Questions about Trinitarian theology often concern the issue of inclusion with or separation from God. I think that all such questions are best addressed on the basis of the truth of all truths - the answer to the question, Who is Jesus? (Luke 9:20, Luke 22:70, Acts 9:5). Scripture answers by declaring Jesus to be one with God (fully God) (Jo 1:1-2, Col 1:15, Heb 1:3) and one with us (fully human) (Jo 1:14). Moreover, he is declared to be the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos (Jo 1:3, Col 1:16-17) who through his continuing incarnation (God-in-flesh, now glorified) (1Ti 2:5, Ro 5:17) is our representative and substitute (Ro 5:12, 17-19)...
...presenting himself in our humanity through the eternal Spirit to the Father on behalf of all. (J.B. Torrance, "A Passion for Christ," PLC publications: 1999, p. 42)In his divinity (very God) and vicarious humanity (taking our place; the one for the many), Jesus accomplishes in himself the "adoption" (inclusion) of all humanity in God's triune love and life. Paul presents this astonishing truth as he begins his letter to the church in Ephesus:
[God the Father] chose us in him [Jesus] before the creation of the world...In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ...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 (Eph 1:4-5, 7-8 NIV).This adoption was accomplished in and through Jesus' incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension. Through these he united his divinity to our humanity, becoming one with us and for us: living our life, dying our death (Ro 6:10, 2Cor 5:14), rising to life for us (Ro 6:5, Eph 2:5) and ascending to glory with us (Eph 2:6, Ro 8:30) where he now continues as the mediator between God and all humanity.
Because of God's gracious act of adopting us in and through Jesus, we are included in all that Jesus did and does for us and with us. In Jesus, God is near to us - there is now no separation nor condemnation from God toward us (Ro 8:1-4). We are all adopted (included) - now one with God in Christ through the Spirit.
But what about what we observe all around us? We see lives that dishonor God; we see people perpetrating horrendous evil. Doesn't this fact overthrow the idea that all are included already in God's life?
Well, Paul is a realist about human behavior and evil (no head stuck in the sand here!). And so after his statement about the universality of humankind's adoption (inclusion) in Jesus he says this:
This I say and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles [pagans] also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded [alienated, NRSV] from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (Eph 4:17-19, NAS).So which is it? All included? Or are at least some separated (excluded)? Does Paul here take away what he earlier granted?
The answer is no. From God's viewpoint (based on who he is and what he has done in Jesus), all humans are included - all are reconciled to God. There is no exclusion, no separation toward us in God's mind and heart. He truly does have "the whole world in his hands," and in his heart. All are his dearly loved, adopted children.
Yet within certain human minds there remains a state of exclusion (or alienation). These people remain "darkened in their understanding... because of the ignorance that is in them."
Is this a contradiction? No. One can be included, yet not know it; or know it, yet refuse it. One can stand in the light, yet be shrouded in utter darkness through ignorance or repudiation of that light.
Included in Jesus, God embraces all. Yet not all embrace their Heavenly Father. In Jesus, all now have a place in the Father's household, yet not all enjoy that place; their true home.
This alienation within human minds and hearts has real (often devastating) consequences:
...You were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach - if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard...(Col 1:21-23, NAS).So in our relationship with God there is universal inclusion (from God's perspective), but also individual separation (from the perspective of the alienation within individual minds and hearts).
But note this important point: the alienation in individual human minds does not trump the inclusive love in God's mind and act in Jesus. Furthermore, it is not turning from our alienation (repentance) and belief in our inclusion (faith) that creates for us our adoption.
Because God has already adopted us, his love breaks through our darkness and alienation so that we may repent and believe and in doing so embrace Jesus who is the "truth of all truths" - the one in and through whom all humanity is included in God's love and life. We really do have a place with God, and that place is Jesus! (Jo 14:2).
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Pastor Steve Schantz shares the following story titled "What Happens in Vegas." It speaks to God's loving, fatherly discipline of his adopted kids (Heb. 12:9-11). Thanks Steve!
Rural Upstate New York can be a lot of fun in the winter. Before snowmobiles came into the neighborhood our outdoor fun involved skating, sledding, igloo building, and of course snow ball fights with siblings and neighbors. When my little sister was all of seven and her brothers were 9 and 12, we decided to put an early version of the current nationwide ad to the test. Is it true that “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas?” Young inquiring minds had to know!
One evening after supper under the cover of darkness all three of us strayed from clearly laid out family values. I’m not sure who threw the first snowball, (and as the oldest I don’t really want to remember all those details), but ‘we’ decided to hurl snowballs at passing cars from the neighbors elevated yard across the road from our home. Hearing a well packed projectile go thump on a passing windshield, roof, or quarter panel was something we just couldn’t get enough of! With each resounding ‘thud’ we all giggled and did whatever the equivalent of a high five was in the late ‘60’s. Gravity and trajectory made up for muscle, and practice made perfect.
One unfortunate soul was bombarded on his trek both to and from the nearby country store and decided to do something about it. Our hearts sank as he turned into our driveway instead of the one closest to the crime scene. Evidence of our marksmanship was still plastered on his windshield. He stepped out of his car quickly, knocked on the door, and had a short but meaningful conversation with my father. We observed both gesture and body language from across the road, and as the victim drove away our summons came.
At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, as well as having my parents misunderstood or misjudged, we received individual, timely, well placed, corporal punishment. In two other words- It stung! My sister started to cry while her brothers were still in therapy, so when her turn came both of us spoke up in her defense. “She can’t really even pack a snow ball Dad”, we submitted to the high court of appeals. “Most of hers’ fell a few feet down the hill in the snow.” But alas, her intent was the same, and like all children she could get better at being bad if left to practice. Her sentence was diminished, but a total pardon was not in her best interest.
The notion that we can do as we please and not experience separation and pain from those we love has been around for a long time. An old lie is still a lie – and believing it still yields the same results. Distance from home only adds inertial weight to the mistake which finds its’ destructive mark. As children of our heavenly father we have believed lies about him that keep us running back across the road into the far country. Missing His mark in life means attempting to make our own in all the wrong places. But He has reached farther than we can run. While we hope that the stupid things we’ve done won’t come back to haunt us, we have each experienced enough of life to know that we reap what we sow. What goes up must come back down.
But we are put here to grow up into children of God weren’t we? Surely we all won’t become a permanent version of every stupid thing we’ve done! We’re meant to see where we’re headed and aim for plan and action which does our neighbor good instead of harm. The one who entered our life on this planet once for every season and every man did so out of love for His creation and we are lifted to a higher calling and higher reward in Him. The one who came down for us was lifted back up with us in his arms. His discipline is always filled with hope and not hatred, diligence and not damnation. He knows the limits of our frame and counts the very hairs on our head.
Thanks Dad and Mom for helping us realize that what happens in Vegas doesn’t really stay there. Thank you also for teaching us that what happened in our savior’s life, death, and resurrection eclipses anything we could mess up across the road, or at home. Real Dads love forever.
As a supplement to my comments in this post I add here a quote from T.F. Torrance taken from Chapter Two: "Preaching Jesus Christ" in the very helpful book "A Passion for Christ" (PLC Publications, 1999):
"[Jesus] made our lost and damned condition, our death under divine judgment, his very own. I believe we have to stress again and again the fact that in the Incarnation and the Cross, Christ has penetrated into the darkest depths of our abject human misery and perdition where he takes our place, intercedes for us, substitutes himself for us, and makes the atoning restitution which we could not make, thereby reconciling us to God in the Holy Spirit as his dear children.
"Now in preaching this, I believe that it is concentration upon the vicarious humanity of Christ in the Incarnation and Atonment, in death and resurrection, this is particularly important today... Substitution understood in this radical way means that Christ takes our place in all our human life and activity before God, even in our believing, praying and worshipping of God, for he has yoked himself to us in such a profound way that he stands in for us, and upholds us at every point in our human relations before God" (p. 24).
"The Rock" Solid Gospel in this post!!!
Thanks Ted,
Focusing on the vicarious humanity of Jesus in totality - planned from before creation and worked out through eternity - makes life for us SO MUCH more meaningful and refreshing.
Now we can "fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Perfecter of our faith" and not wring out hands about whether our works are good enough! They aren't! But His are!! Praise God!
Thanks Timothy!
I've updated the original post to add scriptural references. I also added a quote from "A Passion for Christ, The Vision that Ignites Ministry." It's edited by Gerrit Dawson and Jock Stein and includes writings from the Torrance brothers: Tom, James and David.
I highly recommend this book. It can be purchased from PLC publications at
www.layman.org/layman/Resources/
index-resources.htm
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