Valley of Vision: Regeneration

January 27

“And of his fulness have all we received.”

- John 1:16

These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead.” There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness of atoning efficacy in his blood, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” There is a fulness of divine prevalence in his plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” There is a fulness of victory in his death, for through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for by it “we are begotten again unto a lively hope.” There is a fulness of triumph in his ascension, for “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men.” There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times; a fulness of comfort in affliction; a fulness of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore. “It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this “fulness” is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel—God with us.

C.H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Good link, will finish later on, but in the meantime...

Not enough superlatives to describe what I think of this man of God, based on this alone:

At this point Knox and his supporters began to reshape the Scottish church--not only theologically along the lines of Calvin's Reformed Faith born in Geneva, but also politically in a way that was Knox's special contribution to the Protestant cause. Knox took the idea of representative government characteristic of Calvin's reformed churches (communities lead by elected elders or "presbyters"), and applied it locally, regionally and nationally in total reversal of the top-down or hierarchical fashion of Catholic or "episcopalian" government. Thus local councils ("Presbyteries"), regional councils ("Synods") and national councils ("General Assemblies") that presided over the faithful were made up of representatives not of the political rulers over the church but of the people themselves. Thus was born "Presbyterian" or representative church government--the source of inspiration for the new Democratic or Republican forms of government that led eventually to the Constitution of 1789 underpinning the new American Republic.

When advocates for an Anglican order disrupted Knox's congregation in Frankfurt, he again invoked the regulative principle to dispel their liturgical claims. The Anglican order included many objectionable elements: the minister's surplice, appointed lessons, prescribed prayers and fastings, ecclesiastical holidays, observance of communion in a kneeling posture, allowance for private administration of the Lord's Supper, the use of the sign of the cross in baptism, godfathers making vows in the name of the child at the time of baptism, and the purification of women after childbirth.

One thing lead to another, and I found above at the following site . Do you know what the purification of women following childbirth entailed?

The issue was not simply a dispute over a few outward ceremonies and forms of worship. Rather, it was a battle between two radically different underlying conceptions of worship. One view contains the very seed of idolatry, because it allows men to fashion worship in a manner of their own choosing. The other view jealously strives to preserve the purity of God's worship, by admitting only those practices established in scripture.

How was the regulative principle arrived at? Was Scripture so clear on this, that John Knox's view was pretty much unassailable, or has this principle changed over time?

Throughout his labours, Knox was fearless in preaching the word of God. In June 1559, Knox headed toward St. Andrews, planning to preach "for reformation to be made there." When the local papal bishop heard about these plans, he took measures to stop Knox. The bishop's design was simple: if Knox presented himself to preach at St. Andrews, the Reformer would be saluted with a dozen guns, "whereof the most part should light upon his nose."[11]

Fully aware of the bishop's "good mind" toward him, Knox proceeded with his plans to preach, refusing to be intimidated in the slightest way. The Reformer took as his text selections from Matthew and John passages which describe Christ's cleansing of the temple. Knox drew parallels between the corruptions in the temple and the contemporary corruptions of Popery. He noted Christ's actions in order to stress the responsibility of reformation by "those to whom God gives the power and zeal thereto." Knox's message was so effective that "the magistrates, the provost and bailies, [as well] as the commonalty for the most part, within the town, did agree to remove all monuments of idolatry, which also they did with expedition." During the process, the papal priests remained stupefied, "even as dumb as their idols who were burnt in their presence."[12]

Per link you provided, it is was interesting to note John Knox's take on the Lord's Supper, relative to the question of kneeling, when partaking. He argued that Jesus and his Disciples sat at table, so that must be the manner in which one partakes of it. How do the Orthodox Presbyterians (that is what John Knox was?) celebrate the Lord's Supper?

Here's what looks to be a good link regarding the regulative principle of worship.

THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE OF WORSHIP IN HISTORY

I don't know much about the Anglican faith regarding "purification of women." Sounds pretty dated, I imagine.

Knox would be called a Presbyterian today. In his time Presbyterian referred to the method of church governance that was founded on the Reformed teaching of John Calvin in Geneva which Knox studied and brought back to Scotland.

In our Presbyterian church we sit in the pews in order to partake of the grace of the Lord's Supper while the bread and wine are passed throughout the congregation. Here's a good link:

FOUR VIEWS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

Isn't the Internet amazing? 8~)

Thanks for the links, Doc, I appreciate it. The Internet IS great, and I'm up for the reading.

By the way, not to criscross threads or anything, but Warfields explanation of the Reformed Faith was a very good read. Here are the parts I found myself breathing that breath of rest to:

13. I believe that God has redeemed His people unto HimseIf through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though He was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law; I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own person the obedience I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever; wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my redeemer.

14. I believe that Jesus Christ my redeemer, who died for my offenses was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at he right hand of the Father Almighty continually making intercession for his people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for His Church; so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.

15. I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectualy applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until His gracious work having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory; in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.

19. I believe that the visible Church consists of all those who are united to Christ, the Head of the Church, by profession of their faith, together with their children; and that the visible unity of the body of Christ, though obscured, is not destroyed by its division into different denominations of professing Christians. Therefore I believe that all of these which maintain the Word and Sacraments in their fundamental integrity are to be recognized as true branches of the Church of Jesus Christ.

20. I believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any respect contrary to His Word, or beside it in matters of faith or worship. I believe therefore, that the rights of private judgment in all matters that respect religion are universal and inalienable and that no religious constitution should be supported by the civil power, further than may be necessary for protection and security equal and common to all others.

21. I believe that the Church is God's spiritual minister for the purpose of redemption and the state is God's providential minister for the purpose of thisworldly order. The power of the Church is exclusively spiritual; that of the State includes the exercise of force. The constitution of the Church derives exclusively from divine revelation; the constitution of the State must be determined by human reason and the course of providential events. I believe therefore that the Church has no right to construct or modify a government for the State, and the State has no right to frame a creed or polity for the Church.

22. I believe that disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be His witnesses in the world, proclaiming the justice and mercy of God to all men, and making evident His wise and righteous rule over every aspect of human culture. Therefore it is my obligation to search the Scriptures with all the skills God has allotted me, and to seek, within the bounds of my calling, to apply my understanding of His Word to the entire created order, and to all the outworkings of His most wise providence. And I believe that it is my privilege and duty to pursue a vocation in this world that employs my gifts to the glory of God, and for the good of my family, my congregation, my community, and, as God brings opportunity, to any who may be in need.

Thanks for the links, Dr. E, I really appreciate them.

I just finished watching Luther. It was GREAT! Sir Peter Ustinov offered up a great performance, and so did Joseph Finnes (hope I have his name right).

I don't really know that much about Luther, but I intend to change that in the upcoming weeks. The first thing I'm going to read is his work On the Freedom of a Christian.

As an immigrant how I pray that Luther is blessed exponentially for the gifts he gave, and for those Protestants that transported them to the United States.

Human suffering touches me deeply, as I'm sure it does almost all people. The scene of the death of Greta was painfully poignant. Who was that poet whose poem contains the line referencing Chirst?

'the great unwashed,
cold shoulder them, cold shoulder me.'

I very much liked the scene where Luther presents the first German language Bible to Wittenberg's Chancellor, or whatever his proper title was. Ustinov played that to perfection.

Anyway, go with God, Dr. E, and thanks for lending your ear.

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