Week 3 – The Nature of Humanity

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This week we explored the nature of humanity and some basic ideas the help to define the nature of humanity from a Christian theological perspective.

We looked at the nature of humanity through four lenses:  Human beings are sub-creators.  Human beings are Image bearers.  Human beings are community builders.  Human beings are salvific story tellers.

The part of this study that intrigued me the most was the idea of Human beings as salvific story tellers.  As Humans, we have an integral part in telling the story – in living / demonstrating the story – of the salvation / redemption story of our God over all of His creation.

It’s common that when we see a person or group of people making some sort of mistake or participating in some sort of foolish expression of depraved behavior that we end up saying something to the effect of, “Oh well, they are only human…”  This expression and it’s intended message, however, goes against the message of the scripture that we are given about our nature as human beings.

Part of our job as salvific story tellers, I believe, is to set the record straight on this point.  To be fully human is not to be highly fallible or morally corrupt.  Quite the opposite.  That is what it means to be inhuman.  To be fully human is to embrace the reality of what God created us to be, how God is saving and redeeming us from what we currently are, and to participate in the renewal and recreation of the new humanity that will see it’s fullness after the return of Christ.

To see the reality of what / who God created us to be – while the message of Genesis is important – we focus our attention on and tell the grand story of the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus revealed himself to us as the perfect image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), an image in which we were created.  Jesus also reveals himself as the new Adam, the first born of a new, renewed humanity.  (Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, 2 Corinthians 5:17)

To see the reality of God’s saving and redeeming acts over all his creation, again we focus upon and tell the grand story of Jesus Christ as he saves us from all that ails us [1] and as he engages in the process of the renwal and re-creation of the whole world.

And these points are something as Gods people in Christ we can actually live, demonstrate and participate in various ways and through various methods.  Through our lifestyles, the expression of our creative nature in God, and the participation in Jesus mission to bring the Kingdom of God on the earth as it is in heaven we can be salvific story tellers who declare to the world the coming Kingdom of God.

To very roughly paraphrase N T Wright in his book, The Last Word, we now in essence are part of this story of God’s salvation.  Our lives are part of the very telling and even writing of God’s story.  That is an awesome thought.

 

*1  Don Rousu, when speaking of biblical salvation notes that salvation in it’s most basic sense is God saving us from what ever ails us.  If we are blind and Jesus opens our eyes, that is an act of salvation.  If we are hungry, daily bread is our salvation.  If we are in bondage, freedom and release from our captures is our salvation.  If we are separated from God, reconciliation is our salvation.  And so on.