{"id":829,"date":"2016-04-12T15:06:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T15:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=829"},"modified":"2016-05-24T18:41:56","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T18:41:56","slug":"jesus-christ-is-the-source-of-true-holiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2016\/04\/12\/jesus-christ-is-the-source-of-true-holiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Christ Is the Source of True Holiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my favorite journals is Touchstone Magazine<\/a>. It challenges my thinking and addresses contemporary issues and theology from a framework of C.S. Lewis and historic Christian reflection. One of\u00a0the senior editors is Patrick Henry Reardon, pastor of All Saints\u2019 Orthodox Church in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Recently I began reading Reardon\u2019s study titled The Incarnation. It is the\u00a0first volume of three, with the overarching title Reclaiming <\/em>the Atonement: An <\/em>Orthodox <\/em>Theology of Redemption.\u00a0<\/em>No, it is not boring. And no, it is not irrelevant! In fact, this type of serious Christian theological reflection may be more significant than ever.<\/p>\n

The world is a noisy place these days. Global economic issues, racial and migration issues, environmental concerns and shifting political and religious borders are just a few of our current debates. And in the United States, our quadrennial Presidential election cycle is as turbulent as the unnerving rumblings we in Oklahoma associate with earthquakes and tornadoes. We desperately need the clear sounds of heaven in this season, so we can declare God\u2019s love, holiness, and truth to this world through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

This brings me back to the IPHC\u2019s 2016 focus on holiness. Which brings me to some insights about Isaiah that I gleaned from Reardon\u2019s book. I had not given serious thought to this until Reardon discussed it more fully.\u00a0Take a moment to open your Bible to John 12:37-41 (NASB). It says: \u201cBut though [Jesus] had performed so many signs before them, yet <\/em>they\u00a0were not believing in Him. This <\/em>was <\/em>to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: \u201cLord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the\u00a0arm of the Lord been revealed?\u201d For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, \u201cHe has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.\u201d These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verse 38 is a reference to Isaiah 53:1 and verse 40 quotes Isaiah 6:10. John\u2019s primary point here is about unbelief, but what is particularly significant is the gospel writer\u2019s insight from the Holy Spirit that Isaiah said these things \u201cwhen he saw His glory and spoke of Him,\u201d referring to Jesus (v. 41).<\/p>\n

We know from Isaiah 6:1 that the prophet, in a time of leadership loss and uncertainty in the nation, \u201csaw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.\u201d He heard the sound of heaven declaring, \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!\u201d (6:3). Who did Isaiah see in this revelatory vision? He saw the Messiah of Israel, the One who would come as \u201cEmmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace\u201d (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6).<\/p>\n

While Isaiah did not know the name \u201cJesus\u201d given by revelation to Joseph and Mary some 700 years later (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31), Isaiah did associate the One revealed as the One who would come as the Incarnate Son of God, the One who would suffer and\u00a0die for our sins, and the One who would be raised in glory to effect the redemption of this cosmos.<\/p>\n

Reardon calls Isaiah \u201cthe prophet\u00a0of the divine holiness\u201d and he notes that the motif of holiness \u201cunites all three large sections of this prophetic book.\u201d This claim is validated by the use of language. The phrase, \u201cthe Holy One of Israel\u201d is found 26 times throughout the book but is only used 6 other times in the remainder of the Hebrew Bible. Reardon notes that the adjective \u201choly\u201d is used 33 times in Isaiah and 26 times in the remainder of the Hebrew Bible.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that this connection of holiness with God\u2019s redemptive plan through Jesus Christ is an important theme for us as we witness to the confusing sounds of our generation. Since January, our focus each month has\u00a0been on the Source of Holiness. Last month I wrote to you about Jesus\u00a0as the manifestation of that Source, and I find myself again drawn back to Jesus.<\/p>\n

One of the appealing aspects of Orthodox theology is the emphasis on the purpose of God in restoring humanity\u2019s glory. That is why Orthodox theology puts so much emphasis on the Incarnation, and on Jesus as the revealer of what humanity is meant to be.<\/p>\n

This is a needed part of our holiness theological tradition. Our tradition has tended to focus on the \u201csin\u201d dimension of Jesus\u2019 work related to holiness. Obviously that is true and proper. We desperately need forgiveness of our sins;\u00a0we need to be cleansed from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).<\/p>\n

The work of Jesus on the Cross is essential, and in no way am I minimizing that emphasis.\u00a0Yet perhaps it\u2019s time for us to\u00a0also emphasize what we are meant to be, in this life and in the life to come. In the life to come we rightfully focus on glorification. But we need to also affirm the power of the Spirit of God to enable\u00a0us to live fruitfully and abundantly within the limitations of human existence \u201ceast of Eden\u201d (John 10:10; 15:16).<\/p>\n

If we can shine as light in the darkness on this side of heaven, the glory of the Lord will be manifested above the dark confusion of our world. Remember what Isaiah heard from heaven? The worship sound of \u201choly, holy, holy\u201d was followed with this proclamation: \u201cThe whole earth is full of His glory!\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice that the prophet did not say\u00a0 the earth \u201cmight<\/em> be full,\u201d \u201cwill<\/em> be full\u201d or \u201cshould <\/em>be full\u201d of His glory. It says the earth \u201cis <\/em>full of His glory.\u201d I sense that \u201cis\u201d <\/em>is about us, the redeemed daughters and sons of God living holy in this world. There\u2019s no question what this \u201cis\u201d<\/em> means!\u00a0It means that God\u2019s \u201cis\u201d<\/em> is greater than the power of sin that seeks to manifest itself through us!<\/p>\n

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This article was published in\u00a0the April 2016 issue of Encourage<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo Credits: thinkstock.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[180,61,108,134,218,37,290],"class_list":{"0":"post-829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"tag-180","9":"tag-april","10":"tag-bishop-doug-beacham","11":"tag-bishops-blog","12":"tag-blog","13":"tag-encourage","14":"tag-iphc-general-superintendent","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Jesucristo es la fuente de la verdadera santidad","content_es":"

Por Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\r\nUna de mis revistas favoritas es Touchstone Revista<\/a> . Desaf\u00eda a mi forma de pensar y aborda temas de actualidad y de la teolog\u00eda de un marco de CS Lewis y la reflexi\u00f3n cristiana hist\u00f3rica. Uno de los jefes de redacci\u00f3n es Patrick Henry Reardon, pastor de la Iglesia ortodoxa de Todos los Santos en Chicago. Recientemente empec\u00e9 a leer el estudio de Reardon titulado La Encarnaci\u00f3n. Es el primer volumen de tres, con el t\u00edtulo general La<\/em> recuperaci\u00f3n de<\/em> la Expiaci\u00f3n:.<\/em> Una<\/em> teolog\u00eda<\/em> ortodoxa<\/em> de la redenci\u00f3n<\/em> No, no es aburrido. Y no, no es irrelevante! De hecho, este tipo de seria reflexi\u00f3n teol\u00f3gica cristiana puede ser m\u00e1s importante que nunca. El mundo es un lugar ruidoso en estos d\u00edas. cuestiones econ\u00f3micas mundiales, las cuestiones raciales y de migraci\u00f3n, las preocupaciones ambientales y los cambios en las fronteras pol\u00edticas y religiosas son s\u00f3lo algunos de nuestros debates actuales. Y en los Estados Unidos, nuestro ciclo de elecciones presidenciales cada cuatro a\u00f1os es turbulenta como los rumores inquietantes que en Oklahoma asociado con terremotos y tornados. Necesitamos desesperadamente los sonidos claros del cielo en esta temporada, por lo que podemos declarar el amor, la santidad y la verdad de Dios a este mundo por medio de Jesucristo. Esto me lleva de nuevo a 2016 el enfoque de la IISP en la santidad. Lo que me lleva a algunas ideas acerca de Isa\u00edas que he recogido del libro de Reardon. Yo no hab\u00eda pensado seriamente esto hasta Reardon discute de forma m\u00e1s completa. T\u00f3mese un momento para abrir su Biblia en Juan 12: 37-41 (NVI). Se dice: \"Pero a pesar de [Jes\u00fas] hab\u00eda hecho tantas se\u00f1ales delante de ellos, sin embargo,<\/em> no fueron creyendo en \u00e9l para que<\/em> se<\/em> cumpliese la palabra del profeta Isa\u00edas, que habl\u00f3:.\" Se\u00f1or, \u00bfqui\u00e9n ha cre\u00eddo a nuestro anuncio? Y a quien tiene el brazo del Se\u00f1or es revelado? \"Por esta raz\u00f3n no pod\u00edan creer, porque tambi\u00e9n dijo Isa\u00edas:\" \u00c9l ha cegado sus ojos y endureci\u00f3 su coraz\u00f3n, para que no se vean con los ojos y percibir con . su coraz\u00f3n, y se convierta y me sane \". Estas cosas dijo Isa\u00edas porque vio su gloria, y habl\u00f3 acerca de \u00e9l\" verso 38 es una referencia a Isa\u00edas 53: 1 y verso 40 cita a Isa\u00edas 06:10. principal punto de John aqu\u00ed se trata de la incredulidad, pero lo que es particularmente importante es la comprensi\u00f3n del escritor Evangelio del Esp\u00edritu Santo que Isa\u00edas dijo estas cosas \"cuando vio su gloria, y habl\u00f3 acerca de \u00e9l\", refiri\u00e9ndose a Jes\u00fas (v. 41). Sabemos por Isa\u00edas 6: 1 que el profeta, en un momento de la p\u00e9rdida de liderazgo y la incertidumbre en la naci\u00f3n, \"Vi al Se\u00f1or sentado sobre un trono alto y sublime.\" Oy\u00f3 el sonido de los cielos se declara, \"Santo, santo , santo es el Se\u00f1or de los ej\u00e9rcitos; toda la tierra est\u00e1 llena de su gloria \"(6: 3). \u00bfQui\u00e9n vio Isa\u00edas en esta visi\u00f3n reveladora? Vio el Mes\u00edas de Israel, Aquel que vendr\u00eda como \"Emmanuel, Consejero admirable, Dios fuerte, Padre eterno, Pr\u00edncipe de paz\" (Isa\u00edas 7:14; 9: 6). Mientras que Isa\u00edas no sab\u00eda el nombre \"Jes\u00fas\" dada por revelaci\u00f3n a Jos\u00e9 y Mar\u00eda a unos 700 a\u00f1os m\u00e1s tarde (Mateo 1:21; Lucas 1:31), Isa\u00edas se asociaba el que se revela como Aquel que vendr\u00eda como el Hijo encarnado de Dios, Aquel que sufrir y morir por nuestros pecados, y el que se levantar\u00e1 con gloria para efectuar la redenci\u00f3n de este cosmos. Reardon llama Isa\u00edas \"el profeta de la santidad divina\" y se\u00f1ala que el motivo de la santidad \"une a los tres grandes secciones de este libro prof\u00e9tico.\" Esta afirmaci\u00f3n es validado por el uso del lenguaje. La frase, \"el Santo de Israel\" se encuentra 26 veces a lo largo del libro, pero s\u00f3lo se utiliza otras 6 veces en el resto de la Biblia Hebrea. Reardon se\u00f1ala que el adjetivo \"santo\" se usa 33 veces en Isa\u00edas y 26 veces en el resto de la Biblia Hebrea. Me parece que esta conexi\u00f3n de la santidad con el plan redentor de Dios por medio de Jesucristo es un tema importante para nosotros ya que asistimos a los confusos sonidos de nuestra generaci\u00f3n. Desde enero, nuestro enfoque cada mes ha estado en la fuente de la santidad. El mes pasado escrib\u00ed a usted acerca de Jes\u00fas como la manifestaci\u00f3n de esa fuente, y me encuentro de nuevo dispuesta a ir a Jes\u00fas. Uno de los aspectos atractivos de la teolog\u00eda ortodoxa es el \u00e9nfasis en el prop\u00f3sito de Dios en la restauraci\u00f3n de la gloria de la humanidad. Es por eso que la teolog\u00eda ortodoxa pone tanto \u00e9nfasis en la Encarnaci\u00f3n, y en Jes\u00fas como el revelador de lo que la humanidad est\u00e1 destinado a ser. Esta es una parte necesaria de nuestra tradici\u00f3n teol\u00f3gica santidad. Nuestra tradici\u00f3n ha tendido a centrarse en la dimensi\u00f3n \"pecado\" de la obra de Jes\u00fas en relaci\u00f3n con la santidad. Obviamente esto es verdadero y apropiado. Necesitamos desesperadamente el perd\u00f3n de nuestros pecados; tenemos que ser limpiados de toda maldad (I Juan 1: 9). La obra de Jes\u00fas en la cruz es esencial, y de ninguna manera voy a reducir al m\u00e1ximo dicho \u00e9nfasis. Sin embargo, quiz\u00e1 es el momento para nosotros destacar tambi\u00e9n lo que estamos destinados a ser, en esta vida y en la vida futura. En la vida futura nos centramos en raz\u00f3n glorificaci\u00f3n. Pero necesitamos afirmar tambi\u00e9n el poder del Esp\u00edritu de Dios que nos permita vivir con fruto y en abundancia dentro de las limitaciones de la existencia \"al este del Ed\u00e9n\" humana (Juan 10:10; 15:16). Si podemos brillar como luz en la oscuridad en este lado del cielo, la gloria del Se\u00f1or se manifestar\u00e1 por encima de la oscura confusi\u00f3n de nuestro mundo. Recuerde lo que Isa\u00edas escuch\u00f3 desde el cielo? El sonido culto de \"santo, santo, santo\" fue seguido con esta proclama: \"Toda la tierra est\u00e1 llena de su gloria!\" Tenga en cuenta que el profeta no dijo la tierra \"podr\u00eda<\/em> estar lleno\", \"estar\u00e1<\/em> lleno\" o \" debe<\/em> estar lleno \"de su gloria. Se dice que la tierra \"est\u00e1<\/em> llena de su gloria.\" Tengo la sensaci\u00f3n de que \"es\"<\/em> se trata de nosotros, las hijas e hijos redimidos de Dios que vive santo en este mundo. No hay duda de lo que este \"es\"<\/em> medios! Esto significa que de Dios \"es\"<\/em> es mayor que el poder del pecado, que busca manifestarse a trav\u00e9s de nosotros Este art\u00edculo fue publicado en la edici\u00f3n de abril 2016! Fomentar<\/a><\/em> Cr\u00e9ditos de las fotos:.<\/em> Thinkstock.com<\/a><\/em>","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/06\/PHOTO-Beacham-e1460474020671.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-dn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}