Just Words: Probing The Biblical Language Of The Gospel

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Just Words Probing The Biblical Language Of The
Gospel

• Iowa District West Pastoral ConferenceSeptember
  22-23, 2008Jack Preus

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Outline of Presentations

• Session 1 Understanding the Gospels Words
  Content v. Form
• Session 2 Let There be Light Creation
  Metaphors
• Session 3 You Are not Your Own Commercial
  Metaphors
• Session 4 Peace beyond our Understanding
  Personal Metaphors
• Session 5 Hyper Conquerors! Deliverance
  Metaphors

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Monday, September 22, 2008100-200 p.m.Plenary
Session 1

• Understanding the Gospel as Words Content v.
  Form

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The Gospel and the Doctrine of Justification

• The Gospel is an Eventful Word
• The Gospel is a Divine and Human Word
• The Gospel and the Doctrine of Justification by
  Faith
• More than One Way to Say It

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1. The Gospel is an Eventful Word

• The Gospel is more than words. In todays world,
  words tend to be flat, merely descriptive,
  without any real force.
• However, when spoken or read, words actually make
  something happen. Communication through words is
  an event. This is true of any communication, but
  it is especially true of communication with the
  Gospel because the Gospel is the Word of God.

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2. The Gospel is a Divine and Human Word

• There is an analogy between the Word Incarnate
  and the Word of the Gospel. The Gospel Word can
  be said to have two natures
• As a divine word, the Gospel has divine power or
  efficacy
• As a human word, the Gospel has human qualities
  language, literary form, historical context,
  grammar, syntax, and rhetorical force

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3. The Gospel and the Doctrine of Justification

• The Doctrine of Justification is really another
  designation for the Gospel
• The Gospel stands over the church as the
  criterion of the churchs authenticity. It is the
  judge of what is truly the church and what is
  not.
• The Gospel also stands under the church as its
  only firm foundation. Without the Gospel, the
  church cannot stand for one hour.

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4. More than One Way to Say It

• Each Gospel word is necessary to the fullness of
  the biblical doctrine of justification. Each
  contributes something distinctive, something
  unique, which, if it were not present, would make
  the doctrine less than whole, less than fully
  what the Lord revealed.

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The Gospel as Words

• The Reality of the Gospel
• The Words as Metaphor
• Living Metaphors
• The World Inside the Words
• Using the Fullness of the Gospels Words

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1. The Reality of the Gospel

• What does it mean to speak of the Gospel as
  metaphor?
• The Gospel is not unreal, mythical, symbolic,
  representational
• Gods incarnation is real
• Christs work is real
• The benefits of Christs work are real
• God is not a metaphor He is real

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2. The Words as Metaphor

• A metaphor is a figure of speech whereby we speak
  a truth about one thing in terms which are
  suggestive of another.
• Sherry is a rose
• Watch out, thats a live wire!
• Metaphors convey truth and expand our knowledge
  of things

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3. Living Metaphors

• The Word of the Gospel is alive
• It is alive because it is the Word of God, which
  is energized by the Holy Spirit
• It is alive simply because it is words
• It is alive because its language is metaphorical
  and has great rhetorical force

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4. The World Inside the Words

• Each word, each metaphor, has a world inside of
  it. Each has a particular way of referring to or
  conceptualizing our standing before God. Each has
  its own internal worldview into which the
  skillful preacher invites his hearers.

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4. The World Inside the Words (cont.)

• Inside each metaphor is a universe, a richly
  textured and beautifully colored reality through
  which the hearer of the Word is invited to view
  himself or herself. Through this universe, we
  understand, even visualize, how God is toward us
  on account of Christ.

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5. Using the Fullness of the Gospels Words

• Through careful and prayerful examination of the
  biblical metaphors of the Gospel we will not only
  understand them better, but articulate them
  preach them and speak them better and more
  creatively so Christs name may be praised and
  His people blessed.

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Monday, September 22, 2008300-400Plenary
Session 2

• Let There be Light Creation Metaphors
• John 11-9
• John 319-21
• John 812

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John 11-5

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
  with God, and the Word was God. He was with God
  in the beginning. Through him all things were
  made and without him nothing was made that has
  been made. In him was life, and that life was the
  light of men. The light shines in the darkness,
  but the darkness has not understood it.

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John 16-9

• There came a man who was sent from God his name
  was John. He came as a witness to testify
  concerning that light, so that through him all
  men might believe. He himself was not the light
  he came only as a witness to the light. The true
  light that gives light to every man was coming
  into the world.

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John 319-21

• This is the verdict Light has come into the
  world, but men loved darkness instead of light
  because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does
  evil hates the light, and will not come into the
  light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the
  light, so that it may be seen plainly that what
  he has done has been done through God.

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John 812

• When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I
  am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
  will never walk in darkness, but will have the
  light of life.

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Discussion Questions

• What is the Law behind the light metaphor?
• How does the Gospel of the light metaphor speak
  directly to the Law behind it?
• What does the light metaphor contribute to our
  understanding of the Gospel?
• What would be especially appropriate contexts for
  speaking or applying the light metaphor?

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Monday, September 22, 2008430-530 p.m.Plenary
Session 3

• You Are not Your Own Commercial Metaphors
• 1 Corinthians 619-20
• 1 Corinthians 723
• 1 Peter 29

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1 Corinthians 619-20

• Do you not know that your body is a temple of the
  Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have
  received from God? You are not your own you were
  bought with a price. Therefore honor God with
  your body.

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1 Corinthians 723

• You were bought with a price do not become
  slaves of men.

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1 Peter 29

• But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
  a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that
  you may declare the praises of him who called you
  out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once
  you were not a people, but now you are the people
  of God once you had not received mercy, but now
  you have received mercy.

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Discussion Questions

• What is the Law behind the commercial metaphor?
• How does the Gospel of the commercial metaphor
  speak directly to the Law behind it?
• What does the commercial metaphor contribute to
  our understanding of the Gospel?
• What would be especially appropriate contexts for
  speaking or applying the commercial metaphor?

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008930-1030
a.m.Plenary Session 4

• Peace beyond our Understanding Personal
  Metaphors
• Ephesians 214-17
• Philippians 44-7

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Ephesians 214-15

• For he himself is our peace, who has made the two
  one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing
  wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the
  law with its commandments and regulations. His
  purpose was to create in himself one new man out
  of the two, thus making peace,

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Ephesians 216-17

• and in this one body to reconcile both of them
  to God through the cross, by which he put to
  death their hostility. He came and preached peace
  to you who were far away and peace to those who
  were near.

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Philippians 44-6

• Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again
  Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.
  The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about
  anything, but in everything by prayer and
  petition, with thanksgiving, present your
  requests to God

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Philippians 47

• And the peace of God, which transcends all
  understanding, will guard your hearts and your
  minds in Christ Jesus.

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Discussion Questions

• What is the Law behind the personal metaphor?
• How does the Gospel of the personal metaphor
  speak directly to the Law behind it?
• What does the personal metaphor contribute to our
  understanding of the Gospel?
• What would be especially appropriate contexts for
  speaking or applying the personal metaphor?

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Tuesday, September 23, 20081045-1145
a.m.Plenary Session 5

• Hyper Conquerors! Deliverance Metaphors
• 1 Corinthians 1554-58
• Romans 835-39

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1 Corinthians 1554-57

• Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where,
  O death, is your victory? Where O death is your
  sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power
  of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives
  us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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1 Corinthians 1558

• Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let
  nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to
  the work of the Lord, because you know that your
  labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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Romans 835-36

• Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
  famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is
  written For your sake we face death all day
  long we are considered as sheep to be
  slaughtered.

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Romans 837-39

• No, in all these things we are more than
  conquerors through him who loved us. For I am
  convinced that neither death nor life, neither
  angels nor demons, neither the present for the
  future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth
  nor anything else in all creation, will be able
  to separate us from the love of God that is in
  Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Discussion Questions

• What is the Law behind the victory metaphor?
• How does the Gospel of the victory metaphor
  speak directly to the Law behind it?
• What does the victory metaphor contribute to our
  understanding of the Gospel?
• What would be especially appropriate contexts for
  speaking or applying the victory metaphor?

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Summary

• Through careful and prayerful examination of the
  biblical metaphors of the Gospel we will
• understand them better
• articulate them, preach them, and speak them
  better and more creatively
• so Christs name may be praised
• and His people blessed