The themes of the European Body Life Conference and "God's Ultimate Passion" form the basis for a talk for our gathering this morning. Here are my notes:
I have mentioned before a book I have been reading "God's Ultimate
Passion" by Frank Viola and some of you know that I went to a conference in
early June where Frank Viola was the main speaker and his presentations were an
introduction to the themes of the book. So .... it will not be surprise
that I am sharing this morning some things I am absorbing from these sources.
I am also working from the three readings we had this morning.
-
Isaiah 5:1-7 About the love of God for His people and how he would like the relationship to be. His disappointment.
- Paul from 1 Cor 12:12-31 About the Body of Christ and its parts and their functions and relationships.
- Jesus in Luke 12:49-56 with some tough statements about the conflicts and divisions He is bringing and the signs of the times
The Context
I think the reading from Isaiah provides us with some context for consideration
of the themes of the other readings. It is talking about a landowner with a
vineyard on his land and the care and effort he put into establishing and
cultivating his vineyard. And his disappointment that it did not yield any good
fruit but only bad.
What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad? (Is 5:4 NIV)
The writer is very explicit about this story being an image of God, the
landowner, and His care and love for His people represented by the vineyard.
The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (Is 5:7 NIV)
We can see here in microcosm the story of the OT. God created in love, hope and
expectation. He looked forward to relationship with mankind. But mankind fell
into rebellion and out of relationship with God. But God still hoped and loved
and sought ways of recovering the relationship. Until, as in this passage and
the remainder of the chapter - He considers giving up and laying waste to the
vineyard and threatening the people of Israel with destruction and exile.
We know that in the end God offered the ultimate means of salvation,
reconciliation and restoration.
So this image of God's love and care for His creation, although in many times
and many ways He has been disappointed and frustrated with the response to His
love and care, ... this image provides a context for considering the themes of
the other readings.
The Purpose of the Church
Some propositions about the purpose of the church ...