perhaps the primary emphasis of the Bible’s teaching on prayer is that we are to pray with faith, which means trust or dependence on Go.  God as our Creator delights in being trusted by us as his creatures, for an attitude of dependence is most appropriate to the Creature/creature relationship.  Praying in humble dependence also indicates that we are genuinely convinced of God’s wisdom, love, goodness, and power – indeed of all of the attributes that make up his excellent character.  -377



Later he adds:

But God does not only want us to trust him.  He also wants us to love him and have fellowship with him.  This, then, is a second reason why god wants us to pray.  Prayer brings us into deeper fellowship with God, and he loves us and delights in our fellowship with him.  -378

Grudem is on to something here (and he has much more to say on the subject than this.  Prayer is more than just asking for God to intervene.  Prayer is our admission that we are insufficient apart from Him.  If we depended on God to redeem us, then we continue to depend on Him to change us, make us more like Him, and live in this world seeking to be like Christ.  Prayer assumes humility and a desire for fellowship with our Creator who has redeemed us.

So this week (and every week) let us rethink prayer.  Stop making prayer a ritual or a Christmas list.  Make prayer about humble submission and full dependence on He who redeemed us for His glory.  Let us enter into fellowship with him.

How's your prayer life?  Do you have on? 


For more:
Is This How We Pray?