The Beauty of Salvation (3)
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15.54-57
There are a lot of brave-faced people out there. In fact, most of the people we will encounter this week will be wearing a brave face. Brave because they know that one day they will have to face death. Brave-faced because they think either death won’t be coming anytime soon, or if it does, it probably won’t be so bad.
And yet they fear it. Everyone who has not gained the victory over death fears death, though they may not admit it and probably won’t want to talk about it (Heb. 2.15).
But there is a victory over death, and it has been accomplished in the only way it possibly could, as David Bentley Hart explains: “The form of Christ inhabits at one a province of shadows and a region of glorious light, he is once nocturnally and diurnally beautiful, his is simultaneously a way of abasement and a way of exaltation. And these two ways are one: not a before and after, but a venturing forth from and return to the Father that is one motion, one life, one dramatic action that overcomes totality’s defining horizon—death—not through reconciliation with the limits it marks but through an infinite act of kenosis and glorification that transgresses it, passes it by as though it were nothing.”
Jesus transgressed death and the law of sin by being perfect and sinless, thus violating and destroying both the standard and standard-bearer of the lie and of all wrong-belief. The Good News is that He Who is eternally beautiful and mysterious, and powerful to destroy creation’s “defining horizon”, has come among us from the Father, fulfilled the purpose of His mission, returned to rule over His eternal Kingdom, and offers the friendship of life with Him forever by grace through faith.
What a beautiful Gospel we have to proclaim to the brave-faced, frightened people of our day!
Being disciples and making disciples
To be and make disciples, we must understand what we mean by that term. Mike McQueen offers some helpful insights as we begin a reprise of our conversations on the subject. Click the link or the audio bar at the top of this page to listen in.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we wrap-up our discussion of the place of God’s Law in His Kingdom. Our Read Moore podcast continues working through The Gospel of the Kingdom, looking for the true Gospel of the Lord. The Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a devotional life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. And in our Scriptorium column we are unpacking the teaching of Paul in Ephesians 5. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
New in our bookstore is Let God Be True, sharing the Gospel in an age in flight from God. It takes patience and love, but we can do it. Free as a PDF by clicking here. You can also order my new book of poems, Never Too Late, issued by Wipf and Stock’s Resources imprint. Click here.
Coming in November: We will be offering a resource for measuring your church, in a wide variety of facets, with the church in the New Testament and first couple of centuries. This is part of our ReThinking Church Project. Watch this space for more news about this effort.
From the Celtic Revival
Brigit of Kildare (451-525)
In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we have been following Cogitosus’ Lift of St. Brigit the Virgin:
On another day, the blessed Brigit saw some ducks swimming on the water, occasionally taking wing, and being moved with affection for them, she commanded them to come to her. A great flock of them flew over to her on feathered wings with eager obedience to her words and showing no fear, as if they were used to people. She touched them with her hand and caressed them for a while, before allowing them to fly back into the sky. She praised the Creator of all things, to whom all creatures are subject, and for whom all things live.
– Cogitosus, The Life of St. Brigit the Virgin
The works of the LORD are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered:
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
– Psalm 111.2-4
How much of God and His glory do we miss by not paying attention to the creation around us? We don’t have to be Francis of Assisi to discern the beauty, wisdom, complexity, system, order, and magnificence of a tree, say, or a perched bird, and to see in these the Presence of God and His glory. Scripture points us to the creation to know and delight in the glory of God (cf. Ps. 19.1-4). And creation points us to God and His Word to help us understand the excellence of Jesus and the world-redeeming salvation He has accomplished.
Follow the rest of Cogitosus’ story of Brigit each Tuesday and Thursday in our Crosfigell teaching letter. Add our Crosfigellteaching letter to your subscriptions. You can learn more about the Kingdom of God in our book, The Kingdom Turn. Order your copy here in book form or here as a free PDF.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
Our bookstore includes a variety of free resources to help you understand and benefit from these great forgotten saints. Our book, The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction, provides an overview of the period, while Living to Rule gives us a look inside the disciplined life of Irish monks and missionaries. Theology of the Celtic Revival: Foundations, will ease your mind about any unorthodox views among the leaders of this movement. And our book, Lives of Irish Saints will introduce you to some of the less well-known men of that period. All these are free at our bookstore, and you can share them with everyone you like.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this issue of Pastor to Pastor helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
