What follows is our discussion of Scot's ninth chapter of Embracing Grace

Death, Resurrection, and the Gift of the Spirit: One Integrated Package

Scot’s ninth chapter explores “The Divine Gospel Comedy,” the story that pass through it’s tragic moments, but finally concludes on a good note, a grand note, a glorious note. Strangely, some portions of the Christian tradition have placed the emphasis so strongly on the death of Jesus, on Good Friday, that the other events in Jesus life, and the momentous events that followed his death—the resurrection and the endowment of the Spirit—get short shifted. But all these events are part of one package deal; they are each vitally important and require each other for their significance.

Scot doesn’t allow them to be separated: “God does his gospel work over an entire season: Good Friday, which explores [or exposes] and forgives the cracks in the Eikon; Easter Morning, which renews and empowers us to walk again; and Pentecost, which empowers us to be a kingdom community” (p. 111).

He learned his approach from our New Testament brothers. Listen to Paul, who calls us to imitate Abraham’s faithful faith. In so doing, we will “believe in him [the Father], the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He [Jesus] was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right [or "justify" us] with God” (Romans 4:24-25). See how death and resurrection are integrated here?

On Romans 4:24-25, the question was raised, “What does Paul mean by ‘justification’?” I provided a brief explanation that it served as a legal metaphor wherein the judge pronounced you as being acquitted, of being “in the right” (cf. the parable of the “justified” tax-collector in Luke 18:1-14). Paul uses the term in a covenantal way, that is, as referring to “the right community,” that is, the community that will be vindicated by resurrection when Jesus returns. The word can be used in the past tense, as in “we have been justified,” and  in the future tense, as in “we await justification, or judgment, in the future.” Like many other NT realities it shares in the “already/not yet” dynamic that we have explored. So the word has legal, covenantal, communitarian, and eschatological dimensions. For a fuller understanding of what Paul means by "justify," see an article by Tom Wright called "The Shape of Justification," Bible Review, April 2001.

To Corinth, a church that misunderstood the nature and importance of the bodily resurrection, Paul writes: “And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!” (1 Cor 15:14-18).

Scot adds: “The French theologian Francis Xavier Durrwell said this perfectly: ‘A person dead to God cannot come to life again merely because someone else had died in his or her place.’ What a dead person needs is new life. That is what the gospel promises.”

Why are we so lopsided in our emphasis? Perhaps here too we’ve been influence by the misleading notion that the gospel is just about “me, God, forgiveness, and going to heaven.” But isn’t it so much more encompassing, so much more comprehensive? Isn’t God intent on forming for himself a community, a community loyal to him and loving of others?

Even in the Lord’s supper Jesus asked us to “remember him,” all of him—his teaching and his healings, his embrace of sinners and his conflicts with the self-righteous, his death and his resurrection, his restoration of Israel and his inclusion of all the nations in the blessing of Abraham, his defeat of death and his promised renewal of all things.

It seems odd, but we are prone to divorce Jesus’ death from the life that led to his death and then resulted in his resurrection and the gift of the Spirit to those devoted to him. All these elements of his ministry served one united purpose. As a friend said so well, “Jesus died for the same things that he lived for, to gather a people for God, a people who would love God with all their heart, soul, strength and mind, and their neighbors as themselves.”

Keeping the Whole Story in Mind

It’s helpful to situate Jesus in the unfolding drama of Scripture, the larger story of God’s work in the world. Remember the outline?

(Act 1) The story opens with a condition of relational harmony, between God and humanity, within humanity, and between humanity and the rest of creation. This idyllic start is soon broken.

(Act 2) Our distrust in God’s wisdom and goodness wreaks havoc. Disruption ensues in each of these relationships: things become disjointed in our connection with God; humanity becomes fractured into warring sectarian groups; and our stewardship of the earth is compromised by our irresponsibilities and creation’s “thorns and thistles.”

(Act 3) The third Act in the Drama recounts God’s gracious initiative to restore harmony in every sphere where it has been disrupted. God enlists humanity in the Project Restoration. This privileged commission to ancient Israel looks like this: Resume Adam’s Edenic role as serving as God’s image-bearers. Receive God’s blessings in order to be a blessing to all the nations. Live as a “holy nation,” a “kingdom of priests,” holy intermediaries. Our forefathers, ancient Israel, however, did little better than our primeval parents in the garden.

(Act 4) Jesus, Israel’s King, comes on the scene.  

• He inaugurates the kingdom of grace, of forgiveness, of inclusion, of renewal, of community. He restores Israel and re-commissions her to take the gospel to the nations.
• He takes us Israel’s covenant violations, and the sins of the world, as well, which accounts for his death.
• He takes up our failed roles as Adam, Abraham, Israel, and Servant and executes them faithfully, which accounts for his resurrection, his vindication at God’s right hand.

(Act 5) With his resurrection and the impartation of the Spirit, the trans-national church is born.

• He takes us along with him in the death and resurrection, which issues in our transformation. Our sin is buried, and we have been raised to new life, empowered with the Spirit to then carry on the task which Jesus began, until he returns (Act 6).  

Incorporation into his Death and his Resurrection

Our incorporation into Christ, so that we experience his death and his resurrection, is vital. There is no Christianity without it. To be a Christian one must be in Christ, united to him, as a vine abides in the branch that sustains it.

• Romans 6:1-4. Paul explains: “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” The whole of Romans 6-8 works within this matrix of dying and living in Christ.
• Romans 8:12-14. Paul writes, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
• Ephesians 4:20-24. Paul is speaking here of the “exchange” we learned from Christ. “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” He goes on, from 4:24--6:9, to explain how our participation in the death of Jesus enables us to “discard” the destructive ways that were buried with Christ in the tomb and how our participation in the life of Jesus enables us to “put on” the constructive ways that Jesus embodied.

Death and resurrection and Spirit are all one piece of fabric. Jesus was integrally involved in all three, and so must his children be. We are daily to die to sin and live to God. We are to die to the ways that fracture and destroy and live to the ways to unite and build up. These are two sides of one coin.

What does the Vineyard now need?

A parable from Isaiah chapter 5 will help illustrate for us the “taking off” and the “putting on” that both are necessary for us as a community to be like Christ.

This bit of anguished poetry expresses YHWH’s heartache and puzzlement at his people’s persistent injustice. He had  embraced them in grace, but they refused to reflect his grace in their treatment of the needy in their midst. Like a vineyard to him, Israel had been purchased, the land prepared, the borders protected, the plants well provided for. Every resource was given that would allow them to flourish. But they, as we are all prone to do, despised his gifts, and abused his grace. In response, God withdrew his protection and let their self-imposed consequences fall on their heads. As you read this poetic parable, think about what the Lord intended, and then, after the “fall," what steps must be undertaken to restore the vineyard to the Lord’s prized and pleasing possession.

A Song about the Lord’s Vineyard

  Now I will sing for the one I love
      a song about his vineyard:

  My beloved had a vineyard
      on a rich and fertile hill.
   He plowed the land, cleared its stones,
      and planted it with the best vines.
   In the middle he built a watchtower
      and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.
   Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes,
      but the grapes that grew were bitter.

  Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
      you judge between me and my vineyard.
   What more could I have done for my vineyard
      that I have not already done?
   When I expected sweet grapes,
      why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

  Now let me tell you
      what I will do to my vineyard:
   I will tear down its hedges
      and let it be destroyed.
   I will break down its walls
      and let the animals trample it.
   I will make it a wild place
      where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed,
      a place overgrown with briers and thorns.
   I will command the clouds
      to drop no rain on it.

  The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
      The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
   He expected a crop of justice,
      but instead he found oppression.
   He expected to find righteousness,
      but instead he heard cries of violence (5:1-7).

What now does the vineyard need? Just a little clean up? A hard day’s work of weeding? Will that suffice to restore the vineyard to its intended state of vitality? No. It needs way more than the removal of the “briers and thorns,” though it must begin with that. But following the clean-up, the ground will need to be broken up, the soil re-plowed, seeds replanted, and irrigation provided. The protective walls will need to be rebuilt, and the watchtower and winepress restored. The owner of the vineyard has a lot of work to do. The “wild” things will need to be removed. Yes, and the destructive forces must be dealt with. But that’s just part of the overhaul that is required. The good things also need to be put back in place so that the vineyard can yield grapes in abundance, grapes to please its master and to delight the world. It won’t do to simply pull out the weeds. New crops must also be planted—and maintained.

We are like this vineyard. Our intended state of beauty and life is nearly unrecognizable because we have fallen into ruins and have become overrun with thorns and thistles. The death of Jesus sees to the removal of the intruding weeds and voracious herbivores. But the resurrection and the Spirit are needed to see that the ground is made rich and fertile, that new vines are planted, and then carefully nourished and protected. This is what it takes if we are to bear fruit pleasing to God.

We need it all. And that’s just what God provides. Hallelujah!

Fruitfulness

God is creating for himself, and for his world, a people who reflect his image, a people who participate in his love for others. He is cultivating a fruitful vineyard. How can you tell that this community is his? Because it mirrors his character and commitments. How can you tell this vineyard is his doing? Because it bears the fruit he desires. Not only can one tell a tree by its fruit, but one can tell also who the tree's owner is. Jesus said that the watching world could identify us as his student-followers because of how we treated each other.

The world can recognize us by our fruit, that is, by our behavior and conduct. But so can the Lord. He can use our conduct and behavior as an indicator of whether or not we are devoted to him and his ways. The parable from Isaiah 5 is but one example. Below are several others from the NT. Note that our fate in God's judgment can be determined on the basis of our characteristic lifestyle, our patterns of behavior, that is, the fruit that our life produces, be it good or sour. What we do really matters--eternally. It couldn't be plainer in Scripture--we will be judged by our deeds.

• Matthew 3:7-12. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

  “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

• Matthew 7:15-27. “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

  “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

  “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

• Romans 2:1-11. You may think you can condemn such people [who live immoral lives], but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

  But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

Strangely, God will credit us with the fruit of faith. He will commend us, saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant." But we are quick to credit him! Both of these affirmations are true. God can point to us and say, "Well done." We can point to him and say, "Well done." How can these both be true? Because we are in Christ. We are filled with the Spirit. What we do God empowers. We work together. If either one fails, the project fails. Both must contribute. There is a blended synergism here. Paul captures this mystery in a nutshell: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me" (1 Cor 15:10). So who works? Paul or Grace? BOTH!

Since this biblical truth is often misunderstood, let me "cut and paste" a section from our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 four years ago.

Assurance of Grace

Here's the text under discussion (1 Thess 1:2-10):

We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

Paul and colleagues bring their Thessalonian friends words of assurance, “We know that he has chosen you…” How can Paul be so sure? Is he stepping out on a limb by assuring them of their elected status? By no means. Paul rather is heeding the wisdom of his Lord who said, “You can tell a tree by its fruit. Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit” (from Matt 7:15-20). If you see a tree full of apples, you are not being presumptuous to call it an apple tree. But if the tree, instead, is full of walnuts, you have no basis to call it an apple tree. Paul saw the evidence of the Spirit, and exclaimed, “You must be a Spirit-energized tree!” What was the evidence? The assurance of vs. 4 starts with the word “for,” meaning that the assurance is based on what Paul had just said in vv. 2-3. Their working faith, serving love, persevering hope was the evidence on which Paul could exclaim, “You must be loved and chosen.” But the assurance of verse four is also followed by the “because” of vs. 5. So the basis of assurance looks both ways, up to vs. 3 and down to vs. 5. The affirmation is established as much by the presence of the holy triad (1:3) as by their transforming participation in the gospel (1:5).

Likewise with us, if these “fruits” are hanging prominently on our limbs, then we have strong reason to celebrate and rest secure in our status among the beloved chosen. Peter takes a similar approach as his brother Paul and his Lord Jesus.

2 Peter 1:5-7. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love..” (ESV). For comparison, here is Eugene Peterson’s interpretive translation from The Message: “So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.”

He writes that if we continue throughout our lives to demonstrate the distinguishing traits of Christian living that we can “make our election and calling sure” (2 Peter 1:10). Do you want assurance and security about your standing before God? Peter tells us to “practice these qualities” (that is, the attributes and activities listed in 1:5-7), “for in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:10-11).

Does this “evidential” basis of assurance of Jesus, Paul, and Peter differ from John’s words in 1 John 5:13? “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know that you have life of the coming age (that is, “eternal life”).” Those who believe in the name of Jesus may know they are in possession of life eternal. Note first that “believe” is in the present tense. It is an on-going activity, not a past event. Secondly, faith is faithfulness. Those who misunderstand “belief” as mere mental assent would try to build a case for assurance simply on a past decision to accept Jesus, regardless of on-going behavior. But this is discordant with a biblical construction of faith, contradicts the “evidentiary” approach of Jesus, Paul, and Peter, and fails to recognize John’s unmistakable emphasis on lifestyle obedience. As a sampling of the frequency of this in 1 John, see the necessity of “walking in the light” (1 John 1:6-7); “keeping his commandments” (2:3-6); loving our brothers and sisters (2:9-11); not embracing the ways of the rebellious world (2:15-17); remaining in the Christian community (2:19); et cetera. It is clear that John too argues for evidential assurance.

1 John 3:7-10. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he [Jesus] is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he is born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his or her brother and sister.

On this subject, the NT community speaks with one unified voice. Continued Christian behavior provides assurance of “being saved” (stressing the continual on-going work of salvation; cf. 2 Cor 2:15). Likewise, the absence of God’s activity, the lack of fruit, should cause concern. Looking back to a distant decision that failed to materialize in transformative behavior is no basis for assurance. John the Baptist warned his smug contemporaries that their alleged basis of assurance was insufficient unless attended by fruits demonstrative of the Spirit’s renewal: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” (Luke 3:8). The current-day equivalent of this would be, “Bear fruit…and don't reassure yourselves by saying, ‘We accepted Jesus 17 years ago. That alone should be enough to secure our eternity.’” Without on-going fruitfulness, distant commitments mean little. “You can tell a tree by this season’s fruit.” Not surprisingly, then, the basis of our assurance in the present is also the basis for our favorable judgment in the future. Paul makes this clear in Rom 2:6-11 (quoted above), echoing the Lord’s words from Matt 7:15-27 (and elsewhere).  

Having lifestyle evidence of “being saved” provides assurance when accusations to the contrary come our way. Sometimes these come from our own insecurities, sometime these come from others who misunderstand what we are doing. Jesus, while engaged in the very works of God, was accused of conspiring with the devil (see the Lord’s wonder-working activity in Mark chaps 1-3, with the astounding criticism of 3:22). Reassuringly for Jesus, he knew whom he served. And like Paul, he knew to whom he would render an account and from whom commendation would come (see 1 Cor 4:1-5). With God’s favor in mind and his judgment in view, the criticisms of scoffers carry far less weight.  

The Transforming Effects of the Gospel

“We know, beloved brothers and sisters, that he has chosen you…” (1:4). How do they know this? “Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also with power, the Holy Spirit, and full conviction” (1:5). Through the remainder of this chapter, Paul explains the series of events that transpired from their reception of the gospel, to their embodiment of it, on to their proclamation of it. For these verses, see our discussion notes, part 1 and part 2.