Wow, I think that I’m going to get quite the raised eyebrows from whomever reads this blog. I am going to develop a line of thought a little more than I did in an earlier entry. Be patient with the unfolding of the concept until the end and then judge it for what it is.
My positional statement for this entry is this: I believe that the modern Church has moved from a theocentric view of God to a Christocentric one. We have changed the view of “God” from the Father (or even the Godhead) to the Son. I think that this shift in focus is incorrect and needs to be addressed immediately. I believe that in some ways, we have “fallen away” from true Biblical truth and are accepting a borderline heresy by neglecting the primacy of the Father. In its extreme form, this is an example of modalism. Somehow Jesus takes the controlling focus of that “multiple-personality god” post-resurrection. The church focuses her attention on Jesus, while somehow missing the ultimate receiver of glory.
Before I continue, let me reiterate that I believe 100% in the divinity of Jesus Christ and 100% in the divinity of the Holy Spirit. My point in this exercise is to merely highlight the roles and responsibilities which the members of the Godhead have and to make a clear line of demarcation – based on Biblical evidence – that these lines do exist and that the members of the Godhead interact with each other with these thoughts in mind.
As I have stated before, we will not find a Scriptural reference to the direct, personal worship of the personhood of the Holy Spirit. While we do find some examples of some people worshipping Jesus in the gospels, the statements BY Christ regarding worship always direct us to the Father. It is the FATHER Who has exalted the Son, has bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, and that all will bow before Him. But while we have a tendency to stop reading this passage in Philippians there, we often neglect the focal point of worship (re: glory), is in the next phrase: to the glory of God the Father.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
Some may point to the transfiguration story in the Synoptic Gospels as an example of the worship of Christ, but it is telling that the disciples did NOT worship Jesus in that moment. As Peter recalls that event, he states the following:
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Peter 1:16-18
Yes, He is our majestic Lord. But it is clear that even in that moment, the Father was clearly the
When we examine Christ’s life, we see repeatedly that the Son directs His worship to the Father. We see in the Gospels that when Christ deals particularly with the area of worship, He is pointed in His direction of worship – to the Father. Here is God incarnate stating that HE was not the subject of worship – the Father was. Read the passage:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21-24
Is that goal of worship directed to the Father only because Jesus was in human form during the time of the gospels? I would posit that His state is irrelevant.
Is the Father spirit? Is Jesus spirit? The answer to the first one is yes, the answer to the second one is no. Jesus Christ seemingly maintains a physical body for all of eternity. Based on what is revealed in Scripture, He will not give up a physical body again (the very thought of viewing His scars borne for my salvation for eternity is so humbling…). Jesus Christ is not spirit. So, when Christ tells this woman that God is spirit and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth, can there be any doubt that He was declaring that the focal point of worship is the Father? There is only one correct answer to that question.
Back to the main theme.
My purpose is to attempt to correct a misstep which we have made in the whole realm of Christocentric applications. We have mixed up the roles & responsibilities of the Godhead and blurred the lines of obvious separation.
Let’s look at a passage in Colossians.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14
The ACTOR in this passage is the Father. The AGENT is the Son. (declaration: I do not believe that Christ was merely a passive participant in these types of passages as some may suggest. I believe that He was at times an active participant, but not the ACTOR in terms of the design or application in regards to salvation). Who rescued you from the domain of darkness? Who transferred you to a new kingdom? The Father (He acted on our behalf). We have redemption and forgiveness of sin IN (positionally and applicationally) the Son as the agent.
Here’s another one. A very familiar passage, but one in which we lose track of who is responsible for what, shall we say.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Romans 3:23-26
So, it’s God’s glory that we fall short of. It’s God’s gift of justification. It’s God’s grace. It’s the redemption which is IN Christ Jesus. Christ is publicly displayed (agent) by God (actor) as the propitiation in Christ’s blood.
Another example:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2
We have peace with God, THROUGH (agent) Christ. Through Christ (agent) we have obtained our access by faith into this grace, to the glory of God.
Now, in light of what was read above in Colossians (the Father rescued you from the domain of darkness, the Father transferred you into the kingdom of his Son), read this passage:
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:25-27
See, it is the glory TO God, THROUGH Christ. This is how Scripture declares the relationship between the Father and us – it is THROUGH Christ. But the Father is always the focal point of worship.
I believe that a beginning of this shift in the modern-age church to a Christocentric theology can be traced to the Jesus People in the 60’s & 70’s. There was an adjustment to how we addressed God – Jesus was positioned as the “friendly” face of God. He was a man, like us. He was a great teacher. He was God. The problem is that the shift in thought affected some things that I don’t think that we recognized at the time. Let me explain…
Let me start by asking a question: If you had to explain the gospel in a single sentence, how would you define it? Based on the personal examples which I have observed, the gospel is generally defined something like this: You can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are a number of yellow caution flags that pop into my mind with this definition:
1. The gospel is not just about a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is about a restored relationship with the Father. Review the passages above (and any others that pop into your mind) and remember the roles of actor and agent. The relationship was purchased by Christ’s blood, but the reconciliation is with the Father. THAT’S the restored relationship. THAT’S the gospel, the “good news.” Jesus came and died so that we could have peace with God. The Father-God who sent His Son.
2. By making the good news merely a relationship issue, we’ve dumbed-down the real gospel which is our salvation from sin. Is it any wonder that the world doesn’t believe in Satan anymore? Does it surprise you that “hell” is merely a fairy tale in even the Christians’ mind? Where is the TRUE gospel? Where is the confrontation of the truth of salvation? That we turned our backs on God? That mankind is going to hell? That the world needs saving? What about God becoming man, dying for our sin and rising again? What about that dunamis being offered to us?
3. The focus becomes one of option or opinion. What’s the real difference between a rabbi Jesus and a wise man name Confucius, or Buddha, or Allah? Sure, we can SAY that Jesus is special, but if He is the Agent, what about the holy Actor?
4. What about transformation? We look at the Colossian passage and focus on verses 15 on, but we forget verses 13-14: The FATHER rescued us. The FATHER rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His Son.
5. And, worst of all – in my ever so humble opinion – we are robbing the Father of the glory and worship He is due. If Christ ALWAYS pointed the worship to His Father, how can we focus our worship on the Son and not the Father? When we sing the song, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, all about You, Jesus”, I do not believe that we really ARE coming back to the HEART of worship! If we paid attention to the teaching in Scripture by Christ and the apostles, I believe that the case has been made soundly that worship should focus on the Father. If we REALLY viewed Scripture as sola scriptura, instead of a song written by someone who has not studied Scripture thoroughly enough, how would our “worship” services change? How would the remembrance of the true concept of the good news affect our interaction in the world? How would that impact people going to hell?
6. One final note: There is a very popular trend in churches today to state that the whole goal of Scripture is to point to Jesus. I believe that we are stopping short, if you will, with that stated goal. The goal is the reconciliation of sinners to the Father – Who sent the Son (as the propitiation for our sin) – and Who sent the Spirit (to indwell us enabling us to live lives that please the Father). The Father (as in the parable of the Prodigal Son Watching Father) is the focal point.
What say you?
Okay, so let me lead up to another question. When someone (X) is particuarly moved by the creative force of another (XX) and the dialogue looks something like this:X: Wow, man, that really touched me. Your skills are tight.XX: Man, it\’s not me, it\’s all God.X: Dude…God wasn\’t behind the microphone, you were.Who is wrong in this dialogue?I\’m not going to give my answer…it\’s biased anyway…I wrote the question. So, what the heck am I doing and how does this relate to the topic? The question Todd poses and the dialogue are all enactments of what I would call the Righteous Ricochet…that bouncing praise off of one thing in favour of another. I think this sudden knee swivel is caused by one of two rationales:If we remain somewhere in the middle, keep our talents "safe", then we don\’t offend (who was it that was called Scandelon? Oh yeah…Jesus!)or2) We\’re scared. Scared of working out our salvation too seriously; and scared of the concept of God.
Great post Todd. I think you\’re hitting on some issues that desperately need to be addressed by the Church as a whole but most importantly by each of us as Christians. Growing up I was baptised at the age of 14 when I came into a "personal relationship" with Jesus. Later, in college and still a professing Christian, I still had a "personal relationship" with Jesus…even when I was knee deep in sin. I prayed on occasion and had faith that things would "just work out" because a good and loving God was up there somewhere. And all I saw and heard in relationship to Christianity was the question "do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?", and my answer was: "Yup, all good here brother".What was the problem? I knew about Jesus, and I knew that he died for my sins, but I still didn\’t see the gravity of my sin (enough to turn from it). There was no brokenness and no repentance. And I didn\’t\’ understand the Holiness of God. I just figured God to be kind of a cosmic Mr. Rogers who wants the best for everyone and forgives everything we do just because he loves us. So our part then is just to enjoy the ride and try to be good people (realizing that we\’re not perfect). But scripture paints another picture of God. A God of Holiness..and (yikes) wrath! This is not a hidden concept either, but we miss it if we live our Christian lives by pithy pasturisms and build our theology off of Daily devotionals which cite one or two lines of scripture then a story.We should all be serious students of scripture, and I think Lancer is right on target when he says we\’re either playing it safe or we\’re scared. But I\’d say we\’re not playing it safe at all and we should be scared enough to take our salvation seriously. The Holiness of God is frightening, because he demands perfect righteousness from each of us and we fall so far short that it seems hopeless. That fact should drive us to the foot of the cross daily.While I agree for the most part with Todd\’s argument above in that there is such a Christocentric view among the Church that The Father often is not in the picture, and while we must be aware of the roles in which The Father and Son play in salvation I\’m not wholly convinced that worship should not be directed to Jesus. Referring to Phil 2:9-11 It seems to me that God has already exalted Him (because of his obedience) and bestowed his name above all names. Because every knee does not currently bow does that me we are not to bow? And according to Heb 1:6 But when he again brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all the angels of God worship him!" should we not worship him as well, or is this reserved for after the second coming only?That being said it is clear that when we direct praise or worship to Jesus it is to the Glory of God the Father. Which gets into the nature of the trinity…and a topic for another day!Thanks for the post Todd!
"What say you?"
Amen?
Daaaaaaaaaaaang.