Christ's Victory - the original idea of what Christ did for us

Introduction

Christ's Victory ('Christus Victor') is not as boring as it sounds – and this may be worth a read. It is not so much a rational systematic theory as it is a drama, an account of events, a passionate story of God triumphing over the powers and liberating us from the bondage of sin. It operates from a paradigm of liberation, not of penance. Though it is often summarised as a ‘cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil’, there is considerably more depth beneath this summary. As the Church Father Irenæus writes, “The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil”. According to the authoritative book on the theory this view dominated from the beginnings of the church until the 10^th century (Aulen, ‘Christus Victor’), and indeed the view is amply supported by Ireneaeus’ writing. However, the passionate drama of Christus Victor was rejected in the Middle Ages because it was too "emotional" who preferred to see it though the lens of a rationalistic judicial system.

My understanding of the Christus Victor Atonement

References are for your information, perhaps to help see where different concepts tie in - rather than 'evidence' to support this idea i.e. they are not 'proof texts'. For me, Christus Victor is not a theory that needs backing up, but rather a story that is self-evident.

Outline

Christ came to liberate us from sin and the associated spiritual death (both of which the devil wants). God Himself reconciled by Himself to us, and in turn us to Him, by revealing His heart and grace through what Jesus did and who He was, which persuades our hearts to turn away from sin and back to God.

We are liberated from sin, death and the power of the devil

People of the world are ruled by sin (and hence the devil) by their own choice to do it (Rom 6:16). Sin corrupts the mind and leads to the person continually wanting to choose it, and thus puts the person into slavery to sin and death (Rom 6:20,21). Sin is our problem, not God’s, and He does not hate it in and of itself, but He hates it because it damages us. But in Christ, God presented Himself in shocking nearness and unmistakable grace – that is, He revealed Himself to the world to bring them back to Himself (to reconcile the world to Him). Once His character is understood our attitude is changed, and sin no longer controls us for we know the truth of His nature, and that truth sets us free (John 8:32, Rom 6:14, 1 Ti 2:4). Our desire to sin dies because of the revelation of Christ (Rom 6:6-7,16), and we are liberated from sin (Rom 6:18). The devil did not have legal ‘rights’ over people, nor God did not use trickery or deception to ‘fool the devil’ – but rather in a completely fair, just and Godly manner, God used a revelation of Himself to cause people to leave the kingdom of the devil. In this sense, the devil is defeated.

We are given new direction

Not only did He liberate us from personal and extra-person sin and spiritual death that it brings, but He showed us what to do with our liberty by modelling perfect humanity – as Adam should have (Mat 5:17, John 1:17, Rom 10:4). In this sense, Christ went over the same ground as fallen humanity (recapitulation), but showed a different way through it by demonstrating self-less love as a true human being subject to our world.

Christ revealed this new life, to free us

Yet, this liberation was not without cost. In becoming human, Christ suffered the hurt, heart-ache, pain and evil of our fallen world – all for our sakes, so that we would be liberated. God Himself was personified in Christ, and His ‘ransom’ (Mat 20:28, 1 Ti 2:6) or ‘payment’ was for us in this sense (John 10:11-18). In the revelation of Himself, God has given us the ‘money to buy our freedom from slavery’ – that is, the revelation we required to turn away from sin and instead be freed-men to follow Him. In this sense, Christ’s payment was not to God, but to us. The emphasis, indeed the point, is our liberation from sin, not whom payment is made to – and payment is certainly not made to the devil or to God. After all, sin is our problem that we must be freed from, and God’s attitude toward it is not the issue. Thus, His sufferings (the price God paid for our sakes so that we would be freed, e.g. 1 Co 6:20, 1 Co 7:23, Gal 1:4, 2 Co 8:9) are of the highest value – for because of His wounds, we are healed (Gal 3:13, 1 Pe 2:24, Is 53:5).

Christ's whole Incarnation gives us revelation of the true heart of God, which sets us free

Christ’s Incarnation and Atonement are inseparable, and it is the whole of the Incarnation – from birth to ascension – that is important. Furthermore, God and Christ are inseparable. Christ demonstrated God’s love for the weak, the poor, the oppressed, and the sinful during His life. The Almighty God, in Christ, lowered Himself to serve the world, that it would return to Him. Through death (for greater love has no man – John 15:13), He lived out his teachings in the most difficult way in the fullness of being a human. God was represented in full as the Son of God (John 14:7, John 10:30), and demonstrated that He was, is, and will always be willing to accept us in spite of our sinfulness (Eph 1:7, Rom 5:20, Mat 9:6, Mar 2:10, Luk 5:24, 1 John 1:8-10). (Contrary to most atonement theory’s, including the CV, in my personal opinion God did not change his attitude toward people or change the way He accepted them, for He does not change – Mal 3:6.) Our sinfulness was amply revealed by crucifying a perfect man, yet Jesus even showed grace to those who killed Him (Luk 23:34). Indeed, it was not God but people who inflicted suffering on Christ (Is 53) – our iniquities were put upon Him in this sense. But then, our great hope comes from the victorious resurrection of Christ (1Pe 1:3), which showed decisively that God can overcome sin and even death itself to instead give us life, even eternal life (Rom 6:23, 1 Pe 1:2, Tit 3:7).

Christ, therefore, was not a sacrifice to God on our behalf, for God was IN Christ to bring people back to Himself. (Christ and the Father are one and are of the same mind, so it makes little sense for God to sacrifice Himself to change his own mind. In fact, sacrifice to appease a god is a pagan idea.) Rather, sacrifices were always to bring people’s hearts back to God (Psa 51:17, Is 1:11), and were never intended to change God’s heart toward people. Thus Christ was God’s sacrifice to us – which revealed His love in the strongest way (Col 1:21, John 15:13). Christ was the 'covenental sacrifice' to us, in which God made it clearer than ever before how to be a part of His people - and it was sealed with the blood of Christ Himself. In Christ, God pledged His love and grace toward us.

In light of God’s love, the power of sin (both in us and influencing us) is overcome within us (Rom 2:4, Rom 8:37). This revelation of God gives us strength to live in liberty and life despite the sin in our selves, other people, and oppression (Rom 8:11). Christ suffered in life and in death to show us God’s love and power with His own life and body (1 Jo 4:9-10). Indeed, it is God’s love that gives us the ability to turn away from sin and death, and hence the devil, and instead love God (1 Jo 4:19, Gal 2:20). This is one aspect of how the devil is defeated, for in Christ, God led us to turn back to Him not by force, but by revealing Himself.

It is because of God's amazing grace

God showed that His grace is greater than our sin – not that our sin is overlooked (for the atonement was to deal with sin), but that God will accept us in spite of it (e.g. Rom 4:5-8, Luk 23:42-43, John 1:17, Rom 3:24, Rom 5:8, 10). In Christ’s resurrection, God showed that He is even more powerful than death itself, and that even death will not separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:35-39). The devil wanted us separated, so this is a second important aspect of how the devil is defeated, for nothing the devil can do can make God give up people (Heb 2:14-15, 1 John 3:8). In undergoing our sufferings of being human, Christ demonstrated that the devil is overcome by God’s unfailing love (Heb 2:14). By accepting us despite our sins, we are healed. God also showed His power over the devil when Jesus cast out demons. What is more, God has given us His power and authority, just as He gave it to Christ, so that we may continue to defeat the devil by freeing others from sin and bringing them into the life of God’s Kingdom, even as we ourselves are free (Luk 24:47-49, Mat 28:18).

Summary of Christus Victor

What God achieved through Christ did not metaphysically change anything ‘out there’ – but rather it was to influence people in a very real way: through the flesh and blood of a real human relationship (Act 15:11, Rom 1:16-17). God revealed Himself to people by and revealing His true heart for us, which in turn brings us to reconcile ourselves to God by choosing follow Him rather than sin (Rom 2:4, Rom 12:1). By being victorious over sin and death, Christ has given us victory to live free from sin, and the spiritual death it causes, and be accepted by God who gives us spiritual life (John 10:10, Rom 8:2, 1 Jo 3:8, Col 1:14).

God did not require any satisfaction of justice, nor an appeasing sacrifice on behalf of humans to Him (Isa 1:11,13,16-17, Hosea 6:6, Psalm 51: 16-17). Instead, in His love He showed people a way out of sin, oppression, hated and spiritual death – pointing them back to Himself (John 8:32-36, Rom 12,1). He demonstrated His faithfulness and dedication to fulfil his original intentions of creation – to be in relationship with people who belong to Him. God did not conquer evil with force or evil, but was victorious IN the Servant Messiah (Matt 20:28, Mark 8:31). God was on that Cross. In Christ, God demonstrated He is indeed Lord and Saviour (e.g. Tit 3:4-6, Tit 2:10, 1Ti 4:10, 1Ti 2:3, 1Ti 1:1, Isa 43:3, Psa 106:21). God revealed Himself to us in the shocking physical reality of Jesus, and how can we not respond?

What’s more… the Atonement continues in us

NB: This is my own extention to the Christus Victor model, which I believe follows naturally from it.

Christ was God, Christ was perfect – neither of these things we can expect to be while on this earth. But Christ has given us the same commission that He had – to literate people through sharing the love of God. Christ was the perfect example to us, for He sacrificed self-interest and obeyed God so that people would turn to God. We also, are commissioned with the same purpose, to give our lives for our friends (1 Jo 3:16), to reveal God’s heart (John 8:12, 9:5, then Mat 5:14) and conquer the kingdom of the devil with Godly love (John 13:34-35). Just as Christ was one of God's 'two hands' (the other being the Holy Spirit) - we are His many hands. God has given us the power and authority to do this (Luk 10:19, Luk 24:49, Act 1:8, Act 2), and Jesus states that we will do ‘greater things’ than the works He did (Joh 14:12). Just as Christ was, we are representatives of God (2Co 5:20). Just as it was for Christ, our mission is to liberate people to give them the life that comes from living in the Kingdom of God.

For further information, read this article particularly. Also read Christus Victor: an historical study of the three main types of the idea of the atonement, by Gustaf Aulen, which is much easier to read that the title suggests. There is also some useful information here.

Edited 12:53pm Sat Oct 9: corrected 'the two hands of God' to be both Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Edited Sun Oct 10: included Christ as God's 'covenental sacrifice' - by which God pledges His love and grace toward us.
Edited Wed Oct 13: added "Sin is our problem, not God’s, and He does not hate it in and of itself, but He hates it because it damages us;" "After all, sin is our problem that we must be freed from, and God’s attitude toward it is not the issue;" "(for the atonement was to deal with sin)".

Guidelines for understanding the atonement

Some preliminary thoughts:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Messiah. His name is known throughout the world, and yet few people know what He actually accomplished on earth, or even why He came. There are plenty of ideas, and many Christians believe whatever comes their way because every else believes it – so it must be right, they think. Sadly, many do not consider what ideas are presented, and fail to see how little many of the ideas line up with the character of God and plain common sense.

The core of the confusion, I believe, comes in actually trying to put Christ into an equation like: Christ + life + death = salvation for us. What I mean is that since the first century, some prominent people have sought to analyse what Christ did – and in doing so have completely lost the point. The early church lived more in the thankful enjoyment of redemption than in logical reflection upon it. They speak of Christ’s work in heartfelt emotion rather than of careful definition and analysis[i]. Moreover, atonement was never a subject of controversy within the ancient church, clearly it was not a matter or terminology or something to ‘get right’ – but rather something to be told, like a story. It was not the wording or the intellectual ideas presented that were important, but the essence of the message. It is clear that Christ was far more to them than the missing term of an equation – and the hearts, not the beliefs, of others were certainly changed by what the early church told them of Christ.

Needless to say, I believe it is dangerous to write a theological equation, point a wavering finger at it and say, “that is what Christ did”. This danger is not because the statement may not be abstractly true, but rather, making such statements often conceals the power of what He did to affect our hearts. If anything, what Christ did has the power to change our hearts and turn them toward God – the theory by which it does that is largely irrelevant. It is irrelevant in the same way that knowing how a light bulb works does not help one use it to see any clearer. The point of Christ’s coming was to illuminate our hearts with the character of God, so that we would follow His light out of our darkness, not to describe our darkness, explain why we are in it, or give us a map to get out of it.

How pitiful that we merely recite descriptions of what Jesus is and does while we wallow in darkness and ignore His calls to follow Him into the light?

That said, it is nice to know what Jesus does for us, just as it is nice to know how a light bulb works. There is something fascinating about both that draws us to try to understand, but there are different levels of understanding. Let us take the light bulb as an example.

Firstly, there is having your self and surroundings illuminated by the bulb – this is arguably quite enough for most people and is the ultimate purpose of the bulb. Secondly, one understands that it is the light bulb that is the source of the light, which lets us see. This understanding is crucial to appreciating the purpose and wonder of the light bulb, and makes us grateful to the one who gave us the bulb. Then, there is understanding the basic mechanism by which the light bulb shines. This knowledge helps us more greatly appreciate the genius of the inventor. Further, in this knowledge we can explain to others that they too can have light if their house is connected to electricity. It helps us explain what the bulb does to others – so that they too will want electricity to enjoy the benefits of light. Finally, one can understand the different components and function each part of the bulb has, which highlights the wisdom and intelligence of the designer. Such knowledge also helps us build our own light bulb, to give to others. One can seek to understand the very essence of matter that makes up the parts – but one will probably be wrong and be no better at making light bulbs.

The same is true of Christ – understanding should always be of benefit to us. As we consider what Christ has done for us, perhaps looking into various parts that make up the complete work, we should ask ourselves:

1. Does it illuminate us with the love of God (the light the Son shines)? Such illumination should inspire us to turn to God and love Him in return with all our heart, soul and mind, and love others as Christ did. (level one)
2. Does it inspire us to praise and thank God, and so love Him even more (for giving us His Son, the light of the world)? (level two)
3. Does it inspire others to want to connect into God (the electricity)? (level three)
4. Does it help us to not only share the light of God with others, but to also BE a Godly light to others, just as Christ was (because we understand how Christ was a light)? (level four)

This analogy is limited, but the points remain; whatever we perceive the atonement to be, it should actually have a positive effect on us or on others. If it does not, then perhaps we need to change our views.

Lastly, it does not matter what names one gives to the parts of a light bulb, for it does not change their function, shape or design. Nor does it matter what you say the light bulb does, for what it does is not determined by what you say. Likewise, we should not let terminology become the issue – rather, Christ is the issue and should remain central.

I will endevour to post on the atonement views shortly, as the next part of my discussion.

The perfect Christian

It is said that those who aim at nothing are sure to hit it. Likewise, those who aim at mediocrity do not exceed mediocrity. You only rise to the height of the bar you try to reach.

So, I think we should set ourselves high goals – especially in the area of Godliness. We should be Godly in character for two reasons: 1) God tells us to be 2) Godly people actually find life more enjoyable, fulfilling and meaningful than ungodly people. The ultimate goal of Godliness is love of God and people, but as I bought bread at the supermarket, I wondered what that really looks like. Clearly, Christ is the role-model of Godliness, but we seem to give less thought to how Godliness works out in practise:

God is perfect. We should try to be. (Matthew 5:48, 1Pe 1:15-16)

We should not have to catch our tongue from saying something we shouldn’t, for we shouldn’t have thought it in the first place. We shouldn’t have to control our anger, for it shouldn’t get out of control in the first place. We shouldn’t have to try to do loving things for others, for they should come naturally. We shouldn’t have to be sorry for unkind thoughts or actions, because we they shouldn’t have crossed our minds in the first place.

We shouldn’t have to try and not lust, hate, envy, quarrel, gossip, slander, be proud, be disrespectful, hold grudges, be easily angered or upset, and offend people – because being loving, kind, merciful, gracious, and Godly should be so much part of our character that we don’t even contemplate the bad things.

I used to get upset/angry about certain things, but now they do not upset me. I used to be jealous of some things, but now I am not. I used to be proud in ways that now I am humble. By extension of this logic – all the bad things I do, I should eventually not want to do – in fact they should not even cross my mind! Then, when my character is such that I am habitually Godly in some area of my life, it will not be a struggle to do good against my habitual will to go bad.

For instance, I do not need to struggle not to swear, I simply do not – most often it does not even cross my mind to swear when something goes wrong. Now the reason that I do not swear is the same as the reason I do not use offensive language of any kind: I have seen that offensive language can be used to do great verbal harm to others, and I do not want to use words that have such destructive power. Sure, many times swearing is humourous and not harmful at all – but I’d rather be a bit less funny to make sure I don’t really hurt people with my words. For if the words are in my active vocabulary – you can be sure they just might come out in ways I don’t want them to.

I give this example not to boast (it’s hardly something to boast about anyway), but to show that what I’m saying is possible – we can reach a level of maturity where we do not have to control our desires to sin, because we do not have those desires to sin. There is something more powerful than having bad thoughts like everyone else and trying to control them – and it is not having bad thoughts like everyone else.

Surely, this is what Christians should try to be like. No Christians are perfect, and I am certainly not perfect – but all Christians should be growing toward the perfection of Christ’s character. Not all Christians can move toward having Christ’s character at the same speed, but all Christians should be moving. But how? Of course, character is only developed one way: our thoughts lead to actions, our actions lead to habits, and our habits make our character.

If we start with good habits in a certain area of life, it is easier to continue in them. But, if we start with bad habits, they can be hard to change. We all know how hard they can be to change I am sure. But nevertheless, they can be changed.

Do not confuse character with ‘personality’. Being easily angered, for instance, is not part of your ‘personality’ – it is part of your character. Pride is not part of your personality, but of your character. So it is with many other bad habits that people attribute to their ‘personality’ so that they disown responsibility to do anything to improve them.

People have forgotten the importance of role-models in life, so instead they endlessly wrestle in the mediocrity of fighting their own character but not wanting to change it. There are still good role-models out there, but they are getting harder to find. We need to remember there is one role model who we should attempt to be like – the perfect role-model of Jesus. Not only must we remember Jesus should be our role-model – but we must be determined to become like Him and generous to encourage others to do the same.

The curse of media

So now is the time I unleash my full tamed-down attack on music and television shows that aren’t good for people. If a song or program has a negative influence on people, then it is not worth listening to – in fact, it is bad to listen to. There are two issues here, the former being the main one: 1) The influence the music we listen to and TV we watch have on us. 2) Specifically regarding Christian music, what attitudes, values, and ‘spirit’ people perceive in music – is it a light to the world?

1) The way music and TV influence us

Music and TV. Next time you listen or watch some, try and figure out what effect it has on your mind. Let’s consider music today. Turn on the radio and your ears will soon be filled with talk of sex, anger, rebellion, confusion, and general poor thinking. How can it not affect us? Surely it already has!

I believe we tend to become like the people we associate with, and I think a similar thing applies to what we watch and what we listen to. So, if a person was screaming their lungs out angrily right beside you, then you’d recognise the mood of anger in their voice, and surely you’d be affected in some way. Likewise, if someone keeps talking about how attractive some girl is, or how much they hate something, or generally speaking with some attitude, I think we pick some of that up – even without meaning to. You pick up the attitudes of those who are around you – the people you spend time with. Why would it be any different if those people are in the TV or stereo rather than standing beside you?

As far as music goes, I think most people can figure out whether the words of a song a health or unhealthy to listen to, but I think the ‘attitude’ of a song is reflected not only in the words, but in the music itself. This, I think, is the point where there is confusion and controversy. I think music connects with our emotions. We are influenced not just by the words of the music but by its ‘sound’ – its spirit – whether we admit it or not.

As an example, it is no secret that I don’t like ‘heavy’ music. The reason is simple; it doesn’t make me feel any better, in fact I think it has a bad influence on me. Sure, heavy music is aggressive and driven and purposeful and heart-felt and it ‘sounds cool’ – but what do you feel like once you’ve listened to it? I think heavy music is ‘cool’ and I totally understand how people can like it, but I choose not to like it because I find it doesn’t have a good influence on me.

Most of the time, ‘heavy music’ is accompanied by screamed or yelled vocals… The words are only part of what the song conveys to the listener, which is the sum of the words themselves AND the music. I do not believe screamed vocals simply ‘sound cool’ - for such vocals are far from conveying anything like peace, love, hope, or goodness. I suggest that people think it’s cool because it’s angry and opinionated, strong-willed and unwilling to be silenced. People think it’s cool to be shouting out your point at the top of your lungs and breaking the mould and bucking the trend and being different. People think it’s cool to not go with the flow and not accept what everyone else is telling you. Our parents called this rebellion. As Christians, we are called to be not just different and bread the mould, but to be different in a noticeably Godly way. Just because something’s common, it doesn’t change what it is. Just because we’re used to something, it doesn’t make it good for us.

It comes down to this: why do we listen to the music we choose to? The answer, whatever it is, is surely more than mere entertainment. I think we want the music to influence our thoughts and emotions in a certain way – maybe sometimes it is to make us feel more justified about our attitudes, maybe sometimes it’s to change our attitude. Now sure, you can say – ‘it doesn’t have a bad influence on me – it just how the artist was feeling. They have a right to express their feelings.’ But that’s not my point, my question lies in why we choose to listen to those particular things. Why do we like the music we do?

I don’t think it is good listen to music that sounds angry, or rebellious, or arrogant, or perverse, or self-righteous, or mocking. It might be cool, but it might be harmful. Personally, some music makes me have thoughts that are a little more arrogant, a little more angry, a little more rebellious and outspoken, a little less Godly, a little bit more self-righteous or a little bit more like my opinions are more valuable that everyone else’s. Music influences me to think in a way that is reflected in the song – not just the words, but the whole attitude encompassed by the words and the music.

It’s a fact that people like a song mostly because of its ‘sound’ and not by the actual words of the song (and yes, this has been studied by lots of radio companies – guess why all the music on a certain station sounds the same…). So, I suggest that because a large part of why we like certain music is the ‘sound’ of the music, we associate ourselves with that ‘sound’ – and it influences us. Some music influences us in a Godly way, some is the opposite. We should recognise which is which.

Now popular television programs are there to ‘entertain’ us. But apart from wasting our time, television fills our minds with ideals to compare our lives with and things we wish we had. We see a home renovation program and we start to think ‘my house could be better too’. We become engrossed in the dramas that unfold, and we begin to accept such drama as ‘normal’. Pop stars and celebrities are idolised – and we begin to idolise them also. There are emotional battles on screen and after a while, we cease to recognise unhealthy ways to relate to people because we start to imitate what we see. We may not DO the bad things we see, but we begin to accept them. We may not be like the people we see on TV, but we start to accept them anyway. And because we accept them, we accept their behaviour and attitude.

Television blurs the distinction between helpful and harmful thoughts – and it puts ideas into our heads whether we like it or not. You can’t convince me that romantic chick flicks don’t put thoughts in girls heads – just like you can’t make me think sex scenes in movies don’t put thoughts in guys heads. You can say they don’t affect you when you see them, but you know they do. The more we see, the more we accept the thoughts. The more we accept it, the less we recognise them for what they are – selfishness, lust, negative comparison, dissatisfaction… the list goes on. It is no wonder that so many people are struggling to find enjoyment in life these days, because the path to truly enjoying life is to live and think in good ways. The media has introduced bad ideas dressed as acceptable ones and made the path difficult to see.

I don’t watch TV, and I don’t listen to the radio. I don’t miss them, and I am a much happier person because of it. Instead, I base my attitudes and thoughts on the reliable principles given by God, and as I live according to them I find them to be true. What comes out in your life is the result of what comes out of your mind, and what comes out of your mind is the result of what you feed into it. So, I listen to music that only stirs me toward good things, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, contentment, happiness, and Godliness; and I encourage others to do the same.

2) ‘Christian hardcore’ music – how is it seen by the world? Is it a Godly light?

If music affects us in its entirety; and not just because of the words themselves, then what should we think about music that imitates non-Christian music in ‘sound’, and differs only in what the words say? This is probably not just limited to ‘Christian hardcore’ music – it applies to a range of genres, but it serves as an example.

I think music is noticeably different if it has a noticeably different influence on the listener. Of course, Christian words will be different to non-Christian words with swearing every 5 seconds and general bad taste – but what about the ‘sound’ of the music. It strikes me as strange that Christian bands are trying to imitate the musical ‘sound’/mood of non-Christian bands. I think the ‘sound’ of the music reflects the attitudes that go along with that ‘sound’ – and so I view these Christian bands as trying to present Christian messages with non-Christian attitude.

Surely that seems a bit strange? Surely the attitudes of Christians should be distinct from non-Christians – there should be a difference, and it should be apparent that our lives and our attitudes and thoughts are different. What’s different about ‘Christian hardcore’ compared to ‘non-Christian hardcore’? Some would say the words and motivation of the music are different so that makes the music ‘good and Christian’. I say that words are only part of it – and the musical style and ‘sound’ portrays the same ‘spirit’ regardless of what the words are. I don’t really think the motivation (or intended meaning) of a song can have any influence on the listener if it is far from obvious.

Now I guess ‘Christian hardcore’ music, for instance, can act as a channel to communicate Godly messages to non-Christians who like that sort of music. But what does this sort of music convey to people who don’t like that sort of music? There’s a big difference between someone not liking a style of music and someone actually finding it offensive. I don’t mind some heavy music, I think it does sound cool, but I find it offensive because of the attitude I think it’s conveying to me. Now, I’m sure Christian bands don’t want to convey bad attitudes – but what good are their intentions if that’s not what someone perceives they are conveying?

So there are two sub-issues here: 1) Christian hardcore music as a means of communicating Godly words to non-Christians who like hardcore music. 2) How people who don’t like the style perceive it.

The first issue I think is quite possibly a good thing. The second issue I am not so sure about. I don’t think it’s very Christian to offend people – and I don’t think it paints a good picture of Christians if they are offensive. Furthermore, if the ‘sound’ of Christian hardcore music contains a spirit that has some bad attitudes in it – and let me leave you in no doubt that I think it does – then what does that leave other people like me thinking? I’m sure not everyone’s like me, but maybe some are.

Maybe Christian hardcore is a good means of reaching non-Christians – but I seriously question why Christians should like it… not that they DO like it – but that they should.

I think music was made to praise God and rejuvenate and refresh the spirit toward Godly thoughts. And somehow, I just can’t see Jesus screaming into a microphone into a wall of sound – so loud people get hearing damage and can’t really hear what he’s saying anyway. I don’t think Jesus needed to butter up His message with music to make people listen to it – and I don’t think He would have. This is a challenging thought for me as a songwriter and musician. I don’t think He would have hung around very long trying to persuade people who reject Him and what He said, and instead gone to the sick and the needy and the people who wanted to hear and talk to Him.

But then, I guess this is not the 1^st century, and we’re not Jesus.

Stupid interpretations of Romans 8:28

As I read through Romans to made my paraphrase, which is available in current form on my other blog, I am learning heaps. Sadly, I am learning there are several verses that mean completely different things to what most people think. Rom 8:28 is a classic example.

I think now I finally understand Romans 8:28... And yes, of course, it doesn't mean what most people read it to mean. The key, I think, is that in the phrase "all things work together for the good for those who love God", the word 'things' is not in fact in the Greek - an object is implied there because of the 'all'... usually translators just add 'things' on the end. However, there are three meanings of the word 'all' here are ambiguous in the Greek, and may not necessarily imply 'things'... so what could it be referring to?

Now suppose I said, "Robert, Jo, and Sarah were sitting at home. All went together to the supermarket." How would you interpret that? Clearly, you'd say: "Robert, Jo, and Sarah were sitting at home. They all went together to the supermarket. "

You would not, suffering from a rash of incomprehensible stupidity, say: "Robert, Jo, and Sarah were sitting at home. All things went together to the supermarket." No, you would be an utter and complete moron to think that all things - your toaster, your oven, your telephone bill, the theory of quantum physics, the deeds done to you, and the deeds you have done - ALL go together as one massive collective to the supermarket. No, you would think, "He's just been talking about Robert, Jo, and Sarah, so he probably means them." You'd realise the CONTEXT.
So why, after Paul has been writing about how the God helps people to do good things, do people suddenly think he's not talking about the God working together with people? There is practically no difference between saying "all things work together for the good of those who love God" and saying "all things went together to the supermarket."

Furthermore, how can we believe that "all things work together for the good of those that love God" when it is blatantly obvious that bad stuff happens to everyone - including those who love God? The bible even says quite clearly that bad stuff happens to good people. Most of the apostles were executed or imprisoned - countless early Christians were burned at the stake! Surely it takes a massive and completely ignorant leap of stupidity to say that such things were 'for their good'.


If someone held a loaded gun to your head and said - 'this is for your own good'... I doubt many people would believe it! Likewise, when a drunk driver crosses the centerline and makes a great person of God a tetraplegic, it would be the most insensitive, ignorant, senseless, false, and blatently dim statement to say, "oh, it's OK - it's all for your good." Some people go further, saying, "Not only is it for your good - but God wanted it, in fact, God did this to you just to make you a better person on the inside."

Tripe! I couldn't possibly imagine higher levels of stupidity.

It now seems exceedingly clear to me that Romans 8:28 says that the Holy Spirit works together with those who love God to accomplish good things. I doubt any Christian with a head even half-on would say this statement isn't true. And guess what Paul says - he says "We KNOW"!!! Certainly, all Christians know that the Spirit helps Christians to bring about good... surely that is 'working together'.

But don't you think it's a little strange to say "we know all THINGS work together for good" if there is a great multitude of evidence that seems to contratict his statement? You'd think perhaps he'd explain himself if he was saying something that seems to most sensible and unbiased people simply untrue!


So, this is but a small example of some of the things I am finding as I go through Romans. I am using the Greek as best I can, but I find the KJV usually follows it accurately - but lots of the words are out of use or have lost their original meaning. So, I'm using the Greek Lexicons (Thayer's and Strong's) and also looking at how the words are used throughout the whole NT. I also have a really mint (and really FREE) Interlinear Bible package which can be downloaded from here.



Alas, I fear many church doctrines these days have been fabricated over the decades or centuries to explain millennia-old sentenses they cannot understand. It has taken words that originally have quite a simple meanings and turned them into whole doctrines - with masses of literature to clutter the bookshelf, and clutter the mind into confusion. Fortunately, the core essense of the Gospel still remains - though dirtied by the mud of people's religious imaginations. It is there just as clear as it ever was, in the Bible and in people's hearts:

Don't devote yourself to pleasing yourself, because it will only destroy you. If you are devoted to yourself and not to God, you clearly do not want to belong to God. Instead, devote yourself to God and He will graciously accept you no matter what you have done, because it will lead to real life now and forever. This is what it means to belong to God.

The lawnmower and the painting

I just rammed my nose into a lawnmower. Very painful. The handle-bar, specifically. Always the way, I guess – right where you least expect it, there’s a piece of steel.

So here I am, rubbing my aching nose. Pondering...

This...

----

A canvas hangs, in an empty room
Waiting in shadows of passers by.
Wishing to tell of more than shadows;
Wanting a lingering eye.

Stark light drowns the faded paint
That time cannot erase,
And jaded lines waver,
On the painting’s pale face.

Would people stop if it were changed,
Or perhaps if more the same
As other works in other rooms
More designed to fame.
Would clicking heels and unturned heads
Notice it not there?
For a painting is but empty space
To those who do not care.

Yet there is one just past the lights,
A faithful looker-on.
Who stays all day just out of sight
And seeks to not compare.
Who never lets the shadows or the
Heels get in the way,
And has unending interest
In the single painting there.

What is it in the work He sees?
In frenzied lines, in broken stokes
And sweat upon the canvas soaked?
Why gaze upon a thing so long
that others never note?

The answer lies not in the work
But in the careful hand
Of the One who looks past unturned eyes,
            For He painted this man.

Saved by grace, through devotion (what?!!?!)

Well, I have just removed my last post on faith because I have realised it is terribly worded - so terribly it is really just plain wrong. I have realised that the closest word I can think of that conveys the meaning of the Greek noun 'pistis' is 'devotion'. I think this what is meant by fidelity/faithfulness = 'pistis' - it's got nothing to do with a head belief! Likewise, the verb 'pisteou' would mean 'being devoted'.

I have come to this realisation as I am writing my own verse-by-verse paraphrase of Romans. Interpreting it as devotion suddenly makes Romans make a whole lot more sense. And after having beeing thinking about it for the last hour - it makes a truck load more sense throughout the whole NT.

I don't have time to get it all down here now, it will take me days to get all this together. Sure, it sounds like heresy to say we aren't saved by 'a belief' - but I think deep down we know there has to be more to it than that. Devotion is what it's all really about. So where the bible talks of 'faith' - it means devotion. And most of the time when it talks about 'believing' it's meaning being devoted.

As I am doing my paraphrase of Romans and flicking through the rest of the NT with this in mind, everything seems to make far more sense. No longer am I saved by some airy-fairy, wishy-washy thought in my head that I doubt many Christians can understand - but rather I am saved by something I can fully understand, by being devoted to God.

There are several other Greek words for 'belief' - but no other words for devotion apart from 'pistis' and its few derivatives. Surely if the writers of the NT had meant 'belief' they would have written the words for that, like the word for 'convicton of the truth of something'. But instead they wrote 'pistis'.

I don't have time to explain all the details of this... but the thing that scares me is: why on earth has the interpretation of this word gone so wrong? I am without doubt that it has. But don't just 'believe me' =), Go and read some NT with this interpretation in mind - see for yourself how the sentences and arguments make more sense! For instance, what is devotion without actions that come from being devoted? (James) Why did Jesus say that the soldier had the greatest devotion He had seen in Jerusalem? Surely soldiers know how to be devoted! Abraham didn't have a clue about Jesus - he had not belief regarding Jesus - but he was devoted to God. I could go on and on!

So, once I fix up my last post on 'faith' I'll re-post it with hopefully a good discussion of why I think it means 'devotion', end some things it means for the Christian 'faith' (that is, devotion). I haven't worked all this out yet - but I'm learning a whole lot. It's especially interesting to see how 'devotion' does indeed complete Mosaic Law, rather than effectively throwing it out the window. Paul's writings make sense! Yeay!

Stupid people... spatial reasoning and imagination

I am currently marking a 2nd year design test. I just gave someone a total mark of 6 out of 45. I don't feel good about this, but I cannot justly give him any more... I was even generous. So, as I walked to get lunch I thought about this. This is an interruption of my series of posts on the fruits of the spirit.


I decided that if people are not metacognitive, they really are in trouble at university. The vast majority at uni probably have this skill, but some clearly do not. I realised that if you can't look at a problem and think things like, "where do I start?" and "what is this asking me to do?" and "what is the relevant information connected to this problem?", you really have a problem - it's not a small problem either. I think this would lead to the person quite literally staring at a problem with no thoughts at all... if they can't realise what they're thinking, how can they think at all? If you can't ask yourself in your head, "what does this problem require me to do?" you have nothing at all to hang an answer on - you won't even think of an answer if you don't even know there IS a question!

So, evidently, such people just sit and stare... in this case - they draw a few lines on a page that look like the drawing on the question sheet. It's not what was asked for - but it's something. Of course, technical drawing requires powers of spatial reasoning - which, incidentally, is significantly improved by playing music - the link has more info. Spatial-temporal reasoning involves transforming and relating mental images in space and time. Spatial-temporal reasoning differs to language-analytic reasoning; generally, the sciences typically involve spatial-temporal reasoning, while arts and more language-analytic reasoning.

Some people evidently have not developed spatial reasoning and/or language-analytic reasoning. My heart really goes out to such people - especially knowing what they're going to get on this test. I wish I could help them. It is a passion of mine to help people in their minds. Unfortunately, minds are complex things.

Sometimes, I think that's why I really should write a book about this. It would require lots of research and revelation from God, but I would love to get down some things that could actually help people think better. Sadly, the people who would need to read the book probably wouldn't be the type of people who read, and even if they did they probably wouldn't understand it. Makes me think the speech-and-language-theory people have the right approach - one on one helping people.

Sadly, it is difficult for me to explain things to people who don't think metacognitively - because my thoughts and explainations are based on metacognitive processes. So, it is a sad irony - the people who might be able to help can't explain it to the people that they're trying to help.

That's why I wrote on an earlier post that it is crucial that people get taught well growing up - because once their brain is wired into thinking a certain way, they are closed to new ways of thinking. They literally cannot imagine thinking that way, and therefore they cannot.

Creative imagination is more that a nice daydream, it is the essence of developing new mental processes.

I only thought of that then, but it seems most smart people are creative, so perhaps it's right. Imagination is in essence the skill of creating something that did not exist before in your mind... it is the process that builds mental constructs onto which new ideas can be hung. Imagination builds the framework of our intelligence.

When I was young, I imagined heaps of stuff... I lived in an exciting world where I imagined stuff that made life always an adventure. I think it's more than just being 'a cute kid' to play such games, for they are crucial to development. What's more - I think it's important that we continue to imagine. Maybe we aren't going to imagine that we're King Arthur while waving a small stick around anymore, but the things we imagine are more advanced. Imagination is not limited to visual images, but can involve a whole lot of things.

It is a fact that you can learn to do something better if you imagine yourself doing it well, take sport for example. I think this is because imagining doing it well builds new mental framework onto which you can actually learn to do it well. If you can't imagine doing it better, there is nothing to build on - and maybe you won't be able to get better.


All this is very interesting, and far more deep than I had anticipated as I vented on stupid people. I hope you have found this interesting also.

The fruit of abiding with the Spirit - Introduction

I wish to write a series of discussions on the fruits of the Spirit. Before elaborating on each of these, however, it is important to clarify what it is we speak of. We know what the fruit of the Spirit are, but how do they grow? I will endeavour to discuss this here, to show the nature of how we become like Christ when we abide with the Holy Spirit, and to describe the Spirit’s role in producing the fruit. I hope to go through each of the fruit of the Spirit in detail in later posts.

The fruits of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit), and fruits of evil desires (the ‘flesh’) that contrast to these, are the products of the character of our hearts. The ‘flesh’ are those parts of our character that are evil and in direct opposition to the characteristics of the righteous person (Gal 5:17); it refers to the desires and inclinations we have which are contrary to what is Godly and right.

Now I should mention here that not all actions fall into either fruits of the Spirit or fruits of unrighteousness, for some actions do not stem from our character, but rather from merely our humanity. For instance, eating is neither of the Spirit nor of the flesh, but rather necessary for living. Like most ‘neutral’ actions, it can be tainted with righteous or unrighteous flavours because our character – also called our ‘spirit’ - always affects how we behave. This ‘spirit’ is different to the spiritual part of our being, just as the body is different to the mind. All our thoughts and actions flow from the seat of our thoughts and indeed our very being – the heart. It is in the heart that character is found. It is in the heart where our spirit lies.

The Holy Spirit is a person, and though He is a part of the Trinity of the Godhead, the fullness of God Himself is found in Him. He ‘lives in the heart’ of those who are His, and it is like we are no longer alone, but always in the company of the Creator. How we are changed because of this is no mystery, for we naturally adopt the character of those we spend much time with. The Spirit does not forge our character as a blacksmith beats and tempers a sword, but rather the Holy character of the Spirit permeates into our own character as the smell of fresh flowers eventually fills the room and the noses of those present. You cannot point a finger at the fragrance travelling and say, “look, there it goes”, for it is unseen and often very subtle, but it is no mystery.

So, it is by spending time with the Spirit of God that our spirit becomes like His, just as a husband and wife gradually become more similar in character as they abide together. The fruits of the Spirit are the result of the character of God becoming our own. The Spirit Himself does not ‘do’ the things that are referred to as fruits of the Spirit. Christ is the trunk, we are but small branches, and the Spirit is sap that flows in us – giving us food to grow. The fruit are what we produce as a result of abiding with God and having His character in us, in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Do not think that merely by being a Christian the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest. Sadly, I have met Christians who are notably lacking several. For the fruit cannot grow without a healthy branch for the life-giving sap to flow through. We are the branches, and as such we much ensure that we are not blocking the flow of sap to the fruit that could we could produce. Certainly, the Spirit does lives in us if we are merely small shoots rather than large branches, but how freely does it flow through us in our hearts and into our actions?

I never understood the way in which these concepts of the Spirit abiding in us and producing fruit until I experienced it myself. It is somewhat difficult to describe it in a different way, but I will make an attempt.

It is like our heart is a large house. The inner part of us – the sum of our characteristics - resides in this house just as a person would reside in their home. I imagine that different rooms correspond to different states of mind. For instance, one room may be labelled, ‘prayer’, another labelled ‘anger’, and another ‘pride’. There are many such rooms in the mansion of our heart – some are good, and others are bad. Throughout the day, we walk from room to room, sometimes praying, sometimes angry, or sometimes proud. We decorate each room with wall-hangings of our experiences, and furnish our rooms with cupboards and closets of our memories and couches made by the expert hands of habit. We are comfortable in the couches of our habits.

And so, we live. Each day a journey from one room to the next, occasionally adding or removing furniture or wall-hangings. Sometimes we stop to tidy a room by straightening our wall-hangings and picking up the debris of days gone by strewn over the floor.

We let the Holy Spirit in, after He knocks on the door ever so patiently, and we let Him stay with us in the house of our heart. But, too often, we restrict Him to only a few rooms – perhaps ‘prayer’ and ‘church’. Maybe we let Him also come in a join us when we are in our ‘pain’ or ‘hurt’ room. But when we go into some rooms, like pride, we bolt the door shut behind us. We restrict His access to our hearts, and so He cannot spend as much time with us as He should have. If we stop Him from coming with us everywhere in the house of our heart – in all situations and moods – not only can He not be with us in many rooms, but He cannot tidy those rooms by straightening some of the wall-hangings, tidying the cupboards and replacing the couches with better ones.

But, if we let Him have free reign in all places of our heart, what a wonder! It feels like there really is a holy and righteous God living in our hearts when we let Him have freedom there. When we want to sin and the Godly part of us longs to find strength not to, we are given strength in the still and peaceful words of the Spirit who simply says ‘no’, and it is enough. Things we used to want to do gradually change as the Spirit rearranges the furniture – the content – of our hearts.

What could be worse than not letting the Spirit have such freedom in our hearts? Perhaps it is when we let others into our hearts, and they tumble and trip on the mess that’s in our hearts because there’s very little light in some rooms. We seem to enjoy darkness that conceals the disordered and messy rooms of our heart, but we should not. The Holy Spirit should be as a light in our hearts – not placed in a cupboard or small room, but put in the centre of the house so that His light fills every crevice of our beings. When we allow Him to talk and be with us not matter what situation or mood we are in, and listen to what He says, we can truly say God abides with us.

But it is not enough to just hear God without obeying what He says. These are the people who are hearers but not doers of the Word. We must work with God in refurnishing our heart into a state of righteousness. Sometimes this refurnishing, this renewal, involves a shift in our attitudes or thought processes, but other times it can only be achieved by hard work – by doing actions in the real world like loving or being kind to others. For example, how can we say we have the fruits of the Spirit unless we do them? How can we say “I have kindness”, without ever choosing to be kind to others?

Yes, we have a choice about our actions, and we choose what fruit we produce because we choose to a large extent the content of our heart. It is best that we let God have free access to all parts of our heart. If we do this, it is like we are becoming bigger branches that allow the sap to flow more freely through us, so that the Spirit of God will be able to flow through us and into growing righteous fruit in our lives. So, over the next few posts, I hope to cover some practical aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, and hopefully see what they look like in practise.

Romans 8:28 and the Great Divide

Alas, I seem to not be getting many comments anymore. Nevertheless, I post on.


With recent posts on the differences between Arminian and Calvist views, it seems the relevance to our faith was lost in the banter of big words. So, I bring into light the great divide between the two major views on the ever-quoted Romans 8:28. As we shall see, these differences affect how we live, because they influence how we think God works.

I shant quote the verse here, because there are grossly different translations of this verse. Instead, I begin by defining a few things: "We" are those who love God and are called according to His purpose of Salvation. "Good" must be understood to be so as judged by God, rather than people. Two views exist, which I give in list-form for clarity and brevity. I have attempted to write each view in a concise way that portrays the important connotations of the view. I present them as follows:

1. God works with us to bring about good action (more Arminian)
   
   This view is exemplified by the Revised Standard Version: "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." (RSV). This is my view, which holds that:
   
   
   
   • God is the subject that brings about good action in partnership with us.
   
   
   • In the Greek, 'together' is literally 'work together, help in work, partner in labour' according to Strongs.
   
   
   • God works with each of us in co-operation with him so that we become more Christlike (inner action)
   
   
   • Out of this Christlikeness, we can initiate and perform good deeds in the world (outer action)
   
   
   • We can also act as facilitators for acts initiated and performed by the Holy Spirit (outer action)
   
   
   • 'Good action' is thus both toward us (inner) and toward others (outer)
   
   
   • Naturally, God only can work with those who love God and co-operate with His purposes.
   
   
   • This has nothing to do with our state of happiness or our circumstances.
     


2. God controls all things to have a good effect (Calvinist)
   
   This view is exemplified by the New Living Translation: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." It is presumably based on the KJV. Proponents of this view are forced to conclude - whether they like it or not:
   
   
   
   • "All things" are the subject that has a 'good effect' on us because they are controlled by God.
     
   
   
   • God does not change things, but rather is controlling them as they occur.
   
   
   • Because God is all-powerful and controlling all things, it suggests ALL things that influence us are exactly as He desires.
     
     • (The interpretation implies that there are no things that have a truely bad effect on Christians.)
     • (Note the deduction that God is therefore responsible for evil things in the world.)
   
   
   • "All things" also include evil (sinful) things. These things are being controlled by God, so they are not actually evil, but instead are good - because God is using them to ultimately have a good effect.
     
     • (Note that this undermines the premise that these deeds were truely evil to begin with.)
     • (This view is used to encouraged people to be happy about tragedy and evil.)
     • (God respects the free will, and therefore free action, of people. Surely, "all things" includes not only good that people do out of their own free will, but also evil. There are all manner of blantant evil sins in the world, which often directly influence Believers. Does God control these things also? In order to control them, would He not have to control and over-ride the free-will of people? I do not believe He does, for it goes against the nature of a true relationship, and therefore I do not believe God controls "all things." If He does not control all things, He cannot ensure that all things have a good effect on us.)
       
   
   
   • God does not exert this beneficial control to those who do not love Him.
     • (Note this implies God is willingly and deliberately not acting when He has the opportunity to facilitate non-Christians into relationship with Him.)
       
   
   
   • This view has everything to do with circumstances, because they are what God is controlling to achieve good effect.
     • (This is seperate to the good deeds we perform and the actions the Holy Spirit performs.)
   
   
   • Like view 1, this view should have nothing to do with our state of happiness - though it is often used to try to make people feel happy.
     • (Many people who are, for example, grieving, hate to be told that "it's all for the best" - and it is for good reason! Being told God is controlling such tragedy portrays God as an unloving and ungracious God, not a loving Father! It plays down the validy of their tragedy to some twisted kind of 'good' instead of the tragedy it is. God does not need to make someone a tetraplegic in order to use them better for the Kingdom! He is concerned with the heart - for it is that which determines fitness for service. God is well-capable of using someone without tetraplegia just as much as that person with tetraplegia. )
   
   
   • This should not be confused with God working with us in the midst of evil (or tragedy), and even making use of that evil, to help us become moreChristlike and perform good deeds.

Now, there are problems with the second view. I will not expand on these problems because I hope they are reasoably obvious. The Greek appears to naturally mean that God is our 'partner in the labour of good action', which of course most Christians would agree with. This good action is broken down into inner action that occurs in our hearts, and outer action that we may initiate out of our Christlike character or merely facilitate as the Holy Spirit wills. This first view is in contrast to the view that God controls all things to achieve a good outcome.

In my most humble-yet-opinionated view, the first of these is sensible, the second is heretical - and we best learn to tell the difference.

The flicker of a moment in time

Seems all quiet on the blogging front these days... haven't had many comments lately... perhaps I need to advertise =) I just wrote this instead of doing work like I'd planned - I just needed to get it down 'cause I was "in the zone" - I'm sure you creative people know what I'm talking about. I'd be keen to hear some interpretations of what it all means and stuff... I quite like some of the imagery...
==============


Life is the flicker of a moment in time
Like the snap of a camera,
Flash before your eyes
Many faces, places hastening to slide
Like shimmering shadows in the light

Now echoes of teardrops trickle from the past
And faintly paint a memory of times that didn't last
But the colour soon fades as the shadows play
On the candle flickering away

What can I do, while the wax still burns?
Before attacking history obliterates my turn?
Can this one flame ever create from the ashes
The echo of a diamond in the minds of the masses?
For crashes of the shadows so hastening to die
          are captured by the flicker of a moment in time.

The worth of jars of clay

I had to write this down now before I forget. Some comments got me thinking about our sense of self-worth... which I have learned lots about this year. I have learned that fulfilment is less about me being or doing anything worthwhile, but it is in the worthiness of God within me that I find my own.

When I was young, I used to think that I should have implied worth. This is the type where our sense of worth comes from what others tell us - in fact, we have implied worth solely because others suggest so. For instance, most television programs and sports games have implied worth - everyone says they are worth watching. The All Blacks have implied worth, because the nation holds up them as our representatives in rugby - a process where a ball is passed and kicked around for little benefit for society. Niether rugby, nor the players themselves would be worth anything unless other people believed them to be worth something.

Basing our sense of self-worth on implied worth works for many people - the attractive, the popular, those in their respected circles of friends - because all their friends tell them verbally and non-verbally that they are worth something to their friends. But what happens when people start telling you the opposite? How do you feel when people start telling you that you don't matter to them, and they do everything they can to let you know that they think you are the most useless, pathetic, and unworthy loser on the face of the planet?

Here's how I felt: I felt I had a choice. Not many people realise they have this choice, but it's there... You can choose to base your self-worth on what others say about you, or on who you are. When people aren't saying the nicest things, the first option leads down the familar road to depression, so it is the second road that I chose.

I based my sense of self-worth on intrinsic worth. This type of worth demands a great deal of effort to maintain. There are two different flavours of intrinsic worth. The first type is based on what you do. You have to earn worth by your good deeds, your kind acts, even your excellent works. I tried this path also, and I did well. I excelled at everything I tried (I didn't try the things I wasn't good at, of course). The A+'s became the foundation of my happiness. It wasn't about competition - I didn't care about the other people, and I always knew there would be someone better than me. I was about achieving to the best of my ability. So long as I did that, I fulfilled my sense of intrinsic self-worth.

But soon I realised life is more than about what we achieve, it is about who we are. After tasting the flavour of achievement-based intrinsic self-worth for many years, I found the taste of state-based intrinsic self-worth. This type is based on our character - the condition of our mind, our heart, our love, our fruit of the spirit. This was surely where to base one's sense of worth, I thought. After a few years, though, I discovered that this type of intrinsic self-worth leaves something to be desired - something missing. It was something I was missing, like when you look for your glasses all over before realising they were on your head all the time. I had a fine sense of intrinsic self-worth, yet I felt I was missing a whole second type of worth that I hadn't yet discovered.

And then I found it. Yes, there is intrinsic worth, but there is also a far greater kind of extrinsic worth. This second type comes not from what we do or what we are, but from something bigger than ourselves. Like a link in a part of a chain, its worth comes not from the fact that it is a link, but that it is a link in the chain. This kind of value is not found in us - but in God.

We are jars of clay. It is not the fact that we are jars that gives us worth, nor is it the fact that we are made of clay. Nor would a given vessel be of any more worth if it were used by someone of great importance - for the vessel is not the important thing, it is rather what it contains! We contain the Holy Spirit. How exceedingly more important is the Spirit of the Living God that we contain than the earthen clay that we are?

I wish to expand this analogy more, to tie in intrinsic worth to this greater category of extrinsic worth. Just as a chain link is important because of its function, so is a clay jar. Everyone is a jar of some description, but there are differences in the clay. Some clay is riddled with sin, that oozes green corrosive, toxic liquid into the vessel. This corrosive liquid not only hurts all those who drink it, but it eats away at the vessel itself. Eventually, the liquid breaks through the wall and forms holes. Now, the toxic product of sin not only hurts those who drink from the vessel, but it also hurts those who happen to be under the leaking cup as it passes by.

But what a beautiful thing that God would fill us with His Spirit? How wonderful and healing is His Living Water? And how dreadfully it is tainted by the toxic byproduct of sin! Sadly, there are many filled vessels which are hardly fit for use, for the Water in them is so tainted by the sinful nature of the clay.

But what if the vessel lets the Water permiate its very substance? What if we let the Spirit into all corners and rooms of our heart to go where He please? Ah, how wonderful the transformation! As the Water and clay mix, it produces something entirely different in the clay - a new thing called righteousness. The transformation is not a sudden one, for it can take time to wash away the resilient dirt of sin, and the reaction is invariably slow. But what a difference can be noticed in a vessel made of clay riddled not with sin, but with righteousness!

Instead of toxic byproduct - righteousness oozes the Gifts of the Spirit. This righteous byproduct also taints the Water we contain - but it adds flavour, like lemon to water. And so not only do the righteous vessels contain the pure Spirit of God, but the Spirit delightfully mixed with the unique Gifts that exude from the heart of the vessel. This flavoured water may leak through the holes from sin - but all it will do is show others the water contained within... for God will continually fill us again when we obey His voice.

So then it is perfectly right to expect vessels to differ - from some the Spirit will taste a little bitter, while from others it will taste sweet, while yet others may make it slightly salty. This is the extent of our intrinsic worth, that some have more pleasing flavours than others. But this intrinsic worth pales in comparison to the extrinsic worth that comes from what we contain. A rusty tin is just as good as a silver cup to a man desperate to quench his thirst, and a rusty tin can still be used to give water to the richest king. It is the water that is the main point - it is the water that gives the cup its purpose, its very reason for existing. Likewise, it is not in the clay that we are made of nor in the taints of our substance that we find our worth, but we find true fulfillment because of the Spirit that we contain.