The Son in the Creation of the Cosmos

Here is my feeble attempt at exalting the Son in the creation of the cosmos - while theological in content, it is particularly doxological in form. This is what is said of him who is above all earthly powers -

In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:1-3). For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). The Father appointed him the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:2-3). The LORD possessed the Wisdom of the Son at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago he was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths he was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, he was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, Wisdom was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then he was beside him, like a master workman, and he was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man (Proverbs 8:22-31).

The Son is the self-expression of the Father - he is both the Logos (i.e. the Word - the divine animating person of the order and knowledge of God cohering, upholding, and authoritatively governing the entire universe) and his radiant Image (meaning, he who perfectly reflects the divine Majesty and glory of the Father to the world). He is the creative medium through which the Father brought forth the cosmos. Even more, he is the very reason for which the Father created it. He is the active agent by which all things cohere, and he continually upholds the universe by his powerful word. He is the unfathomable wisdom of the Father. Most importantly, he is the only, unique Son of the Father, and it is in this deepest and most profound mystery that the key to both our existence and our redemption and eventual consummation into blessedness are found - namely, that the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father.

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The Testimony of the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood

It is always interesting when you come across a statement that is difficult to understand. It's interesting because people have various ways at attempting to interpret the statement...and consequently, all kinds of interpretations are produced as a result. I believe one of those particular statements comes in John's first letter in chapter 5 as he speaks of the testimonies of the Spirit, the water, and the blood. Here is what the beloved disciple says in 1 John 5:6-8,

This is he who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

Now I have heard different approaches to this verse. I think one says that the water and the blood are the bodily fluids that come from our Savior's side as the Roman soldier spears him on the cross. Another is that the water represents the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, where the Father speaks from heaven of Jesus' identity as his beloved Son. Within the context of John's message here and with the rest of Scripture, I tend to disagree with these interpretations.

Within the context of the letter, the testimony of the Spirit, water, and blood is none other than "the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son," and that "whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself" (1 John 5:9b-10a). It is difficult to reconcile the above interpretations with these verses - surely the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son has more to do with the fact that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) - this, Paul says, is the free gift God gives that brings about our justification and reconciliation. Hear the rest of what Paul has to say about this particular testimony with which God confronts us and brings to bear on our hearts -

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11 ESV)

To be sure, throughout Scripture, it is the gospel word that is associated with this water that washes us clean (Ephesians 5:26), the same water that brings about our rebirth into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). And that water is continuously associated with the internal ministry of the Spirit. The Spirit receives the word from the Son and declares it to us (John 16:12-15). Again, the washing of water with the word is held hand-in-hand with the indwelling of the Spirit in our hearts (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Our confirmation as sons of God comes not only in the receiving of the word of this gospel message, but also in the power and conviction of the Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5). And finally, the shed blood testifies to the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28) and the propitiation of God's wrath (Romans 3:25), both of which "purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).

This interpretation is gospel-focused and cross-centered. I believe this corresponds more accurately to what John says about the testimony God has borne about his Son - the testimony that we must believe in order to be saved. The three testimonies borne by the Spirit, the water, and the blood all agree - that at the appropriate time, while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

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The Prophet like Moses

I truly believe that one could walk up to a Bible for the first time, read its pages, and glean wonderful things from it. That is the nature of God's word - living and active, cutting between joints and marrow, killing and making alive. But the fact remains - his revelation to us is a cohesive unit, meant to be understood as a whole. In line with this frame of thinking, what makes so many of the things Jesus says so shocking to the Pharisees and Saducees is that it sounds so familiar to them - Jesus is re-scripting the drama of Moses and the prophets. And he is declaring himself the one in whom they all anticipated. One such example is when Moses foretells of the prophet to come, who will speak the very words of God. Hear what Moses says from Deuteronomy 18:15-18,

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers - it is to him you shall listen - just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, "Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die." And the LORD said to me, "They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him."

Moses receives the Law from the voice of the LORD at Mt. Sinai (or Mt. Horeb). Fearing this voice, the people request that Moses speak to them. So Moses, as the representative prophet and lawgiver, enunciates the Law to Israel and pronounces its blessings and cursings. In Deuteronomy 18, however, the voice of the LORD says that there will be another prophet like Moses who will come bearing the very words of God in his mouth. The impression given is that this prophet will be greater than Moses - his capacity for revealing the mysteries of the commands of God to man will surpass that of his predecessor. The scene is set at a time when the people know they have not listened to Moses and all he communicated to them of God's law. But the LORD assures them that they will listen to this prophet.

Fast forward about 1400 years to another mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus now speaks to the crowds (Matthew 5:1-7:29). He expounds to them both the deeper meaning and the reality of the commands of God. He tells them that he came to fulfill all that the Law and the prophets spoke. Preceding each explanation with a series of "you have heard that it was said...", he clarifies what the imperatives of the Law actually meant and the extent of obedience the righteousness of God required of them. And after Jesus finished speaking, "the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority..." (Matthew 7:29). Whereas Moses speaks with a derivative authority, declaring, "the LORD your God says...", Jesus speaks with the authority that no man possesses - " I say to you..."

It seems the greater prophet who comes after and supersedes Moses is the same voice that spoke with such authority that afternoon on the mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The voice of the LORD that spoke to Moses at Sinai came down in the flesh and dwelt among men (John 1:14).

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The Chaotic Waters Submit to the Word of Christ

We live during times where professing Christians have become increasingly illiterate in biblical language. Nowadays, it has become necessary to dig deeper into the nuances of Scripture to magnify the God who is there. We do this by concerntrating on the many facets of the nature of the Godhead. For now, I would like to highlight the sovereign power with which Christ speaks. Reading the first few verses of the opening chapters of Genesis, we see the phrase, "...darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2).

This verse reflects the common views of the day in Ancient Near Eastern religion - that the demonic sea monster of the dark primordial abyss struggled against the creator deity. In Babylonian mythology, a battle ensued where the storm god Marduk made war with Tiamat, the ancient dragon of the sea. The heavens and earth are formed from the monster's divided body. But this picture of war and struggle is not what we see painted in the Bible. The Scriptures refer to the Leviathan as Rahab. Rahab and the raging waters submit wholeheartedly to the Word of Christ (Psalm 89:9-11, "You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass"; see also 2 Peter 3:5, "the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Word of God."). The Son was the agent with which God created the world (Hebrews 1:2). The effectual power with which the Word is carried out is seen in the Spirit, as he hovers over the deep abyss. This community participation of the Triune God leads to God speaking, "Let there be..." - and there was. God formed the world out of and through the waters. The Scriptures detail no record of a battle or struggle of any kind - the waters simply obey.

Throughout Scripture, the sea continues to be a force to be reckoned with for man. But God continually delivers his saints through the waters, for the chaotic waters willfully submit to his Word. Remember in the days of Noah, when God delivered 8 persons in the ark through the flood judgment - we see later that this corresponds to baptism and the ark symbolized the power of the future resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21). Again, look at the Red Sea exodus event, where Israel walks safely on dry ground through the raging waters as the pillar of fire leads them along the way. Paul clarifies that this too symbolized a kind of baptism, where God was delivering his people from judgment (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). The waters would then consume the pagan Egyptians. Baptism in terms of salvation through judgment is a topic I will try to address in a later post.

The last scenario I would like to bring up is the storm event in Matthew 8. The disciples tremble with fear as the chaotic sea waters again present their intimidating waves - the deep abyss that consumes and conquers all who attempt to struggle against it. The disciples invoke the comfort of their Savior. Jesus speaks a word - and the quaking waters stop abruptly and lie still. The Leviathan does not struggle, he does not rage - when the Word speaks, he obeys. The power Christ wields is sovereign and supreme.

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The One upon whom Isaiah gazed

I mention this because it is sometimes difficult for people to see the continuity in which the Triune God communicates with man throughout the Scriptures. The plans and purposes of God originate within the mind of the Father. The speech and image of the Father are expressed in the Son, who is the Word. The power with which the Word is spoken and the means by which that Word is brought to bear on the human heart is the Spirit. The Scriptures continuously speak in this manner.

The example I bring to the reader's attention is that of the prophet in Isaiah 6:1-6. Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord of hosts sitting upon his throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the heavenly temple. Above him stood the seraphim, resounding with, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts..." Isaiah is stunned by the vision of such glory, at a complete loss as a sinner standing before the holy God. Isaiah proclaims the One who sits upon the throne to be the King, the LORD of hosts.

Here is the issue with continuity - can mere man look upon the invisible Father who dwells in unapproachable light (see Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 6:16)? This would seem incongruent with Scripture. John clarifies in his gospel account by quoting Isaiah from this same scene in ch. 6. John then explains why Isaiah said these things - "Isaiah said these things because he saw his [Jesus'] glory and spoke of him" (Jn 12:41). The exalted Lord that Isaiah looked upon in his vision in the year that King Uzziah died was the Son in his preincarnate glory, the image and radiance of the Father. Before the Son became flesh and dwelt among men, he was sitting upon the throne in heaven.

What does this tell us? It tells us that the Father has seen in fitting to express himself in the image of his Son to man (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15). The voice of the Father is enunciated by the Word, who is also the Son (John 1:1-2). The Son therefore grants access to the image and mind of the Father.

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