GET A GRIP ON THE REAL GOSPEL
12/10/23 15:33
We must take care that our theology - what we understand as the gospel by which we are living - is Christ’s gospel and the gospel of the apostles. If it is the product of careless teaching or presumptuous revelation, we limit the spirit and life that is ours on account of the enterprise of the trinity. We are talking about the effectiveness of the work of God that Dallas Willard called The Divine Conspiracy.
A POPULAR MEDIOCRITY
Given the popularity of legalism* and adherence to the law as substitutes for union with God in some circles, we need to understand and live by the truth that we have oneness with God by ‘being’ and not by doing. The fruit of the vine starts with union with Jesus.
A religious godliness constrains us in doing while a spiritual view of Godliness reveals to us that our being is one with God’s being so that we express Father as sons imbued with His Person.
YOU ARE JOINED TO GOD’S BEING
“If there is no real bond in God between the economic Trinity and the ontological Trinity, the saving events proclaimed in the economy of the Gospel are without any divine validity and the doctrine of the Trinity is lacking in any ultimate divine truth. The trinitarian message of the Gospel tells us that the very contrary is the case..” (1)
Torrance is telling us that what God does, flows from who God is. The salvation He has woven for us is an expression of His own being; of His oneness as a trinitarian God. We have described this before as perichoresis – where the communion of the trinity is real yet does not detract from the uniqueness of each person of the trinity.
The difference between legalism and incarnation is belief that results in the state of being one with God. The effect of the this is spirit and life.
The wonderful implication of our salvation is that it is not just salvation. God in reconciling the world to Himself has drawn us into the divine communion, made us one with Himself in way that makes us who we are as individuals with agency and identity that grows as we grow in our fellowship with God. This is the dynamic of new creation kingdom life – the difference between religious routine and bearing Kingdom Fruit.
Religion turns the fruits of the Spirit into legalisms. The Spirit imbues the fruits with infinite life.
* It’s the default culture of most Christians.
(1) Torrance, Thomas F.. The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons (T&T Clark Cornerstones) (pp. 7-8). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.
A POPULAR MEDIOCRITY
Given the popularity of legalism* and adherence to the law as substitutes for union with God in some circles, we need to understand and live by the truth that we have oneness with God by ‘being’ and not by doing. The fruit of the vine starts with union with Jesus.
A religious godliness constrains us in doing while a spiritual view of Godliness reveals to us that our being is one with God’s being so that we express Father as sons imbued with His Person.
YOU ARE JOINED TO GOD’S BEING
“If there is no real bond in God between the economic Trinity and the ontological Trinity, the saving events proclaimed in the economy of the Gospel are without any divine validity and the doctrine of the Trinity is lacking in any ultimate divine truth. The trinitarian message of the Gospel tells us that the very contrary is the case..” (1)
Torrance is telling us that what God does, flows from who God is. The salvation He has woven for us is an expression of His own being; of His oneness as a trinitarian God. We have described this before as perichoresis – where the communion of the trinity is real yet does not detract from the uniqueness of each person of the trinity.
The difference between legalism and incarnation is belief that results in the state of being one with God. The effect of the this is spirit and life.
The wonderful implication of our salvation is that it is not just salvation. God in reconciling the world to Himself has drawn us into the divine communion, made us one with Himself in way that makes us who we are as individuals with agency and identity that grows as we grow in our fellowship with God. This is the dynamic of new creation kingdom life – the difference between religious routine and bearing Kingdom Fruit.
Religion turns the fruits of the Spirit into legalisms. The Spirit imbues the fruits with infinite life.
* It’s the default culture of most Christians.
(1) Torrance, Thomas F.. The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons (T&T Clark Cornerstones) (pp. 7-8). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.