Christian Doctrine

“He’s God’s friend.” That is about the nicest thing a person can say about someone. In the mouth of God himself, Isaiah says, “Abraham, my friend” (Isaiah 41:8; cp. James 2:23; 2 Chronicles 20:7). Friendship implies several things about our relationship to God. Jesus tells us what he is doing—revelation (John 15:15); so “friend” better describes us than “slave” or “servant” does. Besides, he cares about us—a lot, enough even to die an excruciating death for us (John 15:13-15; Romans 5:6-8, etc.). That implies doing for us whatever else we need and cannot do for ourselves; that is what a friend does (Romans 8:32; 1 John 3:17). Friendship with God separates us from people that are at cross purposes with him: “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4); so we have the same values and purposes that he does. Experience shows us a number of points that help us understand what ideal friendship is like.

            A series of words has traditionally stated from various angles the character of scripture in positive and negative terms. The list begins with the biblical expression in 2 Timothy 3:16, which translates literally as (1) “God-breathed.” The rather unhappy term in popular vogue for this passage is “inspired”; so “inspiration” becomes the corresponding noun for getting at the concept Paul expressed in the text. “Inspire,” however, does not properly picture the idea because it (a) creates the image of breathing into something the characteristic the word denotes—as when God “breathed into Adam the breath of life” and he became something more than he was. Such imagery limits the meaning of the text to what can add to something already there. The word picture in God-breathedness is that of “exhaling” the thing itself, so the scripture is regarded as issuing directly from God’s mouth. Scripture stands apart from all other writing by being viewed as God’s direct speaking.

                  In Daniel 2:44 those kings [מֶלֶךְ] seems to refer to the preceding four kingdoms [מַלְכוּ] of 2:38-43. Daniel uses kingdom and king somewhat interchangeably in that king can by metonymy stand for the realm he rules, even though over a period of time there may be several kings in one kingdom. In 2:39 the writer says, “And after you, Nebuchadnezzar, will arise another kingdom inferior to you.” A similar shift of terms comes in 2:44, “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom . . . it will break all these kingdoms in pieces and consume (them).” Later in 7:17 the four beasts from the sea (7:3; earth, 7:17) are said to represent four kings, whereas 7:23 says that “the fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom that will be different from all the kingdoms.”

            Interpreters have proposed several ways for removing from present observance of New Testament directives about male-female role relationship in the church and the home: 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:33b-36; Colossians 3:18-19; and 1 Peter 3:1-7.

 I. Paul’s Intended Connection Between Genesis 2-3 and Women’s Roles

πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος

pāsa graphē theopneustos kai ōphelimos

Variables in the English wording of this verse

                        Glossolalia covers a range of speaking phenomena, including ecstatic utterance and “angelic tongues.” Cases occasionally come up in which someone speaks an actual language—xenoglossia. The following possibilities may be kept in mind when evaluating these cases.

            Washing feet comes up in three New Testament texts. (a) Luke 7:44 refers to it in an episode about a sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with ointment, wet them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair (7:36-50). (b) Among characteristics of widows enrolled in the church’s benevolence program, Paul lists “washing the saints’ feet” together with parenting, showing hospitality to strangers, and works of Christian living (1 Timothy 5:10). (c) In the upper room the night of his betrayal, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-16). The last text has prompted some Christians to consider feet washing an ordinance like communion and baptism—or as a part of the communion observance. The paragraphs below analyze this view, giving special attention to the reasoning that seems natural to the issue.

Salvation is reconciliation,¹ an interpersonal process accomplished by interpersonal means² in the interpersonal realm. God’s response to human sin has been remedial, not just just punitive.

          As part of our standard response to the gospel, God appointed baptism for expressing personal identification with Jesus Christ, which involves commitment to his lordship, values, and purposes. In consequence of our identity with him, God forgives our sin, grants fellowship with his Spirit, and numbers us among his children.

Précis

Repent         be baptized  into    the name of Jesus Messiah     remission of sins

                                                                                                   the Holy Spirit as a gift

Introduction

               Something must explain why equally committed Christians come out on different sides of the same issue from the same Bible. It is either because of (1) unconscious presuppositions, (2) faulty reasoning, (3) misunderstanding of how language works, or (4) inadequate concept inventory.

1. A distinction needs to be made between standard situations and special cases. Denying the necessity of baptism applies only to special cases. Special cases include those in which

“And it-came-to-pass in [the] Apollos’ being in Corinth (that) Paul, having-passed-through the upper parts, came-down into Ephesus and found some disciples, and said to them, “[If] did-you-receive (the) Holy Spirit, having-believed?” But they (said) to him, “But we-did┘ not-even └know whether there-is (a) Holy Spirit.” And he-said, “Into what then were-you-baptized?” And they said, “Into the baptism of-John.” And Paul said, “John baptized (a) baptism of-repentance, saying to-the people that they-should-believe on the-one coming after, that is, on [the] Jesus.” And having-heard, they-were-baptized into the name of-the Lord Jesus. And [the] Paul having-laid┘[the] hands └on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they-began-to-speak with-tongues and prophesy. And all the men were about twelve” (Acts 19:1-7).

            We may question whether Judas should be counted among the men called apostles in the primary sense. Although he originally had that role, he left it (cp. Acts 1:15-22).. In addition, he did not see the resurrected Christ receive the commission and enablements distinctive to apostles in the primary sense. With Judas omitted, that leaves thirteen apostles with Matthias replacing Judas and Paul joining the class later.

            Discussions with seventh-day Christians include five questions. (1) The first question asks for the scripture basis for “changing” Saturday to Sunday as the day of observance. That question miswords the issue. It “begs the question” by assuming that the issue involves a change from one day to the other. Our approach notes that Sabbath was a memorial of the exodus, a Jewish national holiday; so there is no basis for Sabbath observance outside the context of Jewish national life. There will be no “scripture basis” for “changing” from Sabbath to Sunday, because there was no “change.” The two items are not in series but in parallel. The two days have different meanings relative to different “nations” and different founding events. It is not a matter of one continuing entity changing one of its national holidays from one day to another. Since this matter relates to the change of covenants, consult the essay entitled “Old Testament Covenants and the Messianic Covenant.”

ADDENDUM: “MALE AND FEMALE”

Old Testament Occurrences

Man/               Septuagint Readings: Ralphs’ & Brenton’s Editions Combined                     MT

Animal Gender                        (ἄρσην/θῆλυς)                                                                    נְקֵבָה/זָכָר

            Some additional questions arise from previous presentations on women’s studies. For one thing, I have used “ministry” in the title of a paper that centered on leadership in relation to women's roles. “Ministry” is broader than leadership, but leadership is the area in which disagreement about women's roles has arisen. One way to help resolve controversial issues is to appeal to the larger category in which they stand. A title about “ministry” is useful on this subject because women are clearly free to make significant contributions to kingdom work; the question is whether they are free to make contributions in formal leadership ministry over men. Ministry as the larger category sets the context for leadership ministry. Any distinctive elements in the latter must be added in such a way as not to contradict the larger framework. The thesis in “Ministry Before Consensus” has been that we can carry forward the kingdom's work significantly and with minimal negatives even before we resolve the problem. We can do that if we keep the problem clearly defined, if we keep it from spilling over into foreign issues, and if we maintain a proper understanding of Christian leadership. Women's formal and informal Christian leadership ministry needs to conform to Christian leadership ministry generally, Christian leadership ministry needs to take place in a way that harmonizes with Christian ministry, and Christian ministry of every sort must retain the characteristics of interpersonal process. Since it is ministry that we want to get done, ministry is the subject area.

            B. Alternatives to be considered

                  1.   Divine

                  2.   Demonic

            The view of mankind common in evangelicalism descends from Augustine of Hippo. His early efforts in philosophy centered on the problem of evil. Although he spent his earliest years under the influence of Catholic Christianity, he left that background to become an Auditor for nine years in a Gnostic-like sect that followed the teachings of Mani. At first, Manichaeism seemed to him to explain the problem by teaching that evil and good are two kinds of substances. They have become intermingled in mankind so that “salvation” consists of separating good from its mixture with evil. Because of internal inconsistencies that Augustine came to see in this dualistic philosophy, he eventually left it and returned to Christianity. The problem of evil stood at the beginning of his development as a philosopher-theologian; its solution stood near the center of the theological system he formulated.

Introduction

            If people get sick, James 5:14-15 urges them to call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with olive oil in the name of the Lord. This text raises two issues: (1) whether the procedure is restrictive or positive (cp. commandment vs. advice), which amounts to precedent vs. example; and (2) whether it is miracle or answered prayer. In the first issue, “restrictive” commandment means that specifying this way eliminates other ways; “positive” commandment means this is a good way to deal with it. If the commandment is non-restrictive, it must be an “example” (one way of approaching God for healing) rather than a “precedent” to be followed always and henceforth. These variables affect the propriety and necessity of using olive oil today for healing, of calling a plurality of church elders, and of accompanying the procedure with prayer.

x x x x,

Your presentation follows the pattern used by Roman Catholic missionaries and many others, where general revelation (through nature) and theistic proofs bring someone to belief in God, his eternality, omnipotence, and other natural attributes. Special revelation adds a saving knowledge of God through Christ as holy, good, and loving (through history regarding God’s moral attributes). The first format has its precursor in Paul’s Areopagus speech; the second step follows Gamaliel’s argument in Acts 5, a resurrectiono-centric format in which the existence of the church and the fact of Jesus’ resurrection stand or fall together: the church exists; therefore, the resurrection occurred, Christ’s claim are true because resurrection is supernatural, and miracle confirms the claims of the miracle worker, etc. In the modern day, that two-step process has been enhanced by increased awareness of the complexity of nature with its accompanying tendency away from the likelihood that gradual change could explain chemistry-to-man by “endogenous complexification,” upward increase in complexity only by factors inside the natural order. Natural evolution replaces the need—not the fact/disproof—of supernatural deity; so it has become the apparent option for replacing the creationist model. A relevant observation, I might add, is that it is not possible to put in sequence the origin of reciprocating parts (especially for the level of observable complexity culminating in human social relationships).

CONCEPT 1:  Family is the basic unit of society, more than the individual.

            D. Applying tests to contemporary claims of speaking in languages (“tongues speaking”)

                  Regarding end times, we can learn a lesson from Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They had so exactly worked out their understanding of Messianic prophecy that they did not recognize the Messiah when he came. We will not be that wrong this time. We will recognize him, because his return will not be a local, private entrance into the human sphere (Matthew 24:23-27). Nevertheless, we need to hold tentatively to our expectations about the timing of that event, about its relationship to other future events, and about the very nature of some related events.

Two Word Meanings

            Christians sometimes ask whether there are apostles in the church today. To answer the question, we must clarify what it means because the New Testament uses apostle in more than one way. Its general sense refers to someone who is “sent,” which makes it a synonym for missionary. In its technical usage, apostle refers to a group of men, fourteen in number, who had additional specialized qualifications: they were direct witnesses of the resurrected Christ (except for Judas Iscariot), directly chosen and commissioned by Christ, directly endowed with their message, directly guided in their work, and directly empowered by the Spirit. (See “Paul as Primary Apostle.”). “You tried the ones that call themselves apostles and aren’t” (Revelation 2:2) implies that some apostles were distinguishable from other apostles. If all apostles were simply traveling evangelists or insightful men differing only in degree, they could be called apostles. Denying the claim would be like denying that someone was a missionary. They were in fact traveling, they were in fact insightful if they were, and they were in fact sent from somewhere.

            Goodness has several aspects. In relation to a standard, goodness is humanly measurable behavior relative to the divine ideal—as to its “letter” and its “spirit.” As to the behavior, goodness is the overt behavior (which tends to correlate with what is humanly measurable) but the motive, attitude, and character—generalized pattern vs. specific act. As to the setting, goodness has a subjective and objective aspect. As to the kind of interpersonal behavior, there is morality, wisdom, and ministry. These dimensions of goodness are detailed under the headings below.

Introduction

      Suggested breakdowns

            1.   Communicable and incommunicable: attributes that can or cannot be

            Seeing baptism as identification with Christ provides a framework for working through several abnormal situations that arise and helps make sense even of normal situations that may be overlooked in the theory and practice of the ordinance.

                  Several issues arise with whether baptism in the Spirit occurs today. It is then not a question that can be answered until there is agreement on a New Testament definition of terms and a correct understanding of certain gifts.

Introduction

      I.     The God-universe distinction

     II.     The people-animal distinction

    III.     The man-woman distinction

            Since bread was a food staple in ancient near eastern societies, “bread” came to stand for food in general. As a result, in the Bible “eat bread” usually means to eat or to eat a meal. New Testament examples include Matthew 15:2; Mark 3:20; 7:2, 5; Luke 7:33; 14:1, 15; John 6:31; 13:18 (< Psalm 41:9); 2 Thessalonians 3:8, 12. By further extension, in 1 Corinthians 11:26, 27, 28, 29 “eat bread” appears alongside “drink the cup” in Paul’s description of observing the Lord’s Supper.

I. Baptized Believers

            There is a natural correlation between observing the Lord’s Supper and being baptized.  Both ordinances imply the same basic meaning; they are both identifications with Jesus Christ and therefore commitment to his values, purposes, and lordship. Baptism involves this meaning in an initial sense while communion involves it in an ongoing sense.  Therefore, if a person is a baptized believer, there is no legitimate basis for refusing to meet with him around the Lord’s table. Note the issue later of disaffected believers as well as the relationship of communion and church discipline.

Adultery/Incest

CHAPTER I

NON-DENOMINATIONAL UNITY IN PERSPECTIVE AND PREVIEW

CHAPTER II

 CHAPTER IV

            In non-Christian societies, people wonder whether they can continue in their jobs if they become Christians. The minister of a new congregation in Moscow asked about that issue. A policeman had asked whether he would have to quit his job if he accepted Christ.

            Scripture alone (sola scriptura) means using the Bible as the sole authority for Christian belief and practice. It sets aside other normative sources for the Christian faith: creeds, tradition, apocryphal works, ecclesiastical pronouncements, additional primary literature beyond the sixty-six books of the canon, and persons claiming inner light and special revelation. The fundamental issue is not doctrinal error as much as practical authority. Going beyond the apostolic witness does open up the possibility—even likelihood—of false doctrine; but even if it did not, these other sources are disregarded. Other writings may have devotional value and helpful insight, but they do not determine what Christians are to believe and practice.

“Everyone that puts away his wife—except for sexual immorality—treats* her like an adulteress, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

            For purposes here, we pass over some technicalities associated with the aorist passive infinitive (μοιχευθῆναι, moicheuthēnai, “makes her to be adulterated[?]”) and deal with more straightforward considerations.

            Across Christendom ordination has had a variety of meanings. The most extreme position has been that (1) ordination validates the “administration” of sacraments. Unless a duly qualified clergyman presides, the sacrament is invalid in much the same way that a wedding performed by a person “off the street” would not be recognized by the state. A Justice of the Peace must be duly appointed to perform wedding ceremonies as an agent of the state. In this view, ordination is for theological reasons. The clergy concept is part of the larger idea that grace flows through the church, that is, through those who validly stand as executors of divine administration. It is a legal conceptualization like that of Justice of the Peace, validity being based on “apostolic succession.” Legal administration of grace, however, is a contradiction of terms.

            Since the Reformation, a common understanding of Christ’s atonement work considers his righteousness as a substitute for ours and his death as a substitute for our death as punishment for our sin. The comments below shoulder a negative burden of proof to show that the penal substitution understanding is foreign to atonement theory unless we adopt the rest of Calvin’s legal theological method, where penal substitution would make sense. The thesis here is that substitutionary atonement theory does not belong in non-non-legal theology.

I. Common Ground

We all believe that (1) salvation means being brought back into personal relationship with God (reconciliation). In this respect, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 stands out by using reconciliation repeatedly to describe the nature and purpose of Christian mission: “ . . . in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself . . . having given us the ministry of reconciliation” (5:19).1 

     I. Unleavened Elements

            In regard to the nature of the elements of the Lord’s Supper, the basic fact is that Jesus instituted it during a Passover meal. Consequently, he used elements available at that feast.

Mt. 10:2-4              Mk. 3:16-19            Lk. 6:14-16             Acts 1:13                John’s Gospel

The church is saved people serving in divine pattern. The body of Christ possesses essential oneness by virtue of individual unity with Christ and collective unity through Christ. This invisible oneness is manifest by a dynamic structure-function called the church. Functional unity in Christ combines with organizational unity under Christ to form this non-denominational entity that has a fivefold oneness of attitude, doctrine, fellowship, name, and organization.

Prevenient grace and natural depravity

            Augustine’s treatment of the problem of evil falls short for two related reasons. (1) He did not properly distinguish natural and moral evil, suffering and sin, pain and guilt. In his thought, they amounted to the same problem. (2) He attempted to examine even moral evil primarily in reference to the category of nature. In so doing, he glossed over the distinction between impersonal and interpersonal reality.

            C. Difficulties in evaluation

                  1.   Distinguishing divine miracle from other phenomena (epistemology)

            Human history may be organized according to the ways God has operated with mankind. The accompanying diagram pictures that history in three periods, or “dispensations”: the patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian. The patriarchal period is so called because during that era God operated through the heads of families, or “patriarchs.”

II. Duration of the Supernatural Charismata

                  B. Acts 8 and the duration of miraculous charismata

 I. Passages (ἀρραβών: “earnest,” “pledge,” “guarantee,” “deposit”)

                  A.  2 Corinthians 1:22: “who [God] also sealed us and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (NIV says, “marked with a seal”; NKJV translates ἀρραβών as guarantee and deposit.)

 I. An Unnecessary Concept

            On the assumption, for the moment, that eternal opportunity for salvation through Christ could not be disproved, we should consider several matters.

Ethical Use of Imago dei

            Treating other people the way we want to be treated implies the fundamental continuity of humankind. Variations between people do exist, but they do not normally deal with matters that impinge on ethical considerations. Supposing the continuity of human nature as the background for the Golden Rule is preferable to supposing that the Golden Rule describes a non-content procedure, the approach of R. M. McIver, “The Deep Beauty of the Golden Rule” in Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, pp. 233-39.

What is the standard and the basis for it?

            In That Hideous Strength (p. 285) C. S. Lewis has Dr. Cecil Dimble telling his wife that polygamy was not wrong for Abraham. That comment seems misleading, but it does raise the question about standards. There seems to be more than one way of speaking of an “ethical standard.” There is (a) the ideal standard, the one that God has always had in mind for everyone everywhere. The ideal standard is based on the originating purpose of God before creation. PURPOSE

Introduction: reasons for testing manifestations of the Spirit (1 John 4:1-4)

            D. Application of tests to contemporary claims of tongue speaking

Introductory Observations

In general, women’s studies relate to the genetic nature of men and women and cultural expectancy regarding their interaction. Discussing evangelical perspectives on men and women in relationship adds biblical interpretation to the inquiry.

            Change of covenants deals only with what people do. That is why (a) there is no change regarding the nature of things (ontological matters) or matters of history (events, including prophecy). (b) Civil and ceremonial observances fall out because national Israel (Moses) and the Old Testament priesthood (Aaron) have been replaced by the interpersonal church with its ministry and message. (c) There are few new ceremonial matters—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—that have come in with Christ. (d) Some modifications in the moral code come in with progressive revelation. Marriage expectancy shifts from polygamy and divorce-remarriage possibilities to permanent monogamy standard. (See the broad arrow diagram in “Old Testament Backgrounds and the Messianic Covenant.”)

Psalm 51 records David’s response to his sin with Bathsheba:  heading of the Psalm, “When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone into Bathsheba” (2 Samuel 11-12).

The sense in which Father, Son, and Spirit are three

and the senses in which they are one

at the same time to the exclusion of all optons

Distinctness within the One Deity

Genesis 1:27 Women and Men created in God’s image

 I. Greek Terminology for Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

                  A.  Several pertinent words not used of being filled with the Holy Spirit are γεμίζω (gemízō), ἐμπιπλάω (empipláō), ἐμπίμπλημι (empímplēmi), κεράννυμι (keránnymi, κεπάω, kepáō], μεστόω (mestóó), πλήρωμα (plērōma), συμπληρόω (symplēróō), ἀναπληρόω (anaplēróō), χορτάζω (chortázō, be filled with food), ἀνταναπληρόω (antanaplēróō), τελέω (teléō, fill by finishing).

              We do not need to decide between the “theories of inspiration” to understand how scripture came to have the character of “God-breathedness” (2 Timothy 3:16). As we can judge from scripture itself, God operated in more than one way in producing scripture. The models of origin may be organized according to what God specially gave to his human spokesmen. 

            God’s reasons for creating us are summarized under divine self-fulfillment (delight), goodness (grace), glory and betterment. Of these four reasons the first and last are personal while the other two are interpersonal. The first two are the reasons for people; the third is the purpose of people beyond themselves. If we speak strictly about the purpose of people, we focus attention on God’s goodness and on what grow out of it, particularly dominion and commission. Self-fulfillment highlights the unnecessitated satisfaction that moves persons to express themselves. Goodness roughly corresponds with God-to-man action; glory corresponds with man-to-God re-action. We say “roughly” because we cannot draw a sharp line between these aspects, which is exactly what we expect in the highly complex, reciprocating, transacting activity that interpersonal process involves.

            Since communion is primarily an interpersonal act, there is no inherent necessity in regard to frequency. Therefore, it is a matter of positive commandment or apostolic precedent rather than necessary inference.

Introduction

 I. Greek Terminology for Giving

                  A.  δίδωμι:        Acts 2:4, 19; 8:18; 14:3; 15:8; Romans 5:5, etc.

                  B.  μεταδίδωμι:  Romans 1:11; 12:8

            Scripture consistently characterizes God in masculine terms. At the grammatical level, that pattern expresses itself in Hebrew masculine pronouns, adjectives, and verbs. “She” never designates the God Yahveh in any book of either testament.

editorial question                                                                Ephesians 5:21

            B.  Guidance: what to do (in Christian living and ministry)

                        Four religious attitudes have been taken toward sickness. Most extreme, (1) sickness is an illusion, an idea associated with quasi-Christian groups and some Eastern thought. (2) Sickness indicates sinfulness. Passages like the following help avoid this mistake: the whole Book of Job; John 9:1-3ff.; Acts 28:1-6. There is not a correlation between a sin and a suffering (the “moralizing view of history”), nor is there a correlation between the degree of sinfulness and the degree of suffering (Psalm 73; Jeremiah 12:1-2; Malachi 3:15; Luke 13:1-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). (3) Sickness is a feature of Satan’s rule that is overcome in Christ; consequently, Christians are freed from what characterizes the devil’s dominion. (4) Sickness is a continuing part of human life, potentially rather always overcome by prayer or miracle; its complete removal comes at the eschaton.

Exegetical Impasse

Overview of Natural Depravity

             In the late fourth century Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa, gave classical expression to natural depravity as part of his understanding of the nature of evil. In his thought, evil is a lack (privation) in the form of substance relative to its original form. That relatively deformed condition produces evil action. The nature of evil is lack, the cause of evil is lack in form, and the criterion of evil is lack in form compared to pristine form

            Paul gives “husband of one wife” as a characteristic of elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6. The following diagram traces the pattern of thought for determining what he meant by this phrase.

We have not made a distinction between “image” and “likeness,” even though Genesis 1:26 uses two words to compare mankind and God. (a) Nothing in the context distinguishes them. Furthermore, (b) in most other passages only one term occurs, image in Genesis 9:6-7; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9 and likeness in Genesis 5:2 in an otherwise word-for-word parallel to 1:26. Like in Genesis 3:5, 22 translates a different item than in 1:26.1          

 I. Description of Imperatival Intent

            Imperative forms can convey a range of meanings; they have (1) varied quality. In language, authorial intent does not bear a one-to-one relationship with linguistic forms. In assessing a writer’s use of the imperative mood, we look beyond the form itself and infer its force from the near and distant literary context, the historical context, and the nature of the case.

            When Paul speaks of sin resident within him (or indwelling sin), perhaps he means it phenomenologically; that is, the experience of sin feels like something inside him. His point is that sin is not just something outside us (environment, influence) trying to tempt us into misaction; it is something inside us as well. There is a subjective as well as objective component in the sin phenomenon. The implication is personal responsibility for subjective response to objective influence and stimulus.

            B.  Interpretation

                  The gift of interpretation corresponds with the gift of language speaking; the understanding of the one corresponds with the understanding of the other, particularly when (δι)ερμηνεύω means “translate” rather than “explain.”

An Interpretative Approach

The List of Commandments

                 Below are six items for thought and research on women’s studies. Some points may be referred to in Hermeneutics: Getting the Point; check the scripture index for locations. As much as possible, consciously integrate into your write-up the principles studied in the course.

            Since the nature of mankind is a central consideration in Christian theology, the doctrine of natural depravity in mankind affects a variety of issues and impacts them in significant ways. The following enumeration of consequences may not be necessary in every case, but historically this concept has triggered them.

         Matthew                      Mark                           Luke                            John

יהוה אלהינו יהוה אהד

“Yahveh our God is one Yahveh.”

Werner Neuer. Man & Woman in Christian Perspective. Trans. from the 2nd German edition by Gordon J. Wenham. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991 [1981]. 224 pp. pr

               One major argument for egalitarianism in marriage and the church pictures female deference as a fallen condition that has been reversed in Christ. “Your husband will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16) has changed to “In Christ there is no male and female” (Galatians 3:28). New Testament comments about male headship merely temporalize the Christian ideal in the interests of Christian mission. The following comments attempt to show that this scenario artificially combines unrelated ideas and overextends the cultural variable. Genesis 3:16 does not indicate a result of the curse, Galatians 3:28 is not an absolute principle, and statements elsewhere about headship are not necessarily pragmatic concessions to cultural norms that no longer apply.

            God maintains contact with his creation and control over it. Especially in contrast to deism, God did not create the universe and leave it to operate entirely according to built-in laws for self-perpetuation. God is actively involved with what he made. There is built-in NATURAL LAW such as gravity that apparently operates “on its own” now that God has set it up to work in a particular way. But in addition, there is SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION, where God enters the natural process and brings about results that would not have occurred had he not intervened.

   I.    The Purpose of Mankind

  II.    The Image of God in Mankind

III.    The Effects of Sin on Mankind (See What the Bible Says About Salvation, pp. 38-45.)

            An appropriate principle would apparently be not to change the form of a ritual command. The form of a performative commandment is not subject to cultural alteration.   This is true because the form of the ordinance does not rest in the nature of things but in the authority of the One who establishes it by positive commandment. Maintaining the form of the ritual command is especially sensible if the New Testament makes a point of some aspect of the form that the ordinance has.

Introduction

                        A problem has been suggested in connection with testing miracle by doctrine. On the one hand, we say miracle confirms revelation (Mark 2:1-12; note 3:2; 20:30-31). On the other hand, we apply the doctrinal test to prophets to judge the divine origin of their message (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). In fact, Moses subjected signs to doctrinal evaluation in this statement. Prophets who gave a sign that came to pass (miracle or coincidence) were nevertheless to be executed if they urged the people on that basis to serve other gods (doctrine; Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Miracle proves doctrine and doctrine tests miracle.

            Scripture says so much about marriage because it is a universal experience. Besides, it is an intense experience. Married life calls for more skill and understanding than other relationships. It is harder than living alone because it is more complicated, especially when children enter the picture. It is harder than being a good neighbor, getting along with people at work, or even living together in the community of faith. Marriage affects the full range of life rather than just some aspects of it (total). The actions of one partner likely affect the other, and marriage involves a degree of intimacy. We find it possible—and even fulfilling—to relate to many people in varying degrees of “distance” or “closeness,” but in marriage there is no “distance,” and nothing is hidden. Besides, marriage is all the time whereas work is only part of the waking hours and not every day. Marriage is exclusive of all other relationships; its distinctives are not experienced with anyone else. Finally, marriage is permanent while other relationships are not necessarily for life. In a universal, total, permanent, exclusive relationship, it is imperative that the partners share at least the basic values by which marriage operates.

Introduction

Mosaic Legislation on Sabbath

            Exodus 16:4-5 (manna gathering), 22-30 (manna use); 20:8-11 + Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (The Ten Commandments); Exodus 31:12-17; 35:1-3; Leviticus 19:3, 30; 23:3, 38; 26:2; Numbers 15:32-36 (death penalty)

Does αὐθεντεῖν mean “exercise authority” or “domineer”?

            (a) The law of contrast implies that αὐθεντεῖν does not mean “dominate” since it is a correlative term with ὑποταγή in the previous verse. Ἐν πάσῃ ὑποταγῇ and αὐθεντεῖν seem to be correlative expressions like learn and teach, with which they appear. Correlative terms stand in a common larger category as natural contrasts: lost-saved, father-son, prophecy-fulfillment, faith-works, and the like. Within the same context the sense in which one is meant is the sense in which the other is used. If father means physical father, then son means physical son, not spiritual son. If prophesy means to state a significant principle, then fulfill means to be an example of that principle, not the occurrence of a prediction. Correlative terms obey the law of contrast/opposition/negation inside the law of harmony.

 I. Terminology

            General revelation refers to natural experiences in the natural universe. Special revelation refers to what comes through visible divine intervention into the natural. The former deals with nature, natural processes, natural events, and can include social processes, human history, subjective experience. The latter deals with supernatural intervention that a person can recognize as supernatural because it does not occur naturally. Intervention labels what God causes beyond what natural process produces. It refers to supernatural occurrences and their meaning given through special revelation. For us, special revelation centers on the revelation preserved in scripture. General revelation comes through the aspects of reality that science studies. Special revelation comes through scripture and involves inspiration. General revelation serves as the basis of philosophy, which uses reason to “discover” truth from experience. Special revelation is the basis for theology, which uses reason to “understand” truth in light of experience.

Introduction

            God is the Great Teacher. Readiness is an educational principle he observed in working to achieve his purpose of a new united mankind (Ephesians 2:15). Over the centuries he has increased people’s readiness for spiritual growth by (1) giving progressive revelation, (2) instituting present forms for later realities, and even (3) adopting human forms to serve as shadows of later substances. Establishing covenants illustrates this third use of readiness.

            OrdInation to the ministry involves three issues: (1) the understanding of New Testament offices and ministry, (2) the New Testament meaning of ordination, and (3) the meaning attached to ordination by the state.

I. Ordination is for the one ordained.

         Ordination is for impressing on the person ordained the importance of his calling. People set aside time for things that are important. By setting aside time to concentrate on what it means to enter ministry, the body of believers shows the person their regard for that calling. Ordination provides a time to be impressed with the significance of the “ministry of reconciliation,” as Paul called it (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

    I. Preliminary Definitions and Concepts

I.  Luke 22:35-38

 I. Biblical Passages Relevant to Women’s Studies

            Exodus 15:20-21: Miriam and the women of Israel

            Judges 4:4-5:31: judgeship of Deborah

Psalm    19:7         “The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”

            119:42       “Your Law is truth.”

Some have questioned whether Paul belonged to the primary group of Jesus’ followers called “apostles.” During the early years of the Christian era, the Judaizing element in the church attempted (1) on doctrinal grounds to put him in secondary position. They tried to create the impression that he stood at odds with the primary apostles, those centering around Peter in Jerusalem. Judaizers believed that Gentile converts should become Jews in the process of becoming Christians. Paul opposed their call for circumcising Gentiles and thereby identifying them with national Israel and obligating them to keep the Mosaic Law. He understood in the first case, relative to the church, that Christianity does not have a political component. He observed in the second case, relative to salvation, that putting Gentiles under Jewish Law would in theory bring them under a perfection requirement for continued relationship to God—initial salvation by grace and continued salvation by works.

            Some authors have suggested that Paul in his writings for the Gentile mission was opposing the tradition of the elders rather than the Mosaic Law itself. But the following factors look away from such a reading of Paul’s concern.

            C.  Power: means of doing it 

                  The work of Christ (theory) provides the basis for salvation. The work of the Spirit picks up the process at that point and contributes to the functional aspects: conversion, guidance, and Christian growth (sanctification).

Choice, act, consequence (free vs. fixed)

1.     The choice itself is free, but the act is not necessarily free.

2.     The act may be free, but the consequences are fixed.

            What do you do with a man like “Bob”? He really is a “good guy.” A happy, outgoing person that is glad to see you and always willing to stop and talk. Several years ago he quit a good-paying job so he could spend more time working with his only son, who became a successful race-car driver in our part of the country. One day he told me, “When I was a kid, my dad never had any time to do things with me. I’m not going to be that way with ‘Earl.’” I don’t know that I ever heard him use a “cuss” word. He gets along well with his wife . . . As far as Christ is concerned, what do you do with a man like “Bob”?

            We have set aside the doctrine of natural depravity because (a) natural depravity lacks adequate primary biblical evidence for it. (b) Natural depravity creates contradictions. One set of propositions summarizes an argument against natural depravity. Since God is self-consistent, the variable that explains the Great Dilemma must lie outside God. Since only God and we figure in salvation, that variable must lie in us. We must be capable of responding to God; otherwise, God would be choosing who is saved by choosing whom he enables to respond to him unto salvation while saying that he does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). As natural depravity in effect means divine self-contradiction, natural ability maintains divine self-consistency.

Introduction

Preliminary Factors

1.  The Spirit is a person, not a force, idea, emotional surge.

            On the one hand, a totally reliable text in principle represents the guiding characteristic of “scripture.” On the other hand, a certain amount of variability may happen in the manner by which biblical writings originated and passed down. Two assumptions underlie the suggestions below. (a) We need not invoke the supernatural as long as natural means can accomplish the purposes. God does not generally do for people what they can do for themselves. (b) The concern is reliability of the information, not prescription of forms (words).

Précis   Neglected or misunderstood factors complicate any endeavor, including the interaction between men and women in the home, the church, and society. An unnecessary “edge” gets into discussions on this matter because of unconscious preconceptions about (a) the bases for self-esteem, (b) the nature of leaders and led and their interaction, and (c) the impact that love has on all interpersonal processes formal or natural.

    I.  Genesis 1:1, Caption for the Creation Account (Hebrew construct form)

         God controls his universe and directs its functioning by the operations diagramed below. (1) Reality combines freedom and determinism with freedom occurring inside the determinism. 

Explaining Non-Determinism

            The proposition counter to natural depravity is as follows: there is no (1) clear (2) biblical basis for saying that Adam’s ability in regard to (3) spiritual things after the fall was any different from what it was (4) before the fall in a (5) biologically inheritable sense.

Doctrinal Questions

 1. What is baptism for (meaning)?

                  First, in Christian baptism we identify with Jesus Christ. The New Testament means identification when it speaks of (a) being baptized “into Christ,” “into the name of Christ,” and similar expressions (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; Galatians 3:27). We identify with the Messiah instead of with Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) or John the Baptist (Acts l9:1-7) or the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:13-15). As a result, we belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 3:22-23; 1:12). Paul means identification when he says that by baptism we are (b) “united with Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:5). Baptism is a pledge of allegiance to him in which we commit ourselves to his purposes, values, and motivations. We make that commitment to the extent of the death that baptism pictures.

   Introduction

            The wise policy is to let candidates make their own decision about rebaptism; after all, baptism is their obedience to God, not ours. Nevertheless, people usually take their cue from those they have come to trust on religious matters. For these reasons we will not always be able to leave the issue in the hands of candidates.

            In theory, two positions operating in relationship may differ from one another in authority in at least six ways:

Introduction

            Relativity in ethics seems sensible because (a) incompatible moral beliefs and practices exist, and (b) no one seems able to establish a universal basis for ethical theory. 

 I.   Biblical References to Resurrection

            A. Old Testament

Introduction

Christian baptism is a self-expression of personal identification with Jesus Christ, and God gives consequences on the basis of that identity more than on the basis of the act itself: forgiveness of sin, gift of the Spirit, and fellowship in the body of Christ.

Introduction

            Since What the Bible Says About Salvation is rather long, using it in a church setting requires reducing it somewhat. There are two ways to reduce the amount of material and get at it more efficiently. First, use only the positive presentations (instead of looking at the alternative beliefs together with the reasons for and against them). Second, use the booklet Questions and Answers on “What the Bible Says About Salvation” on just the chapters (or parts of chapters chosen from the text itself).

I. Identification as the Whole Basis

            In identification atonement theory, “identification” means more than identifying with Christ from our own side so God will count Christ’s atoning death as a substitute for our own death. That leaves substitution—or whatever—as the operative mechanism. Identification likewise is not just God’s viewing us from his side as connected with Christ. Identification in these senses fits with any theory of the atonement. Identification would merely connect the sinner with Christ—in the sinner’s mind and God’s mind—in anticipation of whatever mechanism then removed the penalty: ransom, substitute, or conquest. Identification would not replace or obviate some additional operation after the subjective and objective connection.

            Love gets us past legal minimums of do’s and don’t’s. It provides a basis for going beyond the call of duty, takes into consideration other people’s differing preferences, watches out for negative effects on weaker brothers’ behavior, and concerns itself with good and better, not just with good and bad. Love fosters a concern for enhancing the quality of other people’s lives, not just with the rightness or wrongness of specific behaviors relative to some standard.

We do not know fully what aspects of earthly humanity carry forward into the intermediate and eternal states, so we are left to speculate about what nature we will have then and what punitive experiences we can experience there. The following inferences combine what revelation does say about permanent features of human nature and about being “lost” after death—about what hell could be like.

            Romans 7:5-8:15 is one of several sections in Romans that have raised considerable controversy. In this study we attempt to work out Paul’s meaning in terms of legal imperfection in contrast to interpreting it in terms of humasn nature. Philosophically, the function and relationship categories replace the nature category. Theologically, ethics and salvation replace anthropology as the central concerns. We propose to show that natural depravity is a concept irrelevant to this text, if not false in itself.

            Ethics and morality relate to the interpersonal realm, with humankind. Since persons in relationship constitutes the most complex reality there is, ethics is a complex discipline.

Introduction

Introduction

            We are inclined to think that some reasonable explanation lies behind the variant understandings of gender roles by equally sincere and capable Christian interpreters. Something must be happening in the minds of some that is not happening in others who likewise take a proper view of scripture. We suspect that part of the difficulty lies at (a) the linguistic level. People do not remember that the imperative mood can have more than one quality, hence, our essay elsewhere on “Imperatival Intent,” which assembles the different values that imperatives and their equivalents may have. Another part of the difficulty lies at (b) the corpus level. People make different assumptions about the nature of the New Testament as a body of normative literature, hence, this essay on “wisdom” vs. “law” and the accompanying excerpt on “Confusing Advice and Commandment.” What we have to say here comes in association with the accompanying diagram.

“to serve”:  διακονέω (diakoneō)

Passage                Term                #         Reference                                                  Scope

         This portion of Ephesians deals with “household teaching” on the relationship of husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves. Other comparable texts are Colossians 3:18-4:1 and 1 Peter 2:(13-)18-3:7.

     I.  Types of Occurrences: divine miracle, demonic miracle, answered prayer, psychological,

            The Christian worldview is interpersonal. The interpersonal “category” is the ultimate frame of reference that qualifies and limits the impersonal realities that are also part of full picture. Some major aspects of Christianity are summarized below in ways that correlate with this understanding.

                                                  general              supernatural           authoritative

                                                      vs.                            vs.                               vs.

Office                                         local                     natural               non-authoritative

Lord =                                       general               super                       author

     Christ

     Messiah

apostle1                                    general               super                       author

     "the disciples"

     "the twelve"

            The proposition counter to natural depravity is as follows:

there is no (1) clear (2) biblical basis for saying that Adam’s ability in (3) spiritual matters after the Fall was different from what it was (4) before the Fall in a (5) biologically inheritable sense.

            The proposition counter to natural depravity is as follows: there is no (1) clear (2) biblical basis for saying that Adam’s ability regarding (3) spiritual things after the fall was different from what it was (4) before the fall in a (5) biologically inheritable sense.

The proposition counter to natural depravity is as follows:

1. Worship on Saturday after sundown

            In the New Testament we encounter the Jewish custom of reckoning days from sundown to sundown as distinguished from the Roman reckoning from midnight to midnight. The question sometimes comes up whether Christians today could have church on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning and/or Sunday evening.

 II. Supernatural Products of the Relationship Between the Spirit and a Person

BIBLE

            Scripture is the complete word of God written and sufficiently accurate in origin and preservation to accomplish what God sent it to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). He sent it through chosen representatives endowed with the messages he revealed to them and with the ability to correctly express it to the ones he wanted to hear it. Consequently, non-canonical writings have the status, at best, of devotional writings (Apocrypha and tradition).

I. Pattern for Testing Christian Experience

Much of my creative energies lately have been directed toward tracing through the implications of interpersonal relationship as the organizing reality for Christian truth. Nowhere has this observation appeared more relevant than in the study of the nature of mankind.

Introduction

Introduction

            1.   The Father is said to be “in” us: 1 John 4:12, 15 (John 14:23).

                  One of the biggest plagues in Bible study is failing to see the “big picture.” We tend to read a verse and discuss it. As a result, that statement gets lifted from its setting and put in the context of people’s interests or problems even when it may not belong there. Foreign ideas come into the picture because context is not kept in mind. Bible study needs to cover large portions to keep in sight the general flow of thought. In addition, the total purpose and character of Christian understanding must provide the framework for individual doctrines.

I. Pre-Existence

            One distinctive of the Churches of Christ/Christian Churches has been their relatively high view of human nature. They have stood virtually alone in denying the traditional doctrine of natural depravity.

I.      Central thesis

 I. Methodology

            A.  Investigate the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (as well as statements about them) in passages where they are mentioned together, thus observing interaction in real circumstances.

            Views of the human condition during the intermediate state differ as to whether it is a conscious existence. Conscious existence means that between death and the general resurrection, we experience the rewards and punishments later to be publicly declared at the great white throne judgment. Unconsciousness during that time has two possibilities: “soul sleeping” or non-existence. The second option means that when we die, we cease to exist objectively until God “recreates” us out of his memory, an event simultaneous with, or the same as, resurrection. For all practical purposes, soul sleeping amounts to the same thing though, strictly speaking, we do objectively exist. The following considerations go into evaluating the concept of “soul sleeping.”

          The doctrine of creation is unique to the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic heritages.

Introduction

The theory of meaning, the basis for self-image, and the theory of ethics all three reference the same factors: being, action, and relationship. The previous chapter discussed meaning and self-image as the objective and subjective sides of the same thing. This chapter notes that ethics belongs to action in the interpersonal sphere. Since we have identified the image of God with the interpersonal capacity, it remains for us to explicate the principles for ethical theory that grow out of the construct established by God’s creating us in his (a) interpersonal image for (b) fellowship and (c) purpose. Action connects the first item with each of the last two. Image defines human nature/being, which behavior ties to relationship and purpose. Relationship and purpose are relational since action relates persons to others in fellowship and relates them to the results of their deeds. Action connects being to relations (ethics) even as action connected objective and subjective in the previous chapter (meaning).

Including the Body in the Image

In this chapter we address more deliberately the issue noted before. A long-standing debate about the image concerns whether to include the body in it. There are three ways to relate the image and the body. The body might be (a) part of the image, (b) involved with the image, or (c) analogous to the image. Several considerations go into deciding whether the body is in, with, or like the image.

Introduction

            This study proposes that the image of God in us is the interpersonal capacity. It does not necessarily say something new, but endeavors to assemble relevant factors, to clarify a viewpoint that best incorporates them, and to show its consonance with the Christian worldview. In method, the approach sets aside a reductionism that strives after identifying our “essence” and “risks” reification, faculty psychology, depersonalization, and individualism, which are tendencies that derive from non-revelatory origins. It opts instead for a combinationalism that accounts for all the features of nature, function, and relationship that’s special revelation pictures us as having and called to have.

            The distinctive purpose of New Testament miracles was to enhance faith. That contrasts with doing miracles to entertain, to satisfy curiosity (cp. Herod in Luke 23:8-9), to escape limitations in the natural order, to make money, to get attention, or even to heal everyone. Jesus cursed the fig tree (Matthew 21:18-22 = Mark 11:12-14, 20-26) to teach his disciples a valuable lesson. Miracles were not sheer displays of supernatural power, but manifestations that verified Jesus’ proclamation and claims.

            “Identification with Christ” refers to a complex of factors within the reality of personal relationship, which we are calling interpersonalism. Interpersonalism is a worldview that considers persons in relationship as the highest frame of reference. That reality includes aspects like the following.

            As with other controversial matters, the biblical view of marriage and the family gets lost in the throes of pendulum thinking. Truth tends to lie between extremes, but on this issue unnecessary rigidness creates an extreme opposite and equal reaction. After a while,

            The presentation in Genesis is from Moses’ viewpoint in time and place.

    I. Three Propositions

            A.  God’s desire to save everyone

Preface

            Salvation as reconciliation is the most distinctive feature of Christianity. Herein lies the primary difference between the gospel, on the one hand, and the Law, wisdom literature, and the prophets, on the other. In this respect, Christianity differs from the purposes of previous divine economies and from the goals of other religions and human agendas. In Christ, God is concerned with more than letting people know that he exists, what he is like, what his moral standards are, and what his expectancies are within his purposes. Salvation is not simply from ignorance, as by revelation; it is not deliverance from physical existence as in Gnosticism and Eastern dualism; it is not a deliverance from individuality as in Hinduism. Salvation is reconciliation from alienation and from all the negatives that come from separation from God and other people.

Introduction

            Holy Spirit studies pick up where Christ’s work ended: preparing the individual for conversion in response to the message about Christ, the sanctification process for the individual in Christ (growth), and evangelism of other people to bring them to Christ (outreach).

 III. A Person in the Divine Trinity

 I. The Nature of Theology vs. Exegesis

                        Christian groups have different expectancies about “tongue speaking.” Some think the gift is as available now as in the apostolic age. Others take the more extreme position that it is a sign with all genuine conversions. The following remarks address that latter position. These notes also adopt the New Testament phraseology “speaking in languages” instead of “tongue speaking” because the latter is an undefined expression that allows people to invest it with a special meaning.

The church is saved people serving in divine pattern. The body of Christ possesses essential oneness by virtue of individual unity with Christ and collective unity through Christ. This invisible oneness is manifest by a dynamic structure-function called the church. Functional unity in Christ combines with organizational unity under Christ to form this non-denominational entity that has a fivefold oneness of attitude, doctrine, fellowship, name, and organization.

Basic Structure

         This chapter sketches the original organization of the church in the New Testament. It determines what positions exercised authority and which were functions, all being places of service. The procedure works because it addresses an either-or matter and because authority includes function. We cannot suppose that a function seemed to be such only because the records happen to be insufficient to show that it was really an office. That would argue from silence and shift the burden of proof onto the negative. The negative burden would be impossible since the only available evidence would pertain to function, which is part of the larger concept: office.

     I.     Direct Assertion

            A.  Specific scriptures attributing the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit

                  1.   Passages mentioning the human author

            Two related questions may be asked regarding Matthew’s account of the Olivet Discourse. (1) Who or what is the “abomination of desolation” in 24:14? (2) If some events are still future, where is the dividing line between the ones now fulfilled and the ones still to come? All three synoptists record this sermon: Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; and Luke 21.

Introduction

 ANTILOGISM

                               CHRISTIANITY AS AN INTERPERSONAL “SYSTEM”        

Section I: God’s Delight

Introduction

            How God works in us through his Spirit should have (1) a positive basis rather than one we cannot disprove. We should look for (2) what the prediction of the model is in which Christian operations take place. Interpersonal reality implies what is natural to interpersonal process. Feelings, urges, spontaneous ideas, and the like we should understood in an interpersonal sense rather than assigned to the Spirit in a special sense if we have no way of recognizing that the Spirit is their source to the exclusion of other possibilities. Finally, we should try to determine (3) what is left when control tests are applied. If the same experiences occur in other religions or with non-religious circumstances, we should not assign those experiences to the Spirit as directly or specially caused. If we cannot tell the difference, we should not understand them as supernatural, much less claim that they are supernatural.

Introduction

            When the Christian gospel came on the scene of redemptive history, the status and nature of the Mosaic Law came under question. Not only was that question relevant to the Jews, but the Gentiles also had to cope with it because Christianity came out of a heritage different from their own. Christendom has demonstrated five ways of dealing with the issue.

  I. Sabbath observance was not a memorial of the creation. If it were, it would have been observed as long as this creation stands: from the beginning, by all nations, till the end of time.

Introduction

            Sabbath observance corresponds with national Israel. God instituted the Sabbath as a memorial of the exodus because Israel became a nation at the exodus. Sabbath observance does not apply to those outside of Israel, before Israel, or after Israel, hence, not to Christians.

 I. The beginning time for the seventy “weeks/hebdomads” is best placed at the first year

            The time of receiving the Spirit naturally belongs with discussing commitment to Christ. The gift of the Spirit as an “indwelling presence” occurs at the time of personal identification with Christ, commitment to him and his values and purposes That understanding is natural if receiving the Spirit means entering a personal relationship with him. Reconciliation follows forgiveness, which removes the guilt of sin that caused the separation. If we identify with Christ (formally in baptism) and God forgives sin on the basis of that identity, then receiving the Spirit correlates with that commitment. Salvation means salvation from alienation; so in regard to the Spirit it means “receiving the gift of the Spirit,” as we say. Not only does that make sense in the nature of things, but Acts 2:38-41 presents baptism as identification with Christ, and therefore with forgiveness of sins, receiving the Spirit, and entering the body of Christ. By the nature of those items, they belong together rather than strung out over time. They are all aspects of one up-front event. We can say they have a logical sequence, but we have no reason to say they have a chronological seqence.

The Notion in a Nutshell: An Opinion

I. The Relationship of the Spirit’s Natural and Supernatural Operations

      The diagram above pictures at least three truths about the Spirit’s work.

            Theology establishes the context for liberal arts. It is the discipline of the whole, the discipline of the ultimate. It addresses what is original, eternal, central, basic, ultimate, and all-inclusive. As such, theology affirms first that reality is cohesive rather than chaotic—that the parts have a whole to be part of. Theology calls for “centeredness” and centers reality in the Creator rather than the creation and in the Teacher rather than the student. By implication, theology contextualizes all other disciplines as sub-disciplines, integrates them into one whole, relates them to each another, limits their province, and critiques their methods and findings in at least a restrictive sense.

            Asking whether something that happened was God’s will, depends on what the question means. There are two possibilities:

(a)   what God causes/what he makes happen (prescriptive will) and

 I.  Not My Body, Not My Choice

            It is the other within the mother. It has its own DNA, its own blood type, its own sex, its own body type, skin tone, eye color, and eventually all the features that make it a distinct individual. Choice does come into the picture; it comes in the mother’s behaviors prior to the pregnancy. We have no right to take out on the baby our own sexual irresponsibility.

            Issues can be relatively simple in themselves; and so the question seems about God’s reason for creating us. Issues get complicated when we try to distinguish our own understanding from other ones and when we have to give reasons against such alternatives, especially if they overlap our own.1 As in our positive presentation so also in evaluating other positions, interpersonalism serves as the criterion for what is foreign and contradictory to what scripture says about the nature and purpose of God and man.

A Contribution of “Restorationism”

TRINITY THOUGHTS

Letter to a friend

I took the opportunity presented by your question Sunday to assemble some thoughts that can also be part of the internet ministry effort I am working on. There is probably enough here to founder a good-sized horse, but that is the risk you take when you raise a good question that is at the same time complex and controversial. The first attachment I wrote up new as a second-level treatment of the trinity issue as I have come to see it. The other two attachments are more elaborate because they are lifted from my notes on Christian Doctrine, a course I taught at Manhattan Christian College for many years.

            Two points should be highlighted in presentations about baptism. First, baptism should not be too closely identified with outer response. That lends itself to distinguishing inner and outer, identifying faith with inner and baptism with outer, and then affirming that it is the inner dimension that justifies rather than the outer expressive act as well, thus trying to avoid baptism as a work and bringing it into conformity with the Pauline formula “salvation by faith” vs. works. But “faith” in Romans/Galatians does not mean inner action; that is the usage in James. Paul means action in the context of personal relationship (faith) vs. action in the context of legal process (works). We do well to unite inner and outer response in salvation and to consider baptism itself as comprised of both dimensions inseparably. That unity of aspects applies to all acts of obedience.  

            Sin involves two issues that correspond to the two sides of a sin situation. There is the doing of a moral wrong and the reacting to a moral wrong. Because sin takes place between people, there is the person who does evil and the one who suffers evil. In resolving that circumstance, repentance happens on one side and forgiveness happens on the other.

                                    LAW [Moses]                                                 GRACE [Messiah] (IP)

Purpose of both: human righteousness (Gal. 3:21)

            Not all systems are alike. They often operate in respect to different kinds of matters, but the main contrast lies in the kinds of connectors in them that bind actions to results. Below are three types of systems that illustrate this diversity. We outline them here in order to clarify what causes people to differ so intensely about the role of Christian baptism in the salvation process. Basically what happens is that at various points in their total understanding of baptism they are shifting baptism back and forth between different systems without realizing it.

Introduction

            By creation, all human persons have the image of God, which means they have the interpersonal capacity and equal inherent worth. Since the image exists at the individual level, we must view the created variants as “modes of the image.” Sex, race, size, intelligence, athletic ability, physique, age, and the like do not affect inherent worth and can therefore have no place in our attitude toward ourselves or other people. We do not have to be married to participate in the image, we do not have to become Jews to be a favored people, we do not have to speak English to be part of the kingdom, etc.

            God/god refers to ultimate reality. Christianity views God as eternal, ethical interpersonality with certain other knowable attributes. In contrast, the ancient nations around Israel as well as peoples living in modern times have concepts of deity that are incompatible with the biblical understanding.

            Christian churches began as an effort to foster Christian unity by returning to scripture alone for the operation of the body of Christ and by setting aside items that have crept into Christendom from outside the New Testament. The conviction has been that division arose in part from such extras. But creating unity requires more than getting rid of what causes division; it also requires what Christ’s people must stand for. Below are characteristic beliefs and practices associated with these churches generally, though certainly not with them only.

            The very fact that baptism exists shows that salvation is not by works of law, works in a legal sense, works in a legal context, acts that have some legal value. Furthermore, the very existence of baptism shows that salvation is not by human effort relative even to an interpersonal standard of behavior, which, as in law, is also a perfection standard. To make this claim convincing, we must show that baptism is not primarily for bringing about entrance into the institutional church or for communicating to other people that we have decided to follow Jesus. For present purposes, that point is sufficiently shown by the biblical expression “baptism into Christ,” not “baptism into the church” or some wording that indicates testimony to other people.

            We teach that the Bible is God’s revelation to us and that it is the sufficient guide for what we believe and practice (1 Corinthians 2:7-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

To maintain a balanced approach in the current women’s studies debate, we should keep in mind what women did with divine approval in both Testaments. The following is a suggestive list.

            Relevant contrasts. The statements in 1 Corinthians 14:34 appear in a context that contrasts “not speaking” with insubordination and causing confusion. Earlier in 1 Corinthians Paul talks about women praying and prophesying (11:2-16). Evidently Paul’s meaning in the expression “be silent” is in contrast to speaking in such a way that creates disorder and implies a rebellious spirit. The English word “quiet” may be a closer synonym to the term in the original language, because “quiet” does not necessarily mean absolutely silent so much as verbally and behaviorally restrained.

            One point in 1 Timothy 2 has to do with husband-wife vs. man-woman as Paul’s intended reference. Connecting the statements of 1 Timothy with (a) a husband-wife contrast rather than (b) a man-woman contrast represents a crucial variable between instruction on marriage roles vs. gender roles. A third approach to the text has something of the same effect but seems to be more straightforward and therefore less cumbersome: (c) Paul is addressing “standard situation,” that is, married with children.

1.     The nature of the New Testament: body of law or book of wisdom (See essays on “Imperatival Intent” and “Law and Wisdom.”)?

Introduction

            In women’s studies, something is causing equally committed, intelligent, educated, hard-working, well-known Christians to come to incompatible conclusions, which leads to disagreement and division. Since this topic has behavioral correlates, we cannot treat it as we do the millennial question and go on about our work; this topic affects how we go on with our work. Since it is a broad-to-narrow issue, people with different persuasions find it hard to be equally tolerant; it is usually easier for a broader view to be accepting of a more restricted one than vice versa.

James B. Torrance. Worship, Community & the Triune God of Grace. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997. 130pp. Reviewed by Virgil Warren, Manhattan, Kansas.

In November 1994, James Torrance, professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Aberdeen, presented the Didsbury Lectures in the Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. InterVarsity Press offers these lectures in written form with a preface and appendix added by the author.

                        2.   Xenoglossia

                              Glossolalia covers a range of speaking phenomena, including ecstatic utterance and “angelic tongues.” Cases occasionally come up in which someone speaks an actual language—xenoglossia. The following possibilities may help evaluate those cases.

I. METHOD OF RESEARCH

            An important item in 1 Timothy 2 is a case of αὐθεντέω (authenteō) that Al Wolters pointed out at the November meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Lisle, Illinois.  It appears in Origen’s Commentary on 1 Corinthians, which, I believe, is one of Origen’s as-yet untranslated works. The full Greek text of the commentary is in Journal of Theological Studies, X (1909), 29-51. The reference appears in 74:20 of Origen’s Commentary. The text is as follows: