Absolute #14 Atonement

Absolute #13 Son of God, Son of Man

Son of God, Son of Man

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 13

Introduction:

A couple of sessions ago we discussed the nature of sin, that man is stuck in it, and that this comes to us both by birth and by choice. We then spent our last session examining but a very few of the Old Testament promises concerning the coming salvation, the coming Redeemer that God would send unto His people.

What I would like to do today is primarily to read a number of passages which show us the way in which Jesus entered into our world and identified Himself with us. Or stated another way, I want to discuss the amazing reality that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) as one of us. One of the main things I want us to notice as we walk through these passages is the dual realities of Jesus divine nature and His human nature. Jesus is truly God and truly man. The fact that He is truly God makes the way in which He became a man and lived as a man all the more remarkable.

The Birth of Christ:

Predicted: Luke 1:26-38

Human: Coming to a young mother, most likely 12-16 years old

Divine: verses 31-33 Jesus very name (Jesus=Joshua=Yeshua) means “Yahweh saves” of “The Lord saves”, indicating His mission. Further, though his mother is human, this birth is of divine origin (v 35).

Song: Luke 1:46-55

Human: Again, we see the humble nature of Mary. She is not someone of royal descent or nobility, rather, she is a woman of lowliness. God's choosing her to mother Christ was not based of earthly logic.

Divine: Mary celebrates the salvation which God is bringing to His people through this child who is to be born.

Birth: Luke 2:4-20

Human: Jesus was laid in a manger, his birth was announced first of all to shepherds (the lowest of the low) and witnessed by them rather than high class or “reliable” people. There was not even room for Mary and Joseph in the inn!

Divine: The birth of Christ was announced first of all by a choir of angels; “angels from the realms of glory” as it were.

The Life of Christ:

Early life: Almost 30 years of obscurity, between the visit of the magi (when he was less than 2) and the beginning of of his ministry (at age 30) the only thing we hear about His life is a short scene Luke gives us from the temple in Luke 2:41-52. Even that passage, while pointing to the unusual nature, wisdom, and calling of Jesus (see especially verses 47 and 49), also point toward the ordinariness of His earthly life. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”¹

Baptism: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus earthly ministry is initiated with his baptism by John in the Jordan river. Though John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and Jesus never sinned, what we see here is Jesus identifying himself with sinful humanity. Though He is unlike us, He is one of us. Here at the Jordan we also see the stark reality of Jesus unlikeness to us, His oneness with God. When He comes us from the water the heavens are opened (or as Mark says, ripped open) and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and the Father proclaims that “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Temptation: Hebrews 4:15

While we see longer sections regarding Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (called the synoptic Gospels because the cover a lot of the same material), there are many other places where Jesus is tempted. Indeed, because of His humanity it is true that throughout His entire life Jesus would have faced the same kind of temptations daily, even hourly that we do to sin. Yet, He did not sin.

Ministry:

Jesus spends his ministry teaching, healing, showing compassion toward and feeling empathy for the people He encountered. 

Death: 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24

Of course the place where we see Jesus most radically identify with us is on the cross. He not only takes on our sin, but becomes our sin, that in Him we might die to sin, that in Him we might become God's righteousness.

Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, 12-19

In this passage we see that our eternal hope as believers is tied to that fact that not only can we be identified with Christ in His death, but that His resurrection is the guarantee that we ourselves might one day be resurrected.

1The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture quoted, unless otherwise noted, will be from the ESV.

Absolute #12 Promises

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 12:1-3

2 Samuel 7:12-16

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Luke 3:1-5

Absolute #11 Sin Part 2

Sin Part 2

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 11

Into:

We spent our last session discussing the question, “what is sin?” If you will remember, we relied on a definition from Wayne Grudem,

“Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”¹

We looked at the account of the Fall in Genesis three and evaluated it in light of this definition, seeing that in man's fall, a failure to comply with God's law in both attitude and action were at play. Today we will see how this affects our nature.

The effects of sin:

If you recall our discussion of image, we looked at three specific areas where we are to reflect God; namely, our relationships with creation, with other humans, and with God Himself.

creation: Genesis 3:17-18, Romans 8:19-22

relationships: Genesis 3:16b, Genesis 4

The implications of Philippians 2, Ephesians 2 & 4, John 17, 1 John 3-4

God: Genesis 3:7-10, 19, 22-24 Paradise Lost

2:17, this was not immediate, demonstrating God's mercy, but it is certain (cf 3:19)

Life as it was meant to be is shattered by the effects of sin.

Where are we now?

We are now under the curse of sin and the wrath of God—by our very nature as human beings. Our identity is as children of wrath. Ephesians 2:1-3

This is true for every single one of us. Romans 3:9-18

We have inherited this nature from our first father, our original representative, Adam. Romans 5:12-20

“Surely corruption is ingrained in our hearts, interwoven with our very natures, has sunk deep into our souls, and will never be cured but by a miracle of grace.”² Thomas Boston

So here we are. Dead in our sins, desperate for a Savior. we need grace, for apart from the intervention of God, we are damned in our sins. But there is hope, a hope which we will begin to see unfolding over our next several sessions. We see it opened up for us initially in Genesis 3:15.

1Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (1994, Grand Rapids: Zondervan) 490

2 Ritzema, E., & Vince, E. (Eds.). (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Absolute #10 Sin Part 1

(Outline still in progress)
Sin: Part 1

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 10

Introduction:

We have spent the last two weeks discussing what it means to be made in the image of God. We have looked first at the fact that being made in God's image gives each human life immeasurable value; we then looked at what it means to image. Our observation was very simple: images image. They reflect, they point. As humans we reflect the image and likeness of God in many ways, but one of the most important ways is via the vehicle of relationships. The first being our relationship to creation, which we are to steward, cultivate, and rule as God's vice regents, displaying His loving rule over all creation. The second is in our dealings with other human beings who have themselves been made in the image and likeness of God and whom we ought to relate to in love, fairness, righteousness, and respect. Finally, and most importantly, we have our relationship to God. We are to image God to God by understanding rightly who He is and responding appropriately, in admiration, praise, and worship. In this way we reflect the dynamic relationship that God has within Himself in the Persons of the Godhead. 

We also made the point, though, that there is obviously something terribly wrong. Why would we think this? Because we don't actually live according to that which is outlined above.

What went wrong?

The answer to the question of "what went wrong?" can be summarized in one word: sin. Sin went wrong. Sin enters the scene and mars this thing pretty darn badly. We are going to spend the next two sessions looking at sin. In our next session we will discuss the effects of sin on our human nature, on our relationships. on the created order, and on the eternal state and destiny of our souls. But before we can discuss effects, we first must address definitions. What is sin? That's what we're going to look at today.

The First Sin:

How Do I Sin?

Absolute # 9 The Image of God part 2

Suggested viewing for leaders: John Piper Video

The Image of God Part 2

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 9

Recap and Introduction:

In our last video we discussed the image of God in man as it relates to human worth. That unlike sheep or stars, rocks and rodents, moose and mountains, all of which declare God's glory; man actually bears the image of God. The point I emphasized in that video is the value that this imparts to humanity. Of course, all of creation has value, but that of human beings, God's image bearers, is immeasurably more. I thought that was an important thing to start with, although what we're going to talk about this week is what you might call a more foundational discussion.

Genesis 1:26a says, “ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”¹ This week I want to talk about the meaning of that it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. Some people take those things, image and likeness, to be separate ideas, but I think the way they are used here that's it's safe to assume that they're synonyms. Okay, so they mean the same thing...but what do they mean? I think this quote from John Piper is helpful:

“Now, you know as well as I that the church has argued about whether this nature, this image, your being in the image of God is your rationality or your morality or your relationality. We argue and we argue.What is plain, I think, and what is most relevant for me is that images are designed to image. So, if you put up an image of Napoleon in Paris, what you mean to do is to draw attention to Napoleon. Right? That’s what they’re for. So the question would be, "Why did God create and erect seven billion images of himself on the planet?" Why did he do that? And surely the simple answer would be to get attention, to draw attention to himself. You don’t put an image of somebody up and hope nobody notices it, hope nobody makes any connection between the image and the reality. You are in the image of God in order to image God, to display God, to show God, that’s what you’re about. That’s your meaning. That’s your identity. You have a nature designed to image.”²

Images image. They mirror. They point. So the question for us becomes, what does that look like?

Three Areas of Pointing

1: 

The first area of our imaging that I want to look at, one that is made obvious right away in Genesis, is man's imaging of God in his rule over creation.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 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.”...And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”...And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed...The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “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.” Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.³

Man was created to reflect God's loving rule over all of creation. God gives man dominion over the fish, the birds, the land animals. He gives him dominion over the land itself, to subdue and to cultivate it. Man has the privilege and responsibility of sitting over God's earth as God's vice regents, as it were. It is still God's earth, and He sits as supreme. But man has a delegated authority here. A responsibility to rule in a manner that reflects the character of God toward His creation. Perhaps one of the clearest portraits of this is in chapter two where God brings the animals before Adam to name. Here are the multitudes of creatures which God has created, but rather than naming them Himself, He brings them before the man for Adam to name. They are God's creatures, but He gives Adam naming, ruling, rights over them.

2:

The second area where we are to image God in in our relationships with other people. In Genesis 1: 27 we read this,

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

From the very first day, man was not alone. We, as human beings, are meant to live within relationship. And the first relationship which God establishes is this bond of man and woman, husband and wife. The first human bond God creates is marriage.

But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 4

God makes them man and woman, with the goal that they be together. One flesh here, while of course it has sexual connotations, is driving at something still deeper than that. A union that is not only physical, but also mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Of course, marriage is far from the only human relationship which God has ordained on this earth! Jesus Himself never enjoyed an earthly marriage, so while the vast majority of you watching this are not yet married, you don't have to feel like you're missing out on human relationships. God has created friendship⁵, He establishes relationships between parents and their children⁶, between old and younger people within the church⁷, between governments and their citizens⁸, and the list could go on. There are a multitude of human relationships where we are to reflect to one another the kindness, goodness, justice, mercy, holiness, and love of God. Because God Himself is a relational being⁹, many aspects of His image in us cannot be expressed outside the context of human relationships.

3:

Finally, I want to look at a third area in which which image God, that is, our relationship to God Himself. We call this worship.

Author Harold Best has offered the following definition of worship,

“We were created continuously outpouring. Note that I did not say we were created to be continuous outpourers. Nor can I dare imply that we were created to worship. This would suggest that God is an incomplete person whose need for something outside himself (worship) completes his sense of himself. It might not even be safe to say that we were created for worship, because the inference can be drawn that worship is a capacity that can be separated out and eventually relegated to one of the several capacities of being. I believe is it strategically important, therefore, to say that we were created continuously outpouring—we were created in that condition, at that instant, imageo Dei.”¹⁰

If Best is right—and I think he is—we are made outpouring, all the time. This reflects the God who is Himself always pouring into Himself.¹¹ Now, Best's description of worship is not distinctly Christian. Rather, it is distinctly human. We are always outpouring into or toward something or someone. Where the Christian idea, the biblical idea of worship is located is when this outpouring is directed toward God Himself. We, unlike all the rest of creation, are capable of purposefully and consciously reflecting the image and glory of God, and to do so toward Him. This might sound clumsy, that worship is imaging God to God. How could we image God in how we relate to Him. But think back to some of God's attributes. Remember that He knows all things. All things would include Himself, and thus God knows Himself perfectly. And because God is holy, just, righteous, and good, He not only knows Himself perfectly, but responds to Himself perfectly. This is what happens within the relationship of the Trinity. Now, as a human being, for me to reflect that would not be to value myself or other humans or other created things about all else¹², rather it would be to see Him for who He is, to value Him rightly, and to respond in praise, adoration, and worship.

In Conclusion:

We know that we don't live this way. And we'll begin to look at why this is next week. But as we finish out today I want you to ponder and reflect on what an immense privilege it is to be made in the image of the Triune God, and to be able to reflect Him to other people, to all of creation, and to consciously worship Him with all that we are. No other part of creation has that ability. You do.

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture taken from the ESV, unless otherwise noted.

2http://www.desiringgod.org/conference-messages/identity-and-desire Accessed February 16, 2015

3 Genesis 1:26, 28, 2:8, 15-20a

4Genesis 2:20b-24

51 Samuel 20:17 says the following about the friendship of Jonathan and David, “And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” Combine this with other Biblical calls to deep friendship, and I think we can see how important these relationships are. For example, Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

6Ephesians 6:1-4, Proverbs 23:22, Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 6:7

7Titus 2:2-8

8Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17

9See Absolute Lesson 2

10Harold M. Best, Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts, as cited in Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2010), pg 339.

11John 17:24

12Romans chapter one calls this idolatry.

Absolute #8 The Image of God part 1