Theology Thursday, but on a Friday - Ecclesiology

In light of all the church haters these days...and by church haters I mean those who profess to believe in Christ, but have nothing good to say about the church...there is a popular counter to their thinking that says, "you can't love Christ and not like his bride, just as you can't be friends with me, and do nothing but tear down my wife." It's a good parallel. One that needs to be pondered, because believers should have an affection for the church--the Bride of their Savior, Jesus Christ.  

But I believe most people, in theory, love the Bride of Christ. They want to be a part of the Bride of Christ in an eschatological sense. They read the end of the book, and they know how the scene plays out. The problem is they have found an extremely compelling reason (or list of reasons) not to live as if the eschatological truths will become reality. Which is to say they'd rather not involve themselves with fellow sinners in the worship of an infinitely great Savior. They must think, "Nah...there'll be plenty of time for that."

The Left and Right Have the Same Problem

"From the Left, the church tyrannizes the sheep by neglecting the revealed word for their own misguided sense of social justice.  From the Right, the church tyrannizes the sheep by going beyond what Scripture says to uphold their own social conventions.  One side subtracts from the word and the other adds to it, but both are guilty of exercising authority beyond that with which they have been entrusted."

-Eric Landry of the White Horse Inn

Assaulting Christoplatonism

Western Xians are Christoplatonists, meaning they tend toward dualism. They bifurcate life between things physical and spiritual...material and immaterial, and like Plato exalt the immaterial. Xians shouldn't be dualists. It's a non-biblical worldview that fragments life and denies Christ's Lordship of all creation. This dualism impacts so many areas, but one important area of theology it has wreaked havoc on is the doctrine of the bodily resurrection (both of Jesus and his followers). 

One way to think about the Platonic influence is many Christians would say our souls are just occupying these bodies for a short time, and like a snake shedding its skin will be rid of them one day. And so most Xians look forward to being disembodied. They even say at the death of a loved one…”that’s not really him lying there.” Which is slightly true, but it also slightly un-true. 

If you looked back to the Creation account in Genesis 2. Adam was not a human being until Adam became what the Hebrew calls nephesh…until God joined his body (dust) and spirit (breath) together. Which is to say Adam was not alive until he had both materiel and immaterial components. Your body is a very real part of the real you…and it will join you, more alive than it’s ever been at the final resurrection. (which would be at the coming of the new heavens and new earth, following the millennial reign of Christ on the earth…if your keeping a timetable). So what I am saying is when we die, it isn’t that our real self goes to the intermediate Heaven and our fake self goes to the grave; it’s that part of us goes to the intermediate Heaven and part goes to the grave to await our bodily resurrection at the consummation of all things.

So what's your view of eternal life? Some whispy, ethereal, spirit world existence where you get to be a wraith and float through eternity? Or is it physical? Eternal, physical life on a new redeemed planet earth? 

Isn't the physical so much more exciting to think about? That's because it's true.