The “God-bearer”

Doctrine matters, and no doctrine matters more than the doctrine concerning Jesus Christ.

Nestorius was the last of the major Christological heretics in the early church. He objected to the church’s declaration that Mary was the “God-bearer,” the “theotokos.” No human being can give birth to God, he thought, and he preferred to say that Mary was “Christ-bearer.”

At the Council of Chalcedon, the church insisted on the term “God-bearer” and addressed the larger questions of Nestorianism by saying that the divine and human were united without confusion in the one Person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son.

So what? What does matter if Mary was God-bearer or not?

It matters because it shapes the way we read the gospel story. Is the gospel story about a man working in tandem with God, or is it the human history of God? Is the birth of Jesus a purely human birth, or is it the human birth of God? Is the death of Jesus only a human death, or is it the human death of God?

Behind all these questions is the question of whether God actually entered human life. Nestorius could not believe that God entered into such close intimacy with creation. The church disagreed: God the Son entered fully into human life, from conception through death to the grave. He lived human life from the inside to redeem human life. What is not assumed is not redeemed.

Advent is a season of preparation, which includes repentance. During this Advent season, examine yourself and repent not only of your sinful actions but your false beliefs, and especially your false beliefs about Jesus. ~ Peter Leithart

Medieval Christmas Concert

A Wonderful annual event..."A Medieval Christmas Concert!"

Left to right: Christina David, Chris Whittington, Kemper Crabb, Frank Hart, Johnny Simmons

(Those 4 guys are my good friends!)

Jeff Meyers on Christmas

Christians that attack Christmas and Easter as pagan holidays, usually go to churches that make a big to-do about New Year's day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the Fourth of July. The annual cycle in America is truly becoming paganized. The Baalism of nationalism that commemorates the victories of the nation and celebrates all kinds of political "saints" (George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Christopher Columbus, etc.) is in the process of replacing the festivals of the church commemorating the life and work of Jesus Christ and the triumphs of his Church in history. ~ Jeff Meyers

One of my favorite articles on my favorite time of year. Read the whole series and get rid of some old sacred cows, silly myths, and your inner scrooge, starting here:

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/christmas-time-is-here-again.html

and continued here:

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-christmas-christian-part-ii.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/christmas-john-calvin.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-christmas-christian-part-iv.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-christmas-christian-part-v.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-christmas-christian-part-vi.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-vii.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-viii.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-ix_06.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-x.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xi.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xii.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xiii.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xiv.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xv.html

http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/12/is-christmas-christian-part-xvi.html

Religion Externalized

from George Grant's blog:

Culture is simply a worldview made evident. It is basic beliefs worked out into habits of life. It is theology translated into sociology. Culture is a very practical expression of the common faith of a community or a people or a nation. Culture is, as Henry Van Til famously quipped, "religion externalized."

...the remarkable prosperity of the West was directly attributable to the cultural, personal, and ethical prevalence of the Christian tradition. In contrast to so many other cultures around the globe, where freedoms and opportunities were severely limited and where poverty and suffering abounded, Weber found that faith brought men and nations both liberty and prosperity.

I wish the church would remember this!!!

read the rest here:

http://www.kingsmeadow.com/2007/11/religion-externalized.html

Is The Gospel in The Gospels?

"I believe the Gospel is clearly stated in the Gospels and that we are often in danger of misunderstanding Paul's teaching because we have marginalized the Gospels. Otherwise stated, the Gospels ought to constrain our reading of Paul. To reverse this is backwards. For example, Matthew tells us that Jesus preached the "Gospel of the Kingdom" (Matt. 4:23), then he gives the content of his preaching of the Gospel in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. If we don't like that, then we ought to change our narrow definition of the Gospels."

Read the rest here:
http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2007/11/is-gospel-in-gospels-part-1.html

A More Sure Word!

"Peter treasured the memory of the Transfiguration for many years, and he brings it up in his second letter. Consider the thought presented in 2 Peter 1:16-21. The Word was confirmed with certainty from heaven, and we who have the Scriptures have a more certain word than that. If we think about this for a moment, we should realize we do not really understand our gospel privileges." ~ Doug Wilson

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS WORSHIP?

It must be noted that worship is not praise and it does not consist of "feeling worshipful." In both Hebrew and Greek, worship means service. When Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, he said that he was going to worship. He did not mean that they were going to go to Moriah, break out the guitars and overhead projector for a little P & W. He meant that he was going to serve God, by doing what was commanded. When Isaiah said, "Here am I, Lord, send me," that was worship. And this helps make sense of Romans 12:1-2 — the presentation of our bodies to God is our spiritual worship. –D. Wilson

‘Worship’ is identified today with singing songs at church. This is unfortunate because it leads us to think that if only we have the right techniques, get all happy with goose bumps and “feel worshipful,” then we are having “a time of worship.” But worship is not singing. Singing can be an expression of worship, but worship is not singing…or clapping or shouting or dancing. What, then, is worship? Worship in general is a certain kind of life, expressing itself as a result of the recognition and acknowledgment of God as GOD. One biblical definition of worship is given in Romans 12:1-2. When we offer ourselves as living sacrifices we declare that God is God, that He is the Sovereign, Loving, Creator and Sustainer of life. We declare the supreme worth of God, not just by saying that He is worthy, but by giving up everything to Him. Worship is not just the offering of a few sentiments. Worship is offering yourself, putting yourself at His disposal, prostrate before Him. It is not something you tack on to the rest of your busy life. It is your life – your whole life offered to God.

But just a word of caution here, “The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” (Psa 87:2)

“I think that what people sometimes mean when they say "all of life is worship," is that corporate, Lord's Day worship is no more special than our everyday devotions during the week. That is not true. The Lord's Day assembly is central, and what happens in "formal worship" on The Lord’s Day orients one's entire life. We learn how to think and act in a distinctively Christian way by participating in the weekly rituals of worship. Sunday is special. On the Lord's Day we are called together as the bride and body of Christ for corporate worship. “All of life” is worship only in a metaphorical (though real) sense. You can work with a worshipful attitude. That's fine. You can and should, by faith, work for the glory of God, keeping His law! That's great, too. But working with that motivation, goal, and according to God's standard comes about as the result of proper Sunday corporate worship. This highlights a dangerous tendency these days towards individualizing and mentalizing "worship." If a person can "worship" God in everything he does, then worship has been reduced to something that happens inside an individual's head rather than what they do - hearing, speaking, singing, kneeling, standing, eating, drinking, etc. - with the body of Christ in the assembly.” ~ Jeff Meyers

The result is nothing less than metamorphosis, transformation, being conformed to the Image of Christ. REAL, LASTING CHANGE. If you are not being transformed then you aren’t worshipping.

Where the confusion comes in is the English word "worship" is much closer to the idea of praise. Worship comes from the Middle English worshipe, worthiness, honor, from Old English weorthscipe: weorth, worth. See worth + -scipe, -ship.

Plainly, "to ascribe worth to." Which is much closer to the Biblical concept of praise.


7 NEW TESTAMENT WORDS TRANSLATED AS WORSHIP* appearing 80x in the KJV

1. 4352. proskuneo, pros-koo-neh'-o; from G4314 and a prob. der. ofG2965 (mean. to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (lit. or fig.) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adored—worship. 60x
a. 4353. proskunetes, pros-koo-nay-tace'; from G4352; an adorer:-worshipper. 1x

2. 1391. doxa, dox'-ah; from the base ofG1380; glory (as very apparent), in awide application (lit. or fig., obj. or subj.):-dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship. 1x

3. 3000. latreuo, lat-ryoo'-o; from latris (a hired menial); to minister (to God), i.e. render religious homage:—serve, do the service, worship (-per). 4x

4. 4576. sebomai, seb'-om-ahee; mid. of an appar. prim. verb; to revere, i.e. adore:—devout, religious, worship. 6x
a. 2151. eusebeo, yoo-seb-eh'-o; from G2152; to be pious; i.e. (towards God) to worship, or (towards parents) to respect (supports-show piety, worship. 1x
b. 2318. theosebes, theh-os-eb-ace'; from G2316 and G4576; reverent of God, i.e. pious:—worshipper of God. 1x
c. 4573. sebazomai, seb-ad'-zom-ahee; mid. from a der. of G4576; to venerate, i.e. adorer-worship. 1x
d. 4574. sebasma, seb'-as-mah; from G4573; something adored, i.e. an object of worship (god, altar, etc.):—devotion, that is worshipped. 1x

5. 2356. threskeia, thrace-ki'-ah; from a der. ofG2357; ceremonial observance:—religion, worshipping 1x
a. 1479. ethelothreskeia, eth-el-oth-race-ki'-ah; from G2309 and G2356; voluntary (arbitrary and unwarranted) piety, i.e. sanctimony:—will worship. 1x

6. 2323. therapeuo, ther-ap-yoo'-o; from the same as G2324; to wait upon menially, i.e. (fig.) to adore (God), or (spec.) to relieve (of disease):—cure, heal, worship. 1x

7. 3511. neokoros, neh-o-kor'-os; from a form ofG3485 and koreo (to sweep); a temple-servant, i.e. (by impl.) a votary:—worshipper. (only used as "worship" of Diana) 1x


4 OLD TESTAMENT WORDS TRANSLATED AS WORSHIP* appearing 117x in the KJV

1. 7812. shachah, shaw-khaw'; a prim. root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (espec. reflex, in homage to royalty or God):—bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. 99x

2. 5647. 'abad, aw-bad'; a prim. root; to work (in any sense); by impl. to serve, till, (caus.) enslave, etc.:- X be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, + husbandman, keep, labour (-ing man), bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve (-ing, self), (be, become) servant (-s), do (use) service, till (-er), transgress [from margin], (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper. (only used as "worship" of Baal) 5x

3. 6087. 'atsab, aw-tsab'; a prim. root; prop. to carve, i.e. fabricate or fashion; hence (in a bad sense) to worry, pain or anger:—displease, grieve, hurt, make, be sorry, vex, worship, wrest. (only used as "worship" of The Queen of Heaven) 1x

4. 5457. cegid, (Chald.), seg-eed'; corresp. to H5456:-worship.
a. 5456. cagad, saw-gad'; a prim. root; to prostrate oneself (in homage):—fall down. (only found in Daniel) 12x


* includes all forms of the word, Worshipping, Worshipper(s), Worshipped, Worshippeth