Abraham Kuyper, Stone Lectures

“Henceforth the curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life.

Monday: Read 1 John 2:15-17
Here the apostle John makes some rather disparaging remarks about “the world”, saying that anyone who loves the world does not have the love of the Father in him. Should John’s words be taken to refer to the ungodly system that Christ came to conquer, or should it be seen as legitimizing a broader antipathy to the entire physical order, including perhaps culture? How does verse 16 help us to understand how John is defining ‘the world’?

Throughout the history of the church many have assumed what Kuyper termed “a dualistic conception of regeneration”, restricting the scope of Christ’s redemptive work to a narrow pietistic sphere. Under this narrative, the kingdom of God pertains to our personal interiority but has little relevance to the external world. How do the Messianic prophecies of this Psalm help to undermine this type of pietistic dualism?

How much authority does our Lord claim in this passage? Does He claim authority over a merely spiritual, eternal and heavenly sphere, or does He also have authority over the temporal and terrestrial realm? How does this help to undermine the type of dualism Kuyper aimed to undermine?

How does this passage show that the work of redemption is not limited to the salvation of individual sinners, but extends to the redemption of the world, and to what Kuyper called the organic reunion of all things in heaven and on earth under Christ as their original head?

Kuyper was concerned that too often Christendom “has neglected the care of the body, because it cared too exclusively for the soul.” How does Paul show in this passage that the physical body is important to God?

Some Christians have taught that if you want to really serve God, you must abandon the ‘secular’ vocations and go into full time Christian ministry. By contrast, in these verses Paul teaches us that all departments of life are important to God. If Paul could say that even bondservants may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior through faithful service to their masters then what are the implications for other lawful vocations? Does this undermine one of the ways that the dichotomy between the sacred and the secular has often functioned?

This passage suggests that God is not simply in the business of transforming individuals, but is renewing the world itself. Should the promise of a new heavens and a new earth be taken as being entirely future, or is it something that is already being realized now? How does this relate to Kuyper’s comment that “the work of redemption is not limited to the salvation of individual sinners, but extends itself to the redemption of the world, and to the organic reunion of all things in heaven and on earth under Christ as their original head”?

Lesson for This Week
In Jesus Christ there is an interconnection between the temporal and the eternal, between the physical and the spiritual, and between the terrestrial and the heavenly. Precisely because of this, redemption does not apply to individuals merely, but to the entire created order. It follows that there is no area of life that is outside the scope of Christ’s lordship. As Kuyper would note elsewhere, “There is not a square inchin the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'" How does this make a difference in your life? What are some areas where you can acknowledge Christ’s Lordship more fully?

For more information on this topic, buy the book Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience from our online store. Also consider purchasing Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s book How Now Shall We Live?

 PRINT

 RSS

EMAIL