Understanding God as Beauty, the most beautiful and the One against whom we define all other beauties, allows our experiences of beauty here in this world to draw us towards him. 

When writing or speaking about beauty, one of the first major hurdles to arise is a definition. What is beauty? While most people would say that they know it when they see it, articulating exactly what it is, and what it is not, is a challenge. Philosophers, theologians, and artists have argued about beauty’s definition for millenia, and it would be arrogant to think that what I have to say will end the discussion.
Still, we need to work towards something. Many go back to Plato, and his claim that beauty is objective, and that it has to do with symmetry, order, balance, and proportion. Others, particularly in modern and postmodern Western culture, would argue that beauty is subjective—it depends on your perspective, tastes, experiences, and that there isn’t one true definition for all people and all time.
But perhaps we are asking the wrong question. What if, instead of asking, “what is beauty?” we asked, “who is beauty?”
Beauty has a Name
Augustine of Hippo, an African bishop and theologian living in the fourth century, answers this question. In one of the most famous lines in his memoir of conversion, he laments, “Belatedly I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved you.” Here, Augustine addresses God, and he does so by calling God “Beauty.”
He’s in good company: his words echo that of David and Moses. In Psalm 27, David declares that he seeks one thing: “that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (27:4, NIV). Later, in Psalm 29, he instructs the people to “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (29:2, KJV). Moses, too, identifies God as beautiful in his benediction to Psalm 90: “let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us” (90:17, KJV).[1] David and Moses agree: the Lord is beautiful.
If the Lord is beautiful, then it follows that he is the most beautiful. As Anselm argues, “whatever good thing the supreme Nature is, it is in the highest degree. It is, therefore,…supreme Beauty…” Jonathan Edwards goes further, arguing not only that “as God is infinitely the greatest Being, so is allowed to be infinitely the most beautiful and excellent” but that because of this, “all the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation is but the reflection of the diffused beams of that Being who hath an infinite fullness of brightness and glory; God…is the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty.”
Our Beautiful God
We have identified, now, not simply an idea of beauty, but beauty itself. God, in his attributes and actions, grounds all definitions of beauty. Whether beautiful in small measure or great, something or someone may only be said to be beautiful if it is consonant in some way with who God is.
Read More

The woke gospel is a false gospel. The gospel that we teach is a Biblical gospel that does not reject the principles of the Old Testament law. It is a gospel that is focused on Jesus Christ. That gospel sets us free to establish order and justice under the good and gracious rule of King Jesus. 

I have been reflecting on the civil law in the Bible and wokeness in our current culture. I recently wrote on Christianity and wokeness more generally here in a mix of commentary on and book review of Dr. Strachan’s book “Christianity and Wokeness”.
Now what do I mean here by “civil law”? I am using the term “civil law” here as a distinct category from both the “ceremonial law” and the “moral law”. The ceremonial law existed in the Old Testament as shadows and pictures that pointed forward to Christ who would fulfil it (Hebrews, BC Art. 25, HC LD 6). To go back to these laws would fall into the heresy of the Judaizers whom Paul condemns in his various letters to the churches in the New Testament.
The civil law is the law that was meant to order society in Old Testament Israel. The moral law was the basic principles for morality: the 10 commandments.
But to make these distinctions does not mean that these laws are hermetically sealed. There is some overlap between the ceremonial law and the civil law in the Old Testament. For example, it seems that there was a ceremonial aspect to the specific practice of stoning. But while those ceremonial aspects have passed away (they still teach us about Christ which means that they are still valuable), there are still principles to learn from the many OT civil laws that should protect us today, including against the woke mob. In the civil law we find many practical applications of the moral law (10 commandments) which remains unchanged in these New Testament times. The law of love does not replace these 10 commandments. The Law of Love simply summarizes the 10 commandments. In the 10 commandments and the civil law, we learn how to love God and our neighbor.
As we have seen especially in the last 10 years, wokeness seeks to separate the laws that govern men from the changeless laws of God that establish Biblical justice and equity in the land.
For example, while the MeToo Movement may have arisen from real cases where male power was abused in the workplace, it forsook certain rules that protected employers and co-workers from false allegations of sexual harassment. In the Old Testament civil law, an allegation had to be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:1-7). This is affirmed in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul in his exhortations to the church in Corinth in II Corinthians 13 as a timeless principle. As such, the church should be a model to the secular world, of true justice and equity.
Read More

Husbands, care for your wives. Cherish her as your own body (Eph. 5:28). She is not merely your partner. She is your other half, your own flesh and bone. You don’t abuse your body; you build up, protect, and nourish it. Likewise, cherish and care for your wife. “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (Col. 3:19). You should just as easily treat your wife harshly as you should punch yourself in the face. “The man who does not love his wife,” Calvin says, “is a monster.”3

These three verbs describe freely given love: lead, sacrifice, and care. Let me speak directly to men with each of these words.

Husbands, lead your wives. I remember hearing John Piper say on more than one occasion that the husband should be the one who most often says, “let’s.” That simple piece of advice has always stuck with me. “Honey, let’s go on a walk.” “Let’s pray together.” “Let’s get the kids ready for bed.” Take the initiative, men. This isn’t about making every decision or believing that listening to your wife is a sign of weakness. John Witherspoon puts it well: “I therefore take the liberty of rescuing from the number of hen-peckt, those who ask the advice, and follow the direction of their wives in most cases, because they are really better than any they could give themselves.”1 Good leaders sometimes follow, and insightful followers sometimes are given the opportunity to lead. The point about “let’s” is the man’s posture, his eagerness to make plans, take risks, and be fully engaged in the marital relationship.

This is especially true when it comes to spiritual leadership. Christian husbands can be aggressive and assertive when it comes to making money, tackling problems at work, or pursuing their hobbies, but when it comes to loving leadership in the home, too often they’re doormats. They take zero responsibility for the spiritual well-being of their household.

And yet God holds men accountable for the spiritual welfare of their wives. “Love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25–27). I have a responsibility for my wife’s holiness. Trisha’s marriage to me should be an instrument of edification, purification, and sanctification.

Being a spiritual leader means taking the initiative to repair the breach when the relationship has been damaged. If Christ loves the church, his wayward bride, and continually woos her back from her spiritual adulteries, how much more should you woo back your wife after a disagreement when half the time it will be your fault anyway? It is always 100 percent the church’s fault. And it is never 100 percent your wife’s fault. Husbands ought to take the first step toward reconciliation when the marriage has grown cold with hurts and disappointments.

2. Sacrifice

Husbands, sacrifice for your wives. Perhaps the most important thing for your marriage is that you understand the doctrine of the atonement. Jesus died for the church. Your leadership as a husband is a self-sacrificing leadership.

This can mean little things: coming home early, taking care of the kids, participating joyfully in something she likes to do, overlooking an offense, running errands, fixing something around the house, cleaning up the house. Loving your wife can also entail bigger sacrifices.

Read More
Related Posts: