The Moral Character of God by Dale Moreau

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

A Detailed Outline View of an Eschatology that is based upon the Moral Character of God Section II: The Moral Character of God Dale Moreau 06/13/2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS A DETAILED OUTLINE VIEW OF AN ESCHATOLOGY THAT IS BASED UPON THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD ...................................................................................................................................... 3 SECTION II: THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD ..........................................................................................................3

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOD’S MORAL CHARACTER AND HIS NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

IN UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF GOD, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN HIS NATURAL ATTRIBUTES AND HIS MORAL CHARACTER. ....................................................................................... 3 IT IS THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE THAT GOD COULD SIN AND GOVERN SELFISHLY AND CEASE WITH BEING GOOD? 5 GOD IS UNDER NO COMPULSION TO LOVE AND SHOW MERCY TOWARDS MAN. ..................................................7 WHEN THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF GOD AS BEING IMMUTABLE, IN THE MORAL SENSE, IT MEANS THAT GOD REFUSES TO CHANGE HIS MORAL CHARACTER. ................................................................................................................ 9 IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. ..........................................................................................................................10

THE REVELATION OF GOD’S MORAL CHARACTER THAT IS FOUND IN EXODUS 34:6-7. . 11

II 1. 2. 3.

III 1. 2. 3.

EXODUS 34:6-7 AS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL OLD TESTAMENT THINKING ABOUT GOD. .................................11 EXODUS 32-33 IS THE BIBLICAL-HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF EXODUS 34:6-7.....................................................13 A SUMMARY OF AND ADDITIONAL OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT INSIGHTS INTO THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD.................................................................................................................................................................33

THEOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD. ..................... 35 HISTORICAL AND BIBLICAL BACKGROUND OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITHIN CREATION. ...............................35 REVELATION. ..................................................................................................................................................52 THE FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSES OF GOD’S MORAL CHARACTER THAT HAVE BEEN REVEALED BY GOD TO MEN. 58

IV A REFLECTION OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER IN BELIEVERS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST – THE PREAMBLE OF ESCHATOLOGY. ........................................................................................................ 65 1.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 – AND WE, WHO WITH UNVEILED FACES ALL REFLECT THE LORD’S GLORY, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO HIS LIKENESS WITH EVER-INCREASING GLORY, WHICH COMES FROM THE LORD, WHO IS THE SPIRIT. .............................................................................................................................................................65 THE WHOLE PERSON OR THE WHOLE MAN AS THE MEANING FOR ESCHATOLOGICAL MAN. .............................69

THE PRACTICAL WORKINGS OF THE WHOLE MAN OR PERSON IN CHRIST. .................. 133

V 1.

2. 3. 4.

THE APOSTLE PAUL, IN PHILIPPIANS 3:7-14, DEMONSTRATES THAT CHOOSING CHRIST FOR HIS OWN BEAUTY AND WORTH IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND FRUITFUL EXPERIENCE WITH WHICH THE BELIEVER CAN HAVE AND IS THE FIRST STEP INTO GROWTH TOWARD BEING A WHOLE MAN OR PERSON IN CHRIST. .............................133

THE PLEROMA - THE REALM OF FULLNESS, COMPLETION AND PERFECTION. ...............................................133 AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRACTICAL WORKINGS OF THE WHOLE MAN IN CHRIST. .....................................136 THE WHOLENESS OF MAN IS FOUND IN THE VALUE SYSTEM OF THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD THAT WORKS ITS WAY FROM THE EXTERIOR REALITY OF GOD IN WHICH IT EXISTS AND INTO THE INTERIOR OF MAN THROUGH

Page 2 of 186 THE DEEP-MIND THAT FUNCTIONS THROUGH THE CENTRAL-SELF TO THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND AND CONSCIOUS MIND AND OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE BODY INTO THE WORLD. ....................................................................138

5. 6.

PROCESSES THAT ARE INVOLVED TO ACHIEVE WHOLENESS IN CHRIST. .........................................................153 CONSTRUCTING A MORAL PATTERN FOR LIFE FROM CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. ...............................................173

VI THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE NON-BELIEVING WORLD – A PREAMBLE TO PRESENTING CHRISTIAN CHARACTER TO AN UNLOVING AND SIN-MARRED WORLD............................................................................................................................................................ 179 1. 2. 3. 4.

IF CHRIST AND HIS MORAL CHARACTER ARE TRUE AND A VALID CONCEPT UPON WHICH TO BUILD ONE’S LIFE, ONE MUST SEEK TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE ESSENCE OF AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY. .......179 MOST PRESENTATIONS OF THE MESSAGE OF GOSPEL ARE FOUNDED ON THE VALUES OF MEN RATHER THAN IN THE VALUES OF THE MORAL CHARACTER OF GOD. ........................................................................................180 HOW DOES THE CHRISTIAN PRESENT JESUS CHRIST TO THE WORLD THROUGH WORDS THAT SPEAK OF THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST AND HIS MORAL NATURE? ......................................................................................181 BELOW IS AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY’S WAY OF HOW TO PRESENT CHRIST TO A NON-BELIEVING WORLD AND IS BASED UPON SCRIPTURAL INSIGHTS FROM ROMANS 12:1-2, WHICH READS AS FOLLOWS: .............................181

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A Detailed Outline View of an Eschatology that is based upon the Moral Character of God Section II: The Moral Character of God I

Differences between Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral character and His natural attributes. 1. In understanding the nature and character of God, it is important to distinguish between His natural attributes and His moral character. A. Natural attributes are those qualities or characteristics without which God could not be God. 1).

Natural attributes inherently belong to the essential being of God and exist independently of any action of God's will.

2).

Examples of natural attributes include eternity of being, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, immutable, incomprehensible, self-existent, transcendent, sovereign, etc.

B. Moral attributes involve choices on God's part that give him moral character. 1).

Moral attributes are traits that are true in the realm of voluntary activity, not something behind God's will that necessarily causes Him to act as He does. A). Examples of moral attributers are righteous love, unconditional love, unconditional acceptance, unconditional forgiveness, utter-selfgiving, other-centeredness, holiness, truthfulness or faithfulness, just, merciful, and longsuffering, goodness, and love-wrath. B). God's praiseworthiness does not depend upon the existence of his natural attributes but upon the exercise of them by choice on His part. C). Goodness in God should not be considered to be merely a quality of His nature or a latent state but as an intense activity of His personal choice, particularly expressed in His moral government.

2).

God is not under a law of necessity or cause and effect which forces Him to act in a particular way in any given situation. A). He acts one way or another according to occasions and information that are presented to His intellect. B). God does not necessarily or automatically act rightly, but he freely chooses to act in the light of His conscience. C). God's virtue consists in obeying the universal law of benevolence which is unselfish and unconditional love.

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D). God chooses to and willingly submits all that He is to His moral character. E). God's right to govern the universe does not rest primarily on the fact that He is almighty but that He is good. i. Might does not make right in a moral system of government. ii. Benevolence seeks the highest good of all beings in the universe. iii. Whatever God requires of man, He also does.

3).

He expects man to will good and to do good,

He wills and does good Himself.

He shows us the way by example.

He is unselfish and expects man to be unselfish.

God is not a tyrant or a despot. A). He is not above his own moral being and law. i. God freely chooses to submit Himself unto the law of love to which all beings are subject. ii. Should God cease to be loving and good, man would still have reason to fear Him because of His omnipotence, but he would have no motivation to love and worship Him. B). The Islamic view of God is that he is arbitrary and above the law. i. Consequently, Islam has produced leaders such as the Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein who have been dictatorial in their exercise of authority. ii. In America, where the primary influence on government has historically been the Bible, our civil authorities are not supposed to govern dictatorially. a.

Our founding fathers were repulsed by the idea of the divine right of the King-- that whatever the King does is right because he is King.

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Our highest executive officer, the president, can be impeached if he puts himself above the law.

If God is viewed with being a tyrant or despot, then men will become autocratic in their behavior in attempting to pattern themselves after God's perceived moral character.

2. It is theoretically possible that God could sin and govern selfishly and cease with being good? A. Man should not doubt that God will continue to be good forever because He has proven Himself to be good and morally right in all of His dealings with men and angels throughout the ages. B. After making the ultimate sacrifice of giving His Son for the redemption of mankind and the unifying of a divided creation, could any thinking man ever believe that God would become evil? C. When the Scriptures teach that it is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18), this does not mean He is incapable of telling an untruth, but that He cannot lie and remain true to His moral character. 1).

The verb cannot in Hebrews 6:18 is moral, not metaphysical.

2).

Indeed at one point God even sent a lying Spirit to confound the plans of the wicked (1 Kings 22:22).

3).

Although there is no darkness in God, it must be understood that He knows both good and evil. A). He knows about moral evil and its awful consequences far better than any other being, but He has never personally experienced what it is like to do evil. i. In this respect, both Satan and man know what God does not. ii. Whereas God has always continually participated in good, B). Satan and all men have sinned, not by nature but by choice.

D. We are asked the old query "Is the good good because God wills it?" Or, "Does God will something because it is good?" 1).

Correct Answer: Both are correct because God is the basis of all that is good and He only and always wills something because it is good.

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A). Our consciences tell us the good is good regardless of God's will. B). We know it is wrong to commit adultery whether God says it is wrong or not. C). The laws of our nature also affirm that we should love our neighbor as ourselves and keep the Golden Rule. D). It is only logical and intelligent that men and God should live lovingly for the sake of universal happiness. 2).

God is not arbitrary in any of His commandments nor does He require of man any more or less than with what He willingly performs: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." A). If God can't help but to be good, then He has asked more from man than from Himself. B). God does good not because He has to but because it is the right and reasonable thing to do. C). It promotes the highest well-being of all and works to prevent the misery of all.

3).

If God is not free to do good or evil, then God is not responsible or accountable. A). Many view the Sovereign God as being accountable or responsible to no one and without any control. i. Surely the God of the Bible exerts self-control in the light of His moral character and law which are the expression of His heart. ii. Although God is independent by nature, He became accountable and responsible to His creatures when He created the universe. B). Now His happiness, to a large degree, is dependent upon His creatures loving response to His overtures of love. i. What would it be if God created dependent beings and then not acknowledge any responsibly or accountability for their wellbeing?

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It would mean our God is a tyrant and not a loving one, but no, this does not apply to the God of the Bible! O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me (Micah 6:3). i). Here we have the great God humbling Himself before His creatures, asking them to judge Him. ii). But how could men judge Him if there is no standard to which even God is accountable?

Abraham in interceding for Sodom and Gomorra pleaded with God not to destroy the righteous with the wicked and boldly questioned the Almighty; Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen. 18:25) i). It is apparent that our father Abraham believed that there was a moral standard in the nature of things to which even God was accountable because God made it to be good. ii). According to Abraham, the righteous should not die with the wicked; instead, God should spare the cities for the sake of the righteous. aa. Abraham asks God if the cities would be spared for the sake of certain quotas of righteous people. ba. He begins with 50 people, lowers the number to 45, then to 40, 30, 20, and ends, apparently satisfied, at 10. ca. God agrees to each request. Ultimately, God continues on his way, and Abraham goes back to his place.

ii. God is free to choose other than good but by freely choosing good over evil, it assures our loving obedience to Him in most cases. 3. God is under no compulsion to love and show mercy towards man. A. God freely gave His Son for our salvation, and Jesus laid down his life willingly.

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1).

God is under a moral obligation to be just to all, but He has no obligation to show mercy to any, because all men deserve hell for all have sinned.

2).

There is nothing innate in God in causing Him to behave morally for He is the causeless Cause or the First Cause.

3).

There is no natural necessity within God in coercing Him to be just, merciful and longsuffering. A). When God determined to destroy the rebellious nation of Israel, Moses reasoned with God and succeeded in changing His mind. (Exodus 32) B). God would have been just in demonstrating His wrath but He choose to extend mercy. C). God is a free being who has always behaved lovingly, and who, Scripture confirms, will always act lovingly because this is the way He chooses to be by voluntarily submitting to His moral nature.

B. God made man in His own image and likeness, not with the same physical powers but with the same moral potential as is in Him. 1).

Man, like God, has intellect, including conscience, emotion and free will.

2).

God created man in order that He might have a loving and personal relationship with beings in His own image.

3).

We intuitively know that we have these faculties, therefore we can conclude, as the Bible also affirms, that God must have these faculties. A). I am conscious of making choices independently of any outside or inside causation. B). To speak of being caused to choose is an obvious contradiction, an oxymoron. C). Reasonable men universally recognize the value of freedom at least for themselves. D). Men are conscious of their freedom to choose. E). Since God is infinitely greater than man, it is demeaning to Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatness to refuse in acknowledging His freedom of conscience and choice; yes, even potential to do wrong, is demeaning to Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatness.

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F). God could choose to have His will always to be done on earth in the affairs of men, but to do so He would have to divest man of his freedom. G). Theologians who deny Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freedom naturally deny man's free will; therefore, they debase man to the level of being a slave at best or a brute at worse. i. Virtue can only exist where there is freedom. a.

If man has a free will, and God doesn't, then man has something of value that God doesn't have.

If God couldn't do anything but good and man could, wouldn't man in doing good be more righteous than God?

ii. If God is not free to do moral evil, then God is not a Holy Being but an irresistible impersonal force or power who absolutely and arbitrarily controls everything and everybody. 4. When the Bible speaks of God as being immutable, in the moral sense, it means that God refuses to change His moral character. A. God always chooses to be motivated by benevolence in everything that He does without any lapses into selfishness. B. By His own choice, God is too wise to make mistakes, too good and just to do us wrong, and too loving to ignore our interests or needs. C. His moral character is unchanging; but His feeling and actions will make adjustments to the changing characters of men. 1).

The man who is righteous today may be wicked tomorrow, and therefore God's emotions and relationship to him must change or He would not be just.

2).

James 1:13 teaches, God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. A). This does not mean that God is not free to choose to do evil, but evil is not a significant temptation to God like it is to man. B). Man's natural capacities are seriously weakened as a result of the Fall. C). God's strength has never been abated by sin.

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i. God is the moral stronghold of the universe. ii. Given God's conduct record; it is futile to tempt Him with any expectation of His succumbing to the temptation. iii. In fact, we are commanded not to tempt the Lord (Deut. 6:16, quoted in Matt. 4:7). iv. It is a common figure of speech for men to say, "That is no temptation to me." a.

They don't mean that they don't have the ability to sin, but that the object is so removed from their will and the thought so odious to them that they experience no moral struggle in rejecting the temptation.

God's moral fortitude is so great that He doesn't experience conflict within Himself if moral evil should be presented to His intellect.

5. Ideas have consequences. A. What effect has been the false but popular doctrine of the inherent goodness of God on the behavior of men? 1).

If moral good is inbred, innate, or inherent in God, then it follows that man can be born with inbred, innate, or inherent sin without the ability to do good.

2).

When God is believed to be primarily good by nature and not by choice, believers will be content with claiming a new divine righteous nature being imputed onto them by faith, but deny the possibility of habitually choosing the good and shunning the evil.

3).

If God cannot freely choose to be holy, how could He righteously require man to choose to be holy? A). Holiness comes to be regarded as a mysterious something infused into man by God, instead of a disposition to do right. B). If holiness is a static or fixed something that is somewhere in God's nature instead of a dynamic state of being, then believers will be justified in the assurance of a positional righteousness while sinning daily in thought, word, and deed.

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B. How reverent and marvelous it is to the great God for us to know that His actions are not fixed, predetermined, and mechanical, but free, intelligent and benevolent. 1).

The truth that God is freely good does set men at liberty to obey the Lord's commandment to "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect." A). If God is not inherently caused to do good, then we men, created in His image and likeness, are not innately caused to do evil but are free to obey the law of love. B). Just as God is author of His own actions and character, man is the initiator of his own volitions, character and moral nature. C). The God who wills that none shall perish has put man's destiny into his own hands.

2).

The Lord has crowned man with glory and honor (Ps. 8:5).

3).

It is our responsibility to use our faculties for His glory by loving Him supremely and by loving our neighbor as ourselves.

II The revelation of God’s moral character that is found in Exodus 34:6-7. 1. Exodus 34:6-7 as the foundation of all Old Testament thinking about God. A. Exodus 34:6-7 presents four perfectly balanced aspects of God’s moral character—love, truth, righteousness and forgiveness— these are the foundation upon which the Old Testament understanding of God is built. B. This passage is one of the most important theological texts that are in Scripture because it is the only place wherein God actually described Himself by listing His own moral character. 1).

Is it not better to discover what or who a person is by asking questions directly to him rather than to learn about him from second and third parties?

2).

This is the only time that is found in the Scriptures in which a person (Moses) directly asked God to describe Himself and God gladly obliged.

C. The importance of Exodus 34:6-7 as a foundation for Old Testament and Biblical theology is evidenced by the fact that this statement is repeated many times in the Old Testament (Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17; Pss. 103:8, 17; 145:8; Jer. 32:18-19; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2).

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1).

Echoes of this self-revelation also appear in Deuteronomy 5:9-10; 1 Kings 3:6; Lamentations 3:32; Daniel 9:4; and Nahum 1:3.

2).

The biblical writers clearly regarded Exodus 34:6-7 as a foundational statement about God.

D. A Brief exposition of God’s moral character of Exodus 34:6-7. 1).

God’s love. A). God’s love not only prevents God from backhanding us across the universe,” but also “blesses us unconditionally, B). This graciousness does not come because of anything in us but comes because of what is in God. C). God’s love does not simply excuse wrongdoing or look the other way, he stressed. D). What we see here is that God is out to cure us, not simply grant us amnesty, E). God’s forgiveness is for the purpose of reestablishing a formerly broken relationship so that the power of the reestablished relationship will cure the person of that which caused the breakdown of the relationship in the first place.

2).

Truth, faithfulness and fidelity also characterize God. A). It has to do with the fact that God has divinely limited himself to being faithful to his character for He is this way, and he will not move from it. B). God not only is unconditionally loving and eternally faithful to his moral character, but also is holy and righteous, Manning observed.

3).

God’s forgiveness. A). God forgives, but the results of selfish or stupid action on our part are not completely removed. B). In fact, sometimes God’s righteous reaction toward sin is to allow the consequences of irresponsible behavior to wake up a person to the depths of their rebellion.

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C). Those results even can extend to innocents who bear the consequences of otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions. i. Vicarious suffering is the most powerful force on earth to awaken someone to the devastation of irresponsible, selfcentered and reckless behavior. ii. When innocent children suffer from the neglect, or abuse, or self-absorbed living of the parents, the guilty can really see, if they will, the depth of sin and its far-reaching costs. iii. This principle of vicarious suffering is, of course, displayed perfectly in the cross, where the innocent one suffering for the sins of us allâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the guilty. 2. Exodus 32-33 is the biblical-historical context of Exodus 34:6-7. A. God's self-revelation to Moses is set in the context of one of the spiritual low points in Israel's history. 1).

Exodus 32 records how Israel's sin of idolatry resulted in the breaking of the newly established covenant with the Lord.

2).

While the Israelites were camped at Mount Sinai, Moses ascended the mountain to meet with God and receive the tablets of the Law.

3).

When this took longer than expected, the people approached Aaron with a request, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him" (32:1).

B. Three failures can be noted here. 1).

First failure. A). First, the Israelites failed to recognize their exclusive allegiance to the Lord, with whom they had entered into covenant. B). The first of the Ten Commandments stated, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (20:3), but the people demanded of Aaron, "make us gods who will go before us."

2).

Second failure. A). Second, they failed to acknowledge that it was God, not Moses, who had delivered them from Egypt.

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B). In his song Moses had credited God with Israel's deliverance from Egypt (15:1-18). C). Now the Israelites were attributing their deliverance to Moses. 3).

Third failure. A). Third, the Israelites failed to rely on Moses, their covenant mediator. B). Moses had not told the people when he would return from his mountaintop meeting with God. C). So when Moses delayed, they gave up hope and sought someone else to lead them surprisingly.

C. Surprisingly Aaron quickly yielded to public pressure by fashioning a golden calf, which he then presented to the people, " 1).

This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt (32:4). A). This calf may be reminiscent of the Apis bull cult, which was prevalent in Memphis, Egypt. I. B). You may also recall the bull worship in Heliopolis. C). But these places were some distance from Goshen, the district where the Israelites lived when in Egypt. D). Some suggests that the bull cults connected with the worship of Horus more likely influenced Aaron.

2).

Aaron announced to the people, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD" (32:5). A). These words suggest that Aaron intended for the image of the calf to represent Israel's God, B). Aaron's use of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yahwehâ&#x20AC;? was an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade the Israelites from worshiping the calf and to encourage them to turn back to the Lord.

D. On Mount Sinai God informed Moses of the idolatry that was taking place in the camp - God charged the people with having "corrupted" themselves (v. 7).

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1).

Then He threatened to destroy the Israelites, suggesting to Moses that He could rise up a new nation from his descendants (v. 10). A). This was a real test for Israel's leader. B). Would he choose his own exaltation over Israel's preservation? C). After all that he had experienced with these rebellious people, one can imagine that he was tempted to stand back and let God deal with them.

2).

But instead, Moses interceded on behalf of the people, and so God withheld His judgment (vv. 11-13). A). The words "the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people" (32:14) are not inconsistent with the doctrine of God's immutability. B). Announcements of judgment are frequently conditional. God sometimes withholds His judgment in response to repentance or intercession because He is unchanging in His com-passion and grace (2 Pet. 3:9).

E. Because of Israel's failure in the matter of the golden calf, the Lord withdrew His presence from among the people in the camp (Exod. 33:1-7). 1).

God promised to send an angel to lead them into the Promised Land, but God would not go on in the midst of such sinful covenant-breakers.

2).

Moses was no doubt discouraged by Israel's failure. He wanted to be with God, and yet God had left the camp.

3).

To resolve this situation Moses set up a small tent some distance from the Israelite camp, where he could meet with God (v. 7). A). Sheltered there from the desert wind and sun, Moses spent time alone with the Lord. B). Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended to the tent entrance and God spoke with Moses (v. 9). C). This must have been a very special experience for Moses. D). Reflecting on this time he spent with God, he wrote, "Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend" (v. 11).

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E). The expression "face to face" is used five times in the Old Testament to describe close intimacy between God and His people (Gen. 32:31; Exod. 33:11; Deut. 34:10; Judg. 6:22; Ezek. 20:35). F. More than anything else, Moses wanted to know and experience God. 1).

This desire is clearly reflected in his prayer, "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways, that I may know You" (Exod. 33:13).

2).

By desiring to know God's ways Moses wanted to become better acquainted with His actions, directions, and manner of doing things.

3).

He wanted to know God more intimately, more intelligently, more personally than ever before.

4).

With this desire in mind he said, "I pray You, show me Your GLORY" (v. 18). A). The word ("glory") is associated with a verb that means "to be heavy." B). The noun is sometimes used with reference to someone's "weighty" reputation or honored position (1 Kings 3:13). C). The word refers to being "weighty in the sense of being noteworthy or impressive." D). Similarly it refers to the reality and splendor of God's glorious presence. E). Sometimes His glory was made visible in association with the tabernacle or temple (Exod. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11; Ezek. 9:3-4).

G. In Exodus 33:18 Moses was asking for a full self-disclosure of God's glorious person--a revelation that would sustain and encourage Moses, enabling him to carry on as Israel's leader. 1).

But Moses asked for more than God was willing to grant. A). The Lord responded by telling Moses that mortal man cannot see God in the fullness of His divine glory and still survive the experience (v. 20; see also John 1:18; Col. 1:15).

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B). But God graciously accommodated Himself to Moses by announcing that He would make His "goodness" pass before Moses and would "proclaim" His name in Moses' presence (Exod. 33:19). 2).

Some suggests that "goodness" here may imply the "beauty" of the Lord and so it anticipated a theophany. A). But in this case God gave Moses not a vision of how He appears but a description of what He is. B). The promise to proclaim His name is probably another way of saying the same thing. In biblical times a person's "name" was associated with his or her character and reputation. C). For Yahweh to proclaim His name meant He would declare or announce His internal values, the essence of His divine moral character.

H. God told Moses that He would place him in the cleft of a rock, covering him with His hand until He passed by. 1).

Then God told Moses, "I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but my face shall not be seen" (v. 23).

2).

This statement is rich in anthropomorphisms, attributing to God the human features of a hand, back, and face.

3).

Since God does not have a physical body (John 4:24), these terms reveal how intimately and personally God would disclose Himself to Moses.

I. The revelation of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glory (Exodus. 34:6-7). 1).

God fulfilled His promise to give Moses a fresh revelation of His glory. A). Once again He called Moses to Mount Sinai (34:1-2), and He "descended in the cloud and stood there with him" (v. 5). B). In its many uses in Exodus and Numbers, the word "cloud" is associated with and represents God's presence.

2).

The last phrase in verse 5, "he called upon the name of the LORD,â&#x20AC;? is somewhat ambiguous. A). Did Moses "call upon" the name of Yahweh, or did Yahweh "proclaim" His name?

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B). Though the Hebrew verb can be translated either way, it seems preferable in this context to understand that God proclaimed His name or moral character, for this is what He had promised Moses (33:19). 3).

Some point out that there is no change of subject for the verbs "passed by" and "proclaimed" in verse 6. A). He translates it this way: "Yahweh passed by before him, and (Yahweh) proclaimed. . . ." B). This interpretation has the support of a number of noted commentators. C). What follows, is a "virtual exegesis"15 of Yahweh's name as God disclosed His moral character to Moses.

J. The meaning of God's name Yahweh was first revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:1315.20 1).

"God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you'" (3:14). A). The words "I AM" translate a first-person form of the Hebrew verb "to be". B). The meaning is that God is the self- existent One. C). As some state, He exists dependent upon nothing or no one excepting his own will. D). When God said, "I AM," He was referring to His active, life-giving existence. E). The words "I AM" express the meaning of God's name, but they are not the name itself. God's name is revealed in verse 15 as Yahweh.

2).

The Hebrew name Yahweh is probably best understood as derived from a third-person form of the Hebrew verb ("to be"), emphasizing, as in the case of "I AM," that He is the self-existent One.

K. The word â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mighty Godâ&#x20AC;? is an ancient Semitic term used in the Bible as a generic name for "god" and as a designation for the true God of Israel. 1).

Scholars have debated the root meaning of the term.

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2).

Frequent suggestions for the original meaning include "power" or "fear," but these proposals are challenged and much disputed.

3).

It is rare to find in Scripture without some word or description that elevates and distinguishes the true God from false deities that bear the designation "god." A). Yahweh, the God of Israel, is "the great" (Jer. 32:18), "the God of heaven" (Ps. 136:26), and "the most high" (Gen. 14:18-19). B). In Exodus 34:6 is used in connection with the double name Yahweh. C). God identified Himself to Moses with the words "Yahweh, Yahweh God." D). As the double name provides emphasis, the designation lxe begins to provide a description. E). The One speaking to Moses was none other than Yahweh, the true and living God.

L. List of the facets of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral character. 1).

In critical studies scholars have discussed the origin and use of the list of characteristics revealed in the proclamation of Yahweh's name. A). Some conclude that in Exodus 34:6-8 and related passages the entire "formula" was produced by the circle of Israel â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sages and inserted into the Exodus narrative by them in their redaction of the Pentateuch. B). Other scholars have assumed a cultic origin and liturgical use for this summary of Yahweh's characteristics. C). Others argue that the origin of the "formula" must be found in the narrative context of Israel's first disobedience and Yahweh's judgment. D). Still others have noted the relationship between God's dealings with Israel in the Book of Exodus and the things He said about Himself in His self-revelation. E). "Yahweh's compassion had just been demonstrated (32:14), and his tendency to be favorable was in the process of exercise (33:12-17).

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F). His slowness to grow angry had been attested from the moment of Israel's complaint at the sea (14:11-12), and his unchanging love and reliableness were the reason 2).

Moses had still been able to plead after the terrible cancellation made by the people's disobedience with the calf. His keeping of unchanging love to the thousands and the removal of their guilt, their transgression and their sin … were in process."

M. God had revealed Himself to Moses by His works in relationship with His people but in Exodus 34:6-7 He revealed His moral character through words. 1).

Compassionate. A). The first thing God revealed about Himself is that He is compassionate. i. The word compassion describes a deep love rooted in some natural bond. ii. This love is usually that of a superior being (God) for an inferior being (a human). iii. The psalmist declared, "Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD [Yahweh] has compassion on those who fear Him" (Ps.103:13). B). Some people define it as expressing "a deep and tender feeling of compassion, such as is aroused by the sight of weakness or suffering in those that are dear to us or need our help." C). The Old Testament uses “compassion” thirteen times. i. Twelve of those occurrences refer to God, and one (Ps. 112:4) refers to man. ii. When used of God, the word points up the strong bond He has with those He calls His children. iii. He looks on His people much as mothers and fathers look on their children--with concern for their needs and tender feelings of love. Another concept associated with God's compassion is His unconditional choice. iv. "I . . . will show compassion on whom I will show compassion" (Exod. 33:19).

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v. God's compassion is extended by His sovereign decree to those whom He chooses. vi. God's compassion is also linked with His faithfulness. a.

"For the LORD [Yahweh] your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them" (Deu . 4:31).

And because He is compassionate, He is also forgiving.

The psalmist declared, "But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them" (Ps. 78:38).

vii. Through the exercise of His compassion, spared a repentant people who were deserving of judgment. Deuteronomy 30:1-3 reveals that repentance from sin will be met with God's compassion and restoration to blessing. D). A brief survey of prophetic literature reveals that Yahweh's compassion provides the basis for Israel's future restoration (Isa. 49:13; Jer. 12:15), national redemption (Mic. 7:19), and eschatological hope (Isa. 14:1; Jer. 33:26; Zech. 1:16). E). Anticipating the future blessings for His people, God declared, "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you" (Isa. 54:7). F). God is a compassionate Father. i. He loves His own, those whom He chose. And He will never forsake them. ii. He will always be available in believers' times of need, seeking their good for His ultimate glory. iii. Although infinitely holy, His compassion allows Him to deal gently with weak and failing people. iv. He is full of tender sympathy for the sufferings and the miseries of human frailty.

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v. Because of His compassion He is always ready and willing to forgive sins and to restore people to Himself. 2).

Graciousness. A). The second fact God wanted Moses to know about Himself is that He is gracious. i. The Hebrew adjective depicts "a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need." ii. The verb for graciousness usually refers to a stronger person coming to help a weaker one who has no claim for such favorable treatment. iii. Most of the occurrences of this verb in the Hebrew Bible have Yahweh as the subject. iv. Jacob explained to his brother Esau that his family and property were due to the fact that God had "dealt graciously" with him (Gen. 33:5, 11). v. In praying and fasting for his dying son, David said, "Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live" (2 Sam. 12:22). B). Showing such grace seems to be a divine prerogative, for Yahweh declared to Moses, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious" (Exod. 33:19). i. Often God's grace is seen in His delivering of His own from their enemies or from their sins (Pss. 26:11; 51:1; 123:3). ii. The word "gracious" is used thirteen times in the Old Testament, eleven times in combination with "compassionate". a.

Like the verbal form of compassion the adjective word for graciousness denotes the free favor of a superior given to one who is needy but undeserving.

Some scholars note that all the occurrences except one refer to Yahweh, who is favorable toward the afflicted and needy (Exod. 22:27; 34:6;-2 Chron. 30:9; Neh. 9:17, 31; Pss. 86:15; 103:8, 111:4; 116:5; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2).31

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The single exception to this pattern, in Psalm 112:4, uses the adjective to describe the God-fearing person, who shares certain characteristics with God.

iii. Yet with humankind this moral nature is not perfect. iv. The kindness people extend to others may not be unbiased or without hope of reward. C). With God, things are different. D). He has no ulterior motives. Because God is gracious, He will hear the cry of the poor (Exod. 22:27). i. Because God is gracious, He will not turn away from the repentant (2 Chron. 30:9). ii. Because God is gracious, He will not forsake His people (Neh. 9:17, 31). (Exod. 22:27). iii. Because God is gracious, He will not turn away from the repentant (2 Chron. 30:9). iv. Because God is gracious, He will not forsake His people (Neh. 9:17, 31). E). The grace of God is featured throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, emphasizing the theological basis for God's goodness and kindness toward His people. F). Christianity is distinct from all other religions because it is a message of grace. i. Jesus Christ is the supreme revelation of God's grace; salvation is by grace; and grace governs and empowers Christian living. ii. Without grace Christianity is nothing. 3).

Slow to anger. A). The Bible reveals that God has a legitimate basis for anger: The sin and disobedience of His people dishonors and displeases Him (Exod. 32:10). i. But God's anger, though fierce (Num. 25:4; 32:14; Josh. 7:26; Jer. 25:37), is not sinful or evil.

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ii. It is grounded in His holy character, which is offended by the sinful rebellion of His creatures. iii. God's anger often issues in His chastising (Pss. 6:1; 38:1) and punishing (2 Sam. 6:7; Jer. 44:6) His people. B). Yet while God may be rightfully angry over sin and disobedience, He is not quick to become angry. 4).

The Hebrew expression "slow to anger" is used ten times in the Bible to refer to God's patience in dealing with those whose sins arouse His wrath. A). The expression includes the noun of anger, meaning "long," and â&#x20AC;&#x153;angerâ&#x20AC;?, a word for "nose." i. In Hebrew the nose is associated with anger, apparently because when a person is angry, his or her face and nose may involuntarily redden and appear to "burn." ii. God's being "slow to anger" means that He takes a long time before getting angry. iii. It is as if He takes a long, deep breath as He deals with sin and holds His anger in abeyance. In discussing this concept a.

Some suggest that God's nose becomes so long that it would "take forever to burn completely."

However, this wrongly seems to suggest that God would never actually become angry and express His divine wrath, a view not supported by Scripture (Exod. 4:14; Num. 11:1; 22:22; Josh. 7:1).

B). Because God is holy, He must respond with wrath and judgment on sin and disobedience. i. His righteousness demands that He not leave wickedness unpunished. ii. Such lenience would be contrary to His holy character. iii. But God does not hasten to punish the sinner. iv. Instead, He exercises His moral nature of longsuffering.

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v. God's prolonged and patient dealings with the wicked should not be interpreted to mean that sin is not serious or does not matter. vi. Rather, God's patience gives the wicked time and opportunity to repent. vii. As Peter wrote, God is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). C). God is in no hurry to judge sinners. i. Yet there will be a day when the wicked must stand before God's great, white throne and be judged according to their deeds (Rev. 20:11-15). ii. Meanwhile God continues to demonstrate His patience and grace. iii. Though His anger is being kindled by human sinfulness, it is being kindled very slowly. 5).

Abounding in loving kindness. A). The next thing God revealed to Moses about Himself is that He is "abounding in loving kindness and truth." B). The word "abounding" is used to describe what is present in abundant quantity or quality. i. The phrase occurs thirteen times in the Old Testament. Some scholars say this phrase is a hendiadys, a figure of speech in which two words represent one idea. ii. Some says this phrase speaks of the moral character of "loving kindness of truth," or "true and faithful loving kindness." iii. Others say the phrase could refer to God's "true love" or "faithful love." iv. However, since there is no absolute certainty that the compound phrase reflects a single idea, and no con- sensus as to the idea being represented, it seems preferable to treat the words as separate moral nature of God.

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C). The Hebrew word that is variously translated "kindness" (JB), "loving kindness" (KJV, NASB), "love" (NIV), or "steadfast love" (NRSV), has the basic meaning of "unfailing love" or "loyalty." D). The Septuagint uses the Greek word "mercy" or "compassion" in translating the word from loving kindness. i. It is said that in ancient treaties the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;loving kindnessâ&#x20AC;? was used to describe an aspect of the covenant relationship between kings and their subjects. ii. As the king was expected to demonstrate loving kindness to the people with whom he had entered into covenant, so his subjects were to show loving kindness toward their king. iii. This "love" on the people's part suggested loyalty, service, and obedience. iv. As ancient kings entered into a relationship with their subjects, expressed in terms of "covenantal love," so God established His covenant with Israel, promising His loyalty to His people and calling for their loyalty in return. E). Not all scholars agree that loving kindness is so closely tied to fulfilling prior covenantal duties. i. Others hold that loving kindness expresses love in a more general sense, emphasizing the freedom of God to love without any sense of obligation. ii. One argues that loving kindness, denotes free acts of rescue or deliverance, which includes the idea of faithfulness. iii. Clearly God's relationship with His people Israel was formalized and defined by a covenant (Exod. 19:5; 24:8; 31:16; 34:10), but there is freedom, initiative, and grace in Yahweh's loving kindness. iv. That is, all of God's favor is based on His love (Deut. 7:8). God entered into a covenant with His people because of His love. v. The covenant simply guarantees the perpetuity of His love. F). Yahweh's "loyal-love" is an undeserved, selective affection by which He binds Himself to His people for their sake.

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i. He graciously and sovereignly grants gifts and blessings beyond anything they might hope for. ii. And He grants these blessings contrary to what people deserve. iii. His abounding loving kindness, will never diminish or be exhausted since it is founded on His character and covenant commitment. iv. And so the psalmist wrote, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His loving kindness, is everlasting" (Ps. 136:1). 6).

Abundant in truth. A). Besides being "great" in His loyal love, God also abounds in truth. i. The word which can be translated "truth" or "faithfulness," is associated with the verbs "to confirm, support, or establish." ii. The basic idea of both the verb and the noun is that of firmness, certainty, and dependability. B). This word is frequently applied to God as a characteristic of His divine nature. i. The Chronicler used it in describing the "true God" (2 Chron. 15:3). ii. The term is fittingly applied to God's words (Ps. 119:142, 151, 160). iii. As a characteristic of God, truth is the means by which people come to know and serve Him (1 Kings 2:4; Pss. 25:5; 26:3). C). In Exodus 34:6 the word may emphasize "truth," or it may focus on "faithfulness." i. Both, of course, are equally true of God. ii. But reliability, stability, and faithfulness seem to be fundamental to abudant truth when applied to God. a.

And because He is reliable and faithful, His words can be trusted.

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7).

As we study its various contexts, it becomes manifestly clear that there is no truth in the biblical sense, i.e. valid truth, outside God.

All truth comes from God and is truth because it is related to God."

God's Word is as sure as His character. Jesus affirmed this when He said, "Your Word is truth" (John 17:17).

Keeping loving kindness for thousands. A). God's moral character is not revealed merely to be discussed and admired. i. They reflect the nature of God who extends Himself and His divine mercies to those in need. a.

The word translated "loving kindness" in verse 7 is used already in verse 6.

Once again God was revealing His steadfast, loyal love frequently exhibited in terms of covenant loyalty toward His people.

But here He declared that He does not limit the exercise of His loyal-love,, but that He extends this abounding love to the multitudes.

ii. The participle word that is translated "keeping" or "who keeps," does not mean "retaining." a.

Rather it means that God extends His loving kindness, to those in need.

The word "thousands" means "thousands of generations."

This fits the context, which mentions "generations" at the end of verse.

God extends His loyal love to thousands of generations, the distant descendants of the Israelites who were with Moses at Mount Sinai.

B). God keeps on working to extend His loyal love to the thousands of people who need His help and deliverance.

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8).

Forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. A). Another great truth God wanted Moses and His people to know about Himself is that He is willing to forgive. B). Although this is not the last of the moral character of God noted in this passage, i. Many regard this statement as "the climax of the present proclamation." ii. The word "to forgive" means "to lift up, carry, take away." a.

The verb is used figuratively here and elsewhere of God's "taking away" sin (Ps. 32:1, 5), so that the guilty receive pardon and forgiveness.

This use of forgive appears often in requests for forgiveness (Gen. 50:17; Exod. 10:17; 32:32; Num. 14:19; 1 Sam. 15:25; 25:28).

Note, "Sin can be forgiven and forgotten, because it is taken up and carried away."

iii. Three words are used to describe the actions and attitudes that God forgives. a.

The first word, "iniquity", refers to an action that involves crooked behavior, a turning away from the straight and narrow way.

The second word, "transgressions", refers to a breach of relationships, civil or religious, between two parties (Gen. 31:36; Isa. 58:1). i). In the context of international relationships the cognate verb designates a revolt against rulers. ii). In a religious sense it refers to a rebellion against God's authority. iii). Many regard it as a "collective which denotes the sum of misdeeds and a fractured relationship."

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The third word, "sin", is related to the verb, "to miss the way." i). Missing God's standards or failing to fulfill His requirements constitutes an act of sin. ii). Some are not convinced that Moses intended to differentiate between three varieties of sin for some say that the three are synonyms that are used to cover "the entire range of wrongdoing." iii). While this may be the case, there are significant differences in nuance between the words.

C). Micah contemplated God's marvelous moral character of forgiveness when he said, "Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession. D). He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love because Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love converts His anger. (Mic. 7:18). 9).

Not acquitting unrepentant sinners. A). The next moral facet of God features the other side of God's forgiving grace. B). Although He delights in forgiveness, His grace cannot abrogate His justice. C). Those who refuse to repent are responsible before the holy God. D). The Hebrew text could be translated, "He will most certainly not acquit [the guilty]." i. The word translated "acquit" means "to be clean, pure, or spotless." ii. Some note that of the forty Old Testament occurrences of this verb the vast majority have an ethical, moral, or forensic connotation. iii. In a judicial context it takes on the meaning "to be acquitted" or "to go unpunished."

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A husband is "acquitted" of any guilt if he, in declaring his wife un- faithful, follows the legal procedures required by law (Num. 5:31).

The word is sometimes used with a negative particle, thereby yielding a strong warning of accountability and judgment.

Proverbs 6:29 declares that the one who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife "will not go unpunished.â&#x20AC;?

In Exodus 34:7 the verb is with the negative â&#x20AC;&#x153;to affirmâ&#x20AC;? that God will not regard the unrepentant sinner as innocent.

Because God is holy and just, as well as loving and forgiving, the unrepentant will face the most serious consequences of their sin and rebellion. God does not leave sinners unpunished (Exod. 20:7; Job 9:28; Jer. 30:11).

10). Not erasing the consequences of sin. A). The last phrase in God's self-revelation to Moses reflects on the consequences of sin. B). While it is in God's nature to forgive the repentant, it is not in His nature to remove the natural consequences of foolish and sinful behavior. C). Some people assume that the words, "visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations," mean that God punishes children for the sins of their parents and ancestors. i. But Ezekiel 18 shows that this is not the case. a.

Of course it would be unjust for God to punish children for the sins of their parents.

Yet this is exactly what some people were saying in Ezekiel's day, as expressed in their proverb, "The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezek. 18:2).

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They were saying that in allowing the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem,

God was punishing the people for the sins of their ancestors. God responded by saying that they should not use that proverb any more (v. 3).

Then He announced, "The person who sins will die.

The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself (v. 20).

ii. It is also evident from Deuteronomy 24:16 that God does not hold children responsible for the sinful actions of their parents. D). The fact that God will visit â&#x20AC;&#x153;the iniquity of the fathers on the children" means that children can expect to experience the consequences of the sinful behavior of their parents. i. While God is willing to forgive and pardon, He does not interrupt the certain and natural consequences of sinful behavior. ii. And some of these consequences are experienced by children and grandchildren. iii. When a parent goes to prison, the children suffer loss. Sadly, many children have suffered the tragic consequences of growing up in a family with an alcoholic or abusive parent. iv. God does not interrupt the natural consequences of foolish and sinful actions. v. Children do reap what sinful parents sow. vi. Yet the influence of evil is limited to a few generations ("to the third and fourth generations"), while God extends His "loyal love" "for thousands." 11). The response of Moses (Exodus 34:8). A). Earlier in his encounter with God, Moses had prayed, "Show me Your glory" (Exod. 33:18).

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i. In response God revealed Himself to Moses in a most unique and memorable way. ii. God passed in front of Moses and proclaimed His own moral character. B). How did Moses respond to the Lord's self-revelation? i. He "made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship." ii. When Moses saw God in the light of His self-revelation, he saw himself with new insight. iii. No longer could Moses stand in God's presence. iv. And it did not take him a long season of deliberation to decide what response was appropriate. v. Having heard God proclaiming His moral character, Moses "made haste" to prostrate himself on the ground in worship. C). Good theology is the foundation and impetus for God-honoring worship. D). May all who aspire to proper theology be as quick to understand and practice its implications. 3. A summary of and additional Old and New Testament insights into the moral character of God. A. The Old Testament. 1).

An overview and summary of Exodus 34:6-7 that reveals His moral character in three aspects to Moses. A). First, there is love in which He is merciful and gracious, revealing His love by even forgiving the rebellious. B). Second, God is truth or faithful to Himself, to His own moral character, God remains faithful and true. C). Third, God reveals His righteousness where He simply will not write off manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guilt but will make a way through the suffering of the innocent for the guilty (vicarious suffering).

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2).

All three aspects of God’s moral character in Exodus 34:6-7 are in harmonious union with each other and amount to God’s holiness (wholeness and uniqueness). A). God’s Moral Character is in Love + Truth + Righteousness = HOLINESS (wholeness and uniqueness that makes God to be different from all else). i. His holiness is a love that will not let you go. ii. His holiness is thought in terms of the fire that warms is also the fire that burns (love-wrath and the anger of God). B). When Moses understood the real moral nature of God, he bowed down and worshipped before such infinite beauty. C). God is the God of righteous-love who in faithfulness to His moral being engages the unfit with making them into being fit, whole and unique from all else.

B. The New Testament. 1).

In the incarnation of Christ, Jesus reveals all three aspects of God’s moral character that was given to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7 but adds some additional insights that were unknown in the Old Testament.

2).

Jesus reveals His moral character to be the exact duplicate of His Father who is in Heaven. A). Jesus Christ’s moral nature is in the harmonious blending of righteous-love, faithfulness to His moral being, servanthood, utterself-giving, other-centeredness, and love-wrath that create the uniqueness in the moral being of the Father, Son and Spirit that is different from all else. B). What Jesus added to the revelation of God’s moral being of righteous-love is in the unconditional nature with which it is given. i. God’s righteous-love is unconditionally given through his love for others, His forgiveness of sin and acceptance of all who cross His path. ii. His love is unconditionally given and like a refining fire. C). Philippians 2:7 reveals Jesus’ servant nature in which He became the essence of a slave.

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i. The essence of a slave is to put the interest and welfare of his/her master to be above his/her own. ii. Jesus places man to be above His own self-interests. 3).

His other-centeredness is seen in the flowing out of His life to others with no regard of the response and worth of its recipients. A). Rich and poor, young and old and all varieties of men and women received His other-centeredness without regard to their position, status, and age. B). Jesus embodied such other-centeredness that it nailed Him onto a cross.

4).

Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; utter-self-giving is in His faithfulness to His moral character and being to make men into Godlikeness regardless with what appears to be failure in eliciting the desired result from individuals. A). Unbeknownst to men, the real failure is not in Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; failure to form men after the moral pattern of His divine character but in menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rejection of Him. B). His utter-self-giving is the outflow of all His moral character into the hearts of men regardless of who they are in life.

5).

The moral character of God is the unchangeable absolute that provides certainty and upon which the whole of reality is built, rendering His moral nature in being the eternal fixed and certain reality which will never fade away.

III Theological reconstruction of the moral character of God. 1. Historical and Biblical background of what God has done within creation. A. Question and Answer. 1).

Question - What is God like or how do we know God?

2).

Answer - God is like or we can know God by what He has done within creation. A). Whatever God has done within creation is out of the abundance of His moral nature.

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B). God is value-centered and oriented in all with which He has done within creation. C). From within these redemptive acts of God that have done by Him through His relationships with men, we can deduct or extract with what makes up to be God’s moral character. B. Those things with which God has done in His creation and have been confirmed by men. 1).

God’s love. A). Definition - God’s love is going about the business of securing all that is good, true, and right. B). Biblical episodes. i. Romans. ii. Revelation. C). Historical by-passes. i. Eros. ii. Charitas. iii. Agape. D). Definitions. i. “aheb” – “to pant” or “to desire.” ii. “hesed” – “mercy” or “ loving kindness.” a.

In the Old Testament “hesed” is the preferred word to use of God’s love.

Many times, “aheb” and “hesed” were interchangeable but “hesed” is the preferred term that is used in the Old Testament.

iii. “eros” – “what is in it for me?” a.

In the New Testament, the major Greek word that was used is “eros” which is characterized by discrimination.

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“Eros” is always asking, “What is in it for me?”

“Eros” shades off into “epithumia” or “lust” and is only concerned with what is in it for me.

iv. “epithumia” – “lust.” v. “charitas: - “what is in it for both you and me?” a.

By the fifth century, the Latin term “charitas” provided a more satisfying way of describing Christian actions of love.

This was “what is in it for me and you?”

“Charitas” is the benevolent concern for others, possibly for Christians and non-Christians.

vi. “agape” – “I don’t care what is in it for me and I will give it unconditionally.” a.

“Agape” is indiscriminate love and flows outward regardless of the worth of the object because it is the nature of this kind of love to do so.

“Agape” is a divested gift that comes only from God to men who love Him.

In a world like today, “agape” gets hung on a cross.

In God’s coming world, the “agape” kind of love will be cross of all that is evil.

E). Abiding significance of God’s love. i. God has opened up Himself to His creation. ii. God’s love is the occasion for His suffering. iii. God’s love is the other side of His “wrath.” iv. God’ love is the standard for what is good, whole, and true. 2).

God’s righteousness.

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A). To be a righteous is to bear the burden of justice on everything that is not right. i. Just, justice, justification, right, righteous and righteousness all come from the same root word. ii. To be “right” is an elemental necessity if life is to have meaning. B). Two Questions of what is right. i. Question 1 - Who will decide who and what is right? ii. Answer 1 - God alone decides who and what is right. iii. Question 2 – When will it all be made clear that God made the correct decision to bear the burden of what and who is right? iv. Answer 2 – In the end. C). Use of the right hand in Biblical thought. i. The “right hand” was the predominate symbol in ancient cultures and kingdoms and was used to exact vengeance on and power over one. ii. The use of the “right hand” was symbolic of the concept of “might make right” concept. D). The lack of a correct standard is why there is a rise of cults. i. The largest single psychological reason for the rise of new cults and cultic like organizations is the lack of authority of what is or is not right. ii. When faced with a moral dilemma, people will readily opt out for a guru or the need for someone to establish a standard. E). Biblical episodes. i. Jehovah our righteousness – the use of the plumb line as a standard of what is correct or right. ii. John 16:8-11. F). Historical by-paths.

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i. Mandatory. ii. Since God is right, His people are to align themselves with Him. iii. The righteous of God demands that we try. iv. Punitive – The mentality of “God will get you.”. v. Redemptive – God’s righteousness has a redemptive end. G). Abiding significance. i. The necessity of an absolute standard of what is right, true and just. ii. Possible alternatives to a standard that is not right are consequential and unbearable. iii. The relief of not having to play God and judge our fellow men. 3).

God’s holiness. A). Definition of God’s holiness - God is being different from all else and therefore is holding forth fresh possibilities for His creation. B). For God to be holy is to be different from all else that He has made. i. God is different. ii. God’s grace is different and is the possibility with which all things of creation can be different. C). Biblical episodes. i. Isaiah 6. ii. John 17:11. D). Historical by-paths. i. Holiness is mere morality. ii. Confusion of what is a symbol and what is symbolized.

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E). Abiding significance. i. The Biblical words for “holy” are from the Hebrew word “kodesh” and the Greek word “hagios” both of which mean “different” or “distinct.” ii. God’s “holiness” has two facets and functions. a.

Absolute holiness is what sets apart God from His creation for God alone is distinctively different from all that He has created.

Derivative holiness Because God is holy and distinctively different from His creation, He can make other things to be holy.

iii. Part of God’s holiness is in His “transcendence” or “His separation from what He has created.” iv. Another part of God’s holiness is in His “immanence” or His “here-ness” that is within creation. v. The necessity of awe and mystery. vi. The need for being other than from what is around you. 4).

God is Father. A). Definition - God is being Father to His creation and building a family. i. The heart of a Father is to be a servant who places those with whom He loves to be above His own welfare. ii. The Father’s heart is set onto making His family to be strong enough to bear the world’s contradictions as God Himself bears them. iii. The Father’s heart is set onto making His family to be holy and fitting from the same moral value system with which He possesses. B). Biblical episodes. i. Hosea 11. ii. John 17:11.

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C). Historical by-paths. i. Psychological roots of “Mariolatry” or the worship of “Mary,” the mother of Jesus. ii. Byzantine emperor of bowing to the king. iii. Indulgent grandfather (20th century view). a.

The fallacy of Sigmund Freud.

The psychological need for a strong and powerful Father.

God’s suffering love destroys this theory of Freud.

D). Abiding significance. i. God’s here-ness. ii. The seeking Father. iii. The servant heart of a Father. iv. The community of a family. v. John 17:11 – the Holy Father.

5).

God’s immanence or here-ness as Father.

The Father’s transcendence or “there-ness” (holy).

God’s glory. A). Definition - God’s glory is His ability to secure all with what is good for creation and confirm for His creation with what is best for its sustenance and fulfillment. B). “kabod” is the Hebrew word, “doxa” is the Greek word, and “to be heavy, serious, or weighty” is the Latin meaning. C). Biblical episodes. i. Psalms 8. ii. Luke 2.

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D). Historical by-paths. i. More than emotion. ii. Failure to find it everywhere. iii. Breakup of the sacred from the secular. E). Abiding significance. i. Old Testament word is “ichabod” or “the glory has departed.” ii. Brings together the unique and the universal. iii. Uniting praise and ethics. iv. God’s glory is to be other-centered in which He overlooks His own welfare for the sake of His fallen creation. 6).

God knows. A). Definition - God is knowing His creation and providing understanding. B). Biblical espisodes. i. Hosea 11. ii. Jeremiah 1. C). Historical by-paths. i. Greek view of God’s knowledge. a.

Knowledge is intellectual cognition.

“analogia entis.” (analogy of knowing)

ii. Greek model had a question and an answer. a.

Question - If God knows all, how does He know?

Answer – God knows in the same way by which we know.

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i). Process philosophy says God does not know anything until He has undertaken the experience in time and space. ii). This form of knowledge asserts God’s knowledge is “univocal” or only capable of having a single meaning from those things with what He experiences in history. iii). We humans can only understand God from “equivocal knowledge” or from knowledge which has several meanings which can be confusing and contradictory. iv). The best that humans can know about God is through some “analogy” between His knowing and our knowing. v). The “analogy model” of knowing is somewhere in between His knowledge and ours. iii. God’s knowledge is immediate rather than mediated in which He has an awareness of time but is not bound by it. D). Hebraic view of God’s knowledge. i. Hebraic knowledge comes from entering into a relationship with someone. a.

God is amplified by experiences that occurred in time and space and chooses to enter into time and space in order to know of what He did not know in the eternal world.

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem added a dimension to God’s existence which was never known by Him in while He remained in the eternal world.

God’s foreknowledge does not predetermine events that are in time and space because of the freedom which God grants to all His creation.

ii. The Hebraic insight about God’s knowledge stresses the relational and the interacting focus. a.

E.g., - Adam knew his wife.

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E.g. – God knew Israel as the only tribe that was on the earth.

iii. It is proper to ask if God’s knowledge is unlike our knowledge. a.

The Bible affirms God’s knowledge is different from ours but He chooses to enter into time and space and enlarge his experiences.

What is God’s knowledge like in relation with our knowledge? i). God knows as we know (univocal). ii). God is on a different plane and knows differently from our way of knowing. iii). There is some analogy between God’s way of knowing and our way of knowing (“anlogia entis”).

E). The following assertions need to be made. i. God’s intellect or knowledge is immediate and not mediated. ii. God has awareness of time but He is not bound to its sequence. iii. Because of the incarnation, one must speak of God choosing to enter into our time and experience to interact and amplify Himself by these incarnational experiences. a.

God has perfect knowledge intellectually

God added to His knowledge by the the experience of the incarnation.

Affirm both and accept the paradox with which each one brings onto the other.

F). Abiding significance. i. Worth is given to all because God knows. ii. Because God knows what we do not, He provides understanding to the capacity by which we can handle.

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iii. One’s loneliness is diminished. iv. God is other-centered in His knowledge of men because He chose to enter into a relationship with men of time and space and experience men unlike anything with which He had experienced in the eternal realm.

7).

God’s knowledge was enlarged by this experience in the incarnation.

God’s enriched knowledge of men that He experienced from the incarnation continually grows and will not be abated even after He comes again – This is eternal.

God’s presence. A). Definition - God is here, there, and everywhere. B). Biblical episodes. i. The rainbow – Gen. 7. ii. Immanuel – God with us – presence localized. iii. Pentecost – presence diffuse. C). Historical by-paths. i. God’s presence is contained in the “cultus” = open objects of worship by which people do. ii. I only want God around whenever I need Him. a.

Theological problem because He is there when you do not need Him.

God is not a celestial yo-yo.

D). Abiding significance. i. Hell and Heave are always in God’s presence. a.

To say otherwise smacks of the danger of “dualism” because anything that is outside of God is a threat to him and it will be in constant struggle with Him.

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This view is Biblically tenable.

If there is anything which is outside of God’s presence, then it is a threat to Him and holds equal power.

If Heaven or Hell or anything is outside of God’s presence there lies the eternal potential for “struggle” between God and Hell and Heaven.

ii. God’s presence is mediated in history and unmediated in the eschaton. a.

Hell is the eternal ulcer that eats away at God’s stomach.

But God is strong enough to bear the contradiction of Hell.

To say God is not in Hell is to establish an eternal dualism.

God is in Hell but there is no possible way for those rebellious men and spirits who are in Hell to have a relationship with God.

Jean Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” describes Hell like three people whose heads are chained to stocks. i). The first stock represents people with whom you cannot stand – What if you cannot stand God who is in Hell? ii). The second stock compares Hell to what the Church Fathers claimed – that eternal punishment is all the desires with which you have and no means for you to satisfy them. iii). The third stock represents the two ways in which you can remove Hell from God’s presence. aa. Dualism – two worlds, persons, or things which live beside and run contrary with each other.

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ba. Annihilationism – God shall save the believers and everyone else is annihilated or obliterated into non-existence.

8).

God’s presence is there when we do not want Him .

He stands in the shadows in while making you to be the most important person that is in the world.

God’s name. A). Definition – God is confronting His creation, making a covenant with it, calling it by name, providing understanding, and being faithful to whom He is. B). God takes the initiative with His creation and will pursue them unto the end of time because He is faithful to who He is. C). Biblical episodes. i. Abraham – Gen. 15. ii. Moses – Ex. 3 – “I am who I am.” a.

To name someone is to have a handle on them.

For God to reveal His name is to allow man to have power over Him.

For God to reveal His name means He must remain faithful to who He is or else His name becomes besmirched.

D). Historical by-paths. i. Egalitarian views of the covenant and election are misleading. ii. We have no grounds for demanding life from God. iii. The idea of God as personal has been greatly misunderstood in Christian history. a.

God is personal but He is also other than from what creation is.

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Because God is personal it is He alone who makes contact with man and enters into a relationship with him.

Because God is personal and enters into relationship with man, we see His fidelity to who He is and it never changes.

E). Abiding significance. i. God takes the initiative to enter into relationship with sinful man. ii. The Covenant and the commandments are dialectic or in tension with one another unless you understand God is able to maintain faithfulness to both the covenant and to the commandments.

9).

The covenant and the commandments are glimpses into the beauty of God’s moral nature and His ability to be faithful to it.

Confrontation from God is personal and requires faithfulness.

God’s wrath.. A). Definition - God is resisting evil. B). Biblical episodes. i. Romans. ii. Revelation. iii. Comment about the Greek words “orge” and “thumas. a.

In the New Testament, the two words for “wrath” are “orge” and “thumas.”

“Orge” and “thumas” are words both of which mean “to swell up” and express emotion such as “anger” and are physiologically based.

“Orge” and “thumas” come from the plant world whereby plants “swell up” after a heavy rain storm.

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i). When plants “swell up” with juices, they burst forth much like a person who “swells up” during a sudden burst of anger. ii). Both of these words literally mean “to teem with life” and burst forth with emotion especially a violent emotion. d.

Therefore, when reads the New Testament about the “wrath of God” one must interpret God’s wrath within the context to which it applies and understand the wrath of God is nowhere near the meaning of someone who bursts out with emotional and violent anger.

C). Historical by-paths. i. The stress on sternness. a.

Latin is “dies irae” or “O’day of wrath.”

This concept of wrath kept people in line during the Middle Ages.

Between the 1800’s up to modern day, God’s wrath is not stressed at all.

ii. Currently used as a term to hold someone ransom to do his bidding unless that someone wants to avoid his wrath. D). Abiding significance. i. God’s wrath is a necessary dialectic for freedom and responsibility. ii. A commitment to justice. iii. God’s wrath is the other side of His love. iv. Those who are outside of God’s will, God’s love becomes wrath to them. E). The relation of love and wrath. i. Non-Biblical concepts. a.

Love and wrath are consecutive.

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i). One follows the other. ii). Love is love until it meets resistance and then it becomes wrath. iii). This view of God’s love and wrath makes Him to be schizophrenic. b.

Love and wrath are mutually exclusive from each other, e.g., there is no relation between the two.

ii. The Biblical Christian Community’s affirmation of God’s love and wrath. a.

Love and wrath are convertible. i). God is consistent with who He is. ii). The fire that warms is also the fire that burns. iii). Love which is spurned is wrath.

Love is determinative of wrath. i). Love always determines how wrath is used by God. ii). Love and wrath are personal relationships of God with men both of which are affirmed by God in the here and now and guaranteed by Him to be in the hereafter. iii). Love and wrath are not ontological quantities.

10). God’s power. A). Definition - God’s power secures what He desires and is strong enough to bear the contradictions of His creation while in granting freedom. B). Biblical espisodes. i. Exodus. ii. Resurrection.

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iii. Revelation 3. C). Historical by-paths. i. “kratos” – brute force. a.

Are we responsible for how we use power? Yes!

Potency is the ability to make achievements in life.

All power comes from God.

The only people who say, “All force or power is demonic or evil” are rigorous pacifists.

ii. “dunamis” a.

A special kind of power that has unfortunately been translated to be “miracle.”

The best translation of “dunamis” is “mighty works.”

iii. “exousia” – “authority” a.

The right of God to be God.

“exousia” is translated as “out of what authority do you speak?”

An intrinsic power because it is.

D). Abiding significance. i. God is the source of all power. ii. God is strong enough to endure contradiction and grant freedom. iii. God’s desire for freedom precedes God’s desire for power over His creation.. iv. God is strong enough to endure an eternal split or rift in His creation.

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The Church Fathers called Satan to be “simca dei” or “the ape of God.”

God is strong enough to bear and endure Hell. i). Hell is the basic fiber of God’s bicep. ii). Philosophers called “evil” as “absurd” or a logical contradiction.

This split started with the angels of Heaven and was carried over into time and space of men.

2. Revelation. A. Definition - Revelation is the process in which God reveals Himself and truths which are about Him that otherwise would have never been known without His help. B. Questions and answers. 1).

Question 1 - How does God speak or how does God make Himself to be known?

2).

Answer 1- Revelation.

3).

Question 2 - What are the methods or means with which God uses to reveal Himself?

4).

Answer 2 -God enters into the time-space continuum of man with a revelatory triad of dramatic acts, impressions and confirmations.

C. The revelatory triad. 1).

Manifestations of God. A). Manifestations of God are those normative acts and words of God wherein He communicates Himself to us. i. By its own definition, the acts and words of God’s manifestations are pre-Biblical. ii. Since the substance of biblical thought and insight is in the mighty acts and words of God in Scripture, it is necessary to form a doctrine of manifestation to explain them.

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B). To overstress the manifestations of God to the exclusion of illumination and inspiration is to have a dynamic that is without continuity and form and leads to Arius-historicism. i. Arius was a 4th century heretic. ii. Ex. Of Arius-historicism - Hitler of Germany fell to the error of Arius-historicism by his false search for ancient relics and antiquities that proved the superiority of the Arian race. iii. Ex. Of Arius-historicism - Progressive liberalism fabricates or falsely revises history to the exclusion of true historical facts in order to remold history for justifying its agendas (e.g., progressive liberalism’s basic tenet is the ends justify the means). C). The position of the Christian community is anything can be a manifestation of God but nothing is until it is seized in a “revelatory constellation” by Him (See Paul Tillich, “Systematic Theology,” Chapter - “Reason and Revelation,” Vol I Part II ). 2).

Inspiration can only come from God. A). Inspiration means God has rightly guided certain persons in different ages to interpret, record, and transmit the account of His normative manifestations. i. Inspiration comes from the Greek word “theopneusousa” which means “God-breathed” or “in/spire” (breathed in). ii. The biblical materials implicitly and explicitly assert awareness in which words and expressions of the Biblical writers and materials were true representations of who God is, what God does, and what God is like. iii. What was written in words and expressions of the Biblical writings directly came from the eternal onto the historical. B). To overstress inspiration to the exclusion of manifestation and illumination is to have a record that is without reality. i. This is known as the heresy of bibliolatry. ii. There is no value in speaking of the original manuscripts when they do not exist in reality.

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iii. Does the desire to have the original manuscripts of the Bible question God’s integrity? C). Three questions of inspiration that concerned the early Christian Community. i. Which books shall be considered and accepted to be inspired? – This is the problem of the canon. ii. What method should be used to interpret those books which claim to be inspired by God? – This is the problem of hermeneutics. iii. Who has the authority or right to interpret those books which claim to be inspired by God? – This is the problem of authority. D). We must acknowledge there are levels of relevance that are within the Biblical norms. i. Some levels of the Bible are more important than others. ii. Some levels of the Bible are less important than others. E). Those who claim it is necessary to rationally show how the Bible is inspired will fail miserably in the argument of authority. F). The best way to judge the validity of inspiration is to observe its results that are brought about from the redemption of men. i. “External accomplishments” that happen from men who have become redeemed are proof of the “internal coherence” of the Scriptures. a.

See Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s (22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) play Nathan the Wise. i). Nathan the Wise (original German title: Nathan der Weise) is a play published by Gotthold Ephraim Lessingin in 1779. ii). It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. iii). Its performance was forbidden by the church during Lessing's lifetime; it was first performed in 1783 in Berlin.

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iv). Set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, it describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin, and the (initially anonymous) Templar bridge their gaps between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. v). Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication, which are bad in each oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way but is not the primary importance of the play. aa. The centerpiece of the work is the Ring Parable (German: Ringparabel), narrated by Nathan when asked by Saladin which religion is true: ba. An heirloom ring with the magical ability to render its owner pleasant in the eyes of God and mankind had been passed from father to the son he loved most. ca. When it came to a father of three sons whom he loved equally, he promised it (in "pious weakness") to each of them. da. Looking for a way to keep his promise, he had two replicas made, which were indistinguishable from the original, and gave on his deathbed a ring to each of them. ea. The brothers quarreled over who owned the real ring. fa. A wise judge admonished them that it was impossible to tell at that time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that it even could not be discounted that all three rings were replicas, the original one having been lost at some point in the past; that to find out whether one of them had the real ring it was up to them to live in such a way that their ring's powers could prove true, to live a life that is pleasant in the eyes of God and mankind rather than expecting the ring's miraculous powers to do so.

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vi). Nathan compares this to religion, saying that each of us lives by the religion we have learned from those we respect. b.

By their fruits, ye shall know them (Matt. 7:16).

The verification of the truth of Christianity or the Bible does not depend on your reasoning but does depend on the impact of their truths in redemptive acts that occur in the world.

ii. The Biblical materials are for purposes of the reestablishment of God’s relationship with broken and sinful men. a.

The central motif of Scripture is God’s holy history with men.

The context of God’s holy history with men is secondary or incidental to the message.

G). What does the Bible say about itself? i. Listen and obey and it will tell you of what it says. ii. Belief that the Bible is true is based on “a priori” assumptions and not on “a posteriori” assumptions. a.

“A posteriori” knowledge. i). “A posteriori” knowledge is the kind of knowledge which is dependent on experience or empirical observation. ii). "A posteriori" arguments are ones in which you have to verify its truthfulness by observation or experience. iii). Example of “a posteriori” – one who sits on a couch that is inside of a home and says, “My neighbor who is outside and across the street is happy,” is making this statement on a hunch or guess without the ability to know if this statement is true or false because he has not seen or heard from John.

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“A priori” knowledge. i). “A priori” knowledge is the kind of knowledge which is independent of experience or empirical observation. ii). "A priori" arguments are ones in which you can see that it is true or that the truth of a thing is selfevident. iii). Example of “a priori” – One who says, “All bachelors are single,” is making a correct assumption without having to resort to experiencing the singleness of all bachelors because bachelors are evidently single.

3).

Illumination that comes from God onto men. A). Illumination is God’s ability for all men of every age to understand the record of His inspired manifestation of all things that lead men into redemption. B). Illumination is given by God to all men of every age. i. To overstress illumination to the exclusion of manifestation and inspiration is to have a cut-loose mysticism. ii. Illumination is akin to John Calvin’s view of “the internal witness of the Holy Spirit.” C). The moral character of the Triune God is the ultimate authority that is over the Bible because the Bible is the only accurate record and representation of who God is. i. The authority of the moral character of the Triune God comes to us through some forms of tradition or history and a certain amount of hermeneutical understanding. ii. The ultimate authority of the moral character of God that is over all else is a diffusing authority. iii. Illumination is always a post-Biblical clarification of Scripture.

D. Revelation versus discovery. 1).

Discovery.

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A). Discovery of truth is that with which man may do when given their human limitations. B). Discovery is that with which the human community can find out about the universe of its own accord and without special revelation that can only come from God. 2).

Revelation. A). Revelation implies an unveiling that involves divine intervention and initiative. B). Both revelation and discovery are gifts that come from God but only revelation leads to redemption.

3. The functions and purposes of God’s moral character that have been revealed by God to men. A. `God’s righteous-love. 1).

Bearing the weight of justice. A). The righteous-love of God is the absolute moral standard for what is true, right, fitting, and good. B). Anything which is outside of God’s righteous-love is not morally true, right, fitting, or good. C). God’s righteous-love is set in stone on making men to be holy. D). At the heart of God’s righteous-love lies the unwavering and relentless commitment to create the kind of people who have the same moral character with which God possesses. E). The crowning goal of God’s righteous-love is to make people into Christlikeness (Godlikeness). i. To be made into Christlikeness or Godlikeness is to share in the very abundant life of God’s moral nature that makes Him to be God. ii. To be made into Christlikeness or Godlikeness does not turn us into “gods” but gives the gift to men of sharing in the same abundant and eternal life which abides in Him.

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2).

The functions and purposes of the three moral facets of God’s righteouslove. A). The unconditional love of God’s righteous-love.. i. God’s love is unconditional in the sense with which it is extended to all His creation of those who are evil or righteous. ii. Unconditional love is indiscriminate in its giving. iii. The same unconditional love which warms is the same unconditional love which can burn. a.

To the righteous, God’s unconditional love is the fire which warms.

To those who are evil, God’s unconditional love is the fire which burns. i). The unconditional love of God is extended to all those who are in Hell and becomes a damning thing. ii). Unrequited love is condemning to those who cannot stand God’s presence and unconditional love.

iv. The burden of God’s unconditional love is it will eternally bear the pain of loving those who choose to not love Him back. a.

Unconditional love gets hung on a cross by evil and sin in today’s world. i). However, in the world to come, unconditional love will be the cross on which evil and sin will be hung and banished forever.

B). The unconditional acceptance of God’s righteous-love. i. God will attach Himself to persons and not flinch whenever the going gets tough. ii. Nothing that anyone can do will drive away God from loving and accepting Him.

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iii. In the same manner of His unconditional love, the depths of the depravity by which men can do will not drive away His acceptance of them. iv. God’s unconditional acceptance means God’s heart is set onto making one to be holy and fitting before Him irrespective of one’s sinfulness. v. Because God’s acceptance is unreserved and causes Him to attach Himself to men forever, man’s destiny becomes the same as God’s calling. vi. By God’s unconditional acceptance, He no longer has time for Himself because His time is fully devoted to making men into Godlikeness. C). The unconditional forgiveness of God’s righteous-love. i. God’s unconditional forgiveness is His ability to remove all barriers of self-life that reside in men and creation. ii. God declares sin to be an outlaw and seeks to eradicate it from within His creation. iii. It is necessary for God to initiate the act of forgiveness on His part if men are to forgive and be forgiven. a.

God’s unconditional forgiveness that is initiated by Him removes the barrier of having to seek or beg for forgiveness.

To ask God to forgive the one who is a sinner without God having initially forgiven him is asking God to relax His absolute standard of being holy so that a sinful being can approach him. i). God cannot reduce the standard of His holiness without causing violation to Himself. ii). However, if God has already forgiven, accepted, and loved the sinner before he repents, there is no need for the sinner to do anything but accept God’s unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

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This view frees a sinful being from having to devise acts and works in order to gain favor with God. i). God will not allow any sinful creature to approach Him from the position of self-life. ii). This means God will not allow the sinful to approach Him and ask for His forgiveness in order to receive the reward of Heaven and escape the punishment of Hell because these acts alone are grounded in self-life.

iv. Any approach to God for reasons which are built on selfishness or self-life is not tolerated by the holy and morally fitting God of all that is. a.

To remove the barriers of self-life in order for sinful beings to approach Him, God must initiate the act of forgiveness, love and acceptance for sinful man’s sake.

So, on what basis does God allow the sinner to choose and approach Him if he is not permitted to elect and approach Him on the basis of self-life, self-serving reward-punishment motifs, or any other selfish acts that can be made by sinful men? i). God’s unconditional forgiveness makes it possible for sinful men to approach Him for the sheer worth and beauty of His moral character and for no other reason. ii). If you already have forgiveness, love, and acceptance by God, then you do not need to reciprocate in a like manner that is based on the selfishness of escaping the punishment of Hell and seeking the rewards of Heaven. iii). Therefore, you only have to choose Him for the sheer value and beauty of what His moral character has done for you. iv). This frees sinful men of having to placate God through self-centered works in order to find favor with Him because one is saved by faith or by one’s acceptance of God for His sheer worth and beauty and not by the self-centeredness and

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egocentricity of the reward-punishment motifs of Heaven and Hell. B. God’s servanthood. 1).

God’s moral character is the nature of a slave who seeks to put the welfare and security of his master in above that of his own.

2).

God has purposely declared man to be the master and for Him to be the slave by putting all of His energy into sustaining, redeeming, and securing with what is necessary and good for man in and above His own self-desires.

3).

God seeks out servants from among men in order to make them to be fitting and strong with servant hearts for bringing back all creation to Him with whom it had originally begun.

4).

God is producing partners with Him to redeem creation by placing Himself among men in the form of a slave who creates kinsmen into servant hearts that are fitting and worthy of carrying out His enterprise and plan of the ages of bringing back all creation unto Himself.

5).

God’s servanthood is the lifeblood on which humanity can operate in all areas of knowledge and disciplines to enhance society and community for its betterment.

C. God’s other-centeredness. 1).

God stands in the shadows in while He is making creation to be worthy, glorious and boundless in measure.

2).

God’s other-centeredness is God being here, there, and everywhere though men may not recognize that His presence is with them in no matter of the circumstances or sinful conditions with which they possess.

3).

God’s other-centeredness does not cause Him to seek recognition of men to what He has done for them because the sheer worth of what He has done for sinful men is its own reward to Him.

D. God’s utter-self-giving. 1).

God will love, serve, minister to and pour out His life onto a sinful creation in while knowing there will be no response to Him.

2).

Christ not only died for those of whom He knew who would love Him but He also died for those with whom He knew would never respond to Him.

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E. God’s fidelity or faithfulness. 1).

God is absolutely faithful to His moral character.

2).

God is not the God of whimsical arbitration and capriciousness but is the God who is eternally unwavering in His moral character and nothing will ever cause Him to violate the fidelity which He imposes on Himself to His moral nature.

3).

Because God is absolutely faithful to His moral character, men can rest assured the God of yesterday and today is the same God of the future.

4).

Because God is faithful to His moral nature, God’s wisdom, speech, and actions are under the authority of His moral nature.

5).

God chooses to be faithful to His moral character for to do otherwise would be the undoing of God. A). This indicates God is divinely self-limited only to what His moral character will allow or grant Him to do. B). The self-limitation of God by His moral character is a self-imposed choice in which God chose to move from the higher position in which He ruled by might and power to the lower position in which He chose to rule under the direction and authority of His moral character. C). God will risk the sovereignty of His might and power to win over sinful men to him for the self-imposed limitations and authority of His moral character to win over sinful men. i. This should cause men to pause and wonder with what was involved by God to choose the self-limitations of His moral character over the sovereignty of His might and power in order to win over sinful men to Him. ii. God’s choice of ruling and living from under the authority of His moral character over living and ruling by the authority of might and power is a choice into which He eternally binds Himself and there is no going back.

F. God’s love-wrath. 1).

God’s love-wrath is His ability to shield creation from evil by surgically removing it.

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2).

God’s love-wrath secures what is morally good and fitting for His creation.

3).

The relation of love with wrath. A). Love and wrath are two sides of the same coin and convertible with each other. i. The love which warms is the same love which can burn. a.

Love that is not converter by God’s wrath becomes mushy and watered-down.

Wrath which is not converter by love becomes a harsh task master.

From out of the moral character of God come eternal principles and values which uphold, undergird, and build life when these principles are kept by men.

The same principles which uphold and build life will also destroy, wreak havoc on, and tear down men who violate them.

ii. God is consistent with His moral character and will in no way violate it and in no way allow sinful men to get away with violating His moral nature and the values and principles with which it has. B). However, between God’s love and wrath, love has the highest priority that is within God and is determinate of wrath. G. The anger of God is His correction on men who violate the principles and values which emanate from His moral character in order to awaken them to the error of their ways so they can make rectification in their destructive course of actions. 1).

Nothing with which man can do will get by God’s love-wrath. A). All evil which is done by men will be held accountable to God’s love-wrath. B). All good which is done by men will also be held accountable to God’s love-wrath. C). God’s chastisement is His love which seeks to correct and heal that with which has violated His moral character and its eternal principles and values.

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IV A Reflection of Christian Character in Believers through Jesus Christ – the Preamble of eschatology. 1. 2 Corinthians 3:18 – And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. A. The Christian should be challenged to see man as God intended for him to be. 1).

Christ is the perfect and ultimate example of God’s intention for all humanity.

2).

Through Christ’s moral character, Christians see what God intended for all humanity to be.

3).

God in Christ enters into the world to become a power which is greater than anything that is imaginable and to reveal His moral nature to man. A). Therefore, God eternally gives His Son to all humanity so that He can formulate the union of the divine and human, making His divine moral character to be available for every person of humanity. B). Acknowledging that Jesus’ moral character is the true power of God in humanity is far better for the pattern of humanity than in conceding that humanity needs some sort of relief that is offered by Christ, making each person’s life to be easier in a sin-marred world.

4).

It is not in one’s own self-achievement that one can be made like God is God in His moral character through Jesus Christ. A).

Having Christ’s moral character within one’s being is from the free gift of God’s grace which allows God’s moral nature to become incarnate in a person.

B). To be truly human, you not only abide within the principles of the Kingdom of God but also are to unite with the Family of God in making the New Humanity within the community of the Church. B. Much wisdom and insight is gained when one examines the concept of Christian character in the incarnation of Christ. 1).

Jesus said that He came into the world as light (Jn. 3:19) and that He offers Himself to be the bread of life (Jn. 6:34).

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A). Christ as both bread and light is offering His life and moral character to be the eternal possession of all who follow Him. B). Christ embodies righteous moral character, which is demonstrated fully in His incarnation. C). God created the pattern of the whole and perfect man in Christ, and through Christ, God gives His moral character freely to man. i. Christian character is not a carbon copy of Jesus Christ but an incarnation of Christ’s quality of life within humanity that is unique in each individual believer. ii. God’s moral character in Christ is offered to all humanity to produce something worthy of the union between God and man. iii. Christian character in the Body of Christ should be the kind of light that is recognized to be the most precious reality with which men can possess and pursue with great passion. iv. Sharing in Christ’s moral character enflames the heart and enthralls the whole being of a person to seek after the moral character of God in Christ. a.

It will awaken a person to his own spiritual poverty whereby one has this gift from God offered to him and yet he remains dull, apathetic, unenthusiastic and unable to have passion to pursue it. i). To be at this point in one’s life is more devastating than with what outward sin can do. ii). To be confronted with Christ’s beauty of His moral character and yet to not be utterly captivated by it is to be the victim of serious spiritual bankruptcy.

It will cause the heart of the believer to embrace Christ’s moral nature with being the richest possession that one can possess.

Authentic salvation comes from the deliverance of the prison of self-life through the interweaving of Christ’s moral character in the believer.

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Any version of Christianity that appeals to man’s desires for safety, escapism, or selfish happiness will leave him with the domain of self-life intact within his moral nature. i). Happiness, safety and abundance do not have value in themselves but take their true meaning from Christian character that comes from Christ and dwells within the saints. ii). In realizing this, believers gain rich insights into the art of living in a sin-marred world. iii). One will not fall into such a trap when he is truly committed to “… being conformed to the image of the Son” (Rom. 8: 29-30) and obtaining the character of Christ. iv). In Philippians 3:6-8, Paul expresses his life with being a pilgrimage into which he is “… captured by Christ Jesus …” [to be] “conformed to the image of His [God’s] Son” Rom. 8:29).

Therefore, if you follow Jesus Christ, you will pursue Christian character as the most beautiful objective of your whole life.

Jesus Himself said that no one can ever see the Kingdom of God unless he is born from above (Jn. 3:3).

D). The insidious trap of the self-centered life is no longer an issue for those who truly seek after God. i. It is the character of God for which the Christian thirsts. a.

The need to be delivered from self-centered living comes from deep within the heart or deep-mind.

Within every person lies the desire for true life.

ii. If you come to the end of your days and never know anything of the music of true human life with its love, unity, and creativity, you are impoverished beyond words (Matt. 16:26). E). One of the glories of Christ is in His offer of the complete and abundant qualities of life to humanity through the vision of his moral character (Jn. 10:10).

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i. Jesus’ way of making the Kingdom of God to be real lies in His creation of Christian character in ordinary believers, which becomes the validating demonstration of the beauty of God’s ways with men. a.

Through this demonstration, people may see good works and glorify the Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

There must be a radical commitment to the living Christ by all believers with a willingness to be made into such a demonstration (not just ministers).

Mild versions of faith that are saturated with cheap grace want the clergy to be the ministers, while the so-called laymen are content to be second rate believers.

ii. Christ’s purpose to create Christian character in all believers denies any such division among believers. F). When ordinary Christians, not just the ordained, become aware of their weaknesses and imperfections and venture into following Christ, they find themselves with turning to light, seeking truth, being rooted in Christ, remaining teachable, and avoiding hierocracy and the love of mammon while increasingly developing Christian character. i. Thus, human nature may be compared to soil from out of which the divine seed of Godlikeness can grow. ii. No one person is great enough or powerful enough to serve as the example and center of human greatness like is found in Christ unless he is centered on Christ. iii. Man cannot find fulfillment in self-worship and all areas of his life can only mature throughout eternity only within the greatness of God. 2).

When one looks at the world, it does not take long to realize that the greatest single need is for moral character. A). Not every man of the world is required to be refashioned by Christ’s character in order for decisive changes to be made in society – this is a denial to collective salvation, which is prevalent in humanistic and liberal theology.

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B). A small minority of dedicated persons can reform the existing social order. C). If a sizable percentage of existing church membership could be captured by the vision of Christian character, great spiritual dynamics could be infused into the bloodstream of society. 2. The Whole Person or the Whole Man as the meaning for Eschatological Man. A. Augustine’s (AD 354-430) three-fold theological scheme of man. 1).

According to Augustine, Adam in his original state of creation was free, but he was nevertheless still dependent upon divine grace. A). Augustine saw human beings as utterly dependent upon God’s unmerited favor at every stage of their life and being. B). Though Adam was created immortal, he was not impervious to death, but he had the capacity for bodily immortality. C). In fact, Augustine thought that if Adam had remained obedient and not sinned, he would have been confirmed in divine holiness.

2).

Augustine’s three states of Adam. A). Essential mankind. i. This is man as he was, the age of innocence before sin entered into the world. ii. Genesis 1 and 2; the Garden of Eden. iii. Latin phrase – Passe non peccary et mori (Man is able to not sin and able to not die). a.

That is, in Adam’s original state of righteousness, he had the capacity and was responsible to avoid sin and the subsequent spiritual and physical death that resulted from it.

Adam and Eve were not perfect but only innocent.

B). Existential (that which pertains to what exists or real) mankind. i. Man is responsible for his sins.

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ii. Man now lives in a fallen world. iii. Genesis 3; Revelation 19. iv. Latin phrase - Non passé non peccani et mori (Man is not able to not sin and not able to not die). a.

Because of Adam’s willful act of rebellion he has become enslaved by sin and cannot of his own will avoid its power and lethal consequence.

Augustine viewed Adam’s fallen state as pitiful and damnable before God.

C). Eschatological mankind. i. The age of consummation or the age in which man will no longer sin or die. ii. Heaven, Garden of Paradise, Revelation 20-22. iii. Latin phrase - Non passé peccari et mori (Man is not able to sin and not able to die).

3).

That is, if Adam had remained obedient to God then God would have transformed him to where he would be forever confirmed in holiness and therefore apart from sin and the resulting death that necessarily follows it.

However, one should not think that Augustine was in any way implying that God was taken by surprise when Adam sinned.

Summary of Augustine’s view of mankind. A). Augustine argued that all humanity was connected to Adam in an organic sense and that his sin nature (including both guilt and corruption) had been transmitted to his progeny. B). For Augustine, the whole human race was germinally present in Adam, and therefore actually sinned in him. C). Augustine also argued eloquently that the only hope for fallen and enslaved humanity is the grace of God that comes in the life, death, and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ.

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D). While many Protestant evangelical theologians view Adam as being the federal representative of humanity (Romans 5:12, 18-19), a sizable segment of evangelical theological thought nevertheless sees themselves as being Augustinian in their basic view of sin and in affirming the absolute necessity of grace in salvation. E). The doctrine of original sin is a critical biblical teaching and Christians should reflect upon the great divine grace that rescues us from our enslavement to sin. B. Augustine’s three-fold view of man (i.e., essential man, existential man and eschatological man) is the perfect model of man and describes his existence since the beginning of his creation to what he is in present times and into what he shall be when Christ comes again. 1).

A person can rationally perceive Augustine believed eschatological man is the future state of the Christian in which death and sin shall no longer have hold over him (Latin, Non passé peccari et mori - man is not able to sin and not able to die).

2).

However, Augustine did not make such a black and white division between what man was, what man is and what man shall be in some future state. A). Augustine understood essential man and eschatological man are traits that are part of existential man’s being and character when energized by God’s Spirit. i. Existential man cannot become eschatological man without having some trait of both essential man and eschatological man within the fabric of existential man’s being. a.

The seeds of innocence through essential man and perfection through eschatological man are built into the fabric of existential man’s moral character and being. i). This does not mean that existential man, in the present world, will reach some stage of perfection through evolution or some other non-sense theory of perfection. ii). It does mean that existential man can have the divine moral character infused within his being and gives a glimpse into what the state of his being will become during the second coming of Christ.

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Eschatology is not just a study of what lies in the future but includes the past and present and without insight into the past and present, a study of the future ends up with being nothing more than some sooth-sawyer predictions of the future life.

ii. Existential man through God in Christ and by His Spirit is the token or down payment for and glimpse into eschatological man or what man shall be in all his God-given glory when sin and death are no more at the time of Christ’s consummation of all His creation. B). Existential man who has accepted Christ is a representative of future man by being part of and a member in the little colony of heaven on earth (the Body of Christ or the Church). i. The vital question becomes, “How does existential man go about with the task of becoming eschatological man in the sinmarred world?” a.

Paul answered this question in the phrase the Whole or Perfect Man in Christ - Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23 – [English Standard Version ©2001]).

God the Father is in the business of transforming existential man into being eschatological man in the here and now by infusing God’s moral character through Christ and by His Spirit in the moral being of existential man, giving a glimpse for all men into what God will eventually make Christian man to be.

ii. When existential man, in a sin-marred world, has the infusing of the divine moral nature into his own fabric of being, he is able to easily transition from the present into the future or eschatological man without being overwhelmed by God’s power and might during the time of His consummation of all things. C. Anthropological question and answer of man. 1).

Question - What is man that that are mindful of him?

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2).

Answer - Man is a tension filled unity that is capable of infinite possibilities that are both divine and demonic.

D. Man is a value pursuing being that operates in the deep-mind that flows out into his central-self, unconscious and conscious minds and expresses itself in the physical body to the world. E. The ways of grasping the Whole Person or Whole Man. 1).

Biological sciences seek to measure life and deal with euthanasia, abortion, and all other matters that bring physical life into being.

2).

Social sciences seek to relate life to other forms of life (C.f., B. F. Skinner, Beyond Dignity and Freedom).

3).

Psychological and behavioral sciences seek to analyze life. A). This is the predominate discipline in the world today and leads to the most concocted nonsensical answers about life. B). Must not the Christian say something about God in the behavioral and psychological sciences? C). The discipline of psychology has the led the Church into the Sin of the Philistines (Philistinism), which says because something is successful in the world, it must also be successful in the Church, regardless of logic and reason. i. The term philistinism describes the social attitude of antiintellectualism that undervalues and despises art, beauty, spirituality, and intellect; ‘the manners, habits, and character, or mode of thinking of a Philistine, ii. A Philistine Person is the man or woman who is smugly narrow of mind and of conventional morality whose materialistic views and tastes indicate a lack of and indifference to cultural and aesthetic values. iii. Historical context of Philistinism. a.

Since the 19th century, the contemporary denotation of Philistinism, as the behavior of ‘ignorant, ill-behaved persons lacking in culture or artistic appreciation, and only concerned with materialistic values’ derives from Matthew Arnold’s adaptation to English of the German word Philister — as applied by university students in

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their antagonistic relations with the townspeople of Jena, Germany, where, in 1689, a row resulted in several deaths. b.

In the aftermath, the university cleric addressed the townvs-gown matter with an admonishing sermon The Philistines be upon Thee, drawn from the Book of Judges ( Chapter 16, ‘Samson vs the Philistines’), of the Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament.

F. The Whole Person is defined by God’s moral character through Jesus Christ that is structured in a person’s deep-mind that functions through the central-self, which filters these divine moral values through the unconscious and conscious minds and are emotionally and rationally expressed in the one’s physical body to the world. 1).

Therefore, in order to understand this beautiful picture of “Christ in us,” we must first understand the nature of the whole person and the nature of selfimage, which impacts and influences the character that Christ wants us to display. A). To fully understand the character of Christ in humanity, it is necessary to understand the nature of the whole person that is interconnected to the deep-mind and the central-self, functioning in the unconscious and conscious minds in the corporeal body to the world. B). The whole self takes on many dimensions, including spiritual, physical, mental, communal, social, and so forth.

2).

Biblically speaking, the whole self or whole person is equated to the command of Jesus in Matthew 5:48 – be perfect as God is perfect. A). This perfection is not absolutism (a form of thought where one’s ideals have the power to rule over all else, with no laws or legally organized direct opposition in force to counteract it), but rather it means for one to be fully-grown, mature, and able to function as a complete person in Christ. B). The Wholeness of Man or the Whole Person first points to an external and divine value system that indwells in the deep-mind that functions through the central-self that filters through the unconscious and conscious minds and finally wisely expresses itself in the body and into the world.

G. Biblical materials of mankind.

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1).

Genesis 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the cosmological record. A). It is God who creates all that exists. B). Genesis 1 is a theological development of creation and not a historical time frame. C). The crown of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation is mankind, i.e., male and female. D). This is a cosmological view through a theological perspective (Latin, ordo creationis = order of creation). E). Does the Christian have to believe that the earth is older than the rest of the universe as the earth was created in Genesis 1 and the sun, moon and stars are created in Genesis 1:16? i. People in the western mind set are accustomed to relating all things to a chronological order. a.

For example, a novel is a chronological order of events; we tell stories in chronological order, etc.

If one reads Genesis 1 as a chronology then we would conclude that the earth was made first then later the sun, moon and stars came. i). But, there is a problem with this perspective. aa. On day one God separated light from darkness (Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.) but on day four God again separates the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:18 and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good). ba. From a chronological perspective this makes no sense, for how can God separate light from darkness on two different days? ii). The Ancient Hebrews did not think in chronological order as we do. aa. In fact they perceived time in much the same way as space.

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ba. Words related to time are the same words used for space. ca. For example the Hebrew word qedem means "where the sun rises" and can mean "the east" or "ancient time". ii. Imagine yourself standing in the desert of the near east facing the rising sun (In ancient time all things were oriented to the east whereas we use the north). a.

What is before you is "the east" and it is "the past" it is all there for you to see. (While we see the past as behind us, the Ancient Hebrews see the past as in front of us and the future behind us).

But the farther east you look the hazier it is and more difficult to see. i). What is obscure or unseen at the horizon is called the olam (Hebrew word that usually is translated as eternity). ii). The origins of the world to the Ancient Hebrews are like the fuzzy horizon in front of you that is difficult to see.

iii. The Ancient Hebrews did not attempt to clear up the image of the past; instead they just understood it as olam (at or beyond the horizon). a.

It is only in our western mind that there is a need to clear up this image; we need to know precisely how the origins of the world came about.

The Ancient Hebrews did not care; they just knew that it was.

iv. As I mentioned, Genesis 1 is not a chronological order of events. a.

The Ancient Hebrews think in blocks of events.

Let me demonstrate with the following paragraph from a western perspective.

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i). I got up and ate breakfast and read the newspaper. ii). I then drove to work. iii). While at work I read yesterday's reports. iv). At noon I walked across the street for lunch. v). While there I read a magazine. vi). Back at work I read my emails. vii). After work I drove home and had dinner. c.

Now let me rearrange this paragraph in block form, the way the Hebrews would have conveyed this same story. i). I drove to work and walked across the street and I drove home and I ate breakfast and I ate lunch and I ate dinner and I read the newspaper and I read the reports and I read a magazine and I read my emails. aa. There is no way you can make any chronological sense out of this narrative. ba. Instead you can easily see what I "did" but there is no chronology or sequence of what I did. ii). Genesis 1 is written in the same fashion of "blocks".

When I read the Bible I try not to read it from a modern western perspective. i). Instead I try and read it from an ancient eastern one. ii). The question, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Which came first, the earth or the sun and moon?â&#x20AC;? is an irrelevant question to the Ancient Hebrews and therefore not a question that can be answered from the Biblical text.

2).

Genesis 2 is an anthropological record.

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A). It is an anthropocentric account and is not in contradiction to Genesis 1. B). This chapter describes the intimate interrelations of male and female. i. After the fall, the intimate interrelations of male and female lead to the battle of the sexes. ii. There is a harmonious and caring cosmic relationship with male and female. iii. Mistreatment of women is a mark of the fallness of man. C). Unity of mankind in prospect. D). Genesis 1 and 2 are two different ideas but are in harmony with each other. 3).

Genesis 3. A). There are 2 trees, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. B). The serpent is a theological way of showing a creature of beauty but is an external reference to temptation. C). After the fall, mankind is banished from the Garden of Eden, not to punish him but to keep him from partaking of the tree of life while in a sinful state which would have made him to be capable of eternal suffering but incapable of dying while in a sinful state.

4).

Poetic and Wisdom Literature. A). All are equally “bad off” (Ps. 51:5). B). We are fearfully and wonderfully made. i. Psalm 8 - what is man that thou art mindful of him? – this is a balanced view of man in his grandeur and in his sinfulness. ii. Man is made in the image of God (Latin, imago dei). C). Man is inevitably interwoven with others, his own context and God.

5).

The Prophets.

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A). The prophetic books stress the corporateness (the quality or state of being a corporate body) of mankind or at least mankind’s group relationship. i. Corporate personality is in one’s awareness that he, as an individual, is part of a larger whole. a.

The most intense expression of Israel’s corporate meaning is found in her tribal relationship among the individuals.

The New Testament’s most intense expression of corporateness is in the global vision of the Body of Christ.

ii. From the corporate understanding of mankind came the idea that the individual was always representative of the group or corporate life of the tribe or nation. a.

For example, in the story of the battle between David and Goliath, David represented the corporate tribe of Israel while Goliath represented the corporate tribe of the Philistines.

If David, the individual who represented the nation of Israel, won the battle with Goliath, the tribe and nation of Israel would be declared the winner, while the defeat of Goliath, the individual who represented the nation of the Philistines, would declare the nation of the Philistines to be the loser.

B). One of the major seeds of the greatness of the human community is in the individual who represents the corporate interest of the family, nation, group, tribe, etc. C). Karl Gustav Jung (26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961), the Swiss Psychiatrist, saw that aesthetic beauty came from archetypes, which comes from both the collective (or corporate) and personal (or individual) unconsciousness (A common base for humanity that harmoniously blends the individual and corporate meaning is in an aesthetic hermeneutic). 6).

The Inter-testimental period.

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A). The distinction between good and evil in mankind was heightened and personalized. i. Yetser ha ra – the Hebrew phrase for evil impulse. ii. Yetser ha tor – the Hebrew phrase for good impulse. B). In the Inter-testimental period, man is seen to be a tension filled unity that is capable of divine and demonic acts and realities. 7).

The Gospels. A). The Gospels emphasize Jesus’ concerns for individuals, especially the disposed, poor, widows, children, and orphans. B). Jesus creates a group of disciples that are a redemptive community which is commanded to defer and refer to one another and be a corporate witness to Christ’s mission.

8).

Paul’s teachings on mankind. A). Paul’s teaching portray the duality of good and evil, spiritual possibilities, and the creaturely weakness of man. B). Paul’s stress is a balanced view between the corporate life and the individual. C). Paul is concerned with the Body of Christ (Eph. 5:1-5), for the wellbeing of Israel (Rom. 9), and about the individuals who are upsetting both groups (I Cor.).

9).

John’s writings. A). Man is placed in a broader cosmic structure of light and darkness, good and evil, the Christ and the Anti-Christ. B). John’s anthropology of mankind is positively seen in the face of Jesus Christ by defining man in light of the union of the divine and human in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

H. Biblical physiology and psychology of mankind. 1).

C.f. C. Ryder Smith, The Bible Doctrine of Man and R. Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man.

2).

Biblical terms and meaning to describe the mankind or person(hood).

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Biblical Understanding of the Physiology, Anatomy and Psychology of Man The word physiology comes from two Greek words physis, meaning nature and logos, meaning origin or study of. Therefore, physiology is the study of the nature of man. The modern definition of physiology is the study or science of the functions of living systems. The word anatomy is from the Greek words anatemnein or ana, meaning separate or apart from and temnein, meaning to cut up or to cut open. The modern use of the word is found in in the sciences of biology and medicine that take the structure of living things into consideration. The usage of a Biblical anatomy of man is equal to or interchangeable with the Biblical definition of physiology. The word psychology consists of two Greek words, namely psuche which is generally rendered to be soul and logos which basically means word but has come to mean study of. Thus, psychology is the study of the soul, or in the modern definition, psychology is the science of mental processes and behavior (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1000, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., c1962). Soul and Body are Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dimensional Existence and One cannot Exist without the Other From the Biblical usage and meaning of the physiology/anatomy and psychology of man, there are two dimensions of man that are expressed in the Old and New Testaments and in which all other dimensions of man abide and having meaning. That is man is soul/soulish and body and one cannot exist without the other. When one speaks of soul, he also infers the body, and when one speaks of the body, he also infers the soul. Body without soul and soul without body are incomprehensible in Old and New Testament thought. Soul is the Dimension of Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Existence The word soul is the translation that is primarily from the Hebrew word nephesh in the Old Testament and Greek word psuche in the New Testament. By far, the most common word in the Old Testament that refers to the soul is the word nephesh.

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The word nephesh comes from the unused Hebrew verb form, naphash, which means to breathe strongly or to pant. The rendering of the word nephesh as soul is by far the largest use in the Old Testament and is equivalent to the word life or person and is almost equivalent to the Hebrew word ruach which is frequently used especially in the sustaining of life or the vital life-principle. Based on Genesis 2:7, it can be said that man IS a soul or soulish. The soulish dimension of man’s inner nature is the seat of values, emotions, intellect and will that can be both good and evil. Body is the Other Dimension of Man’s Existence The word body comes from the Greek word soma. There is no Biblical Hebrew word that is equivalent with the Greek word for body. Body is the vessel, corporeal form or house of and is integrated with the soulish dimension of man. All things within man, good or evil and godly or demonically, are expressed in the external world through the body by rational and irrational means. The phrase, the body of sin, which is found in Romans 6:6 does not refer to any ancient philosophy that the body is the seat of sin and thus sinful in itself but rather it refers to the old nature of or that nature that tends to sin. Because man is a value-pursing being more so than a rational being in Scriptures, the redemptive usage of values and the wisdom to practice and express them in the world through the body occurs when the dimensions of the soul, heart, flesh, and mind of man with the body are harmoniously integrated with one another by God in His Son and through His Spirit. Equally, the non-redemptive usage of values and the unwise rationale to practice and express them in the world through the body occurs when the dimensions of the soul, heart, flesh, and mind of man with the body are not harmoniously integrated with one another because sin (Adam = the world), outside references of temptations (the malevolent flesh), and the Evil One (the Devil) dominate over and divide one’s life. Spirit has an Energizing Effect on Soul and Body On the other hand, it may be said that man HAS spirit (and not a spirit) which is the energizer of the soul and body. If man’s soul is energized by an evil spirit, then bad and evil things come forth from within man through the body, but if man’s soul is energized by God’s Spirit, then good and godly things

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come forth from within man through the body. Body, Soul and Spirit Integrated with One Another Body and soul are integrated with each other in the Bible, providing the means and meaning of one’s values, emotions, will and logical self or intellect in the world. When the integrated body and soul are energized by the Spirit of God, one’s values, emotions, will and logic are good and godly in nature. Equally, when the integrated body and soul are energized by the Evil One, one’s values, emotions, will and intellect are evil and ungodly in nature. The integrated and sometimes disunity of the body and soul of man helps in defining him as being both a tension filled unity and disunity of values, will, intellect and emotions that enable him with the capacity of infinite possibilities that are both divine and demonic. Various Dimensions of Man that are Integrated in the Body and Soul and Energized by Spiritual Impulses of Good and Evil Modern English Translation of Word or Phrase

Old Testament Hebrew Word or Phrase (c.f., Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon, KJV and NASV)

New Testament Greek Word or Phrase (c.f., New Testament Greek Lexicon, KJV and NASV)

Some Old and New Testament Instances

Biblical and Theological Meaning(s)

Soul, soulish, breath, life, person, personhood, to breathe strongly, pant, = modern equivalent of the central-self

Nephesh is used 753 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 688 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old

Psuche is used 105 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 101 times in the New American Standard Version of the New Testament.

OT – Nephesh (Hebrew, soul, soulish) Gen. 1:20, 21, 24; Gen. 2:7, 19; Gen. 9:4,5, 10, 12, 15-16; Gen. 12:13; Gen. 14:21, Ex. 4:19; Ex. 12:16; Ex. 21:23; Lev. 7:18, 20-21, 27; Lev. 11:46;

Man’s inner being is soul. The soulish dimension of man’s inner nature is the seat of values, emotions, intellect and will that can be both good and evil.

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Testament.

Lev. 17:10-12; Lev. 17:14-15; Lev. 21:1, 11; Lev. 22:4; Lev. 23:30; Lev. 24/:18; Num.; 5:2; Num. 6:6, 11; Pss. 35:9, 13; Isa. 10:18 NT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Psuche (English, soul, person, personhood) Matt. 2:20; Matt. 6:25; Matt. 10:28; Matt. 10:39; Matt. 16:25; Matt. 20:28; Mk. 3:4, Mk. 8:35: Mk. 10:45; Lk. 6:9; Lk. 9:24; Lk. 12:22, 23; Lk. 17:33; Jn. 10:11, 15, 17, 24; Jn. 12:25; Jn. 13:37-38; Jn. 15:13; Acts 15:26; Acts 20:24; Acts 27:22; rom. 11:3; Rom. 16:4; Php. 2:30; I Jn. 3:16; Rev. 8:9; Rev. 12:11; Rev. 16:3

Body = modern equivalent of the physical dimension of man

There is no Hebrew word for body because body is integrated

Soma is used 146 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 142 times in

OT- Basar (Hebrew, flesh) only refers to the physical body when it is paired up with

The soul is the modern view of the centralself as that dimension of man in which the image of God and sin abide and that selects values of the deepmind which are relevant to man in his present environment and situation. The centralself only selects values from the deepmind of man that are relevant to his present situation and can be good or evil, rational or irrational, depending on the Spiritual impulses of good and evil that dominate over oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral being.

That which has form and outwardly expresses values that come from

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into the soulish lifeforce of man in Old Testament thinking. The concept, not the word or term, of a soulish-body is used 14 times in the Old Testament (both King James and New American Standard Versions of the Old Testament) and never stands in contrast to the soul (Hebrew, nephesh). The closest word for body in the Old Testament is flesh (Hebrew, basar- see flesh below) and used 24 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 127

the New American Standard Version of the New Testament.

the Hebrew word esem, meaning bone â&#x20AC;&#x201C; C.f. Job 2:5; Nu Num. 8:2, 7; Kings 4:34. OT - Basar can refer to all humans (see Isa. 66:16 and 24) and to all living things (see Gen. 6:19). OT - Other OT verses about basar are Gen. 29:14; Deut. 5;26; Gen. 6:17 OT - The Old Testament sees human wickedness as originating in the heart (Hebrew, lebab) rather than in the flesh in Hebrew thought (see Jeremiah 17:9 and Ecclesiastes 9:3).; Leviticus 26:41 and Jeremiah 9:26 state some Israelites were uncircumcised in heart. This is even though

within.

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times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament.

they were previously circumcised in body or basar. NT – Soma (Greek, physical body) – Matt. 5:2930; Matt. 6:2223, 25; Matt. 10:28; Matt. 26:12, 26; Matt. 27:52, 58-59; Mk. 5:29; Mk. 14:8, 22; Mk. 15:43; Lk. 11:34, 36; Lk. 12:4, 2223; Lk. 17:37; Lk. 22:19; Lk. 23:52; Lk. 24:3, 23; Jn. 2:21; 19:31, 38, 40; Jn. 20:12; Acts 9:39, 40-41; Rom. 1:24; Rom. 4:19; Rom. 6:6, 12; Rom. 7:4, 24; Rom. 8:10-11, 13, 23; Rom. 12:1, 4-5

Basar has more in common with the New Testament Greek word soma (physical body) when basar is paired with esem (Hebrew, bone), which often means the physical body (see Job 2:5) but is sometimes used to mean the body without reference to the bones (Num. 8:2, 7 Kings 4:34).

Flesh, frailty, born with the bent toward sinning = the modern equivalent of the act of giving into temptation that

Basar is used 248 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 264 times in the

Sarx is used 151 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 147 times in the New American Standard Version of the

For OT verses about body, see Flesh (Hebrew, basar) above. NT – Sarx (Greek, sinful attitude, that which tempts

Flesh in the Old Testament refers more to human frailty in relation to God than to the physical meaning and is something

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solidifies oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rebellion against God.

New American Standard Version of the Old Testament.

New Testament.

one into sin) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I Cor. 15:39; Rom 9:8; Rom. 1:3-5; Rom. 7:18; Rom. 8:4-5; Rom. 8:8; Gal. 5:1624; Gal. 6:8; Jn. 6:53-57; James 5:3; Jn. 1:14; I Tim. 3:16; I Jn. 4:2; 2 Cor. 5:16; I Cor. 1:26; Philippians 1:24; Rarely in the New Testament is flesh associated with the physical body except in I Cor. 15:39 and Col. 1:2223, where it does refer to the physical body.

that men and animals possess in their weakness but God does not possess. Flesh is the state or condition of human nature and its instincts and desires, not as they first came from God before the Fall of the human race, but as they have been warped and corrupted by the sin inherited from Adam and further weakened and perverted by our own acts of sin. Any tendencies or leanings to sin in our fallen minds, will, emotions and bodies. Flesh is the fallen sinful condition of any area of our mind, will, emotions and body which is

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not submitted to God or not under the rule of the Holy Spirit. The sinful state of what I am without the presence and rule of the Spirit of God which I am personally responsible for not having. The outside force that tempts one into sinning. Heart is closely associated with kidneys/loins in the Old Testament (the personification of the kidneys in Hebrew thought is in the word rein) = modern equivalent of the deep-mind

The word leb (Hebrew, mind) together with its feminine form lebah (Hebrew, to know, experience and have knowledge of the values of the heart) create the word lebab, which is used 600 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 648 times in the

Kardia is used 160 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 157 times in the New American Standard Version of the New Testament. Nephros (Greek, kidneys or rein) is used only once in both the King James and New American Standard Versions of the New Testament

OT – Lebab (Hebrew, heart) – I Sam. 14:7; Pss. 26:2; 2 Kings 5:26, where the Hebrew word ruwach (spirit) is translated heart; I Chron. 12:33; Pss. 12:2; 2 Kings 5:26; NT – Kardia (Hebrew, heart) – Mk. 12:30; Eph. 6:6; Phil. 1:7; Lk. 8:12; Matt. 12;40; Rom. 1:21; II Cor. 3:15; II Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:18;

Lebab is the Hebrew word for values that are guided by wisdom in some instances and by irrationality in other instances. The organization of values from an outside force that affects the total personality of a person. Most particularly,

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New American Standard Version of the Old Testament. Lebab is always used in reference to a mindfulheart (heart or seat of values that are guided by both wisdom and irrationality) and rarely is it used with reference to leb (Hebrew, mind as the seat of intellect, wisdom, knowledge and understandin g). Kilyah (Hebrew, kidneys or rein = the inmost thoughts, feelings, purposes, of the soul) is used 31 times in both the King James and New American

Heb. 4:12; Matt. 24:48; Mk. 2:8; Lk. 2:51; I Cor. 14:25; Matt. 24:48; Rom. 10:6; Matt. 13:14; Lk. 2:51; James 3:14; Lk. 1:66; Heb. 10:16; Matt. 15:19; Jn. 14:27; Jn. 16:6, 22; Acts 2:46 OT – Kilyah (Hebrew, kidneys or rein) - Pss. 7:9; 16:7; 26:2; 73:21; Prov. 23:16; Jer. 11:20; 12:2; 17:10; 20:12 NT – Nephros (Greek, kidneys or rein) - Rev. 2:23

heart stands for the inner self - What it means to be human – personality inclination, seat of emotions, seat of vital force, seat of feelings, desire, will, determination, courage, organization of values.

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Standard Versions of the Old Testament. Stomach, bowels, innerparts, the emotional self of man = modern equivalent of the unconscious mind or emotional self

Me’ah (also known as meim) occurs 32 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 29 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament.

Koilia is used 23 times in both the King James and New American Standard Versions of the New Testament.

OT - Me’ah (English, stomach, bowels) is rendered only once as heart in Pss. 40:8 and in the remaining times of the Old Testament, it is translated bowels, innerparts or stomach; Pss. 5:4; Is. 16:11; 63:15; Jer. 4:19; 31:20; Lam. 1:20; 2:11 NT – Koilia (Greek, stomach, bowels) Luke 1:78 (translated "tender"); 2 Cor 7:15 (translated "inward affection"); Phm. 2:1; Col. 3:12; Phm. 1:7, 20; 1 Jn. 3:17

It doubtlessly was a reference to the intestinal region which one feels during times of emotions. In the Ancient Hebrew mind of the Old and New Testament, a full stomach is a sign of a full life and an empty stomach is a sign of an empty life. The stomach mainly refers to the unconscious mind as the seat of emotion that enthralls the conscious mind to become excited about values that the deep-mind and centralself have chosen for man

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Spirit, energizer of the soul/body to do either good or evil – it’s good when the spiritual impulse of good abides and it’s evil when the spiritual impulse of evil abides, vital life-force = modern equivalent of the spiritual impulses of good and evil

Ruwach is used 378 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 375 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament. Neshamah (Hebrew, to breathe life or to animate life) is used 24 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 25 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament. The Greek word pnoe (God’s breath or man’s breath) is used 20 times in the Septuagint (the Greek version of

Pneuma is used 385 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 345 times in the New American Standard Version of the New Testament.

OT – Ruwach (Hebrew, spirit, vital life-force, breath) - Gen. 2:7; Gen. 6:17; Gen. 7:15, 22; Josh. 2:11; Josh. 5:1; Judg. 8:3; I Kings 10:4, 5; 2 Chron. 9:4; Job 27:3; Job 33:4; Job 34:14-15; Pss. 31:5; Pss. 104:25, 29, 30; Pss. 146:3-4; Eccl. 3:19-21; Eccl. 12:7; Isa. 2:22; Lam. 4:20; Ezek. 37:5-6; Ezek. 37:14; NT – Pneuma (Greek, spirit, vital life force, person) - Lk. 23:46; James 2:26; Rev. 11:11; Rev. 13:15; NT – Pnoe (Greek, God’s breath or wind or man’s breath or wind) – Acts 2:2; Acts 17:25

The basic meaning is life-force that strives for selftranscendence but when energized by God the Spirit, one’s lifeforce enables a person to turn all of his life toward God’s dimension and direction. Equally, when one is energized by sin, he turns all his life toward sin and the Evil One.

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the Old Testament) for neshamah, but is only used 2 times in the New Testament in Acts 2:2, where it is translated wind and in Acts 17:25, where is is translated breath. Mind, understanding, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory = modern equivalent of conscious mind or rational and logical self

Leb (Hebrew, mind) is used 593 in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 586 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament. Biynah (Hebrew, understandin g, discernment) is used 38 times in both the King James and New American Standard

Nous (Greek, the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining the intellectual faculty, the understanding) is used 24 times in both the King James and New American Standard Versions of the New Testament. Dianoia (Greek, the mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring understanding, mind, i.e. spirit, way of thinking and feeling, and

OT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Leb (Hebrew, mind) is sometimes associated with the Hebrew word lebab (heart) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 Chron. 12:14; Neh. 4:6; Deut. 30:1; Isa. 46:8; Isa. 65:17; Jer. 3:16; Deut. 30:1; Jer. 51:50; Ezek. 38:10; Prov. 18:15; 22:17; Eccles. 1:1, 8, 16: Jer. 19:5; Jer. 32:35; 44:21; Gen. 20:5; Job 11:13; Jer. 17:9; Prov. 10:20; Prov. 11:20; Prov. 12:8; Prov. 17:6; Prov. 17:20; Isa.

Leb is the Hebrew word that is closely associated with intellect, knowledge, wisdom and understanding and is not to be confused with lebab, the Hebrew word for heart, the experience and knowledge of the values of the heart. When the conscious mind, due to the unconscious mind, becomes excited about the value

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Versions of the Old Testament. Sakal (Hebrew verb meaning to make to understand or to become wise) is used 63 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 62 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament. Chakam (Hebrew verb meaning, to be or become wise, act wisely) is used 137 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 138 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old

thoughts of good or evil ) is used 13 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 24 times in the New American Standard Version of the New Testament. Logos (Greek, word) is used 330 times in the King James Version of the New Testament and 332 times in the New American Standard Version of the New Testament. Ginosko (Greek, knowledge) is used 221 times in both the King James and New American Standard Versions of the New Testament. The counter-part of ginosko (knowledge) is anaginosko (Greek, antiknowledge or denial of knowing a thing) which is used 33 times in the King

44:20; OT - Biynah (Hebrew, understanding, discernment) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Deut. 4:5-7; I Chron. 12:32; I Chron. 22:12; 2 Chron. 2:1114; Job 20:3; Job 28:12, 20, 28; Job 34:16; Job 38:4, 36; Job 39:17, 26; Prov. 1:2; Prov. 2:3; Prov. 3:5; Prov. 4:1, 5, 7; Prov. 7:4; Prov. 8:14; Prov. 9:6, 10; Prov. 16:16; Prov. 23:4, 23; Prov. 30:2; Isa. 11:2; Isa. 27:11; Isa. 29:14; Isa. 33:19; Jer. 23:19-21; Dan 1:20; Dan. 8:15; Dan. 9:22; Dan. 10:1 OT - Sakal (Hebrew verb meaning to make to understand or to become wise) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gen. 3:6; Gen. 48:14; Deut. 29:9; Deut. 32:29; Josh.

system of the deep mind and central-self, the conscious mind finds the rationale for expressing the values in the body and out into the world. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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Testament. Tabuwn (Hebrew, understandin g, intelligence, the act of understandin g) is used 43 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament and 42 times in the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament.

James Version of the New Testament and 32 times in the New American Standard of the New Testament.

1:6-9; I Sam. 18:5, 14-15; 30; 1 Kings 2:2-4; 2 Kings 18:6-8; 1 Chron. 28:1820; 2 Chron. 30:21-23; Neh. 8:13; Neh. 9:20; Job; 2, Job 34:27, 35; Pss. 2:10; Pss. 14:2; Pss. 32:8; Pss. 36:3; Pss. 41:1; Pss. 53:2 OT - Chakam (Hebrew verb meaning, to be or become wise, act wisely) – Gen. 41:8, 33, 39: Ex. 7:11; Ex. 28:3; Ex. 31:6; Ex. 35:10; Ex. 35:25; Ex. 36:1-2, 4, 8; Deut. 1:13, 15; Deut. 4:6; Deut. 16:19; Deut. 32:6; Judges 5:2830; 2 Sam. 13:3; 2 Sam. 14:2, 20, 16; I Kings 2:9; 1 Kings 3:12; 1 Kings 5:7 OT – Tabuwn (Hebrew, understanding, the act of understanding, intelligence) –

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Ex. 31:3; Ex. 35:31; Ex. 36: 1; Deut. 32:2729; I Kings 4:29; 1 Kings 7:14; Job 12:12-13; Job 26:12; Job 32:11; Pss. 49:3; Pss. 78:72; Pss. 136:5; Pss. 147:5; Prov. 2:2-3, 6, 11; Prov. 3:13, 19; Prov. 5:1; Prov. 8:1; Isa. 40: 14, 28; Isa. 44:19; Jer. 10:12; Jer. 51:15; Ez. 28:3-5; Hos. 13:1-3; Obadiah 1:6-9 OT-Ruwach (Hebrew, spirit) associated with leb (Hebrew, mind) – Ex. 28:3; I Chron. 28:12; Ez. 11:5; Ez. 20:32; Dan. 5:20; OT – Nephesh (Hebrew, soul, soulish, lifeforce) association with the Hebrew word leb (mind) – Deut. 6:5; I

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Chron. 22:19; Deut. 28:9; Eccl. 7:28; I Sam. 2:35; 2 Kings 9:15 NT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nous (Greek, the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining the intellectual faculty, the understanding) - Lk. 24:44-46; Rom. 1:28; Rom. 7:23; 7:23, 25; Rom. 11:34; Rom. 12:2; I Cor. 1:10; I Cor. 2:16; I Cor. 14:14-15, 19; Eph. 4:17, 23; Philippians 4:7; Col. 2:1819; 2 Tim. 2:13; I Tim. 6:4-6; 2 Tim. 3:7-9; Titus 1:14-16; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:9 NT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dianoia (Greek, the mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling,

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desiring understanding, mind, i.e. spirit as a way of thinking and feeling, and thoughts of good or evil) – Matt. 22:3638; Mk. 12:2931; Lk. 1:51; Lk. 10:27; Eph. 1:18; Eph. 2:3; Eph. 4:18; Col. 1:20-22; Heb. 8:10, 16; I Peter 1:12-14; 2 Peter 2:22; 2 Peter 3:1-2; I Jn. 5:19-21 NT – Logos (Greek, word, study of) – Matt. 5:32, 37; Matt. 7:24; Matt. 7:26, 28; Matt. 8:8, 16; Matt. 10:14; Matt. 12:32, 36-37; Matt. 13:19-23; Matt.15:23; Matt. 18:23; Matt. 19:1, 11, 22; Matt. 21:25; Matt. 22:46; Matt. 24:35; Matt. 25:19; Matt. 26:1; Matt. 28:15; Mk. 1:45; Mk. 2:2; Mk. 4:15-17; Mk. 4:19-20;

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Mk. 4:33; Mk. 5:36; Mk. 7:13, 29; Mk. 8:32, Mk. 8:38; Lk. 1:4, 20, 29; Lk. 3:4; Lk. 4:22, 32, 36; Lk. 5:1, 15; Lk. 6:47; Lk. 7:7, Lk. 7:17; Lk. 8:1113, 15, 21; Lk. 9:26, 28, 44; Lk. 11:28; Lk. 12:10; Jn. 1:1, 14; Jn. 2:22; Jn. 4:37, 39, 50; Jn. 5:24, 38; Jn. 6:60; Jn. 7:36, 40; Jn. 8:31, 37, 51-52; Jn. 10:35; Jn. 12:38; Acts 1:1: Acts 2:22, 40-41; Acts 4:4, 31; Acts 5:5, 24; Acts 6:2, 5, 7; Acts 7:22, 29; Acts 10: 36; Acts 11:1, 19, 22; Acts 12:24; Acts 13:44, 46, 48-49; Rom. 3:4; Rom. 9:6, 9, 28; Rom. 13:9; Rom. 14:12; Rom. 15:18; I Cor. 1:5, 18; I Cor. 2:1, 4, 13: I Cor. 4:19-20; I Cor. 14:19, 36; I Cor. 15:2, 54 NT - Ginosko

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(Greek, knowledge) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Matt. 1:25; Matt. 6:3; Matt. 7:23; Matt. 9:30; Matt. 10:26; Matt 12:7; Matt. 12:15, 33; Matt. 13:11; Matt. 16:3, 8; Matt. 21:45; Matt. 22:18; Mk. 4:11, 13; Mk. 5:29; Mk. 5:43; Mk. 6:38; Mk 7:24; Mark 8:17; Mk. 9:30; Mk. 12:12; Mk. 13:28-29; Mk. 15:10; Mk. 15:45; Acts 1:7; Acts 2;36; Acts 8:30; Acts 9:24; Acts 17:13, 19020; Acts 19:15, 35; Acts 20:34; Acts 21:24; Rom. 1:21; Rom. 2:18; Rom. 3:17; Rom. 6:6; Rom. 7:1; Rom. 7:7; Rom. 10:19; Rom. 11:34; Gal. 2:9; Gal. 3:7; Gal. 4:9; Eph. 3:19; Eph. 5:5; Eph. 6:22; James 1:3; James 2:20; James

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5:20 NT -Anaginosko (Greek, antiknowledge or denial of knowing a thing) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Matt. 12:3, 5; Matt. 19:4; Matt. 21:16, 42; Matt. 22:31; Matt. 24:15; Mk. 2:25; Mk. 12:10; Mk. 12:26; Mk. 13:14; Lk. 4:16; Lk. 6:3; Lk. 10:26; Jn. 19:19-21; Acts 8:28, 30, 32; Acts 13:27; Acts 15:21; Acts 15:31; Acts 23:34; 2 Cor. 1:13; 2 Cor. 3:2, 15; Eph. 3:3-5; Col. 4:15-17; I Thess. 5:26-28; Rev. 1:3; Rev. 5:4

I. Historical views of man or persons that by-pass Biblical understanding of man. 1).

The animist view of man. A). Etymology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Latin for soul life and refers to the belief that nonhuman entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle

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B). Animism is the belief in personalized, supernatural beings (or souls) that often inhabit ordinary animals and objects, governing their existence. 2).

The Greek dichotomy view of man. A). This is the belief in the immortality of the soul and the perishability of the body. B). The Greek dichotomy of soul and body leads to apotheosis, the turning of a mortal man into a god, especially found in a man of great intellectual knowledge or who thinks he has more knowledge than others or who feels he is the intellectual elite. i. The Greek word is apotheoun, meaning to deify. ii. The Latin word is deification, meaning to make divine. C). The Bible does not hold to an immortal soul over a perishable body because both the soul and body die and can only be immortal when God calls both into His presence.

3).

The materialist view of man. A). This is the belief in physical matter with being the only thing that is real. B). The hedonistic view, where one eats and drinks and strives to be happy at all cost, is a result of the materialist view of man. C). The ancient materialists realized moderation was necessary.

4).

The trichotomous view of man. A). This is the belief that man is made of three parts, a body, a soul and a spirit. i. I Thessalonians view of man is a Hebraic way of thinking about man with being a complete self. ii. The Biblical understanding of the local church is found in the Spirit of God which replaces the Spirit that is in the individual. B). The trichotomous view of man requires salvation to save various parts of man rather than salvation with being the saving of the whole person.

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i. The spirit is the purely immaterial part of man; the body is the purely material part. a.

Human beings have always been and always will be an inseparable combination of both.

That is how we were originally created, that is how we will be resurrected, and that is even how we will find ourselves in the interim between the two (which explains why we have an interim body in heaven, and why they had one in Abraham's bosom in Hades before Christ's ascension).

ii. The Bible does mention a "soul", but this is much more of an OT term than an NT one - not that the word "soul" isn't extensively used in NT theology. a.

It is, but that is because of Latin influence (the Latin language and the Roman system of anthropology/psychology).

In biblical terms, the soul and the heart are indistinguishable. i). That is, while we are material (we all have a body which can be seen) and at the same time immaterial (we all have a spirit which can't be seen), we are nonetheless all single persons - we never, never, never have two foci of identity or operation. ii). We are indeed "one", a union of body and spirit. iii). Now it is true that since our body is corrupt, the weaknesses it exhibits often do conflict with the choices we would otherwise make, were we purely spiritual beings ("the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"). iv). Such "conflicts" are the stuff of the innerwrestling of our heart, the place of emotion, of conscience and consciousness, of our inner-life and thought and mind. That is to say, of our "soul".

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aa. In Hebrew (nephesh) and in Greek (psyche as used in the NT to translate nephesh), the idea of the "soul" is always this: not of a separate inner-person or organ distinct from our immaterial part, the spirit, but of the "place and person within" where the two meet. ba. That is why both words in both languages can and often do double for "person", "life", and "self". 5).

The theanthropic view of man. A). From Late Greek theanthrpos, meaning god-man: Greek combination of theos, meaning god + Greek anthrapos, meaning man. B). This view of man is found in literature and folk lore whereby man is the super-hero or a romantic, or is God himself. i. This view of man is found in super-heroes of comic characters such as Superman, Batman, Spider Man, etc. ii. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) – he viewed of man to be God and God to be man.

6).

Theological reconstruction of man. A). The Bible affirms that God created the possibility of all things, that He had a special concern in the creation of mankind, that man is made in His image, and that all mankind is united by the virtue of its relationship with the Creator. B). Persons are intended to be complete selves by relating to God, the self, and others in the cosmos. i. The exterior form of the self is the body, that is weak and transient but it is not of itself sinful. ii. That aspect of man which is most like God is what is called spirit, which includes one’s struggle to reach beyond the boundaries of self and transcend beyond one’s self. a.

Conversion opens the possibility to channel life of the flesh and spirit towards God.

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Conversion also opens the reality of the struggle of the flesh and the spirit, which is always more intense in and among Christians than in and among others.

That aspect of man which cooperates with the Evil One and the fallen world is called flesh.

iii. It is affirmed in the Bible that the unredeemed will not have spirit upon death, and the redeemed will not have flesh, upon death or else there would be a two-way traffic between Heaven and Hell. iv. In the eschaton when Christ comes again for the second time, the redeemed will have a new kind of body that is incorruptible and the whole man will eternally grow toward Godlikeness; but the unredeemed will have a body, spirit, and mind that will deteriorate for eternity, rendering it to be incapable of growth. 7).

The image and likeness of God. A). Latin phrase is imago dei. B). Biblical materials. i. The phrases image of God and likeness of God are found in four passages in the Old Testament, three in the Book of Genesis and all in portions of the Primeval History (Genesis 111) and in Psalms 8. a.

Gen 1:27–28: And God said: Let us make mankind in our image ( Hebrew, b’tsalmeinu), as our likeness (Hebrew, kid’muteinu). And they will have dominion over [the animals]…․And God created humankind in His image (Hebrew, b’tsalmo), in God's image (Hebrew, tselem). He created him, male and female He created them. And God blessed them and God said to them: Be fruitfull and multiply, and fill the land and occupy it, and have dominion over the sea’s fish and the skies’ bird and every animal crawling over the land.

Gen 5:1–3: This is the book of Adam’s generations: On the day God created Mankind, in God's likeness (Hebrew, d’mut) He created him; male and female He created them, and He blessed them, and called their name Adam in the day of their being created. And Adam (Man) lived a hundred and thirty years and bore in his

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likeness (Hebrew, bid’muto) like his image (Hebrew, k’tsalmo) and called his name Seth. c.

Gen 9:6: One who spills the blood of man, through/by man, his blood will be spilled, for in God's image (Hebrew, tselem) He made man.

Psalms 8: O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Mt. 21.16 hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (C.f. Job. 7.17, 18 • Ps. 144.3 • Heb. 2.6-8) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: (C.f. 1 Cor. 15.27 • Eph. 1.22 • Heb. 2.8). all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

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ii. James, which speaks of the Old Testament reference to the image of God. iii. Christological references. a.

Hebrews 1:3.

Colossians.

Philippians.

Ephesians.

C). Terms used for the image and likeness of God in the Scriptures. i. Refer to James Smart, Interpreting the Scriptures. ii. Hebrew words tselem, meaning image, and dumuth, meaning likeness. a.

The Hebrew term tselem refers to the image of God that is found in all mankind.

The Hebrew term dumuth refers to the image of God in concrete form through a likeness that is within a man and woman who are in union with one another.

The image and likeness of God is the Hebrew way of repeating ideas in different words.

iii. Another set of Hebrew words to express both the image and likeness of God is in the Hebrew words eikon, meaning image and karakater, meaning exact impression. D). Historical insights into the image of God. i. What does the term, the image of God, mean? a.

According to Origen (A.D. 184/185 – A.D. 253/254) and Frederick R. Tennant (Sept. 1, 1866, Burslem, Staffordshire, Eng.—died Sept. 9, 1957, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire), the image of God is man’s distinctiveness from and oversight of the created order of all things of animals, plants and stuff.

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Saint Thomas Aquinas (A.D. 1225 – A.D. 7 March 1274) and John Calvin (A.D. 10 July 1509 – A.D. 27 May 1564) believed the image of God is in man’s reason and logical thinking.

Mormonism sees the image of God in man to be in a physical likeness to God because, according to Mormonism, the Old Testament uses anthropomorphic (the attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena) and anthropopathic (the assignment of human feelings or passions to something not human, as a deity or an animal) languages about God, body, and emotions, etc. i). True, the Bible does use anthropomorphic and anthropopathic language, but it does not use it in the way that is defined by modern man. ii). The Bible makes distinctions between that which is spirit and that which is flesh or physical, especially when it makes references to God and man, and modern definitions will not suffice with defining both God and man in the Scriptures.

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (c. A.D. 160 – c. A.D. 225), Anglicized as Tertullian, the Father of Modern Latin Theology, and Irenaeus (A.D. 2nd century AD – c. A.D. 202), see the image of God in the Christi futuri, Latin for Christ of the future. i). The image of God in Adam is a prefiguration of the image of God in Christ who is to come, who is also the image of the true man and what man ought to be. ii). We define the image of God in Adam through Christ in the incarnation.

Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968), the Father of Neo-orthodoxy, defines the image of God to be male and female in union with each other – mankind is made for community.

Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21st, 1892 – June 1st, 1971), the American Theologian, sees the image of God in man to

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be man’s ability to respond to God, the self, and others, and man’s responsibility to do so. ii. What happened to the image of God in the fall? a.

Irenaeus (A.D. 2nd century AD – c. A.D. 202) viewed the likeness of God to have been totally taken away during the fall but the image of God is in man’s reasoning abilities and is limited but is not totally destroyed. i). This position of Irenaeus and in later Catholic doctrine is based upon a distinction between tselem (Hebrew for image of God) and dumuth (Hebrew for likeness of God) in which likeness is totally taken away during the fall but restored through the sacraments, while the image of God with being man’s ability to reason is limited but not obliterated during the fall. ii). This likeness of God in Irenaeus view and Catholic doctrine consists of certain super-added gifts, such as immortality, impassibility, and integrity. aa. Donum superadditum, Latin for super added gifts. ba. Immortality, meaning the soul-life lives forever. ca. Impassibility, meaning the ability to not suffer. da. Integrity, meaning the ability to control passions. iii). The image of God is in man’s ability to reason and is basically unaffected by sin, while the likeness of God is gone but restored through the sacraments – this view is called partial depravity.

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) and Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968) view of what happened to the image of God during the fall.

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i). Luther and Barth believed the image of God was lost in the fall and there exists nothing in man for which to cry out for God to redeem him. ii). This view is a radical view of grace in which God does it all. iii). This view is called total depravity, in which man’s entire being is distorted by sin, rendering man to be incapable of finding God without the total grace of God intervening in his life. c.

John Calvin’s (A.D. 10 July 1509 – A.D. 27 May 1564) view of what happened to the image of God in the fall. i). The image of God is distorted in the fall but it is not totally destroyed. ii). Calvin used the illustration of the relic of the temple to explain his understanding of what happened to the image of God in the fall of man. aa. The image of God in the fall is like the relic of a ruined temple or a cracked mirror, in which the relic of the image of God is distorted but is not totally removed or incapable of being recognized. ba. Whereas this view affirms the total depravity of man, it does feel, following Augustine of Hippo (A.D. November 13, 354 – A.D. August 28, 430), that there is something that is in the natural man which cries out for God.

8).

Sin. A). Biblical materials. i. Old Testament. a.

Hebrew word ra, meaning evil (as a category).

Hebrew word chata, meaning rebellion.

Hebrew word avon, meaning crooked.

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Hebrew word pesha, meaning treachery.

ii. New Testament. a.

Greek word kakos, meaning bad.

Greek word poneras, meaning moral evil.

Greek word apistis, meaning unbelief and unfaith (no faith).

Greek word harmartia, meaning missing the mark (because you are turned in the wrong direction).

B). Historical insights into sin. i. What is the essence of sin? a.

Hybris, meaning pride (harmartia).

Rebellion, meaning holding everything out or away from oneself.

Acedia, meaning sloth.

Concupiscentia, meaning greed.

ii. Historically sin, in the Church, has been defined in terms of acts rather than in terms with what makes sin to be oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner being. iii. There needs to be a distinction between sin and sins. a.

Sin is the disease within the inner moral nature of all men. i). Men are born into this world with a bent toward sinning. ii). By a willful act, one verifies and confirms what is in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral nature â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the disease of sin.

Sins are the fruits of sin, and one does not seek Christ to forgive one of his sins but to seek him with the desire to completely eradicate the inner nature of sin itself.

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C). What causes sin? i. Three phrases that come from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and are the heart of Paul’s view of sin- From all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, spare us, good Lord. a.

The world or Adam.

The flesh.

The devil.

ii. One is born into this world freighted against God and bent toward sinning (the World or Adam), and through an act of willful disobedience brought about by an external force of temptation (the Flesh), one turns his life toward the person of the devil (the Devil) and orders all his life in that direction. iii. The world, the flesh, and the devil are the culmination of what is so devastating about sin. a.

The devastation of sin is to know that God loves us unconditionally and we are unable to love Him back in like manner.

Sins are never the problem with man but sin is the problem because it renders mankind to be incapable of loving God unconditionally except by His divine grace through one’s faith.

Repentance of sin is more important to God in men than it is in one’s repentance for his acts of sin.

One must declare sin to be an outlaw and ask and seek for God’s grace through faith to radically remove it from within one’s inner moral character.

Once the taproot of sin is killed, the fruits of sin in the various acts of wrong doing will wilt and fade away.

D). The distinction between sin and sins. i. Sin is the attitude or general posture of every individual’s life from out of which arises different acts of sin.

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ii. Sins are individual acts of wrong and evil that confirm the posture or attitude of sin that is in one’s moral nature. E). Various emphases on sin throughout the different ages of the Church. i. Guilt and dread were prevalent marks of sinfulness when theology stressed the uncertainty of salvation and redemption and the desirability of following rules that were laid down by the Church. a.

Unconverted Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) is an apotheosis (highest development of thinking) of this view of sin.

The Roman Catholic Church of the late Middle Ages made this view of sin to be the apex definition.

The song O’ Day of Wrath and Mourning is a reflection of this view of sin.

ii. Legalism and morality. a.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (A.D. November 13, 354 – A.D. August 28, 430) said sin is to have lust and sex within and without the boundaries of marriage.

The holiness heresy and easy perfectionism. i). This view says if you do not do certain things that are considered sinful by the norms of society or the Church, then you are above sin. aa. But you have to be able to define the moral standard with which to adhere in this type of position. ba. The laws of God and the group must be carefully defined, which usually means one defines it in such a way that he can easily live above it. ii). The counterpart to the holiness heresy is an easy perfectionism, making it easy to feel one is not a sinner.

iii. The modern world view of sin.

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Sin is angst (German word for anxiety but comes from the French word, ennui).

Sin is boredom.

iv. Sin is jealousy, anger and humiliation, according to psychology and psychiatry. a.

The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices (part of Christian ethics) that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin.

The currently recognized version of these sins is usually given with being wrathful, greedy, slothful, pridful, lustful, envious, and gluttonous. i). Latin word superbia, meaning pride. ii). Latin word avaritia, meaning greed. iii). Latin word luxvria, meaning lust. iv). Latin word invidia, meaning envy. v). Latin word gula, meaning gluttony. vi). Latin word ira, meaning anger. vii). Latin word acedia, meaning sloth.

The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: venial sins, in which guilt is relatively minor, and the more severe mortal sins. i). Theologically, a mortal or deadly sin is believed to destroy the life of grace and charity within a person and thus creates the threat of eternal damnation. ii). By attacking the Mortal sin within us - that is, charity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally

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accomplished [for Catholics] within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation. F). The inevitable dialectic of sin and sanctity. i. Sin and sanctity are always bound together in a Christian. ii. The Wheel of Sin. a.

Let the wheat and tares grow together.

An illustration of the Wheel of Sin.

G). Theological reconstruction of sin. i. Refer to Karl Menninger, Whatever Happened to Sin? ii. The Biblical Materials indicate there is something wrong with Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation. a.

The wrongness of creation is attributed with the world, the flesh and the devil, which affects all creation of things in heaven and upon earth.

The wrongness of creation includes all that God has made.

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iii. The moral agents in the malaise of the wrongness of creation are the Evil One (the devil) and mankind. iv. This wrongness in creation is called the fallen world in which the entire cosmos groans from its pains and seeks its healing through redemption. a.

This affects everything from the minuscular and microscopic to the big and great throughout all the cosmos.

The occasion of the fallen world is sin, that basic spiritual condition of the human and demonic communities that call for and lead to specific human and divine actions to heal it.

Because God made the choice to create the cosmos, to permit the cosmos to sin, to condition the cosmos to suffer from sinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consequences, and to redeem it from sin and its condition, we have the cross.

v. In Christian history, there have been different models for perceiving a definition of sin and its results. a.

These models for perceiving a definition of sin and its results are reflective of the cultural conditioning of the times and grew from out of the influence of the various theories of atonement and salvation.

Because the term sin has often been undefined or illdefined, it has fallen out of favor with some. i). Nevertheless, the harmful actions of humans and the demonic must be accountable in some way and is to be ultimately resolved. ii). In order to define sin properly, one has to have an ultimate referent for what is good and right. aa. Never define sin by the understanding of sin in culture and according to a prescribed doctrine of salvation. ba. Sin is always defined in light with what is proven to be good and true.

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ca. Sin is sin because it is against what is true and good about God. da. Therefore, define sin in light of what is true and good about God. 9).

Original sin. A). Biblical materials. i. Genesis 1-3 is the first book of the Bible to mention original sinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occurrence and shows it to be steeped in corporate and racial terms. ii. Psalms 51:5 speaks of the universal sinfulness of man but does not tell how original sin came be in man. iii. Ephesians 2:3 defines original sin to be in opposition to the will of God. iv. Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned ...

The Apostle Paul balances the first and second Adam as corporate representatives. i). Paul balances the first and second Adam as corporate representatives to affirm a common humanity and to by-pass the Gentile-Jew impasse. ii). In balance with other of Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writings, one must affirm there is responsibility with both our sinfulness and being saved, though determinists of

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all stripes have insisted that we have no freedom in either one; aa. Other persons have said that we have freedom only in the first Adam and not the Second Adam. ba. However, we have a choice in both sinning as representative of the first Adam and salvation as re representative of the second Adam. b.

Historical insights into, by-passes to and interpretations of Romans 5:12 and the transmission of sin from the first Adam to all people. i). How Augustine reads Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, in whom all sinned. aa. Based on his studies, Augustine felt strongly that the sin of Adam did not only directly affect himself, but also all of mankind. ba. And because the Greek prepositional phrase in Rom 5:12, eph ho, was translated as in whom, ca. Augustine felt that this could only occur if everyone was literally (genetically) in the loins of Adam. da. The guilt of Adam was justly charged, because humanity was physically present when Adam committed the sin. ea. In Adam's sin all people actually sinned. fa. The Greek prepositional phrase, eph ho, is made up of a preposition epi and a relative pronoun ho. ga. Depending on the immediate context and the case of the noun (or pronoun), the

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preposition epi can have several different meanings. ha. The relative pronoun ho can be either masculine or neuter in gender. ia. Based on the words one man as the antecedent in the first clause, Augustine took the relative pronoun ho as masculine and gave the preposition eph the meaning in. ja. Thus the prepositional phrase became, in lumbis Adami, which is Latin for in the loins of Adam. ka. There was some biblical evidence to support of this view in Hebrews 7:9-10 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. la. This passage is where Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek because he was in the body of his ancestor. ii). Problems with Augustineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation of Romans 5:12. aa. While in the making of the Latin Vulgate Bible, translating from Greek into Latin, Jerome mistranslated Romans 5:12. ba. Instead of saying because all sinned, he said in whom all sinned. ca. Thus, in explaining something that was not really found in the Text, Augustine's view generates more questions: da. How is it possible that all of humanity be considered individually participating in the sin while "physically" in Adam?

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ea. Or why aren't the subsequent sins of Adam and our ancestors imputed on us as well? fa. A closer analysis of Hebrews 7:9-10 indicates that this passage does not support the Realistic/Seminal view. ga. The context of this passage is about the greatness of Melchizedek, who is portrayed as one who received tithes from Abraham. ha. The author of the epistle used a figure of speech to acknowledge that Levi, a descendant of Abraham, did not literally pay tithes to Melchizedek. ia. The Realist/Seminal View disrupts the analogy between Adam and Christ. ja. If there was a real physical connection between Adam and humanity, why wasn't one present with Christ and humanity? ka. Humanity was not physically in Christ when He was crucified, yet justification was made available to man. iii). Augustinian theory of seminal propagation. aa. Mankind is physically connected to Adam by the physical inheritance of sin through our parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genes. ba. Augustine's (A.D. November 13, 354 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A.D. August 28, 430) view of the original sin is largely responsible for the confusion of the definition of Original Sin. ca. Up until Augustine, the term original sin referred to the sinful nature of man. da. Augustine introduced the idea that original sin included the penalty of committing a sin.

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ea. In Augustine's view, when Adam committed his sin, all of mankind committed it with him. fa. The form of original sin is passed from the fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seed to the child. iv). Augustine had several questions to ask and required answers. aa. Whether man's first sin is transmitted, by way of origin to his descendants? ba. Whether all the other sins of our first parent, or of any other parents, are transmitted to their descendants, by way of origin? ca. Whether original sin is contracted by all those who are begotten of Adam by way of seminal generation? da. Whether it would be contracted by anyone formed miraculously from some part of the human body? ea. Whether original sin would have been contracted if the woman, and not the man, had sinned? v). From the Augustinian theory of seminal propagation, the Roman Catholic Church adopted the view of the Immaculate Conception in which there is a cleansing of the seed of Joseph when passed onto Mary, the mother of Jesus. vi). Also, in later points in history of the Roman Catholic Church, some adopted the perverted and incestuous view that Joseph was Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Father and was divine, rendering him to be incapable of passing original sin through his seed into Mary. c.

The Example View of the transmission of original sin by Pelagius (ca. AD 354 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ca. AD 420/440),

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i). Pelagius was a monk from Britain and a contemporary to Augustine. aa. He was a man of high moral character and disagreed with orthodox theology. ba. His theology said that man was basically good and had control of his own eternal destiny. ca. Mankind was not physically connected to Adam. da. He denied the doctrine of Original Sin, and denied the necessity for the atoning sacrifice by Christ. ii). How Pelagius reads Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all do (or have) sinned. aa. The charge of the Original Sin was not imputed upon humanity. Man is only responsible for his own personal sins. ba. Introduced by the Original Sin, the corruption of Adam's human nature was not inherited by man. Each person is born with a good and sin free nature with the same ability to choose whether to obey or disobey God as Adam. ca. Man has the ability and free will to be free of sin; salvation was possible through either the Old Testament Law or New Testament Gospel. iii). Problems with Pelagius’ interpretation of Romans 5:12. aa. The Greek phrase, εφ ω παντες ημαρτον, found in Romans 5:12 rendered correctly reads because all sinned.

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ba. Pelagius interpretation of because all do (or have) sinned is an incorrect reading of the Greek text. ca. Specifically it is inconsistent with the aorist tense (form of the verb) of ημαρτον which, with its object, is simply all sinned. da. It is one action in the past tense: all sinned through one man. ea. Because of this, there is no reference to sins subsequent to Adam. fa. Within the context of Romans 5:12, ημαρτον cannot refer to the personal sins of men. ga. Paul's argument and logic was to first establish that Adam's sin, not our own, was the cause of death. ha. Within the context of Romans 5:12-19, it is stated no less than five times that only one sin caused death to all of mankind. ia. Verses 13 and 14 indicate that Adam's sin was very unique. ja. While personal sins were not counted when there was no Law, people still died. ka. If Pelagius believes that Adam's sin is his own without any consequence to humanity, it destroys Paul's analogy between Adam and Christ (see v. 12 "just as" and v. 18 so then). la. Paul's illustration of justification by Christ is lost without the reference to the condemnation of humanity for the sin of Adam. ma. Although a great moral reformer, Pelgius was declared a heretic, and his views and

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teachings were condemned; he and his followers were excommunicated. d.

Semi-pelagianism. i). The term semi-pelagian first appeared in Melanchthon's Formula of Concord (1577). aa. It refers to a doctrine that followed the excommunication of Pelagius. ba. The rejection of Pelagius did not mean the total acceptance of Augustine's views. ca. Augustine's view of Imputed Sin meant that salvation could not be earned, and no one could be saved without the special gift of Divine grace. da. Semi-pelagians felt that this was wrong, because it destroyed the freedom of man's will and responsibility; they believed man had some role in salvation, and that his unaided will performed the initial act of faith. ii). How semi-pelagians read Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. aa. Imputed Sin does not exist. Man is not legally responsible for Adam's sin. ba. Adam was not completely corrupted with the commission of his sin. ca. Because all things created by God are good, human nature is neither good nor bad, nor dead to sin, but merely sick. da. He was depraved physically and mentally, but not volitionally. ea. Evil can exist temporarily like a parasitic element inside of man.

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fa. Thus, Adam did not have a truly sinful human nature but rather, a moral weakness and inclination for evil, and this pollution is passed from father to son. ga. Man has the ability to counteract the effect of this inherited depravity and cooperate with the Spirit of God in regeneration. ha. If some are not born again, it must be due to the failure of the human will to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. iii). Problems with semi-pelagianismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation of Romans 5:12. aa. The semi-Pelagians' view of death is only physical; it does not explain the spiritual death seen with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence. ba. The Greek verb tense of all sinned, is unmistakably clear: there was one singular event of one sin that took place and was attributed to all. ca. The design of the verb is incompatible with any plural or reference to the personal sins of men. da. Verses 13 and 14 substantiates the statement of verse 12, and do not prove that all men personally sin but exactly the opposite. ea. In the analogy between Adam and Christ, 1) Adam and Christ are direct causes of sin and redemption, and 2) spiritual death (the separation of man from God) is contrasted with redemption (the reunion of man with God). fa.

If thesSemi-pelegian view is accepted, the analogy breaks down since man, not Adam, is emphasized as being responsible for his

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own sin, and physical death (the separation of body and soul) is emphasized as the contrast to redemption. iv). The debates about sin and grace were heated. Proponents included John Cassian ((ca. A.D. 360 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A.D. 435), Hilary of Arles (c. A.D. 403 - c. A.D. 449), Vincent of Lerins (born unknown and died c. A.D. 445), and Faustus of Riez (born between A.D. 405 and 410 and died between A.D. 490 and 495). aa. Augustine argued against semipelagianism until his death with his work Grace and Free Will and Rebuke and Grace. ba. The debates continued well after Augustine's death. v). While the Eastern Orthodox Church accepted it, the Roman Catholic Church condemned the movement in the Council of Orange and Valence (529). vi). Semi-pelagianism eventually died out; however, the priority of the human will over the grace of God in the initial work of salvation continues to this day. e.

Dutch Legal Theology (also known as Covenant Theology, Covenantalism, Federal Theology or Federalism) of the 17th century from out of which spawned international law. i). This theory, also called the Theory of Condemnation by Covenant and the Immediate Imputation Theory, originated with Johannes Cocceius (1603-1669), professor at Leyden, and more fully elaborated by Turrentin (1623-1687). aa. This view holds that God made Adam the representative of the human race and because he was our legally constituted representative, his sin was legally imputed to us.

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ba. The Federal View is considered immediate imputation, because Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sin is immediately the basis for the condemnation of mankind and which results in a corrupt nature that is eventually passed down. ca. In contrast, the Arminian View considers Adam's sin as the basis for a corrupt nature and which results in condemnation; the imputation of sin is mediate. ii). How the Dutch Legal Theology or Federal View reads Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. aa. This view considers the whole scope of the passage and attempts to reflect Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logic and analogy. ba. All are spiritually and physically dead because of one sin. ca. All are spiritually and physically dead because one sinned. da. With imputed sin, the analogy of Adam and Jesus is consistent and most easily understood. iii). Problems with Dutch Legal Theological interpretation of Romans 5:12. aa. There is no biblical evidence that Adam was authorized by mankind to be its representative or to make a covenant agreeing to any conditions. ba. What does this say about Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s justice? ca. If God created all things that are good, how can man be created in a depraved state already a sinner?

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da. This would mean that God is the author of sin. ea. The analogy of Adam and Jesus Christ illustrate the biblical principle of imputation. fa. Angels who sin have no such representative in salvation. ga. While the doctrine of Imputed Sin may be hard to reconcile with its implications of being born with sin, one must consider the possibility that it may be a consequence of just judgment. iv). The American representative of this view was Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 19, 1878, Princeton, New Jersey) of Princeton Theological Seminary. v). Description of Dutch Legal Theology. aa. The transmission of sin was an Immediate Imputation from Adam to all people. ba. Mankind is not physically connected to the first Adam. ca. The standard description of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind in all of history, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the covenants of redemption, of works, and of grace. da. These three covenants are called theological because they are not explicitly presented as such in the Bible but are thought to be theologically implicit, describing and summarizing the wealth of Scriptural data.

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ea. Within historical Reformed Christian systems of thought, covenant theology is not merely treated as a point of doctrine, neither is it treated as a central dogma, but rather, Covenant Theology is viewed as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself. vi). As a framework for biblical interpretation, covenant theology stands in contrast to dispensationalism in regard to the relationship between the Old Covenant with national Israel and the New Covenant in Christ's blood. aa. That such a framework exists appears to be, at least, feasible since, from the earliest time of the Church, the Jewish Bible has been known as the Old Testament (or Covenant) in contrast to the Christian addition which has been known as the New Testament (or Covenant). ba. Regarding the theological status of modern day Jewish people, covenant theology is often referred to as supersessionism, or replacement theology by its detractors, due to the perception that it teaches that God has abandoned the promises made to the Jews and has replaced the Jews with Christians as his chosen people in the earth. ca. Covenant theologians deny that God has abandoned his promises to Israel, but see the fulfillment of the promises to Israel in the person and the work of the Messiah, da. Jesus of Nazareth established the church in organic continuity with Israel, not a separate replacement entity. vii). Covenant theology is a prominent feature in Protestant theology, especially in churches holding a Calvinist view of theology such as the Reformed churches and Presbyterian churches, Reformed Baptist churches, and, in different forms, some Methodist churches.

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viii). The problem with this Covenant Theory of Original Sin, as is the problem of the Augustan Theory of Seminal Prorogation, is it tries to explain how original sin is transmitted but the Biblical materials give no help at this point. v. The New School Theory of the transmission of original sin. a.

Jacob Arminius (October 10, 1560 – October 19, 1609) and Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) are representatives of the New School Theory of Original Sin.

How Arminius and Finney read Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. i). The clause in Romans 5:12, because all sinned, means that all people suffer the consequences of Adam’s sin only when personally consenting to their evil inclinations and committing a sinful act. ii). Man is only liable for sins committed personally, consciously, and volitionally. iii). Arminius and Finney did not believe in Imputed Sin. aa. Man inherits the tendency to commit evil, but this corrupt nature is not sin and thus is not charged to one’s account. ba. Because of his corrupt nature, man does not have the ability to attain righteousness; however, the corruption passed down from Adam is only physical and intellectual and not volitional. ca. Thus man has the will to initiate and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in achieving justification.

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iv). All in all, Arminius and Finney believed a person inherited a tendency toward sin (bent to sinning), which was phrased Uncondemnable Vitrosity. c.

Problems with the New School Theory interpretation of Romans 5:12. i). The Greek aorist tense (form of the verb) of ημαρτον, with its object, is simply all sinned." ii). It is one event in the past tense: all sinned through one man. iii). Because of this, there is no reference to sins subsequent to Adam. iv). Within the context of Romans 5:12, ημαρτον cannot refer to the personal sins of men. v). Paul's argument and logic was to first establish that Adam's sin, not our own, was the cause of death. vi). Within the context of Romans 5:12-19, it is stated no less than five times that only one sin caused death to all of mankind. aa. The Arminian view of death is only physical; it does not explain the spiritual death seen with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from God’s presence. ba. It is inconsistent with the parallelism drawn between Adam and Christ in the passage for many reasons among them: if we are condemned by inherent corruption, are we justified by inherent righteousness? vii). At the Synod of Dort in 1619, the five articles of Remonstrance was rejected and condemned. But this theological view did not end and continues perhaps as the most popular view in Christianity today. aa. Also known as the Theory of Condemnation for Depravity, the Mediate

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Imputation View was developed by Josua Placeus (1596-1655). ba. Placeus originally denied all imputation of Adam’s guilt. ca. But when facing condemnation and censure by the Synod of the French Reformed Church in 1644, he altered his view. da. Placeus could not accept the Federal view that man was immediately imputed for Adam’s sin at the moment of birth. ea. He held that no one was guilty of Adam’s sin; rather, it was the corrupt human nature that was inherited. fa. Therefore, because man is depraved by human nature, exhibits the same disobedient attitude, and commits the same sinful acts as Adam, God is just in punishing man. ga. This became known as the "mediate and subsequent" imputation of sin. ha. Many theologians at the time felt that Placeus’ distinction was an overrefinement that was unnecessary and explained nothing; it was Arminianism in disguise. d.

John Wesley (28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 – 2 March 1791) and later followers of Arminius, known as Armenians, would further develop this view with the following explanation: i). God creates the soul perfect and not depraved. ii). The new physical body is corrupt from the inheritance of Adam’s sin. iii). When the body and soul is joined, the soul is corrupted.

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B). Theological reconstruction of original sin. i. The Biblical Materials affirm that all mankind is related theologically through sin; that is, the first person, Adam, sinned and that all people who came after him have also sinned. a.

It is a theological necessity to affirm this view above if one believes all mankind needs salvation.

With the principle of original sin, God deals with men, not only as individuals but also, as a community.

ii. The Christian Community throughout the centuries has striven to explain how it is that all persons are sinful and that all persons need redemption. a.

As the Church has added more and more explanations of any one theory to explain how all people are sinners and how all people require salvation, the less satisfying has it become.

However, the task has been set forth before the Church by Christ to make willing learners (Matt. 28:19) of all people through redemption in Him by faith.

Therefore, we define original sin to be the necessary theological construct for affirming all persons have sinned and all persons require salvation.

iii. The pastoral problem with original sin arises from out of the point in which infants and children die, and the Christian Community has handled this problem in one of four ways. a.

By baptizing the infant.

By indicating God has already predetermined the status of the infant or the child and that no ritual would have helped to save the kid.

By indicating the infant or child is not responsible for original sin until a predetermined age of responsibility.

By affirming infants and children may be described with being sinful but not with being a sinner.

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i). Three things to remember with what makes a child to be a sinner. aa. The child or infant is sinful or predisposed to sinning by being born into a fallen world. ba. By being born into a fallen world, the child will continually be attacked by the Evil One. ca. After a while with being attacked by the devil, the child reaches a point in his growth and maturity wherewith the grown up child will make a deliberate and willful choice to exercise the flesh by rebelling against God. da. When the grown up child or infant makes this willful choice to rebel against God, the child becomes a sinner. ii). Until the time in which the child or infant deliberately makes the willful choice to exercise the flesh and become a sinner, the infant is under the corporate personality of the protection from sin by Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grace. aa. This is affirmed by the Biblical principle of corporate personality. ba. This is also affirmed by the rituals of Israel with assuming individual responsibility during the procedural of bar mitzvah. V The practical workings of the Whole Man or Person in Christ. 1. The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:7-14, demonstrates that choosing Christ for His own beauty and worth is the most beautiful and fruitful experience with which the believer can have and is the first step into growth toward being a Whole Man or Person in Christ. 2. The Pleroma - The Realm of Fullness, Completion and Perfection. A. Christ, the One Body, the Perfect Man, is the bodily representation of a perfected universe.

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1).

In Him dwells all the “fullness”… bodily, Colossians 2:9, Ephesians 1:23, Ephesians 2:16, Ephesians 4:4.

2).

And yet, all creation is groaning, waiting to be made whole - What does this mean? Romans 8:22.

B. What does it mean to be incomplete, lacking, wanting, and partial? 1).

For the purpose of this illustration, we speak as mere men, Romans 6:19, 1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:11.

2).

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” the Old Natural Man, unaware of the One Body and the One God and Father of All, perceives the universe as divided and subdivided into incomplete black and white dichotomies (Eph. 4:18).

C. All the individual blocks of the universe are perceived as partitioned or segregated one from the other. 1).

Even the atom, once thought to be indivisible, was later described as a positive proton and negative electrons.

2).

In this worldview, observation is understood in dichotomies, light and dark, male and female, upper and lower, inner and outer.

3).

The building blocks are divided into two, separated one from the other, into distinct and unique realms.

4).

By subdividing reality, through the limited perception of his darkened mind, he separates himself even from the divine.

5).

This natural man isolates and focuses on one half of this divided reality Heaven and earth become estranged one from another, Galatians 3:28.

D. For this reason, everything in man’s reality seems lacking or incomplete. 1).

This dual reality is not viewed holistically, but is separation and division.

2).

In this realm of alienation pain, suffering, and death becomes the common experience.

3).

Everything created, built or given birth is seemingly lacking, incomplete and immature.

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4).

In this divided false reality everything is constructed with imperfect and deficient building blocks, Thomas 72.

E. If we were to build a house made of bricks that were half missing, or whose internal structure was removed, then the house would not be strong. 1).

With a renewed mind, make the two into one; the inner must be joined to the outer.

2).

The above must be united with the below; the head with the body; the foundation with the structure; the root with the branches, John 15:5, Ephesians 2:20, Thomas 22.

F. Christ is the vine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we are the branches. 1).

If every building block was a piece of fruit, and if we were filling a fruit basket, then we would be using pieces of fruit that have been cut in half, bottom from top.

2).

The fruit basket would not turn out complete. Neither would it be becoming. for "if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness... but ... if one is whole, one will be filled with light," Thomas 61, Ephesians 5:8.

3).

When one becomes a member of the Family of God by his acceptance of Christ by faith, he is grafted as a branch into the living vine of Christ and His moral character.

4).

Without the vine, the Christian cannot produce the moral character of Christ within his own life and thus, the branch and the vine are required by one another for sustenance and become one life. A). It's amazing how many people who claim to be Christians have other vines in their lives from which they seek their resources. B). "How many things do I attach myself to for my wellbeing? i. Some people think their vine is their bank account, education, sexual relationships, popularity, skills, connections, possessions, or social relationships. Some people even think the church is their vine. ii. They attach themselves to a system of religion, but their vine should be Jesus Christ, not the church. a.

Merely attending a church is not necessarily evidence of a vine- branch relationship. In fact, it can be a parasitic

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relationship--sometimes people are like parasites because they attend church only for what it will do for them. b.

You as a branch must grow with Christ as your vine. Not even a Bible-study group or a church can be a substitute for Jesus Christ as your sustenance for living.

G. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest,... and Christ shall give thee light, Ephesians 5:14, Ephesians 2:5. 1).

Whatever makes manifest or renders apparent, is light.

2).

Such manifestation is the nature and function of light. A). These clandestine sins, when reproved, are disclosed by the light so cast upon them, for it belongs to light to make such disclosures. B). The apostle urges his readers to reprove such sins, which, though done in secret, will and must be exposed; yea, all of them being reproved, are shone upon by the light—that light which radiates from Christianity. C). And this power of unveiling in Christianity is properly called “light,” for whatever causes such things to disclose themselves is of the essence of light. D). Such is a natural and simple view of the verse.

3. An illustration of the practical workings of the Whole Man in Christ. A. Man is a deep-mind that operates in his central-self and becomes emotionally and rationally involved through his unconscious mind and conscious mind that flows from within and in his body and out into the world. B. Man is a tension filled unity of good and evil but he must rely on sources that are not of his own making in order for him to be complete in life. C. The external sources that help into sustaining man in life has be grounded in a value system that is larger than creation and the basis on which all creation works and operates and has the power to reach inside of man and bring out all the potential that resides within. D. God’s moral character is the hope and glory for bringing mankind into his greatest and only fulfillment.

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E. Psychology and Psychiatry can learn much from the Christian view of how God inwrought Christian character within man. F. The Biblical view of the various body parts of man are theological in context and meaning and offers the psychological, anthropological and sociological view of man that best fits reality and the Biblical disciplines of all three of these viewpoints of man are vitally needed into todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern world.

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4. The Wholeness of Man is found in the value system of the moral character of God that works its way from the exterior reality of God in which it exists and into the interior of man through the deep-mind that functions through the central-self to the unconscious mind and conscious mind and outwardly through the body into the world. A. No other way can be made for the infusing of the divine moral nature into the believer and he who chooses any other way other than what God has laid out in His Son, brings destruction upon himself. B. He who lives in harmony with the moral character of God in his inner being will bring the abundance of living into his life. C. The Value System of the Moral Character of God (Biblical equivalent, “nature”, “righteousness”, “goodness”, “mercy”, and a whole host of other words and phrases).

1).

The basic values of each Person of the Godhead is unconditional love, unconditional forgiveness, unconditional acceptance, utter-self-giving, other-centeredness, fidelity to each Person’s self and moral nature in all things that each one does in life, servanthood and love-wrath. A). When you have these eight basic and fundamental aspects of moral character in the One Person of the Godhead and are eternally flowing out from within the One to the Other Two Persons of the Godhead, then you have the basis for God to be dynamic and not static.

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i. We know from that the talents and gifts of one person can affect others in an unimaginable number of ways. ii. However, when you take the gifts and talents of one person and join and multiply them with the gifts and talents of two or more additional people, unending possibilities appear that can never be exhausted. B). When the unique and inner moral character of the One Person of the Godhead enters into the unique and non-duplicated moral nature of the Other Two Persons of the Godhead, you have a dynamic within the Godhead that cannot be defeated by any other power in Heaven and upon earth and cannot be exhausted for eternity. 2).

When the uniqueness of love within one person joins in union with the uniqueness of love within another person, then love becomes creative, unending, and unique from generation to generation.

3).

The heart of the Trinity is the sharing of the moral nature of the One with the Others in an unending life and with which God desires to share with all men who believe in Him through His Son.

D. The Deep-mind (Biblical equivalent, â&#x20AC;&#x153;heartâ&#x20AC;?).

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1).

The deep-mind is capable of infinite possibilities because it is the storehouse of all sorts of infinite values, both good and evil. A). When the deep-mind of the believer is filled with the values of the moral character of God, his journey into the Whole Man in Christ begins. B). The deep-mind must have a value system of unlimited possibilities to act as the fire to enthrall it into bringing the central-self under its control.

2).

However, the deep-mind does not act alone but is dependent upon the central-self to awaken the believer into his growth toward Godlikeness.

3).

The deep-mind is the Biblical equivalent to the heart in which all values reside. A). The deep-mind is a great reservoir and storehouse of values and qualities that cause men to reach for the unreachable in knowledge and truth that only comes from God. B). Without the deep-mind in man, there would be no motivation within to strive for and accomplish the great achievements with which man has made during the entire generations of his time on earth.

E. The Central-self (Biblical equivalent, â&#x20AC;&#x153;soulâ&#x20AC;?).

1).

The central-self is made in the image of God, is value pursuing, and is centered in the values of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral character that is in reserve of and comes from the deep-mind. A). The deep-mind, central-self, the conscious and unconscious minds and the body are so unified that the individual is all of these at once.

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i. When all of these dimensions of man function according to each oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own particular uniqueness, each one blends into a harmony of unity and true wholeness. ii. When growth towards wholeness occurs, there is an increasing ability to be motivated from the total harmony and unity of these dimensions that make a man to be truly masculine and a woman to be truly feminine. iii. This sort of wholeness of life provides great potentials in man, which surpasses imagination and creates unity in life. a.

Nowhere is this idea more apparent than when it is in Christian community.

When whole people are in realistic union with each other, as is exemplified in the Christian community, wealth in all areas of life becomes boundless.

Therefore, wholeness awakens motivation, self-discipline, and sustained energy to pursue worthy goals.

iv. As the vision of wholeness increases, the realization of the difficulty of achieving wholeness grows. a.

Wholeness is not some sudden leap into an unrealistic perfectionism but rather it is a deliberate and rigorous growth process.`

The first stage of growth into wholeness will most likely not be in some spectacular demonstration of powers, abilities, or willpower but rather it will be in a great vision of Christ who is the source of wholeness and provides direction in life.

Progression into wholeness comes from proper growing conditions whereby Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral character begins to blossom from within individuals.

v. Inner growth finds expression in the central-self (i.e., the soul or essence of a person wherein Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image is present and abides). a.

Within the central-self of a whole person, the deep-mind, mind (unconscious and conscious), and body have a

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deeper longing for the living Christ to be the supreme value above all else. b.

It is within the central-self wherein Christ’s mission is gladly adopted by the believer to be his very own mission in life.

B). Physical, mental and spiritual potential lies within the wholeness of persons and often is not suspected by them. i. If this potential within the believer can somehow be awakened, then the sources of life would rise like a river of water bubbling and welling up from inside (Jn. 4:14; 7:37-38). ii. When such an awakening occurs, you can expect a surge in motivation from within and empowered by the vision of the moral character of God in Christ. C). The central-self is the place wherein the Holy Spirit indwells deeply in the soul and essence of the believer to help him with the desire toward wholeness (Philippians 2:13). i. Love which starts and dwells deep within the deep-mind creates a superior quality of motivation in the central-self, causing the deep fountain of God’s love to be released in the unconscious mind and conscious mind and out through the body. ii. This type of motivation is not the result of self-effort or strong willpower but comes from within the deep-mind to the centralself and creates a product from the reservoir of power from God who lives in each believer. D). The central-self is value pursuing in its essence and the richest fulfillment comes to one who centers his life on the highest values with which he can know. i. The highest value with which the Christian can imagine is Christ and what God is doing in Him. ii. The central-self sorts through the values that are in reserve within the deep-mind and determines what is relevant to the person’s needs at the time with which these values are necessitated in one’s unique situations in life.

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iii. When the central-self chooses Christ for His sheer worth and beauty from his deep-mind, regardless of any rewards or punishments that may come from making this choice, the unconscious and conscious minds of man will find the emotional and logical motivation to pursue Godlikeness and the moral character of Jesus Christ.

2).

The pursuit of this character in Christ requires passion from within the deep-mind and central-self to make it into being a reality and bringing it into completion.

Only through a careful and prayerful examination of the concept of the Whole Man or Person can one have rational guidance to pursue Godlikeness at all cost.

The worth and beauty of the whole self stands in stark contrast to the weakness and inefficiency of a divided self. A). Understanding how sin divides a person may help one with making clear for the need of wholeness in his life. i. The sin-marred self finds that its will and imagination are very often enemies with one another rather than being allies to each other, making the sin-marred individual to be divided. a.

For instance, the will may select some worthy goals but the imagination can be captivated by a different goal. i). In the ensuing struggle, the imagination will often win over the will. ii). However, when the will and imagination are balanced by the will in allowing the imagination to lead it, the result is wholeness within an individual.

Another example of the divided self is found in the mind of man. i). There are two aspects of the mind, one being the emotional self (unconscious mind) and the other being the logical and rational self (conscious mind). ii). The rational self of the mind (conscious mind) is suited to examine sense data, make rational deductions, and use experience to gain knowledge

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of the truth about reality, while the emotional self of the mind (unconscious mind) stirs up excitement or apathy about knowledge, truth, values and pursuits of life in man. iii). However, these actions of the rational or logical self of the mind and emotional self of the mind are not always carried out properly. aa. The rational mind often interprets data and experiences by preconceived notions of life and a weakened or false faith in a defective premise that is used to interpret data and experience rather than interpreting data and experience through objective truth. ba. If the unconscious mind or emotional self does not get excited over what the rational mind determines to be true and valid, the rational mind will falter and lose interest in knowledge. ca. Added to this scenario - if the deep-mind and central-self cannot elicit a fire to the unconscious mind or emotional self about the values that both have come to accept, the rational mind and body will slip into apathy and sloth. da. This is evidenced by the fact that two minds may take the same data and come to contrary conclusions concerning that data. iv). Likewise, the will is strangely powerless over the mind, for you cannot will your mind to search for the whole truth as its objective and find much effectiveness in the process. aa. The mind has the ability to deceive itself and rationalize away faults and weaknesses. ba. The mind has the ability to falsify data and experience and force the will to act upon it.

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ii. In spite of the mind with being divided, it has a quality of attentive self-consciousness in which the mind can know, appreciate, and desire for the need to be whole and in unity with all other dimensions of man. B). The divided self is the result of sin and not sins and the cure is to kill the tap-root of sin, rendering the fruits of sin to be null and void in the believer’s life. F. The Unconscious Mind (Biblical equivalent, “stomach”) and the Conscious Mind (Biblical equivalent, “mind” or “head”).

1).

With regard to the wholeness of the mind of man, the conscious mind (i.e., the rational or logical self) and the unconscious mind (i.e., the emotional self) must be in harmony with each other in order to motivate man to act upon the values that are in the deep-mind and flow to the central-self. A). When the central-self reaches into the reservoir of the deep-mind and finds those God-like values that are needed for the particular situation of the believer, the central-self triggers the unconscious mind to get emotionally excited about the value system that it has chosen. B). When the unconscious mind becomes emotionally excited about the Godlike values of the deep-mind and central self, the emotions of the unconscious mind awakens the conscious mind to use all forms of logic and reason to determine if the value system is worthy to pursue and to find all ways in which to utilize this value system in practical terms through the body and out into the world. C). It stands to reason that the unconscious mind and conscious mind of a person can only accept the supreme value of Godlikeness if the deep-mind and central-self have come to the conclusion that it is

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valid and true prior to the unconscious mind and conscious mind accepting it. i. The relation between the deep-mind, and central-self and the unconscious mind and the conscious mind may be similar to the relationship between the pilot of an ocean liner and the powerful engine that drives the ship. a.

The engine of the ship must be operating before the direction of the pilot will have much effect. i). The engine of the ship is like the harmonious relationship between the deep-mind and centralself. ii). The direction of the ship by the pilot is similar to the harmonious relationship between the unconscious mind and conscious mind.

When Christ and His moral character are accepted by and harmoniously blended in the deep-mind and central-self, then the symphonic union of the two will act like the engine of the ship that gives freedom to the pilot with which to steer the ship toward the destination that is determined beforehand.

ii. Once the engine of the ship (i.e., the deep-mind mind and central-self) is in operation, the pilot (i.e., the unconscious mind and conscious mind) can give direction to and steer the ship toward the proper and right direction for which it is destined. a.

Therefore, the same value system that reigns in the deepmind must also come to reign in the central-self before the unconscious mind and conscious mind have the power to direct a person toward growth and fulfillment.

To have the value system of the living Christ and His mission in the unconscious mind and conscious mind without a love for and acceptance of it in the deep-mind and central-self will lose all potency and life will dwindle into futility.

The unconscious mind and conscious mind cannot command the deep-mind and central-self to follow a value system that is not accepted by the deep-mind and

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central-self without serious and harmful effect on the whole man. iii. Therefore, there has to be a harmonious union between the deep-mind and central-self with the unconscious mind and conscious mind before a whole person come forth upon the scene and stage of men. G. The Physical Body (Biblical equivalent, “body” and sometimes but rarely “flesh”).

1).

Man has physical, mental and spiritual powers which are closely related and integrated into one living person.

2).

The following illustration below is not the Biblical view of man, though many Christians preach and teach it as if it was the Scriptures’ vision of mankind.

3).

Rather, the Scripture provides a view of man that is like the illustration below and in which the deep-mind, central-self, unconscious mind, conscious mind and physical body are bound, neatly fit and operate.

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A). This means that whatever affects one part of man will affect the whole man. i. We cannot be truly healthy in one area of our existence unless we are healthy in every area of our being. a.

A sick body tends to depress the mind and the human spirit.

Guilt can cause all sorts of physical disorders, while a merry heart does good like a medicine.

ii. There are many people in this world who are looking for real health and quality of life. a.

Surely the Church of the Living God has a message for them.

The Church can tell them that they cannot find optimum well-being and quality of life, while they ignore their spiritual health.

Their life of estrangement from God, their hostility to Him, and their burden of guilt affect their mental and physical health.

B). The principle of the vital interrelation of our threefold nature means that while we are in this world, we cannot realize perfect physical, mental or spiritual health. i. We cannot be perfect in one area unless we are perfect in every area. ii. However, we do have completeness already by faith in Jesus Christ (Col. 2:10). a.

In Christ we are already restored and glorified at Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right hand (i.e., justified, justification), and we wait for this perfect life to appear with Him (i.e., glorification) (Col. 3:2-4).

In the meantime, however, it is our privilege and responsibility to glorify God by living in harmony with all the laws of our physical, mental and spiritual natures (i.e., sanctification).

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4).

One thing is for sure: we will inevitably begin to practice in the here and now what we hope to be in the thereafter.

The body (Greek, soma) is the corporeal or physical aspect of a human being through which both divine and demonic actions and events occur. A). Christians have traditionally and correctly believed that the body will be resurrected at the end of the age. i. Rudolf Bultmann states the following: That soma [body] belongs inseparably, constitutively, to human existence is most clearly evident from the fact that Paul cannot conceive even of a future human existence after death, `when that which is perfect is come' as an existence without soma – in contrast to the view of those in Corinth who deny the resurrection (1 Cor. 15, especially vv. 35ff.). Man does not have a soma; he is a soma. [Bultmann, Rudolf (1953) (in German). Theologie des Neuen Testaments. Tübingen: Mohr. pp. 189–249. (English translation Theology of the New Testament 2 vols, London: SCM, 1952, 1955]. ii. In his letters to the Corinthian church the Apostle Paul tried to correct a type of super-spirituality which depreciated the human body; Paul contended that the body was God's temple which would be resurrected at the last day (1 Cor. 3:16,17; 6:18,19; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Cor. 15). iii. The early apologists for the Christian faith had to contend against the same Grecian influence of the Apostle Paul’s day by stoutly maintaining three fundamental things — that God created a material universe including the human body, that the incarnation was a bodily reality, and that there will be a resurrection of the body at the last day. B). An unbiblical super-spirituality which depreciates the body can be a real handicap in the Church's task of reaching those outside that are Her fold. i. The man in the street often feels that the Church's concern is not for his concrete corporeal existence.

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He thinks that Christians are preoccupied with the flight of the soul from the material world, and he feels that Christian theology is too unrelated to real life.

Where did cartoonists get the idea of depicting heaven as a ghost sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp?

How can a real man, who is a lover of his own flesh (Eph. 5:29)—which in itself is not sinful but is man's Godgiven nature — and who is a lover of the material world, find anything really winsome in a salvation like that?

He is often turned off by this talk about salvation of the soul as if such salvation meant some form of incorporeal existence which he cannot possibly appreciate—in fact, an existence which he must, as man, find quite repugnant (see 2 Cor. 5:3, 4).

ii. The problem is that the word salvation has become so truncated through the influence of Christian philosophy on Christian theology that the word seldom means to modern ears what it meant in Bible times. a.

It has come to mean (or at least sounds like) salvation of a part of man, i.e., that part that is called his soul.

It is true that the resurrection of the body is still confessed, but it is tacked onto salvation almost like an eschatological afterthought.

iii. A distorted anthropology distorts the healthy, down-to-earth realism of God's loving concern for the whole man. a.

It tends to the notion that God does not care, or at least cares very little, for the body or the whole man as a totality.

It is a dehumanizing view of man which fails to do justice to the biblical truth that it is the whole man whom God loves — man who in the totality of his existence eats and sleeps, works and plays, laughs and weeps; man who loves to see the light of the sun and dreads the darkness of the grave.

iv. When the Church presents anything less than a message of salvation of the whole man, when She fails in Her mission to

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speak to the whole man, She abdicates vital territory which is then completely taken over by secular philosophies. a.

Then She has to compete with false messiahs with one hand tied behind her back.

But the Church should be the bearer of the good news of the redemption and restoration of the total man.

v. A super-spirituality which depreciates the body also has a detrimental effect on believers within the Church. a.

If they think that salvation has little to do with man's corporeal existence but consists rather in a flight from that existence, this will distort their view of what it means to live the Christian life.

Some will tend to think that the essence of holiness consists in ascetic withdrawal from all the joys of concrete bodily existence. i). A sharp distinction is then made between doing secular work and the Lord's work. ii). Heaven seems near only in devotional exercises or when the emotions are stirred in religious meetings. iii). Spiritual euphoria is thought to be the atmosphere of heaven.

Or a concept of soul-salvation which is not a wholesalvation can lead people to think that since God is not very concerned with the body, neither should they be too concerned about how they treat the body. i). It is amazing how many Christians think that they display their spirituality by neglecting the body. ii). If they hasten a coronary by bad living habits, they think that this will be a good testimony of their dedication to the Lord's work.

vi. While no evangelical Christian today would espouse the heresy that immoral acts are not a hindrance to holiness, still the Grecian view of the human body is difficult to shake off.

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Many of us still treat the body with shameful indifference.

We make little effort to preserve our powers in the best possible condition. i). We invite great bodily debility by the indulgence of appetite and hurtful habits, and think that God is not concerned with how we regard the laws of life. ii). By intemperance our powers of body and mind are greatly impaired, yet we think this has little or nothing to do with progress in the divine life. iii). But so-called harmless indulgences of the flesh can enslave us and prove to be the greatest hindrance to soul sanctification.

We need to distinguish between this spurious Grecian sanctification and the New Testament sanctification of the whole man. i). This type of emphasis which concentrates on an immaterial soul salvation has brought a reaction — a radical swing by one section of the church toward the social gospel and a message of salvation which concentrates on improving man's lot in this world. ii). Either view — the salvation of the metaphysical soul-box to the exclusion of the body, or the salvation of the body without personal regeneration of the heart and the creation of a hope of the life hereafter — is a distortion of the biblical idea of salvation of the whole person, whom God wills to live in the totality of his existence in the enjoyment of all God's gifts in fellowship with God.

C). What is the body of man in the Bible? i. The body of man is that stamp on creation with which the intangible is made to be tangible.

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ii. It is the visible vessel for the imperceptible things of God to be housed. iii. It is divinity and humanity fused in the body of the man Jesus Christ. iv. It is God’s gift to man through which husband and wife share the truest union by being male and female, which reflects the image of God in physical and miniature form (Gen. 1:27 – in his likeness). v. It is the transfer from the undetectable things of heaven and the spiritual world into the body of man so that all the sons and daughters of men can physically see what has not been seen and known beforehand in order to bring glory to God. 5. Processes that are involved to achieve wholeness in Christ. A. The wholeness of Christian character within the believer is not ends in themselves but means to a greater end. 1).

The end goal is to be like Christ in His essential moral nature, and the heart of Christ’s moral character is servanthood, i.e., having the nature of a slave in which the believer puts the welfare of others to be above his own. A). Therefore, the achievement of wholeness in Christ involves the deepmind (heart) and central-self (soul) to be enthralled with Christ’s beauty and worth as a servant (Philippians 2:5-11). B). As the deep-mind and central-self totally embrace the servanthood of Christ as the highest value, the emotional self (unconscious mind) and the logical or reasonable self (conscious mind) will become awakened with excitement and wisdom to make the value of Christ’s servanthood to be the saint’s own possession and real in a sin-marred world through the body. C). When the deep-mind and central-self in union with the unconscious mind and conscious mind become attentive to God’s grace and Christ’s discipline to be a servant to God’s sin-marred world, the saint arises to the occasion to be a Whole Man in Christ. D). But do not forgot what has been said earlier with regard to the division that exists in the deep-mind and central-self with the unconscious mind and conscious mind whereby all are divided by sin

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i. The enthronement of the living Christ and His servanthood with being the supreme value in the deep-mind and central-self is sometimes beyond the power and control of the conscious mind if the unconscious mind does not create the emotional excitement for the conscious mind to become enthralled and enflamed with logic and wisdom to pursue Christ and His servanthood. ii. When one feels he is sliding from the goal of being God’s servant to the world due to the dullness of one’s emotional and logical self, he only has to focus on the sheer beauty of Jesus Christ as his hope and glory in being a servant.

2).

One cannot look upon the living Christ without being enthralled over the greatness of His life on creation and set one onto the right path of righteousness.

By focusing on the sheer worth and beauty of Christ regardless of what He does to empower you, you will be once again reminded of what God in Christ is doing in you and help navigate you back to being in possession of Christ’s moral nature of servanthood.

Therefore, you will want to be ready for the Spirit of God to fashion your whole self by turning your attention back to the sheer beauty of Christ regardless of rewards or punishment that may be brought on you, rendering any division of self to be of no consequences when you stir off the course of servanthood that is laid down for you by Christ.

Wholeness must be sought with one’s entire being. A). Pursuing wholeness is the most bitter and yet productive experience of the believer’s pilgrimage into Christlikeness. i. You may be led to the place where you will need to choose to renounce all that you have and possess. a.

To be brought to this kind of place is not easy but may require the power of the Spirit to give strength to make such a choice in life.

Perhaps only those who have been through this type of choice and experience may be the only ones to fully comprehend it.

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ii. The real challenge is not to simply be freed from the bondage of possessions and wealth but the real challenge is to be freed from the shackles of sin. a.

You will want to connect to the love of Christ and His mission of servanthood which ceaselessly motivates the believer from the apathetic to the excitement of living in a sin-marred world. i). It is not enough that the heart is swept clean, but it must also be indwelled by the living Christ. ii). A cleansed heart without the indwelling of Christ will turn out to be worse than before (Heb. 6). iii). Jesus Christ affirmed this state of a cleansed heart without His indwelling in Matthew 12:43-45 … the final condition of that man is worse than the first.

Real deliverance from sin does not exist in one’s acceptance of brokenness before God but only when he allows Christ to indwell his heart, making sin’s reentry to be impossible.

B). To be brought to the place where the living Christ indwells in your whole being is the most wonderful experience with which a person can have. i. The true fruit of authentic Christian morality and goodness comes from the inner reality of the indwelt Christ in the believer and not from some external standard to which one gives obedience or tries to conform. ii. It is only within Christ by which wholeness is fulfilled. B. With the understanding that there is a great need for wholeness within man, how should one go about with seeking it to be within his own life? 1).

One’s venture into being the Whole or Perfect Man in Christ should first start with exploring the meaning of wholeness from the Biblical perspective. A). In case you missed it, read pages 63 to this present page number of Section II: The Moral Character of God to explore the meaning of wholeness from Scriptural insights.

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B). A proper study of what it means to be whole from Biblical revelation is vitally essential before pursuing wholeness in Christ, for without knowledge of what it means to be whole is like a lamp that is incapable of producing light. C). For those who occasionally use a lamp for light, the lamp is no good and useless if the ingredients that make possible for the lamp to create light are broken, missing or not available. 2).

After studying what it means to be whole in Christ, one must start with the deep-mind and central-self coming to actually possessing the values of God that make one into being whole. A). The believer must take the theory of Wholeness in Christ from only being an ideal into being realism in the world. i. In other words, the Christian must turn theory and ideals into logical and useful practices in the world. ii. If oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practical actions do not match with his theory, then the theory needs to be examined to see if it is valid and true and then make adjustments to his theory, making sure that it matches with what has already been proven to be true and valid in reality. iii. Oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory needs to be grounded in truth and not in some pithy idealism that has no correspondence with what has already been proven to be true in the external world. B). We shift the value system from being centered in self-life to being centered in an other-centered life. i. This change of lifestyle is not easy but rather is radical and revolutionary. ii. This change in lifestyle is the open door to the integration of the self. C). Making Christ to be the top priority in your life is necessary in your growth toward wholeness in Christ. i. This kind of choice is in harmony with Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first command to love Him with a wholeness of heart, mind, soul, and strength (Ex. 20).

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ii. God’s purpose in being the top priority of all men’s lives is not from a selfish attitude in God but rather is born from out of God’s deepest desire for man’s own good in all situations. a.

Only the deep-mind and central-self in union with each other can make such a important decision because placing God to be first in one’s life is much more than righteous conduct and attitudes through the use of reason and emotion but rather is a value that is external of man and requires the powersof the deep-mind and central-self to make this value to one’s own possession.

Once implanted in and accepted by the deep-mind and central-self, the priority of God becomes a value that excites one’s emotional self (unconscious mind) enough to bring the rational self (conscious mind) to accept the value system of God’s priority in one’s life and thus one acts with excitement, wisdom and reason to express this value in the body and out to the world with practical applications in life.

When the value choice of making God to be the top priority in one’s life is completed in the deep-mind and central-self, one’s unconscious mind and conscious mind unite to bring man into a change toward Christian character and Godlikeness through a relationship with Christ on His terms. i). The terms of Christ are simple but harsh – Christ demands complete mastery over every area of one’s life, making it impossible to serve two masters, one master being self and the other master being God in Christ and His Spirit. ii). The conscious mind (logical or reasonable self) is not fitted for the dominant role in life with which the Greeks believed because it is incapable of disciplining all aspects of one’s life. aa. Man is value pursuing and not rational like Greek philosophy proclaims. ba. Therefore, what a man loves is more powerful than all the powers of reason combined.

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iii). However, the conscious mind is integral to a whole individual and capable of making reasonable assumptions about values that have been accepted by the deep-mind and central-self thus the logical self is able to make sound choices about the value system of the priority of God with being the center of one’s life. aa. Under this precept of the mind, one does not seek knowledge to aid in manipulating life in one’s favor but rather one seeks truth which will enable life to be lived in harmony with all reality. ba. When one’s search for knowledge is to live in harmony with all truth in a real world, the conscious mind is validated to be working as it was meant to be, enabling it to reach conclusions about right and wrong and know these conclusions are founded on truth and reality. 3).

When the central-self functions with depth from the deep-mind’s value system of Christian character in Christ, the unconscious mind and the conscious mind are awakened to use emotion and reason to validate the value system and show it to be the highest quality of life for which one is to live. A). The central-self and deep-mind working in unity with the unconscious mind and conscious mind are made effective when they all join to show that the priority of God in one’s life is the highest quality of life that is available for all men to know and experience and that there can be no other in its place. B). When the unconscious mind of emotions and the conscious mind of reason and wisdom unite with the passionate pursuit of God’s value system by the deep-mind and central-self, a new strength and potential arises from within the believer.

C. When the body is brought into harmony with the central-self, deep-mind, unconscious mind and conscious mind, the believer has come to the pinnacle of being made whole in Christ. 1).

The body becomes the capstone of wholeness because wholeness is only mental and incomplete if the body is not involved.

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2).

In reality, it appears the body acts for its own preservation and needs, but because the self is more than physical well-being, the body can be brought into harmony with the whole self of deep-mind, central-self, unconscious mind and conscious mind. A). As the whole self finds a new quality of life, which is its own reward, the body itself can rise to new levels of self-discipline and fulfillment. B). Therefore, when the body is involved in union with the whole self of a person, sexuality is transformed from being a product of selfish lust and greed to a beauty of community that is expressed in the physical union of husband and wife. C). The body, when united with the whole self, can be a great and tremendous aid in obtaining and fulfilling the death-life principle of dying to self but living for and in Christ, which finds rewards that exceed self-centered gratification. i. The expression of the death-life principle through the body and into the world lies in the inner morality that comes forth in one’s love that is shown to be much better than lust, - in one’s trust that proves to be a greater reward than does fighting for position and power – in one’s openness and honesty that are shown to be more pleasant than dishonesty, and in one’s regard for physical health that is validated to be wiser than indulgence in inordinate appetites. ii. From the death-life principle, a hierarchy of values is established and brings about richer fulfillment in which one’s imagination and memory can make tremendous contributions to the whole of life. a.

Memory can unite the past events and occasions in one’s life with the present and create lessons to be learned with what is right and wrong.

Conscience then gives way to the entire personality by eliciting one’s imagination to live in harmony with all that is good and true in reality.

Emotions are awaked to become healthy drives toward realistic goals.

Worldly values that allow the rise of inordinate lust and purely physical desires are lessened.

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i). Other-centered love then redeems sexuality from being physical and sensual to being self-giving. ii). Sexuality will take on a whole new meaning in light of making Christ to be the center of one’s life through the death-life principle.

3).

The energy of temper and anger becomes directed away from personal tendencies and toward righteous anger that goes against injustice wherever it is practiced.

Healthy fear will displace the panic type of fear.

It is appropriate to understand how the body can misdirect one’s energies and instincts due to sin and for being a divide self. A). The truth about human personality is one’s fears, feelings of insecurity and insignificance, and guilt and hostility can divert healthy impulses into lust of the body. i. In a counterpart to what makes the body resort to lust, the deep-mind and central-self aids in removing perversions of the body that enslave individuals when they both choose the highest value of life. ii. As values in the inner life of the deep-mind and central-self are cleansed by the love for Christ above all else indwelling within a person, healthy physical impulses become healed so that the body can accurately express itself. a.

The body is redeemed and can be recognized to a friend of the whole man rather than being his enemy.

As the body is redeemed, its expression enriches the whole being of man. i). The body’s expressions in laughter, humor, joy, and peace find their places in man. ii). Healthy grief and healthy suffering in the body also finds its proper role in man.

B). When the healthy body expresses values of the central-self and deepmind in union with the unconscious mind and conscious mind, there appears a truly glorious being whose wholeness is apparent.

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D. One of the most important steps into being a Whole Man or Person in Christ is to have knowledge of and possess a healthy self-image within. 1).

How people think of themselves will to a large degree determine how they will think of others, how they will think of God, how they will obtain and maintain all their relationships, and how they will make decisions. A). There is no area of life that will not be directly or indirectly affected by the way we view ourselves. B). However, there are two vastly different views on the subject of selfimage - there is the pop-psychological view and the Biblical view of self-image. i. The basic teaching in pop-psychology today is that people in general have a low self-image, self-esteem, self-worth, selflove, etc. a.

They do not think that they are very good (low selfimage), they do not love themselves (low self-love), they do not accept themselves to be the way they are (low selfworth), and they lack self-confidence, etc. (low selfesteem).

People behave poorly because they view themselves in this manner. i). If people could improve their self-image, then they would feel better about themselves and perform better in life. ii). Everyone, of course, has a bad self-image, there are however, varying degrees.

Also, since people do not want others to know how badly they perceive themselves, they tend to cover up their poor self-image with different methods: some with shyness â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so that people will not catch on to how bad they really are.

Others may show-off trying to prove that they are really okay.

ii. A Biblical affirmation is the power of the human mind to deceive itself is infinite.

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Negative self-images can arise from a variety of factors. i). A prominent factor, however, is in personality type. ii). Perfectionists, high achievers, and those with type A personalities seem to be prone to having negative self-images, while those who do habitual lying, stealing, murder, etc. have high esteem of themselves. aa. This is because perfectionists constantly set the standard for success high above a reasonable, attainable level, while those who habitually do evil and bad things feel they attain their goals easily through deception and treachery because they set standards in wrong doing that they know they can reach. ba. Thus, the perfectionists are constantly disappointed in this failure, while those of evil feel fulfilled because they reach their goals. ca. One study of two-hundred criminals revealed that not one of those criminals believed he was evil. da. Each criminal thought of himself as basically a good person even when planning a crime (The Washington Star, Aug. 15, 1976).

We need to pray Psalms 139:23, 24: Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way" often!

One of the Bibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major aims is to correct manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high view of himself; yet, it is now interpreted by Christian leaders to intend just the opposite. i). How can creatures that are constantly told (in the Word of God) that they think too highly of

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themselves be convinced that their problem is in fact low self-esteem? ii). Left to our own observations and imaginations such a thing is possible (Jer. 17:9, 10: The heart is more deceitful than all else. . ., but the Bible does not cater to our self-deception but seeks to correct it. d.

C.S. Lewis, writing before the self-esteem fad took off, made this interesting observation: i). The child who is patted on the back for doing a lesson well, the woman whose beauty is praised by her lover, the saved soul to whom Christ says, ‘well done,’ is pleased and ought to be. For here the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted (and rightly wanted) to please. The trouble begins when you pass from thinking, ‘I have pleased him; all is well,’ to thinking, ‘what a fine person I must be to have done it [C. S. Lewis, The Great Sin from Mere Christianity in The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics, (C. S. Lewis Pre., Ltd.: 2002), 106]. ii). If Lewis were to write such words today, would they be well received? I doubt it!

2).

According to the Scriptures, one of the foundational realities for possessing a healthy self-image is in an understanding and acceptance of one’s own personhood and gifts within the Church, the Family of God. A). The Church is the Family of God of a divinely inhabited race that is held together by an inner cohesion of the responsive heart in honest answer to Christ’s love rather than being held together by external pressures of fear, punishment and rewards. i. When the Church acts like a true family in unity with one another, this reality will make an unbelieving world realize that Christ came on a mission from God. ii. Each individual person of the Family of God is in unity with every other individual person whose single minded mission is a love for Christ that is above all else and serving His sin-marred

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world with the purpose of the cosmic unifying and redemption of all things in Heaven and upon earth. a.

The heart of koinonia (Greek for fellowship) in the great Family of God is in the unity of all believers with one another in the mission of Christ to unify of all things in Heaven and earth to God, who alone is its Redeemer, Lord and Savior.

A koinonia-fellowship grounded in the kind of value system that makes Christ to be Master of all things and offers a partnership with Him in unifying all things is a grand design that will awaken the believer be whole in Christ.

B). Therefore, if the believer can see himself in the great Family of God with the mission of the cosmic redemption and unity of all things in Heaven and upon earth, the grandness and scope of this mission should elicit the deep-mind and central-self to energize the emotional self and rational self of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind to find his place in it, which can never be exhausted and give purpose and meaning to his life, elevating his self-image. i. The self-image requires a greater purpose than can be mustered within any one person in order to keep it alive and fresh and excited about oneself, external living and love of self, others and God. a.

A person cannot pull himself up by his own bootstraps, which is the total opposite of the premise of pop psychology in dealing with low self-esteem, low selflove, low self-image, and low self-worth and says that man can pull himself up by his own bootstraps if he can make some mental adjustment in his mind of his human worth with being valuable. i). There must be an outside reference that is bigger than the person can imagine and is worthy to make him into being worthy by pulling him from out of the mire of his existence and into the light. ii). The mission of the Family of God provides that greatness and grandeur for which the self-image of man requires to keep it alive and filled with joy, happiness and vitality.

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Therefore, if you can see yourself as being a member of the Family of God in partnership with Christ to bring back all things to Him and allow God’s Spirit to continue structuring your self-image upon this mission-foundation, God will build His moral character in you, giving all the nutrients that are needed to keep one’s self-image alive with vitality and purpose for living.

ii. You cannot see yourself in the splendor of partnership with Christ and yet rest in complacency, be satisfied with your surface spirituality, prefer your own opinions to truth, be apathetic to the challenge of discipleship, or shun the selfdiscipleship of responsibility. a.

Rather, if you judge yourself in the light of the Family of God, adopt Christ’s mission to be in partnership with Him in the unifying of all things, and make God’s moral character to be the pattern for your own self-image, then you are ready to examine the startling questions that scare many Christians for fear of losing faith with answers they may not like or they fell will destroy their faith. i). For example, can we answer the question of whether or not our age has come dangerously near to missing authentic Christianity? aa. If your self-image is healthy and founded upon reality and truth, you will be able to face disturbing questions and not react blindly against anything that is a considered to be a threat. ba. However, if you self-image is low or damaged by not being founded upon demonstrable reality and truth, you will most likely avoid or dismiss seriously searching for the purposes of Christ. ii). Therefore, in justice to yourself, it is fitting to examine your own self-image.

A self-image that is founded on the moral character of Christ will cause you to put your own sense of blessedness and safety to be secondary in importance by adopting the higher priority of your participation in the

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Family of God and Her Mission for all individual members to be a partner with Christ through the miracle being Christlike in His moral nature. i). Part of Christ’s purposes includes making the sons and daughters of men into the image of His Son in His moral character in order to create each one into being the fit person that he or she was made to be so that each one becomes a responsible partner with the living Christ in remaking His sinmarred world. aa. These purposes of Christ for the sons and daughters of men mean one’s mission in life is to be made into a Whole Person or Man in Christ so that he is made into being strong enough to be involved in the whole world of men. ba. The elect are chosen and called to participate in the plan of salvation which God is working through Jesus Christ to save the world, to found and perfect His Kingdom, to glorify Himself in human history. [W. T. Conner, Christian Doctrine (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1937), 331]. ii). However, if you choose to separate yourself from the pain of the world, you will only be able to superficially treat the great questions that men ask but Christians are afraid to answer. iii). God’s people are commanded to be martyrdemonstrations (living witnesses) and therefore must be involved in the lives of the hurting world. 3).

If believers refuse to be adventurers with Christ and remain content with simple security and blessedness from God, then the true intent of the Gospel becomes twisted and aborted. A). This sense of security/blessedness seems to be what too many church people expect, which should illicit agonized repentance on the part of all God’s people.

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i. No bitter words that are known to man are capable of judging those church people who choose to rest in the security of God’s blessedness and reject the glory of servanthood, which is a desperate sin against God’s love. ii. When a believer makes God’s love and forgiveness to be an opportunity for selfish indulgence, an occasion for mediocrity and shoddy living, and worst of all, an atrophy in him that cannot love and forgive another, this is a believer who has come to degenerate God’s mission into being an self-indulgent figure who bestows a false and disingenuous blessedness upon him by securing his soul from Hell, while refusing by this believer to seek knowledge of and experience the majestic mission that God in Christ is offering to each member of the Church to be made into Christlikeness so that each one is fit enough to be involved in the great enterprise of the Father to bring all creation back to Him. a.

This kind of believer is truly lost and does not know it because God cannot command this type of believer to be part of His enterprise due to freedom of choice with which God has bestowed on all persons.

Rather than God commanding us to be part of His enterprise in the remaking of all things, it must be a deliberate choice by the believer, yet God gives all the material for the Christian to come to the knowledge of seeing and seeking this grand enterprise for its sheer beauty and worth, regardless of reward or punishment, making the believer to be without excuse for watering down the mission of the Gospels.

B). It appears there is a sad day in the Church for refusing to see God’s mission in Christ and seeking out mediocrity over truth and reality. C). When one’s self-image is founded in the Family of God and Her mission in the world, it becomes self-validating by expressing itself in human life and character. i. Part of having a healthy self-image lies in being teachable, which carries a beauty and promise of its own reward. a.

Jesus called some unworthy but nevertheless teachable people to be His disciples while passing by certain morally religious people who were not teachable.

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A teachable spirit is one who can learn truth from all sources that speak truth but especially from the Bible which is God’s dialogue with the human race of knowledge that can aid man in all areas of life of the secular and sacred and cannot be found anywhere else.

ii. To learn in being meek and lowly as is in Christ brings a life changing reality because the ability to subject one’s self voluntarily to his brothers and sisters in the Lord, yet maintain freedom and dignity is sheer beauty in itself. iii. God’s family does not lie to one another but turns away from deceit and pretense and seeks to speak the truth in love, which makes a deceiving world to see new and worthy values by being honest and forthright. iv. There is no place for parasitism in God’s Family for each person is impelled to be an involving and contributing member of the Family of God so that no one is content to bury his talents. v. The ability to freely give love and forgiveness to others marks God’s people with being a loving community who will involve themselves in truth and that shines as a light that is set upon a hill in a love-starved world. a.

These people of God’s Family know themselves to be sinners who are saved by grace and have learned the grace of receiving and giving love and forgiveness freely. i). They show a ray of hope to a sin-enslaved world because they understand the nature of sin and sinfulness. ii). They know that sinning is not fatal but blind persistence and proud arrogance are detrimental.

If the reality of forgiveness and love could be grown in a troubled world, a new day might dawn for many.

vi. The Family of God is a serving people in all things of human existence because Christ, who is the servant of all, lives over again in His people when they love, forgive and serve. E. Validating one as being created in the image of God is a major step toward being made into a Whole or Perfect Man in Christ.

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1).

All Christians are guided by the central truth that humanity is created in the image of God. A). This central truth fosters the realization within Christians who are scarred by sin of being beautiful by embracing the beauty of the image of God in them. i. One aspect of this beauty in the image of God within all humanity is in our complete dependence on God. ii. In Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he talked about Christ’s conviction that the moral character of God is capable of achieving true unity, the victory of goodness, and the reign of truth in spite of all hindrances of the sin-marred world (Acts 2:25-36). B). In being a sinner saved by grace, the saint is far from simply yielding to the slavery and bondage of sin but rather he is one who sees sin far more clearly than ever before and becomes its bitterest enemy. i. This clarity finds expression in your own willingness to acknowledge your sin to God and to fellow believers. a.

When the saints can confess their iniquities before their brethren, seek forgiveness and endeavor to make restitution, these believers know the truth of sin in their depths.

In the saint’s confession of sin before his brethren, he is publically rejecting sin and demonstrates sin is not fatal while demonstrating refusal to acknowledge its presence, to cover up his own irresponsible behavior in sin, and to refuse to seek forgiveness is fatal.

In a sinful and non-believing world, the ugliness of sin is very apparent but what compounds the factor of sin is the refusal of Christians to own up to their own sinfulness and make restitution whenever possible.

ii. Nevertheless, real beauty shows itself in the transparent though sin-marred lives of God’s people, which is a picture of the beauty of God’s image that is in every person and needs no supportive argument because it carries its own rewards.

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2).

A second quality of the beauty of God’s image that is in us lies in our attitude toward the sinful and the broken people of the world. A). As one of God’s children, you are not to be critical or judgmental in your opinion of people. i. This judgmental attitude is so commonly practiced in our world that those who do not join in this judgment of others stand out in the crowd. a.

Holding back of judgmental verdicts does not mean that Christians have no value system to judge right from wrong, but they realize sin is very deceitful and that proper and fair judgments require that we know all the facts of a situation.

Therefore, before you can make a judgment about someone, you want to be sure that you have as much of the total picture as is possible.

ii. The true image-of-God-attitude of the Christian is in the view with which the mature resists the proud and arrogant by seeking to diligently bring truth into all situations. a.

There is something beautiful in the believer who does not seek to show another his errors or try to correct his faults but rather listens and sympathizes with sin-marred individuals.

In such a ministry of sympathy, it is possible that individuals can come to see themselves better by seeking correction of wrongs and mistakes.

If a local congregation were to hold each other accountable in such a manner, they would be more effective in outreach and discipleship.

B). The image of God makes one to be aware that all people are part of the creation through whom God's plans and purposes are expressed and actualized best in humans and in this way can interact creatively with the rest of creation. 3).

A third quality of the beauty of God’s image in us is in that Christian who is able to speak the language of the defeated, empty, and broken people of the world.

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A). Saints, who have been saved by grace but are nevertheless sinmarred individuals, know the fact of sin from their enslavement by it and from their victory over it. i. Saints are the messengers of hope to a sin-marred world because of their own experiences with sin, making them to be able and fit to speak the language of the defeated. ii. In the fellowship of the saints, there will be many who can speak with authority concerning the whole gamut of sins that are found among the broken and defeated and show the way to true life and freedom from sinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bondage. iii. They demonstrate a new ability to sympathize with their erring brothers, offering acceptance and hope to the broken. B). Ideally, the Church is a family where the strong bear the burden of the weak, which offers hope when it appears, even in the face of disappointment. 4).

A facet of beauty in the image of God in us is confirmed by the ability of some to make and receive confession of sins. A). This action is a priestly function of the New Testament priesthood of believers. i. It is not easy for saints to be priest for one another but it is beautiful when it occurs. ii. All people need to confess their sins or else their guilt will destroy them. B). In the New Testament priesthood of believers, the saints are entrusted with this ministry to one another and the world (I. Peter 2:5, 9). i. These saints give evidence of having the humility and dignity to receive anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outpouring of guilt and repentance, and with calmness refuse to condemn and alienate. ii. Local congregations need mature saints who know how to make and receive confession.

5).

There is something beautiful and self-validating in the saint who confirms the reality and beauty of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image when he demonstrates love is much

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more than sentimental feeling by actually becoming involved with those who are broken and in need. A). Involvement means standing alongside and entering into one’s life, accepting both the good and bad that may come by being involved. B). You then participate in other’s lives with your own creativity and efforts as if the problem were your own. C). When love leads to involvement, the very sight of it, unadorned and realistic, causes all persons to know what real beauty is. 6).

It is impossible to list all the facets of beauty of the image of God but some additional qualities merit attention. A). Candor and openness of life carries its own credentials of worth in the Christian who strives for the quality of life that can be lived with candor. B). Capacity for righteous anger is necessary for a mature person; however, this quality is rare because anger is too often self-centered and therefore untrustworthy. C). Longing for and pursuit of Godlikeness supersedes even the noble desire for an acceptable morality. D). The ability to recognize and seek quality in sexuality is not only beautiful but is about the only power that can redeem the perversion of sexuality. E). Creative conflict and genuine dialogue are precious and priceless; conflict is inevitable but destructive conflict is devastating while creative conflict is redemptive. F). The ability to see money and possessions as tools and not a supreme end in itself is profoundly beautiful and redemptive. G). One’s zest and exuberance in living when he sees the magnitude of God’s plan to unite all things in Heaven and earth to Him validates itself wherever it appears. i. God calls upon His saints to possess their inheritance with courage and patience.

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ii. In all of this aspects of beauty, the prayer for courage toward high adventure binds all saints into a string of jewels to be displayed before the eyes of men. H). One inevitable result of perceiving the real beauty of imperfect saintsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; God-given-image is that they dare not call themselves to be Christians unless true fellowship with Christ is the goal of their lives. i. The test of true fellowship is expressed in the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:20: by their fruits, you will know them. ii. If those saints who call themselves to be disciples could see what God is doing in and through them in the living Christ, they would be richly and deeply motivated toward the character of Christ. 6. Constructing a moral pattern for life from Christian character. A. There is a tendency to construct a pattern of life by what may be termed Christian morality rather than constructing a real and actual Christian morality. 1).

In many instances, the effort toward Christian character is characterized more by what the Christian does not do than by what he should do.

2).

Many seem to emphasize external acts and conduct as the criteria of moral rightness. A). This viewpoint is incorrect. B). The whole issue of what makes Christian character is in the moral character of Jesus Christ and for the saint to be patterned after Him in His moral nature. i. This is the ideal morality for the Christian. ii. However, how does one go from the ideal to the actual infusion of the God-kind of moral nature in the believer?

B. In Christian character, the pattern is not in outward conduct, i.e., conduct that comes from living to some external standard of right and wrong, but rather is in the divine life internalized within the believer. 1).

Christian character is Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value system and His moral character adopted by and infused within the saints.

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2).

Life’s situations are always changing and thus, one must realize that there must be an inner core of moral character that enables one to meet these new and different situations with genuine freedom and creativity. A). This action toward changing life situations cannot be done by a stereotype of external conduct but by an adequate and permanent inner life that can find ways to meet new situations with competence. B). Therefore, Christian character does not arise in casuistry or casebased ethics, which seeks specific ethical prescriptions by drawing moral principles from Scripture. i. Casuistry or case-based reasoning, is a method in applied ethics and jurisprudence, often characterized as a critique of principle- or rule-based reasoning. ii. The word "casuistry" derives from the Latin casus (case) and is the bases of much dogmatic Christian ethics. iii. In casuistry, there seems to be no unifying core nor does Christian character grow out of dogmatism. a.

In dogmatic ethics, casuistry is reasoning used to resolve moral problems by applying theoretical rules to particular instances, and by extracting or extending theoretical rules from (novel) particular instances.

The term is also commonly used as a pejorative to criticize the use of clever but unsound reasoning (alleging implicitly the inconsistent— or outright specious— misapplication of rule to instance), especially in relation to moral questions (see sophistry).

C). Reality shows over and over again that character arises out of life and not rules and regulations that will stifle true ethics and morality. i. Christian character arises out of authentic divine life. ii. Growth produces a unique person who has the God-kind of righteousness and character within his own free, independent, and creative person. C. Character does not develop immediately or without error in peoples’ lives but matures as in a stalk that grows from a seed followed by the blade and finally develops into a full ear of corn (Mk. 4:28).

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1).

This growth does not come from human nature alone but from the power of God to recreate His life within human nature.

2).

The chief hindrance to the production of Christlike character is not the weakness, ineffectiveness or even sinfulness of human nature but is in manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stubborn sense of self-sufficiency.

3).

The beginnings of Christian character lie in a childlike-attitude, a teachable nature, and a responsive will. A). Repentance becomes a reality when self-sufficiency is abandoned. i. Christian character grows and a new quality of righteousness begins to flower when the consciousness of sin awakens in the Christianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. ii. Christian character develops when the true nature of sin that dwells within is confronted, creating real repentance for our brokenness. iii. The hold of the various sins on our lives progressively withers away when the depth of repentance settles in our deep-mind and central-self, awakening the unconscious mind and conscious mind to emotionally and logically create action in the body and out into the world. B). Many sins slow the maturing process in the lives of Christians. i. The great sins that Jesus specifically condemns are unproductiveness, unfruitfulness, ineffectiveness and indecision, which arise out of an unwillingness to be teachable and grow. ii. In the believerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pilgrimage into Christian character enough wisdom and knowledge are present. a.

The fruitage of Christian character is not in asceticism (denying pleasure), in hedonism (glorifying pleasure), nor in libertinism (perverting pleasure), but in redemptive love.

The pilgrimage finds its strength, security, and protection in God and Christian brethren, rather than in money security of food, shelter or clothing.

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C). Christian character eventually grows a distinctively different value system within the believer than society has created. i. This moral character is the foundation for a new community to be created by Jesus Christ, directed by the Father, and empowered by the Spirit. ii. Christian character becomes the embodiment of the principles of the Kingdom of God. iii. Christian character arouses enmity and hatred from the world systems whose hostility for God is turned upon the Church.

4).

Nevertheless, this transformation of character is Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of loving His world through His people.

Such character becomes truly revolutionary for it clearly reveals that the systems of the world are unreal and false.

Thus Christian character offers a genuine alternative to the perverted character encouraged by the world.

Believers, in an effort to create Christian moral character from within, must enter into the Kingdom of God, a present reality that is already in the world, and then become laborers together with God to up-build the Body of Christ. A). It is a fallacy to equate any church or denomination with the Kingdom of God. B). Churches are imperfect embodiments of the Kingdom but each one can grow toward maturity in Christian character. i. Maturity is not grown through self-righteousness or through withdrawal from the world which makes little or no concerted effort to reform institutions. ii. Rather, maturity is grown by individuals who experience their own personal spiritual reorientation toward being the embodiment of redemptive love that is involved in the world of the broken and despaired.

5).

In the context of the Christian Community, Christian character is the key to unity-in-diversity. A). Ephesians 4:1-16:

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I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called (vs. 1), With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love (vs. 2), Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (vs. 3). There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling (vs. 4); One Lord, one faith, one baptism (vs. 5), One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all (vs. 6). But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift (vs. 7). Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men” (vs. 8). Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth” (vs. 9)? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things (vs. 10). And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers (vs. 11), For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ (vs. 12); Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (vs. 13). As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming (vs. 14);

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But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ (vs. 15), From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (vs. 16). i. Ephesians 4:1-6 states Christian unity is to be preserved, i.e., unity is established in the Church because all saints have a love for Christ that is above all else. ii. Ephesians 4:7-11 speaks of unity-in-diversity within the Body of Christ, i.e., in the oneness of a love for Christ that supersedes all other loves, members have a diversity of gifts and talents that are given by God’s grace and are to be exercised as a priestly function in the Body of Christ and in the world – unity is in Christ and diversity is in gifts that are used diversely in the members’ love for Christ. iii. Ephesians 4:12-16 speaks of diversity of gifts leads to unity, i.e., within the diversity of gifts in the diversity of the various members of the Body of Christ, the one goal and purpose is to use these various gifts in partnership with Christ in the unifying and remaking the cosmos under His Lordship and Mastery. B). It is in koinonia-fellowship or spiritual oneness of the one Christian with the others that the gifts of the Spirit combine to make the kind of life that wells up like fountains of living waters from deep within the believers and flows out freely to all persons within the community of faith. i. Christian character expresses itself in singleness of purpose, freedom from self-seeking and greed and sacrifice of self and self-interest for truth, honor, justice righteousness, and integrity. ii. It also produces fulfillment for the great human drives of love, sex and health. iii. The single greatest contribution to the uplifting of the world from its tragedy and suffering lies in the intensity of the Christian’s pursuit of Christian character. a.

Upon the pledged word of Jesus Christ, God will not fail to transform you into Godlikeness.

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The important reality for you is that you pursue this character with intensity and passion.

Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20-21 must become your lifestyle of living by faith in the Son of God.

The issue is too great for one to substitute any lesser way.

VI The Presentation of Jesus Christ to the non-believing world – a preamble to presenting Christian character to an unloving and sin-marred world. 1. If Christ and His moral character are true and a valid concept upon which to build one’s life, one must seek to explain what is considered to be the essence of authentic Christianity. A. What does Christianity mean to God? B. What does Christianity mean to man and how is man’s version a perversion of God’s version? C. What is God trying to do in Christianity and how are believers to respond? D. Several insights into authentic Christianity arise from Scriptures. 1).

The creative acceptance of Christ’s call to make willing learners of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).

2).

Christ’s ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19).

3).

Christ is bringing all things into being under His sovereignty (1 Cor. 15:2728; Eph. 1:9-10, 22). A). The phrase, the all things into being under His sovereignty, means Christ is not only Lord of the universe but also is its Redeemer. i. The world may be in disorder, rebellion, and a moral and social chaos but Christ has the redeemed the world in order to rule over it. ii. God is calling out people for His own possession and service in order to achieve His rule, redemption, and righteousness on earth. B). This is cosmic redemption and means everything that has been created in Heaven and upon earth is being reconciled and unified

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back under the Lordship of Christ through God’s Family in Christ Jesus. E. Based on insights into the meaning of what Christianity means to God (i.e., to make willing learners, the ministry of reconciliation, to bring all things under His sovereignty), two choices in life are offered to men. 1).

Choice one is in those values that are created by men. A). The values that are offered by the world are not always evil in themselves, but when they become ends in themselves, men’s value systems pervert and dehumanize persons who really need truth, love and God in order to be fulfilled. B). Too many times have churches blurred the line between what Christianity means to man and what Christianity means to God. C). Christ’s call to discipleship is founded on God and brings about a new way of life as contrasted to the world’s inadequate values, which makes discipleship into being man-oriented rather than with being centered in Christ.

2).

Choice two is in those values that are founded on the moral character of God. A). Under God’s value system, believers are to journey into Christ and in union with Family of God on earth. B). There is a vibrant life and power in the Family of God that counters the strength and power of society.

2. Most presentations of the message of Gospel are founded on the values of men rather than in the values of the moral character of God. A. Many churches do not speak about the authentic version of Christianity that is powerful enough to confront today’s society. 1).

It is interesting that churches rarely focus on how many people have turned away from Christ and the Church because of the costliness of Christ’s requirements but rather focus on how many responded to the too often mild versions of Christianity.

2).

This mild version of the presentation of Jesus Christ and His relationship needs to be examined.

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B. A watered down and man-oriented-value system-presentation of the Gospel is likely to be close with something that you have said or heard before in what follows below: “There is an invisible part of you which lives on when your body dies. This unseen part is your soul and it will live in eternity in either heaven or hell. You have the decision to determine which of these two destinies it will be.” “Your hope for life in the eternity lies in the grace and death of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for your sins so that you may be free from guilt and the consequences of your sins.” “If you will acknowledge yourself to be a sinner, feel genuinely sorry for your sins, turn away from them with the best that you know how, put your trust in Jesus as your Savior, He will forgive you, take away your guilt and make you into being His own, direct your life, and protect you so that when you die, you will go to heaven and dwell in blessedness.” “You need to make this decision publically, be baptized in obedience to His commands, and seek to live as a disciple should live.” “In your act of faith this transaction will be made into a reality in your life.” 3. How does the Christian present Jesus Christ to the unbelieving and sin-marred world in words that speak of the heart of Jesus Christ and His moral nature? A. You must talk as if you are the living Christ and speak as if it is He Himself who is in verbal conversation with your audience. 1).

How would Jesus look upon the lost and how would he deal with them?

2).

The Scriptures give all that we need to create a presentation of the Gospel that does justice to who Christ is and what the Church is when She is in unity with His moral nature.

B. Too much has been spent unwisely by the Church with trying to save men’s souls and assuring them of God’s blessings without having to deal with sin and what it means to love Christ above all else. 4. Below is authentic Christianity’s way of how to present Christ to a non-believing world and is based upon Scriptural insights from Romans 12:1-2, which reads as follows: A. The Message translation of Romans 12:1-2.

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So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so welladjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 1).

To undertake a description of what Christianity really means to God may appear to be presumptuous, as such seems reserved only for those who are among the great and mighty in spiritual affairs. A). However, it must be apparent to the serious thinker that if anything life-changing is be done in the world, it is in the ordinary people who must do it. B). One truth that seems to be essential to what Christianity means to God is that all of God’s people are to be involved in a spontaneous and creative expression of the divine life.

2).

There is no institutionalized religious bureaucracy that can do for the saints with what only the saints are to and can do.

B. Below is the presentation of the Gospel from authentic Christianity and closely coincides with Romans 12:1-2: “I believe Jesus Christ is real though invisible to our eyes but nevertheless is real and here in our presence through the Holy Spirit who is among us.” “Jesus sees a beautiful person in you though you may not see it within yourself but He wishes to use my hands to gesture and my mouth to speak and here is what He desires for you to hear and know through me:” “I like you and see a beauty that abides in you and that could never hold a candle to all the starry skies that have ever been made by my Father who abides in Heaven.” “You are more precious to me than all the gold and expensive diamonds which have been discovered and refined by man.” “I know you better than what you could possible know of yourself because I created you.”

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“You have a beauty and inherent worth in you that have always been part of you since you first came into this world.” “You may not recognize this inherent worth that is in you but it is the superlative gift from my Father to you and is far greater of any achievement and wonder in you than when He created the universe from out of nothing.” “I have known you before you were born and my heart felt desire is to fashion you for greatness and on a greater scale than in the creation of the cosmos.” “I alone can do this for you if and only you are willing to relate with me on my terms and not of yours.” “My relationship with you is life and death because I demand your complete allegiance to me whereby you must die to self-life in order to gain the kind of life that comes to you from my Father through Me and by the Holy Spirit.” “I am not asking for an immediate response to my invitation but I am asking you to relate with me as a person.” “Though you may not understand me in the way with which I desire at this time, you do understand one thing and that is how to enter into a relationship with another person.” “I am a person and one in whom you can relate and trust without fail and you will discover that I am greater than all other persons with whom you have met and it is my desire and my Father’s will to have a relationship with you on a very deep and intimate level.” “The one thing with which I demand is for you to enter into a relationship with me on my terms and not of yours.” “Our relationship with each other will be the beginning stage for eternal growth from within you.” “When you do enter into a relationship with me, you will not understand all of who I am but one day you will come to understand me and with what I have purposed for you since before the foundation of the world.” “When you relate to me on my terms and not of your own, it will begin your journey with me to fashion you after the moral pattern and values of

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my Father-God and inaugurate your pilgrimage with me to being made and formed into Godlikeness.” “I am not asking you to repent of your sins at this point in your life because you may not understand all with which that means.” “I will open my life before you so that you can examine me to know and validate that I am real and speak the truth.” “I will give all the time in the world to you for a thorough examination of me to see if I am real.” “If you find that I am not real but a lie, you may go in your own way but I will never leave and stop loving you though you may reject me. “ “But after examining me and if you discover that I am real and speak truth and if you still choose to have a relationship with me, I demand one condition from you and without compromise; you must acknowledge, recognize and accept me to be your Lord and Master.” “I am not the kind of Master who will punish, reject, stop loving and flog you when you do wrong; but I am the kind of Master who will love and never leave you no matter what you may do that is displeasing to me.” “I am the kind of Master who will pick you up when you sin and fall and set you once again on the path of my righteous love.” “Where you go is where I go and nothing that could be done by you will ever drive away my presence and love for you.” “I will even go so far to allow you to abuse me without shrinking from my commitment into making you to be Godlike.” “When you sin, I will absorb your sins into myself and will continue to do so no matter if you quit responding to me.” “My Mastery and Lordship are easy burdens and not heavy laden, and in them, you will find rest and love; my love is like a refiner’s fire to burn away all that which hinders you from achieving the greatness in which I have always intended for you to possess and to be.” “My Lordship and Mastery seek to perfect you into fresh and endless possibilities through my divine Grace.”

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“I make this commitment to you: I will make you to be so perfect that one day I can present you before my Father who is perfect and abides in Heaven and you will not feel ashamed.” “One day in our walk together you will come to me and say, Master, I am tired of playing games and want to be made like you at the cost of my own life and want to understand the full meaning and purpose of my birth that was fashioned by you before the creation of the cosmos.” “When that day comes and it will, we will begin to make progress together.” “I pledge to take all circumstances of your past, present and future and all conditions into which you were born and fit and fashion them into being the great occasions for turning you into being the jewel of the universe that will one day be laid before my Father and be well-pleasing in His sight.” “I have an enterprise that my Father has purposed for all creation but has been fitted specifically for you with all the beauty and gifts that my Father has created in you by virtue of being born into this world.” “My Father’s enterprise is so great that my disciples and prophets of old could never exhaust its meaning through words alone; and I invite you to be a partner with me in this enterprise toward transforming and remaking the fabric of creation of all things in Heaven and upon earth after the unity and pattern of the moral character of my Father God who is in heaven” “The angels of Heaven have never seen this enterprise in the grandeur which has been fashioned by my Father for you and they will rejoice when you choose to join with me toward its accomplishment and completion.” “I alone can equip you into fulfilling your destiny in this great enterprise of my Father; and all the sufferings and pain in the carrying out of this glorious plan of the ages by you will never be in vain but will have reverberations throughout the cosmos.” “In you I will unite in fulfilling the enterprise of my Father and I pledge that you will achieve it in every way that my Father has created in you and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against you.” “I now will leave you and wait patiently for your answer to my invitation to you.” C. Once this presentation of the Gospel is made to the non-believer, you must leave it up to him/her if each person desires to proceed further because you believe Jesus

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Christ is a real but invisible person and will begin to exert Himself into the life of the person with whom you presented the Gospel. 1).

This presentation of Christ to the unbelieving world is the heart of authentic Christianity and expresses the poorly understood and too often unclaimed priesthood of believers in which each member of the Church is the laity and are servants to God’s world.

2).

An illustration of authentic Christianity’s presentation of the Gospel to the world over and against the man-centered presentation of the Gospel may be seen in the performance of a great symphony that is symbolized in the message of genuine Christianity. A). Step-by-step, the music builds until all the instruments unite in the beautiful dynamics of symphonic harmony. B). Then at the direction of the conductor, all instruments fall silent, and one hears the soft rising of the sound of the flute as it becomes the climax and completion of a thunderous orchestra. C). The true listener is stirred in his depth by the sound of the flute. i. This principle in the illustration of the symphony appears to be descriptive of one’s presentation of authentic Christianity to the world. ii. It is as if God has let loose all the thunderous music of the cosmos in the declaration of what Christianity means to God, and when the climax is reached, silence falls so that you can hear the lone voice of the flute as symbolized in the authentic presentation of the Gospel. iii. If authentic Christianity is to be reached, the Church must make a harmonic stand in the presentation of the Gospel to show what it means to live in Christlikeness.