Alpha-Omega

#2 – Most Overlooked Passages In John’s Gospel: Born Again?

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This is the second in a series of undetermined length where I’ll be looking at passages that I feel often get “skipped over” when considering the gospel according to John.  If you haven’t read the first one, please, do so before reading this one as this will build off of that one.  You can find it here: Only Son of God?

Today, we consider two more passages, both from John 3:

2 Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34 He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

Go to the bottom for more passages to be considered in the future!

Retha hates the phrase.  Well, maybe hate is too strong a word, but she certainly has little use for it.  I don’t know how much time at how many study sessions (a lot) at First United Methodist in Wichita Falls, Texas we spent hearing her complain about the phrase.  For her, there are several problems with it.  One, I interpreted, is that it has been overused to the point of losing real significance.  On top of that, it has become more of a title than anything denoting a real change.  Plus, the phrase never fit her experience.  She didn’t feel any different after receiving the phrase for herself.

The phrase?  Born again.

For Retha, she could never remember a time that she didn’t think – or KNOW – that she was a Christian.  She, like so many others, walked the aisle during a song (probably “Just As I Am”) because everyone else her age was doing it.  She felt it was something you had to do.  She finally came around to believing that she never had to be “born again,” at least not in the way the word was usually used.

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Interestingly, the phrase “born again” is not actually in the gospel according to John – at least not in the original Greek.  Actually, as noted in the NRSV translations above, it is “born from above.”  In John 3:31-36, we hear on the lips of John the Baptizer about the one who “comes from above,” who speaks the words from God by the Spirit that is given without measure.  Thus, he is testifying to one whom he says is greater than himself.

What I find amazing, though, is John 3:2-8.  Nicodemus comes, piling it on thick, about how great Jesus must be.  Yet, Jesus responds, not by talking about himself or accepting the compliment but by talking about what others must do:

  • Be born from above as seen in 3:3 and 3:7
    (see the parallel with Jesus who comes from above in 3:31); and
  • Be born of the Spirit that blows where it will, making sounds along the way as seen in 3:5-6, 8
    (see the parallel with Jesus who speaks what God wants by the Spirit given freely in 3:34).

Nicodemus and John the Baptizer make it all about Jesus.  Jesus makes it all about the rest of us who will follow in his footsteps – in his way.  Nicodemus and John the Baptizer want to talk about where Jesus is from.  Jesus wants to talk about where the rest of us should be coming from.  They want to talk about what Jesus will do.  Jesus wants to know what we will do – hopefully things greater than himself.

The great thing is that when we are born from above, we have, by power beyond ourselves, become children of God (see John 1:12). As children of God (as Jesus is son of God), we can do the same works as Jesus and even greater than these (see John 14:12).

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Retha would never say that she’s done greater works than Jesus (or even close), but those of us who know her think she’s done about as much as any one person can.  Now well into her 80s and nearing the end of her life, she has only recently slowed down – and not because she wanted to (just ask her kids).  Her body has gotten in the way.

For the 8 years I was at that church, she attended almost every class I offered.  Even if two groups were studying the same thing, she’d often attend both as she wanted to hear other insights.  For a number of years that I was there, she was the one who took our aluminum can recycling to the local food bank for them to sell (the recycling was the idea of much younger and healthier people who were unwilling to take them!).  She volunteered with study groups and her Sunday School class to pack weekend food for at-risk children.  She diligently brought beans to the monthly meal for the homeless when it was her class’ turn to provide the meal.  For most of these years, she has done this while using a walker to help her get around (of course, many would say that walker sped her up!).

I can’t begin to tell you all that she did before I knew her, but I know she has three great kids.  I know she has been a staple at that church since she joined with her husband back in the 80s.  Prior to that I know she taught public school and children’s Sunday school at another church who preached a lot about being “born again” (she once told me she taught the kids there so she could shield herself from the conservative theology!).

The thing that I know is that Retha may not have been “born again,” but she was certainly “born from above.”  Thanks be to God for Retha.

Click here to read the next installment:
Where Are You Staying?

Here are other verses I plan to cover in this series (though not necessarily in this order):

#1 – Most Overlooked Passages in John’s Gospel: Only Son of God?

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This is the first in a series of undetermined length where I’ll be looking at passages that I feel often get “skipped over” when considering the gospel according to John.  Today we consider two:

John 1:12 – But to all who received him [the Word or LOGOS / Light], who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

John 14:12 – Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

Go to the bottom for more passages to be considered in the future!

What was the first Bible verse you memorized?  For many of us, it was John 3:16 – usually in the King James Version.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

If we were lucky, we got to learn it in a slight modernized English without the “-eth:”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (NRSV)

As we consider the idea we find in John 1:12, that the Word (or LOGOS) or Light from God gives us the power to become children of God, how in the world can we be God’s children if Jesus is somehow God’s ONLY son?  “Only” precludes the rest of us from being included, right?

Translation, translation, translation!  When the gospel of John (originally written in Greek) was translated into Latin, John 3:16 (see also John 1:14) was mis-translated, and the King James Version followed the Latin, not the original Greek.  “Only begotten” or “only” is a mis-translation of the Greek word MONOGENES, which means “unique” or “the only one of its kind.” 1

So who cares?  What difference does it make?

I think this is a hugely important distinction on many levels, but let me focus only on two.  First, by realizing that we also are children of God, we realize the value and abilities each of us truly has as unique creations of God.  We aren’t less than; rather, we are brothers and sisters of Jesus!  WOW!

Second, if we think Jesus was God’s only son, we think he can do things that we cannot.  We may even go so far as to say that Jesus does things (like sacrificing himself) so we don’t have to.  Yet, we see Jesus saying in John 14:12 that if we believe (i.e. trust him), we WILL DO the SAME things and GREATER things than him!  When we realize that we, too, are God’s children, like Jesus, we can acknowledge that God is calling us to live a life like Jesus.  Since we are given the power to be God’s children, we are given the power to live like Jesus if we are willing.  Since Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself, we need to be willing to do likewise:

John 15:   12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

All too often, I think we think of the gospel according to John as being all about Jesus.  What I hope to do in this ongoing series is to show that what John is doing is showing us the example of Jesus for us to follow.  It isn’t only about Jesus; it’s about all God’s unique sons and daughters.

Click here to read the next installment:
Born Again?

Here are other verses I plan to cover in this series (though not necessarily in this order):

  • John 1:38-39, 14:20, 23, & 17:20-23
  • John 3:2-8, 31-36
  • John 4:34 & 10:9
  • John 5:19-20, 14:12, & 15:12-17
  • John 10:38-39, 1:12, 14:12, & 17:20-23
  • John 14:15, 12:49-50, & 13:34
  • John 17:3 & 12:49-50

1.  For more on the translation of MONOGENES as “unique” instead of only, see:

In A Perfect World?

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You’ve heard the same shtick, I’m sure. In the beginning, God made everything perfect, then us humans came along and messed everything up. There’s been distress and turmoil ever since, and it is all our fault. Had that “first sin” not come along, we’d still be living in a perfect paradise and all would be well.

Here’s the problem. The Bible never says that God created a world that was perfect.

Read more

What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? A Book Review

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Retha, the unofficial spokesperson and treasurer for the Open Door Sunday School Class, had told me that they would soon be finishing the book they were studying and would need some recommendations.  They were the one truly liberal Sunday School class at First United Methodist in Wichita Falls, Texas.  I could have given them a list of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, or John Shelby Spong  books that they had not yet discussed.  Nothing against any of them, but I really wanted them to get a slightly different perspective even if it was saying similar things with different words and insights.  Yet, I hadn’t read much of anything in awhile other than those authors myself.  The few different things I had read would not interest them.

Amazon.com had often given me recommendations of books I should buy, but there for awhile, they recommended anything with the label “Christian.”  Many of those I was not going to read or recommend, so I was skeptical when I saw a recommendation for What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious by Delwin Brown.  I was not familiar with Brown or his work, and I didn’t really know anything about the publisher, Seabury Books (which is an Episcopal publishing house).  The title sounded intriguing to me, but for the Open Door Class who were suspect of anything sounding creedal, there was one word in that title that I knew would turn them off: believe.  I couldn’t recommend it and say I hadn’t read it if I wanted them to read it.  I was going to have to be able to talk it up and give insights into how Brown used that word, believe.  So, I ordered it and read it as fast as I could.

In trying to talk it up, I told the class that the book did something that I’d been saying mainline / progressive Christians should do – be black and white about the fact that there is gray in the world.  Since then, I’ve changed that to say that we should be black and white about the fact that there is a full spectrum of diverse colors between the extremes of black and white.  This book does that as well for me.

Brown begins by talking about what progressive Christianity is NOT.  In doing so, he gives a short but solid history of the development of theology over the past 200 years, highlighting the dominant theological movements from that time period.  He shows aspects of each that progressive Christians should not adhere to while also pointing out positive elements of each that can inform a progressive Christian’s journey of faith.

Next he looks at how to more properly interpret and be informed by both Scripture and tradition.  A major part of this discussion involves what it means to say that each has “authority” while also showing unhealthy ways that we attribute authority to these sources of our faith.  He also graciously points out ways in which both cannot be considered “inerrant” while affirming their incalculable worth to our spiritual foundation and growth.

In the next chapter, Brown sets up a concept that will run through the rest of the book as he considers the incarnation.  Surprisingly, to guide and inform this discussion, he suggests “that we take as our guide the Christian councils of the fourth and fifth centuries, those gatherings of bishops and theologians at Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon called to clarify and define the nature and content of the Christian faith over and against all rival interpretations.” (pg. 32)

At this point, on my first reading, I almost put the book down to write it off for use in the Open Door Class given their disdain for creeds.  Had it not been for this next sentence, I probably would have, “To many progressive Christians, this way of addressing the question will seem unpromising, if not utterly shocking.” (pg. 32)  That made me read on, and I’m glad I did, for he succinctly describes the outcome of each of those councils in how they chose to interpret the incarnation of Jesus and then takes these affirmations to the next level.  The incarnation isn’t just about the incarnation of God in Jesus; it is about God being incarnated in all of humanity.  Then, alluding to passages like Ephesians 4:6 (God is above all, through all, and in all), Psalm 139 (there is nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence), and Acts 17:28 (it is in God that we live, move, and have our being) he takes the incarnation one step further – to all of creation.  Quoting Gregory of Nyssa (“What God has not assumed, God has not saved”) and looking to Romans 8:19-23 (in particular vs. 21 where Paul writes that all of creation will be saved), Brown brilliantly affirms these points: the incarnation isn’t just about Jesus or humanity but all of creation, too.

This way of looking at the incarnation is the theme that connects the rest of the book as he considers these chapter topics:

  • God: Exploring the Depth
  • Humanity: Continuing the Creation
  • Sin: Failing and Hiding
  • Salvation: Seeking and Finding
  • Church: Serving and Being Served
  • Rightly Mixing Religion with Politics

All the while, Brown leaves space for disagreement and alternate ways of thinking along the way while encouraging all (including himself) to having an open mind.

One feature of the book that I really appreciated were the “Points for Reflection” found at the end of each chapter.  Here he succinctly reminds us, in bullet-point fashion, of the primary points he wanted to get across in the chapter.  Thus, he helps the reader contemplate the chapter as a whole before moving on to the next chapter and topic for development and discussion.

If you hadn’t guessed it already, I highly recommend this book.  It helps us develop a theology that can easily lead to action as God takes on our flesh and guides us into the ministry of loving God and our neighbors as ourselves.

Delwin Brown was a United Methodist lay person and dean emeritus of Pacific School of Religion.  He was also Professor of Christian Theology at Illiff School of Theology.  Sadly, he passed away September 12, 2009 after battling cancer.

If you’ve read the book, please, leave your thoughts below!

From Babel to Pentecost to Now

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The Christian event and celebration of Pentecost has long been seen as a reversal of the story of the “Tower of Babel” as told in Genesis 11:1-9 where God “confuses” the languages of the people trying to build a tower into the heavens.

This morning, I was re-reading a book by Delwin Brown where he interprets this story:

[T]he story is theologically profound. It does not say that God separated the people into different linguistic groups as a punishment – not at all. The diversity imposed on the human race was a safeguard, a protection against the illusion that we are or can become like God. God intervened when uniformity became excessive. 1

As I thought about this in relation to Pentecost, I realized that Pentecost (as read in Acts 2:1-18) is not a reversal of Babel, though it does change the rules of the game.  The story of Babel was about doing away with uniformity while promoting diversity.  Pentecost, however, does not do away with diversity; rather, those seeking to share the good news of hope reach out to people different than themselves, meeting them where they were to share the news.  The human response to diversity was to build walls of separation, saying in effect, “You’ve got to learn to speak my language if you want to communicate with me or if you want what I’ve got to give.”  Pentecost said, “Okay, I’ll speak your language.  You don’t have to speak my language for us to communicate – for me to share this message, for me to give you what I have.”

In Pentecost, diversity is not abolished.  It is not seen as a dividing wall.  Whereas in Babel, diversity is forced, in Pentecost, uniformity is not forced.  Diversity is accepted, and those following the guiding of the Holy Spirit become more diverse to share the love of God.

In so many of our churches (and in life in general), we want harmony.  We want everyone to get along, and we assume the means by which that is to happen is to have uniformity – for all to be in unison.  But let’s think about a musical ensemble.  Would the Eagles have been as popular had they always sung in unison?  Wasn’t a large part of their appeal the beautiful, yet diverse, harmonies that they created?

Anyone who has tried to sing in harmony with others knows it is not easy (nor are relationships with diverse people – just ask the Eagles).  Yet, the results are beautiful.  Having a diverse meal of language, thoughts, ideas, and theology, I believe, makes us more beautiful people – as individuals and as communities.

  • Why do you think we are often afraid of diversity – especially within our faith communities?
  • What do you think about the idea that the Holy Spirit leads people to become more diverse to reach out to more people?
  • How might the Spirit be guiding you to be more diverse?
  • What kind of difference would be made in your faith community if it were more willing to speak the language of those outside that community?
  • Do you think it would help the growth of your community – in number, in love, and in knowledge?  Why or why not?

1.  Delwin Brown, What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious (New York City: Seabury Books, 2008), pg. 65.

Aldersgate Day – Not the End of the Story

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My wife works for Sojourners in Washington, DC.  Being connected to this magazine, from time-to-time, she gets other magazines or books to review.  Thanks to this, I recently received a copy of Grace & Peace: Ministry in a Connected Culture, which is a resource for Nazarene clergy (if you are not aware, the Nazarene Church is an off-shoot of Methodism).  In their Summer-Fall 2011 issue, they had an interview with a Wesleyan scholar named Kenneth J. Collins.  In this write up , he is noted as saying that we need to “bring forth the whole Wesley.”  Although, there are aspects of the article I disagreed with (and these may be discussed in a later blog post), on this Aldersgate Day, I think it is important to consider bringing forth “the whole Wesley.”

I think this day has been over-sentimentalized within Methodist / Wesleyan circles.  In many Methodism classes I have taught over the years, many had the understanding that after this special day (May 24, 1738) John Wesley never questioned his faith again.  His assurance of salvation was strong and not to be swayed.  These ideas are upheld by his journal entry for that day saying that he had not been a Christian before hearing Martin Luther’s Preface to the book of Romans being read that night at the Aldersgate society.

Yet, less than a year later on Thursday, January 4, 1739, Wesley writes at length in his journal:

My friends affirm I am mad, because I said I was not a Christian a year ago. I affirm, I am not a Christian now. Indeed, what I might have been I know not, had I been faithful to the grace then given, when, expecting nothing less, I received such a sense of the forgiveness of my sins, as till then I never knew. But that I am not a Christian at this day, I as assuredly know, as that Jesus is the Christ.

For a Christian is one who has the fruits of the Spirit of Christ, which (to mention no more) are love, peace, joy. But these I have not. I have not any love of God. I do not love either the Father or the Son. Do you ask, how do I know whether I love God, I answer by another question, ‘How do you know whether you love me?’ Why, as you know whether you are hot or cold. You feel this moment, that you do or do not love me. And I feel this moment, I do not love God; which therefore I know, because I feel it. There is no word more proper, more clear, or more strong.

And I know it also by St. John’s plain rule, ‘If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.’ For I love the world. I desire the things of the world, some or other of them, and have done all my life. I have always placed some part of my happiness in some or other of the things that are seen. Particularly in meat and drink, and in the company of those I loved. For many years I have been, yea, and still am, hankering after a happiness, in loving, and being loved by one or another. And in these I have from time to time taken more pleasure than in God.

Again, joy in the Holy Ghost I have not. I have now and then some starts of joy in God: But it is not that joy. For it is not abiding. Neither is it greater than I have had on some worldly occasions. So that I can in no wise be said to ‘rejoice evermore;’ much less to ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.’

Yet again: I have not ‘the peace of God;’ that peace, peculiarly so called. The peace I have may be accounted for on natural principles. I have health, strength, friends, a competent fortune, and a composed, cheerful temper. Who would not have a sort of peace in such circumstances? But I have none which can with any propriety be called, a ‘peace which passeth all understanding.’

From hence I conclude, (and let all the saints of the world hear, that whereinsoever they boast, they may be found even as I,) though I have given, and do give, all my goods to feed the poor, I am not a Christian. Though I have endured hardship, though I have in all things denied myself and taken up my cross, I am not a Christian. My works are nothing, my sufferings are nothing; I have not the fruits of the Spirit of Christ. Though I have constantly used all the means of grace for twenty years, I am not a Christian.

John Wesley’s special heartwarming experience at Aldersgate was not the end of the story.  He continued to experience dark nights of the soul.

Although it pains me that Wesley was struggling with his faith, this part of Wesley’s story gives me hope.  Here was truly an influential Christian – prior to this time and certainly after – yet he didn’t always feel assurance.  He had struggles in his life of faith and yet he kept plugging away – pressing on toward the goal of Christ Jesus.  This is an example we can all look to and follow – preaching faith until he had it and then preaching faith all the more.

On April 9, 1788 – almost 50 years after his Aldersgate experience, Wesley preached a sermon entitled, “On Faith.”  In it he said,

Indeed, nearly fifty years ago, when the Preachers, commonly called Methodists, began to preach that grand scriptural doctrine, salvation by faith, they were not sufficiently apprized of the difference between a servant and a child of God. They did not clearly understand, that even one “who feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.” In consequence of this, they were apt to make sad the hearts of those whom God had not made sad. For they frequently asked those who feared God, “Do you know that your sins are forgiven?” And upon their answering, “No,” immediately replied, “Then you are a child of the devil.” No; that does not follow. It might have been said, (and it is all that can be said with propriety,) “Hitherto you are only a servant, you are not a child of God. You have already great reason to praise God that he has called you to his honourable service. Fear not. Continue crying unto him, “and you shall see greater things than these.”

I can’t help but wonder if he didn’t have his own experience in mind as he shared this part of his sermon.  “Fear and guilt are not the way to make disciples,” I think he had learned.  Rather, continuing in the process of faith – going on to perfection – is how disciples are made.

Just as Wesley’s experience at Aldersgate was not the end of the story neither was Wesley’s understanding of assurance and salvation.  So, when we consider bringing forth the whole Wesley, let us remember the process of pain, growth, and change.  Let us realize that the Wesley we read in 1738 is not the same Wesley we read in 1788.  Likewise, may we not be the same people we were in the past.  Let us grow more fully into the stature of Christ in the future!

To learn more about how John Wesley’s theology developed and changed over his life, I highly recommend Theodore Runyon’s, The New Creation: John Wesley’s Theology Today.