Sw - Session 10 - Group Study
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The Theological Meaning of the Cross
Session 10 Group Study
introduction Explaining the theological meaning of the cross may be like trying to see the whole beautiful, majestic sky from one of the windows of your house. You can see part of the sky through your window, and you can go to the other rooms of your house and look through other windows too. But even after looking out all of the windows, you aren’t seeing the whole sky – you aren’t seeing to the end of the sky, which is infinite through each window, and is more than even all the windows can show you. It’s the same in theology. Trying to explain the meaning of the cross is like looking through different windows in your house. ere are different theological explanations or theories. Each of these is like looking through one of the windows of your house, granted some may be larger than others! Yet, not even one of these theories can give you the whole sky, as none of your windows can. Our best formulations thus don’t give us the whole sky, just a window in it. Nonetheless, even though we know we may not grasp the whole sky, having a theory is better than staring at a blank wall or even a picture hanging on the wall, or even tapping in the dark, since there are no windows.1 In the following group study we will seek to look through six different windows in our house onto the theological meaning of the cross. In doing so we will see that the cross was God’s primary way to deal with the powers of evil and destroy those forces who oppose his divine intentions on earth. e cross was God’s way to set the stage for the renewal of his creation, to once more reflect his divine intentions: Shalom on earth as it is in heaven! Indeed, Christus Victor, the victory of Jesus Christ over all the powers of evil and darkness, is the central theme in atonement theology, around which all the other varied meanings of the cross find their particular niche.2 Six Windows Onto the eological Meaning of the Cross.
scripture study 1: god saves more than people In this first group study we’re going to seek to explain how and in what ways God saves more than people! We will seek to explain three theological meanings of the cross by looking through three different windows of our house. 1. rough Jesus’ Death God Defeated the Evil Powers
The Integral Mission of the Church
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Living the Story Series
Group 1: Read Col. 2:13-15; • How is Christ’s work described? • What was the purpose of his death? • What consequences does this have for the world, for the church and for us as individuals? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society? Group 2: Read 1. Cor. 15:54b-57; Gal. 1:4; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14-17 • How is Christ’s work described? • What was the purpose of his death? • What consequences does this have for the world, for the church and for us as individuals? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 2. rough Jesus’ Death the Cosmos and the Principalities and Powers are Saved from Self-destruction Group 3: Read John 3:16-17 e word translated “world” in this passage is the Greek word “cosmos” which is used in scripture for the following: the universe; the earth and all its inhabitant (human and non-human); the center of human history and the whole complex of human earthly relationships; the order of things; values, cultures and systems of human activity; the social structures and that people create to provide order for their lives. • Keeping in mind the Greek meaning of the word “world or “cosmos”, how does God feel about this “world”? • How had God acted through Christ on behalf of the “world”? What has been God’s desire regarding the “world”? • What is the significance that John uses the word “world” rather than the word “people”? • How are the people of God’s creation related to his larger purposes? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?3 Group 4: Read Colossians 1:15-20 • What do we learn about Jesus in this passage? • What did he create? • What is to be the focus of all Jesus created? • How many times does the word “all/everything” appear in this passage? • What conclusions can we draw from this? • What is Christ’s relationship to the Church? • Why do you think vs. 18a is included in the larger passage?
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Living the Story Series
• How does Christ redeem this creation? • Who or what is reconciled to Christ? • How does this passage demonstrate God’s larger concern for his creation? • How are the people of God’s creation related to his larger purposes? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?4 Group 5: Read 2. Corinthians 5:17-20 • What are the parameters of God’s work of reconciliation? • What is being reconciled? • What would be included within the circumference of the word “world” (see notes for Group 3)? • What is our role in God’s work of reconciliation? • What is not included in our role? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?5 3. rough Jesus’ Death the Created Order is Being Restored to its Original Purpose Group 6: Romans 8:18-25 • What is being enslaved to decadence and sin? • What is being saved by Christ? • Besides humans, what else will receive the benefits of salvation, according to this passage? • What are the implications of Paul’s statement “Creation still retains the hope of being freed … from slavery to decadence?” • Why should Christ die for the created order as well as for the individuals, according to this scripture? • How are the people of God’s creation related to this larger purpose? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?6
scripture study 2: how and in what ways god saves humankind In this second group study we’re going to seek to explain how, through the cross, God saves humankind and in what ways he saves us. We will seek to seek to explain three more theological meanings of the cross by looking through three more windows of our house. 4. rough Jesus’ Death Human Communities and Societies are Restored to their Original Purpose
The Integral Mission of the Church
4
Living the Story Series
Group 7: 1. Cor. 10:16-22; 11:23-26; Gal. 3:26-29; Ephesians 2:14-22; 1 John 3:10-18 • What impact has Christ’s death had over societal divisions? • How are relationships restored? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 5. rough Jesus’ Death Individuals are Liberated from the Enslaving Power of Shame Group 8: Luke 22:63-65; 23: 11,35-39; Hebrews 12:2-3; 13:12-13 • What do we learn about Jesus’ suffering and death in these passages? • What impact has Christ’s death had over shame? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 6. rough Jesus’ Death Individuals are Saved from Self-destruction and Enabled to Enter into new Communion with God Group 9: Romans 1:18-23, 28-32; 3:21-26; 5:7-11; 6:23; Matthew 1:21; 1. Tim. 1:15 • What have human beings done? • What’s the direct consequence of their actions? • Why is God angry at them? • What do we learn about Jesus’ death in these passages? • How do these passages define salvation? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? • What sins did Jesus come to save us from?
summary e story we find ourselves in has been hijacked by sin and evil. All of us are, to some degree, passive participants or even coconspirators in this hijacking.7 e common view, therefore, asserts that Jesus came to save us from this evil world which has been hijacked by sin, in order to give those who accept him as their Lord and Savior tickets into his realm – heaven. Indeed, many evangelical theories of atonement (i.e. ransom and substitution theories) concentrate on the individual person’s salvation. In doing so, they separate salvation from ethics and give Christians little or no reason to participate in the conquest of evil or to transform the structures of the kosmos that are governed by these powers.8 e result is the scandal of worshiping churches, who exercise no transforming impact on their surrounding communities and nations; of professing Christians
The Integral Mission of the Church
5
Living the Story Series
whose sexual practices, business dealings, and political attitudes are no different from those of non-Christians.9 In contrast to most evangelical theories of atonement, however, the writers of the Gospels and the epistles understood that the sinfulness in our world is simultaneously political, economic, social, religious, and moral.10 In their understanding Jesus didn’t come to save us only from private, moral, and religious imperfections.11 As much as that was part of his aim, he also came to save us from oppressive political, social, or economic sins in the here and now.12 ere is no slightest indication that the New Testament writers projected God’s redemptive action solely into the heavenly and spiritual realm. To them, the rejection of Jesus is part of a much larger, sinful world that consists of sinful imperial, social, economic, and religious structures and practices that benefit the elite, burden the rest, violate God’s will and sovereignty, and resist God’s empire of Shalom. From this present world and its evil powers people are to be saved.13 e New Testament understanding of Jesus’ death on the cross, then, goes beyond the individual’s salvation; it emphasizes that biblical salvation is much broader than the individual’s redemption from sin, his reconciliation with God, and his receiving the gift of eternal life. It emphasizes that instead of withdrawing and abandoning us to our sin and evil, God stepped into our story and absorbed an unfathomable infliction of pain, so we won’t suffer it ourselves, so our story won’t have a tragic end.14 In doing so, God saved this world from the evil principalities and powers, as well as the oppressive structures and systems, which continuously enslave humankind and oppose God’s vision of Shalom. e result: God’s redemptive work on the cross enables people who repent of their old ways and submit to God’s Lordship, to become reconciling agents, who can help God restore his creation, its systems and structures, to its original purpose: Shalom. e cross, then, is a message of hope. Christ died in order to rescue us from the present evil age in the here and now. is understanding of Christ’s death provides a rationale for Christians to believe that Christ can indeed transform culture in the here and now. It provides a rationale to become involved in this endeavor ourselves since it recognizes that Christ, the Lord over natural and supernatural powers, over systems and structures and persons, has invited us to join him in his mission to bring his Kingdom of Shalom on earth as it is in heaven! While his Kingdom will only be established fully upon his return, already now we can help advance it by becoming his ambassadors of reconciliation to people, creation, systems, structures, and all things visible as well as invisible!
The Integral Mission of the Church
6
Living the Story Series
group dialogue: what are your reactions to the theological meaning of the cross? Let’s summarize and reflect and explore the breadth of the concept of salvation we have read about in Scripture today. What insights/ conclusions can we draw from these scriptures? Group 1: • In light of all we’ve reflected upon in our exploration of scriptures today – why did Jesus have to die? • What difference would it make in our ministry and practice of our faith for us to believe that God saves more than people? at God is actively at work seeking to redeem the structures, the systems of the city or nation – or even the city or nation itself? Group 2: • Holding to a doctrine of salvation as outlined in our Scripture Study today, what would you suspect Christ would call the church to be and do in your nation? • Why do you think so many churches have been so reluctant to accept the centrality of restoring Shalom on earth in the gospel? Both Groups: ink about how you would explain the Gospel to a non-believer after all that we studied in this and the previous sessions. Take a few minutes to formulate how you would present the Gospel of the Kingdom. Discuss with your group members how you would go about it, and come prepared to share your findings with the whole group.
The Integral Mission of the Church
7
Living the Story Series
endnotes 1
Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 102 N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 114 3 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” as well as Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 334 4 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 5 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 6 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 7 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 170 8 Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 122 9 If one reduces the atonement just to Jesus’ death for our sins, one abandons the New Testament’s understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom and severs the connection between the cross and the purpose of Jesus’ disciple-based movement – to restore creation to its original purpose. 10 Warren, Carter, Matthew and Empire, 79 11 Warren Carter, Matthew and Empire, 81-82 12 Warren, Carter, Matthew and Empire, 79 13 Warren Carter, Matthew and Empire, 81-82 e Roman imperial world does not manifest the gift and blessing of the gods. It manifests Satan’s reign. 14 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 170 2
The Integral Mission of the Church
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Living the Story Series
The Theological Meaning of the Cross
Session 10 Group Study
introduction Explaining the theological meaning of the cross may be like trying to see the whole beautiful, majestic sky from one of the windows of your house. You can see part of the sky through your window, and you can go to the other rooms of your house and look through other windows too. But even after looking out all of the windows, you aren’t seeing the whole sky – you aren’t seeing to the end of the sky, which is infinite through each window, and is more than even all the windows can show you. It’s the same in theology. Trying to explain the meaning of the cross is like looking through different windows in your house. ere are different theological explanations or theories. Each of these is like looking through one of the windows of your house, granted some may be larger than others! Yet, not even one of these theories can give you the whole sky, as none of your windows can. Our best formulations thus don’t give us the whole sky, just a window in it. Nonetheless, even though we know we may not grasp the whole sky, having a theory is better than staring at a blank wall or even a picture hanging on the wall, or even tapping in the dark, since there are no windows.1 In the following group study we will seek to look through six different windows in our house onto the theological meaning of the cross. In doing so we will see that the cross was God’s primary way to deal with the powers of evil and destroy those forces who oppose his divine intentions on earth. e cross was God’s way to set the stage for the renewal of his creation, to once more reflect his divine intentions: Shalom on earth as it is in heaven! Indeed, Christus Victor, the victory of Jesus Christ over all the powers of evil and darkness, is the central theme in atonement theology, around which all the other varied meanings of the cross find their particular niche.2 Six Windows Onto the eological Meaning of the Cross.
scripture study 1: god saves more than people In this first group study we’re going to seek to explain how and in what ways God saves more than people! We will seek to explain three theological meanings of the cross by looking through three different windows of our house. 1. rough Jesus’ Death God Defeated the Evil Powers
The Integral Mission of the Church
2
Living the Story Series
Group 1: Read Col. 2:13-15; • How is Christ’s work described? • What was the purpose of his death? • What consequences does this have for the world, for the church and for us as individuals? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society? Group 2: Read 1. Cor. 15:54b-57; Gal. 1:4; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14-17 • How is Christ’s work described? • What was the purpose of his death? • What consequences does this have for the world, for the church and for us as individuals? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 2. rough Jesus’ Death the Cosmos and the Principalities and Powers are Saved from Self-destruction Group 3: Read John 3:16-17 e word translated “world” in this passage is the Greek word “cosmos” which is used in scripture for the following: the universe; the earth and all its inhabitant (human and non-human); the center of human history and the whole complex of human earthly relationships; the order of things; values, cultures and systems of human activity; the social structures and that people create to provide order for their lives. • Keeping in mind the Greek meaning of the word “world or “cosmos”, how does God feel about this “world”? • How had God acted through Christ on behalf of the “world”? What has been God’s desire regarding the “world”? • What is the significance that John uses the word “world” rather than the word “people”? • How are the people of God’s creation related to his larger purposes? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?3 Group 4: Read Colossians 1:15-20 • What do we learn about Jesus in this passage? • What did he create? • What is to be the focus of all Jesus created? • How many times does the word “all/everything” appear in this passage? • What conclusions can we draw from this? • What is Christ’s relationship to the Church? • Why do you think vs. 18a is included in the larger passage?
The Integral Mission of the Church
3
Living the Story Series
• How does Christ redeem this creation? • Who or what is reconciled to Christ? • How does this passage demonstrate God’s larger concern for his creation? • How are the people of God’s creation related to his larger purposes? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?4 Group 5: Read 2. Corinthians 5:17-20 • What are the parameters of God’s work of reconciliation? • What is being reconciled? • What would be included within the circumference of the word “world” (see notes for Group 3)? • What is our role in God’s work of reconciliation? • What is not included in our role? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?5 3. rough Jesus’ Death the Created Order is Being Restored to its Original Purpose Group 6: Romans 8:18-25 • What is being enslaved to decadence and sin? • What is being saved by Christ? • Besides humans, what else will receive the benefits of salvation, according to this passage? • What are the implications of Paul’s statement “Creation still retains the hope of being freed … from slavery to decadence?” • Why should Christ die for the created order as well as for the individuals, according to this scripture? • How are the people of God’s creation related to this larger purpose? • What insights does this passage give us regarding what Christ has done for society?6
scripture study 2: how and in what ways god saves humankind In this second group study we’re going to seek to explain how, through the cross, God saves humankind and in what ways he saves us. We will seek to seek to explain three more theological meanings of the cross by looking through three more windows of our house. 4. rough Jesus’ Death Human Communities and Societies are Restored to their Original Purpose
The Integral Mission of the Church
4
Living the Story Series
Group 7: 1. Cor. 10:16-22; 11:23-26; Gal. 3:26-29; Ephesians 2:14-22; 1 John 3:10-18 • What impact has Christ’s death had over societal divisions? • How are relationships restored? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 5. rough Jesus’ Death Individuals are Liberated from the Enslaving Power of Shame Group 8: Luke 22:63-65; 23: 11,35-39; Hebrews 12:2-3; 13:12-13 • What do we learn about Jesus’ suffering and death in these passages? • What impact has Christ’s death had over shame? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? 6. rough Jesus’ Death Individuals are Saved from Self-destruction and Enabled to Enter into new Communion with God Group 9: Romans 1:18-23, 28-32; 3:21-26; 5:7-11; 6:23; Matthew 1:21; 1. Tim. 1:15 • What have human beings done? • What’s the direct consequence of their actions? • Why is God angry at them? • What do we learn about Jesus’ death in these passages? • How do these passages define salvation? • What insights do these passages give us regarding what Christ has done for society? • What sins did Jesus come to save us from?
summary e story we find ourselves in has been hijacked by sin and evil. All of us are, to some degree, passive participants or even coconspirators in this hijacking.7 e common view, therefore, asserts that Jesus came to save us from this evil world which has been hijacked by sin, in order to give those who accept him as their Lord and Savior tickets into his realm – heaven. Indeed, many evangelical theories of atonement (i.e. ransom and substitution theories) concentrate on the individual person’s salvation. In doing so, they separate salvation from ethics and give Christians little or no reason to participate in the conquest of evil or to transform the structures of the kosmos that are governed by these powers.8 e result is the scandal of worshiping churches, who exercise no transforming impact on their surrounding communities and nations; of professing Christians
The Integral Mission of the Church
5
Living the Story Series
whose sexual practices, business dealings, and political attitudes are no different from those of non-Christians.9 In contrast to most evangelical theories of atonement, however, the writers of the Gospels and the epistles understood that the sinfulness in our world is simultaneously political, economic, social, religious, and moral.10 In their understanding Jesus didn’t come to save us only from private, moral, and religious imperfections.11 As much as that was part of his aim, he also came to save us from oppressive political, social, or economic sins in the here and now.12 ere is no slightest indication that the New Testament writers projected God’s redemptive action solely into the heavenly and spiritual realm. To them, the rejection of Jesus is part of a much larger, sinful world that consists of sinful imperial, social, economic, and religious structures and practices that benefit the elite, burden the rest, violate God’s will and sovereignty, and resist God’s empire of Shalom. From this present world and its evil powers people are to be saved.13 e New Testament understanding of Jesus’ death on the cross, then, goes beyond the individual’s salvation; it emphasizes that biblical salvation is much broader than the individual’s redemption from sin, his reconciliation with God, and his receiving the gift of eternal life. It emphasizes that instead of withdrawing and abandoning us to our sin and evil, God stepped into our story and absorbed an unfathomable infliction of pain, so we won’t suffer it ourselves, so our story won’t have a tragic end.14 In doing so, God saved this world from the evil principalities and powers, as well as the oppressive structures and systems, which continuously enslave humankind and oppose God’s vision of Shalom. e result: God’s redemptive work on the cross enables people who repent of their old ways and submit to God’s Lordship, to become reconciling agents, who can help God restore his creation, its systems and structures, to its original purpose: Shalom. e cross, then, is a message of hope. Christ died in order to rescue us from the present evil age in the here and now. is understanding of Christ’s death provides a rationale for Christians to believe that Christ can indeed transform culture in the here and now. It provides a rationale to become involved in this endeavor ourselves since it recognizes that Christ, the Lord over natural and supernatural powers, over systems and structures and persons, has invited us to join him in his mission to bring his Kingdom of Shalom on earth as it is in heaven! While his Kingdom will only be established fully upon his return, already now we can help advance it by becoming his ambassadors of reconciliation to people, creation, systems, structures, and all things visible as well as invisible!
The Integral Mission of the Church
6
Living the Story Series
group dialogue: what are your reactions to the theological meaning of the cross? Let’s summarize and reflect and explore the breadth of the concept of salvation we have read about in Scripture today. What insights/ conclusions can we draw from these scriptures? Group 1: • In light of all we’ve reflected upon in our exploration of scriptures today – why did Jesus have to die? • What difference would it make in our ministry and practice of our faith for us to believe that God saves more than people? at God is actively at work seeking to redeem the structures, the systems of the city or nation – or even the city or nation itself? Group 2: • Holding to a doctrine of salvation as outlined in our Scripture Study today, what would you suspect Christ would call the church to be and do in your nation? • Why do you think so many churches have been so reluctant to accept the centrality of restoring Shalom on earth in the gospel? Both Groups: ink about how you would explain the Gospel to a non-believer after all that we studied in this and the previous sessions. Take a few minutes to formulate how you would present the Gospel of the Kingdom. Discuss with your group members how you would go about it, and come prepared to share your findings with the whole group.
The Integral Mission of the Church
7
Living the Story Series
endnotes 1
Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 102 N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 114 3 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” as well as Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 334 4 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 5 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 6 Based on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 7 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 170 8 Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 122 9 If one reduces the atonement just to Jesus’ death for our sins, one abandons the New Testament’s understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom and severs the connection between the cross and the purpose of Jesus’ disciple-based movement – to restore creation to its original purpose. 10 Warren, Carter, Matthew and Empire, 79 11 Warren Carter, Matthew and Empire, 81-82 12 Warren, Carter, Matthew and Empire, 79 13 Warren Carter, Matthew and Empire, 81-82 e Roman imperial world does not manifest the gift and blessing of the gods. It manifests Satan’s reign. 14 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 170 2
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