HOW DO YOU KNOW? Ephesians 1:1-13
How do you know that man was/is created “out of the overflow of love that existed between the persons of the Trinity”? How do you know the mind of God?
This was an excellent question brought up at the end of last week’s session as we studied the opening verses of John’s Gospel.
The discussion leader did not preface his statement with tentative words such as, “I believe.” Had he done that, the question, if it arose might have been, “Why do you think it was ‘out of the overflow of love existing between the persons of the Trinity that issued in the creation of mankind?’” It was the boldness of his assertion that led to a discussion of “How do you know?”
The question, “How do you know what God had in mind when he created mankind,” arose in the midst of a community of faith. If this had been a group gathered from the world, we would likely have had a deeper skepticism and the question would have been, “How do you know that there is a God?” Or, a skeptical worldling with a little tendency toward believing might say, “If there is a God, how do we know that he thinks of us at all? The world seems random to me.”
So you see, the question was not from the world of the godless, but from the community of faith asking, “How do we know?”
How can we know the mind of God? This is a very old question. The Book of Job is an ancient morality play very like the morality plays of Europe that arose in Medieval Europe and continue to this day. The Book of Job raises several ultimate questions debated in every age; is God just? Does God see? If God sees, does He care?
The Protagonist in Job is described as a just man. Though tormented by foreign enemies, by his religious friends and his bitter wife, he maintained his integrity, his faith (not just belief) in a just God who ultimately would vindicate Himself. By that I mean, that God would vindicate His acts in relation to mankind and by doing that would reveal Job’s faith was not in vain; thus vindicating the faith of Job.
Job’s belief, and his active trust in God, kept him from cursing and turning his back on God. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him,” said Job. “I know that my redeemer lives and in the last days will stand on this earth, and though the skin worms destroy this body, yet I will see God.” Indeed, at the end of the morality play, the fortunes of the afflicted Job is turned, God answered him and the “Miserable Comforters who accused him” from out of a whirl wind and restored the fortunes of Job who had not sinned with his lips by accusing God falsely.
The old questions of a just God were answered in “the real time” of the morality play. He is not an un-moveable mover who sets nature in motion and is untouched by the plight of mortals. Unlike old Zeus who dwelt on Mt. Olympia out of sight and nearly out of mind of the race of men, the God of the community that saw the ancient scenes portrayed in Job heard the faith of a God that cared enough to intervene in the affairs of men and would have gracious conversation, even debates with his creatures.
How close those ancients came to the concept of a heavenly Father Christians understand from this side of the Cross! The Almighty answered our questions. He spoke out of the whirlwind. In the last day He vindicated our trust in Him. That is the message of the ancient playwright/poet/prophet Job. This is Wisdom.
That is a preliminary answer to the question, how do you know that God purposed to create men because of an “overflow of love” between the three persons of the Trinity. This is only the first step in the answer. How do we work it out?
The science of theology deals with words about God. Like any other science, certain givens are the basis within Christian tradition on which theology is erected; there are certain presuppositions. Look at any discipline within science and at bottom of the practice you will find certain presuppositions, certain givens. These presumptions were arrived at by observation, collection of facts, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning that ultimately led to the postulates on which the theory and practice was erected. Subsequent experience and further observation leads to modification and amplification of basic theory as we make progress in any given field of endeavor. Among the presumptions on which our science and our civilization is erected is that there is a certain regularity or order in nature. We can predict based on past observation and experiences.
The Book of Job, in my opinion, may be as old as the literature in the opening chapters of Genesis. We have no certain knowledge of the time when Job was written, but it appears to be very old, for there is no reference to Father Abraham or the Patriarchs of Israel or of the Law of Moses. Likewise, we can’t pin down the time or place where the first 11 chapters of Genesis were penned. It is not until we come to Abraham that we can find a place (Ur of the Chaldeas) and a people we can identify in archaeology and history.
Job may be older than Abraham. We know that Israel/Judah picked up information, wisdom literature from her contacts with other, older cultures. While “salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22), we have it from St Paul that the race of man is without excuse for suppressing the knowledge of God because, “. . .God made it plain. . .since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities –his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” (Romans 1:20)
There you have the tradition of the Jews in particular, and of mankind in general. The conclusion even by a man living 2000 years ago, is that God has revealed himself in nature. Such deductions were worked out in human existence and then revealed to us in the Book of Job. The medieval scholastic philosopher/theologians and men of our own day have written extensively about this topic under the heading, General Revelation.
From Job, we progress to Father Abraham and the Patriarchs of Israel/Judah. Here we have something different occurring. No longer are we dependent on only General Revelation, on our view of the natural world and our conclusions in regard to cause and effect, for knowledge that leads us to believe there is a creator and that he is the source of good or evil in our lives.
Now we have special revelation. God is no longer on Mt Olympus; he had conversations with Abraham, he sent special messengers to the Patriarchs. Jacob wrestled with God, or at least with an angel of the Lord. God appeared to Jacob in a dream at a place he called, “Gate of Heaven (Beth-El).” In that dream God said explicitly, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I am with you and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” (Genesis 28:15)
Terrorized by the vision, Jacob said, “Surely God is in this place and named it ‘House of God. . .Stairway or Gate to Heaven.’” A look back at the tower of Babel story (Genesis 11) and a look at the ziggurats erected in Mesopotamia help us to understand Jacob’s reaction to the vision. In that region square based pyramids were erected with sides where the stones protruded making a stairway to the shrine at the top. These were variously named, “The House of the Seven Guides of Heaven and Earth (at Larsa), The house of the Foundation-Platform of Heaven and Earth (Babylon), The house of the Mountain of the Universe (at Asshur). Similar constructions of course exist in Egypt and in Central and South America. In North America, ancient people called “Mound Builders” erected high places throughout the Mid West and South. The commonality of experience of the ancients and their thinking about their life experiences led to the formation of a variety of religions. One of the conclusions we draw is that the experience with the divine led the ancients of many cultures to believe the experience of the divine is some how multiple. Before we dismiss all these ancient conclusions as worthless polytheistic pagan superstition, we ought to reflect that it was out of their experience and thought that rational men made response to what they perceived really existed but was beyond sight. Their error is easy to see from where we stand because of the recorded experiences of the Patriarchs of Israel and Judah.
What differentiated the experience of Patriarch Jacob was that he saw the Lord at the top of the Ladder. From his witnessing the self-disclosure of God at the Gate of Heaven he tells us the Lord is at the top and messengers ascend and descend. This explained the experience of multiple spirits the ancients had perceived and affirmed that the universe is not random, and there is but one Lord. This experience of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the beginning of a real advance in theology.
Because the Bible Story is a continuation of the Revelation of the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to his people, Jesus could say, “Salvation is from the Jews”. You know that story as it unfolds in the rest of the Bible and in Christian history.
The statement: “man was created out of the overflow of love within the persons of the trinity,” is a natural progression from the beginnings of God’s interaction with the Patriarchs of Ancient Israel and the Wisdom of Job.
Consider the rational, very natural conclusion expressed by the writer of Hebrews, a second generation Christian, possibly St Paul or one of his followers: “In the past God spoke to our fore fathers through the prophets, at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.”? (Hebrews 1:1-6)
In chapter 2 of Hebrews the writer continues, showing us the rational basis of his faith.
“This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2:3-4)
Carefully reading the first two chapters of Hebrews and the opening lines of Luke and Acts helps us understand that Christians in the first century based their faith not on some internal subjective experience, but on the common experience and testimony of many witnesses who saw Jesus and/or his early apostles. They questioned these men and believed their testimony. The Gospel of John, which we are now studying, is replete with this testimony.
Not only that, after the first Christians had entered the “body of Christ” they too had the “internal witness of the spirit”. (Hebrews 3:1 ff and Romans chapter 8) “ . . .you received the Spirit of son-ship. . .and by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” As participants in this Body of Christ (the Church) they saw what an extraordinary difference it made in their lives.
These summary statements from the experience of first century Christians, combined with the descriptions of the nature and acts of Jesus in the Gospels tells us something of the nature of God. When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, “Where is your Father” Jesus said, “You do not know me or my Father, if you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8:19) The Gospels tell us Jesus’ character and purpose. He came “to seek and save that which was lost.”
The proof of his identity was in the miracles, including his resurrection, which was witnessed by 100’s of people in many places. The evidence we have from eye witnesses is that these things really occurred and were not “cleverly devised fables.” Contemporaries of Jesus died for testifying to what they saw and experienced.
Their testimony is summed up in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This statement is at the heart of our understanding of God and is proclaimed at every celebration of the Lord’s Supper. In essence it says a heart of love is beating at the center of the universe. There is more around us than cold, empty space.
“For God so loved the world.” We cannot count how many times this primary confession of faith is proclaimed in a week, and it has echoed around the world for 2000 years, as Christians gather at the Lord’s table to remember and proclaim his death until he comes again.
Over and over the Scripture proclaims that God would not have any perish, but that all would enjoy everlasting life. The door to the Father’s house is always open to his prodigal children. The Father comes out to meet the prodigal while he or she is a long way off. That was his plan before time.
The Good Shepherd goes out on the mountainside amid the storms of this life to rescue that one lost sheep. That is the poetic and our artistic expression of our faith from the very earliest days. The catacombs of Rome contains one of the first icons of Jesus. He is shown with a philosopher’s book and with a shepherd’s staff. He was pictured as the philosopher with the answer to our ultimate question in regard to death; and as a shepherd because God would not have any perish., not even one.
Coming back to the question, how do we know the mind of God, his motivation for creating us?
We know by these methods. We collect the facts that we have from history and from the observation of people from many cultures over many centuries. The children of Israel and of Judah asked many hard questions about the nature of their life and the nature of God. That is what we have in the Bible, the record of revelation of God to a people who asked the hard questions.
The record was accumulated slowly, progressively over at least 2000 years before, as John 1:1 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” That Word was the answer to our question, was it not?
In words, The Word (Jesus Christ) and in the deeds by the Word of God Incarnate, and by the Acts of the Holy Spirit recorded in Acts and the Epistles, we know God is love and know his intent for our race.
Can we prove it? What is the proof?
The first proof is the Record of Revelation, the history of God’s self-disclosure in the Book we call the Bible.
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The Second is our own laboratory of life. From very ancient times, the Wisdom taught us to try it out, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) “How sweet are thy words. . . .”;Psalm 119:103.
Wisdom taught us that “The way of the transgressor is hard” and that “Every prudent man acts out of knowledge.” (Proverbs 13:15) Ancient Israel and the Jews learned these lessons in the school of life. Christians, in the 2000 years since Jesus Christ came are carrying on that Wisdom tradition of seeking out the mind and the will of God from the record of revelation that he left us in the writings of the people he chose for this purpose and in the laboratory of our own daily experience.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Our laboratory is too small to hold all of God’s acts, but we can “taste.”
St. Paul in several places refers to the mystery of redemption. In his use of the word, a mystery is a purpose of God or an action of God that was not understood by men until God revealed it.
The treasured mysteries, he said, we hold in earthly vessels. That we are capable of apprehending a mystery can be compared to Columbus’ discovery of a new world. He only touched the edges; he did not explore the interior. That is the way Paul described our understanding of God; it is only partial. Yet, he speaks boldly of God’s purpose echoed last week in John William’s statement.
St. Paul, near the end of his life wrote the following lines from a prison cell where he was awaiting ultimate martyrdom because of his intellectual understanding and belief that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God (see Philippians). He was on trial because he spoke concerning his experience of this risen Lord and because he gave this testimony to the unbelieving world. Paul clearly speaks of God’s eternal purpose. Here are St Paul’s magnificent words.
Ephesians 1 God’s Eternal Purpose for mankind
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen,] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 3
Gods Secret Plan Revealed
I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles. As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles. As I briefly mentioned earlier in this letter, God himself revealed his secret plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus.. . . .I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
God’s purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church. This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome. So please don’t despair because of what they are doing to me here. It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged.
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
Romans 8:37-39
"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away."
Now we know.
Charles R. Scott, Pastor
Church of the Good Shepherd, Anglican
2060 E 54th Street
Indianapolis, In, 46220
crscottblu@yahoo.com
http://www.goodshepherdindy.org
