Articles Archives

Impassibility and Christology: Did Jesus Really Suffer?

By Graham Gunden — 13 hours ago

God cannot suffer. Or, to use more technical theological jargon, God is impassible. To the contemporary Christian, this seems an odd, if not distasteful claim. Does it not hurt God when His creatures reject Him? Is He not disappointed when we sin against Him? Do not even the scriptures speak of God being grieved in His heart (Gen. 6:6, Is. 63:10)? Furthermore, if God cannot suffer, how can He know me and know what I experience? Can a God incapable of suffering truly love me if He doesn’t suffer when I suffer?

These objections are not silly or unfounded, but neither are they new objections to the classical doctrine of divine impassibility. The Church has dealt with these thorny questions for centuries. Even so, almost all Christian traditions have held that the doctrine of impassibility is vital. James Dolezal points out that, “Historically [impassibility] commanded wide ecumenical backing, being maintained by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, and more.”[1] Indeed, the 2nd London Baptist Confession, 39 Articles, and Westminster Confession, all affirm that God is “without body, parts, or passions” (2LBCF 2.1). We would be wise to heed the words of Chesterton to never take down a fence until we know the reason it was put up, and the wisdom of Solomon to, “not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set” (Prov. 22:28). As we shall see, Divinity cannot suffer, yet in the incarnation God the Son does enter into our human experience and suffer to manifest His love to us, thus bringing us to Himself.

Impassibility

When we say that God is without passions, we are saying that He does not have changeable affections, that the Divine Being cannot suffer (which implies the want or the lack of anything good), and He does not experience emotions the way that human beings do. Certainly, God is love (1Jn. 4:8) and He loves His people (Ps. 36:7), yet He cannot be passively affected in His emotions by His creatures.

There are several biblical and theological arguments in favor of this doctrine. First, the doctrine of impassibility is a corollary to the doctrine of immutability. God does not change (Mal. 3:6, Num. 23:19), therefore neither does He experience emotional flux, at one moment sad, at another moment happy. In considering the doctrine of God’s immutability, some may attempt to argue that, while God does not change in His essence, He does undergo some external and relational changes, i.e. His will and His affections undergo change. This is similar to the way in which we, as humans remain who we are, yet undergo various external changes as we age and grow. In this way, God can remain unchangeably who He is, yet His external affections and His will and His relationship to His creatures can change. But the apostle James would disabuse us of this notion. He says that with God, “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (Ja. 1:17). There is no change in God of any sort, not even a shadow of change. (For a discussion on how we are to understand the scripture passages that refer to God being grieved and regretting His actions, I would refer you to the excellent article in this series by Sam Renihan on Analogy and Simplicity.)

Divinity cannot suffer, yet in the incarnation God the Son does enter into our human experience and suffer to manifest His love to us, thus bringing us to Himself.

The light of nature confirms the necessity of an unchanging God. Turretin says, “[God] can neither be changed for the better (because He is the best) nor for the worse (because he would cease to be the most perfect).”[2] Since God is immutable and unchanging such that there is not even a shadow of change in Him, then it must also be said that He has no passions and that He cannot suffer. He cannot go from a state of perfect blessedness and happiness to a state of grief or sorrow or a state of pleasure to a state of pain.

Second, to say that God can suffer is to reject the omnipotence of God. What creature has the power to harm God? In order to maintain the Creator/creature distinction, we must affirm God’s impassibility, because a failure to do so is to affirm that God can, in some sense, be subject to the actions of His creature. But God is infinite and transcendent. He depends on no one and nothing for His existence, being, and perfect blessedness. As the only truly self-sufficient One, He cannot be moved or acted upon by any of His creatures such that they could harm Him in any way. A creature cannot cause any emotion to arise in God because this would make some aspect of God dependent upon an outside cause. But no creature has the power to give to God anything that He does not already possess, nor to take anything from Him (Rom. 11:34-36). God cannot receive anything good from His creatures which He once lacked (i.e. joy), nor can His creatures take anything good from Him so as to deprive Him of His own perfections.

Third, the scriptures speak directly to God’s impassibility. The apostle Paul identifies God as the impassible One in Acts 14:15. While preaching in the town of Lystra, the inhabitants of the town began to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. But Paul says to them,

Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. (ESV)

The Greek word that the ESV translates as “like nature” is homoiopatheis, which means ‘like-passions.’ Paul is saying to them, ‘do not worship us as gods. We have passions just like you do, and as such, we cannot be divine.’ For Paul, the proof that he and Barnabas were not divine was the fact that they were not impassible, but rather subject to passions.

Finally, in Romans 1:23, Paul calls God the incorruptible God. This does not merely refer to His moral perfections, it refers to His very being. Nothing in God can be corrupted from one thing into another. His joy cannot be corrupted into sadness, nor His happiness into grief, nor His eternal blessedness into suffering. Rather, His integrity is maintained in every way.

He Suffered in the Flesh

God cannot receive anything good from His creatures which He once lacked, nor can His creatures take anything good from Him so as to deprive Him of His own perfections.

Having established divine impassibility, we now run into a theological quandary. Since God cannot suffer, and since Jesus is God, how can we say that Jesus suffered? Indeed, how do we understand the words of scripture which tell us that He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Is. 53:3), that He suffered in His temptation and even died (1Pet. 4:1, Heb. 2:14, 18)? The Bible is clear that the Son must suffer in order to atone for the sins of His people (Heb. 2:17-18; 5:7-9; Rom. 6:10). But how can He atone for our sins if He cannot suffer? How can He die for us if He cannot die?

It may be said that God the Son can suffer because He assumed unto Himself a human nature so that He is both God and man. The Symbol of Chalcedon declares that the Son is,

To be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is, the second person of the Trinity, in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4), assumed unto Himself a human nature with a body of flesh and reasonable soul so that in this incarnation there was a union of a divine nature and a human nature within the one Person (a hypostatic union). These two natures are not mixed together into a human/divine hybrid, thus becoming neither human nor divine. Nor are the two natures separated into two subjects as though the single person of the Son split Himself into two separate persons (i.e. a human person and a divine person). As the Athanasian Creed says, “although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.” The human nature does not receive a little bit of divinity and a little bit of immortality, nor does the divine nature receive anything from the human nature, the natures are united, but not mixed.

Sometimes, the Son acts according to His human nature, and sometimes He acts according to His divine nature, but it is always God the Son acting. In addition, that which can be said of His human nature can and must be said of the person of the Son, and that which is said of His divine nature can and must be said of His person. However, that which can be said of His human nature (ignorance, mortality, weakness) cannot be said of His divine nature. Conversely, that which can be said of His divine nature (immortality, omniscience, omnipresence) cannot be said of His human nature. This is what has come to be known among theologians as the communicatio idiomatum (communication of properties). The properties of the natures can be predicated of the Person but not of each other.

Thus, the Son could grow in wisdom and in stature (Lk. 2:40) even though an increase in wisdom implies previous ignorance. God is all knowing and cannot grow in wisdom because there is nothing He does not already know. To grow in stature is to change, and as we have already seen, it is impossible for God to change. Yet, the Son of God, grew and learned according to His human nature which is neither immutable nor omniscient. He did not, and could not, learn or grow according to His divine nature. This is also why Jesus could say that the Son does not know the day of the coming of the Son of Man, but only the Father (Mark 13:32). The Son is ignorant of the future according to His human nature while at the same time being omniscient according to the divine nature which He and the Father have in common.

Were the sufferings of the Christ endured by a mere human person they would not have the redemptive value necessary to bring us to God.

It is proper to human nature to be mortal, to suffer, and to die. Therefore, the Son of God, God Himself, can suffer, according to His human nature. Yet, the divine nature cannot die or suffer, and it does not. We see this in Acts 20:28 where Paul says that God purchased the church with His own blood. How is this possible? God does not have blood, He is pure spirit (Jn. 4:24). While the divine nature does not have blood, God does have blood according to the human nature of the Son. So, when the Son suffers to make atonement, He does not take that suffering up into the divine nature as if the two natures were mixed, but He really does suffer truly according to His human nature, which is capable of such suffering. As John of Damascus says,

For when the one Christ, who is composed of divinity and humanity, and exists as both human and divine, suffered, the passible element suffered, as was natural to it, but the impassible element did not suffer along with it.[3]

For Us and For Our Salvation

It is necessary that the Son be impassible according to His divine nature. If He is not impassible, He is not immutable, He is not Omnipotent, He is not Self-Sufficient (a se), He is not transcendent, He is not God. Yet it is also necessary that the Son be capable of suffering so that He might, by His humiliation, sufferings, and death, purchase our salvation. Cyril of Alexandria says it this way,

Since on this account He wished to suffer, even though he was beyond the power of suffering in His nature as God, then he wrapped Himself in flesh that was capable of suffering, and revealed it as His very own, so that even the suffering might be said to be His because it was His own body which suffered and no one else’s.[4]

The atonement that He made in the body of His flesh is efficacious to redeem a lost race because it is the passible body of God Himself. Were the sufferings of the Christ endured by a mere human person they would not have the redemptive value necessary to bring us to God. But the blood which was shed was the blood of a divine person, making it infinite in value and worthy to purchase lost souls. Thus, we see the immense love and wisdom of God, “who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man.”

[1] James E. Dolezal, “Strong Impassibility,” in Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God’s Emotions and Suffering, ed. Robert J. Matz and A. Chadwick Thornhill, Spectrum Multiview Books (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2019), 14.

[2] François Turrettini, Institutes of Elenctic Theology. 1: First through Tenth Topics (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publ, 1992), 205.

[3] St John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith: A New Translation of An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, trans. Norman Russell (St Vladimirs Seminary Pr, 2022), 225.

[4] Saint Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ, trans. Anthony McGuckin (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimirs Seminary Pr, 2005), 118.

Post Views: 24

Tough and Tender: How Pastors Follow the Good Shepherd

By Gary Millar — 18 hours ago

Jesus, our chief Shepherd, is remarkably tough and remarkably tender — and often at times and in ways we don’t expect.

We see this surprising mixture over and over in the Gospels: he pursues the Samaritan woman (tender) and confronts her promiscuity (tough); he calls the Canaanite woman a “puppy” (tough) and heals her daughter (tender); he names Peter “Rock” (tender) and then calls him Satan (tough); he accepts the prostitute’s tears (tender) and casts a woe on the Pharisees’ tithe (tough). Now, if pastors should look like Jesus, if undershepherds should imitate the great Shepherd, what are we to do with that?

We might simply note that pastors need to be flexible, able to play different roles at different times. But I don’t think this gets to the heart of the matter. This isn’t really a pragmatic question of how we should act in specific situations. Jesus was much more than an expert in working out how to relate to people in every situation. He did what he did and said what he said because he was who he was. His example pushes us pastors to reflect on the kind of men we are. More than that, it confronts us with a basic question: Do we pursue Christlikeness in ministry more than we pursue competence?

Character of Christ

In ministry and life in general, it’s always easier to focus on competence rather than character. (As someone who works in theological education, I know that temptation all too well.) But competence without character is very dangerous. In fact, competence without character almost inevitably leads to the kind of high-profile leadership disasters that have peppered the evangelical landscape across the English-speaking world in recent years (and that have been quietly mirrored by lesser-known examples in local churches across the world). This is why it is so desperately important for pastors to pursue the character of Christ.

“Christlikeness should top the list of every search committee and every job description in ministry.”

All our discipling, theological training, mentoring, and coaching should ultimately aim at conforming us to the image of Christ. Christlikeness should top the list of every search committee and every job description in ministry. Christlikeness should dominate our prayers for our pastors. Above all else, we should long for it, expect it, and encourage it in those who lead us. Without this in place, we are not paying attention to the priorities of Scripture; we’re inviting disaster.

The multifaceted picture of Jesus that we find in the Gospels gives us more than enough material to identify the key ways in which pastors can walk as he did. Consider just five.

1. Christ wanted to please the Father.

The accounts of Jesus’s life and ministry are punctuated by statements of his overwhelming desire to be about his Father’s business or simply to please his Father (Luke 2:49; John 4:34). At the end of the day, the greatest responsibility and privilege of every pastor is to bring pleasure and glory to God. Only this ambition can keep our sinful desires for success, power, and acclamation in check.

2. Christ prayed for strength.

In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly takes time to pray for the strength that he needs to do what his Father has called him to do. This priority is first mentioned in the wilderness and continues to punctuate the narrative of his ministry all the way to the garden of Gethsemane and the cross. Christlike pastors, then, serve in weakness even as they seek God’s own strength by asking him to do his promised work in us through the Spirit. (It is no accident that the apostles are freed up in Acts 6:4 for the ministry of the word and prayer.)

3. Christ cared deeply for people.

We have a Lord and Master who cared deeply for people — whether those he spent the most time with (like his inner circle of twelve or his wider group of disciples), vulnerable individuals he briefly encountered (like the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, or the rich young ruler), or simply “the crowds” of individual cities (like Capernaum or Jerusalem). He cared deeply for whomever he saw, and so too do Christlike pastors.

4. Christ got to know people.

This mark of Christ’s ministry is almost redundant given the previous point, but it’s important enough to highlight explicitly. Caring is great, but in Jesus’s case, it was always matched by a deep insight into the characteristics and circumstances of individual people. That’s clear in Matthew 9:4, where Jesus addresses the Pharisees in the presence of the paralyzed man and his friends; it’s also on display in Luke 9:47, as Jesus sees through the ambition of his closest followers (see also John 2:24–25, as well as his encounters with Nicodemus in John 3 and the Samaritan woman in John 4).

While some of this knowledge may have been supernatural, much of it seems to have been the product of a deep insight, which led to investing in people and seeking their good.

5. Christ spoke for his hearers’ good and his Father’s glory.

When Jesus speaks to people, he is consistently motivated by two things: a profound concern for their deepest good and — what is perfectly in step with that — a concern to please his Father. This is why he is fearless in exposing people’s motives, whether it’s his friends (Luke 9:47) or his enemies (Matthew 9:4) or those he has just met (like the rich ruler of Luke 18:18). To put it bluntly, it’s not about him; it’s about them and his Father.

Impossible Call

When we see these qualities of Jesus, it becomes clear that his ability to be both tough and tender flowed from something much more profound than mere practical wisdom. He did what he did and said what he said because he was who he was. It also makes clear the daunting nature of the ministry to which every pastor is called. Pastoring is not simply a matter of discernment or learned sensitivity; pastors are called to Christlikeness.

This simple insight makes us stop and think. It also silences many of our excuses — especially those we offer silently to quiet our own inner angst and guilt. Our particular personality and our unique strengths and weaknesses do not provide an escape clause or an alternative way of doing ministry. We are all called to be like Christ and follow in his steps. Realizing this will help inoculate us against the virus of “professionalism” in ministry, which encourages us to fixate on competencies and the practicalities of good leadership (important though these are). Pastors who read the Gospels can never be satisfied with pragmatics, for they know that they are called to character — Christlikeness — above all.

The call to Christlikeness drives us to our knees and reminds us that we can never master our calling. The great news is that our God has promised that he is more than enough to help us in our weakness.

Post Views: 12

Foundations for the Future of Your Church

By John Piper — 18 hours ago

I’m calling this message “Foundations for the Future of Cities Church.” There are more than two foundational pillars of this church. But I’m going to focus on two because Psalm 19 focuses on two. The first foundation is the glory of God. The second foundation is the word of God. These two foundations answer the questions “What is ultimate reality?” (the glory of God) and “What is ultimate truth?” (the word of God). And what we will see is that the glory of God and the word of God find a perfect, personal union in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our rock and our redeemer: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

If you’re a child listening to me right now, you might be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of big words. I’m not sure this sermon is going to be for me.” Listen carefully as I point something out. Most children I’m aware of who have been taught along the way that there is a great God who made everything eventually ask, “Daddy, who made God? Where did God come from?” That is the same as asking, “What is ultimate reality?” This sermon is about the questions of children. The great questions are children’s questions. When a child is taught very early, “You must always tell the truth. You should never lie. Don’t ever say something is true when it’s not true,” sooner or later a child is going to ask, “Daddy, who decides what’s true?” And that’s the same as asking, “What is ultimate truth?” So, there are two foundations for the future of Cities Church: ultimate reality (the glory of God) and ultimate truth (the word of God).

Ultimate Reality, Ultimate Truth

By reality, I mean what is. And by ultimate reality, I mean what has always been and what defines all of reality — namely, the glory of God. God never had a beginning. He has always been there. And he has always been glorious. Ultimate reality is glorious because God is glorious — infinitely great, infinitely beautiful, infinitely valuable. Everything else, including the entire universe and eight billion human beings, is secondary, dependent, and derivative. Ultimate reality is the glory of God.

By truth, I mean reliable communication of what is and what ought to be. And what ought to be is defined by what ultimately is, which is why God said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Holy is what I ought to be. Why? Because ultimate reality is holy. And what ought to be is determined by what ultimately is. “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I was led to choose Psalm 19 as the focus of this message largely because I am so burdened by the prevalence today of a kind of Christian who does not like to think in terms of ultimate reality and ultimate truth. They are allergic to those categories. They are kept at a distance, and in their place are malleable, fuzzy ideas of tolerance, acceptance, love, justice, compassion, respect, and openness. But as soon as you bring ultimate truth or ultimate reality to bear on any of those ideas so as to give them some measure of definition and clarity, there is resistance. Truth and reality are felt to be a kind of straitjacket — a limitation, constriction, or restraint — even though Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:32, 36).

The burden that I bring this morning is to say, “Cities Church, if the ultimate reality of the glory of God and the ultimate truth of the word of God cease to be the cherished pillars of this church, you will cease to be a true church. And if the kind of Christians who are allergic to ultimate truth, ultimate reality, and the clarity, definition, and doctrine that flows from them gravitate into the eldership of this church, that will be the beginning of the end.”

I believe you have a body of elders now that get this just right. Follow them as they follow Christ. Exult joyfully in the ultimate reality of the glory of God. Exult joyfully in the ultimate truth of the word of God. And exult personally and gladly in the perfect union of the glory of God and the word of God in the Son of God — our rock and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. You will see in just a moment why I stress the words joyfully and gladly.

Glory of God

Now turn with me to Psalm 19. And if you think that was a long introduction, in fact it was exposition of this chapter. Everything I have just said flowed from my meditations on this chapter and, I believe, is explicit or implicit in Psalm 19. We have not been spinning our wheels.

Verses 1–6 are about ultimate reality, the glory of God. Verses 7–11 are about ultimate truth, the word of God. And verses 12–14 are David’s response expressing his need for a Redeemer.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (verses 1–6)

What’s the point of those six verses? There is not a single word there about you or me or any human being. Those verses are entirely about God and how his glory is revealed. What is David doing? He is answering the question “What is ultimate reality?” What is behind the universe? What’s the point of the stars and the moon and the sun and everything we see when we look up? And his answer is this: the point of the universe is to declare that God is glorious — to proclaim that a glorious God built this with his hands.

Sometimes, you will hear a skeptic say, “If Christianity is true, why are there billions of light-years of space and, as far as we know, trillions of uninhabitable stars, many of which are millions of times bigger than the sun, while earth and its history is a tiny blue dot in the midst of this wild, vast universe of unimaginable power?” The answer is this: The message of the universe is not first about us. It’s about God. In fact, since David said he built this with his hands, and Psalm 8 says he did it with his fingers, we may conclude it was easy, and the universe is very much like a peanut that he carries in his pocket. The point of the universe is that God is glorious.

Verses 1–2 speak of the heavens declaring, proclaiming, and pouring out speech — all of which sounds as if we are supposed to hear something. But verse 3 clarifies: “There is no speech, nor are there words.” This is a wordless declaration, a speechless proclamation. Then I think that last phrase in verse 3 (“whose voice is not heard”) means something like this: The heavens have a voice, but it is not a heard voice. It’s a seen voice. It’s a seen message from God. Because he goes right on to say in verse 4, “Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” It’s a voice without speech, words without words. And there is no limit to this voice that we hear with our eyes — this declaration, this proclamation that we hear by seeing the work of God’s hands. You remember the way Paul picked this up in Romans 1:20. He said, “[God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived . . . in the things that have been made.”

Then, perhaps most amazing of all, from the end of verse 4 through verse 5 David zeroes in on the sun. And what he says about the way the sun proclaims the glory of God is mind-boggling:

In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

When you look at the declaration of the glory of God in the rising of the sun to its setting, what you are to see is a glory — a divine glory — that is like a bridegroom coming out of his tent and walking toward his wedding. What you are to see is a glory — a divine glory — that is like a strong runner who loves to run and therefore runs with joy. Picture Eric Liddell from Chariots of Fire, head back, arms flailing, smile on his face, feeling a joyful pleasure of God on his life.

“The point of the universe is to declare that God is glorious.”

What’s the point? Stop and think. This is amazing. This is mind-boggling. What else can the message be but that when you rightly see the glory of God, it is an ecstatically happy glory? It is a happiness in God who thought this up, who made the universe this way. And it is happiness in us if we rightly see and savor the revelation of God’s glory. I remember the night of December 20, 1968, lying alone on my bed in the motel room in Barnesville, Georgia, the night before I was to marry Noël, and thinking, Tomorrow morning is the day I have wanted for two and a half years. I was so happy, and I still am.

If you see the glory of God as it really is, this will be your experience — the enjoyment of the glorious overflow of the greatness of God. And David is not ignorant, nor was Jesus, of the horrible suffering of this world. Jesus said that God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45). David wrote this psalm before antibiotics, before anesthesia, before any knowledge of infection, before motors or electricity or refrigeration or indoor plumbing or central heating or air conditioning or 911. It was a hard and brutal world. And in spite of everything, when he looked up at the rising of the sun, he saw a bridegroom on his way to his wedding and a man running with joy. That’s why I said, “Cities Church, exult joyfully in the ultimate reality of the glory of God.”

Word of God

Now we turn to verses 7–11, which focus on the ultimate truth of God’s word. How are verses 7–11, with their focus on the ultimate truth of God’s word, connected to verses 1–6, with their focus on the ultimate reality of the glory of God? There is more than one right answer to that question. One answer is that verses 7–11 are written to answer the question “What if I look at the heavens and I don’t experience the glory of God and the gladness of a bridegroom or a happy runner? Is there something wrong with my eyes? Is there something inadequate about the heavens?” I think David’s answer to those two questions is yes. God’s revelation of himself in nature is inadequate for all that God wants us to know and experience of his glory. And yes, there is something wrong with our eyes, and looking at nature cannot fix it, but the written word of God can. So, he turns from God’s revelation in nature to God’s revelation in Scripture.

As I read these verses, look for six ways the written word of God is named, nine ways the word of God is described, and seven ways the word of God affects the reader:

The law (instruction) of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;the fear of the Lord [viewed as the focus and aim of the word] is clean, enduring forever;the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

He names God’s word as law (instruction), testimony (God’s witness), precepts, commandments, fear, and rules. He takes the one diamond, the word of God, Scripture, and turns it so six of its facets show in these six names.

Then he describes it. God’s word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, righteous, more precious than gold, and sweeter than honey. In other words, it is complete — it contains all you need as a reader or a listener in order to know God as he ought to be known. It is flawless and will never mislead you. It is precious beyond estimation because of its completeness and flawlessness — more valuable than the most valuable thing on earth and sweeter than the sweetest thing on earth.

And then he gives the amazing effects of this word on us. It revives. It gives life. You, O Lord, have the words of life (John 6:68). It makes the simple wise. It keeps you from being a fool. It creates joy in the heart — for example, when it goes beyond sunshine and shows the final meaning of the bridegroom and the runner. So, the ultimate reality of God’s glory and the ultimate truth of God’s word are both joyful. They both are designed by God to make us glad forever. It enlightens the eyes — which many of us need when we look at God’s glory in nature because we don’t see the bridegroom exulting or the runner rejoicing. It endures forever and will never let you down. It keeps back from sin and leads to final great reward.

In other words, God’s communication in his written word is fuller and more effective than God’s communication in nature. Both are good and do what they were appointed to do. But the written word is better.

I called the glory of God in verses 1–6 ultimate reality because the point of those verses was that the glory of God is why the universe exists. The glorious God was there before anything else. Everything else exists because of God to show the glory of God, and therefore the glory of God is ultimate. There is nothing before or under or over the glory of God. It is ultimate reality.

And the reason I call the word of God ultimate truth in verses 7–11 is because of the sixfold repetition: law of the Lord, testimony of the Lord, precepts of the Lord, commandment of the Lord, fear of the Lord, rules of the Lord. Nothing is repeated more often than this. The word, the Scriptures, are from God and about God and for God. And God is ultimate. He speaks the truth — “The rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” (verse 9) — and since it is God who speaks the truth, the truth he speaks is ultimate truth.

Son of God

Cities Church, these are two absolutely essential foundations for your future: the glory of God as ultimate reality and the word of God as ultimate truth. Without these, you will not be a true church.

But there is a paradox here. When a church embraces the glory of God and the word of God as a treasure better than gold and the sweetness sweeter than honey, two things happen: joy overflows like a bridegroom coming out of his tent, and humble brokenheartedness abounds. The more clearly you see the beauty and value of God’s holiness, his glory, and the more deeply you are pierced by the living word of God, the happier you will be because of him and the sadder you will be because of yourself. The more sweetly you embrace the glory of God, the more keenly you are aware of impurities in yourself. In other words, at the end of verses 1–11, we need a Redeemer. That’s where David ends.

Let’s read Psalm 19:12–14:

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

The last word of the psalm, in Hebrew and English, is redeemer. Justification by faith was a reality in the Old Testament. The apostle Paul based his teaching on Abraham. That reality is what David means when he says in verse 12, “Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” People who are not innocent in the presence of God’s glory need to be declared innocent. You do. I do.

But for God to be just and yet declare guilty people to be innocent, there needs to be a Redeemer — a very special kind of Redeemer. So, God’s word teaches us in Romans 3 that God put Jesus Christ forward as a Redeemer — a justice-satisfying Redeemer — because God had passed over former sins like David’s (declaring the guilty innocent) and so that he could pass over our sins and declare us innocent and keep us back from the sin that leads to death.

The Old Testament sacrifices, the Old Testament priests, and the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer could not do it. We need more than the glory of God in nature and the word of God in Scripture. We need a Redeemer who is a perfect personal union of the glory of God and the word of God. And that’s who Jesus Christ is. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

So, there is the third foundational pillar for Cities Church. The first is that ultimate reality is the glory of God. The second is that ultimate truth is the word of God. And the third is that ultimate reality and ultimate truth united in the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Therefore, Cities Church, on your tenth anniversary, declare this openly and joyfully: “We are built on and we rejoice in the foundations of the glory of God, the word of God, and the Son of God as a treasure — more to be desired are they than gold, and sweeter also than honey.”

Post Views: 8

Four Ways to Pray for Your Pastor

By TFL — 23 hours ago

Prayer is essential to the Christian life. Some of us take a more systematic approach, writing down requests and scheduling time for focused communion with the Lord. Others of us are more spontaneous, bringing our requests to God as they come to mind and throughout the day.

Post Views: 17

The Most Pleasant Show on Television

By Tim Challies — 23 hours ago

I rarely review, recommend, or even mention movies and television programs. I rarely do so because I am aware that tastes vary and so too do family rules and personal consciences. Not only that, but I am not very adept at understanding the themes or messages in visual media and wouldn’t wish to inadvertently lead people into watching something that would offend them. (Aileen will attest that I often have to pause shows so she can explain to me what’s going on.) But today, without necessarily recommending it, I want to mention one show I have particularly enjoyed and tell what I have enjoyed about it.

I know that every genre of entertainment and every jurisdiction in which it is distributed has its own system for rating the content—from programs suitable for every audience to programs unsuitable for any audience (which should thus never have been made). On a personal level, however, I find that I increasingly divide films and programs into two categories: pleasant and unpleasant. While acknowledging that these categories are somewhat subjective, I find them helpful.

When the end of the day comes and I’m too tired to read yet not tired enough to go to sleep, I love to watch something with Aileen—to settle onto the couch together and be entertained for 45 minutes or so. And it is a joy to watch something pleasant. So much of today’s entertainment is violent or edgy, provocative or profane. So much of it is a thinly-veiled veneer for identity politics as if that message is so important that no other quality really matters. It’s unpleasant—and if it’s unpleasant in the middle of the day it somehow seems even more so at the end of a day.

It has been a long time since I have watched a show as pleasant as All Creatures Great and Small. It is now several seasons into its run and to this point it has avoided just about all of the common traps. While I will grant that there have been some isolated scenes that are a mite disagreeable, the great majority has been a joy to watch. It hasn’t merely avoided traps, but actually told engaging stories in a really satisfying way. The period is fascinating, the setting beautiful, and the characters deeply developed. While I keep waiting in dread for some immoral and anachronistic addition to the series, so far it hasn’t come. The writers have mostly just followed the stories from the books or written their own that are in the spirit of the books. It is all so pleasant and has become one of our favorite ways to end a long day.

So in its own way, All Creatures has reminded me just how pleasant and unprovocative television can be. It has reminded me of an earlier era in entertainment when much (though certainly not all) of what was available was actually watchable for those who don’t wish to see what shouldn’t be seen and amused by what shouldn’t be amusing. And I hope the show’s success helps the studios understand that if they keep out the raunch, hold back the politics, and simply tell good stories in a compelling way, they’ll have an audience eager to watch.

Post Views: 45

A La Carte (April 2)

By Tim Challies — 24 hours ago

A highlight of today’s Kindle deals is Jonathan Holmes’ Grounded in Grace which will be helpful to parents. There are a lot of other great deals as well. And remember that the Tyndale Commentaries, The Bible Speaks Today, and several other amazing series are on sale.

Paul Tripp says, “Our God of grace intends to make his invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace. His people are meant to be the visible demonstration of his faithfulness.” Then he asks, “will we accept this lavish gift with humility, honesty, and dependency?”

Dave Harvey has a good word here about the desire for distinction. “I feel it. You probably do as well. Regardless of where we are called to lead, we want our efforts to be fruitful; to make a difference. So far, so good. But there is something we smuggle into our service: We want it to set us apart.“

“Was I just in an ongoing ‘cage-stage’ in my 20s? I don’t think so. No, I had a misplaced identity. I had placed my worth in my theology. It makes sense, then, why I felt personally attacked when the differing views of others rubbed against my own.”

Christina Fox: “Wherever you are in your motherhood journey—whether in the early, middle, or empty nest years—God meets you where you are. He provides His grace. We see this in the lives of three mothers in the Bible. In each of their circumstances, God provided what they needed and gave them His grace.”

Darryl offers some random but helpful thoughts on preaching.

Have you ever considered what good news it is that God hates sin?

We sometimes encounter providences that make us believe the book has been closed and all has been lost. Yet when we are pressed, we must not think we have been crushed, but believe that God can still bring about a great redemption.

Your whole life is being determined by what you’re running from, what you’re running to, and who you’re running with.
—Alistair Begg

Post Views: 76

Road Trip Dividing Line: Jeff Durbin and the Jewish Representative, then Jay Dyer on Abraham

By James White — 1 day ago

Split the show in two, first half hour dealing with religious exemptions, the ERLC article on the topic, vaxxonlyism and the carnage it has produced, etc. Then switched to responding to claims made by Hank Hanegraaff, the former Bible Answer Man, regarding church history. Included a short five minute sermon for us all at the end!

Post Views: 28

God of the Eternal Smile

By Clinton Manley — 2 days ago

There’s an old hymn that goes like this:

Soul, then know thy full salvation . . .Think what Spirit dwells within thee,Think what Father’s smiles are thine,Think that Jesus died to win thee,Child of heaven, canst thou repine?

How often do you consider the smile of God? “Think what Father’s smiles are thine,” the song implores us. How often do you bask in the blazing sunlight of our Father’s grin?

Now, it is true that God’s smile is an image, a metaphor for his fathomless felicity and fellowship. The Father does not have a physical smile (although Jesus does). But the reality is more real than the image, not less. And what an image it is.

Ancient Happiness

The looming promise of God’s smile hovers over the pages of the Old Testament. It is the enormous bliss of Eden. From the very beginning, we can hear it surge through God’s voice in his sevenfold approval of his world — good, good, good, good, good, good, very good. We see it — even now — in this wild wonderland of creation, in fall leaves and spring flowers, in the fantastic whimsy of clouds and sunrises that break with the bright joy of a bridegroom, in the frantic rumpus of squirrels and the long, slow oddity of cows, in snow and stone and stars. The beauty of the world is the divine smile in stuff. We feel this Father’s smile when he gives the stunning gift of the woman to the man and Adam erupts into poetry. God’s smile was a permanent fixture of the pre-fall world. It is the enormous bliss of Eden.

But as the world plunged into rebellion and ruin, God’s smile was clouded over. Oh, it was still there. The joy of the Triune God is infinite, independent, indomitable, unassailable as a mountain and bigger than the universe. But unrepentant sinners with unforgiven sin cannot enjoy God’s holy happiness. Yet even after the fall, God’s smile still glimmers in common grace. And even before he can finish pronouncing the curse, that frowning providence in Genesis 3, his hidden smile breaks through in the promise of a Son to come.

“The joy of the Trinity is infinite, independent, indomitable, unassailable as a mountain and bigger than the universe.”

We glimpse the first inklings of this plan when God begins to make a way, through a priest and blood, for his people to again enjoy his presence and commands. Aaron, the first high priest, blesses the chosen with the promise of God’s smile: “Yahweh bless you and keep you; Yahweh make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:24–25). A shining face is a smiling face. So the central hope of the Old Testament is that God’s people would again enjoy his felicity and fellowship.

This longing became a cherished refrain of the ancient saints, especially in their poetry:

Many say, “Who can show us anything good?” Smile upon us, Lord!You make me happier than those who have abundant grain and wine. (Psalm 4:6–7 NET)

David hints that all that is good and beautiful — joy full of strength and pleasures undiluted — shines out in the smile of God. Man’s true happiness is found in that face.

Paternal Pleasure

When Jesus bursts onto the scene, we learn God’s smile is not the approval of some generic deity but the massive mirth of a glad dad. Can you imagine the Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), without a smile? Here is joy older than the world, an ocean of paternal pleasure.

And — may it leave us breathless — because of the Son, God is not just a father but our Father. Through the high priest and his own blood, God made a way for his smile to again be a permanent fixture over his people. Jesus bore the terrible tempest of divine wrath so that we might live forever in the sunlight of his smile. All those who are united to the Son become sons, co-heirs of the huge happiness of God. This is the glory of the gospel of the happy God (1 Timothy 1:11).

We are not yet alive enough to gaze into that sun’s full strength. We still sin and must confess. Triune joy is too big, and we are too shadowy, to handle that weight of glory. But it will not always be so. One day, when we taste the wild freedom of perfect holiness, we will be transfixed by God’s smile (Hebrews 12:14). The morning star will be given to us, and the gigantic bliss of the Lamb who was slain will light up a cosmos made new.

As Aslan says to his own, so our Father says to us: You are not yet so happy as I mean you to be — not yet as happy as me. Enter into the joy of your Maker.

Enter into Joy

So, child of heaven, think what Father’s smiles are thine!

In the Son of his pleasure and by the Spirit of his joy, our heavenly Father pours out his gladness on his chosen people. There is no one to compel his joy or constrain his delight. He is utterly free. His smile is as sure as the rising sun because everything he does erupts from the eternal happiness of the Trinity. Overflowing from that thrilled freedom, he delights in giving his children everything they need to increasingly enjoy the beauty of his smile.

And it is from that impulse to share his own triune joy, to shed light and love on his people, that God made a world and gave his word to reveal his glory. Jonathan Edwards puts it like this:

It is such a delight in his own internal fullness and glory that disposes him to an abundant effusion and emanation of that glory. The same disposition that inclines him to delight in his glory causes him to delight in the exhibitions, expressions, and communications of it. (God’s Passion for His Glory, 170)

In other words, God’s eternal happiness in being God overflows in the revelation of that happiness to creatures. He invites us to enter into his own indomitable joy — to know and delight in God as God does. This month at Desiring God, we will revel in the resplendent smile of our God as we explore the expressions and attributes of his fierce happiness. Won’t you join us?

Post Views: 31

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Grave? Explore the Evidence in Is Easter Unbelievable?

By TFL — 2 days ago

For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. But for many who have never explored the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, the details may be largely unknown, and the story on the surface may appear to be more myth than fact.

Post Views: 29

A La Carte (April 1)

By Tim Challies — 2 days ago

Good morning from Kitwe, Zambia. I’m here this week to speak at an event for writers. Prayers are appreciated!

If all goes well, you should find hundreds of great Kindle deals available today—commentaries, Bible resources, and much more. Start here for a short list and then go here for a much longer one. I’ll try to have the list all updated by early morning.

(Yesterday on the blog: Combat Anxiety Through Surrender)

John Piper evaluates Jordan Peterson’s perspective on happiness. “Jordan Peterson is negative about happiness as the aim of life because he defines happiness as fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, and superficial rather than as deep, lasting, soul-satisfying, rooted in God, and expanding in love. He’s probably right that for most people, happiness is experienced as fleeting, superficial, unpredictable…”

I enjoyed Dan’s tribute to the humble cup of church coffee.

Andrew Roycroft considers the show Adolescence and writes about it for the benefit of a younger audience. “Greetings from the world of Substack. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this platform, but I have a feeling that it might be the domain of people you view as outside of your age group. Thanks for venturing into this space, if so!”

Chap Bettis suggests “five different spiritual habits or rhythms that you can bring into your home that will bring blessing.”

This is a true and encouraging story. “All four ladies were chatting pleasantly as they drove up to the intersection. Adaleen’s window was halfway down due to the hot temperatures outside. Out of nowhere the assailant’s hand reached in through the open window and pulled the keys out of the ignition, stalling the car. Shock gripped all the women.”

Brett McCracken considers Love Is Blind and how it is “fascinating as a reflection of our culture’s widening gender divide over politics and as a strong warning against ‘unequally yoked’ dating when key values and spiritual convictions diverge.”

As I listen and ask follow-up questions, I learn—I learn to appreciate what I have often never considered before and even what doesn’t especially enthuse me. God is good to give human beings skills and passions and good to allow us to express them in our vocations.

A profession of faith doesn’t justify anybody. It’s the possession of faith that justifies.
—R.C. Sproul