The Fourth Person: Man in the Middle tagged: , , , ,

The Fourth Person: Man in the Middle

Posted by in Baptist Life, Bible & Theology, Church & Missions

Unity, Theologians and the Field
In the quest for unity, what is the motive and duty of those made in the image of God? Are those made in God’s image free to choose and pursue unity or has the created been awakened to understand an unnatural unity that is present and renewed in time, where the new creature’s freedom “is” the assurance for maintaining the unity of the Spirit…known as a consequence of the Holy Spirit? The people of God have tried to answer those types of questions for thousands of years and in a dizzying display of mathematical philosophy there have been a gross amount of words compiled to protect the array of various viewpoints. Hence the amazing struggle for those staking a claim in the chronicles of Arminius and Calvin, and the tug-a-war that exists to fill in the gaps. These two authorities within the art of theology seem to have captured the left and right sides of the collective theological brain as both of them proclaim allegiance to certain theories in order to capture the essence of their teachings and the respect of their peers.

Not unlike a lot of us today, these two men (Arminius and Calvin) had some great things to contribute to the Saints, but they, just like us contaminate a few biblical doctrines along the way. They, like us, create separation from Christ when we make application of theory in the place of truth. There is little doubt that their teachings were influenced by the culture, and influenced by the region of the world in which they lived; and by the burdens of sin always present in their non-glorified state. While digging into the deep mine shafts of particulars,…Arminius obviously laid claim to Aquinas, Molina, Calvin and Beza, and certainly Calvin had his own fleet of theories extending back before Augustine. The SBC now has its own stable full of theological influence across the seminary landscape displayed by Godly men such as Keathley, Ware, Yarnell, Mohler, White and many, many more.

But as we look into the influence of any of these men of God, we should consider it with reference to and in view of the Holy Spirit’s unity. To quail a bit of that zealous search for answers though, the pursuit and purpose for the Spirit’s unity must first be understood as God’s truth in His special revelation. In other words, …how do we protect ourselves from idols? Without a clear understanding and definition of “unity” the Saints quickly skew the purpose of the Son of Man and His never ceasing work applied by the person of the Holy Spirit. This “close” miss of purpose is one of the Apostle John’s instructive themes (1 John) as he exhorts the Saints, warning them of the plight of some that were involved in removing Jesus as the Son of Man. Jesus explained this to his disciples, revealing His purpose for unity to those of us that would hear and see His truth.

Matthew 13:37-44 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, (38) and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; (39) and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. (40) “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. (41) “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, (42) and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (43) “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (44) “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

  • Duty and Acceptance

    • How much land are we really willing to purchase as Saints? In other words,..one must ask… How is unity maintained in the world that God has provided for us? There is only one world (not many potential worlds), so how we respond in this world is important. Language has always played a significant role in teaching, and in this section we should understand one subtle change (not born sinisterly) that was made in the Baptist Faith and Message, so to illustrate the genius in the making of such a revision. Because as the people of God are moved to include wider grouping of believers within the tent of the SBC, language has played a significant role with respect to inclusion.

    As the cooperating convention was laying its faith and message in 1925, we should pay some attention to the train of thought put into the first faith and message with that of subsequent documents. Because, as is clearly seen in the comparison, there have always been many well meaning men of God within the SBC advocating the influences of what I term the “fourth person”. That is obviously apparent as well throughout the landscape of many of the churches cooperating in the convention today. These men (and women) unashamedly follow the theories of Jacobus Arminius and his astounding logical functions which have supplied the influence and continuance of the theory of the assumptive complex worlds of the counterfactual. This influence, and the dependence on the categorical power of middle knowledge (scientia media) has necessarily formed the environment and ensuing word changes now present in the 1963 and 2000 version of the Baptist faith and message. The slight changes are certainly not heretical by any stretch while they allow for a “wider” acceptance on the teaching of God’s sovereignty.

    The changes are clearly realized when we compare the 1925 statement to the 1963 or current 2000 statement… where “duty” is omitted in the expression categorized as “The Freeness of Salvation” (1925) for a more pragmatic and contemporary form revealing faith in a slightly differing light as the “acceptance” of Jesus Christ. So the minor changes have progressively advanced what was once agreed in 1925 as “that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God” to a slightly more gentle flow of “acceptance” of those under the call of God. A slight influence moving the terminology from “duty” to “acceptance” was delicate, and found effective by some, as the convention continued the quest to grow wide, advancing in number from 3 to 16 million souls over about 70 years. One must consider however, especially as churches struggle to find their members, was the growth systemic from the influence of the “sourced counterfactual theory” obviously advancing within the convention and reflected in the 1963 subtle change of language, or was it Christ alone imputing righteousness in the hearts of man made ready for duty? There is little doubt that “unity” will be the most reliable testimony as it remains the standard of authentication in all the churches. (Ephesians)

  • Separation, Theories of Man and Grace

    • As I noted in an earlier post, Jacobus Arminius: Influencer of Separation…there is little argument that he was a man of God, like many of us, caught up in the art of introspection. He was aided by other men, even as we continue to be, and he acknowledged the presence of the middle man of “scientia media” (his version of middle knowledge), Molina’s fail safe theory of the “middle man” founded upon the underlying principles of Aquinas. But, Arminius proved to be an important and effective influence for many men beyond his years; serving his congregation well while exposing the word of God and at the same time never finishing his rationalization of middle knowledge….the “middle man” of his popular teaching.

    Many who read the writing of Arminius are quick to note that he does not develop his definition of “scientia media” (middle knowledge) at any great length, yet it is the very mention of the concept that raises a serious query about the extent of divine knowledge and its potentialities (various worlds) that are influenced via its inference. Others have claimed that Arminius seems to impress upon God a conditional knowledge of future contingents while He (God) knows the potential reality at the same time. All of these words and explanations absorbed by highly regarded convention teachers have practically made for a wide tent within the SBC…yet a tent now revealing evidence of contention and fainting unity. The danger of such boasting is inevitable as man’s freedom is elevated to an imagined fashionable pot where earthen clay once lay captive. But contention is birthed through sinning flesh and competitive assumptions, where we see a joyful contrast as unity is maintained by Spirit filled Saints, preserving an already perfect array of unity provided by God.

    James 1:17-20 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (18) In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. (19) This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; (20) for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

    Theologians continue to erect an immense and challenging platform for the future, positing the same theories, all bound with different schema and differing cultures, trying to help shape the practice of loving our brothers and sisters in the faith; and preaching righteousness to our neighbors in the world. All of us perform a service in the art of knowing God,…. yet some have increasingly pursued the revision and contestation of the intricacies of salvation, reducing mercy to a mode of knowledge similar to rubbing gravestones in the history of the world. So regardless of the rub, we always get the object of our rub and on our own terms. The grace of our Lord reminds us of something higher…..

    Isaiah 45:5-13 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; (6) That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, (7) The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. (8) “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it. (9) “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker– An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? (10) “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’” (11) Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands. (12) “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host. (13) “I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free, Without any payment or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.

    Psalm 102:16-18 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory. (17) He has regarded the prayer of the destitute And has not despised their prayer. (18) This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

  • The Immerging Middle Man

    • Unfortunately some have found a fascination with a “fourth person”. A Middle Man beyond the trinity of persons revealed in the Holy Scriptures, whether he is found embedded in the “assumption of counterfactuals” as made popular by those fascinated with Arminius and Molina, or as an assuming “means of grace” thrust upon the water in infant baptism by Calvin. Maybe it is our fallen nature living out loud against a backdrop of determined righteousness announced by God through Moses.

    Genesis 3:14-15 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; (15) And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

    In any event, the creator of all existence has announced to His creation a clear path that is forged in righteousness, livened by grace. It can be a path that is sometimes rarely realized and many times obscured by all of the theological clutter, while the same path is firm and unchanging nonetheless in God’s unchangeableness. There is no mystery left to understand why the world has not heard; with few workers in a white harvest. So is what we teach a clear and distinctive path where we find and hear an effective work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, …..even as the fourth person takes our hand to manage our natural appetite for dimly lit roads and foggy meadows … a “middle man” to soothe the fear of peer rejection…..feeding the momentary appetite with vanishing joy, anger and an illusive unity.

    So how are you doing as the “Man in the Middle”, or by using another “middle man” whether dead, alive, or theorized? Do you preach a gospel that is powerful, truthful, convicting and sweet, or do you share the “counterfactual man” relishing a play in the art of middle knowledge with a motive to win the war against those that hint at God knowing more of evil than we would like to think He knows?

  • Unity and Building Bridges

    • The Apostle John, on the other hand, commands us to do something quite different as the Holy Spirit tunes a heart to know unity. Because we know the person of the Holy Spirit induces our understanding as we live with the King of Kings where unity it is not instrumentally confined to what we can make of it, moreover it is a unity that is provided for us to maintain; the essence of which is already perfect. We do not build “theological bridges” to pretend we love each other. We are called to maintain a perfect unity that the Holy Spirit has already provided before time began. A unity already perfected by the Spirit in this world demanding a response from the elect; either to fan the flames or to quench with neglect.

    2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (7) For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

    Unity does not rest upon the “foundational theories” of theology, but can be explained and taught by a theology hidden in truth. We are called to preserve (maintain) unity of the Spirit, which yields a higher solution than building bridges where no bridges are even really necessary. The cooperating Saints and churches within the SBC do not need bridge builders, we need to recognize love in our brothers and sisters that sit in our chair on Sunday and who walk in other buildings just down the street.

    Ephesians 4:1-7 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, (2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, (3) being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (7) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

    As we walk worthily, it is not to construct well formed planks in the bridge of assumptive theological competition. It is to walk in the “calling with which you have been called”,… a perfect unity, forged in a impenetrable bond of peace, where tension (striving) ceases and a diligence to preserve an already perfect unity (through the person of the Holy Spirit) is woven into the pages of life where we can agree with the Apostle Paul as he writes instruction on how to elimate the middle man…..

    Colossians 3:14-15 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (15) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

    Blessings,
    Chris