Christian Theologies of the Sacraments by Justin S. Holcomb & David A. Johnson

Author:Justin S. Holcomb & David A. Johnson [Holcomb, Justin S. & Johnson, David A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL000000 Religion / General
Publisher: New York University Press

The knowledge of God the Creator is therefore made possible by means of the dynamic interaction between the visible image that we see in the works of God, with the verbal proclamation that we hear, which rightly directs our hearts and minds to the true God manifested in God’s works. The Word of God does not replace the living image of God set forth in God’s works, but rather allows us to see the powers of God more clearly in those works, so that we might feel and enjoy those powers in our hearts, and be drawn upward to God as the source and author of those powers. “Hence we must strive onward by this straight path if we seriously aspire to the pure contemplation of God. We must come, I say, to the Word, where God is truly and vividly described to us from his works, while these very works are appraised not by our depraved judgment but by the rule of eternal truth.”7

The knowledge of God the Creator is sufficient to reveal to us the source of the blessings of this life, but it of itself cannot undo the loss inflicted on humanity by the sin of Adam. According to Calvin, God had placed in Adam all of the powers of God by which both Adam and we would be united to God in eternal life. When Adam fell into sin, he lost those gifts not only for himself, but also for us. “With this we ought to be content: that the Lord entrusted to Adam those gifts which he willed to be conferred upon human nature. Hence Adam, when he lost the gifts received, lost them not only for himself but for us all.”8 If human beings are to be reunited to God in eternal life, God must restore to us the good things that were lost in Adam, and must remove from us the evil things that replaced them. And God must do this not in an image outside of us, as in the universe, but in a human being like Adam, making that human being himself the self-manifestation of the one true God, the Author and fountain of every good thing we need for eternal life. “For God would have remained hidden afar off if Christ’s splendor had not beamed upon us. For this purpose the Father laid up with his only-begotten Son all that he had to reveal himself in Christ so that Christ, by communicating his Father’s benefits, might express the true image of his glory [cf. Heb. 1:3].”9

The image of God in Christ shares in the dynamic of descent and ascent that we saw in the self-manifestation of the Creator, only in an even more pronounced manner. The descent of the Son of God begins with his birth and culminates in his death on the cross, during which time Christ increasingly takes upon himself all the evil that afflicts us and alienates us from God. At the nadir of this descent, we

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.