Ruth’s Faith

[I’ve adapted this devotional from a portion of my sermon that I will preach this Sunday, May 12, 2024, as an encouraging foretaste of what is to come.]

 

At DGCC, we have just begun a sermon series focused on the book of Ruth. When we engage the OT, it is vital for us, the new covenant people of God, to recognize that the OT was written for us (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:1–11; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12). So when we see characters in the OT, we should see them in two ways: as examples for us to emulate or not emulate and as pointers to Jesus, who fulfills all the OT. Well, in this short book of Ruth, we get to know two great historical figures that we cannot help but love in Ruth and Boaz. And when we look at Ruth, we see a person of great faith that we would do well to imitate. Let’s consider her faith.

 

The Starting Place and Context of Ruth’s Faith

The starting place of Ruth’s faith is this: she seeks refuge in the Lord, Yahweh (Ruth 1:16; 2:12). Ruth was not of Yahweh’s people. In fact, she was a Moabite, a people who, according to Scripture, were perpetually cursed (Deuteronomy 23:3). However, Ruth in faith forsook her people, forsook her mother and father, forsook her gods, and sought refuge in Yahweh (Ruth 1:15; 2:11–12). Here, Ruth is a great example of faith for us. The starting place for authentic faith is seeking refuge in Yahweh. And as we will see from Ruth, it is in this context—refuge in Yahweh—that we actively exercise our faith in him.

 

Ruth’s Active Faith

It doesn’t take long in the narrative for Ruth to begin to actively exercise her faith in Yahweh, which we see in Ruth 2:2—

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Let’s make some observations about Ruth’s faith here…

 

Ruth’s Faith Initiates

Ruth’s faith initiates action. Here in verse 2, we first see Ruth’s faith initiates going to glean. We say, how is this an example of Ruth exercising faith in Yahweh? Well, because Yahweh built this provision into his law.

In both Leviticus 19:9–10 and Leviticus 23:22 we read this: 

Leviticus 19:9–10—“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

And

Leviticus 23:22—“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

God has built into his law a means by which the poor—often widows—and sojourners from other nations (à la Ruth the Moabite who has sought refuge in Yahweh) would be able to have food to survive. And Ruth in faith intends to take advantage of this provision. Why? Because Ruth’s faith to glean banks on something. This leads to our second observation of Ruth’s faith.

 

Ruth’s Faith Banks on Yahweh

Ruth’s faith banks on Yahweh and his word. The reason Ruth exercises faith to glean is because her faith rests on Yahweh in whom she has sought refuge. It rests on his character, his promises, and his ability to deliver on those promises. Yahweh has made a provision in his Law (Lev 19:9–10; 23:22), and Ruth’s faith to find refuge in Yahweh now says, “Okay, I have sought refuge in you. Now let me put my faith in you to work because of who you are and what you have said in your Word. Ruth’s faith banks on Yahweh and his word. Because Ruth banks her faith on Yahweh, her faith also takes on another characteristic.

 

Ruth’s Faith Is Bold

Ruth’s faith is bold. How do we come to this conclusion. Well, for one, Ruth is a woman. And for two, she is a Moabite. Both factors work against her in this context. Indeed, we will see Boaz feel the need to command his young men not to touch her, reproach her, or rebuke her (Ruth 2:9, 15–16). And Naomi confirms later that the danger of assault exists (Ruth 2:22). But Ruth, with faith banking on Yahweh, despite inevitable prejudice and inherent risk based on the fact that she is a Moabite woman, boldly goes to glean anyway. This is because Ruth in faith expects something.

 

Ruth’s Faith Looks For and Expects Yahweh’s Grace

Ruth’s faith looks for and expects Yahweh’s grace. You say, “Where do you see grace here.” Look at what Ruth says again in verse 2. She says she will glean “after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” The word for favor in verse 2 is the same Hebrew word for grace. When God gives unmerited grace, we experience it as favor. Ruth’s faith hopes for and anticipates that she will find Yahweh’s grace coming through the farmer or owner of the field she ends up working behind.

 

Ruth’s Faith, an Example for Us

In sum, Ruth’s faith to first seek refuge in Yahweh is, in that context of refuge, an active faith that (1) initiates, (2) banks on Yahweh, (3) is bold, and (4) looks for and expects Yahweh’s grace. Ruth is an example of faith for us. Our faith should move us to always be seeking refuge in Yahweh, and it should be an active faith that initiates action, rests completely on Yahweh and his Word, is bold and risk-taking for his glory, and looks for him to give grace upon grace.

 

Conclusion

As the story goes, Ruth’s active faith ends up being rewarded. Yahweh gives her grace upon grace through her redeemer, Boaz, who prefigures Jesus. Thus, we, with full knowledge and assurance of God’s grace—which is his kindness to redeem us through Jesus—should have an active faith that matches and even surpasses Ruth. Thank God for giving us Ruth as an example to us. But thank God even more for Jesus our redeemer who ensures that our active faith is not in vain.

Reading Ruth Backwards

A Multi-Layered Story of Love That We Love

This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series in the book of Ruth. This is understandably one of the most loved books of the Old Testament simply given its content. It’s a very personal story about a widow, Naomi, and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, who through their resourcefulness, initiative, and faith, lean into the promises of Yahweh to redeem and reward his people, which he does in this case through Boaz. We love it because it is a multi-layered love story. It highlights the love between a widowed daughter-in-law and widowed mother-in-law who care for and provide for one another even at great risk to themselves. It highlights the love of a man for a woman, a woman whom the man is willing to risk his economic stability for in order to love her and do right by her and his kin. And, it highlights God’s love for Naomi and Ruth, whom he ultimately redeems and rewards. But we also love it because it fits into the bigger scheme of God’s redemptive narrative.

One grammatical feature stands out from the very beginning of the book of Ruth. The very first word in Ruth is the Hebrew conjunction that we render, “And.” So a literal translation for the first words in Ruth could be “And it was…”. This seems odd. We don’t usually start sentences, let alone entire books with a conjunction because they are meant to connect what follows with what precedes. This suggests, then, that the book of Ruth connects to something preceding it. What is going on? Well, the author of Ruth aims to make abundantly clear that this very personal and intimate narrative fits into the greater scheme of the canon of Scripture. Ruth is meant to be read in light of the whole of God’s grand redemptive narrative. This becomes even more evident when we start considering the book of Ruth by first reading it backwards. Or, rather, reading the end first. To fully appreciate the book of Ruth in all of its beauty and to apply the wisdom therein, we must understand the narrative in light of its ending.

 

Begin at the End

This is how the book of Ruth ends:

 

And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David (Ruth 4:17–22).

 

The book of Ruth ends by highlighting David. Thus, the ending of Ruth makes clear that through Ruth and Boaz, God preserved the line of king David. And in preserving the line of king David, God ultimately preserved the line of the the promised offspring, who would be the Messiah, Jesus. To make himself clear on both counts, the narrator repeats himself. First he notes the words of Naomi’s neighbors that say Obed was the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17). Then the narrator offers a genealogy using the formula, “these are the generations of…” (4:18–22) which echoes genealogies elsewhere in the OT that highlight God’s covenant faithfulness to preserve the line of his promised offspring of the woman in Genesis 3:15 (Gen 5:1; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:19; 37:2). To fully appreciate the book of Ruth in all of its beauty, we must understand the narrative in light of this end. We must read Ruth backward, starting with the end, then go to the beginning. Indeed, this is how the original audience reading Ruth or hearing Ruth read to them would have interpreted the story.

For the original audience and/or those readers of Ruth in the post-exilic and intertestimental period—those who either experienced firsthand or heard and read about David’s glorious reign—the first few sentences in Ruth would create massive tension:

 

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband (Ruth 1:1–5).

 

Elimelech. Naomi. Ephrathites. Bethlehem. Judah. Ruth. Elimelech dead. Ruth’s husband dead. The ancient, OT-informed reader or hearer of this would immediately know that the line of king David was hanging in the balance. Just as we should read this and immediately know that not only was the line of king David in jeopardy, but the line of the Messiah was in jeopardy. As one reads the story then, one sees that through the very real, practical, innovative, yet covenantally informed faith of normal people (Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz), God worked to preserve the line of David and to preserve the line of Jesus. The riveting story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz’s mutual love and kindness toward one another becomes even more riveting when understood as culminating in God’s redemption of not only Naomi and Ruth, but of humanity.

 

A Glorious Principle

Besides just being a glorious story that points us to Jesus, there is a principle in Ruth for us to draw out. God uses means to carry out his covenant promises. And one of the primary means God uses is his faithful people. Through the man Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the exemplar of our faith, God fulfilled all of promises. And now, through Jesus working in his faithful people, the church, by the Holy Spirit, God continues to fulfill his promises.

 

Conclusion

Paul’s prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 seems apt here. There Paul prays this:

 

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Paul prays that every resolve for good birthed in the heart of his people and every work of faith that springs forth from those resolves would be fulfilled for a glorious purpose: that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in us and us in him. Our practical, creative faith in action right now proves to be a means by which God continues to work to glorify the name of Jesus in us so that we may be glorified in him. Just as God used the faith of very real people in the book of Ruth to preserve the line of David and ultimately Jesus, God continues to use the faith of his very real people today. Today he works through his people to carry out his plan of redemption through the spreading of the church. Therefore, let us take our cues from the book of Ruth and Paul’s prayer and continue to work by faith knowing that God is glorifying Jesus through us for our ultimate joy in him.

Two Evils, One Gospel

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:12–13)

When I read this verse, a story comes to mind.

 

Once about ten years ago, I made a bad decision. I woke up one morning and decided to go for a long distance run. Now keep in mind that I had not been running regularly at all. And even in my more regular running days, distance running was not my specialty. Due to genetics and ultimately God’s sovereign design of my anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry, I am what you might call, a sprinter. One hundred meters pushes it distance-wise for me. However, as I began running that morning…I felt good. So I just kept running. And running. And running. And before long, I had gone about twelve miles…in one direction! Having opted for the country roads, I was not around a lot of life…except cows. I was dead. My legs were jelly, and I could feel small twinges in my quads and calves that were the harbingers of painful cramps that were sure to come. And of course, I was, naturally, quite thirsty. However, I had neglected to bring water with me. As I said, this was a bad decision. Added on top of all of this was the fact that I had to figure out how to make it back home. There was really only one option. So I turned around and began the very long, very slow jog/walk/stumble home.

 

As I made my way, it didn’t take long for the blazing Oklahoma summer sun to begin baking me. It got to the point that I had to find water. I was running the risk of succumbing to heat sickness or, worse, heat stroke. Thankfully, it had rained just the night before so there was some rain water in the bar ditch beside the road. I didn’t have to think very hard about whether or not to drink it. I knelt down, soaked my shirt and slaked my thirst with water from the ditch. And ultimately, by God’s grace and a car ride from a stranger (also God’s grace), I made it home. Now where does Jeremiah 2:12–13 come in? Let’s consider it.

 

In Jeremiah 2:12–13, God’s word identifies for us the dual reality of our evil, sinful actions. And according to the LORD, our actions are appalling and shocking to the heavenly realm. Why? Because we, God’s creatures and image bearers, who completely depend upon God for life, have “committed two evils.” We (1) have forsaken God and (2) have hewed out broken cisterns.

 

First, we have turned away from God the source of our life or, as God says, “the fountain of living waters” (2:13). This was our first evil. Second, and on top of that, when we found ourselves dying of thirst, instead of turning back to God we sought out sin and idols in an attempt to satisfy our thirst—in an attempt to find life apart from God, which is impossible. Or, as God says, we “hewed out cisterns for [ourselves], broken cisterns that can hold no water” (2:13). This was our second evil. And this is the natural progression of sin, is it not? We first rebel, turn away from, and forsake God. And then, we find and cling to our favorite idols and sins. And slowly and progressively, we begin to reflect God less and reflect our idols more. Instead of loving God, receiving life from him, and giving life to others, we love our idols, which do not give life but take life. And so we too ultimately take life from others. We become: lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of sexual immorality, lovers of power, prideful, arrogant, angry, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Tim 3:1–5). We become all of this, all because we forsake God our fountain of living water, end up finding ourselves thirsty, and turn to broken cisterns that do not satisfy our thirst or give life. Let’s consider my running story once again to illustrate this.

 

When I found myself fifteen or so miles into my run—feet cooking on hot asphalt, head roasting in the hot Oklahoma sun, body in dire need of water for the sake of my immediate health—if someone would have come and offered me crystal clear, clean, cold, fresh water, it would have been utterly foolish of me to instead choose the ditch water that ran next to the road. To put an even finer point on it, it would have been utterly foolish, indeed insane, of me, upon seeing any available water to choose instead to eat a handful of dirt rather than drink. But this is exactly what we do when we choose idols and sins rather than God who is our fountain of living water—we choose to eat dirt from broken cisterns. This is a testament to our blindness to the worth and value of God and an offense to his goodness. This is evil twice over. And according to Jeremiah 2:13, this is precisely what we have done. But thanks be to God, who does not leave us to our foolish selves.

 

Pastor Wil will expound on this gospel reality more this weekend. But for now, let us whet our appetite for the feast that awaits come Sunday. God in his grace comes to us by his Son in the time of our most dire need when our spiritual dehydration threatens to consume us. And what does his Son say? He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). Jesus offers us living water so that we will never thirst again (John 4:10, 14). Jesus offers us life in God once again through the Holy Spirit if we will but turn from our sins—plug up our broken cisterns that we’ve dug—, come to him in faith, and drink deeply. Let us not reject his offer. For if we drink from his living water now, the gospel promises that we will be sure to drink from it in the new heavens and new earth where the river of life flows freely, unabated by any vestiges of human sinfulness (Revelation 22:1–5). So come. Come and drink. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

“Do You Love Me?”

What is the defining question that someone who would be a disciple of Jesus must answer? Jesus’ interaction with Peter in John 21:15–19 points us to the answer.

In John 21:15–19, we see one of the more memorable scenes in all of Scripture—the risen Jesus restoring Peter. Recall, Peter had denied Jesus three times at the most critical time of Jesus’ ministry, the cross. The cross defines Jesus as Messiah, the Messiah that Peter was dedicating his life to. And at his Messiah’s defining moment, Peter abandoned and denied him. Now, on the shores of Galilee, the resurrected Jesus, having sought out Peter, sits down with him and some of the other disciples in order to restore him. Peter denied Jesus three times, and so, after breakfast, Jesus fixes his gaze on Peter and three times asks him a critical question: “Do you love me?” (John 21:15, 16, 17). Before considering this question, it might be helpful to consider what Jesus did not ask Peter.

  • Jesus did not ask: “Simon, son of John, do you know me?”
  • Jesus did not ask: “Simon, son of John, are you sorry?”
  • Jesus did not ask: “Simon, son of John, do you want my forgiveness?”
  • Jesus did not ask: “Simon, son of John, will you follow and obey me?

Each one of these questions is not necessarily a wrong or bad question. In fact these are appropriate questions to ask given Peter’s sin. However, they are not the ultimate question, that is, they do not get to the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. All of these questions are downstream from love for Jesus. Consider each in turn.

 

“Do you know me?”

Jesus could have asked, “Simon, son of John, do you know me?” This is natural because this reflects Peter’s denial. Peter denied that he knew Jesus. He denied that he had any relationship with him. So, we could have expected Jesus to ask, “Peter, do you know me?” as a sort of redo moment for Peter, who would answer, “Yes, Lord; you know that I know you.” But this doesn’t go far enough. You can know someone and be in relationship with someone and still not truly and rightly love them.

 

“Are you sorry for denying me?”

Jesus could have asked, “Simon, son of John, are you sorry?” This is natural to expect because when we wrong someone, we apologize. Peter sinned against Jesus, his teacher, his friend, and his Messiah. Peter should apologize. So Jesus could have asked, “Peter, are you sorry for denying me?” And Peter could have answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I am sorry.” But this does not go far enough. You can be sorry because of the guilt you feel rather than sorry because you wronged someone you love. You can be sorry for wronging someone and at the same time not truly and rightly love them.

 

“Do you want my forgiveness?”

Jesus could have asked, “Simon, son of John, do you want my forgiveness?” This would be natural to expect in the same way it would be natural to expect Jesus to ask if Peter’s sorry. Peter sinned against his Messiah Jesus, and, therefore, would naturally want to apologize in order to receive forgiveness. So Jesus could have asked, “Peter, do you want my forgiveness?” To which Peter could have answered, “Yes, Lord; you know I want your forgiveness.” But again, this does not strike the heart of the matter. It is possible to want forgiveness merely for forgiveness’s sake. It is possible to want forgiveness to assuage one’s one conscience and nothing more. You can want forgiveness from someone and not want them. You can want forgiveness from someone and not truly and rightly love them.

 

“Will you follow and obey me?”

Jesus could have asked, “Simon, son of John, will you follow and obey me?” This would be expected because by his denial, Peter’s loyalty is now in question. So Jesus could have said, “Peter, will you follow and obey me?” To which Peter could have answered, “Yes, Lord; you know I will follow and obey you.” But once again, this question does not address the most pressing issue. For one can follow and obey out of a sense of duty and duty alone. You can follow and obey someone and not truly and rightly love them.

 

“Do you love me?”

So Jesus asks Peter the most important question. He asks Peter the defining question that a disciple must answer. Jesus says, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” If he loves Jesus more than anything, even his own life, then Peter will truly and rightly come to know, that is, enter fully into relationship with, Jesus. If he loves Jesus more than anything, then Peter will truly and rightly be repentant and seek forgiveness when he sins. If he loves Jesus more than anything, then Peter will truly and rightly follow and obey Jesus. Indeed, it is out of Peter’s professed loved for Jesus that Jesus then commissions him, “Feed my sheep.” The starting place for everything a disciple of Jesus is and does, is love for Jesus.

 

“Do YOU love me?”

And so, we are faced with same question. Do we love Jesus? Do you love Jesus? To love Jesus is to love God (John 5:42–43; John 8:42). And to love God is the greatest command given to man (Matthew 22:37–38). In fact, if we do not love Jesus more than anything else, then we cannot truly and rightly be his disciple (Matthew 10:37). Jesus has to be our greatest treasure. We have to love Jesus more than our own lives (Mark 8:34–35). Why? Because he is the greatest treasure, and he is life (Colossians 1:18). And Jesus comes to all of us and asks, “Do you love me?” Our answer to that question will define our lives for all eternity.

Mountaintops and Valleys

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:6–9).

 

I think we can all relate to the disciples. Here in Acts 1:6–9, we see that the disciples are wondering if Jesus will finally restore the kingdom now that he has risen from the dead. Who can blame them. They’ve witnessed the miraculous! They’ve been to the mountaintop with their king! Death has been defeated! Surely, now is the time to set all things right permanently. But Jesus says,

“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Essentially, Jesus tells them, “It’s not yet time. But it is time for you to get to work as my witnesses.”

 

Our small group reflected on this reality briefly just this week. God richly ministered to us as a church family through our very full Easter weekend. From our Good Friday service to a delicious, shared meal on Holy Saturday with some members to a very early and beautiful Sunrise service on Resurrection Sunday—which was followed by a breakfast feast with our whole church family!—to a beautiful, gospel-rich and Holy Spirit filled Resurrection Sunday service, God truly met us and blessed us this past weekend. Many of us felt we had been up on a mountaintop with God. And now that it was over, some of us had the post-Easter blues, and wondered, “What now?” Well, Pastor Coty reminded us that this experience is not unique.

In Mark 9:2–13, we see three of the disciples have a literal mountaintop experience. While up on a high mountain with Jesus, Peter, James, and John suddenly find themselves subsumed by Jesus’ divine glory as he is transfigured before their very eyes. The experience is so overwhelmingly glorious and terrifyingly rich that Peter—not knowing what to say but nonetheless still managing to speak—acknowledges the goodness of the situation and suggests that they build a hut for Jesus in order to stay up on the mountain! The glory of the heavenly mountaintop experience in Peter’s mind warranted remaining on the mountaintop. Now this was not a wrong desire, wanting to remain in Jesus’ glory, but the timing was not right. There still remained much left to do in the broken, sinful world before the kingdom of God would come in all its fullness with Jesus reigning in all his glory. And the very next scene reveals this.

In Mark 9:14–29, we see Jesus, Peter, James, and John descend the mountain to join up with their comrades below. There, the exact opposite of the heavenly, glorious mountaintop, a valley marked by faithlessness and demonic oppression, immediately confronts them. A father with a demon possessed son, whom the disciples could not deliver, meets Jesus. Jesus’ response to the overall situation testifies to the work that remains to be done on earth, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me” (Mark 9:19). In Jesus we see the desire to depart and be in the Father’s heavenly glory. And in light of this desire, Jesus gets to work and delivers the boy. Jesus, while ever-desiring to return to his glory and see the fullness of the kingdom of God come to earth, continues to go about doing the hard and necessary work of serving and ministering to those in need. And he would do so all the way to the cross, for his cross is the only way his glory and his kingdom would come. And his cross is the only way those in need could enter that kingdom. Jesus’ gospel mission, his service, his ministry is the only way a faithless generation becomes a faithful generation.

So in Jesus we have our perfect example. In Jesus, we see what we should do after a glorious mountaintop experience. We should go to work advancing the kingdom. We go back down into the valley of the world marked by faithlessness and demonic oppression in order to be agents of gospel deliverance. We go into the valley of the world as his witnesses, clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit whom he sent to us. We go all-in on serving, hands to the plow, never looking back. And we serve with our hearts ever-desiring one thing—seeing the king, our God, in his beauty (Psalm 27:4; Isaiah 33:17). Yes, we serve with our eyes firmly fixed on one person and one place—the author and perfecter of our faith in the everlasting city of God in that far heavenly country that is to come (Hebrews 11:10, 16; 12:2, 22; 13:14).

Thank God for the moments of mountaintop glory in this life, and cherish them. They are a sweet reprieve and boost of spiritual vitality. They are like a father sweeping up his child into his arms for a big hug. Indeed, that is what they are—our heavenly Father, sweeping us up into his joy and glory. But when the mountaintop passes, and earthly reality sets back in, keep your heart and mind fixed on the heavenly, while working with your hands in the earthly. Remember the glory you’ve seen, look to the glory that is to come, and continue on your pilgrimage to that heavenly city that sits high atop God’s holy mountain. And along the way, serve. And, by God’s grace, help deliver your enslaved fellow men in this dark valley below. You may not know the time of restoration, but restoration is sure. And your king calls you to be his witnesses. So tell people of the glory you’ve seen and of the glory that is coming.

The Mission of the Impeccable Christ Illustrated

Last week I highlighted the scandalous nature of the gospel. There, we saw that the gospel is scandalous in that not only is righteous, innocent Jesus condemned to die, but also, via his cross and his resurrection, Jesus sets the guilty free and makes the guilty righteous. We see this scandalous gospel live and in living color in a familiar narrative: when Jesus is condemned and Barabbas is set free. To draw out the scandal, we will follow Matthew and consider Barabbas’ notorious or well-known reputation (Matthew 27:16) over against Jesus’ reputation. Then we will consider the great exchange of the notorious sinner and the impeccably righteous Jesus. And finally, we will revel in the hope this offers us.

 

Barabbas Is Notorious for Sin

Mark notes that Barabbas, is imprisoned, “among the rebels…who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15:6–7). Luke observes that Barabbas “had been thrown in prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder” (Luke 23:19). John says he was a robber (John 18:40). This term robber in the biblical context, is often associated violence. In the OT, it is associated with raiding bandits or highwaymen and with all manner of sin, including murder (Hosea 7:1; Obadiah 5; Jeremiah 7:8–11). So what is Barabbas notorious for? Barabbas is notorious for being a violent rebel against authority. Indeed, he could even be notorious for instigating or fomenting violent insurrection (Luke 23:19). Barabbas is notorious for murder. Barabbas is notorious for robbery. In short, Barabbas is notorious for sin—sin against God and sin against his fellowman.

Now consider Jesus.

 

Jesus Is Notorious for Righteousness

A survey of the gospels make clear what Jesus is well-known or notorious for in his context. Jesus is notorious for healing the sick. Jesus is notorious for making the lame walk. Jesus is notorious for opening blind eyes and deaf ears. Jesus is notorious for exercising divine, miraculous, physics-defying authority over nature. Jesus is notorious for feeding the hungry. Jesus is notorious for casting out demons. Jesus is notorious for raising the dead. Jesus is notorious for exposing and confronting injustice and sin. Jesus is notorious for forgiving sin. In short, Jesus is notorious for his righteousness.

 

The Great Exchange

Here in this prisoner swap of Barabbas and Jesus, we see the gospel. The notoriously sinful Barabbas goes free. And the notoriously righteous Jesus is condemned. Barabbas is guilty. Barabbas should have died on that cross. But Barabbas’ sentence is commuted. Barabbas goes free. Barabbas is considered not guilty and treated as such. On the other hand, Jesus is innocent. Jesus should have gone free and lived. But Jesus’ perfectly righteous, innocent life is condemned. Jesus is considered guilty and is treated as such. This picture of the gospel ultimately breaks down, though. And this is where the scandalous nature of the gospel that we highlighted last week bursts forth even more.

 

The Even More Scandalous Gospel: The Impeccable Jesus Becomes Sin and You Become Impeccably Righteous

In this scene of Barabbas being set free, we only get a picture of the true gospel reality. Why? How? Well, what does everyone else recognize about Barabbas when he goes free? What is still true of him? He is still guilty. His guilt remains. Barabbas is only being considered and treated as not guilty. But he is inherently guilty. That is where this picture breaks down. Because what does the gospel say? The gospel of Jesus Christ says this, “Not only are you free, but you are righteous!” And we are tempted to say, “No I am guilty! Look at what I’ve done!” The gospel’s responds, “Righteous!” In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are not only free, our sentence is not simply commuted, but we are declared righteous and transformed into the very righteousness of God: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And there is more.

Jesus worked righteousness but he also never sinned. And not only did Jesus always overcome temptation and sin, but Jesus was also incapable of sinning. Jesus was impeccable. Theologian William Shedd describes Jesus’ impeccability as his being able to not only overcome temptation, but also his being unable to be overcome by temptation.[1] And through his substitutionary atonement, by becoming the curse for us (Galatians 3:13), by becoming our sin on the cross, Jesus completely paid our debt (Colossians 3:14). Jesus gave his life as a ransom so that we might become the righteousness of God (Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 5:21). So because of Jesus’ work, we are like, are becoming like, and will become like him (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). This is a monumental promise and unfading hope for those in Jesus. The sin that we continue to struggle with, even in our divinely declared righteous state, will end. We will one day be free from all remnants of our sinful flesh. Sin will no longer exist, and we will be unable to sin. Impeccable Jesus’ mission was and is to make us impeccable.

 

Enduring Hope

When we see notoriously sinful Barabbas walking free and notoriously righteous, impeccable Jesus condemned to die, we see the gospel. But we also know that the gospel is even better than what that limited scene communicates. We were like Barabbas in that scene. But where Barabbas remained guilty, we in Jesus are being made impeccably righteous. Impeccable Jesus’ mission was to make you and me impeccable. Mission accomplished. We walk in that reality imperfectly now, but we will see that reality perfectly fulfilled when he returns. For this reason we cry, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

[1] William G.T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, ed. Alan W. Gomes, Third Edition. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Publishing, 2005), 659, https://heritagebooks.org/products/dogmatic-theology-third-edition-shedd.html.

The Scandalous Gospel

In D.A. Carson’s 2010 book Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, he observes four ironies of the cross: (1) At the cross Jesus the King is mocked as king, (2) At the cross Jesus is utterly powerless, though he is powerful, (3) At the cross Jesus can’t save himself but saves others, and (4) At the cross Jesus cries out in despair but trusts in God. These ironies at the cross begin to get at the nature of the scandal of the crucifixion of Jesus. Something that is scandalous is something that shocks our sense of propriety or even seems to fly in the face of our collective sense of morality. Perhaps the sentence that most directly expresses the irony and the scandal of the entire reality of the cross is, “Imagine anything as scandalous as a crucified Messiah!” (139). A savior, let alone a savior who is meant to not only deliver but reign forever as King, should not die helplessly. This is scandalous. Well, keep in mind that this overall scandalous event is multifaceted in its implications with regard to our salvation. There are details that must be teased out and understood to fully appreciate what God has done for us in the cross of Jesus. And be warned, these details are also quite scandalous.

I want to highlight three scandalous details of the gospel.

 

Jesus the Righteous Condemned as Guilty

We cannot recognize the scandal of the cross without recognizing the righteousness of Jesus. Jesus was without sin. He was the only man with “clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4; 1 Peter 2:22). He was and is the only man who can ascend the mountain of the YHWH (Psalm 24:3). But not only was Jesus sinless in his earthly life. Jesus was also perfectly righteous in his works. “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). Jesus was revealed to be and found to be righteous, innocent, and guiltless before men (Matthew 27:19; 23; Mark 15:14; Luke 23:4; John 18:38). And yet, righteous, innocent Jesus was condemned as guilty and crucified. This is scandalous. And the even more shocking reality is that Jesus the righteous actually became the very opposite of righteousness at the cross. He who knew no sin became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is scandalous.

 

The Guilty Set Free

Built into the OT promise of the coming Messiah was that he would “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus came to fulfill this prophesy (Luke 4:18). Guilty man lay bound, imprisoned, and enslaved by sin (Galatians 3:22; Romans 6:17). In reality, man’s enslavement and imprisonment to sin is his own doing. Man is rightly imprisoned under sin because man is guilty! But Jesus came to set the guilty sinner free through the forgiveness of sin (Romans 6:7, 18, 22).  At the cross, Jesus breaks the chains of the guilty sinner, and he sets the guilty free. This is scandalous.

 

The Guilty Made Righteous

Perhaps one of the more shocking realities of the gospel is that those who are guilty are actually transformed into the opposite. At the cross, the guilty are not set free simply because they were suddenly found to actually be innocent, as if the original conviction was based on faulty evidence. At the cross, the guilty are not set free and, yet, despite their freedom, still considered inherently guilty in the eyes of God and man, as if a sentence were merely commuted. The cross is more shocking than this. At the cross, the guilty are actually made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus’ righteousness becomes the guilty’s righteousness. God does not look at the guilty in the courtroom of his divine judgment and say, “You’re free to go, but still guilty!” God does not look at the guilty and say, “I find you not guilty because there is not enough evidence to convict.” God does not look at the guilty and say, “You are guilty, but I will simply consider you not guilty.” Rather, for those in Christ, God looks at the guilty in the courtroom of his divine judgment, and looking at the cross of Jesus he says, “Not guilty. And not only are you not guilty, but you are actually righteous!” This is scandalous.

 

The Scandalous Gospel, Our Salvation

In the gospel, Jesus the righteous and innocent, became sin by dying on the cross in the place of the guilty in order to both set the guilty sinner free and make the guilty righteous. This gospel is scandalous. But for the Christian, this scandalous gospel is our salvation, and it is glorious.

The Cup of Salvation and the Cup of Wrath

12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,

Psalm 116:12–13

 

What are the benefits the Lord has given to us? Well they are certainly many and varied. But they are bound up in the cup of salvation. How did we get that cup?

This weekend, I will be preaching out of Mark 14, focusing on verses 12–52. Here in this passage, we see a spectacular exchange. King Jesus gives us his cup of God’s salvation, and he takes and drinks our cup that was full to the brim of God’s wrath for sin.

In Mark 14:22–25 we see Jesus institute the Last Supper. He gives to his followers the cup of the new covenant that he says points to his blood, which is poured out for many (Mark 14:24). Of course his blood is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). It is Jesus’ sacrifice, his blood, that atoned for the sins of his people. His sacrifice cleanses sinful men from all uncleannesses (Ezekiel 36:25). His sacrifice, his blood, established a new covenant, a covenant of peace between God and his people that will prove to be the everlasting covenant that every Old Testament covenant and sacrifice pointed to (Jeremiah 31:31; Ezekiel 37:16). This table that Jesus’ followers sit at in Mark 14:22–25 turns out to be not simply a table that commemorates God’s past redemption of his people from slavery in Egypt. This table turns out to be the table of God’s salvation for all peoples, whom he will redeem out of slavery to sin and death. This is even more remarkable when we consider the guest list of those who were invited to this table.

Mark 14:22–25 is hemmed in on each side with a look at those who are at this table. First, in Mark 14:17–21, we see that Judas is at this table. The very one who will betray Jesus, handing him over to his death. A traitor sits at this table. And in Mark 14:26–31, we see that the other disciples aren’t what we might expect as guests either. They, Jesus says, are deserters. They will all fall away from him. They will abandon him. Jesus shares this table with one he knows will betray him and never come back to him, and he shares it with those he know will abandon him in his most distressing hour. Yet, even in light of this unlikely guest list, Jesus patiently shares his table with sinners, and he offers the cup of his salvation to all. We may wonder at this, the cup of God’s salvation offered to sinful rebellious man, but as the story progresses, we see that it inspires even more wonder. For there is another cup that must be attended too. The cup of God’s wrath for sin.

Jesus will not resist his betrayer, who proves not to be one of his own (John 6:64, 70–71; 17:12) rather he will give himself over willingly. Indeed, he as the model disciple of his Father, chooses not to hold onto his own life (Mark 8:34–35). Why? In order to serve his brothers and “give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).” How would he do this? We’ve seen the first step—he gives his people the cup of his salvation. And now, Jesus will take the sinners cup full to the brim of God’s wrath for sin, and he will drink it to the dregs. We see a picture of Jesus’ faithfulness to do this in Gethsemane.

In Mark 14:32–42, Jesus wrestles with God. We see him in his full humanity express his desire to see the cup of God’s wrath pass from him. And we see the man Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, overcome the temptation to abandon God’s will when he submits completely to God’s will. He does so knowing it means utter rejection by man — including his closest friends —, physical torment, and torturous death. But more than that, it also means being forsaken by his Father. He must drink the poisonous cocktail of God’s cup of judgment mingled together with all sins, small and great. And when he does, he who knew no sin will become sin. And he will become the object of his Abba Father’s fiery wrath. And yet, in full knowledge of this, he says, “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36).

It is here in Gethsemane that we see Jesus take the first drink from the cup and begin to taste the first flavors of its bitterness. Judas betrays him and man despises him. And his own people, Peter, James, John, and the others, despise and reject him. They hide their faces from him. And they esteem him not (Isaiah 53:3). They choose instead to hold onto their lives, thinking they are saving themselves, by they fleeing from Jesus (Mark 14:50–52). In reality, though, Jesus saves their lives by giving his when drains the full cup of God’s wrath in its full-bodied bitterness on the cross — “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).

What are the benefits the Lord has given to us? It is not less than the forgiveness of our sins contained in the cup of his salvation. He offers us this cup in Jesus, who took our sinners’ cup, full of God’s wrath and drank all of it for us. Jesus gives us the cup of his salvation and drinks the sinners’ cup, our cup, of God’s wrath.

What is the right response to such a benefit? What can we do? What shall we render back to the Lord? Ask for more. Lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (Psalm 116:13).

The Image of God: Unity in Diversity

Preface

For the month of January at DGCC, we are considering together as a family the wonderful reality of man being made in God’s image. This glorious doctrine makes clear who God created us to be as humans. Humanity is the crown of God’s creation meant to reflect and represent God. Since man, then, is made in God’s image, it follows that man cannot properly reflect and represent God unless his also knows God. Therefore, essential to man being made in God’s image is the reality that God made man alone to be in special covenant relationship with him. Being made in God’s image, then, means that man alone reflects God, represents God, and remains in loving relationship with God. So, again, man cannot properly know himself and be himself if he does know God. To know God is to know who he created us to be, namely whole-hearted, lovers and worshipers of him as beneficiaries of his boundless love.[1]

This past Sunday, Coty’s sermon made clear that to reflect God’s character, to be the image of God, means that we should be givers, not takers. Namely, we should be givers of life to ourselves and others. This reality especially comes to bear in (1) our giving life to ourselves through availing ourselves of the grace found in the gospel of Jesus Christ and (2) our giving life to others by giving this same gospel to the lost. Giving life reflects God. We are the image of God when we give life. That was last week. This week, we gaze at and consider another facet of the image of God in man—unity in diversity.

 

The Triune God: Unity in Diversity

As stated above, to know what it means to be made in God’s image, we must first know God himself. And God is a God of unity in diversity. God is triune. That is, he is one God eternally existent in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The eternally unbegotten Father, eternally begets the Son, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son (John 1:1–2, 18; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5; John 15:26). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished in their personhood specifically by these distinct eternal relations of origin—the Father is eternally unbegotten, the Son is eternally begotten from the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.[2] And yet, though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are truly distinct, they are truly one. He is the one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) eternally existing in three distinct persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons with one divine nature, one divine essence. God is three in one. The Triune God defines unity in diversity. And God created man to reflect this.

 

Made in God’s Image: Unity in Diversity

God created humanity to reflect his divine unity in diversity. When God created man, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). First, God created man in his image. God created man to be his representative to all creation. God created man to live in his (God’s) presence, in union with him (God), and through that relationship, man would rightly reflect and represent him (God). This is unity in diversity of the most astounding order—creature man in loving union with his Creator God. Second, God created man male and female. God created humanity to reflect his unity in diversity by created humanity male and female. God created man and woman, who are united in their common origin of creation, their common creatureliness, their common union with God, and in their one flesh union with one another in marriage (Genesis 2:18–24). God created man in his image in that humanity, as male and female, reflects God’s unity in diversity.

So, God created man in his image, to reflect unity in diversity in man’s union with God and man’s union with his fellow man as male and female. However, the fall would mar both of these realities.

 

Sin: Disunity in Diversity

When sin entered the world at the Fall, man effectively severed the most essential component of his image of God nature—his relationship with God himself. Man cannot fully be the image of God without being in relationship with God. And, because of sin, God cursed man and sent him away from his presence (Genesis 3:22–24). Where there once was unity and peace with man and God, now there is disunity and hostility. Furthermore, sin broke the unity between man and man. First, sin damaged the unity in diversity exemplified by the husband and wife relationship (Genesis 3:16). And second, Scripture makes clear that sin also impaired the unity in diversity exemplified by human relationships in general. Sinful man is bent on not uniting with his fellow man but fighting and killing his fellow man. Brother kills brother (Genesis 4:1–16), violence fills the earth, and man sheds his fellow man’s blood (Genesis 6:9–13; 9:5–6). Sin broke unity in diversity and spawned disunity in diversity. But God promised to bring life through a promised offspring where Satan and man had brought death through sin (Genesis 3:15, 20).

 

Abrahamic Covenant: Blessing for All

As disunity and diversity increased upon the earth, God situated his promise to restore unity in diversity in the man Abram, through whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:1–3). God promises a unifying blessing for all the diverse families of the earth. And God promised that this blessing would come through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 22:18). The gospel makes clear that this promised offspring of Abraham who would bring this blessing to man is Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God (Galatians 3:16).

 

Jesus, the Perfect Image of God

Jesus is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15). In Jesus’ dual nature, we behold the undoing of man and God’s hostility. God made man in his image, that is, to be in perfect, covenant relationship with him (God). But man rebelled and lost that essential piece of his image-of-God nature. But in Jesus, we see the perfect union between man and God. Jesus is fully God, and Jesus is fully man, unmixed and distinct with regard to his divinity and humanity, but one person. Jesus, the God-man, is the image of God par excellence, man united with God, and Jesus in his life and walk remained perfectly united to God the Father through his obedience (John 1:1; 5:19; 10:25–30; 12:49–50). The Son, by the incarnation, undid the broken union of God and man, and we, the church, are the beneficiaries.

 

The Church: Unity in Diversity

In the global and the local church, we see the miracle of restored unity in diversity that comes through the gospel of Jesus. First, in Christ, man’s union with God is restored—we are made his sons once again (Galatians 3:26). And second, in Christ our union with our fellow man is restored. Paul heralds this reality in Galatians 3:27–29,

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Paul is not heralding the reversal of diversity in this passage. Rather, he is heralding the reversal of hostility and injustices that exist due to sinful man’s skewed perception of diversity. First, Paul makes this clear by the scope of human relationships he mentions here, which includes not only diversity of the sexes (male and female) and cultural, ethnic, and/or racial diversity (Jew and Greek), but unnatural and unjust human relationships due to economic diversity (master and slave) as well. Sin has led to disunity, inequality, and injustices based solely on differences in sex, race, culture, and socioeconomic status. Second, Paul makes clear he is not talking about the flattening of diversity but the reversal of disunity based on diversity in a second way. He does so by his reasoning: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, etc…for you are all one in Christ.” Diversity is not done away with, rather disunity is eliminated when all are made one, undivided, in Christ. Where there was once hostility in diversity, in Christ there is now unity in diversity once again. Thus, in the global church and especially in the local church we see the image of God displayed in a way that is unique. In the local church, we see the image of God displayed by its unity in diversity in the fellowship of diverse saints from all walks of life.

 

The Image of God Fully Restored: Unity in Diversity in Revelation 7:9–10

There is perhaps no greater picture of this unity in diversity in Scripture than in Revelation 7:9–10,

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Here we see the end goal—the telos—of the perfect image of God, Jesus’, great gospel work: man displaying God’s image perfectly once again. Here, man stands in the Triune God’s presence, united to him once more. And man is not a singular, monolithic, uniform people devoid of variety. Rather, man stands in God’s presence in all of his unified diversity—every tribe, every people, and every language. There in the new heaven and new earth we will be man in God’s image, unified with God and unified with our fellow man in common praise and worship of our king. There we will participate in perfect unity in diversity. In Christ, in the new heavens and new earth, we will be the image of God he created us to be.

 

[1] See Hoekema’s robust discussion of being man made in God’s image meaning to reflect, represent, and be in loving, covenantal relationship with God. Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 1st ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).

[2] See Scott Swain, The Trinity: An Introduction (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020).

The Image of God: Undivided Love

For the month of January at DGCC, we are considering together as a family the wonderful reality of man being made in God’s image. This glorious doctrine makes clear who God created us to be as humans. Humanity is the crown of God’s creation meant to reflect and represent God. Since man, then, is made in God’s image, it follows that man cannot properly reflect and represent God unless his also knows God. Therefore, essential to man being made in God’s image is the reality that God made man alone to be in special relationship with him. Being made in God’s image means that man alone reflects God, represents God, and is in loving relationship with God. So, again, man cannot properly know himself and be himself if he does know God. To know God is to know who he created us to be, namely whole-hearted, lovers and worshipers of him as beneficiaries of his boundless love.[1] We can see this image of God in Mark 12:28–34.

 

In Mark 12:28–34, a scribe asks Jesus what the most important commandment is. Jesus responds in Mark 12:29–30 saying, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Jesus points to Deuteronomy 6:4–5 which Moses proclaimed to Israel when they were on the cusp of the Promised Land. In this command, God calls on his people to love him. Why? Well, if we look closely at the text, we can discern two reasons: (1) God is one, and (2) God is their God.

 

God Is One: Love God Only and Wholly

First, they should love God because of who he is, namely, he is one. In the original context in Deuteronomy, God’s people are about to enter into the land of Canaan, which is a land of many “gods,” who are really not gods at all. God alone is God. He says so himself, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5). So God makes clear in this command to his people that he is the only God, therefore he should be the only God they love. They should not give their affections and love to the many idols and false gods they will encounter in the Promised Land. They should love God alone because he is the only God. To love God in this way is to reflect and represent God. But there is more to God being one than just his uniqueness.

 

Notice the entire command. According to Jesus in Mark 12:29–30, God commands his people to love him [the Lord your God] “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all you strength. You could translate this “love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength.” The command is to not simply love God only but to love God wholly, with your whole being. The command is to be completely undivided in your love for God. Why? Because he is one. Because God is undivided in himself. God, the only and the one God, is perfectly united in his affection for himself. He is completely satisfied in himself and has no need of anyone or anything. He loves himself with a whole, undivided love. Indeed, if he needed another he would not be God. And, if he were to love another more than himself he would either not be God or he would be an idolater. We are to love God wholly because God is one, undivided in himself. Therefore, to love God in this way is to reflect and represent God. We often don’t do either of these (loving God only and wholly) very well, though.

 

Sinful man expertly divides his love. In our sinfulness we don’t want to give our love only and wholly to God. We’d rather divide our loves between God and other gods whether it is work, a hobby, a relationship, a particular vice, or any other idol we make in our image. Indeed, all of our divided loves have one thing in common: they serve the god of self. We divide our love amongst other things because we want to love ourselves only and wholly. In truth, then, divided love for God is not love for God at all. It is love for self, and God simply becomes another self-serving idol that we recreate in our image to meet our desires. What we ultimately find when we divide our loves in this way, is that nothing we set our affections on gives us any life or love in return. Rather, all of these things ultimately steal our life from us. Indeed, we can only rightly love and enjoy the things of earth when our loves are ordered correctly. Only when God alone receives our whole love can we truly begin to enjoy and love his gifts in creation. This is because we were made not to be loved by and love ourselves. Rather, we were made to be loved by and love God. This leads to the second reason we should love God in this command.

 

God Is Their God: Love the God Who Loved You

The second reason built into the command to love God in Deuteronomy 6:4–5 that Jesus quotes is this: God is their God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). These pronouns, our and your are important. Recall again, this command was first given to Israel after God had saved them. God is their God because he redeemed Israel out of slavery in Egypt, covenanted with them, made them his own, and loved them. God is their God because he invited their pagan forefather, Abram, into loving covenant with him (Genesis 12:1–3). They are to love God because he has first loved them and brought them into relationship with him by his grace. This OT reality points to what we celebrate in the new covenant. God redeemed us through the gospel of Jesus while we were his enemies. Through Jesus, God showers his love on us and brings us into loving relationship with himself. And the proper response is to be who he made us to be, lovers and worshipers of him wholly and only—ones who reflect, represent, and are in loving relationship with him.

 

The Image of God: Loved By and Loving God

God made us in his image to reflect and represent him. But we cannot do this until we realize that we were made to be loved by and to love God only and wholly. We are the beneficiaries of the one, undivided, self-sufficient, needless God’s love. In Christ, God loves us first so that we can wholly love him once again. We not only reflect and represent God, but we are in loving relationship with him. God made us to be whole-hearted lovers and worshipers of him, the one God, as beneficiaries of his boundless, undivided love. This is man, made in the image of God.

[1] See Hoekema’s robust discussion of man being made in God’s image in order to reflect, represent, and be in loving, covenantal relationship with God. Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 1st ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).