In another recent article by Peter Leithart in First Things we are treated to a fascinating and fresh look at the meaning of the Incarnation of Christ: Word Made Martyr. Thought provoking and well worth considering this challenging essay.

Word Made Martyr

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” We miss the full force of John’s Advent announcement if we understand “flesh” as “body” or “human nature.” In the Bible, flesh names a particular quality of human life. It is Scripture’s global term for the physical and moral condition of postlapsarian existence.

Flesh is liable to sickness and decay. Flesh trembles, hungers, thirsts, yearns, wastes away. Flesh is vulnerable and porous, a wind that passes and never returns, grass that withers as soon as it grows, its glory a fading flower. Flesh corrupts the earth. Emissions from the flesh spread defilement. Flesh cannot do the good, cannot inherit the kingdom, cannot be justified. A mind set on flesh cannot please God. Flesh is slave to sin, a citizen of the kingdom of death. The arm of flesh cannot save. Passions germinate in flesh and yield the fruit of death. Flesh works impurity, idolatry, strife, anger, factions, envy, addiction. To become an Israelite, a man cuts off his flesh, but Paul says even Torah is neutralized by flesh. Flesh is weak, perishable, shameful. Flesh fails and falls, flesh fears, flesh dies.

All this the eternal Word assumes when he becomes flesh. God the Word makes all that flesh is heir to God’s own, so God can speak his Word through flesh—God’s speaks his creative Word in frailty, his glory in shame, his life in death. The incarnation is the human declension of the divine Word: By assuming flesh, the Word enters into a “genitive” relation with the human condition. Our infirmities become his. He possesses flesh to make our weakness the weakness of God, our shame God’s shame, our death the death of God.

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We are in a period of church history when church leaders rarely ask the question, “Does the Bible have anything to say about how we should worship?” It is thought that since most of the biblical directives for worship are from the Old Testament there is nothing in the Bible for the New Testament saints about what should or should not be done in the church today. Most Evangelical church leaders are more ready to ask what unbelievers would be enjoyable in worship than what would please God. Sadly, this is too often the case with the one thing that Jesus explicitly gave instructions for us to do – The Lord’s Supper. In all three of the Synoptic Gospels we have the same directives given, which are repeated for us by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.

With as much clarity as we have in the New Testament about how we are to administer the rite of Communion, must churches do not follow Jesus’ instructions. Recently, it has become popular among some high profile churches (e.g. Mars Hill) to administer the Lord’s Supper by means of Intinction.  Below an excellent article that Jonathan Barlow blogged. Few things are more important than having a thoroughly biblical understanding and practice of the Lord’s Supper – Barlow’s comments go a long way to help provide the church with the basic principles of a  biblical Eucharistic practice.

Thinking Through Intinction,  by Jonathan Barlow

Intinction is the practice of celebrating communion (aka, Eucharist, Lord’s Supper, etc.) by dipping a piece of bread into the wine and then putting the winesoaked bread into the mouth. This is becoming more popular in my own denomination. Hopefully this essay will help in thinking through the practice.

In any kind of important ritual like baptism or the Lord’s Supper, we want to perform the rite in the proper way. In the Old Testament, through the prophets, God often critiqued both the way in which his people were partaking of the various ceremonies and the heart with which they approached these things. For instance, the temple was in Judah, not Israel, so often God’s prophets spoke against Israel’s presumption to create a rival altar. We’ll leave aside the “heart” issue in this post because we’re really asking more about the mechanics of the sacrament. How should we perform it? The mechanics affect the heart, but that’s a different post.
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Pastor Dennis Tuuir

In last Sunday’s sermon at Reformation Covenant Church, Pastor Dennis Tuuri provided the most insightful evaluation of the OCCUPY movement that I’ve seen to date. He shined the light of Christ’s Word on the problem, with a view to how we, as Christians, can speak to the issues that the world is struggling with economically right now.

The sermon, The Tenth Word, Social Policy and Politics, is part of a long series on the 10 Words (Commandments).

As the OCCUPY movement continues to play out in the social consciousness of our city and country, it is important to think biblically about how to respond to it. Peaple painfully feel that our society is broken and in need of serious repair – but know not what to do. For most in the OCCUPY movement there are no real agendas, solutions or hopes apart from change for change sake. This revolutionary spirit is a hope that is based on a faith that once the existing social order is destroyed, a new and better society will emerge for the good of the world. But such an evolutionary faith is no hope at all – for apart from God there is no reason to suppose that man will be better off than he was before.

⁶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸ And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:6–12 (NKJV)

Doug Wilson Interviews Mark Driscoll (Part II) | Spiritual Gifts & Cessationism

This interview was filmed in the context of the Grace Agenda, hosted by Credenda/Agenda and Canon Press, ministries of Christ Church, in Moscow, Idaho. You may purchase DVD and CD of all the talks at Canon Press.

In this video Doug Wilson interviewed Mark Driscoll with questions of the spiritual gifts and whether the Holy Spirit continues to provide revelation to people today. Driscoll holds to a non-cessationist reading of the Bible. It is an interesting discussion and worth some attention for “Reformed” Christians that take seriously the Bible and how we are to minister in the world.

Driscoll gave several examples of how God spoke to him, and the Holy Spirit provided occasional insights while working with people. Driscoll also talked about having visions (i.e. seeing in his mind something that he happened without being present). Wilson’s qualifying questions about these experiences are very helpful, and provided Driscoll with an opportunity explain himself.

Whether Driscoll is a “cessationist” in the sense that most Reformed folks think of it I am still not sure – but I doubt it. He does not think that God is still adding to the Bible. And yet, the Holy Spirit has not gone away, and, in fact, actively works in our lives to illumine the scriptures to us, and provide insight into things – somethings inexplicably.

If this is what Driscoll means by talking about his being a “non-cessationalist” – It would describe my belief as well! Maybe I’m a Mars Hill/Driscoll type charismatic?

What the video, if for no other reason that it is fun to watch these godly men banter back and forth!