Greater Truths

The greater truths are lesser known.

One of the most valuable things a Christian can do is understand their own faith. Whilst this statement might sound obvious, in a technological age where information is abundant and comprehension poor, the genuine pursuit of such understanding is not a given.

Indeed, many first-world Christians lack the desire to attempt to understand what they believe. Perhaps a plethora of information swamps their minds, perhaps they have less quality time to reflect on truth, maybe they have given into apathy, or they are just content with simple knowledge. Whatever the reason, there seems to be a diminishing appetite for delving into the essential truths that shape authentic belief.

Of course, some seek understanding along the well-worn lines of religious tradition or even the freshly imprinted tracks of the latest sociological trend–which has some value. But uncritically embracing other’s ideas, no matter how compelling, does not automatically lead to meaningful personal understanding. Over and against this, a few, not content to uncritically embrace tradition or trend, labour to understand by meditating on the statements of Holy Scripture and prayerfully seeking meaning beyond a surface understanding.

Though my quest has been short and my discoveries meagre, I have laboured to understand three distinct yet integrated truths–the understanding of which, has enhanced my appreciation of God and the resultant Christian life.

Although plainly set out in Holy Scripture, I consider these ‘greater’ truths. Why? Not because they are novel, not because they are hard to understand, nor truer than others, but when ‘taken together’ they provide the key to an illuminated understanding of the scope of God’s plan and commensurate life that necessarily flows from understanding it.

Greater Truth 1: God’s Universal Renewal

Because a lot of Christian/Western thought has been influenced by Platonic (Greek) Philosophy, there is a tendency to think of salvation in term of saving the soul out of this ‘evil’ material world. Straight jacketed by Greek logic, many contemporary Christians are unwittingly compelled to tread this well-worn path of disembodied ‘soul salvation’.

Contrary to this philosophically conceived scheme, God’s divinely initiated plan of human redemption is not to be abstracted from his intended goal of material cosmic renewal. And by extension personal redemption of the soul cannot be simply divorced from the renewal of the body. Properly understood, human redemption is intricacy bound to God’s design for wholistic transformation.

In the book of Revelation we see an explicit statement about God’s ultimate intention for his creation, ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.‘ Rev 21 (ESV)

Yes, God’s ultimate goal is the renewal of all things–the divine transformation of the first creation into something glorious, pure, and more permanent.

This being the case redemption is not simply abstraction from the material, but includes the transformation of the material–here and now. Indeed, Christ’s work results in more than the acquittal from the penalty of sin, but includes the transformative victory over the power and presence of sin in the believer’s present life. That’s right, God is working to renew us ‘now’ in anticipation of the final ‘renewal of all things’.

This is why Paul can write the following, ‘ For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.‘ Rom 8:23 (ESV)

As we have just read, God’s business of the renewal of all things is often painful for the one being renewed. The Christian is groaning against the influence of sin in the process of sanctification, anticipating the fulfilment of redemption and the emancipation of all the created order, which one day will become the Christian’s perfect final abode. The goal of the present struggle and transformative renewal is future joy.

That this renewal is possible at all, is based on another greater truth–the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Greater Truth 2: Christ’s Resurrection Body

For many, the resurrection of Jesus is simply proof of his divinity, a sign of victory over death, and the final legitimation of all his Messianic claims. Whilst not diminishing the validity of these facts, there is something more profound about the resurrection of Christ that is not generally appreciated, that relates to the nature of Jesus’ resurrection body.

You see, in his death Jesus broke the curse of death over the perishable creation, and by his resurrection he emancipates the perishable body by transforming it into the imperishable. His resurrection body is the first ‘thing’ of the ‘all things’ that God is making new–the new creation.

What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.1 Cor 15:42 (ESV)

So, what is truly unique and revolutionary, is that Jesus’ resurrection body was the first thing to enter into the realm of the ‘new creation’–his resurrection body is the first imperishable body to belong to the next and final era of God’s eternal kingdom. Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus’ body not just represents the possibility of a new existence, but its reality–it represents a new mode of human existence, unconstrained by the limitations of physical/material life as we know it.

Of course, one naturally might assume that the transformation that Christ undertook applies only to him. Not so!

In the Old Testament, the first-fruits represented the first and best portion of the upcoming harvest which was offered to God, anticipating his blessing over the rest of the harvest. The resurrection of Jesus is described by Paul in this manner, ‘ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ‘ 1 Cor15:20-23 (ESV)

Consequently, the resurrection of Jesus Christ foreshadows the much anticipated resurrection of all those who belong to Jesus, inextricably linking Jesus’ resurrection to their new state of being, a state of being that begins the moment they trust Jesus. Indeed, the nature of the resurrection body of Christ has significant implications for how we should view the Christian life we live ‘now’.

Being in a living relationship with the resurrected/transformed saviour, the power of Christ’s resurrection tangibly impacts the present life, as Paul clearly states, ‘…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.‘ Phil 3:10-11 (ESV)

The power that transformed Jesus’ resurrected body, is presently at work in the process of sanctification, transforming the believer into the likeness of Christ with the goal of perfection in the final resurrection state.

That this transformation is even possible this side of eternity, is dependant on yet another greater truth.

Truth 3: Union with Christ

The doctrine of union with Christ represents the Apostle Paul’s flagship doctrine. It is the central truth that guides his perception, practice, and teaching of the Gospel and the attending Christian life flowing from it.

Paul’s identification with Christ is not merely as one looking on and appreciating the benefits of Christ’s atoning death and resurrection in some remote academic sense, but rather, as one of intimate participation with Christ in these events, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’ Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

Through a spiritual union with Christ, Paul views the old carnal self as being mortified in Jesus’ crucifixion , subsumed by the life of Christ.

Moreover, through this spiritual/existential connection to the reality of the Christ events, Paul is able to lay the foundation for his understanding of the ‘new’ life, ‘ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.’ Romans 6: 6 (ESV) The spiritual connection to the crucifixion provides the ‘realistic’ grounds for a Christian morality–freeing the believer from the debilitating power of sin.

So, at this point we may begin to connect the dots between all three ‘greater truths’. The reality of God’s ultimate plan of renewal, the power of Jesus’ resurrection, and the reality of union with Christ come together to establish the grounds for the Christians new state of being–the new creation: ‘ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ‘ 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

The Christian participation ‘in Christ’ through faith and the Spirit’s empowerment enables believers to enter into the reality of this new creation; purposed and planned by the father, executed by the Son, and applied by the Spirit.

Consequentially, the gospel can not be simplistically viewed as a believe in Jesus so you can go to heaven message, consciously or unconsciously, abstracted from material reality and with no substantive implications for this present life.

Rather, faith in Christ necessarily involves a transformative process of God realising his new creation in us. As such, the sanctified life, the life of obedience, the life of moral purity, and unwavering devotion to God is a component of divine salvation–a necessary consequence of authentic faith in and spiritual union with Christ.

So to sum it up, the renewal of all things has already been realised in Jesus’ resurrection, and is currently being realised in the transforming lives of his followers, lives under the powerful administration of the Holy Spirit. The great banquet of eternal redemption has been booked, and God is in the process of dressing his people for the occasion–clothed in the likeness of Christ.

These things are not only true, but may rightly be considered greater truths!