I have some world shattering and identity shaping news for you…You are NOT the ‘image’ of God, but you are most certainly made in God’s image. Let me explain…
This is a completely unexpected blog post. I have been reading through a book that I have intended to finish and write a complete review for, but I have not yet been able to finish the book. Actually, I am still in the beginning part of the book because I stumbled upon something quite profound that has stopped me dead in my tracks! Instead of waiting until the end of this book to write an exhaustive review, I have decided to write multiple reviews for this book that focuses on some of the main points that need to be expressed. In this article, however, I will only focus on one incredible truth that simply cannot wait to be expressed!
I am currently reading ‘The Community Life Of God’ by Milt Rodriguez. The premise of this book is built upon the understanding that the Godhead (Trinity) is the model for all of our relationships. As we begin to see who God really is within Himself, the implications for our very own identity and relationships are quite profound.
Shortly after beginning this book, Milt makes the astounding assertion that we (as individual & independent human beings) are NOT the image of God. To be quite honest, This went against everything that I had been taught and assumed regarding the teaching of scripture concerning my identity as an individual human being. After reading this assertion, I thought to myself:
Doesn’t scripture say that God created male and female in His own image & likeness? (Gen. 1:27)
In this book, Milt goes on to say that while God most certainly created mankind in His image & likeness, that is very different from saying that we, independently, are the image and likeness of God. According to scripture, God only has ‘ONE’ who is His perfect image and likeness, and that ‘ONE’ is not us (as independent human beings). The person of Jesus Christ, however, is the one who is the perfect image of God! (Please re-read the last couple of sentences over again). This is a severe paradigm shift! Consider the following passages of scripture:
He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:15-16)
Wow, did you catch that? Paul was quite clear that He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God! Now consider this passage as well:
In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:1-3)
Wow, did you catch that as well? John was quite clear that all of creation was created by and through Christ, and NOT apart from Him. He (Christ) is the location in which everything (including us) was created. How beautiful.
Christ is the very image of God and the location of where everything was created!
In light of this revelation, let’s re-read Genesis 1:27:
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Christ is the image of God, and only ‘in Christ’ can we be the image of God. Apart from Him, we can NOT be the image of God. This was a monumental paradigm shift for me. Reading this reminded me that my vision of Jesus Christ was still too small. Only Christ could be the exact and perfect image of God! I had incorrectly assumed that each human being independently was the image of God. I never realized that was exactly the lie that the serpent tried to get Eve to believe.
God’s plan for man to express His image & likeness hinged upon man’s location. Our location is where we get our life. In the garden where God and man dwelled together, God put a beautiful tree there called the tree of life. Mankind had the incredible opportunity to eat of this tree and receive God’s life. This life is eternal! The serpent’s plan, however, was to distract man from the tree of life by directing man’s attention toward another tree.
This other tree that satan wanted to draw man’s attention to wasn’t just evil, it was also good. That’s why it was called the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’ The serpent convinced Eve that they could become like God by eating of this tree and receiving ‘knowledge’ they didn’t have. Although they did receive ‘knowledge’ from eating of this tree, the serpent failed to tell them that this tree was missing life. It brought death instead of God’s eternal life. Only God’s life could be eternal and that life could only be found in God’s tree of life.
Mankind was never designed to be separated from the very image & likeness of God. Mankind was the only creation of God that was designed specifically to bear God’s image & likeness by bearing & consuming God’s very own life! By consuming His life (found in the tree of life), mankind could have borne the image and likeness of God. Before mankind could eat from this tree and receive God’s eternal life however, the serpent convinced them to eat from the other tree. This tree brought about an unpleasant change in location for mankind. They were separated from the very image they were meant to live in and by. As you know, this brought about separation and death. Mankind lost access to the very location where God’s life could be found as they were kicked out of the garden where the tree of life was located.
Remember, according to Jesus, all of scripture was written about Him. This means that the very garden of Eden where God and mankind dwelled together is a picture of Jesus Christ. Since Christ is completely human, and Christ is also completely God, He is the location in which God and man perfectly dwell together. Not only is the Garden of Eden a picture of Jesus Christ, so is the Tree of Life!
Mankind was commanded to take God’s life and put that life inside of themselves by eating of the tree of life. It was not an accident when Jesus said that we would have no life inside of us unless we ate His flesh and drank His blood (John 6:53). Astounding! Christ’s life, who is the image of God, was meant to live on the inside of us!
The miracle of the cross and resurrection of Christ is that it completely removed our separation from the very image of God (Jesus Christ) that we were originally created in before sin separated us! After the death and resurrection of Christ, the New Testament describes us as being ‘in Christ’ almost two hundred times! I am convinced that the words ‘In Christ’ are two of the New Testament’s most powerful, yet most overlooked words. Incredibly, because we are now ‘in Christ’ and will never again be separated from Him (Rom. 8:38-39), we can now reflect His Image and life. This is what we were created for!
Two paradigm shifting thoughts…
In summary, I’d like to leave you with a couple of thoughts:
1. Jesus Christ is the ONLY image of God. There is no other. (Col. 1:15-16) True life begins with having an accurate vision of Him.
2. You (independently) are NOT the image of God. The fact that we were made ‘in God’s image’ is speaking of the location of our creation where God’s life can be found and consumed. Mankind was created specifically to bear God’s image and likeness by consuming His life. We were created ‘in Him’. Although we were temporarily separated, we have now been returned to our proper location ‘in’ the image of God, who is none other than Jesus Christ! It is ‘in Him’ that we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).
This ‘tree of life’ (Christ Himself) is dwelling on the inside of us for us to continually feast on (Col. 1:27, Matthew 4:4) This is how we live by His life. He personally is the ‘Word’ of God that man lives by. He is our real food.
Let me encourage you to obtain a copy of Milt Rodriguez’s book, ‘The Community Life Of God’. You can obtain a copy by clicking here.
Just finished Milt’s book last week. For me, it was an eye-opening book which revealed not only this specific truth, but numerous others, as well. It turns out the “detoxing” process is more than just getting (and staying) away from all of the ritual, but re-learning a great deal of truth. I really had no idea how much of the doctrine I had been taught – and had taught others – had it’s origins in the minds of men and were as far away from the heart of God as I am from the far reaches of the galaxy. Please pass my regards to the author for allowing God to clarify many of these things through his writings. Be Blessed!
Mark,
Thx for reading this review. It really is amazing how something so essential can be so misunderstood. Seeing Jesus Christ correctly is truly a mystery. Blessings to you brother:)
amen brother!! abiding in Christ’s life is paramount in realizing our true identity. apart from Him we can do nothing.
Julie,
Thx for reading and commenting on this article, but more importantly, thx for bearing His image and life! Blessings to you sister:)
Jamal,
First off, great book!
The statement above, “Christ is the image of God, and only ‘in Christ’ are we the image of God.” is simply right on que. Apart from Christ, we are literally what science has made humans into: big blobs of DNA. But in Christ we are so much more. We have full rights as sons, a full inheritance. And that inheritance isn’t anything less than Jesus Christ Himself. Not gifts, not manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and not power and authority over the earth. These are only ours because we are IN CHRIST. Without Him, we have nothing. Oh how sad it is that so many have tried to be “Christians” without having Christ.
Great post, brother.
Michael,
True that brother. I want no more of the ‘Christian life’ without Christ. I only want Him! Blessings to you brother. I’m looking forward to your visit to Nashville as well. Come on and bring His image up here:)
I am at the same place. Finished Milt’s book about three months ago. I want nothing more of the “Christian life” without Christ as you put it. Enough of trying to be like Christ and instead trading it all to live in Christ. To allow Christ to live through us. Its all about Christ.
Starbucks old paradigm
Venti = Trinity
Tall = Their Image
Our pursuit of looking like a tall coffee cup.
Starbucks new paradigm
Venti = Trinity
Coffee bean grain that was ground and then hot water was put over it to extract coffee goodness that is inside the Venti Cup = me IN Their Image.
Mark,
I love the way you think brother! Thx for reading and commenting!
Jamal,
I appreciate your excitement over this, and your zeal to point people towards a community-oriented expression of the life of Christ. However, the main point you are making, that individuals are not the image of God, seems to be somewhat opposed to the direct statement of this verse:
1 Corinthians 11:7
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
Just thought I would add that to the Genesis verses you’ve already considered on the topic.
Blessings,
Heather
Heather,
Thx for your comment here. Actually, I don’t think there is any issue with the point I was making in the article and 1 Cor. 11:7. It all depends on what ‘filter’ we are reading the scriptures from. If we take this verse as a ‘stand alone’ verse (commonly called ‘prooftexting’) and we read this from an individualistic mindset without taking the whole of what Paul revealed about Jesus Christ, then we could use this verse to say that man alone, as an individual, is the image of God. We know this is not what Paul is saying based on what Paul already said about Christ being the image of God in Col. 1:15-16.
I have also heard people incorrectly try to use the verse you quoted (1 Cor. 11:7) to assume that just the male is the image of God, and the female is a ‘lesser’ image of God because she was made in the ‘image’ of man, not God. This also comes from reading 1 Cor. 11:7 as a stand alone verse with an individualistic mindset. This is obviously not what scripture teaches. Scripture teaches that mankind, made up of BOTH male and female are made in God’s image.
Here are some questions that we need to ask…if mankind is the image of God, why would this be the case?
What specifically is it that makes mankind the ‘image’ of God?
What is the source of this ‘image’?
I hope that makes sense:) blessings!
Jamal,
I know it is sort of in vogue to denounce “prooftexting” when people quote Bible verses, but generally when I quote a verse, even without necessarily quoting all of the surrounding verses, I do it with an eye towards what the verse means in its context. Its a little bit condescending to immediately assume someone is “prooftexting” simply because they don’t go into great detail about the context or provide the context. The apostles and Jesus Himself would often quote simply the first line of a section of Torah as shorthand for the entire passage, or, the would simply point out the relevant sentence or phrase of scripture when they wanted to draw attention to a specific idea contained therein. Let’s not condemn each others’ attempts to communicate scriptural truth simply because we quote only one verse in a discussion, shall we?
Anyway, your questions are good, and worth asking. What IS Paul saying in that passage? I think for the moment we would do well to leave controversial women’s role topics aside because that would be somewhat off topic and may complicate the discussion in front of us, which would be – can a man, or mankind, or a man and a woman, represent God’s image, or does it take the gathered assembly to do so?
Let’s not “prooftext” with the Colossians verse – ok, I know I’m being prickly. But I think maybe the quandry we find ourselves at here is that there is a mystery – in that in 1 Corinthians, Paul calls “man” the image and glory of God, and over in Colossians, he says that Jesus is the image of God. What gives?
My gut response to this is that what we are looking at is a first Adam / second Adam type thing. The first Adam – natural man, is a prefigure of the second Adam – Christ. Both of them represent the image of God. Perhaps the first Adam shows the image of God in one way, and the second Adam shows the image of God in another way. See, this is why iron sharpening iron is good, because if we can both present a case for something, and both things end up being true, then the REAL truth is even greater than what either one of us was trying to say. This does get interesting.
The first Adam is only a picture, Christ is the reality. He is the source. Everything else is a picture of Him. Again Heather, the key to your issue can be found in asking yourself these questions:
If mankind is the image of God, why would this be the case?
Whose image are we bearing, and why?
Can mankind really be the ‘image’ of God unto himself?
What specifically is it that makes mankind the ‘image’ of God?
What is the source of this image?
Heather,
Remember, God has a one track mind. His goal has been and will always be the revelation and expression of His Son Jesus Christ. He is the perfect image of God because only ‘in Him’ does the fullness of the Godhead dwell. Adam was NOT the source of the ‘image’ of God because Adam is NOT God, and he was NOT the location in which the fullness of the Godhead fully dwells. Only in Christ does the fullness of the Godhead dwell. Again, this is why Jesus Christ is the ‘image’ of God. This is the eternal purpose of God that Paul expounds upon in His letters to the churches.
Heather and Jamal,
I think that it helps to understand this if we look at God’s purpose for man as being the ‘image bearer’. Man was not to BE the image, he was to ‘bear’ the image. The first Adam failed at this. But the second (or last) Adam, Christ Himself, became a life-giving Spirit (1Co 15:45)and perfectly bears the exact image of God. We can only bear His image because we are IN Him!
This is why all of the passages where Paul discusses being conformed or transformed into His image are about us being changed and transfigured to reflect His glory. Who is it that is being conformed? It is clearly the Church. Who are we being conformed into – Man? Of course not, we are being transformed into the image of God who is Christ. (See Rom. 8:29;12:2; Phil. 3:10; 2Co 3:18) This is clearly a corporate matter. It is a ‘we’ thing!
Well said brother! I just may have to quote you on this:)
One candle does have a light, and the light is real and authentic, and the light is powerful enough to dispel a certain portion of darkness.
But one candle alone, cannot compare to the multiplied luminescence and heat generated by many candles existing closely together.
Well said Trevor:)
Great post Jamal as usual. I believe I understand Sonship pretty well, it’s surprising how many out there don’t even know what you mean when you talk about Sonship, who you are in Christ. My question then is this, and maybe Milt could chime in here. You say this is a corporate thing. What about the many of us who are out of the IC but can’t find a true ekklesia to express Christ with? I have some fellowship, not a group, mu husband, my daughter, a friend here or there, but it is usually just the two of us expressing Christ. I have lots of virtual fellowship and telephone. None of this constitutes an ekklesia. So where does someone like me fit here Jamal?
Pam,
Thx for your comment. I appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts here. I can only share with you some of the conclusions that we have come to. As the Lord began to give my wife and I a hunger, desire, and vision for this kind of ekklesia, it became a holy obsession. We prayed, but we also said that we would do whatever it would take to be a part of this kind of church life. Have you ever considered relocating to a place where you knew an organic church was functioning?
I think we need to be careful with our use of terms. “Image bearer” vs “made in God’s image.”Big difference between the two. Christ alone is absolutely the perfect Image of God. No question there, in my mind.
But then there is us. Human beings. God says that we are bearers of His image. Exactly how we define this image, the implications of the image, and what it looks like will always be a topic for discussion. Genesis 9:6 promotes capital punishment, seemingly, due to the fact that everyone, even a hardened killer, possesses, to some extent, some form of the image of God. When we attack a human being we are attacking that remant, however intact it is, of God’s image. This image can be described as warped, faded, corrupted by sin, or whatever, but Scripture indicates that it is there. Perhaps it is like the dim reflection in the book of James. When we come to Christ and enter into His Salvation, we begin a process of being remade and that image starts to become clearer, sharper and more defined. Praise God for that!
In the first sentence, I meant to write “Image of God” vs “image bearers.”
Thx for reading and commenting brother. I hope you are doing well:)
Jamal,
With your modifications to include the reference from John and your rephrasing in the summary, your point is better expressed. With your clarification, I am closer to agreeing with you.
As I mentioned on Facebook, I don’t have a big issue with what you are saying, I just feel like it isn’t as aligned as it could be with the Scriptural revelation. So I speak from a desire to enhance, not “correct.”
I am not comfortable basing our call to community on the Trinity. The scripture itself doesn’t make much of the Trinity, and I don’t think we should either.
To be clear, I do beleive that our shorthand phrase “the Trinity” has Biblical truth behind it. But it is a phrase not found in the Bible, and not expressed in a direct and detailed fashion, because it this perspective on God is not a very important one to the Biblical writers.
To pick up on the subjects you yourself have raise, Jesus says very clearly that “I and the Father are one.” This is one of the ways that the doctrine we call the Trinity can be defended. But it is also adequately referred to in the other phrase you are using: that Christ is the exact image of God.
This is not a contradiction or denial of the doctrine of the Trinity. But whereas scripture describes the “Three Person Unity” only indirectly, scripture repeatedly and explicitly establishes that Christ is the exact image of God–and that he replaces or supercedes Adam. Adam was to be the image bearer and he failed, as you said. I think you also quite well noted that each human wants to be INDEPENDENTLY the image of God – that is, to set himself up as God.
In this aspect we are now bearing the image and likeness of Adam. The biological notion of a “family resemblence” has its spiritual corollary – or more precisely, the spiritual truth has its biological illustration. It is not by accident that “the exact image and representation of God” said “you are of your father the devil.” We have, in our unredeemed nature, an unmistakeable family resemblence. We have this also in our redeemed nature.
Certainly we are not “necessary” to complete the God-likeness of Christ. An over-emphasis on the “pattern” of the Trinity tends to suggest this, even accidentally. But once we have been claimed by the Son, then we bear his likeness. Again, it is not accidental that the “image and likeness of God” asked: “Whose image is on this coin? And whose likeness is it?” We belong to God. We must never forget that no matter how much of this STUFF belongs to the world, we belong to God. Not so much because we “want” to or because it’s a good deal, but because we have been stamped out in his image; forged and fire-purified in his image; RE-born in his image, after our birth in the misshapen image of Adam.
My discomfort, then, arises around your geographically locating Christ “in” Eden. If I said he wasn’t there I would be contradicting the doctrine of the Trinity. But as far as typological imagery–the use of a literal fact to illustrate a larger significance that cannot be described directly–Eden is not the location of Christ. It is the location of Adam. The location of Christ is the New Jerusalem, Zion, which is what Eden should have been. We are not called to look back toward Eden and wish Adam had done it right, or not screwed it up; we are called to look forward to Zion, to Christ.
Because Christ WAS there in Eden, to look back toward that Garden is to say that Christ failed; that he was there, but he was unable to establish his Community with Adam. And so God was forced to release Adam 2.0, bugs fixed, aka Jesus. And this is wrong.
We were given marriage only to look forward to His marriage. We were given Eden only to look forward to His Tree of Life. Eden did not fail, but fulfilled God’s purpose for it. Our desire for Eden should not end there, but lead us on to Zion. Zion is the place for the people Called Out. First, Cast Out of Eden; but then, Called Out of Babylon (Ur). Called out of the tomb. We were alive; then we died; but now we have been called back to life.
Extending this thought brings us to som of the trouble we find in the “intrinsic worth of man as an image bearer” concept. If the intrinsic worth of human life comes from bearing the image of God, what do we say about all the people that God ordered killed? We could say that they were defacing, nay even profaning and blaspheming the image of God they were called to reflect. True enough. Yet only a moment’s reflection should lead us to conclude that we are guilty of the same thing.
Indeed, to say that we “bear the image of God, however marred” is on reflection a great offront to the holiness of God. It is the same thing as to say we are perfect like God, however far we fall short. “In the image of God no matter what!” is the motto of Adam. I have my rights!
No, rather, as nominal image bearers we do all indeed deserve destruction. We are all defective and deserve to be destroyed; not tolerated because of some lingering resemblence, but utterly destroyed because of a blasphemous defamation of perfecte holiness. It is not that the Canaanites more deserved their fate; they were merely crushed to illustrate for us our just deserts.
The reason we are to regard fellow human life is not because in Eden Adam bore God’s image. It is because in the incarnation Christ bore Adam’s image. That is, he was not born of Adam, but he became like us in order to redeem us. We respect mere human life not for the life that was lost in Eden, but for the life that was given on Easter.
The human being is in his own way a rainbow: God’s promise that he is not yet finished. To exist at all, when we are so clearly not living up to our job as image-bearers, testifies that God’s work is not done. Thus Job says, “I know my Redeemer lives!” If Job the sinful man would not be redeemed, why would he yet live? God the perfect creator will not settle for an imperfect creation.
What do we establish by sparing life? By respecting the “sanctity” of human life? We all die anyway–in an eyeblink! Scripture is very clear about the brevity of our so-called life and the certainty of our death. Such a life does not accord at all with the eternal durability of what the Scripture calls sacred. No; human life is not sacred.
If God tells us to kill some Canaanite, we realize that they were, in the flesh, going to die anyway; and neither our killing them nor our choosing to defy God by sparing them (which happened, you will recall) is going to change what God ultimately does with that soul. But if we have not been commanded to kill, then we refrain because we know we are just as liable of the death penalty ourself, and to freely carry out the sentence of death is to despise the gift of God in giving us life long enough to find Life – and that not just ourselves individually, but our sons and daughters and their children after them; our whole race. Where would we be without this Grace that gives Life? If God did not forestall death, who would stand?
My apologies to other commentators who have to scroll past my long and wandering remarks.
There is a further context to your remarks, Jamal, that I would like to address. I called it a “context” because it is not explictly stated in your essay so I am not responding to something that you actually said; it is an inference of mine, a “sense” of where these thoughts could lead or what might have helped influence them.
In my corner of Christian culture I hear a lot about community and living in Christian community. Some of it gets right on the edge of saying we can’t fully live Christian lives without living in community. Some of it has crossed that line and said as much outright. I disagree.
Primarily I disagree with what is in use as the definition of Christian community. It can take many forms, but it ultimately comes to some kind of physical, tangible, visible expression of community.
When I say that I disagree with this definition of Christian community, I do not mean that such community has no place, value, or function. It does. It is an expression of Christian community. But it is NOT the essence of it.
These various voices (I do not recall them all individually, but there overall impression on me) have been reminding us that Jesus DID community. He healed. He fed. He walked and talked and touched. This is true. This was an expression of love. But it was NOT the essence of it! What else did Christ tell those people fortunate enough to meet him in the flesh other than “This experience you are having is not the point – it is pointing to me!”
“I am the bread of life.”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
What else did Jesus do besides community? Isolation. He went far away from everybody in order to have community with the Father. Did he need to do that? Did God Incarnate, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, need to hike half a mile up a hill to “get away” from a few mortals?
Heh.
No.
What did Abraham do? What did Elijah do? What did Daniel do? They all went away like Jesus did. And these are the ones that the author of Hebrews recounts to us AS OUR COMMUNITY.
Welcome to the community of the lonely!
When I first went out to the Searching Together conference, I had the same question that Pam Frazier posed above. Hey – where do you FIND this Christian community we are supposed to have?
I have gradually noticed that everyone’s still looking for it. Sometimes the brothers and sisters at Searching Together conferences assure us that they have found it. They are speaking genuinely, from the heart, but they are misleading us. If you had found that Community you would not leave. What – depart from Jesus to come back here? Would you?
We have a work and a calling to testify to that community, to bear the image of it, here and now. But we are going to find that everywhere, all around us, it is defunct, defaced, malfuntioning. What do you think Jesus found? Twelve perfect men? Forget perfect – twelve honest men? Twelve kind men? Twelve humble men?
He went away from them up the mountain. They were not perfect community.
But they become that community, more even with their passing than they were in the flesh. They become part of that testament to the work of God in human kind. We are now surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses — you are, Pam, and I am too — that we cannot say that there is no assembly of the saints.
Look up to heaven; look at the stars. You are meant to; it is the Promise to Abraham. So many, so beautiful, and so far away. But promised. Do you believe the promise? You are part of the community.
When God promises community, it is not a promise that becomes null and void because some people aren’t getting along. It would have all ended when Cain killed Abel if that was all it took. It is not a promise that ends when someone is alone for a years – for a lifetime. It would have all ended when Abraham wandered around a strange land with a barren wife.
Community is God’s promise, and we merely tell about it in little skits and illustrations here and there, with our little so-called lives.
The Christian community we are called to express is not the fulfillment of the oneness that Jesus prayed for. What! Jesus prayed to the Father but he didn’t get it because we can’t get along?
We will be one, as Christ and the Father are one. We must write this on our foreheads and doorposts, and tell it to our children, and utterly live it, because this is the promise of God. And the Promise is everything precious.
“What then is the advantage of the Jew? Much in every way. Chiefly because to them were given the promises of God.”
The Promises of God are everything, and worth living out even though they are “only” promises in this life. All you have is the promise–after Eden, after the Flood, after the Resurrection—all you have is the promise.
And the Promise is Life.
Arlan,
Wow, you have certainly said a lot here brother. Thx for sharing your thoughts. I will not be able to address everything that you have said, but I will address a couple of important things that you brought up a bit later. For now, I just have one question for you…
Have you read, or do you plan on reading, ‘The Community Life Of God’ by Milt Rodriguez?
No, Jamal, I have not read Milt’s book. I do not know whether I will.
I don’t think I addressed everything you brought up so I have no expectation you would address everything I brought up.
Arlan,
I’d like to contribute three thoughts to some of what you shared regarding your comments above. Before I share my thoughts, I want you to know that I appreciate your heart and your willingness to dialogue. The first time I met you, I could clearly see your zeal and passion for the Lord. I appreciate that. With that said, let me share some thoughts with you.
1. I hope you reconsider your decision to not read Milt’s book.
Since this book review prompted such an in-depth and strong response, I think it is in your best interest to read what he has to say on this subject. I’m sure there is something in this book that you could learn from and be enriched. Plus, it is difficult to adequately reject or critique a book review if you are closed to the prospect of even reading the book.
2. Your comment made the assumption that there is not much in the scriptures about the Trinity. I must strongly disagree.
Many times what we think the scriptures are the most quiet about, are what they speak about the most. Consider Jesus Christ for example. According to Jesus’ own words, all of the scriptures were written about Him. This was true even though those who had academically studied the scriptures (most Jews, Pharisees, and other religious leaders) were blind to this reality. It took a supernatural revelation for the two disciples walking to Emmaus to be shown from the Old Testament scriptures that Christ had to die. According to Jesus, the Law & Prophets were written as a testimony about Him. That’s right…EVERYTHING is about Him. This means Christ can even be seen in the Garden of Eden. Spiritually speaking, the parallels could not be more clear. Academically speaking, you will not be able to see many parallels to Christ, however.
To have a complete understanding of the person of Christ is to have an awareness of the Trinity. God cannot be separated. All the fullness of the Godhead (Father & Spirit) dwells in Christ. The story of the Trinity (Father, Son, & Spirit) interacting, loving, and mutually laying down their lives for one another is beautifully woven throughout all of the scriptures. The scriptures are loud and clear about this if we have eyes to see this.
3. You need a New Testament vision of Jesus Christ
I mean this with all due respect Arlan, but it is clear from your comment that you do not yet have a New Testament vision of Jesus Christ. I say this because of your comment about the essence of the Christian life NOT being primarily found in community (church) life. You seemed to make the case that Jesus lived an isolated life. This is absolutely incorrect.
Jesus was NEVER an isolated individual. Christ had an indwelling Lord that was with Him. Christ Himself said that even though all would leave Him, He would not be alone because the Father (who is Spirit) was with Him continually. He always had fellowship with God.
God still indwells Christ, and Christ has a body today. The post resurrected Christ of the New Testament clearly reveals that Christ has a multi membered body that dwells together in corporate community. This is how Christ dwells on the earth today. To think of Jesus Christ today without thinking of saints that are being built together in community life with one another is to be blind to the very person of Jesus Christ.
Can you imagine The United States without any states? No. Can we imagine Jesus Christ without a body? No. His body is not intended to be made up of isolated individuals, but of saints being built together by Christ’s life with Him as the foundation and Head. The New Testament is filled with this story. To be blind to this reality is to be blind to the Christ of the New Testament. Sorry.
God has an Eternal Purpose that is woven throughout the entire narrative of scripture. Milt, the writer of this book that I am reviewing here, has put together a one sentence statement that sums up God’s eternal purpose beautifully. I will share it with you here:
“God’s eternal purpose is that the fullness of His Son, Jesus Christ, would be displayed & expressed through a vessel that would be a family / house for the Father, bride / body for the Son, & Temple for the Holy Spirit.” – (Milt Rodriguez) -
Arlan, take some time to meditate on this statement about God’s eternal purpose. This always has been, and always will be God’s eternal purpose. I hope this helps. Blessings to you brother.
Jamal,
I agree with the Centrality of Christ in scriptural revlation. When you are talking about that, I will help you make the case, draw the illustrations, and find the verses. Jesus’ statement on the road to Emmaus is not the only place where Christ’s centrality is clearly taught.
I also find the scriptural teaching quite clear that God’s purpose with respect to creation has always been to establish a union between himself and mankind through his Son. This may or may not be the same as what Milt is saying; I don’t know, I haven’t read his book.
I read and responded to your post. Your phrase was “The premise of this book is built upon the understanding that the Godhead (Trinity) is the model for all of our relationships,” and that seemed too universal to me. I believe in the centrality of Christ, and you do as well, and you have many times effectively taught Christ’s centrality. Here it seemed to me that community was starting to become central… not Christ. Of course in your argument that is a distinction without a difference, because you cannot separate Christ from community. But that is why we disagree.
I am not saying that Christ is opposed to community or never in community, but I am saying that Christ is a “larger definition” than community. There is community in Christ, but Christ does not entirely fit inside community.
I don’t agree with your suggestion that scripture is “seemingly quiet” on the centrality of Christ, nor that this line of thinking means that the Trinity is a central doctrine. Again, I do believe that Scripture teaches the co-equality of the Father, Son, and Spirit. But that does not make it an explicit, central point.
An example might be the way God calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but not “the God of Noah.” Now he is the God of Noah; we know that would be a true statement; but Scripture does not emphasize this perspective.
I believe there is a meaningful purpose behind God describing himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not mentioning Noah; and I believe that there is a meaningful reason why the Trinity is not described more explicitly and directly. I am not saying it’s untrue; I’m saying that’s not where we are asked to focus.
“That’s right…EVERYTHING is about Him. This means Christ can even be seen in the Garden of Eden. Spiritually speaking, the parallels could not be more clear. Academically speaking, you will not be able to see many parallels to Christ, however.”
Well, there is a story in Judges about this guy who sends his concubine out to get raped and she dies and he cuts her up into twelve pieces and sends the pieces out to the twelve tribes. By your argument, this is about Christ. “Spiritually speaking, the parallels could not be more clear.”
All of scripture is about Christ, but we need to be careful and considerate about how it gets there.
“Christ had an indwelling Lord that was with Him. Christ Himself said that even though all would leave Him, He would not be alone because the Father (who is Spirit) was with Him continually. He always had fellowship with God.”
I agree with this, certainly. I didn’t mean that Jesus was separated from the Father. But he lived as an example; that is, he did things that were not “necessary” for Jesus/God in order show us, as Jesus/man, what to expect. One thing he showed us is not to expect always to have “fulfilling” Christian company. Ask Paul about it; he said that everyone had left him. We will always have the presence of God with us, and Paul did too, but that is not the same as what people think of when you say community in the church.
I did not mean to suggest that Milt’s book was not worth reading. I apologize if it sounded that way. I discovered years ago that I was not going to read every worthwhile book printed, so I do not promise to read every worthy book I hear about.
It is disappointing when people tell me we can’t have a discussion until I read this or that book. It’s very limiting.
In any case, I made my remarks in the hope you would find them a helpful clarification, to make even sharper the focus on Christ that you were seeking. If you did not find them helpful in this respect I have no reason to speak on them further.
I would like to interject my thoughts into the Jamal and Arlan conversation. On the topic of Christ the image of God, I think there is an agreement here. Eden is heaven in type. In Ephesians we learn that all heavenly places are in Christ. So Eden is certainly Christ in that it reflects His heavenly nature. So He is the image and we are His image bearers.
Now the topic that you guys are really talking about (the community aspect of His person) is something I would like to understand more. I have had a relatively stressful time over this in my heart. Absolutely Christ must be understood IN community. But I am concluding you don’t understand him FROM community. There is a very vast difference there. If I have to understand him FROM community that puts me in a tough spot. That means that whoever is around me has to be a perfect picture of Christ. The arguement is then…well they are not perfect but you will see some Christ in them….But how will I see Christ without a reference point. That is to say how do I keep from becoming a unitarian or a naturalist. If I say oh look that must be Christ and that too. So I get my definition from my old nature and everybody else’s old nature of who Christ is. Now I don’t think this is what Jamal advocates one bit. Everything I see you do you start from the scriptures and receive revelation of the spirit to understand them and live by the spirit of the letter and not the law. That is why it is very confusing. If men will seek the Lord individually in their hearts for personal transformation of their way of thinking and being, when those men come together they have something to bring to the table. But when individuals come to the community to get something from the Lord…who is there that brought something? So community focus brings about all sorts of complicated logic. Such as: I cannot know the Lord except for through others, I cannot express him except in a right kind of group, I am not satisfied untill I have a group of people just like me seeking the Lord in the way I am seeking him, my group has to be so organic that every member accidently bumped into each other to get it started. That is why those people who find themselves outside community waiting for it are all bound up. They have all their purpose up in community. If we put our purpose up in Christ, who is our community, he can bring about physical community in due time, or make us ministers to people who aren’t as spiritual as we think we are. The church is eternal. What if the fullness of Christ isn’t realized until after earth is gone. No use quenching all the hopes and ambitions of an individual seeking the goal of knowing Christ and telling him he can’t do it cause he doesn’t have the right community for it. It’s the Lord’s perogative if he will seek out community for us and not ours. Why do we smart guys have to make living so complicated that a simple fisherman can’t be a Christian cause he doesn’t have the right idea about community? I know that’s not the point or the push. It’s good to push an individualistic mind toward community mindedness, but I am pressing that for the overly stressed out community minded ones to relax and shift back toward simply living in Christ.
Eric,
Thx for jumping into the conversation brother:)
I’ve read little of this, but been thinking…
We were created IN the image of Christ.
The Fall happens
Christ comes to earth.
Makes it possible for Him to be IN us.
Before the foundations of the world, we were in Him.
Now–He is in us.
Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant!
Heather,
Thx for reading and commenting here sister:) I love what you shared. He is truly ‘In Us’ and it is a stunning thing to think that the ‘us’ is corporate as well as individual:)
I have not read all of the comments (sorry just too long!). I just wanted to hear your thoughts on the following… Years ago I was in a service where we were told that we are just clay pots, having no value at all, that only the Christ in us was the treasure. Although this sounded very scriptural, it got me thinking…am I really of NO value without Christ? If that is so, then why did God make me different from you? Why did He bother to be creative? I am an artist, so create paintings that are individual expressions of me. Each one is unique. If I am Nothing then why did Christ die? For Nothing? We sing songs “it’s all about You, Jesus, all about You”, but my daughter asked “is it really?” Isn’t it all about US, isn’t that the whole purpose of the Gospel? He died so that we could be one with the Father just as He is one with the Father. He is bringing many sons to glory, we are being changed from glory to glory… I see it like this…we are like lanterns, beautifully and intricately created. When we receive Christ, our Light comes, and illuminates us, revealing the beauty of the one who has created us. Christ died for ALL, all have been redeemed, but not all have received/accepted this redemption. We are all created in His image, but it’s like the valley of dry bones…a vast army of beings that have no life until His breath is in us. But Christ died for us while we were still un-illuminated and breathless. HE saw the end from the beginning. He loved us perfectly (seeing Christ in us before we even received Him). We need to see others this way too. Each is perfectly made in His image, but they are not living in this light yet.
Thanks for your comment Leigh. Welcome to the blog:)