The Rambling Disciple

This one isn't based on any particular verse or passage, but rather a misguided assumption. Since Jesus is God and didn't sin, then he must be not quite fully human. To put it another way, Jesus was special in his humanity in a way we are not. While I obviously absolutely defend the uniqueness of Jesus as being fully God and fully man I do not think Jesus was some sort of superhuman. We look at Jesus and see all the wonderful things he did and the fact that he lived a perfect life and just assume that he wasn't quite as human as the rest of us. After all, to err is human. Part of what it means to be human from our experience is to fail, but Jesus never failed. So, he must be something unique. The truth of the matter is it isn't Jesus who is less than human but us. God created human beings in his image, to live with him and for him. We routinely fail to live up to our own design. God sets the standard for what it means to be human, and it looks like we have all failed. F...

As we've been looking at the Incarnation I think that there are underlying theological issues that lead to many of our misconceptions. The last two weeks we have looked at basically one issue; the hypostatic union. That is technical theology talk for the fact that Jesus is fully God and fully human at the same time. As we've seen many have trouble with that basic concept of these two, different natures coexisting in one person. So, in order to simplify the mystery, we tend to diminish either Jesus' divinity or humanity.  This week is a little different. The misconception we will examine this week is that God became a man in order to understand and relate to us better. This is usually drawn from the book of Hebrews in the discussion of Jesus being our great High Priest, something we discussed last week.  "For we do not have a high priest that is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." - Hebrews 4:15 Many t...

I remember a couple of years ago seeing a post on Facebook where a young mother was explaining to her child what happened to Jesus after he went back to heaven. The long and short of it is that the mother explained that Jesus transformed from being a human being back to being God. It's a common enough error that I see all over the place that is related to our discussion from last week. If you assume that whilst on Earth Jesus stopped being God in order to be a human being, it only follows that when he returned to heaven the reverse happened. However, many that would deny that Jesus' lost any divinity on Earth would also maintain that he ceased to be human following the Ascension. In essence, they make the Incarnation a thirty year or so stint as a human being. The truth is far more impactful. The Incarnation wasn't a short term role played by God for only thirty years. It was a permanent addition to the Son's nature and identity. Just as he never ceased to be God during...

I'll confess that this particular misconception is one I believed for a while several years ago. The idea of God giving up his divinity while on Earth in the person of Jesus appealed to me. It made the Incarnation seem so much more like a sacrifice and learning experience on God's part. It also seemed to gel nicely with a certain Bible passage that we are going to talk about shortly.  However, the idea that Jesus gave up being God while he was on Earth not only doesn't make sense it also completely devalues the Incarnation. It is, at its core, a way of simplifying the mystery. Before discussing why this view is errant we should examine the Bible passage it is based on; one of the central texts concerning the Incarnation, Philippians 2:5-11. "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 ...

There are few things as important in the Christian faith as the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. It stands at the heart of all that we believe and do alongside the Trinity, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. The idea that God almighty became a fully human person is a marvelous mystery that flummoxes many Christians and non-Christians alike. However, as central as this doctrine is there are many common misunderstandings about it. Over the next few weeks we are going to look at the Incarnation of Jesus. Specifically we are going to address certain common misconceptions that many believers have about it. These are issues I have heard repeatedly from many sources, many quite recently. Here are a couple of examples of some misconceptions that we have about the Incarnation. 1. Jesus stopped being God while he was human. 2. Jesus stopped being human after his Ascension. 3. God became human so he could better understand and relate to us. 4. Because Jesus was fully God, he wasn't really fully human...

 I am weak. There is no doubt about it. It is a struggle every day to live content in the presence of God. I constantly want more than what I have. I want to be able to decide my fate, but I can't. I am weak. Most of us probably have felt that same weakness in our lives. We live in a world that preaches strength of will, ability, and position. You are determined by your strength to accomplish what you want to accomplish and achieve what you set your heart on achieving. I think we've even let this mindset slip into our preaching and teaching in our congregations. The truth is that our weakness is an opportunity to lean more fully on the strength of God. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul says he pleaded with God to remove some weakness from him. The response is something we all need to wrestle with. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Do we recognize that our weakness is OK because we have God's grace? Do we treat our moments of inabil...

(This was originally a sermon preached at the Church of Christ Northwest on 9/6/2020) God is in control. I think this just might be our favorite thing to say, no matter the circumstance. When good things happen, we laud the fact that God is in control. When bad things happen, we quietly remind ourselves that God is in control and therefore the bad things cannot last forever. It’s a cliché that we pass around in order to lift our spirits. So, what does it mean? When you say “God is in control” what exactly do you mean? I think back to five years ago when my mother was lying in the ICU, breathing tube down her throat, IV hooked up, and a well-meaning person, doubtless in an attempt to comfort me, said “God is in control.” Though I remained silent in an effort to be polite and respond to the intention, inside I was anything but quiet.              God did not do this! That was the burning thought that scorched itself into my m...