Theology « The Upper Room Diaries

April 24, 2011

Why is Jesus called “the Son”?

Meiyin asked me this question via SMS at midweek. As I looked through the answer I gave her, I realized that I should actually expand on it as this seems to be in time for Easter! So here it is, in a nutshell, this post is about Jesus Christ, the nature of salvation and why the incarnation of God is so important to Christian theology. This is how the bits and pieces of thinking about Christ is supposed to link.

Have a blessed Easter (:

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Jesus is a name, nothing special about it. However “Christ” is not a surname but a Greek title which means “Messiah”, “Saviour” or “the anointed one”. “Christ” is Greek, Messiah is “Hebrew” and Saviour is well… English. They mean roughly the same thing.

Similarly in the olden days “Son of God” is also used as a title. It basically means “Representative of God”. “Son of Man” is also a title which means “Representative of Man”. While other prophets of the Old Testament is only said to hold the “Son of Man” title (e.g. Ezekiel 13:2), Jesus is the only person to hold both “Son of God” (e.g. Luke 1:35) and “Son of Man” (e.g. Mark 10:45) titles. Hence people combine the two titles and referred Jesus as “the Son” — it is an office with a job description to it, not a word in reference to family hierarchy. Jesus’ task is to be both, a representative of God to mankind, and a representative of mankind to God. Thus we say that Jesus is “incarnational”, this very word is used in reference to the phenomena where the divine and human meet. In this case, the divine and the human meet in a person. This person is called Jesus Christ.

It is in Jesus that we find salvation. Salvation is possible only if Jesus is both “Son of God” and “Son of Man”. Jesus need to represent God to mankind, because we need to see God. Thus Jesus made a very bold statement in John 14:9 when he said “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”. Wells, that is only the secondary reason. The primary reason is that in order to save mankind, God came personally as Man, was tempted in every way and emerge sinless (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus then needs to be the representative of mankind to God because in order for the whole of mankind to be saved, God requires a sinless person to pronounce judgement on.

So then how can one man’s sinlessness be made applicable to whole of mankind? The interesting argument in Romans 5:12-21 basically says that since from one man (Adam) sin entered the world, it should be reasonable enough to say that one man (Jesus) will be the solution to rid sin from the world. This is what God did. God sent Jesus to be that solution.

To explain the nitty gritty of the Romans 5 argument. A parallel illustration could be made by observing the financial world. When a person is in debt he or she could never pay for the debt of another person. The bank will never allow for this. Now when a person who is not in debt, he is then able to pay for another person. The bank saw everyone struggling, called a debt-free man to come and told him to pay for the debt of everyone. This is how the story goes.

The bank is God. The debt is sin. God saw the helplessness of Man and thus sent Jesus as a sinless person to pay for the sin of everyone. In order to qualify for the payment, Jesus must be a Man, as only a Man can die for the sin of another Man. In order to go through death and resurrect, Jesus must be God. Thus we say that Jesus is God incarnate — i.e. Jesus is both God and Man.

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March 26, 2011

Rice Bowl

I vividly remember the time when I was going through my internship at a local events company doing graphic design. Not that I had an easy time or was it some of my happiest days but rather something important happened, that on hindsight, played a pivotal role in my life.

It was in the spending of days (and nights) immersed into the overtime culture of the company, that I became exposed to the “Rice Bowl” concept. The word “Rice Bowl” basically points to your means of income, and most people take it as their current job. People talk about it, my colleagues teach me about it, there are just some things you do and some things you do not, so as not to put your rice bowl at risk. Of course, it was in the Army that I saw what it means to have a “Metal Rice Bowl”. The prior phrase points to an indestructible source of income, a job that will never get you fired. Some people there just do not know how to do their work, but somehow they would still manage to get their job done using expendable National Servicemen. Anyways, thats beside the point. I digressed. The point is that people live their life protecting their Rice Bowl. That was their paradigm.

Then comes one fine day when Pastor Ronald came over to my workplace to meet me for lunch. I was in his car telling him about what I learnt in the company. It was supposed to be all the good and interesting things that I have been learning pertaining to the honing of my skills. Then this “Rice Bowl” concept slipped out. At that moment, I vividly remember Pastor Ronald stopping the car at the side of the road, looked me in the eye, and told me these words: “Hey Matt, remember this, your job is not your rice bowl. God is your rice bowl.” And suddenly, everything seemed to snap back into place. I remembered that I am supposed to be a Christian who holds on to the values of God, but there I was, unconsciously being sucked-in to take on the values of the World instead. Maybe you can call this peer pressure, whatever; but now on hindsight, I realized that if this incident did not happen to me, I would be left to sink deeper into the values of the World. Thank God!

I used this incident of mine as an illustration when I was teaching my cell on Romans 12:1-2.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:1-2

Apostle Paul here talks about an exchange of values — exchanging our worldly values for the values of God. It is only when live our lives adopting the values of God, that are able to discern His will for our lives. Here, the passage urges us to change our paradigm of life. Do not live your life having no difference from the life of the unbeliever. It is interesting that Paul here did not talk firstly about our actions, but here he talks about our thought patterns. This brings us to a sobering reminder that the difference between believers and non-believers is not because they do Christianly things, but because they think Christianly. Right thinking would result in right action, however, seeming right actions need not be a result of right thinking.

When we read this verse, we should actually note something even more important. Paul actually says that this value-exchange is the characteristic that is expected of every believer. In other words, this lifestyle should be normal. To put it more across more painfully, Paul’s version of Christianity is actually rather narrow. If you succeed at doing this value-exchange you will become a testimony of God’s goodness. However if you do not do this value-exchange, your salvation is actually questioned. It is either you become a testimony, or you are not a Christian at all. Ouch!

Then Paul interestingly goes on to mention something which many people are interested in today — the will of God for our lives. He basically says that if we are not doing this value-exchange, we can forget about finding out the will of God for our lives. However, if we would just to focus on living our lives adopting the values of God, God’s will for us will naturally surface.

So then after saying all these, naturally the common question that develops would be “what are the values of God, and what are the values of the World?” No surprise. My cell members asked this too. Although there are many examples, too many to list down here, there is actually a simple guideline to this. Basically the values of the World urges you to trust in yourself, but the values of God urges you to trust in Him. This, sadly, is the timeless struggle for all believers; way back from the Old Testament (remember why Adam and Eve ate the apple?), to Jesus’ time, and into our present age.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.”
***
Matthew 6:33

As for me, I must always make sure that Matthew 6:33 is embedded in my heart. Not to worry, but trust in God, because God provides for those who serve Him. We all make plans to be unbreakable, but God desires for His true followers to come before Him broken.

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March 24, 2011

Community

For the past two weeks I have been going through a class in school doing the book of Romans. Throughout the duration of the class, the concept of Community burned deep within me. I cannot help but compare the apostle Paul’s paradigm of Church to the state of the present Church. People today talk a lot about their own needs. We hear very loudly the voices of individual preference. There is even talk of the Internet Church or on-line Communion services “from the comfort of your own couch.” But seriously, where is the community spirit in all of this? People come to church, then jot right out of the service hall before the service even ends. Perhaps they feel that the sermon is the most important portion of the service; but is it? Maybe it is the urban culture that makes us so preoccupied with our own lives that we cannot afford to be involved in the life of others.

Back in the Old Testament times, in Exodus 36:1-6, when God instructed Moses to construct the Tabernacle, it is observed that the people freely offered gifts and materials for the Tabernacle, that they had to be restrained from bringing any more. The offerings were more than sufficient for all the work to make the Tabernacle. In the New Testament Church it was observed too that believers contribute what they have to minister to one another in the church. In Acts 2:44-45, the author describes that believers began selling their possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. It has been a pattern throughout the ages that believers will, and thus should, contribute what they have to build up the Kingdom of God.

The version of Christianity back then is vastly different from the Christianity of today. Hence I am so ever convicted that believers need to be reminded that Christianity is about Community, not the individual. If we would ever lose the “Community” element in Christianity, then Christianity would cease to be.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” – Romans 12:9-10

I am convinced that only the humble would truly understand the concept of Community. I am reminded that if I think highly of myself, I will think naturally think lowly of others; and this thinking would then translate itself into my action toward others. The key therefore, is to think lowly of myself. Be humble. The humble would acknowledge that they need the community. The proud would rather run solo. Of course, people can be overly spiritual and give the correct answers; but ultimately, their attitude toward others speak of their heart condition.

In the present Church, the concept of “Sincere Love” is very much like a book left on a shelf. Periodically, someone takes it down for referencing or to troubleshoot a particular situation. Very few people actually bother to carry it with them because it is just too heavy and troublesome. Throughout my time in school, one of the most important lessons I have learnt is to put “People before Paper”, and “Ministry before Mission.” Many secular teams are agenda driven, but I have grown to strongly believe that Christian teams should be people driven. When working as a team, it is always easy to use the team to push an agenda forward. However it takes a paradigm shift to put people first, and task second. As a minister, I must never allow the task to consume me that I forget to minister. Ministry is of prime importance, and I must always remember to keep it front and center. It is almost hypocritical to finish a project without ministering to your own teammates. It benefits only the individual self but it does not benefit the life of the people working with you. Thus this makes their serving in the team become more like doing a dead-end task rather than something they would actually be able to grow spiritually in.

I guess overall, everything voices down to humility. In my previous post, I have written about the social order of Jesus’ day. The head of the family, would have the most say in all matters while the rest are effectively having their opinions silenced due to perceived lack of both experience and education. The worst of the lot were the Children. However Jesus, in Matthew 18:1-5 told the people that “whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The way to God is Humility. To have Humility means to carry around the heavy book of “Sincere Love”. This book is heavy because it bares the heavy burden of devotion to one another.

This is what I believe Christianity to be, from the perspective of apostle Paul. So, what is your version of Christianity? What would you do to contribute to your Christian community? Sure, there is definitely time to chase God on your own. But never ever forget that a much greater emphasis of Christianity is about chasing God together.

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The Upper Room Diaries

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