The God Who Believes: the vicarious humanity of Jesus

I'm reading Christian Kettler's book, The God Who Believes (Faith, Doubt, and the Vicarious Humanity of Christ). He shows how Jesus, as the representative and substitute for all humanity, has faith on our behalf. To view a "You're Included" interview with Kettler, click here.

Fundamental to the thesis of Kettler's book, is the Christian doctrine of the vicarious humanity of Jesus Christ. Here are a few representative quotes:

"As common as it has been to consider Christ's death to be vicarious, carried out in our place and for us, what if we were to consider that the entirety of his humanity was lived vicariously for us and in our place?" (p. x).

"Can we say that Jesus believes, not just as an example of a believer, but believes for me and in my place vicariously, so that I can be helped in my unbelief (Mark 9:24)?" (p. xii).

"The nature of Christ's vicarious work is not simply one moment on the cross, but his entire life, so that the entirety of our lives might be affected. The Word took on the entirety of humanity, body and soul, in order to save the entire human..." (p. 6).

"Let me carefully define what 'vicarious' means in term of the vicarious humanity of Christ. Unfortunately, it can often mean to some people, 'pseudo' or 'false,' as in the father getting a 'vicarious' thrill from his son's accomplishments as an athlete...In that way it is 'false,' not real....[But] the vicarious humanity of Christ does not mean that Christ's humanity is unreal. Quite the contrary! It does mean that the vicarious humanity of Christ speaks of the deep interaction between Christ's humanity and our humanity at the level of our being, the ontological level. So the atoning work of Christ is neither simply a means by which we are declared righteous by God, nor simply a demonstration of God's love. It is both, but much more, in the sense of God desiring to recreate our humanity at the deepest levels, addressing our needs and fears, our doubts from within our very being" (p. 6).

"A vicarious sense of Christ's humanity signifies that Jesus Christ is both the representative of and the substitute for my humanity. He represents my humanity before God the Father, having taken my humanity upon himself, bringing it back to God from the depths of sin and death. He is High Priest, representing the people before God (The Epistle to the Hebrews). But he is also the sacrifice himself. He is the substitute, doing in my place, in my stead, what I am unable to do: live a life of perfect faithfulness to, obedience to, and trust in God. 'Vicarious' at its heart means doing something for another in their stead, doing something that they are unable to do" (p. 6).

"[Our] response of faith [to God] should not begin with the weakness and vacillation of our faith, but with the faith of Jesus, a faith that is part of his wider human response in every way, even including our repentance. [Jesus'] solidarity [with us] is the means for Christ to be our substitute... Jesus the Son of God must walk the path of sinful humanity, sharing in our stories, including our doubts and fears. This is the path of both representing our humanity and taking our place" (p. 27).

"Jesus' vicarious humanity is a story about our humanity too and its need for completion, for fulfillment, to fill up what has been lacking" (p. 28).

"The vicarious humanity of Christ in the sense of his obedience [on our behalf] is not antithetical to [our personal] faith in Christ. Jesus 'sees' the Father (John 6:46). 'The will of the Father' is 'that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day' (John 6:40). The believer 'eats' of Jesus 'the living bread...and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh' (John 6:51). The humanity (flesh) of Christ is integrally connected to the life of the believer. Jesus' 'food,' in turn, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work' (John 4:34)" (p. 30).

"If there is a vicarious humanity of Christ there is also a vicarious deity of Christ. [Just as] Christ represents and stands in for us before the Father. So he also represents and stands in for the Father" '...And no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him' (Matt 11:27). Christ puts himself in God's place since the relationship between the Father and the Son 'falls within the very being of God'" (p. 32).

"To share in Christ's vicarious humantiy is not to be released from faith and discipleship. In fact, discipleship is intensified. Jesus predicts that his disciples will be handed over to be tortured, put to death, and hated 'because of my name' (Matt 24:10, cf. v.22). The follower of Jesus will now act vicariously for Jesus ('because of my name'). The 'sheep...blessed by my Father' will be rewarded because they acted on behalf of Jesus, meeting Jesus himself when they clothed the naked, fed the hungry, and visited the imprisoned (Matt 25:31-46)" (p. 34).

Interview with Michael Horton in Christianity Today

Michael Horton was interviewed in the November 2009 Christianity Today.  I find his comments both helpful and insightful, flowing as they do from a biblical understanding of the gospel of God's grace in Jesus. 
Here's part of what he says:

"In such a therapeutic, pragmatic, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps society as ours, the message of God having to do all the work in saving us comes as an offensive shot at our egos...The gospel has nothing to do with what I do. The gospel is entirely a message about what someone else has done not only for me but also for the renewal of the whole creation."

You can read the full interview, titled "Christ at the Center," by clicking here. Let me know what you think.

The Trinity imaged in our humanity

In a former post I quoted from Tom Smail's book, "Like Father, Like Son, the Trinity Imaged in Our Humanity." Here are additional quotes from chapter 1:

If we are made in the image of God, we are made in the image of the Trinity; and the life of the Trinity must in some sort be reflected in the pattern of our human life. (quoting John F. X. Hariott in the flyleaf)

To make gods in the image of men is the esence of all idolatry, whether the resultant idols are the physical artifacts of our hands or the cerebral projections of our minds, and the result of both is an impotent religion that imprisons us in its illusions and distracts and distances us from the genuine sources of our liberation. (p. 19)

If the idols of our own making that reflect our own image are toppling all around us, it might be time to ask, What vision comes into focus when we see ourselves not as the masters but rather the mirrors of an ultimate reality on which we depend? Is there any word from outside ourselves that could help us to see ourselves a we really are and enable us to become what we were meant to be? The scriptural doctrine of the image of God offers such an alternative anthropology. (p. 26).

God has decisively revealed himself through his incarnate Son and has enabled us to receive that revelation through the work of his Spirit...[this revelation] is an encounter with a personal reality rather than a theory about an impersonal absolute; it is a revelational gift rather than an intellectual achievement. (p. 27)

We have to face the hard questions that arise when we affirm that the Triune God is at the center of reality... (p. 28)

We have to adapt our concepts and modify our experiments to make them more and more adequate to the nature of the reality we encounter. (p. 30)

To be rescued from the distorting influences of our own self-projection which ruin our relationship with God, he gives us not just revelation but reconcilation, so that we can be converted from the self-centeredness that projects ourselves upward to the God-centeredness that is enabled to receive what God projects downward. In Christ, God himself becomes the God-centered man that the rest of us have failed to be, the one who is undistortedly receptive to his Father and is able to convey his Father to us. "He that has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). In the Holy Spirit our humanity is joined to Christ's humanity, his mind becomes our mind, the preoccupation with ourselves that distorts all life and especially religious life is exposed and we beome progressively reoriented in mind to God and so more and more enabled to image his being in our being and his life in ours. (p. 34)

If God's revelation in Christ is true, then we should be able to see how it shows us the ultimate truth about ourselves. When we know the original, we will be able to recognize the image. If the original is phony, the image will be a shadow; if the original is glorious, the image will be bright. (p. 37)

Belong before believe?

Jesus includes all humanity, including non-believers in his love and life. Is it not then appropriate for the church to embrace non-believers and include them in the life and ministry of the church?  In short, is it OK for people to belong before they believe? 

In answer, we need only look to what Jesus did. In calling and forming his first group of followers, Jesus reached out to several young men who did not yet believe in Jesus - though Jesus believed in them, and included them in his group (and thus in his ministry) before they came to believe in him as their Messiah, the Son of God.

In a progressively post-Christian world, this insight has particular relevance - people will often need to experience the loving, inclusive community of Jesus' followers before they come to believe that Jesus is their Savior and Lord. For more on this topic, click here to download a paper on the Mosaic Alliance Project written by Eric Bryant (pictured left). You can read more from Eric on his blog at www.ericbryant.org.

The continuing (glorified) humanity of Jesus

Click here to read a helpful and succinct blog post at TheoCentric. It summarizes the orthodox, biblical teaching concerning Jesus' ascension (including his continuing, glorified humanity). 

The vicarious humanity of Jesus

One of our blog readers, Gerald McNaughton, wrote me wondering if by referring to Jesus' "vicarious humanity" we are saying that he participates in humanity only "vicariously."  Here is my reply to Gerald's question:

To speak of Jesus' "vicarious humanity" is NOT to say that Jesus is anything less than fully human. Scripture declares that the eternal Son of God became human through his incarnation, and remains human forever (see 1Tim. 2:5). The resurrected, ascended Jesus is fully God and fully human (now glorified in his humanity). And the one who will return in glory will be fully God and fully human.

Jesus is the permanent union of God and humanity in his own person: one person with two natures. Thus to say that Jesus is the "vicarious human" is not to suggest that he is anything less than fully human. Rather it is a statement concerning the meaning of his humanity for the benefit of all humanity. Because Jesus in his divinity, is humankind's  Creator and Sustainer, his humanity has profound import for all people everywhere in all times. In his humanity he is the unique representative of and substitute ("stand in") for all humanity. This is what we mean by referring to Jesus as the "vicarious human."

Here's what this means: what happened to Jesus in his humanity, happened to all of us. When Jesus (who became sin for us) died to sin, we all died to sin. When he rose victorious from the grave, we all experienced in him victory over death and sin. When the man (resurrected and glorified) Jesus ascended to heaven, we all ascended with and in him (Eph. 2:5-6).

Paul says that the lives of all humans are "hidden" in the life of Jesus (Col. 3:3) - we don't now fully see who we are in him, but one day we shall. And forever our lives will remain in him, because forever he remains human - the vicarious human - God with us and for us, as one of us - the one for the many, the many in the one.

Thomas F. Torrance - not an "ivory tower" theologian

On this blog we've often referred to the writings of trinitarian theologian Thomas F. Torrance (pictured right).  In this post, Mike Hale shares interesting information concerning Torrance's life - illustrating that he was no "ivory tower" theologian. Thanks Mike for sharing.

-Ted Johnston

Sometimes theologians are dismissed as living in the ivory towers of academia, far from the harsh realities of life. Thought of as having their head in the clouds, their theology might be dismissed as having little or no relevance in the "real" world, including the world of Christian living and ministry.  However, the life of  Thomas F. Torrance (arguably one of the premier theologians of the second half of the twentieth centur) stands in stark contrast to any such notion.

Elmer Colyer states that Torrance’s theology arose out of the evangelical and doxological life of family and the church, including pastoral ministry and personal experience in numerous life-threatening situations, beginning with his parents as a missionary family in China, and including attempts on his life in the Middle East, and as an army chaplain on the front lines of war in Italy, ministering the gospel to wounded and dying soldiers.

In “How to Read T.F Torrance,” Colyer states, “Experiences like these crystallized for Torrance that Christian theology has to be able to ground one’s existence amidst the most acute moments of life and death.  Torrance later called theologies without this kind of existential depth “paper theology”-- interesting reading, but inadequate for living and dying.”

Following the death of Torrance in late 2007, his youngest brother David, himself a retired parish minister of the Church of Scotland, described numerous experiences that served as formative influences on T.F. and his theology.

• T.F. was the oldest of six children born in China to missionary parents during turbulent times.  Armies of warlords killed and plundered at will, and bandits and robbers frequented the treacherous mountain paths of West China.  As a young teen, T.F. accompanied his father through those mountain valleys in distributing Scripture to peasant Buddhist farmers. 
• Constant danger made the family rely on God and continue in prayer, and there was joy and thanksgiving over answered prayer.
• In 1927 West China was in a state of civil war and “the family saw people have their heads whipped off by swords in the streets.  A missionary friend of our mother was beheaded in the street near our home in Chengdu.”
• The British Consul ordered British subjects to leave and the family journeyed by boat down the Yangste to Shanghai as bullets were hitting the steel balustrade behind which the family was sheltering on deck.
• In 1936 while still a student in New College, Edinburgh, T.F. traveled to the troubled Middle East after studying Arabic for use in visiting historical and archaeological sites. He traveled (often alone) through Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Greece. Traveling by donkey with an Arab guide in the mountains of Moab, he was suddenly surrounded by armed Bedouins, and it took some while to persuade them he was not a Jew but a Scot.
• Not long back in Jerusalem, he and seventy others were given rifles, police armbands, and asked to temporarily join the Palestinian Police, as Hitler had spread anti-Jewish propaganda and provoked an Arab revolt while most British troops were in Egypt, and not enough troops were stationed in Palestine.  T.F. was continuously on duty for several weeks until he could be released to continue his educational travel and studies.
• As anti-Semitism spread, T.F. kept running into hostility and kept being mistaken for a Jew.  An attempt was made on his life when a knife was flung at him that sailed over his shoulder.  
• In Jordan while traveling in a taxi with two nuns, they stopped to pick up a Bedouin, who suddenly pointed a revolver at Tom and shouted “Jew!”  Tom shouted in Arabic, “Not Jewish! Scottish!” and as the Bedouin hesitated, Tom and the driver were able to throw him out.
• Traveling by train through southern Iraq, Tom was arrested on suspicion of being a Jewish spy.  After questioning he tried to escape to find his way to the British Consulate but was caught and taken back to police Headquarters, was refused to see the British Consulate and was sentenced to death, until one of the judges was mercifully tempted to believe Tom was not Jewish and put him on a train to Damascus. 
• In 1943 he joined the army and served the next two years in Italy as a chaplain until the end of the war.  He insisted that whenever possible he be with the soldiers in the most forward positions.
• On one occasion when being shelled by enemy fire they were sheltered in a ditch.  Tom’s helmet was touching the boots of one solder in front while his boots touched the helmet of the soldier behind.  Both the soldier in front and behind were killed, and Tom was unscathed.
• As chaplain, Tom was given his own army truck that he normally slept in.  One night he chose to sleep outside behind a wall and that night a German shell passed through where his head would have normally been.

Tom’s work at the font lines, ministering to the wounded and dying, had strengthened his conviction of the need to preach Christ and the message of the cross, and persuaded him of the futility of any theology that does not present God as what we see in Jesus, a God who loves, is present with us in our suffering and forgives and redeems us.  Tom Told his brother David that he felt God had protected him and had a purpose for his life, and in prayer and thanksgiving he rededicated his life to God for the furtherance of the Gospel. Years later in Tom’s lectures to students, he often mentioned the lessons that he learned as a chaplain on the battlefield.

In 1994 at the age of 80, T.F. traveled back to the remote mountains of China where his family had once served.  Coming full circle, he was traveling as a Christian emissary carrying money for the rebuilding of churches destroyed by the communist takeover in 1935.  Though a respected theologian’s theologian, he was still, and had always been, a minister of the gospel with a concern for serving and evangelizing all people.

A trinitarian perspective on evangelism

If all people are included already in Jesus, why be involved in evangelism? The GCI Ministry Development Team addresses this question in a seminar titled, Relational Evangelism. The subtitle (see picture) speaks to our trinitarian focus: "Sharing with Jesus in relating with non-believers."

Evangelism from this perspective is not about bringing Jesus to people as though he were absent. Rather it sees evangelism in light of the truth that Jesus is present - including non-believers in his life, and relating to them in the Spirit, expressing the Father's love and grace.

Evangelism is about participating with Jesus in that relating. By doing so we declare the good news (which is the biblical definition of evangelism), by being the good news and then verbally sharing our own experience of Jesus (who is the good news). In short, we help people identify and come to know the Jesus who is already present in their lives. And we invite them to participate actively in Jesus' life - which includes participation in the community of Jesus' followers, the church.

Evangelism is thus a "three-way street" - the non-believer, Jesus, and we the believer - all relating one to the other through the fellowship of the Spirit. And this relating changes not only the non-believer (into a believer), it changes us too. Together we are being transformed into the image of Jesus, who in his humanity is the perfect image of God.

Evangelism from this perspective is not about heavy-handed tactics where we blow into town and unload a shotgun full of information and then depart. It's about being with Jesus who is already present and who remains.  It's about entering into friendship with people - a friendship mediated by Jesus himself. And friends share their "best stuff" with friends. For us, the "best stuff" is Jesus and the difference he has made and is making in our life.

So, yes, there is a definite role for followers of Jesus in evangelism. But forget the idea of a "role" - it's not about play-acting; it's about real life lived in communion with the Father, Son and Spirit - a communion that embraces all humanity. It's our calling to participate with Jesus in that communion - including in evangelism. We are called to be those who declare the good news of Jesus, which is good news for all people. Enjoy!

Announcing the Trinitarian Worship blog

GCI annouced this week the launch of Trinitarian Worship - a blog for discussing the principles and practices of worship ministries grounded in and shaped by trinitarian theology.

The blog will be of particular interest to those who are involved in teaching about, planning and conducting the worship of the church.

Your participation is invited, and please let others know that it is available.

What is our part in a face-to-face relationship with Jesus?

Craig Kuhlman submitted the following questions related to our personal participation in the salvation we have in Jesus. I encourage your reply to his questions via "comments."

• How can we maintain engagement (in face-to-face relationship with Jesus) without ebb and flow? 
• How do we continue to live in that relationship and bear spiritual fruit without becoming formulaic, or something "that must be done" by ourselves, when all was done by Him? 
• How can we maintain the Spirit's active regeneration that comes from face-to-face relationship with Jesus and yet avoid the impression we must "do" the spiritual disciplines, when Jesus has already done it all? 
• What is "our part," if any? And is it fair to say, that if there is any "our part," isn't that part initiated by Him to begin with? 
• If we have a part now, why didn't we have it from the beginning when we were dead in sin?

What does trinitarian theology say about ministry?

Some wonder if trinitarian theology leads to inactivity (if all are included already, why bother with ministry?).  I address this question in a recently posted You're Included interview with Mike Feazell. Click here to watch online. For additional You're Included interviews, click here.

The Trinity Imaged in Our Humanity

I'm reading Like, Father, Like Son, the Trinity Imaged in Our Humanity by Tom Smail (pictured left) who presently serves as senior visiting research fellow at Kings College in London. I think Smail does an excellent job of exegeting from a trinitarian perspective the scriptural teaching concerning humankind created in God's image. In short, his thesis is this: the image that humankind is given in creation and that is restored in redemption is the image of the Father, Son and Spirit - the tri-personal God revealed to us in Jesus.

He notes that we image God in two ways: in God's oneness (which is his three in oneness in perichoretic relatedness); and in God's threeness (the distinctive qualities and roles of each person of the triune God).

Smail then explores the implications of this triune image of God as it is expressed in and through various aspects of our humanity. Concerning the imaging of the Holy Spirit in our humanity (inclusive of human culture) he says the following on pp. 196-7:

...In every period and in every controversy [of church history] the creative Spirit has been at work and has led the Church to an outcome in which the gospel is indeed reinterpreted in a way that enables it to address the concerns of the culture but that is faithful to its origin in Christ. In him all human cultures are judged with the penetrating truth and the immeasurable mercy that define God's relationship to his people, and point them to transformations that will lead them toward a fulfilment that they cannot find immanently in themselves...We become aware of a process of sifting and discernment in which the Spirit is the hidden participant in the debate, sorting out what is valid and what is invalid in seemingly irreconcilable opinions and leading toward an ultimate solution in which the mind of God in a particular area of faith and practice can be more faithfully and relevantly apprehended and obeyed....In all these ways the Spirit whose being is characterized by the sovereign divine love expressing itself in terms of transforming creativity, reflects himself in the human activity that stems from the human life which is his gift (Gen. 2:7)...We fail to reflect what the Spirit does in what we do when our actions are not characterized either by creative freedom or transforming love, when we have neither the courage nor the imagination to engage with the status quo in hope of moving it toward God's purpose for it.