Evidence That "Impossible" Is Possible

If you were at our Metro Cru meeting last week, you heard me speak about Calling and God's will. I briefly mentioned that, in Scripture, the phrase "will of God" has one of two meanings - the two sides of God's will. One is His sovereign will - His absolute authority over everything that has happened or ever will happen. Nothing occurs without God willing it to occur. Nothing surprises Him, nothing is random. The other side is His moral will - His stated commands and desires for how we are to live. While God's sovereign will cannot be thwarted, His moral will can. We can disobey and reject His instruction, and we do it all the time.

I mentioned in my talk that this is a gigantic paradox, but didn't give any more time to it. I will here.

A paradox happens when you have 2 truths that appear opposed to one another, giving the appearance that they naturally contradict one another, yet are somehow true. The Christian faith is full of paradoxes - Jesus was fully God and fully man, believers are chosen by God for salvation yet it's something we freely enter into by faith, etc. This paradox of God's sovereign and moral will can be stated this way (phrases borrowed from the book Just Do Something, by Kevin DeYoung):

a) God decrees everything that comes to pass.

b) We are responsible and fully accountable for sinful actions.

Naturally this leads to the question of, "is the disobedience of God's moral will (sin) planned by God within His sovereign will?" In other words, is God responsible somehow for human sin - does He will it to happen? The answer to that is, of course, no. God is not the author of sin (James 1:13 - God cannot be tempted by evil; Dt 32:4 - God does no wrong, He's upright and just; Matthew 5:48 - God is perfect). Nor does God tempt us to sin - again, from James 1:13, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone."

So, somehow, God's sovereign will includes all human sin - disobedient, rebellious actions that are directly contrary to God's will. In some way these fall under the rule of God's sovereignty. They don't surprise Him, nor do they affect His sovereign control of all things. And no matter how hard we try, we'll never understand how this is possible. Theologian Wayne Grudem, in his book Christian Beliefs, says: "The exact relationship between his will and evil is not something he has chosen to completely reveal to us. Therefore, we must take comfort in the fact that 'the secret things belong to the LORD our God. (Deut 29:29)'"

This might seem hard to accept. And of course it would, it's paradoxical! But I submit that you've already accepted it, no matter what intellectual barriers come up in your mind.

I've been going through a book called A Discipleship Journey, by David Buehring. The section I'm in goes through the ways, works, attributes, and character of God - defining who He is as revealed in Scripture, and pointing out the places in Scripture where these things are declared. This morning I read the section on God's Providence, and was pointed to Acts 2:23-24:

"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

The crucifixion of Jesus is the ultimate example of the paradox of God's will in action. Jesus was the perfectly righteous Son of God, innocent by all accounts. Yet "wicked men", as it says in the verse, crucified Him. These men weren't robotically doing the actions that led to Jesus crucifixion - they were wicked, they hated Jesus, accused Him, and actively sought to kill Him. Their wickedness was their own and they bore the blame for their actions. Throughout the Gospels, it's evident that the men opposed to Jesus were acting in sin - Jesus rebukes them and calls them to reject their ways. Matthew 23 is a great example. And in Luke 23:34, Jesus says "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" about the men casting lots for his garments. The ask for forgiveness indicates culpability for their actions.

BUT, Acts 2:23-24 says that all this happened "by God's set purpose and foreknowledge." The ESV says "definite plan and foreknowledge of God." In fact, so definite was this plan that the entirety of human redemption hinged on it. It was set beforehand as the means of God redeeming us - by sending His Son to die as payment for all the sins of man. It was not random, it was sovereignly purposed.

So we see in action confirmation that the paradox is true. God was fully sovereign over the crucifixion of His Son, yet it was carried out through acts of rebellion and wickedness, acts which the men who performed them were fully responsible for. They were crucifying Jesus, and by doing so were unknowingly making possible their own redemption, though they did it with wickedness and sin.

This impossibility is indeed possible; in fact, our faith depends on it being so. Just some food for thought as we ponder this paradox - one we may never fully grasp, at least not this side of Heaven. But just because we won't understand it doesn't mean we can't believe it.

--Jason

Easter Meditations

This weekend marks the most important celebration in the Christian calendar: the remembrance of Jesus death and celebration of His resurrection. Our entire faith rests on this, that Jesus took on death for us, and in paying for sin, gives us new life. Our sole response is faith, to believe in Him and accept His offer. We can't do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all.

I used to get confused as to why the resurrection was such a big deal, reasoning that it was because of the death of Christ that our sin was paid for and that we're saved. The resurrection seemed like almost an afterthought, just a validation of Jesus' claims of deity and ability to pay for sin. It is that, but it is so much more.

I thought I'd take a few moments to share some (emphasis on some - there are many more) of the reasons why the resurrection is so vital to our faith. Without it, our faith wouldn't exist (1 Cor 15:14). My prayer is that you'd have some of these things in mind this Sunday, as we celebrate the greatest victory in all of history, and the most significant day in our year.

1) In the resurrection, Jesus was the first to enter the glorified new life. (1 Cor 15:12-49)

Just as Adam was the first man to enter the life of sin and brokenness, Jesus (the "Second Adam") was the first to enter the glorified perfection that we'll inherit after we die. This isn't to say the Jesus wasn't always perfect, or glorified (He was, and is), but that as a man, Jesus was the "firstfruits", as it says in 1 Cor 15. His resurrected body is a model of the resurrected body that we'll one day have. We'll be raised from the dead with a new, glorified body upon Jesus return and the ushering in of a new Heaven and new earth. I could try to go on, but 1 Corinthians 15 pretty much says it all. Take a moment to read through it.

2) In the resurrection, Jesus defeated spiritual death. (1 Cor 15:50-58)

God gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus. Amazing! Once we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear or worry about spiritual death, separation from God. We can now live at peace with God because our sin is paid for and we have the confident hope of eternity with God.

3) Through the resurrection, Jesus remains alive to this day.

Our God is alive, present, always with us. There is no body in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't live on earth for a time and then die again; He ascended into Heaven, where He remains at the right hand of the Father. Our relationship with Him is real because He's alive and active.

4) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for us to freely approach the Father (John 16:26-27)

In the passage I listed, Jesus says an interesting statement, that He will not ask the Father on our behalf, instead that we will ask God directly in Jesus name. This is significant. Prior to Jesus death and resurrection, people were separated from God and He was unapproachable because of our sin. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Holy of Holies of the temple, shielded off by a thick curtain, and only once a year, one man - the high priest - could enter. And even then it was risky - a certain set of things needed to happen first to ensure his purity, and he entered with a chain tied to his ankle in the chance that he'd die in God's holy presence, and the other priests would have to drag him out of the Holy of Holies by his ankle. When Jesus dies, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), showing that God was now approachable by all, but only through Christ. We, who are in Christ, have our sins paid for, and can now boldly and freely go to God and interact with Him, but we only go to Him in Jesus' name. This is why we pray in Jesus' name, He's the mediator through whom we are able to approach God. He also intercedes for us as He sits at God's right hand.

5) Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His ultimate power and authority over everything. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Think about it - what's the most powerful thing someone could do? What would most demonstrate their authority and power over all things? It would have to be to rise from the dead! What is more final in our world than death? And Jesus defeated it, showing the limitless power of God.

6) Through Jesus' resurrection, He raised us with Him. (Colossians 2:11-14)

Awesome.

7) Through Jesus' resurrection, that very same power dwells in us and works for us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:15-23)

Read and think about what those passages say. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and gives life to us! How crazy is that? How often do we forget that truth, or neglect to tap into that power? And in Ephesians Paul says that the power that God worked in raising Christ from the dead (the greatest power display ever, remember) is for us and working toward us. Wow! This gives us reason to trust God to fight our battles for us, rather than fight them on our own. He's powerful and more than able to fight for us and win. It also gives us a great truth to keep in mind when, later in Ephesians, Paul says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against forces of spiritual darkness. These are intimidating forces, but God's power that was displayed in the resurrection is on our side. We can go to Him and let Him fight Satan and all his schemes for us.

These are just a few of the many, many things we could say about the resurrection. Not to mention all the things that Jesus' death accomplished. We could go on for hours and days and years just proclaiming all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection. As you meditate and reflect on these things this weekend, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Let's praise and exalt Jesus together - He is so, so worthy! Praise Him always and forever for who He is and all He's done!!

--Jason