Thursday, December 28, 2006

THE FACE WE'LL SEE

Christmas has ended and already our neighbors are taking down their decorative lights and tossing their Christmas trees to the sidewalk for the trash man to take to the place of burning. They have lost their savor. How American! How pragmatic! How 21st-century! How predictably pagan! With typically blunt American matter-of-factness, we admit we have just completed one phase of our lives and now it's time to move on to the next. What events lie ahead in the cultural calendar? Well, there's Kwanzaa and New Years (a hedonistic football fest!)and then the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday in January. Next there is African-American history month in February in which month we also rejoice in and celebrate our loved ones on Valentine's Day. And on and on and on. The wheels of time keep rotating with a tireless, pervasive subjecting power.

We have missed the point of Christmas: God humiliating Himself by laying aside the insignia of His Majesty and donning the weak raiment of man- deity in diapers, divinity draped in dust forevermore- in order to dwell in our yard, live a meteoric, sinless life, voluntarily put Himself on the cross in our place so that we, through faith in this same Jesus Christ and His work, might be reconciled to the Father. Amazing! Amazing grace! Our callous rush to get on with life testifies to our adamantine ignorance and inculpates us with those of whom it is said in the Negro spiritual, " De worl' treat You mean, Lawd, .. please, Suh, fuhgive us Lawd; we didn't know 'twas You." Tragically, we missed the point of Christmas. We didn't know it was Him.

The haste to get rid of the majestic and to return to the mundane tells us that we really did not look on the face of God in Christ. It condemns us for not viewing Christmas in the face of Christ but in the wrapping, trimmings, exchange of gifts, decorations, festivities and other externals. Now these have become cumbersome and, succumbing to our fallen macho adrenaline, we chin-up and face the new challenges of life. In so doing we have convincingly demonstrated that we have missed the beautiful face of God in Christ; we have buried Him under the seasonal outburst of bohemian busyness and have marginalized Him with an uncaring, momentary tolerance. We did not see His face. We could not see His face. The apostle was right: "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Cor 4:4.

What is ironic is that this is the most prominent face all mankind will see. Believers and nonbelievers will see the face of Jesus Christ in eternity; the former in immeasurable, rhapsodic joy, the latter, in conscious, relentless, unthinkable torment. In the paraphrased words uttered by the sagacious Dr. Doug Kelly at the 2006 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA): Heaven is being in the presence of God with a Mediator; hell is being in the presence of God without a Mediator. In other words, the face of Jesus Christ is omnipresent; it is a face that’s always in our face! It is the face that sovereignly commands, “Thou shall have no other gods before my face.” Ex 20:3

In the Old Testament, those to whom God was pleased to reveal Himself thought they would die when they saw His face. In the new covenant, God has condescended to show us Himself in the physical form of His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, so that we may live. In this life, His face, the beatific vision, is what God's elect are dying daily to see, 1 Jn Jn 3:1-3. In the eschaton, Jesus will be recognized: the sinner will look on Him Whom they have pierced, Zech 12:10; Rev 1:7, and believers will recognize Him as the Lamb that was slain, Rev 5:6, 12. There’s no denying it -- the winsome, cherubic face of the baby of Bethlehem is the very face of Jesus Christ, the Davidic Messiah and Savior of the elect from all over the world, the face of “.. a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isa 53:3. Let’s face up to Him: we shall all behold Him. This is the face we’ll all see... for all eternity. Aren't you glad for the sovereign grace of God Who does not play peekabo with you?

Monday, December 25, 2006

THE FULLNESS OF TIME

Along with Creation, the Exodus, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation is a radical irruption of the eternal, divine Presence and power in time and history. It fulfills all of the Old Testament prophecies and promises concerning the Davidic Messiah and His work. Scripture describes this as occurring in the fullness of time, Gal 4:4. It fulfills, rather, He fulfills, all the goals of history.

While it testifies to the linear progression and nature of redemptive history, the fullness of time also informs us that history is likened to the womb of a pregnant woman in which the sovereign God has implanted a soteric seed, a seed of salvation. This seed, the conquering Seed of the woman, God first publicly promised to interpose between His elect and the serpent, and between their respective descendants, Gen 3:15. God’s subsequent word to the patriarchs and prophets contained the organic substance of this covenant promise in ongoing, increasing degrees of clarity. Each and every stage in the unfolding of God’s redemptive purpose occurred according to His eternal foreordination and decree; each and every stage in the unfolding of His redemptive plan contained the organic substance of this promise.

The fullness of time signifies that all the divinely mandated preparations for the coming of God in the flesh were in place. Some of these prearations are:

1. the military and political succession of kingdoms as prophesied by Daniel had already taken place. The last of these four kingdoms, the one characterized by feet of iron and clay, mighty in strength but divided and brittle, Dan 2:41-43 (31-43), the one that was the most terrifying and frightening beast with iron teeth and bronze claws, 7:19 (15-19), i.e., Rome, was now the undisputed world superpower.

2. the pax Romana, Roman peace, was already established. The wars characterizing the rule of Julius Caesar, d. 44 B.C., had ended and the rule of Augustus Caesar, cf. Lk 2:1, ushered in centuries of peace in the Roman Empire. Infrastructures were developed- many roads, among which was the famous Appian Way, were built, and waterways were safe to travel. Consequently, trade, commerce and communication were at an all-time high. Missionaries were able to travel unmolested.

3. Jews, reluctantly exempted by the Roman political and military powers from the worship of Caesar, were able to continue their monotheistic faith.

4. the scattering of Jews in the Diaspora had created many small communities of God-fearing Gentiles who strove to obey the 10 Commandments, studied the Old Testament and were learning to trust in God's promises.

5. the spread of Jews within the Roman Empire facilitated the spread of Christianity. The apostles first came to these and to the God-fearers.

6. since Rome regarded Christianity as a mere variation of Judaism, it was granted the status of a religio licita, a legal religion. By the time Christianity had begun to assert itself as more than an upgraded Judaism, it had spread so far and wide that the Roman powers could do very little to stop it.

7. under Rome's rule, Greek thought, literature and language were regarded with universal legitimacy. In particular, the use of koine Greek, an ordinary or common language that anyone with a modicum of education could apply, was widespread. This is the language in which the New Testament was written.

8. philosophically, centuries of teaching by Plato, Aristotle and their students had brought about no answers to the fundamental questions of life. The widespread number of schools and philosophies, including the Skeptics, Cynics, Sophists, Epicureans, and so on, only testified to the philosophical bankruptcy and impotency they promoted. It was into this milieu that Jesus Christ, the Logos of God, the divine mind, reason, word, speech and Son, appeared. He is the only One that could answer the pressing questions of faith, conduct and life, especially the perennial issue: how can sinful men stand before a holy, just and righteous God.

It was at this precise juncture in history, not a nano-second earlier, not a whisper of a milli-second later, that God the Father “.. sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Gal 4:4, 5. The Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ occurred at that particular kairotic moment foreordained by the Father in eternity past.

This is the meaning of the fullness of time. It signifies the pinnacle and precision of sovereign provision; nothing else needs to be done; nothing further could be said. Jesus Christ is the expected Messianic King Who, in His Person and work, brings to completion all the promises of God. The fullness of time denotes the coming of salvation to Jew and Gentile. As such, it speaks of the terminal dimension of salvation in Christ- apart from Him and after Him, there is no more means or hope of reconciliation to God. He is the exclusive way to God, Jn 14:6; Eph 2:14-16; 1 Pe 3:18; etc. He is the One we celebrate at Christmas. He is the One we glorify and enjoy forever.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

JESUS IS THE REASON

It's Christmas again, and already the patterns of over-indulgence in acquisition of unnecessary "stuff," the consumption of food, drink and frolic, the expenditure of time and all other resources, and so on, are already underway. It is a season when America is "malled" to death; for many, the mall becomes a fixed place of visitation. Yet, amid the din of music, cash register chh-chings, Salvation Army bell-ringing, loud speech and raucous laughter, one can still hear the occasional sobering reminder that "Jesus is the reason for the season." Though trite, this adage is not passé. Though coming from faint lips and even from cold hearts, it is still true.

He is the reason we scurry to malls and stores; He is the reason we host and attend fellowships, parties and get-togethers; He is the reason we are imbued with confidence, joy and hope. He is the reason for our celebration.

Some misinformed objectors are again spouting their ho-hum arguments against the historical legitimacy of December 25 as the date of Jesus' birth. Others will refuse to participate in the observation of Christmas though hypocritically enjoying the benefits of time off from work, good food, sales, visitation of family and friends, and so on. All of these are taking place because of Jesus. In spite of these frazzled dissent(er)s, Christmas promotes at the very least, a spirit of well-doing among us. Haven't you noticed that even the meanest persons assume some semblance of "niceness" at this time? It has the reputation of breaking the hardest intransigence and of overcoming the most stubborn sour-pusses… if only temporarily. Even Scrooges experience a visible conversion!

But this is not enough. Christ did not come to provide an external, occasional goodness -- this was already extant among the Pharisees and other self-righteous groups who, committed to maintaining their unimpressive façades, had ready established their own flexible, standards of virtue. No, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, veiled His divine glory, lived a sinless life and then laid it down sacrificially and substitutionarily for those that would believe on Him and be saved. Through this act of faith, God declares these recipients of His grace to be justified of all their sin and able to stand perfectly righteous forever in His Presence. My point is that Christmas is not something we do; it is something we receive. It is the gift of the historic church in celebrating the Father's gift of the Son to and for His elect. Ultimately, it is the gift of the eternal Trinity to the world.

As the cosmic mediating Lord upholding His entire creation by the Word of His power, Heb 1:3; as the eternal One by and for Whom all things were created, Col 1:16; as the divine Logos in Whom all things cohere, verse 17; as the Lord of life in Whom we live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28; and as the conquering King Who has destroyed (and will destroy) all dominion and under Whose feet the Father has placed (and will place) all things, 1 Cor 15:24, 25, Jesus Christ is not only the reason for the season but also for everyone and for everything. It is this sovereign, saving Christ we celebrate today, this season -- -- and forever. He is the Reason. Period.