Christology – What Does This Mean?

Church Words: Salvation

[Twenty-Fifth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: One of the most used words in the church’s vocabulary is salvation. We sing about it; we preach about it. It is the goal that every Christian aims for. You can ask even a child what it means. It means that we go to heaven when we die. Right?

Not really. Salvation is not about what we are saved for. It is about what we are saved from. The Hebrew word ישׁע (yasa) and the Greek word σῴζω (sozo) mean “to help, to make whole, to save, to deliver” and similar things. The Hebrew word is behind the names Joshua, Jesus and Isaiah, and many others. It is used for saving people from disaster, sickness, enemies, and oppression. God saved his people from slavery in Egypt. He saved and preserved his people countless times, not because they deserved it, but because he loved them.

It is also used by the prophets for the ultimate rescue — from sin, death and power of the devil. These begin with the promise to Adam and Eve that their Seed would crush the head of the serpent, Satan, and he would bruise the heal of the Seed. (Genesis 3:15) The promised Messiah would bear our sins, atone for them and intercede for them. (Isaiah 53) Finally, he would be born of a virgin at just the right time. (Galatians 4:4-5) The Angel announced to Joseph that he would name the Messiah “God saves” (Jesus) because he would save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21) Jesus was the Lamb of God, who bore the sins of the world to the cross. (John 1:29) His death destroyed death and his resurrection won the victory for us, opening the grave for us on the last day. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Ultimately, then, what Jesus saves us from is sin. Sin threatened to destroy us and separate us from God forever. Therefore, we do not return to sin, now that we are baptized. It would be like having a firefighter carry us out of our burning home, only to try to go back to get our favorite pictures. There is no point in being saved when you are going to put yourself in danger. When we were baptized, we died with him. When he rose, we rose to new life.

So, what are you saved from? From sin, death, and the power of the devil. Why? So that you can live as his child, redeemed, forgiven and be with him forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Redemption

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on church words]Encore Post: One of the most common stories of redemption in the Old Testament comes to us in the book of Ruth. That whole book is about her redemption. Remember, Boaz was her kinsmen redeemer. There are redeemers in the Old Testament, but the story of Ruth and Boaz is one that has always caught my attention. By that act of redemption, Ruth is grafted into the genealogy of Jesus, the redeemer of the world! But what do we mean by “redemption”?

Redemption is one word that dutifully describes the work of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us. Redemption has to do with gaining possession of something in exchange for payment. Dr. Luther is a master at talking about the term of redemption when speaking about the meaning of the second article. There Luther says in line with Scripture, “[Jesus Christ] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His innocent sufferings and death….”

It is not like, however, that Jesus is paying Satan, as if Satan has power over Jesus. No, it’s not like that at all. While humanity was in the grasp of sin and death, it was not Satan who needed the payment of Christ’s blood. Rather, it was Holy and Righteous God.

God, who is indeed Holy and Righteous, could not be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He certainly could not be in the presence of sinful man, and allow them to live. However, by the work of the Son, Jesus Christ, He came to redeem sinful man. He came to gain possession of humanity from the grips of everlasting death for himself.

Jesus pays what we owe to God, who has been gracious and merciful to us, having sent his own Son into the world to be our redeemer. Jesus is the bridegroom is who pays the dowry to have His bride. And He pays that price with His own body and blood at the cross. Christ’s bride is the Church. And He dresses her in his own clothing and presents her to Himself. Redeemed and a possession of Christ forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Church Word: Grace

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: At the end of many worship services, the pastor will announce God’s blessing to his people. “The Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:23-26) This is nothing new. Through Moses, God commanded priests to announce his grace to his people in this way. For 3,500 years, priests and pastors have done so. God blesses and watches over his people. God smiles at his people and favors them. He looks at them and everything is right in the world.

The key word in this blessing is the word, “Grace” (Hebrew חנן (chanan) = to look at someone favorably, Greek χάρις (charis)= to view someone favorably, a gift given without strings attached) When describing God in the Old Testament, his prophets often announce: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (For example, Psalm 145:8, my translation) St. Paul opens almost all his letters with “Grace to you and peace…”) Almost all the time, Grace travels with the same words: “mercy,” “peace,” “love” among them.

God’s grace is not a thing which is given out when you do something. It is God’s attitude towards us. He loved us even before he made the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) When he thinks about us, he is inclined to be kind to us. It is not because we deserve his kindness. In our sin, we have turned our back on him, broken all his laws, ruined his creation and deserve nothing but death and hell. Yet the good news is that, for the sake of Christ’s death on the cross, he looks on us ready to give his good gifts and his Spirit. It is by this grace alone that we are saved.

But there is more to grace than that he smiles at us. The Greeks used the word χάρις for gifts given just because he loves us. Among these gifts are the Means of Grace, the gifts of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and God’s Word, which bring with them in turn the gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation — and the faith to receive them and to trust God to keep his promises. Grace is forever. It is how we can look forward to the day we see the smile on God’s face as he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Word: Hope

[Seventeenth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: In today’s English, the word Hope means a wish for that something we very much want to happen will come true. There is something about it that makes us doubt we will be so lucky. “Well, I hope so,” we’ll say.

In the Bible, hope is a bit different. Hope is something you have no doubt will happen, so much so that you can build your life on it. In theological terms, the Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Because it is God himself who promises these blessings, we can count on it and live our lives knowing it will happen. This is how Christians can suffer and die rather than deny their faith in Christ. It is why the burial service calls it “the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of the dead.”

Why is the Christian Hope so sure and certain? First, because God himself promises it in his Word. Second, because Jesus proved these promises are true by dying and rising again from the dead. So, he can be trusted to keep his promises that where he is, we will be as well. For us, hope becomes reality when we die. He comes to bring us to be with him forever. Exactly what happens then is a mystery.

But this is just the beginning of the blessings kept safe in Heaven for us. On the last day, Jesus will return in glory and he will bring us with him. He will raise our bodies from the grave and change us to be like him. We will then be gathered before the throne and our names read from the Book of Life. We will then live with him forever in Paradise, where there is no more sorrow, crying, grief or pain. God will make everything new. He will bring us to the great marriage feast of the Lamb, which will never end. This great hope gives us joy even in suffering, since we know it will pass away.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Church Words: Omnipotent

Encore Post: [Fifteenth in a series of posts on church words] People respect power and ability. They admire the powerful, dream of what they could do if they had more power are will to fight for power, sometimes doing things they hate along the way. Money speaks because it brings with it power. They will sacrifice almost anything to gain power. It really is not power itself that is so attractive. Power lets you do whatever you want to do. The problem with power is sinful people cannot be trusted with it. “Power tends to corrupt,” said Lord Acton, “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The only one who truly is all-powerful — all-mighty — omnipotent is God. God can do anything he wants to do. When God speaks, the world was created. (Genesis 1) By his word, he keeps the universe running (Hebrews 1:3) Even when things seem impossible to us, for God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) What this means for us is that he can and does keep his promises to us. The real question, then, is not what can God do, but what does he want to do for us?

Where people come to doubt God’s power or his existence, it almost always because he does not do what they think he should do. “If there is a good god,” they say, “then he would…” — eliminate disease, suffering and death — right now! He would shower them with blessing, making you rich and comfortable. When he does not do these things — and on their timetable, people will complain. What they should do is ask: “what is God’s will?” “what does he want to do?”

What God wants to do is to save us and to live with us forever. He loved us before he made the world, chose us to be adopted as his children, to make us holy and blameless in his presence. This he accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross by which he redeemed us, earned for us the forgiveness of sins and sealed us for eternity by His Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

So, what God wants to do is seek and save the lost. With his power, he is able to do this and has already done it for us. What he also wants to do is to work his power through us. He sends us with his word to proclaim, his sacraments to share and gifts to care for our neighbors. So, we are a part of his plan to execute his will. It is through us he chooses to exercise his almighty power, for the praise of his grace, the salvation of the lost and the restoration of his creation to perfection. For with God, nothing is impossible.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Omnipresent

[Fourteenth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: In most non-Christian religions, God is seen as very far away. He is the High God, who made the world and left it to others to cope as best they can. Even in popular American culture, we think of God as tucked away up in Heaven. Our songs tell us “God is watching us… from a distance,” “And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast…” Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, people have imagined they could hide from God. (Genesis 3:8)

All these concepts are mistaken. God is omnipresent — he is everywhere. God is not far away, he is very near. He fills the heavens and the earth. (Jeremiah 23:23-24) No one can hide from him. (Ps 139:6–12) No one can escape his judgement or is beyond his care.

Yet he is not a part of his creation, as the Hindus, Buddhists and others believe. For them, we are god, we just do not know it yet. God is a separate, distinct being. God is not a man (Numbers 23:19), either as these Eastern religions teach or as one of many physical being that grew into Gods, as the Mormons believe. He is busy endlessly maintaining his creation, supporting it with his power, directing the course of events, working through his word and his church to seek and to save the lost, and making new creatures — including each and every new human life.

But that is not the end of the ways God is present. In the Son of God, God became one of us. Jesus is in every way human, except without sin. He is Emmanuel — God with us. He lived a perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose and ascended to Heaven for us. And yet he has, in a mysterious way, not gone away at all. He is “by our side upon the plain (the field of battle) with his good gifts and spirit.” When we gather for worship, even two or three of us, he is there among us.

And yet, Christ is even more present in a way so personal we cannot begin to understand it. In the Lord’s Supper, he is really present, in the flesh and blood sacrificed for us. This body he gives with bread for us to eat and this blood he gives with wine for us to drink. In this way, he is with us so that we cannot miss him. So, God’s omnipresence is a very good thing for us. It means we are never alone, from the day we are conceived to the day we enter his eternal presence and finally see his face.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Word: Evangelical

[Fifth in a series of posts on church words] Encore Post: The phrase “Evangelical Lutheran” may sound strange to your ears. When you think of the word “Evangelical,” you think of Baptists, revivals, altar calls, accepting Jesus as your personal Savior, the rapture and many similar notions, measures and cultural traditions. Like F. C. D. Wyneken, you might think: “I don’t know whether it is of God or the Devil, but it is certainly not Lutheran!” You’d be right! This kind of evangelicalism is not Lutheran at all.

You might be surprised that Lutherans actually coined the word “Evangelical.” It comes from the New Testament Greek word: εὐαγγελίον (euangelion, evangel) It means “good message, good news” — the gospel! At first, Lutherans did not call themselves “Lutheran” at all. Their enemies made that term up to suggest that Lutherans were not catholic or orthodox, but were heretics. Lutherans wanted to be known as gospel-oriented. Their faith was founded on the teaching that salvation is by faith alone through the grace of God alone, for Christ’s sake alone. For centuries they preferred to be called Evangelical — and until the 1800s, when someone in Europe used the name Evangelical, Evangelisch, they meant Lutheran.

Like the word “Protestant,” which also used to mean Lutheran, other non-Catholics really liked the sound of the word. Many of them also cherish the gospel of salvation by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. They even like the phrase: “salvation by grace or faith alone.” So, even though they believe very different things than Lutherans do, they call themselves Evangelical. Since there are a lot more Christians of this tradition than Lutherans, they are the people that come to mind when people say “Evangelical.”

Unlike the word “Protestant,” however, Lutherans refuse to give up this word, because it summarizes what we believe so well. So, you will notice, we put the word in our church names, include it in our Baptism and Confirmation services and at other times. For the Good News is that it is not God’s will that sinners like us perish forever. So in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, he set aside all his power and authority, was born a man in the womb of Mary, bore our sins on the cross, paid their price by his suffering and death and rose again so that our sins might be forgiven, we might rise on the last day from the grave and live with him forever. All that packed into the simple word, “Evangelical.” So we use it proudly, but add the word “Lutheran” to keep from being confused with others.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stay with Us, Lord, for it is Evening

Encore Post: Today, our Easter celebration of the resurrection is filled with joy. White paraments, flowers and banners decorate our churches. Well-practiced organs, choirs and musical instruments of all kinds add to our song. After all, we know the story and how it ends. Jesus is risen!

The first Easter was quite different. Reports from women close to Jesus reported visions of angels and of the Lord himself. The disciples didn’t know what to think. The five accounts of that day show the confusion. (Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-49, John 20:1-23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5) Different people were running all over the place and each story is its own. One thing was for sure. The tomb was empty.

The first Sunday afternoon, two disciples were on the road home and were very unsettled. Could it be true? Was the Lord really risen from the dead? Jesus appeared to them, but did not reveal himself to them. As they walked to Emmaus, Jesus showed them how the Old Testament pointed to him and that he had to suffer, die, and rise again from the dead. They invited him to stay with them for the evening. As they ate dinner, Jesus blessed bread, broke it and gave it to them. They recognized him. He immediately vanished.

These two disciples immediately went back to Jerusalem to report to the disciples what had happened. There, they learned Jesus had appeared to Peter. As they were talking about this, Jesus removed all doubt. He appeared to them, ate some food to show them he was not a ghost, but had risen from the dead, body and soul. He then blessed the Apostles and gave them the power to forgive and retain sins.

When life gets confusing and we do not know what to do, Jesus comes to us in his word. Even though we do not see him, he is always with us. When we pray, “stay with us, Lord,” he does. We are never alone, even until the end of time itself.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Day of Resurrection

Encore Post: He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

In the silence of a cold, dark tomb, the world changed forever. Just as he promised, Jesus rose from his rest in the grave, breaking the seal of the tomb forever. And no one noticed.

The Romans were really good at torturing people to death. Crucifixion was a slow death, designed to kill with the maximum amount of pain and humiliation possible. If the Romans killed you, you were dead. Jesus, in fact, was already dead when the soldiers moved to hurry the process to get the bodies into a grave before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath.

Once they laid Jesus in the tomb, no one expected him to go anywhere. Pilate ordered the tomb sealed by the authority of Rome, setting its seal on the stone that shut it off from the world. Had he not risen from death, the women would have completed his embalming and they would have mourned him for seven days. After a year, they would gather his bones into a stone box. In fact, this is what Caiaphas’ family did. Archaeologists have found his box. Had he not risen, likely no one today would even know the name of Jesus.

But Jesus did rise from the dead. The seal of our graves is broken. When we die now, our spirits live with him until the last day. When Jesus returns on that day, he will call our bodies from the grave and a new creation will occur. We will finally be whole — our bodies — like his resurrected body, will be fit for eternal life. Death no longer has a sting. The grave will have no victory. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Therefore, Easter strikes such a chord with Christians. It is why we greet each other with joy… Christ is risen…

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Christ’s Sabbath Rest in the Tomb

Encore Post: Jesus died late in the afternoon on Good Friday, just before the Sabbath was to begin at Sunset. Two of his secret disciples asked Pilate for his body — Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. They gave him a hasty but rich man’s burial. Several of the women closest to Jesus followed them to the tomb. Joseph rolled a large stone in front of the entrance and they left him there. Later, at the request of the priests, Pilate set a guard and sealed it to prevent the theft of the body. As the second day Jesus was dead began, he was finally at rest.

As God rested on the seventh day of creation, so now Jesus rested on the first Sabbath of the new creation. By his sacrifice on the cross, he destroyed sin and the power of the devil. Soon, when the Sabbath ended, he would break the power of death as well.

As Christians prepare for a joyful Easter celebration, we often miss this moment of quiet and peace. Soon, when sunset comes, the third day will begin. Sometime between that Sunset and Dawn, Jesus rose from the dead, descended to Hell to complete his victory of Satan, and become the first to rise into eternal life. The Church will begin its Vigil of Easter at sunset and sing again the songs of Resurrection.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana