Theology Simplified (Listen or Read)
Power versus Love or Power and Love?
I look at it simply. Jesus said we must receive the kingdom of God as a child (Mk. 10:15). If one and one equals two, it cannot be three. The following two points add up to a final glorious outcome and not a tragic one.
- God is all-powerful and always accomplishes His will. (Calvinist/Reformed theology).
- God loves all people and wills the reconciliation of everyone. (Arminian theology – that of most Christians).
Since He wills the reconciliation of all and has all power necessary to accomplish His will, is it too much to believe He will accomplish it? For if He does not, which part of the equation is flawed? “A” or “B”? Calvinists say “B” is flawed, while Arminians say “A” is flawed. But if we accept “A” as the Calvinists do, and “B” as the Arminians do, then we would, like a child, conclude that every person must ultimately be reconciled. This is the Blessed Hope.
The key to unlock the mystery as I see it, is that Calvinists are right about God’s power, and Arminians are right about His love. The tragedy is that both adhere to Augustine’s theory of judgment which forces them to reject (or explain away) the glorious side of each other’s theology. But if instead, they both embraced the Blessed Hope, they would become one and the world would soon know Jesus Christ is Lord! (Jn. 13:35; 17:21, 23). There would be nothing to reject or explain away. The greatest theological controversy and division in the body of Christ would vanish. Might this not be the key to set the captives free, harmonize the Scriptures of judgment and mercy for all, and unite the body of Christ?
Which of these three views comprehends “the width and length and depth and height” of Christ’s love, and does justice to His unlimited power (Ep. 3:18-19; page 48)? Which most glorifies God?
Paradigm Shift
How can Christ be considered greater than Adam if Adam’s transgression has greater power to condemn than Christ’s merit and sacrifice has the power to save? Have you considered this enigma? Please stop a moment and think about this. This is important.
If you are facing perplexing and disturbing questions in your faith, perhaps your conception (paradigm) of God is flawed. How we understand God’s nature and character, as reflected in his grand plan for humanity, affects how we understand the world and directly affects how we interpret the Scriptures. “If your eye [conception of God] is false your whole body [being] will be full of darkness” (Mt. 6:23).
For 25 years I held the Arminian view of God. Then, while a missionary in Senegal, West Africa, the realization that I did not have complete assurance of my salvation unsettled me. I wrestled with this for months and finally concluded that salvation had to be the work of God. I had made a paradigm shift. I began to understand God’s power in the way our Calvinist and Reformed brethren do. I continued joyfully in this new perspective for about two years, until I no longer found comfort in my “personal” salvation. How could I in the midst of a world of lost people? Living in a Muslim nation deeply affected me. It prepared me to consider a third paradigm —the “Blessed Hope.”
Most people are not aware of how powerfully their conception of God affects how they understand the Scriptures. It forces them to conclude that certain passages cannot mean what they seem to say. For example: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1Co. 15:22). My previous conception of God had forced me to limit the scope of the second “all” to a few only. My present view of God no longer limits it. However, it has not been easy seeing passages differently than how I have always seem them. I was conditioned for so long to see them in a certain way. Stepping out of my former paradigm has been a slow and hard process. But once the veil started to lift, I began seeing Scripture without the filter of an eternal hell. I was free to receive God’s revelation in a fresh new way. What a discovery!
Let us embrace the paradigm that truly honors, magnifies, and glorifies God. We should not be surprised that the predominant view has been the hard and cruel dogma of Augustine. It conforms to the legalistic, hard, and cruel sides of our fallen nature. Man’s tendency has always been to amplify what seems to be the hard side of God, and our tradition reflects that. It blinds us from seeing God’s true nature in mercy and judgment. I pray God will open your heart and mind to the paradigm worthy of His Name.
References: See Bibliography page.
