Holy is Whole: According to Biblical Theology & Relevance Theory (for the future)
Yesterday, I enjoyed talking to two of my professors from my years in seminary. They and I are very big on being a biblical theologian and also very big on communicating in relevant ways to our audience the book from God. There is though false fears about being biblical and being relevant.
Holy is whole is largely built on being biblical rather than having a sacred cow of a particular theological tradition. It is also very relevant to the past, to the present and above all to the near future. I believe we are on the edge of a renewing of our minds and of being transformed as Christians individually and corporately (see Romans 12:2).
But having said that change is coming in the form of being transformed rather than conformed, I need to help people avoid a very relevant fear which represents the path of least resistance in their minds. When we talk about being biblical (people who follow the book), we need to realize that there are Christians around us who are are co-equals in reading that book. They are not our superiors, they are not our inferiors, but they are our co-equals.
I find my best equals to be Martin Luther, John Calvin, Richard Hooker, John Wesley and Charles H. Spurgeon when listed in historical order. They each desired and aimed to be biblical theologians. They all agreed that their books were not equal to the book. They have made a mark on history that I certainly have not made and yet they remain my equals. They are not co-equal with God and neither would be their books. And neither am I nor what I am writing right at this moment. I think this is why I am so committed to being a biblical person. It introduces both humility of place and meekness of time.
Holy is whole is a new thing to most people's minds. In relevance theory what matters for our minds is the path of least resistance toward understanding. Yet in the case of holy, the path of least resistance in the present is not joining whole or wholeness to holy. Renewing the mind requires great humility and meekness for us to move forward toward being truly biblical without minimizing our co-equals from the past. The past, the present and the future are all important parts of renewing our minds, yet the weak link right now is the present.
In the past, one man through the word of God raised the banner of God's righteousness in Christ, then another raised the banner of humility for us saved by grace and not by our strength, then another raised a less noticed concern for holiness in the sense of comprehensiveness, then another raised the banner of love and compassion, and still another the banner of God's goodness and longsuffering. These were Luther, Calvin, Hooker, Wesely and Spurgeon.
Perhaps it is time for us to raise the banner called holiness which was in the past renewings since 1500 a less noticed concern. Perhaps it is time to let the book speak for itself and let our co-equals be no better than us. I think it is dangerous anytime we honor the still lingering twentieth century of time or the greats of past high status too highly, instead of observing due diligence to be both meek and humble. I think I observed growing up some times when great leaders' books were made equal with my Bible. I pray that holy is whole reflects both meekness and humilty in a way relevant not just to our time, but to our minds. The path should be that of a least resistance that makes sense within God's Word. May your mind have experienced a renewing process as you have read (see again Romans 12:2).
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Holy is Whole: According to Dr. Randy Jaeggli
In renewing our minds from Romans 12:2, as I described earlier, there is the past, the present and the future. At present, there are others besides myself that agree that holiness is wholeness or that it describles all His attributes as a whole. One of these is Dr. Randy Jaeggli. You can find out about him on the internet, if you like. I want to include his comments because the method he uses to conclude that holiness is wholeness is like the method that both C. H. Spurgeon and Johann Bengel apparently both used. The argument is primarily from parallel passages in Scripture.
Let me quote Jaeggli at length:
Many of the words the Bible uses to describe God's attributes sound quite religious. Yet many Christians have only a vague idea of the what these important words actually mean. Perhaps no other term is more misunderstood than holiness. To most people, God's holiness is a vague concept of His moral superiority to man. Holiness is the awe a person senses when he stands in St. Paul's cathedral in London and looks up at the dome towering high above him. The experience makes him seem small and insignificant. He concludes that God must be very far above him, and he is correct in this feeling. There certainly is an aspect of God awesomeness in holiness. God truly is far geater than man in the incomparable perfection of His infinite character. In his own ability man definitely cannot reach Him. As we will discover, however, God's holiness includes much more than the great distance that separates Him from mankind. We need to be careful not to fall into the trap of emphasizing God's exalation above man to the exlusion of His closeness to man. The theologian must always maintain his balance, something like a tightrope walker in a circus. If the performer leans a little to the right or the left, he is going to fall off the wire. The one who studes the biblical relevation of God's character must likewise hold all the truths he learns in proper balance, lest he lean too far in any direction and fall into error.
Holiness is not merely one of God's attibutes. It rather describes all His attributes as a whole. There are two parallel verses in the book of Amos that prove this point clearly. As Amos was declaring the judgment that would surely fall on his disobedient people, he asserted that "the Lord God hath sworn by His holiness" (4:2). God cannot take an oath on anything less than Himself, and there surely is nothing greater than He. The reader is not surprised, therefore, when Amos states in 6:8, "The Lord God hath sworn by Himself." Taken together these two verses show that"His holiness" is equal to "Himself." The Hebrew word in 6:8 translated as "Himself" refers to a person's entire being. The word holiness, therefore, describes the totality of God's attributes. Undoubtedly, there are many of God's attributes that God has not revealed to us. As finite creatures, we could not even begin to understand those attributes. They are all included in His holiness.
The biblical concept of holiness is foundationally positive. God is not holy because He is separate from sin. Rather, He is separate from sin because He is holy. No person wants to be known primarly for what he does not do or what he is against. .... I would rather be appreeciated for my positive qualities, and the same is true of God. His holiness is positively splendid. The Psalmist declared, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him , all the earth" (Ps. 96:9). The Hebrew word for "beauty" describes God's regal splendor. (p. 20-21)
Then Jaeggli continues later:
... and God' s' name is called "glorious" eleven times. When Scripture uses a modifer for the word name, we do not find that God's character is described by more specific attributes like love, righteousness, justice or patience. These attribues are not inclusvie enough to describe the totality of God 's being. Instead, Scripture most often uses the term holy with the concept of God's name. The only conclusion we can draw is that the essensce of God's character is holiness.
Our Savior summarizes the Old Testament's teaching when He taught His disciples to pray. The second phrase of His model prayer was, "Hallowed by Thy name" (Matt. 6:9). The term "hallowed" is equivalent to the word "holy." Christ commanded us to pray that men everywhere will recognize that God's character is incomparably great. When we pray this way, we are asking the Father to use the Scripture in causing men to recognize His perfect character. Our words and actions most communicate who God is to those with whom we come in contact. (p. 28).
So this summarizes Jaeggli's argument for holiness is wholeness as coming from parallel passages in Scripture. In the past I presented Spurgeon's comments to the same and in the future I will present more of Johann Bengel that says the same. Also in the future I will begin to use Genesis 1:1-2:3 as the primary object lesson for why holiness is wholeness using our everyday understanding of what a day means. Until then, God's richest blessings on Jaeggli's comments.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
In renewing our minds from Romans 12:2, as I described earlier, there is the past, the present and the future. At present, there are others besides myself that agree that holiness is wholeness or that it describles all His attributes as a whole. One of these is Dr. Randy Jaeggli. You can find out about him on the internet, if you like. I want to include his comments because the method he uses to conclude that holiness is wholeness is like the method that both C. H. Spurgeon and Johann Bengel apparently both used. The argument is primarily from parallel passages in Scripture.
Let me quote Jaeggli at length:
Many of the words the Bible uses to describe God's attributes sound quite religious. Yet many Christians have only a vague idea of the what these important words actually mean. Perhaps no other term is more misunderstood than holiness. To most people, God's holiness is a vague concept of His moral superiority to man. Holiness is the awe a person senses when he stands in St. Paul's cathedral in London and looks up at the dome towering high above him. The experience makes him seem small and insignificant. He concludes that God must be very far above him, and he is correct in this feeling. There certainly is an aspect of God awesomeness in holiness. God truly is far geater than man in the incomparable perfection of His infinite character. In his own ability man definitely cannot reach Him. As we will discover, however, God's holiness includes much more than the great distance that separates Him from mankind. We need to be careful not to fall into the trap of emphasizing God's exalation above man to the exlusion of His closeness to man. The theologian must always maintain his balance, something like a tightrope walker in a circus. If the performer leans a little to the right or the left, he is going to fall off the wire. The one who studes the biblical relevation of God's character must likewise hold all the truths he learns in proper balance, lest he lean too far in any direction and fall into error.
Holiness is not merely one of God's attibutes. It rather describes all His attributes as a whole. There are two parallel verses in the book of Amos that prove this point clearly. As Amos was declaring the judgment that would surely fall on his disobedient people, he asserted that "the Lord God hath sworn by His holiness" (4:2). God cannot take an oath on anything less than Himself, and there surely is nothing greater than He. The reader is not surprised, therefore, when Amos states in 6:8, "The Lord God hath sworn by Himself." Taken together these two verses show that"His holiness" is equal to "Himself." The Hebrew word in 6:8 translated as "Himself" refers to a person's entire being. The word holiness, therefore, describes the totality of God's attributes. Undoubtedly, there are many of God's attributes that God has not revealed to us. As finite creatures, we could not even begin to understand those attributes. They are all included in His holiness.
The biblical concept of holiness is foundationally positive. God is not holy because He is separate from sin. Rather, He is separate from sin because He is holy. No person wants to be known primarly for what he does not do or what he is against. .... I would rather be appreeciated for my positive qualities, and the same is true of God. His holiness is positively splendid. The Psalmist declared, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him , all the earth" (Ps. 96:9). The Hebrew word for "beauty" describes God's regal splendor. (p. 20-21)
Then Jaeggli continues later:
... and God' s' name is called "glorious" eleven times. When Scripture uses a modifer for the word name, we do not find that God's character is described by more specific attributes like love, righteousness, justice or patience. These attribues are not inclusvie enough to describe the totality of God 's being. Instead, Scripture most often uses the term holy with the concept of God's name. The only conclusion we can draw is that the essensce of God's character is holiness.
Our Savior summarizes the Old Testament's teaching when He taught His disciples to pray. The second phrase of His model prayer was, "Hallowed by Thy name" (Matt. 6:9). The term "hallowed" is equivalent to the word "holy." Christ commanded us to pray that men everywhere will recognize that God's character is incomparably great. When we pray this way, we are asking the Father to use the Scripture in causing men to recognize His perfect character. Our words and actions most communicate who God is to those with whom we come in contact. (p. 28).
So this summarizes Jaeggli's argument for holiness is wholeness as coming from parallel passages in Scripture. In the past I presented Spurgeon's comments to the same and in the future I will present more of Johann Bengel that says the same. Also in the future I will begin to use Genesis 1:1-2:3 as the primary object lesson for why holiness is wholeness using our everyday understanding of what a day means. Until then, God's richest blessings on Jaeggli's comments.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
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