This seems like a "Capt. Obvious" blog on many levels, and of course, on the simplest level. But have you ever really asked yourself the question, "What's the purpose of Christ?" and after spouting off the typical "Sunday School Answer" (for those who were raised in the church this comes too easily like blinking) taking a minute or two to digest this dynamic, life changing question in the deeper parts of your inner being?
Let's start with the Average Joe's (Sunday School Joe, that is!) typical response... "The purpose of Christ is to save me from my sins so that I can spend eternity with the LORD in heaven." Yup, that about sums up the extent of many church goer's responses when asked the question pertaining to the purpose of Christ. Who is going to argue with that answer? Why would there be a need to come up with another answer since this one seems to be working... and, to use my father in law's favorite line, I would ask the follow up question, "How's that working for you?"
How is the standard S.S. answer working for the majority of modern day Christians who claim Jesus as their Christ/Messiah? To ask this question means we have to ask another follow up question, "Since the purpose of Christ seems to be saving you from your sins so that you can spend eternity with the LORD in heaven, does the rest of the non-Christian world seem to take notice of your "dynamic, life changing"answer with eagerness and a desperate longing in the depth of their gut to get to know this Christ you profess?"
Or to put it in a more simplistic and straightforward way, "Does this standard answer dynamically shape society?"
Sadly, I would have to honestly answer this question with the answer, "No! Society doesn't seem to be dynamically shaped... ." Why do I say this... ? Well, if society was dynamically shaped by this answer, then the communities that rub up against faith communities would genuinely experience PEACE!
There's nothing wrong with the answer to the question, but I believe this answer is incomplete. The bottom line: We've undersold the gospel/good news of Jesus. For many years, the majority of Christian communities have only been giving 1/2 the gospel, and when we give 1/2 the gospel, we don't get down to the heart, mind and mission of Jesus.
I've been spending the past two months slowly reading and devouring Paul's letter to the 1st Century church in Ephesus. I'm nearing the end of Ephesians chapter 2 as I've been patiently seeking all kinds of truths, really trying to own it, allowing the text to read me as I read it... and, as I've been digging through the Greek roots, verb tenses and all that jazz, I've come up with two solid and very simple points. The first one is all about the riches of the Father's love including His great mercy, grace and redeeming love which incorporates His desire for us to become His beloved sons and daughters. It's the A, B, C's of the Christian walk, but way too often, we forget that the whole "son/daughter" and "grace/mercy" stuff is the core of our existence. Without really grasping how much the LORD loves us, it's foolish to move forward with theological ramblings. Bottom line: HE LOVES YOU!!!
Then, we get to the transitional word, "THEREFORE..."
Whenever you see the word, "Therefore," in literature, it's as if the author is saying, "HEY! YOU... PAY ATTENTION... all the stuff I've been saying is about to hit its peak/culmination & all those application pieces that come afterward!" Paul did this same exact thing when he wrote to the Roman church in chapter 12 after he talked about sin, grace, faith, Jews and Gentiles... and, he does the same thing here in Ephesians in chapter 2 verse 11.
Let's start with the Average Joe's (Sunday School Joe, that is!) typical response... "The purpose of Christ is to save me from my sins so that I can spend eternity with the LORD in heaven." Yup, that about sums up the extent of many church goer's responses when asked the question pertaining to the purpose of Christ. Who is going to argue with that answer? Why would there be a need to come up with another answer since this one seems to be working... and, to use my father in law's favorite line, I would ask the follow up question, "How's that working for you?"
How is the standard S.S. answer working for the majority of modern day Christians who claim Jesus as their Christ/Messiah? To ask this question means we have to ask another follow up question, "Since the purpose of Christ seems to be saving you from your sins so that you can spend eternity with the LORD in heaven, does the rest of the non-Christian world seem to take notice of your "dynamic, life changing"answer with eagerness and a desperate longing in the depth of their gut to get to know this Christ you profess?"
Or to put it in a more simplistic and straightforward way, "Does this standard answer dynamically shape society?"
Sadly, I would have to honestly answer this question with the answer, "No! Society doesn't seem to be dynamically shaped... ." Why do I say this... ? Well, if society was dynamically shaped by this answer, then the communities that rub up against faith communities would genuinely experience PEACE!
There's nothing wrong with the answer to the question, but I believe this answer is incomplete. The bottom line: We've undersold the gospel/good news of Jesus. For many years, the majority of Christian communities have only been giving 1/2 the gospel, and when we give 1/2 the gospel, we don't get down to the heart, mind and mission of Jesus.
I've been spending the past two months slowly reading and devouring Paul's letter to the 1st Century church in Ephesus. I'm nearing the end of Ephesians chapter 2 as I've been patiently seeking all kinds of truths, really trying to own it, allowing the text to read me as I read it... and, as I've been digging through the Greek roots, verb tenses and all that jazz, I've come up with two solid and very simple points. The first one is all about the riches of the Father's love including His great mercy, grace and redeeming love which incorporates His desire for us to become His beloved sons and daughters. It's the A, B, C's of the Christian walk, but way too often, we forget that the whole "son/daughter" and "grace/mercy" stuff is the core of our existence. Without really grasping how much the LORD loves us, it's foolish to move forward with theological ramblings. Bottom line: HE LOVES YOU!!!
Then, we get to the transitional word, "THEREFORE..."
Whenever you see the word, "Therefore," in literature, it's as if the author is saying, "HEY! YOU... PAY ATTENTION... all the stuff I've been saying is about to hit its peak/culmination & all those application pieces that come afterward!" Paul did this same exact thing when he wrote to the Roman church in chapter 12 after he talked about sin, grace, faith, Jews and Gentiles... and, he does the same thing here in Ephesians in chapter 2 verse 11.
"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands) - remember that at that time you were excluded from citizenship from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." - Eph. 2:11-12
Share|Yes, we are talking about circumcision, because the context in the 1st Century church dealt with Jews (snippy snippy) and Gentiles/non Jews (no snippy snippy)! Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Often, we (Christian communities who are primarily Gentile) forget that we were grafted into the promises and covenant of the Jewish nation through Father Abraham... long story (too long for a blog, but just know that Jesus allows the "no snippy" peeps to be included due to his death and resurrection.)! Paul spent countless hours impressing the words of the Father's extravagant love for the Gentile believers in light of all the disagreements and odd cultural baggage that came to these awkward situations. These ancient stories of Gentile and Jewish friction within the circles of believers in Jesus the Jewish Messiah were all leading to the second half of the gospel message... the PURPOSE OF CHRIST!
So, what is the purpose of Christ?
According to Paul (the Jewish apostle), the purpose of Christ "was to create in himself one new humanity." - Ephesians 2:15b
Why would Christ want to do that?
SHALOM!
Shalom is the Hebrew word for PEACE! This word is about wholeness, harmony, everything in its right place! Paul tells the church that Jesus, himself, becomes our peace. The purpose of His death on the brutal Roman cross was to allow the two vastly different groups of people (Jews and Gentiles) to become ONE family, one body under the sacrifice of his own flesh!
Jesus is essentially saying,"You can lash my body and kill me. But don't lash out at one another and break each other apart. I'll take the beating!"
When we see how much He loves us, and what the Rabbi from Nazareth went through on our behalf, it's difficult for us to see the world in segments, cultural divisions and the ever present distinctions between one culture against another. The foolishness of the cross points to the truth that mysteriously WE ARE ONE FAMILY because the foolishness of Jesus' mission on the cross points to our utter foolishness pertaining to ongoing divisions and fractions in the Christian world.
Jesus put to death the hostility of the differing cultures by allowing the world to see the cruel oppression of the Roman way of "peace" (called Pax Romana = force, manipulation, control and man made power through the sword and political propaganda). Jesus put himself right in the wicked wedge between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus put to death the barrier that separates black from white. Jesus put to death the hatred lashed out toward homosexuals. The purpose of Christ was to not only preach shalom/peace, but was to vividly exemplify the Way of peace on an ugly cross in order for the message of redemption to ring loud and clear beyond a Sunday School answer!
When the Christian world divides, we beat the face of Christ.
When we gossip about another brother/sister, we slash the back of Jesus.
When followers of Jesus "love" with strings attached adding rules to the good news, we put another crown of thorns on his brow.
When communities of faith speak and live in hatred toward another human being, we put Christ back on that cross once again... !
Jesus took the beating, nails and death so that the wall of division would be abolished!
Now, it's time to ask the question, "How's that working for you?"
So, what is the purpose of Christ?
According to Paul (the Jewish apostle), the purpose of Christ "was to create in himself one new humanity." - Ephesians 2:15b
Why would Christ want to do that?
SHALOM!
Shalom is the Hebrew word for PEACE! This word is about wholeness, harmony, everything in its right place! Paul tells the church that Jesus, himself, becomes our peace. The purpose of His death on the brutal Roman cross was to allow the two vastly different groups of people (Jews and Gentiles) to become ONE family, one body under the sacrifice of his own flesh!
Jesus is essentially saying,"You can lash my body and kill me. But don't lash out at one another and break each other apart. I'll take the beating!"
When we see how much He loves us, and what the Rabbi from Nazareth went through on our behalf, it's difficult for us to see the world in segments, cultural divisions and the ever present distinctions between one culture against another. The foolishness of the cross points to the truth that mysteriously WE ARE ONE FAMILY because the foolishness of Jesus' mission on the cross points to our utter foolishness pertaining to ongoing divisions and fractions in the Christian world.
Jesus put to death the hostility of the differing cultures by allowing the world to see the cruel oppression of the Roman way of "peace" (called Pax Romana = force, manipulation, control and man made power through the sword and political propaganda). Jesus put himself right in the wicked wedge between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus put to death the barrier that separates black from white. Jesus put to death the hatred lashed out toward homosexuals. The purpose of Christ was to not only preach shalom/peace, but was to vividly exemplify the Way of peace on an ugly cross in order for the message of redemption to ring loud and clear beyond a Sunday School answer!
When the Christian world divides, we beat the face of Christ.
When we gossip about another brother/sister, we slash the back of Jesus.
When followers of Jesus "love" with strings attached adding rules to the good news, we put another crown of thorns on his brow.
When communities of faith speak and live in hatred toward another human being, we put Christ back on that cross once again... !
Jesus took the beating, nails and death so that the wall of division would be abolished!
Now, it's time to ask the question, "How's that working for you?"
"For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." - Ephesians 2:18
1 comments:
Always enjoy reading and am challenged by your blog posts...this radical idea of "one new man" in Christ was really brought to life during our time in Israel and visits with Palestinian Christians there. I am not nearly as theological as you are, but here's what I wrote about that Scripture and that time:
http://deborah-theonething.blogspot.com/2008/12/bethlehem-part-3-christmas-and-wall.html
blessings to you and Lauren in 2011 as you both launch into your latest adventures with our LORD!
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