On the Centrality of Death

Francis Schaeffer once said, “We are surrounded by a world that says “no” to nothing” (True Spirituality, p. 216). In fact, it is countercultural to say “no” to anything, which is well illustrated in Eden when Adam and Eve wanted to put themselves at the center. But, after becoming a Christian, we are now enabled to say “no” to things. How is this possible? It is because the Christian has experienced a death.

The scriptures tell us that we have died with Christ and that this death is central to the Christian life. This can be summed up in four passages:

Romans 6:4a – “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death”
Romans 6:6a – “We know that our old self was crucified with him”
Galatians 2:20a – “I have been crucified with Christ.”
Galatians 6:14 – “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

In dying with Christ, we have the opportunity to say “no” to 2 things: First, the dominance of things and second, the dominance of self. Christ said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself” (Luke 9:23).

The death of Christ is central to the message of the Good News as well as the central issue in true spirituality. He was rejected, slain, raised. This is true for us too and our true spirituality – we are rejected, slain, raised. Schaeffer said, “As Christ’s rejection and death are the first steps in the order of redemption, so our rejection and death to things and self are the first steps in order of true and growing spirituality” (True Spirituality, p. 222). This is a daily process, not just a once in a lifetime event – we must take up our cross daily!

On Adam

John Calvin stated, “The office which [Christ] received from the Father consists of three parts. For he was appointed… Prophet, King, and Priest.” [1] My question is: was Adam originally created to fulfill these three offices?  I think so and here are some thoughts about the first Adam being a prophet, priest, and king (and in a future post, I’ll discuss the connection between husbands and wives).

Adam was created in the image of God (i.e., the image of Christ) (Gen. 1:26-27; Jn. 14:9; Rom. 8:29).  Adam was created to simultaneously fulfill the offices of prophet, priest, and king in an Edenic temple.[2] The Fall into sin resulted in both the image and the offices being twisted and distorted. Thus, Adam failed in keeping the three-fold offices of prophet, priest, and king (see below).

Office	Definition	What Adam did	What he should have done
Prophet	One who speaks God’s words to His people	“…she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate… The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:6, 12; cf. Deut. 18:15-22).	Spoke these words of God to Eve:“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17)
Priest	One who serves God in His place and intercedes for His people	Adam did not guard the Edenic temple from the serpent entering and tempting His wife.	“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it (or serve it) and keep it (or guard it)”[2] (Gen. 2:15).
King	One who rules/leads God’s people and provides a defense	Adam allowed the serpent to have dominion over him and Eve, rather than having dominion over it as the Lord had commanded.	“And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26; cf. Gen. 1:28).

But Christ came as the second Adam and perfectly kept the three offices. More on that in a future post.

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[1] John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, book 2, c. 15:1.

[2] “Adam was placed in the garden to “cultivate and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Taken alone, “cultivation” has obvious agricultural meaning. But this pair of terms (“cultivate/keep” also translated “serve/guard”) is used elsewhere in the OT to describe the work of the priest (Num. 3:7–8; 8:25–26; 18:5–6; 1 Chr. 23:32; Ezek. 44:14). Thus “the task of Adam in Genesis 2:15 included more than mere spadework in the dirt of a garden. It is apparently that priestly obligations in Israel’s later temple included the duty of ‘guarding’ unclean things from entering (cf. Num. 3:6–7, 32, 38; 18:1–7), and this appears to be relevant for Adam, especially in view of the unclean creature lurking on the perimeter of the Garden and who then enters”. Craig Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God, 69.

On Leadership

A good reminder from Mark Driscoll of who is ultimately in charge of the church.

The Scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Jesus is the Apostle who plants a church. Jesus is the Leader who builds the church. Jesus is the Senior Pastor and Chief Shepherd who rules the church. And it is ultimately Jesus who closes churches down when they have become faithless or fruitless. Therefore, it is absolutely vital that a church loves Jesus, obeys Jesus, imitates Jesus, and follows Jesus at all times and in all ways, according to the teaching of his Word.

This gives me comfort. How about you?

Source: Mark Driscoll, On Church Leadership, p. 12.

On Epiphany

In some cultures, today (January 6) is Epiphany, an unfamiliar holiday to most Americans.  Below is a description of this very ancient holiday.

Definition: Epiphany, the end of the Christmas season, is 12 days after the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It comes from a Greek word meaning show or reveal. Epiphany, which is celebrated with festivities and gift exchanges, is often called Twelfth Night. Gift-giving, in some cultures, extends throughout the 12 days of Christmas; elsewhere, gift-giving is limited to January 5 or 6 (or December 24-25). In some traditions, Epiphany is celebrated as the Theophany, on January 19th. In Western churches, Epiphany celebrates the coming of the magi. Where Epiphany is celebrated as the Theophany, the event in the life of Jesus Christ that is commemorated is his baptism. Epiphany as a liturgical event is first mentioned in A.D. 361 by Ammianus Marcellinus, XXI ii.

Can we bring back the 12 days of giving???

Source: About.com, Epiphany.