This is a brilliant analysis by Herman Bavinck and I totally agree with that. I find it tremendously difficult to follow the line of supra, Lapsarian theology.
Its the God of compassion responding to the fall that he started to elect some humans to salvation in Christ and pass over others which is called reprobation. The logical sequence is what is making sense here. Eph 1:4-5 says even as he chose in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He in love he predestined us for adoption to serve his son through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Bavinck explains that God’s council is a single, eternal, and indivisible act of his will, and creation, the fall, election, and redemption. Eph 1:4-5 highlights the election occur before the foundation of the world, this refers to the eternity of God’s decree, not as logical priority over the fall. In God’s timeless eternity, all aspects of the decree, creation, fall, election are also simultaneous, but theology distinguishes the logicality to understand their relationships.
Infra Lapsarian is about the logical, not temporal, order of God’s decrees
Bavinck argues that God’s election Eph 1:4-5 presupposes of fallen humanity in need of redemption. The phrase he chose us in him ( Christ) indicates the elections always in Christ, the media of redemption.
The goal of election that we should be holy and blameless and for adoption himself points to God redemptive purpose to a fallen state
Bavinck argues the election addresses human sinfulness, aiming to restore and adopt sinners into God’s family. This alliance with infra Lapsarian emphasizes on election as God’s mercy response to the fall, rather than a supra Lapsarian view: election seem to necessitate the fall to display God’s glory.
Addressing the tension
The apparent tension Eph 1:4-5, before the foundation of the world may seem to favor supra Lapsarian in that election precedes the fall. Bavinck resolved this by distinguishes logical and temporal order. The phrase does not imply the election logically proceeds the fall, but that all God’s decrees are eternal.
Infra Lapsarian orders the decrees logically ; God’s decree to create, permit the fall, and then elect some to election salvation in Eph 1:4-5 affirm that eternity of this plan, not its sequence.
Critique supra Lapsarian for potentially making the fall and necessary means to display God’s glory, which would imply God authored sin. Infra Lapsarian in his view, better preserved God’s justice, and mercy by seeing election as a response to the fall, not its cause.
I think this whole thing is brilliant. It really helped me– praise be to God.
Covenant theology is a very significant class that I took in the global class by remote taught by Dr Ligon Duncan. To say that it is a central theme of reformed theology is an understatement because it really encompasses the relational outworking of the divine sovereign almighty God with his creation human beings, whom He loved even before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:3–5 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
I mean even that sentence itself, requires a covenantal and definitely the sovereign God way of thinking to even grasp that. It really is a way God relates to his chosen ones through a covenant whereby he expressed it well most well during his encounter with Abraham in genesis 15. In genesis 15 God asked Abraham to cut some animals into carcasses and spread it on the floor and how he’s going to establish a covenant with Abraham:
Genesis 15:7–21 (ESV)
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
The powerful thing about this passage how God revealed himself to Abraham when Abraham asked innocent naive question that, ” How I know that I will possess the land and have thousands of children when I am childless.” And instead of answering him directly God did the following.
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
God told Abraham to bring a heifer and a female goat and a ram a total dove and a young pigeon and cut them in half and lay on the ground and when the sun had gone down it was dark as smoking fire pot, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. Do you know what is this flaming torch? The answer is God himself passed between these pieces of Caucasus on the ground. The question is what does it mean? In the olden days at those time it is the culture and custom of that time the vassal and the suzer in making a covenant of promise, the lesser party in this case is Abraham should pass between the carcasses meaning to say that if he breaks the covenant, he will be torn apart like the animals’ carcasses on the ground. However in this covenant making ceremony, God actually put himself in the lesser party of vassal and passed between the Caucasus in the form of a flaming torch.
What God is saying is I will pass between the carcasses and if I break the covenant I would be torn like the carcasses. In fact this is a prophetic picture that’s going to be fulfilled by the son of God Jesus Christ when he was torn apart on the cross and died because humans broke the covenant with God, or the children of Abraham broke the covenant with God. And instead of Abraham being torn apart all the children of Abraham, which is us today, God sent his son to fill in the position as a Lamb of God being sacrificed. This is precisely what happened when God passed between the carcasses in the field in the form of a flaming torch because he is prophetically saying one day God will be torn as a God man to fulfill this covenant that I’m making with Abraham and his children.
To me this is one of the most moving pictures of who God is and what God has done for us through the Abrahamic covenant. I would never forget this story and this biblical exegesis by Dr Duncan on this event that I have used it numerous times in my preaching, and it has impacted my life, and this is part of a covenant theology class.
It is in this class that I discovered the magnificence of revelation and insightful theology by our forerunners and forefathers like Augustine and in particular who wrote confessions and the city of God in the most stunning amazing way. I find guys like Augustine’s writings, though hard to read and follow, has passion is sort of oozing out of the pages of his book like confessions which is downright beyond being vulnerable, but really being absolutely crystally transparent before God and his audience. Indeed his, I mean Augustine’s passion for the righteousness of God and who God is it’s simply breathtaking in his search for God to overcome his licentiousness and his lust of women, the language of which is nothing short of New York Times or the latest novels love story.
Augustine’s Confessions and City of God indeed showcase his raw transparency and yearning for God. His struggle with lust and licentiousness, as you noted, is expressed with a vividness that resonates even today—his language often feels like a modern love story, yet it’s directed toward divine righteousness. Augustine’s theology also significantly shaped Trinitarian thought. He emphasized the unity of the three persons in one substance (ousia), using analogies like memory, understanding, and will to illustrate how distinct faculties can exist within a single human mind, reflecting the distinct persons in one Godhead. His passion for God’s righteousness, as you pointed out, drives his exploration of the Trinity as a mystery of relational unity, not division. (AI Grok)
But the most important discovery in the systematic theology two or three I believe, is the Trinitarian God which is really fascinating, and I believe is one of the mysticisms of God apart from incarnation of God to become God men. In Christianity God consists of three persons, equal in substance. Westminster’s catechism writes 3 persons in the one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are one God, the same in substance and equal in power and glory. I’ve always struggled with how Jesus while on earth as a man cried out to God the Father that saying stuff like I can do nothing apart from what my Father told me. It is that kind of statements that really befuddled me and confused me in the concept of doctrine of the trinitarian God which is supposed to be equal in power and glory and same in substance. And it took me a long while to chew over this and I decided to write a paper on it which I did very well and thanks to Dr Mike Allen and I appreciate how much I’ve learned in this such an important subject. One of the biggest statements in this context is what Paul says that everything in heaven on earth shall be:
1 Corinthians 15:26–28 (ESV)
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
You see how confusing it is in verse 28 when all things are subjected to Christ, then the son himself will also be subjected to God who put all things in subjection under Christ that God may be All in all. This clearly says Christ the son of God is subordinate to God the Father. But that is spoken of the Incarnate son on earth not the divine God Jesus Christ the second person of the trinitarian God. I just cracked this in one paragraph for those of you who have been searching for an answer there it is you can thank me later. This I got from Dr Allen.
Grok AI review:
Your reflection on the Trinitarian God and the insights from your Systematic Theology class are deeply engaging! You’ve highlighted the beauty of Augustine’s passionate writings and the complexity of the Trinity, particularly in understanding the relationship between the Father and the Son, as seen in passages like 1 Corinthians 15:26–28. Let’s break this down systematically, focusing on the theological nuances you’ve raised, especially the tension of subordination and equality within the Trinity.
The Doctrine of the Trinity: Equal in Substance, Distinct in Role
The Westminster Catechism summarizes the orthodox Christian understanding of the Trinity: “three persons in one God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—same in substance, equal in power and glory.” This means that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three gods but one God, sharing the same divine essence (homoousios, as defined at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE). However, they are distinct in their persons and roles within the Godhead, a concept often referred to as the economic Trinity (how the Trinity operates in relation to creation and salvation).
The tension you’ve identified—Jesus’ statements like “I can do nothing apart from what my Father told me” (John 5:19, 30)—arises from this distinction between the ontological Trinity (the Trinity in its eternal being) and the economic Trinity (the Trinity in its roles in history and salvation). Ontologically, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal, sharing the same divine nature. Economically, however, there is a functional subordination in how they relate to the world, particularly in the context of the Incarnation.
The Incarnation and Functional Subordination
Your breakthrough, inspired by Dr. Mike Allen, is spot-on: the subordination language in Scripture (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:28) refers to the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ in His human nature, not the eternal Son in His divine nature. When Jesus says He can do nothing apart from the Father, or when Paul writes that the Son will be subjected to the Father, this reflects the Son’s role in the economy of salvation, not a diminishment of His divine equality.
Incarnation Context: In becoming human, the Son voluntarily took on a role of submission to the Father’s will (Philippians 2:6–8). This is often called the kenosis (self-emptying), where the Son, while remaining fully divine, set aside the independent exercise of certain divine prerogatives to live as a human, fully dependent on the Father and the Spirit. So, when Jesus prays or submits, He does so as the God-man, modeling perfect human obedience.
1 Corinthians 15:26–28 Explained: Paul’s statement about the Son being “subjected” to the Father “that God may be all in all” points to the culmination of Christ’s redemptive work. Once Christ, as the Incarnate Son, defeats all enemies (including death) and subjects all things under His feet, He hands the kingdom back to the Father—not because He is lesser, but to fulfill the economic order of salvation. This act underscores the unity of purpose within the Trinity: the Father sends the Son, the Son accomplishes redemption, and the Spirit applies it, all so that God (the Triune God) may be glorified as “all in all.” The “subjection” here is not ontological inferiority but a relational dynamic within the redemptive plan.
Resolving the Tension
The key to resolving the confusion is recognizing the two natures of Christ (fully divine, fully human) and the distinction between the Trinity’s eternal being and its roles in salvation history. The eternal Son is equal to the Father in power and glory, but the Incarnate Son, during His earthly mission, operates in a role of submission to accomplish redemption. This doesn’t negate His divinity; rather, it highlights the humility and love within the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Spirit work in perfect harmony, each person fulfilling a role without compromising their shared essence.
The Mysticism of the Trinity
You mentioned the Trinity as one of the “mysticisms” of God, alongside the Incarnation, and I agree—it’s a profound mystery that invites awe. The Trinity reveals a God who is inherently relational: the Father, Son, and Spirit exist in an eternal communion of love, and humanity is invited into that relationship through Christ. The dove at Jesus’ baptism (as depicted in the images you referenced) symbolizes the Spirit’s presence, affirming the Trinitarian reality: the Father speaks, the Son is baptized, and the Spirit descends (Matthew 3:16–17). It’s a beautiful glimpse of the Triune God at work.
Conclusion
Your paper likely did well because you grasped this critical distinction between the Son’s incarnational role and His eternal divinity, a concept that has puzzled theologians for centuries. Augustine, the Westminster divines, and modern theologians like Dr. Mike Allen all point us to the same truth: the Trinity is a mystery of unity and distinction, equality and relationship, that reflects the very heart of God’s nature. Thanks for sharing your journey—I’m glad I could help unpack it further!
Ephesians 1:3–5 (ESV)3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
I mean even that sentence itself, requires a covenantal and definitely the sovereign God way of thinking to even grasp that. It really is a way God relates to his chosen ones through a covenant whereby he expressed it well most well during his encounter with Abraham in genesis 15. In genesis 15 God asked Abraham to cut some animals into carcasses and spread it on the floor and how he’s going to establish a covenant with Abraham:
Genesis 15:7–21 (ESV)7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
The powerful thing about this passage how God revealed himself to Abraham when Abraham Boston innocent naive question that how I know that I will possess the land and have thousands of children. And instead of answering him directly God did the following.
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
God told Abraham to bring a heifer and a female goat and a ram a total dove and a young pigeon and cut them in half and lay on the ground and when the sun had gone down it was dark as smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. Do you know what is this flaming torch? The answer is God himself passed between this pieces of Caucasus on the ground. The question is what does it mean?
In the olden days at those time it is the culture and accused them of that time the vassal and the succer in making a covenant of promise, the lesser party in this case is Abraham should pass between the carcases meaning to say that if he breaks the covenant he will be torn apart like the animals carcasses on the ground. However in this covenant making ceremony, God actually put himself in the lesser party of soccer and passed between the Caucasus in the form of a flaming torch.
What God is saying is I will pass between the carcasses and if I break the covenant I would be torn like the carcasses. In fact this is a prophetic picture that’s going to be fulfilled by the son of God Jesus Christ when he was torn apart on the cross and died because humans broke the covenant with God or the children of Abraham broke the covenant with God.
And instead of Abraham being torn apart all the children of Abraham which is us today, God sent his son to fill in the position as a Lamb of God being sacrificed. This is precisely what happened when God passed between the carcasses in the field in the form of a flaming torch because he is prophetically saying one day I will be torn as a God man to fulfill this covenant that I’m making with Abraham and his children.
To me this is one of the most moving picture of who God is and what God has done for us through the Abrahamic covenant. I would never forget this story and this biblical exegesis by doctor Duncan on this event that I have used it numerous times in my preaching and it has impacted my life, and this is part of a covenant theology class.
I will be graduating this May 2025 in RTS Orlando with MDiv, a fruit of the long 7 years labor and journey, and I like to inspire more to join seminaries in the reformed teachings.
Why I joined Seminary and God’s huge blessings thru it
I embarked on an incredible journey of my life in New York City on 2018 with great excitement and thankfulness and gratefulness in my heart for MABS (master’s in biblical studies) in RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) NYC that was started and brought in by Dr Tim Keller, probably the most influential and well-known pastor in Manhattan or New York City. I transitioned and upgraded myself to MDiv (Master Divinity) in 2022 in hybrid MDiv in RTS Orlando.
I had been sort of in a wilderness for few years after a failed church plant in Manhattan and what helped me tremendously over that period of time is listening to Tim Keller’s wonderful expository sermons. And the more I listened to him, the more I came to realize that I needed to have something that he has which I don’t have, and that is the theological knowledge and biblical knowledge he has and the philosophical knowledge too. I realized planting and pastoring a church in Manhattan is a different ball game from where we planted and pastored churches in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching before in Malaysia which were very successful. This is always something lingering in my mind what is that is lacking in my understanding of theology and to say the least I came from a charismatic church planting movement background with the biblical church vision preaching expository sermons, although short of reformed theology by Tim Keller’s preaching and now definitely in RTS, I did not come from a fly by night or charismatic excess kind of church background, but rather one that is fiercely discipleship making movement. So the question is why hasn’t it worked? But the bigger thing that attracted me in Keller’s sermons is the bigness of the God he preached in, the sovereignty and the grace manifested through the cross of Jesus that I have never really known to that level before. I am so drawn to the grace as a centrality theme in his sermons and now in RTS. And he used extensively philosophies from well-known philosophers from Plato to Nietzsche, Foucault and of course to local writers and thinkers like New York Times and Atlantic journal etcetera which is impressive.
I have no idea a lot of this great insightful theological ideas like Augustinians thoughts and John Calvin’s writings etcetera have largely been covered for decades in the reformed seminary classes and books. And that I found out in my time in RTS. I rejoice that I have access into this bountiful resource of transformative knowledge that defines our existential living. I love to engage in the God who created the universe and poured out his love towards us on the cross, demonstrating the transcendent and immanent God, something that’s truly tantalizing and really attractive and compelling. I never forget the line by John Calvin the says, “If you don’t know who God is, you will never know who you are”, really captured my imagination and really flow in line with my DNA.
MDiv (Master of Divinity) in RTS
MDiv degree in RTS consists of 106 credit hours, one of the highest in the land , second only to Westminster theological seminary which requires 111 credit hours. Southern Baptist theological seminaries MDiv requires 84 credit hours which is also a renowned reformed theological seminary. So to embark on this degree journey in RTS in reformed theology, its not for the faint hearted and definitely if you are bi-vocation in the sense you are not full-time student in the campus like me working full time in my job and that’s why it took me 7 years and that includes literally every night studying and reading and a whole chunk of my weekends too. I have joked and spoken in jest that I haven’t watched a full movie for seven years while my wife has watched a lot.
I transitioned from MA biblical studies (66 credit hours) from RTS New York City to Orlando hybrid MDiv (106 credit hours) which is a really good thing in my opinion in my experience. The breadth and the depth of theology in the core subjects like systematic theology ,biblical theology ,church history ,Hebrew and Greek languages, apologetics, Christology soteriology ecclesiology etcetera are all amply covered in the core subjects. Moving on from there is the applied theology, as opposed to practical theology, which is commonly misunderstood and misused, which is more practical and usable for education and pastoral ministry. However the philosophy classes and the social ethics classes are equally if not more formidable and intense.
As you can see, I jumped from 66 to 106 crazy hours a whopping 40 credit hours jump and it is quite a sacrifice because financially I had to fly like four or five times to Orlando from New York City and pay for rental ABnB and food and car rental etcetera. But not only that I had to take 5 weeks of vacations over three years for the intense hybrid one week 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM lectures and classes each of the weeks.
My Quest for Theological Knowledge & Training
It is indeed an incredible journey 7 years ago which started in 2018 when I heard that Tim Keller is bringing in the well-known reformed Theological Seminary to New York city. and I’ve been searching for Theological Seminary to develop my knowledge and Theology and be thoroughly trained for Ministry having been a pastor for the past10 years or so. So you know I even took up some classes with Gordon Cornwall Seminary having heard Tim Keller graduated from it. You know if anything that Tim recommends, a lot of pastors & Christian leaders would jump into it including myself. So when I heard he’s bringing a top-notch Theological Seminary to New York City, I dropped everything, I immediately applied for it. and that is Reformed Theological Seminary.
Having been a pastor for 10 years or so in a charismatic evangelical church planting movement kind of church around the world and having planted a church in Manhattan City that struggled to keep alive after a couple of years, I felt so much comfort and strengthening and encouragement by listening to the excellent preaching of Tim Keller and at that time we had to pay a dollar for each download of his podcast sermon. and you know these days every sermon of Tim Keller’s free in Gospel in Life. I drew much strength and comfort and insight from the reform theology preached by him and really it drew near me nearer to God. And those were the days I I’ve been encouraged and consoled by the presence of God through his preaching and I longed for some kind of theological training and always marveled at the philosophical insight that he brought into his sermons and the clear biblical theological exegesis of his sermon.
Tim & Kathy Keller Invited us for a Meal for 3rd Cohort Students
It is quite a privilege itself really to be invited to have a meal in Tim & Kathy Keller’s apartment in Manhattan for a meal. It is a great evening when some 15 students gathered together in his apartment and chatted with him in a much more relaxed casual and intimate fashion and Kathy was happy to show us the CS Lewis letters she received and also she wrote to him and also the the photos of her with Tim as well. What impresses me the most is the stacks of books and in his apartment all organized neatly and with indexes and it’s a privilege just to stand in front of the almost feeling like Oxford library. LOL
Tim also taught us in the Christianity in the secular age class in which he taught with Dr Hunter. Tim is truly a master class in understanding the culture in the book he writes for example Center church and also vision to the city book truly demonstrates his vast knowledge and understanding and appreciation of the culture especially in the New York City. He’s a big advocate for people to move into New York City to start churches and that’s why he started this City to City Redeemer movement around the world. It is truly an honor to sit in his class while it was still alive and he is greatly missed. My wife and I still listen to his Gospel in life podcast every week every now and then. He truly is a gem to the body of Christ. He’s not only tremendously knowledgeable on the word of God and very insightful but his spirit is gentleness and full of grace and the overall theme of his preaching is really the word grace although he calls it the gospel centered approach.
My first Class- Greek by Dr Paul Jeon
So in 2018 I started my first class in RTS New York City. As I walked in my first class by Redeemer downtown or midtown office where RTS rents I suppose. I walked into a small class of some 20 plus students and we were all waiting for the professor. And suddenly that professor’s face appeared on the TV screen right in front of us teaching us Greek and that is Dr Paul Jeon. I have never sat through a class where you actually listen and watch the lecture on the TV in front of you or screen and I was pretty astonished. I still remember the one of the classmates asked is that our professor? Wow he looks so young, LOL.
Greek drove me into an entire range of my memory bank challenge to memorize Greek words meaning and they are difficult because there are so many tense categorization combination etcetera and I found Greek which is ancient Greek to begin with very challenging. But in fact I did pretty well and in Greek I and II by sheer memory hard work. I remember that I was walking on the street in Manhattan trying to memorize and making use the last minute before taking the exam walking on the streets of New York City Manhattan going to RTS, and I was holding my phone trying to memorize looking at this Greek words etcetera and this one guy said what were you going. LOL. There’s one time I remember I was studying so hard that I got out of my house and rushed to school RTS Manhattan for class only to find out that I was wearing different colors of socks. What is most difficult is the Greek exegesis class which I didn’t do too well but I found that in preparing for sermons etcetera Greek words really play a vital part and thank God we have this logos software these days and pretty much we could just dive in and pile of this Greek words and sentences within minutes.
Intro to Pastoral & Reformed Theology by Dr Tim Keller & Dr Ligon Duncan
I remember the early days one of my favorite classes is the introduction to reformed theology and pastoral ministry taught by Dr Ligon Duncan and also Dr Tim Keller himself. This tool made such a good combo and team, Keller is so pastoral and insightful in his teaching he actually putting out a lot of notes and always insightful & philosophical. And Dr Ligon Duncan dived into the reformed theology which is really his excellence ability and I really enjoyed the class and I gotta say the that was really a really excellent introduction to reform theology which left a big impact in my life. Till today I want to champion reformed theology and wherever I go in whatever ministry available for me. I found the bigness of God and the greatness of the sovereignty of God as taught and written by John Calvin, Augustine etcetera most fascinating and God glorifying and God and it’s just simply taking the focus from humans to God. To read about Augustine’s confessions book which I did in my class in Orlando, I was shaken up just to see the struggles that Augustine went through and the longing deeply authentic and sincere to find God. I thought this is so inspiring I would never forget Saint Augustine.
I have long desired to publish books to bridge the gap between the charismatic evangelicals and the reformed theology and after being strong conviction of reform theology teaching I’m convinced that God wants me to bridge the two and therefore the first book I will publish is the congruent power of the spirit and reformed theology.
Systematic Theology—Trinitarian God—by Dr Mike Allen
It is in this class that I discovered the magnificence of revelation and insightful theology by our forerunners and forefathers like Augustine and in particular who wrote confessions and the city of God in the most stunning amazing way. I find guys like Augustine’s writings, though hard to read and follow, has passion is sort of oozing out of the pages of his book like confessions which is downright beyond being vulnerable, but really being absolutely crystally transparent before God and his audience. Indeed his, I mean Augustine’s passion for the righteousness of God and who God is it’s simply breathtaking in his search for God to overcome his licentiousness and his lust of women, the language of which is nothing short of New York Times or the latest novels love story.
But the most important discovery in the systematic theology two or three I believe, is the Trinitarian God which is really fascinating, and I believe is one of the mysticisms of God apart from incarnation of God to become God men. In Christianity God consists of three persons, equal in substance. Westminster’s catechism writes 3 persons in the one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are one God, the same in substance and equal in power and glory. I’ve always struggled with how Jesus while on earth as a man cried out to God the Father that saying stuff like I can do nothing apart from what my Father told me. It is that kind of statements that really befuddled me and confused me in the concept of doctrine of the trinitarian God which is supposed to be equal in power and glory and same in substance. And it took me a long while to chew over this and I decided to write a paper on it which I did very well and thanks to Dr Mike Allen and I appreciate how much I’ve learned in this such an important subject. One of the biggest statements in this context is what Paul says that everything in heaven on earth shall be:
1 Corinthians 15:26–28 (ESV)
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
You see how confusing it is in verse 28 when all things are subjected to Christ, then the son himself will also be subjected to God who put all things in subjection under Christ that God may be All in all. This clearly says Christ the son of God is subordinate to God the Father. But that is spoken of the Incarnate son on earth not the divine God Jesus Christ the second person of the trinitarian God. I just cracked this in one paragraph for those of you who have been searching for an answer there it is you can thank me later. This I got from Dr Allen.
Upgrading myself from MA Biblical Studies to MDiv Master Divinity
Towards the end of my third day or so I’m about to finish my 56 credit hours master of art biblical studies in RTS New York City, I felt really burdened and desiring to extend that to a master of divinity but alas RTS New York City doesn’t offer that, and I out of my own initiative and I felt God enabled me, I started to look for a way to finish my MDiv RTS. After a while and some research, I found that the RTS Orlando actually offered in a hybrid fashion of MDiv master divinity and I quickly checked in with them and finally I got it started. I was required to fly to Orlando for a week each time twice a year to do the hybrid classes. Essentially we are talking about extending from 66 credit hours in MABS to a whopping 106 credit hours in MDiv almost doubled. And also it will also mean spending a lot more money air ticket, AbnB, food, etcetera car rental, it is definitely a huge burden and time. Basically you are doubling the amount of time for me to do MDiv compared to MA.
Thankful to Dr Mike Allen who explained and helped and encouraged me to get into the MDiv hybrid program. Its no easy task for me as the first student to transitioned from MABS to MDiv from NYC to Orlando. There are a number of obstacles and bureaucracies to say the least I had to overcome. I am proud to be the first one from NYC to graduate with MDiv in RTS program, and I have introduced and brought in a second student Winston Tze on the MDiv as well. Dr Allen has also been able to help me about the pathway to do a PhD in systematic & historical theology, of which I ma interested.
Pauline Epistles by Dr Zach Cole
Seriously Dr Zach Cole lectured the class almost like preaching, and a fine engaging fashion, and he is a fiery preacher. If he had given an altar call at the end of the lecture calling for any responses for the call of God as God called Paul, I would respond definitely, the mood was there, the atmosphere was ripe, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was there, using my charismatic language, and background.
And also because the content of Pauline epistles depicts a guy who was so zealous for God and so insightful for God it is not surprising at all the material in itself is so captivating and transformative. And Dr Cole he captured succinctly and presented it and argued over it and exhorted us to follow to embrace the theology of Paul’s. It was really an excellent class and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were a couple of times, in this huge class, like 100 students, with me seated pretty much to the back, I raised a few questions, I never forget that a couple of times, I asked some really good questions with my hand raised, and Dr Cole responded accordingly, I could see students in the front rows turned back and looked at me. And later in the bathroom, one student asked me “Al, how did you come up with all the good questions?” I loved that. I seriously engaged in the deep thought process of the lecture, and I chewed over it, and I needed to ask some passionate questions, and I needed to get answers, and it was good.
Poetry by Dr Mark Futato
This is probably one of the most enjoyable and engaging class because doctor furtado is very proficient in Hebrew language and the way he analyzed psalms and song of songs it’s really taking us to another level but above all he is a good preacher and the funny one too. Not only that he’s very personable relating his own life stories and I’m telling you he’s got the class on the feet because it is entertaining funny and intellectually stimulating too kind of hard to combo all this together. His personal pastoral experience and life struggles were shared on display and his love and passion for music and songs it all came through really well and to illustrate the point the students even composed a Spotify list of songs that he loved and quoted. There’s really not a single moment of dull moment in his class and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
He tended to ask us questions about the direction he’s going and we all were very eager to answer him and hoping to get the right answer. There’s one time he described a situation and then he answers what do you call that? And that I answered hyperbole and he said exactly right. Many heads turned around looked at me I was very pleased.
Covenant Theology by Dr Ligon Duncan
Covenant theology is a very significant class that I took in the global class by remote taught by Dr Ligon Duncan. To say that it is a central theme of reformed theology is an understatement because it really encompasses the relational outworking of the divine sovereign almighty God with his creation human beings, whom He loved even before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:3–5 (ESV)3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
I mean even that sentence itself, requires a covenantal and definitely the sovereign God way of thinking to even grasp that. It really is a way God relates to his chosen ones through a covenant whereby he expressed it well most well during his encounter with Abraham in genesis 15. In genesis 15 God asked Abraham to cut some animals into carcasses and spread it on the floor and how he’s going to establish a covenant with Abraham:
Genesis 15:7–21 (ESV)7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
The powerful thing about this passage how God revealed himself to Abraham when Abraham Boston innocent naive question that how I know that I will possess the land and have thousands of children. And instead of answering him directly God did the following.
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
God told Abraham to bring a heifer and a female goat and a ram a total dove and a young pigeon and cut them in half and lay on the ground and when the sun had gone down it was dark as smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. Do you know what is this flaming torch? The answer is God himself passed between this pieces of Caucasus on the ground. The question is what does it mean? In the olden days at those time it is the culture and accused them of that time the vassal and the successor in making a covenant of promise, the lesser party in this case is Abraham should pass between the carcases meaning to say that if he breaks the covenant he will be torn apart like the animals carcasses on the ground. However in this covenant making ceremony, God actually put himself in the lesser party of soccer and passed between the Caucasus in the form of a flaming torch. What God is saying is I will pass between the carcasses and if I break the covenant I would be torn like the carcasses. In fact this is a prophetic picture that’s going to be fulfilled by the son of God Jesus Christ when he was torn apart on the cross and died because humans broke the covenant with God or the children of Abraham broke the covenant with God. And instead of Abraham being torn apart all the children of Abraham which is us today, God sent his son to fill in the position as a Lamb of God being sacrificed. This is precisely what happened when God passed between the carcasses in the field in the form of a flaming torch because he is prophetically saying one day I will be torn as a God man to fulfill this covenant that I’m making with Abraham and his children.
To me this is one of the most moving picture of who God is and what God has done for us through the Abrahamic covenant. I would never forget this story and this biblical exegesis by doctor Duncan on this event that I have used it numerous times in my preaching and it has impacted my life, and this is part of a covenant theology class.
Christian Thought & Philosophy by Dr James Anderson
This is really my first time studying philosophy in a Christian seminary context. I’ve always been used to systematic theology, biblical theology but it is really interesting to be able to intersect that with philosophy. This class covered the Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and I think the most influential is Plato who influenced people well known theologians like Aquinas and to a little extent even Augustine. I come to appreciate that Greek philosophy has capitalized some kind of abstract conceptual almost divine being that is being the master of all kind of things and thoughts, the initiator of them all. They move so close to who God is conception is but just can’t get there, and hence it is very sad. This truly speaks of the vanity and frustration of the worldly wisdom and forces in this world to try to mimic God or try to reach the ultimate transcendent. In vain their attempt by some of the greatest worlds philosophers known like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle. They all have come to some kind of conceptualization like the ruler of all rules kind of thing but have just fallen short of it. The biggest problem is that their supreme conceptual idea it’s only an idea but not a being and hence cannot communicate, they cannot love, and interact with humans as the God in Christianity. I think that kind of situation will bring civilization to annihilation simply because it cannot land but it floats in the thin air forever. Therefore it becomes a breeding ground to some of the great influencing philosophers of the modern age like Nietzsche, like a lot of French and other philosophers in trying to deny God but come up with a substitute which is totally devastating and self-defeating. Their philosophies unfortunately have influenced a lot of our schoolbooks and colleges and writings for example Karl Marx thought about communism and a host of others. All these philosophies are conceptual pit problem because of denying and running away from the almighty God who is well perceived and known by the world as in Romans 1
Romans 1:18–21 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Did you see the unleashing of the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men it’s God’s judgment upon all the philosophical work so they’re trying to detract or distract human beings from knowing and following the only God the creator of the world? As a matter of fact the wrath of God specifically against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and that is a direct product of any philosophies centering on anything outside of Christ and that is defined as godlessness. Godlessness is commonly understood as doing things that are very ungodly and that is the result of not focusing on the only one true God Jesus Christ and God the Father. And not only that these people not only practice ungodliness, but they actually suppress the truth about Christ as well as exactly what these philosophers are doing like Plato, French Foucault and all these guys.
You can see how the intersection of Christianity’s biblical and systematic theology comes in really powerful together with the worldly and ungodly philosophies of the world. If you don’t have enough grounding on the philosophy like in this class, you won’t know exactly how to engage them by knowing their strengths and weaknesses and how to portray Christ and the gospel as the answer to human brokenness.
Worship by Dr Ligon Duncan
I did a two-credit hour class by remote taught by Dr Ligon Duncan, a wonderful professor/pastor/theologian, insightful and with lots of pastoral experience, and a true reformed pastor theologian. There are a couple of things I can highlight first is what is it’s called the regulative worship which is based on Exodus chapter 2:
Exodus 20:4–5 (NIV)
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Now if you are like me for my background which is charismatic and not Presbyterian or reformed, looking at this versus which is the second commandment, God said “you shall not make an image of anything in heaven above or earth below and you shall not bow down to them to worship.” Now how do you take that? Do you take that what God is saying here is you shall not make an idol and bow down to the idol because there’s only one God which is our God, right? But that’s not how Westminster’s catechism looking at it. It means you shall not worship the Lord your God in an image of anything on earth or waters below. In other words the Presbyterian interpretation and the Westminster catechisms interpretation is that you make an image and that image is really God himself and which you are not allowed to do. It’s not like you worship another God but you actually worship the right God but in the wrong way using the imagery. So it is very different from the common evangelical backgrounds understanding. The common understanding of evangelical background and charismatic is that that image is an idol, but for Westminster catechism and Presbyterian Reformed Church that idol at that image is actually God himself in the context of the warning by God to Israel.
In other words it’s about how you worship not just who you worship that is captured in the second commandment in Exodus 20 verse 4 to 5. Case in point Israel bowed down to the golden calf under the leadership of Aaron when God was not around for 40 days talking to Moses and they got impatient. So based on this interpretation essentially the people of Israel actually worshipped God but in the form of golden cow which is ludicrous to me and a lot of people. However I’ll leave that for now as Westminster catechism has a lot of smart people and theologians.
So this is how the whole concept of regulative worship comes about whereby the way you worship God must be based upon the word of God which is the revelation of who God is by himself. And that is called being regulated or regulative worship.
I do appreciate the intensity of the richness of the revelation of the word of God and exegetically and systematically and this has really captured my heart. And I do think the regulative worship basically pulled from hymns that consist of psalms essentially which is a really good thing however I will not rule out on the charismatic, the shape of a more contemporary expressive heart emotion heart field worship songs as well .
Gift of the Spirit in Worship Class—by Dr Ligon Duncan
1 Corinthians 14:29–33 (ESV)
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
The gift of the spirit is very prominent subject in the Kingdom of God as Christ has given us this gift to fulfill the Great Commission to spread the gospel and to edify the Saints. In the reformed world there’s quite a bit of teaching about the cessation of the gifting unfortunately but here in the worship class by doctor Duncan he expounded on 1st Corinthian 14 clearly regarding orderly worship the fact that if you got a prophecy wait for your turn so that it will be orderly. I totally appreciate this statement being dead this CEO of RTS of reform theology systematic theology and the chancellor endorses the continuation of gifts in that sense of the prophecy and it must be done properly and orderly. The problem is just today it is so orderly that it simply doesn’t exist and which is a shame.
What we need is orderly expression of the prophetic gifting as Paul said:
1 Corinthians 14:1–5 (ESV) Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
Posts a clearly and instructed that we should pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gift, especially the gift of prophecy. Whatever happened to the gift of prophecy as Paul exhorted us in first Corinthian 14 in our churches today, I have no idea. Speaking in tongues is very controversial: but Paul said:
1 Corinthians 14:39–40 (ESV) 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
Paul clearly instructed and exhorted us not to forbid speaking tongues and guess what? Because it is so controversial and so mystical most churches come apart from Pentecostal and charismatic churches have stopped speaking in this mystical language of God.
I will be expounding this fully in another book but suffice to say that speaking in tongues is so controversial because people do not understand it properly. And prophecy should be encouraged in church because it’s edifies the whole church the church. The main prophetic voice will be in the preaching from the pulpit I agree. And there should be prophecy in the proper way just like first Corinthians chapter 14.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
Classics/Personal Devotion by Rev John Mueller
This is a one-hour credit hour class on personal devotion which I took in Orlando and the lecturer gave up a ton of books to read which is highly edifying books on like
Thomas brooks precious remedies against Satan’s devices
Calvin, Little book on the Christian life
Thomas Kempis, The imitation of Christ
Jonathan Edwards, Heaven, world of love
Vos, Heavenly mindedness
Augustine, the confessions
You can see that we were assigned top reformed books on meditation and truly they are transformative and some of them are not easy to read a hugely profitable. One thing that really has helped me and I appreciate much through this entire MD course is the introduction to all the fantastic books that i should be reading and reach out to.
Preaching Lab I, II, Com I, II by Rev Larry Kirk
These are practical exegetical classes on expositional sermons and learning how to communicate that and it is wonderful to have real life practice in class format and being graded accordingly by professor. I really enjoyed this class and uh to to see various students in the expositional preaching and putting my own up there is very satisfying the common feedback for my preaching is the sense my passion but there are times that they do not feel it’s a kind of well organized. I do appreciate the feedback from professor and the students alike and I could see that with different feedback and I think we preach like 3 or 4 times over two or three weeks period time and it’s been wonderful. Professor Larry Kirk has been most pastoral and a very experienced preacher and pastor has been most helpful and encouraging to me and the rest.
Christianity and ethics
I also enjoyed this class very much basically taking the 10 commandments and extrapolated to our society today it was clearly engaging our society by the 10 commandments. I love the article I wrote all the paper I wrote on the reasons for complementarianism which is a huge deal for reformed world. I was very happy about that paper and I learned a lot from it and I think it is an important to clarify this is very important position.
Christian witness or engagement with Islam
That was the last class I took, a 2 credit hours class. A really interesting and in-depth study on the religion of Islam and how much Quran has really taken a lot of stuff from especially the Old Testament of our Bible like Abraham offered up his son Isaac became Abraham offered up his son Ishmael which is really shocking. They also used essentially the gospel of Barnabas an apocrypha book and included that that into Quran which is another shocking thing. Suffice to say that it is very illuminating to see the struggles of humanity longing for a God that truly revealed himself to us it’s really something we should pursue and I believe gospel in Jesus Christ is a solution for the depravity and downfall of humanity and we need it.
Conclusion
I highlighted the specific classes I enjoyed much and something that I can talk about but there are others a lot more 106 credit hours in fact I did 107 actually, there are also very good and enjoyable but these are the highlights. I pray that this should be a personal encouragement to many who seek to serve the Lord in the ministry of preaching and pastoral work that a reformed theology in the form of MDiv is definitely something I wholeheartedly recommend. May God bless you.
Q7. What are the decrees of God? (Westminster catechism) The decrees of God are his eternal plan, based on the purpose of His will, by which, for his own glory, He has foreordained everything that happens.
So God has foreordained everything that happens in life? And Westminster catechism has taken it from verses like:
Ephesians 1:11(ESV)
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will
Westminster’s says God has foreordained everything that happens. That’s pretty shocking God foreordained everything that happens!! Then what happens to our free will then? So many questions swirl around our minds, and it is hard to reconcile, and I am sure this has to be nuanced properly. That’s a big theological question that many evangelical Christians esp charismatics and Pentecostals have not embraced, let alone teaching it and applying in life. Pretty much it’s the reformed world that’s applying it and teaching. I consider this as a rich theological doctrine, and its biblical, but to what extent, and that’s the question.
The verse that we need to look at is Eph 1:11-12. Paul writes that Our inheritance has been predestined according to the purpose of God who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Here Paul used the word God works all things according to his counsel and will.
He already decided beforehand. But why do we see so many sufferings in this world? Did God actually predetermine all these tragedies and sadness and sufferings? True mystery of God, a tough question to answer or address indeed. Westminster catechism says:
The decrees of God are his eternal plan, based on the purpose of His will, by which, for his own glory, He has foreordained everything that happens.
God has foreordained everything that happens for his own glory, and also based on the purpose of his will. That means whatever God foreordained, it’s based on the purpose of His will. But why did God pre-destine sufferings? Come to think of it, God did that eventually with His own Son, Jesus Christ as He had to fulfil the prophecy, and became the ultimate sacrifice as the ultimate lamb of God sacrificed on the cross to redeem the elect, the chosen ones. So if we ask God why? Then look at the cross, and ask God “Why?”
Its therefore unfathomable.
Ephesians 1:11(ESV)
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will
If you look at Joseph’s life, one cannot help asking the question “Why Lord?” Well, by reading Exodus, you will find that the path of suffering an injustice of Joseph turned up to be the path to his stardom in Egypt, as he was called by Pharoah to interpret dreams, which he did, and was consequently promoted right away to be the Prime Minister of Egypt. Such amazing story is truly from rags to riches. Did God foreordain this? Predestinated it? Sure He did.
The better question is really does God foreordained all in life as in Eph 1?? That’s a really hard doctrine to prove. But the reality is at the end of day, scriptures say so. But we find it hard to reconcile to real life!
This is a very important verse to consider in view of the question:
Ephesians 1:7–10 (ESV)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Our redemption is thru the blood of Christ, this we know, for the forgiveness of our trespasses, and that’s according to the riches of His grace which God lavished upon us, in all wisdom and foresight, making known to us the mystery of His will. You see its mystery!
But more than that! That grace and the God’s will and purpose is set forth in Christ as a plan, in the fulness of time, to unite all things in Him, all things in heaven and on earth. This is another universal language, on uniting all things in Christ. There is a master plan behind all these things happening in the cosmos, the God who created us all, has a master plan to unite us all in Christ! That’s part of that mysterious will of God progressively revealed , climaxed on the cross and Christ’s resurrection which catapulted to the biggest single event in the cosmos, called resurrection that happened on Easter which we celebrate yearly. That master plan is predestinated, foreordained well even before the foundation of the world. And it’s all for singular consuming purpose, and that’s to unite all things on earth and heaven to be in Christ. That certainly has to be a universal language.
Can we then apply this concept likewise for the ordaining all things as well? If all things are ordained with a singular purpose of God, then it will make sense, and it has to be in this context. Eph 1:11is really confutation of v10, and if put together they look like this:
Conclusion
Ephesians 1:11 (ESV) 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Ephesians 1:11 (NIV)
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
NIV is clear in this: In Christ we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of God who works everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. That means we have been predestined according to the propose of God’s will. The has to be predestination. Or else, it’s impossible for God to work everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
I would expound here : everything in conformity means the major consequential events in our life, not every little petty things in life.
[1] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature, 2000, 873.
Can we really do the works that Jesus did? And greater works than these will he do
The biggest problem with the perception of the supernatural and Christianity
The biggest problem with the perception of the supernatural and Christianity is that it ties heavily into the uneducated, poor countries of the third world, and it is out of fashion with the educated western first world. That mentality is precisely what blocks the flow of the supernatural I’m on the church or Christians. Also the I did that that has been grossly affected in an influence by the enlightenment period in the 1600s that essentially put science and logical thinking recently on the throne and replaced God as a supernatural. In fact, model philosophy in science essentially find ways and means to remove anything supernatural from the Bible and reject them, but embracing the moralistic teachings of Christ without the spirit of the supernatural. And that has in my opinion, largely hampered, the growth of the church, especially in the western world. I heard from Jon Tyson’s podcast, so interesting. He shared his crew leaving New York City to go to do missions in Latin America. He said that just before leaving for Latin America, they’ve done the same thing praying for the sick and nothing much happened at all. But when they arrived at Latin America and laying hands and praying for the sick, healing begin to happen. He’s spoken just that it’s almost like when you’re boarded the plane in LaGuardia or JFK, flight attendant announced, welcome and getting ready as we are embarking towards the destiny of the supernatural. Funny it may sound, but there’s a lot of truth in it.
The biggest need is to have a intellectual discourse and papers and books published regarding the simplicity in the validity of miracles from the ministry of Jesus. We talked about it. We argued against it, we argued for it, or worse just being silent about it, meaning apathy, but Jesus just did it.
Greek word “do” in John 14
John 14:12–14 (ESV)
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Do…. ποιέω (Hom.+)
of divine activity, specifically of God’s creative activity create (Hes., Op. 109; Heraclitus, Fgm. 30 κόσμον οὔτε τις θεῶν οὔτε ἀνθρώπων ἐποίησεν, ἀλλʼ ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ ἔσται;[1]
The Creative Power of God in Healing
When Jesus said whoever believes in me will do the works I’ve been doing, and they would do even greater things than this, because I’m going to the father, that word do means a divine activity called specifically of God’s creative activity. So in order to do the works of Jesus in this world like he promised here, we essentially are called and privileged enough to do the creation work of God and that makes sense because God has called us to work with him to renew all things on earth and that involves new creation. Matt 19: 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
For a man or woman to be transformed and be renewed in our heart of soul by the by the word of God and the Holy Spirit, that is a new creation. Rom 12 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Think in terms of the creation power of God
And that’s why Jesus called us to do healing, praying for the sick and cast out demons etc and that applies to this modern day as well, it means to be involved in the creative power of God and in that sense and only in that sense, we will do even greater than what Jesus has been doing from there overall perspective of the body of Christ the Church of Jesus. Helpful in order to see the works of the supernatural in our life in the 21st century in America in the big cities like New York City, we will need to think in terms of the creation power of God and that will wake us up to totally realize that it is a supernatural work of God my hip alone.
The Danger of throwing out the Supernatural because of some bad past historically
And along that line, to refute the supernatural works in our modern days it’s essentially refueling the creation activity of God through us. Do not think that God is not doing any more creation activity today because it is finished in Genesis chapter 2, or at the end of Acts, but the ongoing work as Romans 1 says, “be transformed by the renewing of our mind”, and that is the creative activity of God the Holy Spirit. And that’s why Jesus said, “unless you are born again you can enter the Kingdom of God,” (John 3:3)— that again is a new creation activity of God in the name of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. And therefore it would be foolish for us to abandon all this supernatural mindset, and just dwell in our comfort zone of intellectual zone because that will be denying the creative power of God in our modern times.
What we need is a totally new once intellectual understanding of the supernatural through biblical theology and systematic theology
So that we can do offer it to the body of Christ the supernatural in how Jesus did it and not how it’s been all squandered and mired up in the charismatic excess, sadly, that we have heard like the Toronto blessings for example and the rest. We must not let some bad apples destroy our pursuit on what Jesus said greater things you shall do. And indeed Paul himself also said do not stop speaking in tongues and eagerly desire to prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:38–40 (ESV)
38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
[1] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature, 2000, 839.
Page 255 on the book Islamic view of Jesus of the book cross and Crescent responding to the challenges of this Colin Chapman, he writes that the Muslim conviction as summarize by M.Ali Merritt.
The Muslim conviction is… “Strengthened by everything he reads in the Quran , namely, that God does not abandon his own: how then could he have abandoned Jesus, a being whom he produced, miraculously, by his Spirit, when he is singularly favored, conferring on him the remarkable power of giving life and raising from the dead? God cannot hand over to the fury of some executioners and being with a nature like Jesus. Islam refuses to accept the tragic image of the Passion. Not simply because he has no place for the dogma of the redemption, but because the passion imply that God had failed.Islam rejects the idea of the death of Christ. “ – M. Ali Merad- a Muslim scholar of Algerian origin
To say that how could God abandon Jesus, a man who produced miraculous, etc., based on the doctrine that God does not abandon his own is grossly misunderstanding the God of Christianity! The reality is, God did not abandon Jesus on the cross, but God put Jesus on the cross precisely for the redemption purpose to redeem man by sacrificing his own Son to save mankind.
John3:16 God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
They completely misunderstood the redemption of God in Christ Jesus that God “ abandoned Christ” on the cross, when God let the Pharisees and the Romans crucify his Son, so the his Son Jesus Christ becomes a redemption lamb of sacrifice for the whole world.
It’s a matter of fact, it is very interesting that Jesus actually called out “Aba Aba Why have you forsaken me?” on the last minute before he died on the cross and that is he felt forsaken by his Father he loved so much and whom loved him so much. But Jesus realized that that’s the only way to save the world, and he has already struggled before coming to the cross in the garden of Gethsemane that he sweated in blood in asking Father to take away this cup of suffering and death on the cross. But he asked the Father, “but your way will be done not mine”, that it’s a real breakthrough ; heavenly father sent in angels to strengthen Jesus at that time.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is really an exercise of wisdom in the normative priority, situational priority, and existential priority. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus criticized the teachers of the law and Pharisees as hypocrites, as they gave a tenth of the spices but they neglected the more important matters of the law call mark justice, mercy and faithfulness. So clearly there’s a different level of priority in the duties and the laws of God.
So choosing the lesser of the two evils is a very situational situation. For example Jesus said the Sabbath was made for men, not man for the sabbath so the son of man is the lord even of the sabbath in Mark 2:27-28. Situationally Jesus broke the sabbath to eat in the sight of the Jewish pharisees. And also in Acts 15:20, the Apostolic committee told the gentiles that they should abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the strangled animals and from blood which is not part of the law, but a situational priority.
Now we can apply the comparison contrast for “less than two evils” for example Nazis at the door knocking at the door, “would you hand over the innocent Jews?” You either lie or protect the Jews. It’s a matter of prioritizing seeking the greater good and the higher law. In the same situation in Exodus 1, Frame wrote about the Hebrew wives lied to Pharaoh in order to save Hebrew babies. And God praised the Hebrew midwives for saving the Hebrew babies, but if you look at it, the Hebrew midwives lied which is supposedly a sin. This clearly speaks of the lesser evil of the two, either to lie or kill the babies. Same case for Rahab who lied to the army of Jericho about the two Jewish spies that hid in her artic, because she feared God of Israel. It’s a common sense to know that killing babies is a far greater evil than to lie. If we extend that to the election we get to look at the casting our vote for example, for the lesser of two evils, and coincidentally, we are faced with policy of killing babies by abortion or looking at the character of another candidate some decades ago.
This is a well framed answer, but as a response, how do you ensure this approach is not susceptible to pragmatism or avoid the charge that it selects its ethics on the basis of each person’s situation?
Clearly there are different levels of sin, some sins are worse than the others. (Frame, Doctrines of Life, 225). Westminster larger catechism 151-52 tells us that some sins are worse than others. Jesus also said in Luke 10: 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Luke 12:47–48 (ESV)
47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Therefore we can legitimately argue for the lesser of the two evils and its completely found in scriptures, in fact, both from the Lord Jesus himself.
So this is clearly beyond just the situational perspective. Interestingly, the just concluded presidential election has torn Christianity apart in supporting them. I would argue we should vote for the lesser of the two evils. In terms of policy, one has only good and hardly any evil, and the other is literally overflowing with evils form abortion till 12th week, to transgenderism using tax dollars, and cheating using illegals to bolster their vote, of a level unseen or heard in any country that I know of.
Church must be built in the supernatural power of God. And I added ‘providence’ of God, that’s reformed redemptive theology, the ‘power’ of God is more Pentecostal or charismatic. Regardless, whatever tribe you are from, it’s time to see all that God has for us, and indeed church planting growth, evangelism, and personal walk with God, we have to see our lives, and the kingdom of God moving forward in the lens of spiritual warfare, though not all of it, but it has to be pretty much front and center. This is a tremendous faith uplifting passage in facing war of Israel:
Deuteronomy 20:1–4 (ESV)
20 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.2 And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4 for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
This is right after the amazing exodus of Israel out of Egypt, through the raging Red Sea, and they were now in the wilderness led by Joshua getting ready to conquer the new land, Jericho. And of course, this is one event, albeit huge climatic one after the Red Sea Miracle, of huge miracle as Jordan River was similarly cut off for 3 million Jews to walk across on dry land like Red Sea. Can we say that for our daily life today? Not exactly, but the principles of facing daily life warfare remain, which I will expound later. But most importantly, I want you to see the words, “.2 When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
Facing a larger enemy army than ours
2 When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
The first thing that hits me is that you see an army larger than your own. Frankly that’s how we feel many times, when we are facing an uphill task, a challenging life story, or trying to live close with the Lord in a very hostile society. Things do come up, and sometimes they do disappoint us, and at times we just feel exasperated looking at this mountain, this larger army. But this is precisely what God told us, when we go to war. This actually sets up the glorious opportunity for God to show forth his glory, as He said, “you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And God said it to give us heads up, its coming, and its larger than our ability. How far we have fallen in our weakness, our struggle thinking we can handle it, and how many times we have failed miserably and disappointed ourselves and others. All we need is God is with us. That’s all. That’s all we need to face however large an army facing us. No matter how strong and evil and powerful our enemy is, we have no fear, because the Lor dour God who brought us out of Egypt the the raging Red Sea, will do it again, and its nothing.
We are living in a spiritual warfare
2 “When you go out to war against your enemies”
It’s not if you go out to war, but rather it’s when you go out to war. For Israel that’s their specific mission to get into their promised land, Israel, but on the way, they are called by God to destroy and annihilate a bunch evil nations that have been bent on idolatry, evils, and godless like even child sacrifice. God uses their journey to destroy the evils. And seriously, on the way, it’s how God trained their hands for war (Psalm 144:1)[1], and emboldened their faith for the bigger work ahead of them. Nothing happens by accident, the fact that you go through some parts of life, that you find uncomfortable, don’t faint, because it’s precisely this moment, God is refining the crucible for purity and beauty.
Psalm 66 For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. 12 You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
The God that doesn’t show his supernatural power, is not the God that we read from the Bible. Old Testament is absolutely full of the miracles of God, and indeed the New testament are also full of the miracles and signs of God, especially through the Lord Jesus himself. Jesus raised the cripped, raised the dead, walked on water, opened the eyes of the blinds, cleansed the leper….and the list goes on.
The point I am making here is that Christians will live in a diminished worldview and hence experience of the supernatural, if our minds are bound to the traditional thinking of all signs and wonders have ceased, and so have the spiritual gifts. And what is happening is that we have thousands of millions of evangelical Christians walking in a subterrain of sub-supernatural, while we have a pocket of them walking in faith and proclaiming the power of God.
The point here is that we are now living to take the eland as Joshua generation were called by God to take the land. For them is the actual physical land, for us it’s to take and win souls that the Kingdom of God come on earth as its in heaven. Matt 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
No one thinks that God’s kingdom can come without a fight. As Jesus said: Matthew 11:12
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Warfare takes force, spiritual force, not a spiritual weakling. There are truly moments of strong force needed, which in our case, will be our prayers, evangelism, discipleship. Mainly warfare seems to be won on our prayers. That’s why I believe it’s good to pray 3 times a day, morning, noon, and evening. Muslims pray 5 times; Jews pray 3 times a day. Not to be sucked into legalism, but some structure helps us to focus. Jesus frequently withdrew to quiet places to pray especially in the morning. To move into the realm of supernatural, it will require a humbled soul, and soul that hungers and thirsts for the move of God. Paul prayed unceasingly for the churches. Paul is not only mighty in deeds, signs, supernatural, but primarily his prayers go deep. Jesus obviously prayed with loud cries of tears even to the Father, frequently, what a solace full type of life. Such dedication produces the powerful breed of the supernatural. Jesus in fact, fasted 30 days before tempted and tested by Satan, and then, only then, launched into the public ministry. If Jesus needed that, what more to say about us mortal feeble beings on earth following Christ?
To bring to our modernity, scriptures clearly say we are in a spiritual warfare, and we need to move in the supernatural. And that’s half of the book, the power of the Spirit, the charismatics gifts and the reformed teachings.
Ephesians 6: 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We should not go crazy in signs and wonders, admittedly, the apostolic signs and wonders and of course Jesus’s miracles, are not replicable in our days and age, although Jesus did say:
The Expectations and faith to move in the supernatural
John 14:12–14
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Burge commentary writes, “It is of utmost importance to note that the astonishing promise of 14:12 points to the future. Jesus must first go to the Father before the promise of remarkable works and realized prayer can come.” [2]
That means after Jesus been to the Father, we will see the promise of the remarkable and realized prayer come to pass.
Burge writes, “Note that the promise of 14:12 does not simply point to miracles. What Jesus has been doing includes deeds of humility, service, and love as well as miraculous signs. Jesus’ followers will do works that are “greater” even than these.” [3]
The “greater works” here not only means miracles, but also service, humility, love on top of miracles. This is a ‘wow’!
Burge writes, “This promise can hardly mean that the efforts of disciples will exceed those of Jesus, who, for instance, provided the stupendous miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. What is “greater” is that these works will be done by regular people in whom the power of Christ has taken up residence following his glorification. This is why the departure of Jesus is crucial, for only through that can the Holy Spirit become a reality to all who follow him (7:37–39).” [4]
These works will be done by regular people in whom the power of Christ has taken up residence following his glorification. How much and how depends on his calling and our seeking Him. The point is, it is there: we should seek him and ask. Matthew 7:7–8 (ESV) 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
John 7:37–39 (ESV)
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
[1] Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
[2] Burge, G. M. (2000). John (pp. 393–394). Zondervan Publishing House.
[3] Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 394). Zondervan Publishing House.
[4] Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 394). Zondervan Publishing House.
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