Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1-10, Mark 1:9-15, 1 Peter 3:18-22
1 Peter 3:18-22 has been described as one of the most obscure and difficult passages in the New Testament and many interpretations have been proposed. The main point is that Peter’s letter is to Christians who are being persecuted and how they might handle this. Here he points out that the outcome of Christ’s death (v18) was that he atoned for sin. When he was raised he went to preach to rebellious fallen spirits from the time of Noah before God judged the world with the flood (vv19,20). At that time, as now, a small minority of people remained faithful to God while the rest persecuted them. Noah and his family were saved by water; baptism, as a symbol of God’s grace, saves us now (v21) and acts as a sign of God’s promise of ultimate salvation, however harsh the persecution might be. The risen Christ who now sits at the right hand of God is ample reassurance (v22), better even than a rainbow in the sky.
I want to highlight Jesus so let’s re-read the beginning and end of this passage. “For Christ died for sins once for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually. … [You are saved] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone to heaven and is at the right-hand side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.” (vv18,21c,22)
What is the chief end of man? (What are we all here for?) As told in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Glorifying God is the essence of our purpose; it is our reason for being. He made us to be like him – in his image – so we glorify God by being like him – by bearing his image truly.
Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is the exact likeness of the living God. “Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.
“At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence.” (Colossians 1:15-22).
Jesus bears God’s image truly. Hence we do well to be like Jesus.
Jesus is called the Son of God. We should probably say Son of God the Father because he is God, along with the Father and the Spirit. This is our trinitarian God, a difficult concept for humans to understand. Many refuse to try. However, that’s just the way it is so best to accept it by faith. We’ll get the hang of it when we get to heaven.
Our trinitarian understanding tells us that God is a community. Humans, created in God’s image, are also community. At least we are community when we fully and truly reflect the image of God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit, relationship with God was broken. So was relationship with each other. They no longer reflected God’s image so were no longer community like God. All rebellious humans – all humans – are in this bind of not being able to form God-reflecting community.
Christ lives in us and we abide in him. Therefore we are part of the community which is God! It doesn’t get better than that. Since Christ died for us and we are saved through his resurrection, our life is in Christ. As he said, “Remain united to me and I will remain united to you. .. You can do nothing without me.” John 15:4,5
But the Father, Son and Spirit are in community with one another all the time – 24/7 – so how come we aren’t? How much do any of us see of one another between Sundays? Nuf said. Is it because we just don’t get it?
Listen again to the song, The Last Thing on my Mind by Tom Paxton. I’m sure you know it. I wonder if it speaks of our relationship with God.
Is that how we are with God; with one another? Have the weeds been growing through neglect? Is there thought and passion in our relationship with God? Jesus loves us passionately with all his being.
It seems we don’t understand our position. We don’t comprehend the effect of Christ’s action on our behalf. If we really grasped what it means that Christ died for us and we live in him who rose from the dead we would live somewhat differently to what we do. We would express our thanks in the orientation of our lives to God. We would thank him in what we say and do. We would be on about what God is on about. We would love him and his people with great devotion. We would proclaim his great act of love towards us by living in a community marked by humility and love which seeks to reconcile one to another and broken lives to God.
We have seen the glory of God and we have been given the grace to live our lives to exalt the Christ. This reality we live out in community. Because we have been reconciled to God and to one another, because we once were not a people but now we are a people of God’s own possession, therefore our life in community expresses this for all to see. The most important thing for this and any church is the quality of our life together. In community we proclaim the goodness of God and testify to the completed work of Christ. This is the foundation for gospel-saturated community that will overflow with life.
Community glorifies God. To become more like Jesus is to become more communal, and the more communal we are the more we glorify God, which is the whole point of our existence.
This church will likely be clergy-free within two years. It therefore behooves everyone to get into sharing in the mission. What commonly happens when a Minister leaves a parish is that the leaders pick up the work the minister did for the duration of the vacancy. When the vacancy is filled the work very quickly goes to the new minister. For Belmont it will probably not be a vacancy but a new normal which will likely last for the rest of your life. So my task till I go is to help you to be a community that glorifies God through worship and mission.
Therefore I will endeavour to call your attention to Christ and his work, to your place in relation to him, his love for you and to your response to his great love that will glorify him as he intends. So let us join one or other of the Lenten groups with this intention to develop God-glorifying community in Belmont.
Our closing hymn, When I survey the wondrous cross, calls us to loving devotion. What is our response to God’s immense love?