I see much fiction in what was written by the 'divine' authors at Westminster. But being satisfied in God alone they got right. The last of the 5 temptations common to humanity in 1 Cor. 10 is 'murmuring' or grumbling.
I am with Tony Scialdone on this one. I believe it is incomplete, expressing the point from Humanity’s place. I believe God has cards He hasn’t shown us which reference His eternal purpose for creating the Universe, including Man. The thin clues in scripture hint at great purposes for the creation of the church to show "the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:10-11) The uncomfortable place of being unsure what that all means, but being aware of the great things in store for us is one of excitement and honour.
I have trouble with the WC's claim about man's chief end. I'm not saying it's wrong... I'm saying it may be incomplete. Man's chief end is, of course, determined by God. It's the purpose for which we were created. I'm not confident that God created us to bring glory to Himself. It seems more likely that God created us not for Himself, but for us. A few thoughts:
- Jesus is the full expression of God.
- Jesus came to serve.
- Imitating Jesus and being transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit makes us more like Him
I'm not suggesting anything weird, like the divinity of man. I'm suggesting that the WC may have it backwards, in the end... that instead of mankind bringing glory to God forever, it may be that God is generously and graciously making us more and more like Himself because He's truly - by nature - a servant.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. This isn't something I teach publicly, as it's not a fully-formed thought. It's just the result of asking "why" again and again, and reflecting on Scripture in response.
Scott, this Westminster Confessions quote has always been one of my favorites. You have explained (expanded) it so wonderfully and encouragingly. Thank you - I hope and pray that I can live into it! Gilpin Brown
Thank you, it has blessed my heart to read!
I see much fiction in what was written by the 'divine' authors at Westminster. But being satisfied in God alone they got right. The last of the 5 temptations common to humanity in 1 Cor. 10 is 'murmuring' or grumbling.
I am with Tony Scialdone on this one. I believe it is incomplete, expressing the point from Humanity’s place. I believe God has cards He hasn’t shown us which reference His eternal purpose for creating the Universe, including Man. The thin clues in scripture hint at great purposes for the creation of the church to show "the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:10-11) The uncomfortable place of being unsure what that all means, but being aware of the great things in store for us is one of excitement and honour.
I have trouble with the WC's claim about man's chief end. I'm not saying it's wrong... I'm saying it may be incomplete. Man's chief end is, of course, determined by God. It's the purpose for which we were created. I'm not confident that God created us to bring glory to Himself. It seems more likely that God created us not for Himself, but for us. A few thoughts:
- Jesus is the full expression of God.
- Jesus came to serve.
- Imitating Jesus and being transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit makes us more like Him
I'm not suggesting anything weird, like the divinity of man. I'm suggesting that the WC may have it backwards, in the end... that instead of mankind bringing glory to God forever, it may be that God is generously and graciously making us more and more like Himself because He's truly - by nature - a servant.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. This isn't something I teach publicly, as it's not a fully-formed thought. It's just the result of asking "why" again and again, and reflecting on Scripture in response.
Scott, this Westminster Confessions quote has always been one of my favorites. You have explained (expanded) it so wonderfully and encouragingly. Thank you - I hope and pray that I can live into it! Gilpin Brown
Thank you, Scott. As always, thank you for reminding me of "first things."