THE-1013 – EXPLORING CHRISTIAN HOLINESS
William Greathouse: Wholeness In Christ Chapters 1-4, located at the end of the Syllabus.
Lecture Notes Session 1
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 1
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%20Part%201.ppt
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 2
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%20Part%202.ppt
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 3
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%20Part%203.ppt
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 4
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%20Part%204.ppt
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 5
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%20Part%205.ppt
Power Point: Normative Christian Experience Part 5
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/view.aspx/Share/Normative%20Experience%206.ppt
Normative Spiritual Formation Chart 1
Normative Spiritual Formation Chart 2
Normative Spiritual Formation Chart 3
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/Spiritual%20Formation%20Map.psd
Stick Figures
Human Predicament
imago Dei http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/image%20Dei%20stick%20figure.jpg
dead in sin http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/dead%20in%20sin.jpg
atonement http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/atoning%20grace.jpg
Prevenient Grace
Awakening http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/awakened.jpg
Repentance http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/acts%20of%20repentance.jpg
Surrendering Faith http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/consecrating%20faith.jpg
Born Again http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/born%20again%202.jpg
Justifying Grace
Heart Condition http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/the%20heart%20.jpg
Childlike Faith http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/Child-like%20faith.jpg
Adolescent-Like Faith http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/adolescent%20like%20faith%201.jpg
Second Blessing
Awakening
Repentance http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/repentance%20of%20believer.jpg
Surrendering Faith http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/repentance%20of%20believer.jpg
Entirely Sanctified
Adult like Faith http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/adult%20like%20faith.jpg
Heart Condition http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/the%20heart%20pure.jpg
Lecture Notes Session 2 Holiness in the Old Testament
Lecture Notes Session 3 Toward a Theology of Holiness in the Old Testament
Lecture Notes Session 4 The Age of the Spirit
Lecture Notes Session 5 Paul's Theology of Sanctification
Lecture Notes Session 6 Toward a Doctrine of Entire Sanctification
Lecture Notes Session 7 Holiness According to Wesley
Lecture Notes Session 8 Wesley's Order of Salvation
Order of Salvation Through Relational Eyes:
Lecture Notes Session 9 The Sin that Remains
Lecture Notes Session 10 Personal Holiness and the Means of Grace
Lecture Notes Session 11 Issues With in the Church of the Nazarene
Eternal Destinations Chart
http://cid-d528b864db4cd58d.office.live.com/self.aspx/Share/eternal%20destinations%20chart.jpg
KEEP THIS DOCUMENT FOR YOUR STUDENT PORTFOLIO
Anaheim District Ministerial Training Center
SYLLABUS: THE-1043 – EXPLORING CHRISTIAN HOLINESS
PROFESSOR: Dr. Mike Boswith
COURSE THE-1043: 3 Semester Hours Credit
PHONE: Wk 714-847-3050 mboswith@hbcc.org
LOCATION: Huntington Beach Community Church
8101 Slater Ave
Huntington Beach CA 92683
Time: 7-11 PM Tuesday September 14-November 16
COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the study of the doctrine of Christian Holiness. The study will explore the biblical development and the emphasis of the doctrine within the Church of the Nazarene. Special attention is given to holiness in personal experience, interpersonal relationships, and doctrinal preaching.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The following are competencies for Ordination Course of Study which are achieved by this course:
1. Ability to identify and explain the Doctrine of Holiness from a Wesleyan perspective. (CN-23)
2. Ability to apply basic understanding of ethical theories to teach and nurture ethical behavior in the Christian community. (CH-1)
3. Ability to discern and make theologically based ethical decisions in the midst of a complex and/or paradoxical context. (CH-2)
4. Ability to apply Christian ethics to the issues of the integrity of the minister and the congregation for authentic Christian faithfulness and public witness. (CH-5)
5. Ability to apply understanding of his or her ongoing developmental needs across the life course of the minister to the pursuit of holy character. (CH-9)
COURSE PROFESSOR
Dr. Mike Boswith: Psy.D., American Behavioral Studies Institute, 2000; MA (Theology), Trevecca Nazarene University, 1989; BA (Religious Studies), Trevecca Nazarene University, 1985; AS (Physical Science), University of the State of New York Regents, 1982. Pastor, Church of the Nazarene, 1988-Present, Associate Pastor, Church of the Nazarene 1985-1988. United States Navy, 1976-1983
COURSE TEXTBOOKS
2. Greathouse, William M. Wholeness in Christ: Toward a Biblical Theology of Holiness. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1998.
3. Quanstrom, Mark R. A Century of Holiness Theology: The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Church of the Nazarene, 1905-2004. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 2004. ISBN: 9780834121164
4. Wesley, John, Olson, Mark, K. John Wesley’s ‘A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.’ the Annotated Edition. Althea in Heart Ministries, 2006.
RECOMMENDED:
1 Greathouse, William M and Dunning H. Ray, An Introduction to Wesleyan Theology.
Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1982.
2. Greathouse, William, From the Apostles to Wesley. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press,
1979.
3. Kinghorn, Kenneth C., John Wesley on Christian Practice: The Standard Sermons in
Modern English Volume: 1 & 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2003
SELECTED WEB SITES:
1. Wesley Center for Applied Theology (NNU) ‑‑ http://wesley.nnu.edu/
2. Wesleyan Theological Journal ‑ http://wesley.nnu.edu/theojrnl/
3. The Christian Resource Institute - www.cresourcei.org
4. Methodist Archives & Research Centre –
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/specialcollections/collections/methodist/
5. Wesleyan Studies For The 21st Century - http://www.pointloma.edu/WesleyanCenter.htm
6. Books and Culture: A Christian Review ‑‑‑ www.christianity.net/bc
7. Theology Internet Resources -http://info.ox.ac.uk/ctitext/theology/index.html
8. Christian Classics Library ‑ http://www.ccel.org/
9. Religion Today Newsletter ‑ http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/
10. ProQuest Research Site -
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=341&cfc=1
NOTE: You may use this link to access articles (some with full text included)
from over 125 religious publications, over 730 education journals, and over
850 education abstracts. The databases are searchable. Here are the account
name and password you will need:
Account Name: 007QRW8CXS
Password: WELCOME
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
NOTE: Each assignment is worth 100 points, there are 50 assignments (including
attendance) for a total of 5000 points possible.
1. Five “Big Idea” Essays from the Greathouse text
2. Ten “Reflection” papers from the Wesley Sermons
3. Eight Quizzes based on class Lecture/Discussion
4. Eight “Answer/Explanations” to questions from Plain Account of Christian Perfection
5. Eight “Answer/Explanations” to questions from the Quanstrom text
Description of Assignments
Everything you turn in must have your name, date and the assignment in the upper right hand corner.
How to write a Paragraph
A well constructed paragraph has a topic sentence, three to five supporting sentences and
a concluding statement. For more information about writing a good paragraph refer to the
following websites:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/3645873/Tips-for-Writing-a-Paragraph-Characteristics-of-a-good-paragraph
http://www.trinitysem.edu/Student/LessonInstruction/Paragraph.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4007096/Paragraph-Writing
Peer Review
Peer Review provides you with feedback on your work from your cohorts. For each writing assignment, “Big Ideas, Reflections, and answering homework questions, you will need four copies. One copy will go to the class facilitator, the other three will go to other students in the class who will review your work utilizing the Peer Review Worksheet.
When you are doing a review for one of your cohorts the idea is to help your fellow student improve the quality of his/her work. You will evaluate your cohort’s Topic sentence, Supporting Sentences, Concluding Sentence, Spelling, Grammar and Sentence Structure. You will also make comments concerning what you think the author should change or add and what the strongest parts of his/her response is. The worksheet will be given to the class facilitator.
Big Idea Essay
Based on what the author has written what are the major concepts he/she wants you to
walk away with from the reading.
A “big idea” is what you think the author would want you to walk away with regarding
what he/she wrote. This is not an exercise in listing the subtitles in the chapter. Narrow down the author’s presentation into three important thoughts, or “big ideas.” Then write a short paragraph to express each big idea.
It may be helpful to imagine that you are responsible for teaching the material in the
assigned text. What would you deem the three most important concepts of the chapter
to be. One would assume that your choice will differ from your cohorts.
You will need to make 4 copies of your Big Idea Essay. One will be submitted to the
class facilitator, the other 3 will be used for peer review.
Rubric: 100 points
Topic sentence 20 pts
Three to Five supporting sentences 20 pts
Concluding sentence 20 pts
Content 40pts [Content refers to the big idea you pulled from the reading]
Reflection
A reflection shares your experiences with the reading material. The assignment expresses
how what you read has significance to you and can be applied in your life.
The reflection should be at least three well constructed paragraphs in length. Paragraph one will contain a short summary of what you read which will include a topic sentence (to let me know what the reading is about) and a thesis statement. Paragraph two relates your subjective experience of the material developing your thesis statement (let me know what effect the reading had on your personally, why it was significant to you). Paragraph three will include the application of your insight to your world (let me know what you are going to do with this information). You will end with a concluding sentence or tow, wrapping up your reflection
Rubric: 100 pts
Paragraph 1—Summary 10 pts
a. Topic sentence 5 pts
b. Thesis statement 5 pts
Paragraph 2 –Experiential Content 30 pts
a. Topic sentence 5 pts
Paragraph 3 Application—30 pts
a. Topic sentence 5 pts
b. Conclusion 10 pts
You will need to make 4 copies of your Reflection paper. One will be submitted to the
class facilitator, the other 3 will be used for peer review.
Answering a Question or Presenting an Explanation
At the top of your paper copy the question or the requested explanation in bold. Then
utilizing no more than five well constructed paragraphs present your responses. Brevity is
good, so keep the fluff to a minimum.
Rubric: 100 points
Question or Explanation in Bold 10 pts
Topic sentences a total of 20 pts will be distributed.
Three to Five supporting sentences a total of 20 pts will be distributed
Concluding sentence 20 pts
Content 30pts [Content should demonstrate independent thought in the answer or
explanation.]
You will need to make 4 copies of your Answers or Explanation paper. One will be submitted to the class facilitator, the other 3 will be used for peer review.
PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET
Assignment: ___________________________________________________________________
Cohort Reviewed: ______________________ Your Name: _________________________
Writing (check one for each category)
1. Topic sentence (Controlling idea):
___ Clear ___ Adequate ___Vague
2. Supporting Sentences (Unity and coherence):
___ Details strongly support the topic sentence
___Details moderately support the topic sentence
___Details vaguely support the topic sentence
3. Concluding Sentence (Summarizes the connections between the topic sentence and the supporting sentences)
___ Strong summary ___Adequate Summary ___Weak Summary
4. Spelling
___ no spelling errors ___ a few spelling errors ___ many spelling errors
5. Grammar
___ no grammatical errors ___ a few grammatical errors ___ many grammatical errors
6. Sentence Structure
___ sentences are complete ___ a few incomplete sentences ___ many incomplete sentences.
7. What do you think the author should change or add?
8. What is one of the strongest parts of this essay?
COURSE SCHEDULE/OUTLINE
Session 1
Class introduction
Lecture: The Human Predicament
Original Sin, The Sin Nature, The Acts of Sin, Wesley’s definitions of sin-
The Traditional View and the Relational View
Lecture: Wesley’s Order of Salvation
Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace, Sanctifying Grace, Glorifying Grace.
Home Work—
Preparation for session 2
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 1-4
Write a “Big Idea” essay for each chapter. [Normally a Big Idea essay
requires you to develop 3 ideas from each chapter but do to the length of
this reading assignment I will only require you to develop one from each
chapter.]
Read Wesley’s Sermon “The Almost Christian” http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/sermons/002.htm
Write a Reflection on “The Almost Christian”
Session 2
Q&A: On the Human Predicament, the Greathouse reading, the Wesley sermon.
Discuss: Holiness in the Old Testament
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Big Ideas from the Greathouse text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: “The Almost Christian”
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “The Almost
Christian” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On the Human Predicament
You need to know the definitions of the various categories of sin.
You need to know the difference between the traditional view and the relational
View of sin.
Home Work—
Preparation for session 3:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 5 & 6
Write a “Big Idea” essay for each chapter. [Note: you need only develop two “big ideas” from each chapter]
Read Wesley’s Sermon “Scriptural Christianity”
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/sermons/004.htm
Write a Reflection on “Scriptural Christianity”
Session 3
Q&A: On the Prevenient Grace, the Greathouse reading, the Wesley sermon.
Discuss: Holiness as a work of the Holy Spirit
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Big Ideas from the Greathouse text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “Scriptural
Christianity” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On Prevenient Grace
Home Work—
Preparation for session 4:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 7& 8
Write a “Big Idea” essay for each chapter. [Note: you need only develop two “big
Ideas” from each chapter]
Read Wesley’s Sermon “The Witness of the Spirit, One”
Write a Reflection on “The Witness of the Spirit, One”
Session 4
Q&A: On the Justifying Grace, the Greathouse reading, the Wesley sermon.
Discuss: Holiness In Pauline Literature
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Big Ideas from the Greathouse text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Consideration of Romans 7
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on ““The Witness of
the Spirit, One” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On Justifying Grace
Home Work—
Preparation for session 5:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 9
Write a “Big Idea” essay for the chapter. [Note: with this assignment develop 3 ideas for the chapter]
Read Wesley’s Sermon “On Sin in Believers”
Write a Reflection on “On Sin in Believers”
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages Preface-21
Question: What does Wesley mean by “pure in heart?”
Session 5
Q&A: On the Sanctifying Grace, the Greathouse reading, the Wesley sermon and
Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: Holiness in the letter to the Hebrews
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Big Ideas from the Great house text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “On Sin in Believers” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: The Concept of Pure In Heart (Plain Account)
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “On Sin in Believers” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On Sanctifying Grace
Home Work—
Preparation for session 6:
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness--Chapter 1-2
Question: What is the distinctive doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene
and the characteristics of that doctrine?
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 22-28
Question: How does Wesley use the word “perfection?”
Read Wesley’s Sermon “The Repentance of Believers”
Write a Reflection on “The Repentance of Believers”
Session 6
Q&A: On the Glorifying Grace, the Quanstrom reading, the Wesley sermon and
Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: The Distinctive Doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their observations from the Quanstrom text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “The Repentance of Believers” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: The Concept of Perfection (Plain Account)
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their ideas and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On Glorifying Grace
Home Work—
Preparation for session 7:
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness— Chapter 4
Questions:
a. What is the difference between plenary inspiration of the scripture and
verbal plenary inspiration of the scripture?
b. What does H.Orton Wiley mean by inbred sin?
c. What does H.Orton Wiley mean by infirmities?
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 28-32
Question: What are the effects of the two works of grace in the life of a believer?
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 35-38
Question: What does Wesley mean when he writes about “human mistakes?”
Read Wesley’s Sermon “The Circumcision of the Heart.”
Write a Reflection on “The Circumcision of the Heart.”
Session 7
Q&A: On the Quanstrom reading, the Wesley sermon, Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: Concepts of Inspiration, Inbred sin and Infirmities
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their observations from the Quanstrom text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: The two questions from the Plain Account text
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their answers and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “The Circumcision of the Heart.” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: What is the difference between maturity and purity?
Home Work—
Preparation for session 8:
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness— Chapter 5
Question: Explain how one’s concept of sin effects his/her understanding
of the second work of grace, address the concepts of eradication,
suppression, and cleansing.
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 51-66
In this section the Rev. Wesley answers various questions concerning the
experience of entire sanctification. Which of Wesley’s answers was the most enlightening to your understanding of the doctrine of entire sanctification and why?
Read Wesley’s Sermon “Christian Perfection”
Write a Reflection on “Christian Perfection”
Session 8
Q&A: On the Quanstrom reading, the Wesley sermon, Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: The Concepts of eradication, suppression and cleansing of the traditional view
of original sin.
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their observations from the Quanstrom text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: Insights to Wesley’s answers to the questions raised about the doctrine of entire
sanctification.
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their answers and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “Christian Perfection” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: What is the difference between maturity and purity?
Home Work—
Preparation for session 9:
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness— Chapter 6
Question: In what ways does the traditional view of the doctrine of entire
sanctification diverge from Wesley’s concept of the experience.
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 78-90
Question: What does love have to do with the doctrine of entire sanctification?
Read Wesley’s Sermon “On Temptation”
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-82-on-temptation/
Write a Reflection on “On Temptation”
Session 9
Preparation for session:
Q&A: On the Quanstrom reading, the Wesley sermon, Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: In what ways does the traditional view of the doctrine of entire
sanctification diverge from Wesley’s concept of the experience.
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their observations from the Quanstrom text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: Discuss the concept and role that love has in the doctrine of entire
sanctification. (Plain Account)
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their answers and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “On Temptation” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On Orton Wiley and Richard Taylor’s understanding of sin and its remedy
Home Work—
Preparation for session:
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness— Chapter 7
Question: Explain the “relational hermeneutic” and how it effects our
understanding of sin and holiness.
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 90-113
Question: What are Wesley’s advices concerning continuing in the grace of entire
sanctification?
Read Wesley’s Sermon “Satan’s Devices”
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-42-satans-devices/
Write a Reflection on “Satan’s Devices”
Session 10
Q&A: On the Quanstrom reading, the Wesley sermon, Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: The “relational hermeneutic” and how it effects our understanding of sin
and holiness.
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their observations from the Quanstrom text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: What are Wesley’s advices concerning continuing in the grace of entire
sanctification? (Plain Account)
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their answers and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss:
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “Satan’s Devices” and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Home Work—
Preparation for session:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness in Christ—Chapter 10
Write a “Big Idea” essay for the chapter.
Read Quanstrom, A Century of Holiness— Chapter 8
Explain the ongoing debate within the Church of the Nazarene
concerning the doctrine of entire sanctification.
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 114-119
Summarize our doctrine of entire sanctification in no more than three
paragraphs.
Session 11
Q&A: On the Greathouse reading, the Quanstrom reading, Wesley’s Plain account
Discuss: The Role of the Sermon on the Mount in the holiness lifestyle
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Big Ideas from the Great house text and produce a presentation for the class on their findings
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: Wesley’s summation of his teachings concerning the doctrine of entire
sanctification? (Plain Account)
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their answers and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Discuss: The ongoing debate within the Church of the Nazarene concerning the doctrine
of entire sanctification.
Groups of three have 40 minutes to discuss their Reflection on “Spiritual Idolatry”
and produce a presentation for the class of their findings.
Open discussion on these findings.
Peer Review
Quiz: On progressive relational (Mildred Wynkoop and H.Ray Dunning’s) understanding
of sin and its application to the doctrine of entire sanctification.
Lateness:
Punctuality is a virtue to be greatly valued. It is also a discipline to be practiced in preparation for your future ministry. My classes begin at 7:00 p.m. It is expected that, except in the event of an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, all students will be to class on time and ready to go at the appointed hour. I understand that occasionally the need to be late will arise. If you see in advance that you are going to be late for class I expect that you will call me about your situation.
Generally you earn 100 points for punctual attendance at each class session. Tardiness will result in a 50 point deduction. Leaving before the session is over will result in a 50 point deduction. If you miss two classes your final grade will be lowered, missing three classes will require you to repeat the course next time it is offered.
Late Work:
Due to the nature of the course, late work is very difficult to deal with. If you know you are going to miss a class, submit your work for the class session before your absence.
Cell Phones:
With the increased use of cell phones it has become necessary to develop a policy about them. It is my expectation that all cell phones will be turned off during class. If you are “on call” (for example, for work) or expecting an urgent call, please put your phone on vibrate. If you need to make a call for some reason I expect that you will wait until break time to do so.
Portfolio of Learning
You must create and maintain a Portfolio of learning for this class. At the website http://www.hbcc.org/ADMTC%20student_academic_portfolio.htm you will find the necessary information to complete your portfolio.
Academic Honesty:
Honesty in all academic endeavors is vital as an expression of the Christian life. It is required that students will not participate in cheating, plagiarism*, or other forms of academic dishonesty nor encourage or condone such behavior by permitting it and/or allowing it to go unreported.
All assignments must be the
student’s original work for the course in which the material is submitted. In
other words, I consider it to be unethical to turn in a paper for this course
previously submitted to another course or any other institution. Papers
submitted to this course are to be completely original. When a student
utilizes work that is not his/her own, proper credit must be given to the
source of the information.
Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of morality, and
academic integrity. The minimum penalty for academic dishonesty will be
failure of the assignment. More stringent measures may include failure of the
course, disciplinary probation, or disciplinary suspension.
*Plagiarism is using another’s words or ideas as one’s own work without properly crediting the original source.
Identify Yourself
On all your assignments your name, date and the name of the assignment needs to appear
in the upper right hand corner of your paper. An example of an assignment name:
Greathouse Chapter 1-4 Big Ideas.
In addition it is expected that your work will be submitted in a Times New Romans size
12 font, double spaced on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper.
COURSE GRADING SYSTEM
Final grades will be determined by a point system based on the course assignments. There are 5000 possible points
A (4000-5000 pts) – distinctly superior; reflects high degree of accuracy, initiative, originality, insight, understanding, and effort; far exceeds minimum required.
B (3000-3900 pts) – indicates personal initiative, considerable insight, understanding, completeness, accuracy and effort; tends to go beyond the minimum.
C (2000-2900 pts) – satisfactory work without distinction; lacks originality; tends to be mechanical; reflects minimum insight and effort.
D (1000-1900) – indicates irresponsibility to work and/or failure to grasp ideas correctly; falls below satisfactory standards.
F (0 -900) – reflects entirely unsatisfactory work.
William Greathouse: Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 1-4
To be used while your copy of the text is on order.
1
Holiness
in the Old Testament
For many contemporary Christians, the Old Testament seems ancient and remote. It was written thousands of years ago over a vast span of time. It deals with a religion with which we are
quite unfamiliar, referring to practices and rules for life that, for the Christian, have long since been invalidated and outmoded by the work of Christ. Hence, we are not too much concerned about our ignorance of it.
However, the truth is, we cannot really understand the New Testament without a knowledge of the Old. As Augustine said many centuries ago, "The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed." The roots of our Christian faith lie deep in the soil of the Old Testament.' Informed biblical scholars would concur with the 1975 statement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops: "Most essential concepts of the Christian creed grew at first in Judaic soil. Uprooted from that soil, these basic concepts cannot be perfectly understood."2
The doctrine of Christian holiness, like any other doctrine, is therefore best approached by examining its Old Testament roots. It becomes our first task, then, in seeking an understanding of the
1. The student interested in the demonstration of this claim should read Paul and Elizabeth Achtemeier's Old Testament Roots of Our Faith (New York and Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962).
2. Walter Harrelson and Randall M. Falk, Jews and Christians: A Troubled Family (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991), 13.
Christian doctrine of holiness, to go back to the root of this teaching in the Hebrew Scriptures. As we proceed in our investigation, it should become clear that the New Testament doctrine of sanctification is the flower of Old Testament teaching.
THE BIBLICAL TERMS
While the biblical concept of sanctification cannot be restricted to specific terms, it is important to understand the development of the Hebrew words for "holy," "holiness," "sanctify," and "sanctification," all of which translate one family of Hebrew terms, the godesh family.
The semantic origin of this noun is so lost in the mists of an- dent obscurity that there can be no absolute certainty about its earliest meaning. Two major theories have been advanced: the first is based on the similarity of the term with a Babylonian one and suggests that it means "bright, dear"; the other conjectures that it meant "to be separated." While one cannot be dogmatic, the preponderance of scholarly opinion supports the second view. After a careful analysis of the issues, Norman H. Snaith voices this majority view as follows: "With respect to the comparative merits of the two suggestions, the balance, in our view, is definitely in favor of Baudissin's theory (godesh had originally to do with "separation")?
As the term comes to expression in the Old Testament, it seems to have passed through three phases of use, neither of the earlier two becoming completely extinct. In all cases it was applied primarily to God and, in a nonderivative sense, only to Him. As Snaith claims, "This is the most intimately divine word of all. It has to do with the very nature of Deity; no word more so, or any other as much."'
The first phase may be characterized as a prerational understanding and identifies the boundary line between the natural and the supernatural. It reflects the mystery of the "Wholly Other." It does not necessarily entail any particular characteristic but does generate the feelings of awe and wonder—in fact, of fear.
Rudolph Otto's classic analysis of primordial religious experience, The Idea of the Holy (his philosophy of religion), is really an ex-
3. Norman H. Snaith, Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament (London: Epworth Press, 1955), 25.
4. Ibid., 21.
ploration of this phase of "the holy." "Holiness," Otto avers, "is a category of interpretation and evaluation peculiar to religion."5
For this element he coins the word "numinous" from the Lath numen ("supernatural"). The numinous of which he speaks is a "moment," an awareness that defies rational analysis. While it cannot be strictly defined (thus nonrational), we can hint at its meaning by looking closely at the feelings it evokes, feelings to which Otto gives the term mysterium tremendum. "The holy" evokes awe—it overwhelms the soul with a sense of majesty; it pulsates with supernatural power. Otto quotes Tersteegen: "A God comprehended is no God."
John G. Gammie finds five major aspects of the numinous. Utilizing Otto's Latin terms, he chose to help capture the ineffability of "the holy." Gammie analyzes it as (1) awefulness, plenitude of power that evokes dread and a sense of divine wrath (tremendum); (2) overpoweringness, plenitude of being, absolute unapproachableness (majestas); (3) urgency, vitality, will, force, movement, excitement, activity, energy that the mystic experiences as "consuming fire" (energicum);6 (4) being: the "Wholly Other," different, in a category separate to himself, transcendent, supernatural (mysterium); and (5) compelling, fascinating, giving rise to spiritual intoxication, rapture, and exaltation (fascinans). This latter element may be latently present in longing and in moments of solemnity; it is experienced when one gains mystic insight "and at conversion."'
Otto's analysis will constitute a starting point and a frame of reference for the understanding of biblical holiness in this volume.
Gammie sees as an initial example of Otto's approach the magnificent theophany at Sinai in Exod. 19 (all Rsv):
Each one of the elements of the holy is present: (1) awe- fulness, dread, wrath: "And the whole mountain quaked greatly" (v. 18c); "God answered him in the thunder" (v. 19b); "Go down and warn the people . . . lest the Lot break out upon
a Rudolph Otto, The Idea of the Holy, trans. J. W. Harvey (London: Oxford University Press, 1957), 5.
6. Otto did not himself employ the Latin energicuni, but his most avid devotee, Old Testament scholar D. J. Hanel, rightly did.
7. John G. Gammie, Holiness in Israel, in Overtures in Biblical Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989), 5-6.
them" (vv. 21-22); (2) majesty and unapproachability: "Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it" (v. 12) "lest they break through to the LORD" (V. 21); "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai" (v. 23); (3) energy, vitality, and movement: "The LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln" (v. 18ab); (4) mystery: "Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud" (v. 9a); (5) fascination: "Do not let the priests and people break through to come up to the LORD" (V. 24b).8
The numinous, however, is not the distinctive idea to be found in the Old Testament, although, as we shall see, it is not absent. In fact, it is an essential component of the holiness of God when qualified by other considerations. This fact is reflected in critiques that have been made of Otto, critiques that are legitimate while not denying the validity of what he is examining. For example, Walter C. Kaiser observes, "Otto makes no mention, strangely enough, of Leviticus 19, the key chapter in the Bible on holiness. In his zeal to assert the unique character for religion, he ends up making the ethical content a mere 'extra.' But Leviticus 19 insists that faith and ethics are necessary aspects of the same coin, though they are by no means identical."'
In the same vein Gamrnie writes, "Nowhere does Otto sufficiently probe the notion that the holy calls for purity, cleanness, and that frequently purity is to be attained by means of separation. To be holy is to be separate; to be holy is to be clean and pure. Each of these notions has ethical as well as cultic implications.'
Recent studies on the Hebrew cultus have shown that purity, cleanness, is indeed a regular counterpart and requirement of holiness. In Exod. 19, for example, the Lord instructed Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their dothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death' (vv. 10-12).
8. Gammie, Holiness in Israel, 6-7.
9. Walter C. Kaiser, The New Interpreter's Bible, Leander E. Keck, convener of Editorial Board and New Testament editor (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), 1:1132. 10. Gammie, Holiness in Israel, 7-8.
These considerations highlight the second and third phases of the use of the qodesh terminology. But before we look at these, we need to explore a bit further the statement made earlier that this first aspect is to be found in the Old Testament and ultimately provides an important theological truth.
The validity of Otto's analysis of the numinous consists in its warnings against becoming "cozy" with the "Wholly Other." Anyone who has had a true experience of God's gracious presence may discover, by examining the heart of this awareness, Otto's mysterium tremendum: the sense of awe, wonder, and adoration that invades our being when in true worship we sing, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!" (Reginald Heber). In Charles Wesley's words, it is
The speechless awe that dares not move And all the silent heaven of love.
The second phase to which we have made reference may be termed "the cultic." This use is almost completely a derivative concept; that is, the "holiness" of persons, places, objects, and so on is the result of their being consecrated to the service or ownership of the God who is the primary Bearer of holiness in a non- derivative sense.
"Sanctification" refers to the ritual that effects this result; thus "to sanctify" means "to make holy" in the sense alluded to. But, further, in this context "holiness" may be considered a "contagion" to be communicated on contact. Numerous aspects of this phenomenon may be found in the Old Testament (e.g., Lev. 6:27; 2 Kings 2:13ff.; Isa. 65:5; Ezek. 44:19). This understanding of qodesh becomes a fertile field for idolatry. When a person or place or thing (such as the ark of the covenant) is treated as if he, she, or it has inherent holiness, some aspect of the created world is being elevated to a status that can be attributed only to the Creator; this is idolatry. This implies that "derivative holiness" is an essentially relational concept.
The third and most distinctive phase of the use of the qodesh family of terms comes chiefly into view with the work of the eighth-century prophets. Hence, it is sometimes called "the prophetic view." It is here that the ethical aspect becomes dominant. It is essentially a personal concept and becomes the basis for the prophetic call to the ethical requirements of the covenant.
In summary, the "holiness" of God does indeed refer to His "otherness" rather than His "remoteness," but the quality of this "Wholly Other" as manifested in His activity among human beings dictates that those who would "share" His holiness must reflect those same ethical characteristics. Both of these meanings in
the Old Testament teaching about the holiness of God and become the background for the New Testament supposition about holiness in human life.
THE HOLINESS OF GOD
Holiness is not one attribute of God among others or even the chief attribute or even the sum of all the divine attributes, says James Muilenberg, but is "the innermost reality to which all others are related."" As Ernst Sellen puts it, "God is holy. Herein we touch on that which constitutes the deepest and innermost nature of God in the Old Testament."12
THE THREEFOLD MEANING OF HOLINESS
Upon examination, the use of qodesh in the Old Testament entails three interrelated ideas: "separation," "glory," and "purity."
Holiness as Separation. We have seen that "separation" is no doubt the primordial meaning of the term. That this is the central significance of it is dear from the 830 occurrences of qodesh. Furthermore, God alone is qodesh. Persons or things are qodesh only as they are related to Him.
Holiness is indeed the very nature of God. When the prophet says in Amos 4:2 that "the Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness," he is saying the same thing he declares in 6:8: "The Lord GOD has sworn by himself." God is qodesh in himself. Whatever else the sovereign Lord subsequently makes known of himself is governed by the fact that He is the holy God, the "Wholly Other" who alone is "perfect in pow'r, in love, in purity" (Heber).
The first truth, therefore, to settle in our thinking is that of the absolute and final distinction between God and us creatures.
"I am God and no mortal," He announces, "the Holy One [gadash,
11. James Muilenberg, Holiness, vol. 2 in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, 4 vols., ed. George Arthur Buttrick (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962), 616.
12. Gammie, Holiness in Israel, 3.
adjective] in your midst" (Hos. 11:9). To fail to acknowledge the distinction between God and ourselves is the root of sin. As we will see later, such a failure occurred in the garden when the serpent promised the first pair that if they would assert their independence from the Lord, they would themselves be "like God," with the right to decide good and evil for themselves. This hubris is humanity's "original" sin, the root of all moral evil; it is, as Millard Reed puts it, "the delusion of self-sovereignty." But if to refuse to acknowledge the distinction between Deity and ourselves is the root of all moral evil, to "let God be God" is the root of all holiness.
The first word of holiness is, therefore, "I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior" (Isa. 43:11). God alone is God; the creature alone is creature. This is the axiom of all holiness. As Snaith insists, "God is separate and distinct because He is God. A person or thing may be separate, or may come to be separated, because he or it has come to belong to God . [is] now in the category of the Separate."" Snaith further insists on the positive, rather than the negative, meaning of the concept of holiness and thus concludes that while holiness certainly involves separation from uncleanness and sin, it is primarily separation to God.m Based on this understanding, H. Ray Dunning has written, "Holiness in human beings (or things) is present only when in relation to God. That is, no finite person or object has any inherent holiness. The holiness of things or persons is derived and dependent. This derived holiness is present only as the person or thing is in right relation to God."" To become holy as humans is to be made "partakers of his holiness" (Heb. 12:10, Kw, emphasis added; cf. 2 Pet. 1:4).
Holiness as Glory. While separation is the primary meaning of qodesh, in many instances it is synonymous with "glory" (Heb. kabod), "in the sense of the burning Splendour of the Presence of the Lord.'"6 Promising to be with His people in the Tabernacle, God said, "I will meet with the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctified by my glory" (Exod. 29:43). Likewise, upon the dedication of the
11. Snaith, Distinctive Ideas, 30.
12. Ibid.
13. H. Ray Dunning, A Layman's Guide to Sanctification (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City 1991), 23-24.
14. Snaith, Distinctive Ideas, 48.
Temple in Jerusalem, which replaced the former tent sanctuary, "the glory of the Loin filled the house of the Loin" (1 Kings 8:11).
In each of these instances, it is clear that the reference is to a visible appearance of the invisible One in order to vouchsafe for the people the fad of His presence. Hence kabod refers to a perceptible manifestation of the Reality to which humanity would otherwise have no access. Thus holiness as glory is the corollary of holiness as separation or radical otherness.
The locus classicus of kabod in the foregoing sense is found in Exod. 33:18-23, in which the encounter between Moses and God reflects an interplay between these two aspects of holiness." In essence, Moses makes the request to see God "as He is in himself," that is, face-to-face. But this request is denied, since "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (v. 20, NW). What God does allow Moses to see is His "glory," anthropomorphically referred to as His "back parts" (v. 23, Kw). But what Moses saw was not God as He is in himself (His holiness as otherness), but His "glory" that is the manifestation of His activity in the world described in terms of "mercy" and "compassion" (v. 19, my).
Protestant Reformer John Calvin recognized this fundamental biblical truth about God and developed a doctrine of what is called "accommodation." Because of God's holiness—properly understood—and humanity's finitude, there can be no knowledge of God by human beings unless He "accommodates" himself to our limitation by making himself accessible through the manifestation of His "glory" in some form of incarnation. This is why the New Testament sees the ultimate glory of God to be present in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation.
Holiness as Purity. This concept reflects the second significance of qodesh as referred to earlier in this chapter. It is a cultic term and is conceived—at least from the priestly perspective—as ritual purity. Its opposite is "uncleanness," and the two are antithetical.
Commenting on holiness as purity John G. Gammie shows that the ideas of cleanness associated with God's holiness were quite diverse:
17. There is a certain ambiguity in this passage, since the term "glory" is used in a double sense. The context enables us to dearly distinguish between the two meanings. The exposition in the text above seeks to make the distinctions clear.
For the entire Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, holiness summoned Israel to cleanness. . . . Diversity within unity is to be discerned in the fact that for different groups of religious persons within Israel—prophets, priests, and sages— the kind of cleanness required by holiness varied. For the prophets it was cleanness of social justice (ethical), for the priests a cleanness of proper ritual and maintenance of separation, for the sages [wise menj it was cleanness of inner integrity and individual moral acts."
In the priestly context, holiness requires that everything that is either unclean or common shall be "cleansed" by a ritual act of sanctification prior to being pressed into divine service. Persons who come into the presence of the Holy One must carefully prepare themselves by ritual washings and other means, since to present oneself with any degree of impurity is to invite disaster.
These understandings were always in danger of being perverted into ritualism, and hence we have numerous conflicts between the priestly understanding of "holiness and purity" and the prophetic understanding (see Amos 7:10-17 for a dramatic conflict between priest and prophet). The prophetic view understands "purity" in an ethical sense, and even though cultic language is sometimes used (as in Ezek. 36:24-29), it must be interpreted as having ethical significance.
Isaiah's vision of the divine holiness, recorded in the sixth chapter of his prophecy, embodies the full disclosure of this truth and there moves beyond the cultic to the ethical. The prophet begins, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple" (v. 1, Nrv). Here is the transcendent, incomparable God, the "Wholly Other" who alone is "high and exalted" above all creation and creatures (see 40:12-18, 25).
"Above him were seraphs," Isaiah continues, "each with six wings" (v. 2, Nw). As the seraphs sing, "Holy, holy, holy," they cover their faces so that they may not see God, and their feet so that He might not behold them. Thus they move about the throne, proclaiming to one another the holiness of God: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (v. 3).19
18. Gammie, Holiness in Israel, 195-96.
19. Th. C. Vriezen, An Outline of Old Testament Theology (Newton, Mass.: Charles T. Bradford Co., 1958), 149.
The prophet's response to this vision was a profound existential sense of his own "uncleanness," as well as that of his fellow Judeans. "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips . . . and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty'
(v. 5, Nrv). The prophet was struck prostrate with his sinfulness.
What was there about the vision that created this response in one who had been a prophet of the Lord? While the text itself does not explicitly say, the total movement of biblical thought in conjunction with the developing concept of holiness would seem to suggest that it was certainly more than ritual impurity. Perhaps against the background of the death of King Uzziah, who had presumptuously taken upon himself the prerogative of priest, a position for which he was not qualified (and was thus unclean), Isaiah saw himself as having failed to place the Holy One at the center of his own existence and having given more credence to proper political action than to dependence upon the God of Israel.2° Certainly this latter became the central theme of his preaching in the ensuing years of his ministry.
"Then one of the seraphs flew to me," Isaiah continues his confession, "with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, 'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for" (vv. 6-7, NN).
God's holiness is no static quality "On the contrary" says Snaith, "Jehovah is always active, always dynamically here, in this world. The Hebrew does not say that Jehovah is, or that Jehovah exists, but that He does."21 Thus, here in Isa. 6 the Holy One becomes the Sanctifier. With Uzziah dethroned and the Lord enthroned, Isaiah was in a position to hear the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Instantly he responded, "Here am I. Send me!" (v. 8, mv). Purged and refined by the fire from God's altar—and now centered in God—Isaiah became the great Old Testament prophet of "the Holy One of Israern
20. King Uzziah was under sentence of death from leprosy for acting as a priest, entering the Temple, and making an offering on the altar of incense (see 2 Chron. 26:16-21).
21. Snaith, Distinctive Ideas, 45.
22. "The Holy One of Israel" became Isaiah's favorite appellation of Yahweh, the phrase occurring at least 12 times in chapters 1-39 (1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23). In addition, we find the phrases "the Holy One of Jacob" (29:23) and "his [Israel's] Holy One" (10:17).
While the cultic and moral aspects of holiness are interwoven throughout the development of the idea in the Old Testament, Peter T. Forsyth is reflecting an important truth in saying, "The very history of the word holiness in the Old Testament displays the gradual transcendence of the idea of separation by that of sanctity. It traverses a path in which the quantitative idea of tabu changes to the qualitative idea of active and absolute purity. The religious grows ethical, that it may become not only more religious but the one religion of the conscience of the world. The one God can only be the holy God."23
In Isaiah's Temple experience we have an anticipation of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Christianity takes up the prophetic side of the definition of holiness and makes it the standard as the true mark of holiness. What Moses, Isaiah, and a select company of Old Testament worthies found in the presence of God is now promised to every member of the people of God under the new covenant. "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory [image] of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).
THE HOLINESS OF GOD EXPRESSED
We now turn to some of the most definitive ways that God expressed His holy nature in the Old Testament. An observation by Bruce C. Birch shows the relation between Yahweh's inherent holiness and the divine activity, which is the expression of that holb-less: "Holiness describes the very foundations of the divine being. It is fundamental to divine character and identity, and out of God's holiness a variety of expressions for divine activity grow.""
The Steadfast Love of God
The most central of the terms expressive of divine activity within the covenant relationship between God and Israel is chesed. God is qodesh; He acts in chesed. In the context of the theophany on Mount Sinai, God allows His glory to pass by Moses and then
23. Peter T. Forsyth, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1907), 310.
24. Bruce C. Birth, Let Justice Roll Down (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991), 51.
makes this remarkable proclamation: "The Law, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and fourth generation" (Exod. 34:6-7).
The Hebrew word chesed, here translated "steadfast love," is rendered variously as "mercy," "grace," "loyalty," "goodness," "lovirigkindness," and "compassion." The wealth of these terms witnesses to the breadth encompassed in the term.
Chesed is covenant love. On God's part it pledges Him to perform all the promises to His people. For this reason it is sometimes translated "loyalty," but it is not loyalty to a mere contract. Rather, it is the Lord's personal commitment to be faithful to Israel—an attitude manifested in concrete action. Ps. 136, with its oft-recurring phrase "for his steadfast love endures forever," best illustrates the meaning of the divine chesed. Katherine Doob Sakenfeld elaborates on this concept: "Divine loyalty within covenant involved both God's commitment to Israel and the ever new free decision of God to continue to honor that commitment by preserving and supporting the covenant community. Divine freedom and divine self- obligation were held together in this single word.""
In the Song of the Sea, Moses and the Israelites sang to Him this song: "In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode" (Exod. 15:13).
The Righteousness and Justice of God
God's holiness and steadfast love express themselves most importantly as righteousness (sedeq, masc.; sedeqah, fern.) and justice (mishpat). One of the most significant texts in the Old Testament is found in Isa. 5:16: "But the LORD of hosts is exalted by justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness!"~6
25. Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, Faithfulness in Action: Loyalty in Divine Perspective, in Overtures in Biblical Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), 132.
26. The association of holiness and righteousness is the great contribution of the eighth-century prophets, where it is righteousness that is given special emphasis. Snaith writes, "If we were to choose a passage of Scripture indicative of the new content of qodesh, it would be Isaiah [chapter 5] v. 16: 'the holy God (ha-'el haqqadash) is sanctified (niqdash) in righteousness'" (Distinctive Ideas, 51).
Righteousness. One of the most common misunderstandings of the Old Testament is the belief that righteousness is a legalistic concept, devoid of the grace depicted in the New Testament. Although "righteousness" is the most common translation of sedeq/sedeqah, is it also rendered as uprightness, vindication, deliverance.
It is now generally conceded that righteousness as a concept is best understood in terms of relationship. Gerhard von Rad has written, "Ancient Israel did not in fact measure a line of conduct or an act by an ideal norm, but by the specific relationship in which the partner had at the time to prove himself true. 'Every relationship brings with it certain claims upon conduct, and the satisfaction of those claims, which issue from the relationship and in which alone the relationship can persist, is described by the term."
God's righteousness was not an abstract norm but was revealed in His concrete acts to create and preserve Israel as His chosen people. One of Israel's oldest poems, the Song of Deborah, celebrates "the righteous acts [sedaqoa of the LORD" (Judg. 5:11, KW). In several passages, God's righteousness is equivalent to His "salvation" (Pss. 40:10; 98:2; Isa. 45:21; 61:10; cf. Rom. 1:16-17).
God's righteousness also expressed itself in restoring Israel in time of trouble and need. In this sense God's righteousness appears in a forensic sense, with Him as the righteous Judge (see Pss. 9:4, 8; 96:13; Isa. 5:16; Jer. 11:20).
Justice. The Hebrew word mishpat is generally rendered "justice" or "judgment." Although the noun is derived from a root that means "to judge" or "render judgment," it should not be understood in the modern sense of pronouncing a judgment or sentence. Rather, it comprised all the actions involved in the primitive process that took place when two parties presented themselves before a competent authority, each to claim their rights.
Justice is a chief attribute of God's activity in the world: "The LORD of hosts is exalted by justice" (Isa. 5:16). The prophets of Israel were vigorous voices calling for justice, from the burning conviction that God's care extended to every person, particularly the poor and
371. 27. Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology (New York: Harper and Row, 1962),
the oppressed, and that His law is intended to embody the rights of the faithful community (see Jer. 5:28 for one of many such passages in the prophets). But the call for justice was not a prophetic innovation. justice was understood by Israel as fundamental to God's activity from earliest history, as evidenced by the Song of Moses: "The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he" (Dent. 32:4).
The Holiness Command
Dunning points out that the Book of Leviticus contains the most extended discussion of holiness to be found in the Old Testament. In fact, holiness is the key concept of the book, and the motto of Leviticus is the command: "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2; cf. 11:44-45; 20:26). The strange thing, he says, is that this motto occurs right in the middle of a lengthy discussion about clean and unclean foods and other matters that seem irrelevant to Christian faith. But precisely this setting, Dunning thinks, is the clue to the meaning of holiness in Christian experience:
Animals that are unclean are those that have the characteristics from two realms. For example, a catfish swims in the water but does not have scales, which seem appropriate to fish. The best suggestion is that holiness requires that different classes of things not be confused. The same seems to be implied in the command that mixed materials are not to be used. Mixed seeds are not to be sown, mixed cloth is not to be used in a garment. Furthermore, persons who are deformed are forbidden to serve in the tabernacle. All this implies that holiness in human experience requires wholeness, integrity, and normality. Some commentators say that the distinction between dean and unclean animals was to remind Israel that God distinguished them from all other nations on earth to be His own possession, that is, it implies that holiness is separation from the unclean and to the holy God's
In harmony with Dunning's interpretation, Walter C. Kaiser says of holiness in Lev. 19,
28, Dunning, Sanctification, 24.
The level of ethical performance expected of all persons was that of an imitation of the very character of God: "Be holy because I, the LoRD your God, am holy." Holiness is the essential nature of God, as Isa. 6:3 announces: "Holy, holy, holy is the LoRD of hosts!" .. .
Holiness stands as the foundational principle of the long list of precepts set forth in this chapter. Holiness is the object of all the moral and ceremonial law. But since God sets the norm and defines just what holiness does and does not include, God's holiness acts both as model and as motivating force in the development and maintenance of a holy character. To make sure that the point is not lost, fifteen times the sixteen subsections end with the reminder that "I am the LORD [your God]."
Birch understands the holiness command to be an injunction to imitate God in His character and actions in His steadfast love and righteous acts toward Israel. "The community of faith," he believes, "is to live its life in imitation of God (imitatio Dei)," noting Martin Buber's passionate claim, "The imitation of God— not of a human image of God, but of the real God, not of a mediator in human form, but of God himself—is the central paradox of Judaism.""
At the risk of failing back into the old caricatures of the Old Testament law as legalism, we must put the moral claims of the Law in the framework of God's actions in the world and His redeeming activity in creating Israel as a people for His possession and purposes. As Birch observes,
Prior to the law is a long narrative through which many elements of the basic character and identity of the Israelite community are established in relation to the understandings of what God has been about in the world. We surely could not imagine focus in the New Testament on the moral resources of Jesus' teachings without attention to what God is doing and modeling for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
29. Kaiser, New Interpreter's Bible, 1:1131.
30. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 125.
One of the clearest and most direct examples of this type of moral norm in the Old Testament material is God's statement, "For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:45)."
To be holy, Israel must imitate God, imitate the kind of love God showed them when they were strangers in Egypt: "Speak to all the congregation of the people in Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I ... am holy. . . . When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you . . . for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Law your God" (Lev. 19:2, 33-34). Examined closely, the holiness command becomes the love command as Jesus taught (Matt. 5:43-48).
2
Perfection
in the Old Testament
s with the teaching of holiness, the doctrine of Christian perfection can be understood only by examining its Old Testament roots.
Because of the misleading connotation of the word "perfect," some theologians propose that the term be abandoned. Our English word derives from the Latin perfectio, which implies a state of moral flawlessness and absolute perfection that all Christians agree is reserved for glory. In this sense, of course, "Nobody's perfect."
This chapter follows the suggestion that the author once heard the late H. Richard Niebuhr propose in a university lecture. Niebuhr cautioned that the Christian teacher must not discard biblical terms like "justification," "regeneration," and "sanctification" because they are difficult and no longer meaningful in our biblically illiterate culture. Our task, rather, is to redeem these significant words by mining their meaning in the biblical text, and then to make them live in the minds of those we address. Such is our endeavor in this study.
More than a dozen words are translated "perfect" in the King James Version of the Old Testament. An examination of these terms sheds light on the scriptural idea of perfection that forms the basis of John Wesley's teaching. All of these terms speak not of a static, absolute perfection but of a dynamic, relative perfection to which God's people have been called since Abraham (see Gen. 17:1).
A faithful reading of the Old Testament reveals that the concept of spiritual perfection—properly understood as blamelessness before God and uprightness of heart and life—lies at the heart of Hebrew piety. This concept is the root of the New Testament teaching. It is also the understanding of perfection that found expression in the writings of the great saints and teachers of both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Finally, this truth came to Protestant formulation in the thought and teaching of John Wesley.
We turn therefore to an examination of the Old Testament roots of the distinctive tenet of our Wesleyan faith, the doctrine of Christian perfection.
HOLINESS AND PERFECTION
While the words "holiness" and "perfection" are used by Wesleyans to describe the same experience of grace, an examination of these two terms in the Old Testament reveals that they reflect two different aspects of this grace. George Allen Turner explains: "While the terms associated with 'holiness' stress the contrast between Jehovah and man, which can be bridged by an act of cleansing, those associated with 'perfection' point to man's kinship with God and the possibility of fellowship."'
Modern versions translate the several Hebrew words rendered "perfect" in the KJV by such terms as "blameless," "whole," "sincere," "upright," and "upright in heart" in order to avoid the misleading connotations of our English word "perfect" The idea of perfection derived from the Hebrew terms of our Old Testament suggests not a state of perfection reserved for heaven but a state of heart and lifestyle possible in this present world. The Old Testament, therefore, provides significant building blocks for the Wesleyan doctrine of scriptural perfection.
1. George Allen Turner, The More Excellent Way (Winona Lake, Ind.: Light and Life Press, 1952), 31. This work is based on Dr. Turner's MS titled "A Comparative Study of the Biblical and Wesleyan Ideas of Perfection, to Determine the Sources of Wesley's Doctrine," accepted by Harvard University for his Ph.D. degree. It is the most extensive exegetical study of Old Testament perfection the author has found.
RELATIVE PERFECTION
The Old Testament ascribes absolute perfection only to God.2 A typical passage is found in Deuteronomy: "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He" (32:4, mciv).
While God alone is absolutely perfect, a relative perfection is ascribed to Old Testament worthies who walked with God in fidelity and fellowship. "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Gen. 5:24, Rsv). "Now before he was taken," we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "he was attested as having pleased God" (11:5, ssv). Of Noah also it was said that he "walked with God" (Gen. 6:9). Abraham was commanded, 'Walk before me, and be thou perfect" (17:1, Kw). "Since Noah and Abraham at least had serious shortcomings," Turner points out, "the perfection which they embodied was not an absolute and unqualified perfection."'
At least seven times in the Old Testament "perfect" is associated with walking, a beautiful and suggestive metaphor for fellowship with God. Persons are perfect "before God" who are sincere and blameless in their hearts, walking in a "straight way," free from crookedness, deviousness, and perversity. Such are perfect in the relative sense of living a life pleasing to God, even though they fall short of conformity to His perfect law and of faultlessness in the eyes of their fellows. Perfection is a life of dedication and constancy in fellowship with the Almighty.
HEBREW TERMS FOR PERFECTION
Several different Hebrew words and terms are rendered "perfect" in both the KJV and modem versions. It will be helpful in understanding scriptural perfection to look at several of these terms.
PERFECTION AS WHOLENESS
The most common Hebrew term for "perfect" is tamim, which means "whole, entire, sound."' When referring to animals
2. Only in five instances, where the reference is to God (Deut. 32:4; 2 Sam. 22:31; Job 37:16; Pss. 18:30;19:7), does "perfect" mean absolute perfection.
3. Turner, More Excellent Way, 42.
4. J. Y. Campbell, in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, ed. George Arthur But- trick (New York and Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1951), 3:730.
offered in sacrifice it means "without blemish" or "without spot," animals not maimed or bruised, but whole, useful, and healthy (cf. Eph. 5:27). The perfect human is one without moral blemish or defect.'
Tamim is applied 23 times to the moral character of humans. It is translated in the KJV "perfect" 7 times, "sincere" 3 times, "upright" 12 times, and "undefiled" once. Tamim is associated with "walking on the way" 12 times, as in Ps. 101:2, 6—"I will give heed to the way that is blameless. . . . He who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me" (Rsv).
The Lord appeared to Abraham and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless" (Gen. 17:1; "blameless" is used also in the NASB, NW, RSV, and NKJV). Two modem versions retain "perfect." The New Jerusalem Bible reads, "Live in my presence, be perfect." Similarly the Revised English Bible: "Live in my presence, and be perfect." It was in the gracious, empowering presence of El Shaddai that Abraham could be enabled to be "perfect."
A cognate form of this term is tom, which occurs 33 times, with 21 instances referring to human character. It is translated "integrity" 11 times, its central meaning. The adjectival form tam occurs 14 times with the meaning of "sincere." This is the term applied to Job, "that man [who] was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1, RSV, emphasis added).
HOLINESS AS A PERFECT HEART
Another Hebrew term often translated "perfect" is SHLM, which occurs 224 times. In most cases it is the noun shalom, which means "peace." The adjective shalom is found 27 times, and in 14 instances is translated "perfect" in the KJV. Most scholars agree that the root idea of the noun shalom is that of fellowship between God and His people. "Let your heart ... be perfect with the LORD" (1 Kings 8:61, xiv) is typical, an emphasis common in later Judaism and the New Testament, with the emphasis upon sincerity and singleness of intention. The prayer of Hezekiah reveals an even deeper significance of SHLM, a conviction that one can possess a loyalty and purity of heart that is pleasing to God: "I beseech thee, 0 LORD, remember now how I have walked before
5. The material that follows is based largely on Turner, More Excellent Way, 42-51.
thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight" (2 Kings 20:3, iqv, emphasis added; cf. Isa. 38:3).6
PERFECTION AS UPRIGHTNESS OF HEART
Another important term for perfection, found nearly 160 times in the Old Testament, comes from the root Y-SH-R. As an adjective, it usually has the meaning of "upright" and is applied both to God and to persons who are "upright in heart." The verb means "to please, to be right in the sight of" God. Typical of a number of passages in Psalms is the prayer in 7:10: "God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart" (cf. 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15). This concept is clearly parallel to that of a perfect heart. As we will see when we come to Job, who was possessed of the conviction that he was upright before God, purity of intention does not mean faultlessness before either humanity or God. Perfection is uprightness of heart, not flawless behavior.
THE PARADOX OF PERFECTION
While the Book of Job addresses the problem of unjust suffering, it is also a treatise on perfection. It opens with the categorical claim that Job was a man who was "blameless ['perfect,' Kw] and upright" (1:1, Rsv). Addressing Satan, God asked, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" (v. 8, Rsv).
Although Satan admits Job's uprightness, he is cynical about Job's motive: "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and all that he has, on every side? . . . But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face" (vv. 9-11). The unleashed forces of evil then began to batter Job. While his "friends" taunted him with accusations of wrongdoing (otherwise why would God be punishing him?), Job steadfastly maintained his integrity. Although he felt abandoned by God's presence in the depths of his trials and sufferings (23:1-10), yet he could say, "I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth" (v. 12). Satan was wrong. Job's was a disinter-
6. Ibid., 44.
ested love that could say, "Though he kill me, yet I will trust in him" (13:15, margin). He was indeed scripturally perfect!
Nevertheless, when Job beheld God in His majestic holiness, his lips were silenced. Then he could only say, "Now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (42:5-6). The final proof of Job's perfection was the acknowledgment of his folly and shortcomings. So it is today with us. To see and feel the full weight of this paradox is to confess with Charles Wesley,
Every moment, Lord, I need The merit of Thy death.
3
Toward an Old Testament
Theology of Holiness (1)
I t is now our task to attempt to develop an Old Testament theology of holiness. This will involve
(1) an analysis of what the Old Testament means by humankind's creation in the image of God;
(2) an analysis of the Fall and the introduction of sin into history and creation;
(3) a survey of God's redemptive plan, beginning with the call of Abraham as the first step in the creation of Israel; and
(4) a study of God's covenant with Israel instituted at Sinai through Moses.
HUMANKIND IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
The first three chapters of Genesis lay the foundation for the biblical concept of "the creature of God's saving concern."'
THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT
Genesis 1
The Genesis account of creation is to be understood as a theological account of origins. Although the first chapter of Genesis suggests several striking parallels to the way modern science
1. W. T. Purkiser, The Biblical Foundations, vol. 1 of Exploring Christian Holiness (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1983), 34.
views beginnings,' it is not to be taken as a "scientific" description of origins. As theology, it declares God to be the "Maker of heaven and earth," who created human beings in His own image and likeness, capable of fellowship with their Creator and called to cooperate with Him in carrying out His purposes on earth.
Few biblical texts are more important for grasping the biblical understanding of humanity as moral beings than Gen. 1:
Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth" (vv. 26-28).
In interpreting this passage, we must give special attention to four Hebrew words: bara (create), 'adam (humankind), tselem (image), and demut (likeness).
The term bara signifies an immediate creative act of God. It is used twice in reference to the creation of "the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1; 2:4), once in reference to "every living and moving thing" (1:21, Niv), and three times in reference to human beings. It describes creation de novo, or ex nihilo, in contrast to formation from preexisleiLt matter (cf. 2:7).
'Adam is a generic term meaning "humankind." The transition from the generic term to the personal Adam does not occur until 4:25: "Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth." In chapter 5 we find the dual significance of the term: "This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he
2. See H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology, 3 vols. (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 194043), 1:458-61.
created them, and he blessed them and named them 'Humankind' ['adam]' when they were created" (vv. 1-2, emphasis added). Terrence E. Fretheim comments, "The movement of the meaning of 'adam back and forth between generic humankind (1:26-27; 5:1-2), the first man, and Adam probably reflects an effort both to tell a story of a past and to provide a mirroring story for every age."'
Going back to Irenaeus, Roman Catholic theology has traditionally made a distinction between the image (tselem) and the likeness (demut) of God in which we humans were created. In this view, image defines that which distinguishes humankind from the animal creation (rationality, freedom of will, immortality, and so on), while likeness defines the state of holiness in which `adam stood before he defected. This interpretation fails to take into account the fact that Gen. 1:26 is an instance of Hebrew parallelism; both terms have to do with parallel representations or models and are simply two ways of saying the same thing.
It is the whole of our being that is like God, a likeness that is passed on through procreation, as Gen. 5:1-3 makes dear (cf. 9:6). 'Adam is God's special representative by nature and design. Earthly kings would erect images of themselves in distant provinces of their realm to represent them where they could not be personally present. So 'adam is placed on earth as God's representative and agent. But unlike the image of earthly kings, the image of God is not a fixed image. As Brueggemann points out, "There is only one way in which God is imaged in the world and only one: humanness! God is not imaged in anything fixed but in the freedom of human persons to be faithful and gracious."4
Human sexuality is a part of the creation's goodness but is not to be understood as a part of the identity of God. Nothing in the passage suggests the idea that the presence of sexual differentiation in creation is to be read as duality in the nature of God.' On this point Wolfhart Pannenberg writes,
3. Terrence E. Fretheim, The New Interpreter's Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), 1:353. Used by permission. This is the way Paul views Adam (see exposition of Rom. 5:11-21). This "social" understanding of 'adam also witnesses to the truth that 'adam reflects the social nature of God, in whose image and likeness we were created (see p. 38).
4. Birch, Let justice Roll Down, 87.
5. Ibid., 88.
While it was a common feature in ancient cultures to conceive of the divine reality as male or female in analogy to human society, the one God of Israel could not be understood to have a divine consort lest monotheism be lost. . . . [The Fatherhood of God in the Old Testament] comes to expression most characteristically in the father-son relationship, when God is said to relate to the king like a father to his son. . . . It expresses not the natural relationship of procreation but rather the social function of providence and care, as it is appropriate in the head of the family.'
Following certain Eastern fathers, we may understand humankind's creation in the divine image to be a reflection of the communal nature of the triune God. The Eastern concept of perichoresis—that God is a community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose unity is constituted by mutual indwelling and reciprocal interpenetration—affirms in the Creator both unity in diversity and diversity in unity (see John 14:10-11, 16-18, 20, 23). God is not a monad; He is in himself a fellowship of holy love (17:21-23). The image of God in 'adam is therefore communal, making possible the divine indwelling of human personality (14:23; 17:26; see chap. 4, fn. 7).
After creating humankind, "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). This pronouncement contrasts the Hebraic understanding of created existence as essentially good with the Greek valuation of the material world as per se evil.
A reading of the creation account also makes it dear that humankind is not an end in itself but was created for God's purposes. Birch points out, "Creation in the image of God and as male and female is in preparation for the discharge of mission within the created order, and to empower them in this mission God blesses them (Gen. 1:28)."7
By creating 'adam male and female, God empowers them to populate the earth and thereby bring into being human communi‑
6. Wolfliart Pannenberg, "Feminine Language About God?" Asbury Theological Journal 48, No. 2 (fal11993): 27.
7. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 89.
ty. But sexuality in the Old Testament is not limited to the procreative act, as we will see when we come to Gen. 2.
The command to exercise dominion over creation was to be carried out by 'adam as God's representative (image) on earth, in behalf of His sovereignty as Creator. Fretheim points out that a study of the verb radah ("have dominion") reveals that "it must be understood in terms of care-giving, even nurturing, not exploitation. As the image of God, human beings should relate to the nonhuman as God relates to them."' The command to "subdue the earth" focuses on the cultivation of the earth and its development as paradise (cf. 2:15). The Judeo-Christian tradition in its image of dominion has been incorrectly charged with major responsibility for the modem ecological crisis. On the contrary, as we will see when we come to the fall of 'adam, this crisis is the result of sin, in which the awareness of our human stewardship over God's created order is forgotten. The command to "have dominion" over and "subdue" the created order is in actuality an ecological mandate.
Genesis 2
In the more graphic account of the creation of 'adam in Gen. 2, a key text occurs: "Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (v. 7).
Here God the Creator is pictured as a potter who shapes man according to the divine design. The combination of being formed from dust and in the image of God, made of the same substance of the earth but made to have dominion over it, is a profound statement about human identity, linking to the royal themes we have seen in chapter 1.
Furthermore, 'adam is seen here as a creature of two worlds. The "breath of life" he received is not simply air but "God's own living breath." The divine act of breathing into 'adam provides the only distinction here between humans and animals.' Physically and biologically, 'adam is of "the dust of the ground." Personally and psychologically, there is in him "the breath of life," breathed into him by the Lord God, so that he is a "living being" capable of fellowship with his Creator (cf. 3:8-9).
6. Fretheim, New Interpreter's Bible, 1:346.
7. Ibid., 350.
The creation of a companion for man reveals a second purpose for human sexuality: psychosocial rather than merely biological. Phyllis Bird writes, "Companionship, the sharing of work, mutual attraction and commitment in a bond superseding all other human bonds and attractions—these are the ends for which 'adam was created male and female and these are the signs of the intended partnership . . . a partnership of equals, characterized by mutuality and attraction, support and commitment.""
"And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed" (2:25). This can only mean they were created for a relationship of complete openness and wholeness, with sexuality as a part of God's intention (cf. the Song of Solomon, which celebrates the sexual joys of marriage).
In the midst of the garden God planted a "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (2:9). The name of the tree is symbolic. "Any meaning assigned to the tree must recognize that it has to do with a 'knowledge' that God has. This makes it unlikely that it has to do either with sexual knowledge/experience which 2:24-25 and 1:27-28 already imply, or knowledge of/experience with sin or wickedness.""
The key issue involves discerning what are our best interests as humans placed in God's garden. The tree and the divine command together define the limits of creaturehood. To transgress these limits entails the decision to put our own interests first, to become autonomous; in effect it is a declaration of independence from God. To refrain from eating is to acknowledge our creaturely limitations and to accept the will of God as making possible true human life. This creational command thus presents a positive use of law, in which certain limits are recognized as being in the best interests of human life and well-being.12
The ecological command of 1:28 is repeated in 2:15, where 'adam was commanded to "till . . . and keep" the Garden of Eden. "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden," the Lord God says; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (2:16-17; cf.
10. Phyllis Bird, "'Male and Female He Created Them'; Gen. 1:276 in the Context of the Priestly Account of Creation," liarvard Theological Review 74 (1981): 138.
11. Fretheim, New Interpreter's Bible, 1:350.
12. Ibid., 351.
1:29). This command, says Fretheirn, "constitutes a version of the first commandment, a concern not evident in chap. 1.""
'Adam's freedom of will is clearly implied. The Creator takes the risk of allowing a choice to be made for obedience or disobedience. What is significant here is humanity's capacity to choose and the responsibility to accept the consequences of that choice--obethence to God or disobedience. God has placed boundaries upon the exercise of our freedom. "Without this freedom," Birch reminds us, "our interrelatedness would be no more than the biological connectedness of ecosystems."14
THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION: IMAGO DEI
Clearly, the "image of God" (technically, the imago Dei) in Genesis refers to our special human endowment and our special relationship to God. Bernhard W. Anderson has written:
The image refers to something distinctive in human being that makes possible a sense of awe and wonder, which could lead to prayer and relationship with God. The image refers to those special dimensions of human nature that lift humans above the animal plane: imagination, freedom to be and to become, responsibility and guilt, intellectual inquiry, artistic appreciation. The image refers, above all, to the God- given commission to "image" God on earth, that is, to be the agents who represent and realize God's benevolent and peaceful sway on earth."
The term clearly implies that humans alone, of all God's creatures, stand before Him in an "I-Thou" relationship and in representing Him in dominion over the remainder of creation. Human beings alone are addressable by their Creator (1:29), responsible and accountable before Him (1:28; 2:9), capable of fellowship with Him (3:8), and of "imaging" their Creator in their very persons as His representatives on earth.
13. Ibid.
14. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 92.
15. Bernhard W. Anderson, From Creation to New Creation, in Overtures in Biblical Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994), 108.
'ADAM'S DEFECTION; SIN AND DEPRAVITY
In the Epistle to the Romans Paul writes, "Sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned" (5:12).
While Paul's doctrine of the Fall reflects a later theological development within Judaism that came to flower in Christian thought, the raw materials for this doctrine are clearly discernible in the early chapters of Genesis we are now to survey.
THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT
These chapters in Genesis reveal that creation did not remain as God intended but that it has been disturbed and broken by human sin. Disobedience to the divine command broke 'adam's fellowship with God and disrupted the harmony of creation. Now unleashed in the world, sin continues to escalate, corrupting human relationships and even nature itself. These chapters, however, speak not only of sin, which disrupts creation, but also of God's grace, which enables life to continue in spite of sin and gives promise of new creation.
The Temptation and Fall (3:1-24)
In reading the early chapters of Genesis, we must keep in mind the poetic character of biblical language. Wiley and Culbertson call for recognition of the balance between fact and symbolism in chapter 3:
Without doubt this historical account of the fall contains a large element of symbolism. . . . Such facts as the inclosed garden, the sacramental tree of life, the mystical tree of knowledge, the one positive command representing the whole law, the serpent form of the tempter, the flaming defenses of forfeited Eden—all were emblems possessing deep spiritual significance as well as facts. In defending the historical character of the Mosaic account of the fall, we must not fail to do justice to its rich symbolism."
In Gen. 3 the reader seems to be overhearing the middle of a theological dialogue between the serpent and the woman in the
16. H. Orton Wiley and Paul T. Culbertson, Introduction to Christian Theology (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1946), 161.
garden. We hear the serpent raising a question about the amount of freedom God has given the pair: "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (v. 1). This question, which is a clever distortion of the divine command in 2:16-17, cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" if the conversation is to continue (a key move on the serpent's part). The "you" is plural in the Hebrew, so that both the man and the woman are implied, even though the man stands "with her" in verse 6 as the silent partner." Eve's initial response was faithful to the divine prohibition.
"But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (v. 5). The key phrase here is "God knows." The tempter's claim was that God had not told them the full truth, that He was keeping something back, depriving them of what was rightfully theirs. Fretheim says,
The serpent makes it sound as if God's motivation is self-serving; the humans will become like God. Has God, in keeping the full truth from them, divine interests more at heart than interest in humans? The issue of knowledge thus becomes at its deepest level an issue of trust. Is the giver of the prohibition one who can be trusted with their best interests? Can the man and the woman trust God even if God hasn't told them everything, indeed not given them every possible "benefit"? ... The word of the serpent ends up putting the word of God in question."
The woman makes no response to the serpent's charge; she focuses only on the potential of the tree, which she saw as "good for food," "a delight to the eyes," and above all, "desirable for gaining wisdom" (v. 6). While the humans may "desire" the trees for their beauty, they shall not "desire" wisdom—that is, the knowledge of good and evil. "The issue involves the way in which wisdom is gained," Fretheim observes. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see Rom. 1:20-21). By using their freedom to acquire wisdom in this way, they have determined that the creational command no longer applies to them.""
17. Fretheim, New Interpreter's Bible, 1:360.
18. Ibid., 361 (emphasis added).
19. Ibid. (emphasis added).
Distrust thus issued in the denial of their creaturehood. The temptation of us humans is always to overreach our limitations, to try for the prerogatives of God. However, since God has made a specific boundary to be observed, sin is disobedience as well.
Our human temptation is to "be like God, knowing good and evil." "Good and evil encompass all possibilities of benefit and detriment. The temptation is to experience all possibilities, as does God, without regard to limits."20 "Sin," Millard Reed explains, "is the delusion of self-sovereignty"
The Entrance of Sin and Depravity
The consequences of sin are immediate, as Bruce Birch argues:
What the man and the woman immediately know (experience) is their own nakedness (3:7). In quick succession they are so ashamed they try to clothe themselves, they are so afraid at the sound of God in the garden that they hide themselves, and they are so unwilling to accept responsibility for their act of diqobedience that they try to blame another (7-13). Shame, fear, and guilt enter the human story as signs of brokenness caused by their disobedience. Furthermore, the wholeness and harmoniousness of God's creation is now disrupted and broken (1449).21
Perhaps the most interesting point, in the light of modern ethical issues relating to the roles of men and women, is the recognition that the rule of the man over the woman is a sign of human fallenness. Bird writes, "The sign of this disrupted relationship is this, that while the woman's relationship to man is characterized by desire, the man's relationship to the woman is characterized by rule. The companion of chapter 2 has become a master."22
Furthermore, the disobedience of the garden is but the first episode in an escalation of sin that tragically unfolds throughout primeval history. In the tragedy of Cain and Abel (4:1-16) sin
20. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 93.
21. Ibid., 99.
22. Bird, "Male and Female He Created Them," 138 (emphasis added).
moves from personal disobedience to murder." In the account of the Flood (chaps. 6-8), wickedness has become so universal that "every inclination of the thoughts of their [human] hearts was only evil continually" (6:5). In the episode of the Tower of Babel (11:1-9), the arrogant desire to "make a name for" themselves launches an attack on the heavens themselves with a tower to give humans access to God. The picture is of a growing gap between God and humanity.
We must not overlook a further point, that the nonhuman creation is a participant in the brokenness and corruption that results from sin. With the apostle Paul we must understand that in the brokenness of sin "the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now" (Rom. 8:22). "Throughout the Hebrew biblical tradition," Birch reminds us, "sin is treated as something that disturbs the whole of God's created order and not just the relationship between God and humanity. 'Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing' (Hos. 4:3).""
THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
summarizing the theological implications of the Fall, W. T. Purkiser provides a threefold view of sin, as intrusion, choice, and condition:"
Sin as Intrusion
Sin, is not a part of human nature as created or as intended to be. Temptation is seen to come through desires that are themselves amoral. "'Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.' Only when 'desire . has conceived' (by impregnation with the consent of the will) does it give 'birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death' Games 1:14-15, Rsv).
Sin as Choice
Sin as an act is a matter of disobedience, of rebellion against God, of an effort to be "like God" (3:5)—and therefore indepen‑
23. The word "sin" first occurs in 4;7; it is pictured as an invasive power threatening human well-being, an idea suggestive of Paul's concept of sin (Gr. he harnartia) as a tyrannical, irrational force that "entered" the race with Adam's defection (see Rom. 5:12-14).
24. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 95.
25. Purkiser, Exploring Christian Holiness, 1:37-39.
dent of God. "Sin, in the Biblical view," Purkiser quotes James On, "consists in the revolt of the creature's will from its rightful allegiance to the sovereign will of God and the setting up of a false independence, the substitution of a life-for-self for life-for-God."
Sin as Condition
"The act of disobedience, of falsely claimed self-sovereignty, brought estrangement and alienation from God." The sin that brought a deprivation of the holiness in which man was created resulted in moral depravation for Adam's race.
It is the New Testament that tells us most specifically of the radical effects of the first sin (specifically, Rom. 5:12-21); yet there is a hint of it in the statement of Gen. 5:3 that Adam "had a son in his own likeness, in his own image" (Nrv). The image was still God's image (v. 1), but it was also Adam's image, without the sanctifying relationship with the Creator, deprived and therefore depraved as a branch cut from the vine is corrupt not by the addition of something but by the loss of something (John 15:6).
In the Genesis account we have what theologians speak of as total depravity. As members of Adam's fallen race, every imagination of the thoughts of the human heart is "evil" and that "continually" (6:5, igv).
Even though the picture of fallen humanity is dismal, we must never overlook the balancing truth of God's grace, which from the day of the Fall has manifested itself in His immediate and constant endeavor to recover humanity from its sinful predicament. While all humans and creation itself participate in the consequences of sin, so too are they the beneficiaries of God's redemption. As He says in Isaiah, "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (65:17, Nrv).
The final fulfillment of God's purpose in history is characteristically pictured as a new creation. This theme is most dearly emphasized in the Old Testament in Isa. 40-66, where the author understood himself to be standing just beyond the shadow of divine judgment and on the threshold of God's new age. The Early Church knew itself to be a part of that new creation in Christ, through whom ultimately "the creation itself will be set free from
its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).
What God's future redemptive purposes actually entail we mortals can only guess and speak of poetically. Meanwhile we confess ecstatically with the apostle, as he envisioned God's final triumph in redeeming fallen humanity, "0 the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen" (Rom. 11:33-36, Rsv).
4
Toward an Old Testament
Theology of Holiness (2)
In our endeavor to construct an Old Testament theology of holiness, we have considered the meaning of the creation of human beings in God's own image and the meaning of the Fall and the
entrance of sin and death into the human family, with the consequent disruption of the round of nature.
We saw further that we must lay equal emphasis upon the balancing truth of the reality of God's grace making redemption possible in the midst of human sinfulness and promising ultimately "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1).
SIN AND GRACE
God's judgment (mingled with grace, as we shall see) was displayed immediately after the sin of the pair in the garden (Gen. 3:9-24). Upon entering the garden, God called to the man, "Where are you?" (v. 9), not because He was ignorant of their whereabouts, but because He wanted the pair to face the consequences of their sin. The man's response, "I was afraid, because I was naked" (v. 10), clarifies the motive of his hiding: guilt and shame. "Partaking of the fruit of the tree," Livingston comments, "had not made him like God, as the serpent had suggested, but had rather compromised his own true essence of being a man before God."1
1. George Herbert Livingston, "Genesis," in vol. 1 of Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1969), 45.
The man was not simply guilty before God; he was ashamed before his wife. "Who told you that you were naked?" God asks in verse 11.
"How could the man have known that he was naked?" Fretheim asks. "Something must have happened so that the nakedness had become a problem to the someone who told him so [namely, the woman]." God then asked the pair whether they had eaten of the forbidden tree. "The response could be viewed as a consequence of their having achieved autonomy; the man could not handle the new 'knowledge.'" But, as Fretheim says, "The man appears fearful, insecure, and ashamed, seeking to justify himself and deflecting blame, both to God for giving him the woman and to the woman for giving him the fruit to eat. . . . This situation attests to a breakdown in interhuman relationships as well as in their relationship with God, whom he does not engage in a straightforward manner."2
The woman then blamed the trickery of the serpent, yet she admitted that she, too, had eaten the forbidden fruit. God then proceeded with the sentencing (vv. 14-19). The man then named his wife Eve (v. 20). At this point, Genesis tells us, "the LORD God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. Then the Loiw God said, 'See the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil' (vv. 21-22). Driving the man out of the garden, God then blocked its gate with a cherubim and flaming sword (vv. 23-24). Verse 22 strikingly defines original sin—it is self- sovereignty, the sin that God will not brook. As we read in Isa. 45:5,
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god."
"The writer presents no naive theology," Fretheim writes, "but a deeply profound understanding of how God chooses to enter into the life of the world and relate to the creatures. Even more, this God comes to the man and the woman subsequent to their sin; God does not leave them or walk elsewhere."' The picture is of God's judgment mingled with grace.
As Creator, we have already noted, God has set the bounds of human creaturehood, saying to the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good
2. Fretheirn, New Interpreter's Bible, 1:362.
3. Ibid.
and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Gen. 2:16-17). Despite this warning, the pair disobeyed— and died, as we have just seen: "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). God's grace, however, was beautifully displayed immediately after their sin, in the Lord God's entering the garden and calling after the man, "Where are you?" as if he had never sinned!
Then turning to the serpent that had deceived the pair, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Gen. 3:15, Nix-M.
In this text the church fathers found the Christus Victor idea of the Atonement In the very act of bruising Jesus' heel, Satan's head was crushed. Although the serpent's tail still wiggles, his death is certain! In Christ's death and resurrection the decisive victory over sin and death has been won; the final triumph over evil awaits our Lord's return in glory
In the Lord's making clothes for the pair, other interpreters find the implication that He had offered an animal sacrifice for their sin (cf. 4:4). Whether or not we should read this meaning into the act, the story suggests that God lovingly clothed the pair in the garden.
God, of course, is revealed as the righteous Judge throughout these early chapters of Genesis, exacting the consequences of sin. Yet He also put a mark on Cain to protect him (4:15); He not only saves Noah and his family from the Flood but also guarantees the order of nature and enters into covenant around the promise of the rainbow (8:20-9:17).
Finally, and importantly, in Gen. 12:1-3 the account takes a significant turn to begin the story of Abraham and Sarah and their descendants—Israel. Birch comments, "The testimony of God's creation and the tragedy of broken creation are important in their own right, but they also stand connected to the story of a particular people, beginning with Abraham and Sarah, who understand themselves as called into being to play a part in God's redemptive purposes for a broken creation. . . . God the Creator is also revealed as God the Redeemer, and the story of Israel is to be understood as a part of God's redemptive work."'
4. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 96.
Just as creation participates in the consequences of human sin, so, too, creation becomes the final beneficiary of God's redemption. Redemption, which begins with the salvation of the human family, climaxes in a renewed nature rejoicing in the salvation of God's people. "For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace," we read in Isa. 55:12-13; "the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle."
As we saw in the previous chapter, the final fulfillment of God's purposes in history is often pictured in terms of a new creation, such as we see in the vision of the peaceable kingdom in Isa. 11:6-9. It should not be surprising, therefore, that Paul and the Early Church found in Christ the experience of new creation (2 Cor. 5:17—"The old order has gone, and a new order has already begun," NEB). The climax of God's redemption is seen in the New Testament promise that creation itself will be redeemed when His salvific promise for humankind is consummated (Rom. 8:18-23).
FROM PROMISE TO DELIVERANCE
With the movement from primeval history (Gen. 1-11) to the call of Abraham (12:1-3) we move from the account of humanity in general to begin the story of a particular community—Israel, God's own people.
It is important that we see in these events the beginnings, the roots, of our identity as the Church. We are a continuation of that ancient community called into being by God himself, who was not willing to leave humanity and His creation fallen and broken. To understand more fully the testimony of Genesis and the Exodus story (and their echoes throughout the canon of Scripture) is to gain insight into our character and our mission as God's holy people today.
The birth story of the Israelites is our own birth story as the Church of Jesus Christ. The remembered events that brought ancient Israel into being tell us who we are as God's new Israel—the children of Abraham in whom "all the families of the earth shall be blessed." And in the Exodus event (narrated in chaps. 1-15), in which the Israelites remember their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, we see a foreshadowing of the "exodus" that Jesus ac‑
complished in Jerusalem in His death and resurrection (Luke 9:31), creating the Church as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people" (1 Pet. 2:9).
It is as a part of this community of faith and obedience that began with Abraham and became "a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" at the Exodus (Exod. 19:6) that we read the story of Israel in the Old Testament.
THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S PEOPLE: ABRAHAM
In Gen. 12:1-3 God issues both a summons and a promise to Abram: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. . . . and in you all the families of earth shall be blessed." God chose Abram, that through him He might raise Israel to be His missionary people, "a light to lighten the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32, Kiv) and bring the knowledge of God with all its blessing to the ends of the earth (Isa. 42:5; 43:10-12).
In Abraham we find the true nature of justification, as Paul demonstrates in Rom. 4:1-25. The key passage the apostle quotes is Gen. 15:5-6, where we read that the Lord took Abram out one starry night and talked to him: "'Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness" (emphasis added; cf. Gal. 3:6-14). The righteousness that the Lord reckoned to Abraham was not ethical, but relational.5 Abraham was justified by faith, just as we are who trust in Christ for pardon and acceptance with God.
When Abram was 99, the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect" (Gen. 17:1, iqv). J. G. S. S. Thomson writes concerning this verse, "'Perfect' means ethically blameless, and denotes integrity. And the phrase, 'walk before me' means 'live consciously in my presence.' This suggests progress in ethical conduct consistent with a progressive awareness of God's presence. The aspiration is
5. Abraham's ethical behavior reflected the cultural practices of his time. Justification by faith is preethical; yet as Gen. 17:1 clearly implies, implicit within it is the requirement to "walk before me" with integrity (see chap. 8, on Rom. 6:19).
to be well pleasing unto God in whose presence one is constantly walking."'
Since Abraham is "the father of us all" (Rom. 4:16), his faith and obedience are instructive to us who through him have been blessed with God's promised salvation.
THE EXODUS AND THE MOSAIC COVENANT
After delivering Israel with a mighty hand.from the Egyptians and bringing them across the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, God called to Moses from the mountain and said, "You have seen what
I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" (Exod. 19:4-6).
A significant point to note here is that Israel's holiness was corporate: Israel was God's holy people. Individual Israelites were holy as they observed the terms of the covenant. In Exod. 19:4-6 the Hebrew pronoun is plural. But not in the Decalogue, which follows; there God employs the singular, as the KJV makes clear: "I am the LORD thy God. . . . Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exod. 20:2-3ff., emphases added). That is to say, Israel was truly God's holy people only as they individually obeyed His commandments (cf. "The Holiness Command," in chap. 1).
It was in the breakdown of obedience on the part of individual Israelites, we learn, that Israel failed the Lord as His holy people. This defection became obvious at the time of the Exile, when for the first time a prophet would declare, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4, KJV, emphasis added; see vv. 132).' Consistent with this new understanding of individual re-
6. J. G. S. S. Thomson, The Old Testament View of Revelation (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmaris Publishing Co., 1960), 54.
7. Prior to this, the proverb ran, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (v. 2). H. Wheeler Robinson coined the term "corporate personality" to express this earlier understanding: "Whether in relation to man or God, the individual person was conceived and treated as merged in the larger group of family or clan or nation" (H. Wheeler Robinson, The Christian Doctrine of Man [Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1911], 27). While the idea of corporate sin, as defined in the proverb, was abandoned, the concept of "corporate personality" has a much wider meaning for bibli‑
sponsibility, Jeremiah envisioned a new covenant that the Lord would make with Israel that explicitly promised an experience of personal holiness for every individual of the believing community (Jer. 31:31-34, esp. v. 34; cf. Ezek. 36:25-27). But that is to get ahead of the story.
Our task is now to return to beginnings. We shall give our attention, therefore, to the original covenant the Lord made with Israel at Sinai.
The Mosaic Covenant
Although the experience of God's deliverance from Egyptian bondage formed the faith out of which Israel was born as a community, it required the formative experience of God's covenant making at Sinai to make the community of Israel an ongoing reality.'
The traditional view of the Mosaic covenant as a covenant of works and the Decalogue as a list of rules to be kept in order to earn God's favor and blessing must be rejected out of hand. Sufficient to disprove this mistaken idea is the prefatory statement that provides the background of the Ten Commandments: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt [this is redemptive grace] . . . you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol ... for I the LORD your God am a jealous God" (Exod. 20:2-5).
God first redeemed Israel, then commanded their exclusive devotion. In this context, the Decalogue spells out the framework of covenant obedience, first in their relationship to Yahweh, then to one another. The close relationship between obedience in relationship to God and obedience in relationship to neighbor is the basis of Jesus' summary of the two tables of the Law as loving God "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind ... [and] your neighbor as yourself" (Matt 22:37, 39). Fur-
cal theology and therefore must not be set aside (see Gen. 5:1-2; cf. Rom. 5:12-21). Such corporate thinking in fad distinguishes Hebrew from Greek thought. The latter had no idea of social personality—it conceptualized only the individual. It is this individual; atic way of thinking that renders Greek philosophy incapable of articulating biblical theology. This study of biblical holiness, while recognizing the place of personal freedom, will therefore endeavor to keep in view the corporate nature of personality, with reference to both sin and redemption. As we have seen, such a social understanding of personality also reflects the imago Del (see p. 38).
8. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down, 145.
thermore, in thus summarizing the Law, Jesus was drawing directly on the Book of Deuteronomy, where love is explicitly stated to be the essence of the covenant Law.
The Love of God
Although the word does not occur in the Exodus story, it is the love of God that is later declared to be the motive of His deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, particularly in Deuteronomy and Hosea.
In his Deuteronomy rehearsal of the Exodus story prior to his death, Moses gave the people of Israel, an extremely important reminder: "It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples; but it is because the LORD loves you, and is keeping the oath which he swore to your fathers, that the Loiw has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (7:7-8, Rsv). God's love was the sole explanation for Israel's redemption. Simply put, God loved them because He loved them!
The prophet Hosea makes the same point in a graphic picture of His fatherly love for Israel: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. . . . Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love" (11:1, 3-4).
God's deliverance of His people was clearly out of the free initiative of His love, a manifestation of sheer grace. And it is obvious that Israel participated in that love. As Birch writes, "God's deliverance in the Exodus experience establishes relationship with Israel, and that relationship is already characterized from God's side as love."'
The Love Command
It is in light of God's love for Israel that we are to understand the Shema: "Hear, 0 Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and
9. Ibid., 120. See Snaith, Distinctive Ideas, 94-95, in which he distinguishes between 'ahabah (election love) and chesed (covenant love).
you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deut. 6:4-5, Rsv). Yahweh's love for Israel calls for a responding love on the part of His people, a love that recognizes that Yahweh alone is God and manifests itself in wholehearted devotion and faithful obedience to His revealed will.
As the creed and confession of Israel, the Shema is central to an understanding of the Law, summarizing the Law as it does in terms of loving God. Brevard S. Childs writes, "The ability of Deuteronomy to summarize the Law in terms of loving God with heart, soul and mind is a major check against all forms of legalism. According to Deuteronomy, the whole Mosaic law testifies to the living will of God whose eternal purpose for the life of his people provides the only grounds for life and salvation.""
-
The Law in all its forms is to be understood in terms of Israel as a community of faith. The community formed in relation to the Lord is prior to all else, and the laws are for guidance and instruction in grasping and living out the implications of such a community." "God's prior initiative of grace and freedom is the presupposition on which the Decalogue rests," Birch reminds us. "Obedience to these commands will not establish relationship with God; they but spell out the framework of response in community to a relationship already initiated by God."12
The term "Law," therefore, must be carefully defined because of the legalism it calls to mind for most people. The Hebrew word is "Torah," which properly means "instruction" or "guidance." Seen as the expression of God's grace and love, Torah indicated for Israel a way of life, oriented to life in relation to God.
God, as the Giver of Torah, was seen primarily not as the giver of commandments but as the Source of divine teaching and guidance that defined the life of the faithful community. Conversely, the commandments were seen less as stem rules of behavior than as the joyous gift of God's guidance, manifest in the commandments, but in other ways as well."
10. Brevard S. Childs, Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), 56.
11. Birch, Let justice Roll Down, 164.
12. Ibid., 169.
13. Ibid., 172.
John Barton goes to the heart of the matter when he writes,
"Torah" is a system by which to live the whole of life in the presence of God, rather than a set of detailed regulations to cover every individual situation in which a moral ruling might be called for. . . . Torah . . . is in another aspect the design according to which the world was created, and which makes sense of it; and by adhering to it human beings form part of God's plan, and enjoy . . . fellowship with him. . . . In this sense ethics is not so much a system of obligations as a way of communion with God, which is the cause of joy: hence . . . such passages in praise of the law in Psalm 19. . And hence the existence of the text which has so often struck Christian readers as artificial, repetitive and legalistic, but which could well serve as a complete statement in miniature of Old Testament ethics. . . . Psalm 119 [is comprised ofj one hundred and seventy-six verses in praise of the Torah."
In this view Torah defines holiness, not as rigid adherence to laws and regulations but as life lived in relationship to God, in praise and in grateful, obedient love. At the very heart of the Law is love divine love finding a responsive human love. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Even so, such responsive love is at the same time the Law's command: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets," Jesus said; "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (Math 5:17). The balance of grace and obedience is as pertinent to the Church as to ancient Israel.
In recent years E. P. Sanders has coined the term "covenantal nomisrn" (nomism deriving from the Greek nomos, "law") to express the balance between God's grace revealed in the election of Israel and the obedience He commanded of the chosen people. According to Sanders, the "pattern" or "structure" of covenantal nomism is this:
(1) God has chosen Israel and (2) given the law. The law implies both (3) God's promise to maintain the election and (4) the requirement to obey. (5) God rewards obedience and punishes transgression. (6) The law provides for means of
14. John Barton, "Approaches to Ethics in the Old Testament," in Beginning Old Testament Study, ed. John Rogerson (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982), 130.
atonement, and atonement results in (7) maintenance or reestablishment of the covenantal relationship. (8) All those who are maintained in the covenant by obedience, atonement and God's mercy belong to the group which will be saved. An important interpretation of the first and last points is that election and ultimately salvation are considered to be by God's mercy rather than human achievement's
God's covenant under Moses originated in an act of sheer grace, but its origins included the words of acceptance: "'Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.' . . . The people all answered as one: 'Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do' (Exod. 19:5, 8).
Old Testament history is a detailed and often painful commentary on Israel's failure to live out their pledged obedience as God's covenant people. We turn now to this problem—and to God's further promise to offer His people a new covenant under which He would remove their heart of stone, put His Holy Spirit within them, and write His Law on their hearts and minds.
The Promise of the Spirit
Theologically, it is relatively easy to formulate the balance between divine grace and human obedience; practically, Israel found it virtually impossible to live out their obedience simply in trustful acceptance of God's promise to preserve and save them. Even when received as a covenant of grace, the Law was insufficient in itself to insure the holiness of God's people. Of course the Law's inability to sanctify is as true of Christians today as it was of historic Israel, a truth the apostle Paul drove home in his Epistle to the Romans.
The Powerlessness of the Law to Sanctify
The Old Testament details Israel's repeated failure to live out their covenant obligations to the Lord, despite His persistent love and care for them. Israel's miserable history attests to the fact that the Law could not deliver them from the sin that was lodged in their hearts.
15. E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977),
422.
Jeremiah saw the problem most acutely (see 7:21-26; 11:6-8). Crying to his generation, he urged, "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, remove the foreskin of your hearts" (4:4; cf. Deut. 10:16). Physically circumcised, they were spiritually uncircumcised, as evidenced by their inveterate stubbornness and rebellion against the Lord. The prophet laments, "Can the Ethiopians change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil" (13:23). "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" (17:9, Rsv).
The rock upon which Israel foundered was their "heart of stone" (Ezek. 36:26). Even when understood correctly as a love command, the Law was powerless to dislodge sin and sanctify their hearts.
The Promise of Sanctification
Moses himself, however, foresaw a better day and promised, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live" (Deut. 30:6). In this verse we see a foreglearn of Jeremiah's promise of the new covenant:
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to one another, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more (31:3134; cf. Heb. 8:6-12; 10:14-17).
The fundamental weakness of the Law was its powerlessness to provide the requisite motivation to fulfill the love command that lies at its heart. John spelled out the fatal weakness of the Law in one sentence: "The Spirit had not been given" (John 7:39, Rsv), that is, as an interior dynamic for the Law's fulfillment.
Ezekiel's version of the new covenant, given to exiled Israel in Babylon, is particularly relevant to this point:
It is not for your sake, 0 house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances (36:22-27).
During the intertestamental period, the hope voiced by Ezekiel was interpreted as the promise of future sanctification. George Allen Turner writes,
Typical of this entire literature is the paraphrase of Ezek. 36:26 by S. Simeon b. Johai, "And God said, 'in this world, because the evil impulse exists in you, ye have sinned against me; but in the world to come I will eradicate it from you." It is remarkable that the rabbis, as well as John Wesley, viewed this passage as a dispensational promise of perfection. To the Christian it had already been fulfilled; to the Jew it remained a hope; to both it involved a fulfillment of the law by love."
16. George Allen Turner, The Vision Which Transforms: Is Christian Perfection Scriptural? (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), 72.
Anaheim District Ministerial Training Center
PROFESSOR: Dr. Mike Boswith
PHONE: Wk 714-847-3050
LOCATION: Anaheim District Office 524 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92866
Time: 7-11 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the study of the doctrine of Christian Holiness. The study will explore the biblical development and the emphasis of the doctrine within the Church of the Nazarene. Special attention is given to holiness in personal experience, interpersonal relationships, and doctrinal preaching.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The following are competencies for Ordination Course of Study which are achieved by this course:
1. Ability to identify and explain the Doctrine of Holiness from a Wesleyan perspective. (CN-23)
2. Ability to apply basic understanding of ethical theories to teach and nurture ethical behavior in the Christian community. (CH-1)
3. Ability to discern and make theologically based ethical decisions in the midst of a complex and/or paradoxical context. (CH-2)
4. Ability to apply Christian ethics to the issues of the integrity of the minister and the congregation for authentic Christian faithfulness and public witness. (CH-5)
5. Ability to apply understanding of his or her ongoing developmental needs across the life course of the minister to the pursuit of holy character. (CH-9)
COURSE PROFESSOR
Dr. Mike Boswith: Psy.D., American Behavioral Studies Institute, 2000; MA (Theology), Trevecca Nazarene University, 1989; BA (Religious Studies), Trevecca Nazarene University, 1985; AS (Physical Science), University of the State of New York Regents, 1982. Pastor, Church of the Nazarene, 1988-Present, Associate Pastor, Church of the Nazarene 1985-1988. United States Navy, 1976-1983
COURSE TEXTBOOKS
1. Holy Bible (translation of your choice).
2. Greathouse, William M., Wholeness in Christ: Toward a Biblical Theology of Holiness.
Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1998.
3. Knight, John A., All Loves Excelling. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1995.
4. Kinghorn, Kenneth Cain, The Standard Sermons in Modern English Vol 1 and 2. Nashvile, TN, Abingdon Press, 2002.
5. Wesley, John, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press
RECOMMENDED:
1 Greathouse, William M and Dunning H. Ray, An Introduction to Wesleyan Theology.
Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1982.
2. Greathouse, William, From the Apostles to Wesley. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press,
1979.
3. McCumber, W.E., ed., Great Holiness Classics, Vol. 5, "Holiness Preachers and
Preaching." Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1989
4. Taylor, Richard S. Exploring Christian Holiness, Vol. 3, "The Theological Formulation."
Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1985.
SELECTED WEB SITES:
1. Wesley Center for Applied Theology (NNU) ‑‑ http://wesley.nnu.edu/
2. Wesleyan Theological Journal ‑ http://wesley.nnu.edu/theojrnl/
3. Wesleyan Studies - http://wesleyanstudies.org/
4. Methodist Archives & Research Centre - http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/text/method.html
5. Wesleyan Studies For The 21st Century - http://www.ptloma.edu/wesleyan/
6. Books and Culture: A Christian Review ‑‑‑ www.christianity.net/bc
7. Keith Drury Writings (Wesleyan Church) ‑ http://www.indwes.edu/Tuesday/
8. Christian Classics Library ‑ http://www.ccel.org/
9. Religion Today Newsletter ‑ www.religiontoday.com/CurrentNewsSummary
10. The Crossroads Project/Christian Apologetics ‑ www.crossrds org/index.htm
11. Christian Theology
Research Fellowship ‑
home.apu.edu/~CTRF
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. ¾ Term Examination: (40 points). Mid-Term will be take home and “open book,” “open note,” and if you desire “collaborative.” You must document your sources, including the material gleaned from collaboration.
Scenario: You are teaching a new members class at church. How are you going to explain the doctrine of entire sanctification to your students?
2. Group Presentations: (12 points—1 points each) 13 Discourses on the Sermon on the Mount form an ethical framework for Wesleyans. The first discourse, Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 1, will be done in class. With each of the remaining 12 discourses you must discover one ethical imperative (one from each sermon) for living the Christian life,
explain how you will live out this principal and present your findings to the class. Hand in a one page, double spaced (12 font), one inch margins, synopsis of your findings.
3. Holiness Expositional Sermon (24 points) Following the example in Part III of John Knight’s book All Loves Excelling, prepare a holiness expositional sermon in manuscript form and preach it. “Plain truth for Plain People.” You must sign up for one of the following scripture references:
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17; John 7:37-39; 14:15-23; 17:6-20; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 15:8-9; Romans 6:11-13, 19; 8:1-4, 8-14; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1; Galatians 2:20; 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:14-21; 5:17-18, 25-27; Philippians 3:10-15; Colossians 3:1-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 4:9-11; 10:10-17; 12:1-2; 13:12; 1 John 1:7, 9)Deuteronomy 30:6; Matthew 5:43-48; 22:37-40; Romans 12:9-21; 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13; Philippians 3:10-15; Hebrews 6:1; 1 John 4:17-18) Matthew 5:8; Acts 15:8-9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:3)
Or you may modernize and personalize John Wesley’s sermons 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, or 20 from Outler’s “Works.”
4. Reflection on Wesley Sermon (24 points. 3 points each) Write a reflection paper [two
pages, double spaced (12 font), one inch margins] for each of the 8 Wesley sermons
assigned. Your reflection paper will include an outline of the sermon, what you feel the
main point of the sermon to be and how this truth is to be realized in your life.
COURSE GRADING SYSTEM
Final grades will be determined by a point system based on the course assignments.
90 points and above A
80 to 89 points B
70 to 79 points C
60 to 69 points D (No credits are transferred; see instructor.)
ABSENCES
Consult ADMTC policy, page 7.
INCOMPLETE
Consult ADMTC policy, page 8.
COURSE SCHEDULE/OUTLINE
Class introduction
Lecture: Holiness in the OT
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 1 Discussion
Lecture: Holiness in the OT
Preparation for session:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 1-4
Read Outler, Works, “The Almost Christian” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 2 Discussion paper
Lecture: Holiness in the NT
Preparation for session:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 5 & 6
Read Outler, Works, “Scriptural Christianity” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 3 Discussion paper
Session 4
Lecture: Holiness in the NT
Preparation for session:
Read Greathouse, Wholeness In Christ, Chapters 7& 8
Read Outler, Works, “The Witness of the Spirit, I” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 4 Discussion paper
SEssion 5
Lecture: Holiness According to John Wesley
Preparation for session:
Read Wesly, Plain Account, pages Preface-21
Read Outler, Works, “The Witness of the Spirit, II” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 5 Discussion paper
Session 6
Lecture: Holiness According to John Wesley
Preparation for session:
Read Wesly, Plain Account, pages 22-67
Read Outler, Works, “The Witness of Our Own Spirit” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 6 Discussion paper
Session 7
Lecture: Holiness According to John Wesley
Preparation for session:
Read Wesly, Plain Account, pages 67-113
Read Outler, Works, “On Sin in Believers” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 7 & 8 Discussion paper
Session 8
¾ Term Examination (work at home)
Lecture: Holiness According to John Wesley
Preparation for session:
Read Wesley, Plain Account, pages 114-119
Read Outler, Works, “The Repentance of Believers” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 10 & 11 Discussion paper
Session 9
Lecture: Holiness in the Church of the Nazarene
Preparation for session:
Read Knight, All Loves Excelling, Chapters 1-8
Read Outler, Works, “The Circumcision of the Heart.” Reflection paper
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 12 Discussion paper
¾ Term Examination DUE
Session 10
Lecture: Personal Pursuit of Holiness
Preparation for session:
Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 13 Discussion paper
Holiness Sermon Presentation
Holiness Expositional Sermon Sign Up
Jeremiah 31:31-34;
Ezekiel 36:25-27;
Malachi 3:2-3;
Matthew 3:11-12;
Luke 3:16-17;
John 7:37-39;
John 14:15-23;
John 17:6-20;
Acts 1:5;
Acts 2:1-4;
Acts 15:8-9;
Romans 6:11-13, 19;
Romans 8:1-4, 8-14;
Romans 12:1-2;
2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1;
Galatians 2:20;
Galatians 5:16-25;
Ephesians 3:14-21;
Ephesians 5:17-18, 25-27;
Philippians 3:10-15;
Colossians 3:1-17;
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24;
Hebrews 4:9-11;
Heb. 10:10-17;
Heb. 12:1-2;
Heb. 13:12;
1 John 1:7- 9;
Deuteronomy 30:6;
Matthew 5:43-48;
Matthew 22:37-40;
Romans 12:9-21;
Romans 13:8-10;
1 Corinthians 13;
Philippians 3:10-15;
Hebrews 6:1;
1 John 4:17-18
Matthew 5:8;
Acts 15:8-9;
1 Peter 1:22;
1 John 3:3
John Wesley’s sermons:
1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20
