For the next few blog entries I will deal with probably the most essential truth about the person of Jesus the Christ - that being His deity. Interestingly, most of the controversy around the division over Jesus' deity comes from within the church, not just from without. Please take note of my previous entry on "church division." If there's one thing we as the body of believers should not be divided over is the fact that Jesus is God! A lot of the confusion comes from us trying to logicize the position of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - three persons, but one God. That doesn't make sense to us. Admittedly, it's not logical. But that doesn't mean that it's illogical. It's superlogical! What does the prophet Isaiah say of the LORD:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
We quote that, but do we really submit our thoughts and methods of biblical interpretations to it???
Stay tuned...
GREETINGS!
The purpose of this blog is to share my passion for the truth of God and the truth of His Word. Sound or healthy doctrine can only be known and understood if the sovereignty and holiness of God is passionately pursued in order to know Him as He reveals Himself and then to make Him known in the same fashion. Or, better yet, a right view of God results in a right knowledge of His holy Word.
One of my goals is to attempt to stir up Christian unity among my kinsmen of the Faith. When the phrase "church division" is mentioned, the first thing many think of is that of racism or classism. While these are imporatant issues and will be addressed by yours truly, the more important form of unity/disunity among saints is that which pertains to doctrine. If the church of Jesus the Christ were more unified in how we understand Him and Scripture, then all other forms of disunity and discord would be quite minimal or nonexistent. It is my prayer that many of my kinsmen (of all races) would develop a healthy fear of God (or increase the one they already possess) and then begin to tread carefully through the Word in understanding the truth as He means and not what we want to get out of it.
Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation, specifically Biblical. We must gather a proper way to interpret and understand scripture that destroys our opinions and allows us to submit to the Author and know "the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). We must not continue to "piecemeal" the Scriptures by bouncing around the pages, skipping over important elements and drawing quick conclusions that only give us limited knowledge, or worse, false knowledge that can give birth to false doctrine. The church (Greek "ecclesia" or called out ones) is supposed to be "the pillar and buttress (support) of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15) How can we be that when we are so divided on our Lord's one-true Word? How can we be a light to the world for truth when many of us are in the dark on what we believe?
Theology is not just for the pulpit. It is not just for clergy. It is for anyone who has received the righteousness of the Lord Jesus the Christ. We are to grow in His grace and not just be the recipients of it (2 Peter 3:15-18). This blog is theology in layman's terms!
Please be sure to read the articles from the earliest posts to the most recent as some of them are written in the form of a series.
One of my goals is to attempt to stir up Christian unity among my kinsmen of the Faith. When the phrase "church division" is mentioned, the first thing many think of is that of racism or classism. While these are imporatant issues and will be addressed by yours truly, the more important form of unity/disunity among saints is that which pertains to doctrine. If the church of Jesus the Christ were more unified in how we understand Him and Scripture, then all other forms of disunity and discord would be quite minimal or nonexistent. It is my prayer that many of my kinsmen (of all races) would develop a healthy fear of God (or increase the one they already possess) and then begin to tread carefully through the Word in understanding the truth as He means and not what we want to get out of it.
Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation, specifically Biblical. We must gather a proper way to interpret and understand scripture that destroys our opinions and allows us to submit to the Author and know "the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). We must not continue to "piecemeal" the Scriptures by bouncing around the pages, skipping over important elements and drawing quick conclusions that only give us limited knowledge, or worse, false knowledge that can give birth to false doctrine. The church (Greek "ecclesia" or called out ones) is supposed to be "the pillar and buttress (support) of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15) How can we be that when we are so divided on our Lord's one-true Word? How can we be a light to the world for truth when many of us are in the dark on what we believe?
Theology is not just for the pulpit. It is not just for clergy. It is for anyone who has received the righteousness of the Lord Jesus the Christ. We are to grow in His grace and not just be the recipients of it (2 Peter 3:15-18). This blog is theology in layman's terms!
Please be sure to read the articles from the earliest posts to the most recent as some of them are written in the form of a series.
6.09.2007
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2 comments:
We definitely do not submit our thoughts and interpretations to that. I work with guys who struggle with being confident on matters to which scripture does not "explicitly" speak. Seems to be a big problem with younger generations. If scripture does not explicitly state that God exists in Trinity (the word itself is not there) then they have a problem when trinitarians speak out against non-trinitarians.
Thanks for the comment, r! I love John MacArthur's approach to studying and understanding the Word: Scripture interprets scripture! There's no need to go outside of the Bible to help it be clearer. Commentaries are fine, but we need to practice 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and "test everything - hold fast to that which is good." Not all commentaries can be trusted. A whole lot can be understood about the Word if Christians would just be humble and submit themselves in reverence to the Sovereign Author, understand Who He is, and be oh so diligent to "accurately handle the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)! I like to step back and see the Word as one complete picture - one complete story as it is - and then slowly zoom in to see all of the "pieces" and how they all fit together. Many "so-called" believers tend to "piecemeal" the Word and then draw quick conclusions using human logic over supernatural, divine discernment in knowing what God has said! I'll deal with that one soon, as well. Peace!!!
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