What if we've got it all wrong about God in the modern church world? What if He is nothing like we've imagined Him to be? What if the most basic understandings we have about His nature, His personality and His approach to us completely misses the point? What if God the Father didn't didn't send Jesus the Son to come alone to earth so that the Father could vent His anger over sin against the Son instead of us, but instead so that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could together come to deal a death blow against sin in order to free us from its grip before it caused us to waste away into eternal nothingness?
What if the work of Jesus on the cross wasn't to change God's mind about you, but to change your mind about God?
What if God isn't nearly as concerned about what you're doing or not doing as He is about how you see and understand Him?
What if God is smiling as He looks at you right now and you could never do anything to wipe that smile off His face?
What if the coming of Jesus wasn't God's reaction to Adam's sin, but was carrying out a plan that had been made long before Adam was even created?
What if the primary characteristic of who God is has nothing to do with being a judge, but has everything to do with being a gentle, loving, Father?
What if you could never cause God to become angry or even disappoint Him?
What if you didn't need more faith, but only need to depend on Jesus to express His faith on your behalf?
What if you were the child God always wanted?
What if fulfilling God's plan for your life didn't depend on you at all?
What if God loved Muslims and atheists and homosexuals as much as He loves you?
What if you were a part of the inner circle of love shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
What if?
I just want to shout YES, Steve, YES!
ReplyDeleteKinda reminds me of the song "What If" by Jadon Lavik. See here for a youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thiufLprFas&feature=related
ReplyDeleteTogski - that is a good video. I hadn't heard of the musician or the song but I like it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tracy..for many years I would have respond to the "what ifs" with "what about?"
What if all you said were true? Would ALL BUT the last phrase of II Cor. 7:10 be a far more common functioning reality in peoples lives [rebirthed or lost] than the last phrase?
ReplyDeleteIf what you said were commonly taught, would not more of us be willing to "stand down our weapons, lower our shields and prepare to be boarded?" And once boarded, would we not be more willing to surrender the bridge and all else? What a mission we'd be on then!!
ReplyDeleteSo well said and very thought provoking. I especially love the one about God smiling.
ReplyDeleteYou are making me SMILE! No "what if's about it!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the Gospel to me...
Steve - Great questions! I loved all of them and especially the 'inner circle' concept!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I too have struggles with the idea of God the Father pouring His wrath on His son (Your second question). I still have no clear in that area. I know it kind of touches the mystery of Trinity which a human mind cannot comprehend.
But the question remain is, if it was the Father, Son and Holy Spirit taking a 'death blow', why would Jesus pray to father in the Gethsemane? I know it shows the humanity of the Son but it also shows the distinction (at least at that moment) of Father and Son. What do you think?
Part of me is struggling to see an Angry Father punishing His son; but part of me is trying to see God as a just God that he had to punish sin, but in His mercy He chose his own son to bear that punishment.
Hmmm, what does righteous wrath have to do with "anger"? Think holy vs. unholy. When Holy touches unholy, unholy flesh doesn't survive. Think of Uzzah touching the ark. When Christ became all that was unholy (identifying with our state), His flesh died, but because of His inherent holiness and righteousness we were justified IN HIM and He was resurrected.
ReplyDeleteI just don't see punishment and anger as part of the equation. God is love. He doesn't act against His nature, whether or not we can reconcile our mind to that.
Well you're speaking "grace, grace, grace" to it Steve. Well done.
ReplyDeleteJamie - that's the exact point. I have no problem with the concept of wrath as long as we understand that it is divine love in corrective action.
ReplyDeleteBino - Jesus prayed to His Father in Gethsemane because He was a man, facing an unspeakably horrible death. That prayer came from His humanity. Certainly, there is a distinction between Father, Son and Spirit. To believe otherwise is to embrace a faulty viewpoint called "modalism." Yet there is a union of essence among the Trinity that has never been severed. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus "as very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.." So my view is that when the Father was "in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself," there is no expression there of the Father being angry with the Son, but rather the eternally unified Trinity being resolved to deal with sin.
ReplyDeleteSteve - I appreciate your comments! I am glad you mentioned "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself", that makes a lot fo sense! One of the reason I have a difficulty understanding this is due to the fact that Bible says Jesus being a 'ransom' for our sins. Now the question is whom did He pay the 'ransom' to? Some says God gave him as a ransom to the Devil (which I don't believe), so the next possibility is that Him being a ransom to satisfy God's wrath...
ReplyDeleteWell, I think I am not going to split the hairs anymore on this issue. The truth is that we are fully forgiven by the death of Christ and granted His righteousness as a gift and there is nothing which can take that righteousness away from us!
Thanks again!
Bino - I think the word "ransom" has caused a lot of misunderstanding. The Greek word could just as easily be translated as redemption and is translated that way in some translations. To me, it makes the meaning clearer.
ReplyDeleteHi Bino, another opinion is that SIN demanded an offering not God, SIN needs to be fed, but continuosly wants more, dunno if you can relate to this, you can start with "soft drugs" and slowly travel to "hard drugs", you can offer some grain to the angry gods and then end up offering your own children just to appease them, what jesus did was lure sin onto the cross offering himself as the bait and food, but the meal was bigger than the beast. Sin held us captive and jesus offered the ransom? I got this from another preacher guy, but it rings true to me
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteVincent - Thanks! I am leaning towards what you just described. I kind of get it.
ReplyDeleteWow! A Unified Trinity come to deal with sin. It fit. Thanks.
ReplyDelete