“I am God and there is no other.”

     At a seniors’ luncheon, I recently met a lovely old gentleman—he was friendly, he was gracious, he was interested in life, he was happy to talk about his experiences and, as we parted, he had the five of us hold hands as he prayed at the table. Then I asked him where he worshipped and he said he was “a fringe Christadelphian.” How disappointed I was! He said he didn’t believe in the Trinity, and the beginning of Jesus’ existence was only at Bethlehem. In fact, he had written a book defending his (dis)belief. In spite of this he still seemed to have complete faith in Jesus as his Saviour. Without critiquing his book item by item, I want to re-examine the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. Other excellent discussions are presented in the Precious Seed 2011 Supplement Behold your God, and in Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine.

 “Deity” and “Trinity” in Scripture

     The word “trinity” never occurs in the Bible although it well indicates the concept of “three in one and one in three.” This is an idea that’s too big for us, so we make all kinds of analogies, like St. Patrick’s shamrock (three lobes but one leaf) or an egg (shell, yolk, white) or space (length, width, height). Even so, all these analogies break down and, in the end, Muslims still accuse us of worshipping “a three-headed god.” This was the controversy in the church in the 3^rd and 4^th centuries— Arius taught that “the son of God was created by the Father.” (Oxford Dictionary.) Athanasius countered with his classic work, The Incarnation of the Word of God (c.318 AD). Let’s look at the Scriptural doctrine from several different viewpoints:

1.The Grammar of the Bible

        There are several details of grammar that point subtly toward a plurality of Persons in the Godhead. The very first is the word “elohim” (Gen.1:1), a plural form for God, but taking a singular verb. Anti-Trinitarians will admit that it is a plural noun, but then think that we want a plural verb to go with it. Of course we don’t—we believe that the Trinity is so truly one and in agreement on every thought and action that a singular verb is only appropriate. Another grammatical construction is Genesis 1:26, where God says, “Let us make man in our image.” Only God could make man; he wasn’t talking to the angels— he was talking to the other Persons of the Holy Trinity. A third concerns the deity of Christ: “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58) This may sound a little ambiguous to English readers but the reaction of the Jews confirms that Jesus was claiming deity—“They picked up stones to stone him.”

2.Express Statements of the Bible

        Multitudes of verses come right out and say that Jesus is God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Romans 9:5 says, “…Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!” Titus 2:13 refers to “the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” Colossians 2:9 says, “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Finally, 2 Peter 1:1 talks about “the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

3.Biblical responses to Jesus

        Without always specifically claiming Deity, Jesus acted as only God could act. For example, in Mark 2:5, he says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The response of the scribes was, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Another interesting response came from the rich young ruler who addressed Jesus as “Good teacher.” Jesus countered with, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” Note that he did not say, “Do not call me good.” He obviously wanted the young man to acknowledge his Deity. (Mark 10:17,18) A third incident is John 10:30-33. The Jews wanted to stone him but not because of his miracles; rather, “for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” One final response to Jesus is highly appropriate: Thomas saw his nail-imprinted hands and said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

        If (or since) we trust Jesus to be true, honest, and faithful, how could we ever deny his claim to Deity (and the claims of his apostles for him, too)? If we deny his Deity, we are calling him a liar! Next time, we will look at several more proofs of his Deity, not omitting several theoretical principles as well.Ì

A Visit to Langham Place, London

        On Sunday, June 19, 2011, we visited All Souls’ Church, Langham Place, London. It was the only time we’ve ever been there and it was significant for several reasons. First of all, from the announcements at the beginning of the service, we learned that the members are gearing up for major evangelism at the London Olympics of 2012. They talked about a “gentle presentation” of the gospel at various events, including setting up good quality monitors so people can come into the church at various times during the work day to see these competitions.

        The sermon itself, by Hugh Palmer, came to me as confirmation directly from the Lord because, a few days previously, I had chosen Colossians 1:13 as my theme for another article: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Mr. Palmer spoke on “Thanks be to God” and this verse is, “The Ultimate Transformation.”

        After the service, we had a cup of tea downstairs, and I bought John Stott’s 51^st book, The Radical Disciple. As the lady took my money, she said, “This is John’s last book. He’s very fragile now.” On July 28^th, I learned that John Stott, of All Souls, Langham Place, had passed away the previous day.

        Finally, in the nature of a little pilgrimage, this is the home and head office of Christianity Explored. Although we didn’t meet him, we caught a glimpse of Rico Tice in the audience, and talked with a couple who are deeply involved in the program and committed to much prayer for it.

        We enjoyed our two hours there and observed some differences in practice from other churches we have been in. For instance, (i) they made special mention of the 400^th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible and the men who suffered to bring it about, (ii) they projected all their hymns onto a screen but updated some of the wording, for instance, “Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore you…you were and are and evermore shall be.” (iii) They presented some details of what could only be called “God at work”, (as opposed to “us” at work!), and (iv) they suggested (and summarized) what the sermon had been last week (there’s a challenge!).

        Our visit to Britain in general, and London in particular, overwhelmed us with how much God DOES NOT figure in people’s lives. Here is a church where He really does matter to people and they’re doing everything they can to serve Him. May God bless them! Ì

Animals of the Bible (NIV)

There are at least 55 animals in this word search. See how many you can find. Words can be across, down, diagonal up or down, but not backwards or up. Have fun!

In Memory of John R. W. Stott 1921-2011

      John Stott passed away on July 27^th of this year. He was one of the brightest Christians of his generation—so much so that in 2005, Time Magazine included him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

My first awareness of John Stott came in the 70’s, when I bought his Basic Introduction to the New Testament (1964). Eight years ago, I bought Why I am a Christian (2003) in audio format, and listened to it countless times on drives all over the continent. In June, at his home church, I purchased his last book, The Radical Disciple (2010).

This is just a sampling of his literary output— he produced over fifty books during his career. But writing was only part of his story— Stott was born in London in 1921 and attended Rugby School, then Trinity College, Cambridge. In February, 1938, Eric Nash presented the Christian Union at Rugby School with the question, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?” Stott says, “…that night at my bedside I made the experiment of faith, and ‘opened the door’ to Christ.”

Stott attended his local church, All Souls, Langham Place, from childhood. Working with such an inner city church, he took as his model these five criteria (says his online biography): the priority of prayer, expository preaching, regular evangelism, careful follow-up of enquirers and converts, and the systematic training of helpers and leaders.

A few other details of his life are worth noting:

·         “He once disguised himself as homeless and slept on the streets in order to find out what it was like.”

·         He “turned down opportunities for advancement in the church hierarchy,” even a bishopric.

·         He “served as a chaplain to the queen from 1959 to 1991.”

·         He never married, though “he came close to it on two occasions.”

·         “He has been a keen bird watcher and photographer” and published The Birds Our Teachers, illustrated with his own photographs, in 1999.

To give the flavour of Stott’s writing and to let him have the last word, here is a quotation from Your Mind Matters (1972):

“…readings from the Old and New Testament together with a Scripture exposition are an indispensable part of public worship today. Only as we hear again what God has done are we ready to respond in praise and worship..”

And from The Authority of the Bible (1974): “The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus.”Ì

Book Review: ORIGINS: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, & Evolution

 

Haarsma, Deborah B., and Haarsma, Loren D.

Faith Alive Christian Resources,

Grand Rapids, Michigan 2007

255 pages

        At last, a book on the creation/evolution discussion that should bring light and no heat! Deborah and Loren Haarsma were commissioned by Faith Alive Christian Resources, “to aid Christians who want to learn about creation, design, and evolution.” Wife and husband are both professors at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. They were both raised in young earth creationist circles, obtained graduate degrees in the sciences, and later began to investigate all sides of the controversy. This work is an attempt to lay all the cards on the table, so to speak, and logically show which are the strengths and weaknesses.

        The Haarsmas’ Introduction lays the groundwork to show what Christians believe in common and where they differ. For instance, they say about their students, “They share a common belief about who created the universe. But they believe very different things about how God created the universe.” Some would have us believe that there are only two options, atheist on one side, using science, and Christian believers on the other side, discounting science. The authors’ stated purpose is “to lay out a wider variety of options and to examine what both the Bible and the natural world can teach us about these options.”

        Two subordinate components of their purpose are to summarize (i) what they believe God’s Word teaches about origins when it is studied using sound principles of interpretation, and (ii) what they believe God’s world can reliably reveal about origins when it is studied using sound scientific principles.

Creation       

        The many views of Genesis are summarized in the attached chart, which they, of course, greatly enlarge upon, showing both pros and cons. To take just two of their interpretations—for Appearance of Age, they comment: “God could have created the earth last week, complete with history books on library shelves…but this seems dishonest… ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Ps.19:1). This verse and many other Scripture passages teach that God reveals himself to us truthfully through the natural world.” Looking at Ancient Near East Cosmology, they say, “if Christians wish to interpret Genesis 1 completely literally, they must believe that the earth is flat rather than spherical; the earth rests on pillars rather than orbiting the sun; the sky is a solid dome rather than a transparent atmosphere; an ocean of water is above the sky.” The Haarsmas then conclude this section of the book with strong scientific evidence that the universe is vast, dynamic, old, and had a beginning.

Evolution

        Now the book tackles that bug-bear, evolution. The authors define five meanings of the word but dispense with evolutionism, which is atheistic philosophy and not scientific at all. The next step is to define where Christians agree and disagree about evolution: young earth creationists, progressive creationists, and evolutionary creationists. The Haarsmas then remind us of the most basic Christian principle of love: “By maintaining a charitable attitude toward each other, Christians who advocate different responses to evolution need not break their unity as believers who work side-by-side to advance God’s kingdom.” Sadly, they have to warn us of a danger: “When students are forced to choose between [only two options: young earth creationism and atheistic evolution], they may either turn away from a career in science or pursue science but turn away from God.” They finish this section with strong scientific evidence for evolution: fossils, comparative anatomy, biogeography, and genetics.

Design

        “Intelligent design theory claims that there is evidence of design in nature and that the theory of evolution is inadequate to explain what is seen in the natural world.” But all Christians “believe that God designed the universe and that God designed life. The universe and everything in it are not the result of some cosmic accident or some impersonal process. God created them intentionally. This shared belief does not make any particular claim about when or how God brought these things into existence.” With these premises in mind, the authors finish this section with discussions of “fine tuning” and “biological complexity”. 

Human Origins

        The final section of this book turns to “Scientific and Theological Issues of Human Origins”—five possible scenarios of Adam and Eve; the human soul; original sin. The Haarsmas finish up with two honest statements that I think we all have to agree with. Their first conclusion is, “Not satisfied with any of these scenarios? Neither are we!” Their second is, “Questions about how and when God created the earth are important but they are not essential to our salvation.” How true! Let’s all remember that.

Reviewed by Glenn Wilson

October 24, 2011