The greatest dilemma for anyone is to explain unity and particularity. It is the age old problem of the one and many. To miss the one is to miss the correct interpretation of reality. Without a universal principle of bringing everything together leads to anarchy or to total particularity. The particulars, man, thus, becomes god. God is triune. However, in this Trinity, we have unity. In other words, in distinctiveness, you have homogeneity. Without a Creator, the creature ascends the throne for man. This means the Civil State. Paul said this concerning civil government specifically, also applying to all God given governments, in Romans 13:1-4, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." The civil government is to be a minister against evil. That is they are servants, not lords. The particular can never take the place of the universal.
Application
To properly understand the Bible, we need to use what is known as applied theology.
The essence of the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," (Exodus 20:3), is that there is only one Absolute. There are not many. God is not polytheistic. He is One in unity. To reject Him is to spurn the Absolute for relativity. This is why sinners are characterized by moral relativity and situation ethics. They have no universal standard by which to determine their conduct. One day, they will follow this one. The next day, it will be something else. They are never stable in anything. They are like Reuben in Genesis 49:3-4, "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch." Unstable as water is the characteristic of those who lack a omnipresence.
Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:1-5, "Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Since God is one Lord i.e. one Absolute or unity, we are also to be one in our response to Him. To love God with all our heart, soul, and might, presupposes to love Him in oneness. We are not to have divisions in our being. We are to be one at root.
One cannot understand the New Testament without having a firm grasp on this concept of unity. Paul had a firm comprehension in this regard. He displayed it in Ephesians 4:2-7, "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Humility and patience are essential qualities in maintaining unity and peace. The Spirit, referring to the Holy Spirit, is in perfect unity. Provided we have that Spirit, we will, by definition, be led into the same unity. We must conform to something. Once again, the Amplified Bible gives us the essential message of Ephesians 4:3, "Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of (and produced by) the Spirit in the binding power of peace." This is what I have been attempting to stress about unity. It takes an Absolute or a Universal to produce this harmony. Without a harmony of interests, we have discord and dissension. Having more than one god, will result in a conflict of interests.
Conclusion
As always, the Lord Jesus Christ hits the nail on the head. He made it clear the impossibility of serving two Gods simultaneously. He said very clearly in Matthew 6:22-24, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Being single eyed is to be in complete harmony. No schizophrenia here. Being single eyed results in the whole body being full of light. If our body is full of light, by definition, there can be no room for disharmony. Everything would have to be in accord and agreement. The opposite is so if the eye is evil. It will automatically result in total ethical darkness and lead to a failed attempt to serve more than one god. Discordance is the result of attempting to serve more than one god. The Lord Jesus Christ said we can only serve one master. Attempting to serve two masters is because a lack of having an Absolute in our lives. The result is the individual seeks to fill the void by trying to become the Absolute themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment