Thank you to Jan Lacher for pointing me to Dr. Al Mohler’s blog for Wednesday.
Dr. Mohler provided a critique of The Shack by William Paul Young. More than 10 million copies have been sold.
Because Pastor John just preached on the subject of Jesus and the man born blind, this paragraph from Dr. Mohler’s blog jumped out at me, particularly the sentence in bold:
While the literary device of an unconventional “trinity” of divine persons is itself sub-biblical and dangerous, the theological explanations are worse. “Papa” tells Mack of the time when the three persons of the Trinity “spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God.” Nowhere in the Bible is the Father or the Spirit described as taking on human existence. The Christology of the book is likewise confused. “Papa” tells Mack that, though Jesus is fully God, “he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being.” When Jesus healed the blind, “He did so only as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone.” (emphasis mine)
Please note, that sentence is from The Shack. Dr. Mohler does not hold to that statement.
Now contrast that sentence with some familiar passages where Jesus demonstrates or claims authority to heal for himself:
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” Mark 2:10-12
And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. Luke 7:6-10
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Luke 18:41-43
Jesus claims authority, uses his authority, and does not correct people who believe he has authority over his creation. Most importantly:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
Jesus is God, always has been God and always will be God.
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The Works of God 
Normal vs. ‘temporarily able-bodied’
Posted in commentary, News on February 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Sam Crabtree, one of my pastors, has started a blog at Bethlehem’s web site and talked about a recent turn of events that left him incapacitated for a time. He was no longer ‘temporarily able-bodied.’
That term, ‘temporarily able-bodied’ shows up now and then in things I read. Generally it is used to poke at anyone who thinks ‘normal’ physical and mental functioning is, in fact, the norm. If we live long enough, most of us will experience a loss of function, and eventually we will all die. Thus, being able-bodied is termed by some to be the temporary state of our lives.
Pastor Sam wrote two blog posts following his hospitalization that firmly state what he hopes in – and it isn’t physical functioning, normal or otherwise. Here is an example:
5. My disappointment in this deteriorating body is soaked with hope. While in the emergency room I looked Vicki in the eyes and quietly said, “I might not be around tomorrow.” Because of Christ, we both know I’ll be around Tomorrow. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.—2 Corinthians 5:8
Disappointment – yes! We do experience disappointment when our bodies fail us. Or when we watch our children with disabilities struggle with their bodies or their minds.
Soaked with hope – yes! Like the post yesterday of Pastor John’s greeting, we can hope in God (Psalm 42:5) in all circumstances, particularly when things seem at their worst.
Because of Christ, we both know I’ll be around Tomorrow – yes! Our current state will be replaced with a great and permanent and increasingly joy-filled eternity with Christ. But only because of Christ – not through anything we did or could hope to do to earn it.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians, put it this way: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Thank you, Pastor Sam, for living like you preach – with integrity, good humor, and deep affections for Jesus. You are a great encouragement!
You can read his two posts here:
Eight Ways to Not Waste the Blood Clots on My Lungs, Part 1
Eight Ways to Not Waste the Blood Clots on My Lungs, Part 2
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