Working out the Implications of the Logos.
If Christian maturity is working out the implications of our faith then we have a lot of ground to cover.
Many Christians wrongly beleive that a pastoral position is the only full time occupation for the Lord, that some how secular jobs are not as important as devoting oneself to "sacred" pursuits. God, for these beleivers, can only be seen in Church or the Bible. This view has led to a compartmentalized Christianity; Sacred day on Sunday, secular activity throughout the rest of the week. But Jesus as the Logos made flesh holds some profound devotional truth. Because Jesus is the Logos what we once deemed secular is in fact a worthy avenue of worship to our Lord.
John did not invent the term Logos (i.e. Word). It possess a history from before the incarnation. The Logos for the Jews was identified as Lady Wisdom (i.e. Sophia) of Jewish Wisdom Literature (Proverbs 1-8, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Solomon etc.). She existed in the beginning as God's master craftsmen, taking delight in the world of men. She possessed the mind of God. She new his plans and the working of the world. If someone possessed her, he possessed life itself. For the Greeks the term Logos arrived with earliest of the philosophers (i.e. lovers or friends of sophia). The Logos for them was the purpose, the meaning, the rational explanation for all that is. To seek after the Logos was to seek after the ordering of the universe.
When John calls Jesus the Logos made flesh he is calling our attention back to both Jewish and Greek ideas. Jesus is the divine designer, the master craftsman, the point and purpose for all that is. This means that to seek after the rational ordering of the Universe is to seek after Jesus himself. "The creaton of declares the glory of the Lord." (Psalms 19). There is no distinction between sacred and secular because God created it all.
Paul in Colossians picks up on this application of the Logos (the Sophia of Proverbs). He calls Jesus, "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." This is expressly said of wisdom in the Wisdom literature. Paul continues, "For in him all things were created, both invisible, and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him." "All things have been created through Him and for Him." Paul finds that the application of this is that we are not bound to keep the Old Testament dicotomy of secular vs. sacred. "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day." He goes on to say, "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as 'Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!'" Because Christ fills all and all there is no distinction between secular and sacred. Jesus is the point of both sacred and secular persuits weather one knows it or not.
Many Christians wrongly beleive that a pastoral position is the only full time occupation for the Lord, that some how secular jobs are not as important as devoting oneself to "sacred" pursuits. God, for these beleivers, can only be seen in Church or the Bible. This view has led to a compartmentalized Christianity; Sacred day on Sunday, secular activity throughout the rest of the week. But Jesus as the Logos made flesh holds some profound devotional truth. Because Jesus is the Logos what we once deemed secular is in fact a worthy avenue of worship to our Lord.
John did not invent the term Logos (i.e. Word). It possess a history from before the incarnation. The Logos for the Jews was identified as Lady Wisdom (i.e. Sophia) of Jewish Wisdom Literature (Proverbs 1-8, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Solomon etc.). She existed in the beginning as God's master craftsmen, taking delight in the world of men. She possessed the mind of God. She new his plans and the working of the world. If someone possessed her, he possessed life itself. For the Greeks the term Logos arrived with earliest of the philosophers (i.e. lovers or friends of sophia). The Logos for them was the purpose, the meaning, the rational explanation for all that is. To seek after the Logos was to seek after the ordering of the universe.
When John calls Jesus the Logos made flesh he is calling our attention back to both Jewish and Greek ideas. Jesus is the divine designer, the master craftsman, the point and purpose for all that is. This means that to seek after the rational ordering of the Universe is to seek after Jesus himself. "The creaton of declares the glory of the Lord." (Psalms 19). There is no distinction between sacred and secular because God created it all.
Paul in Colossians picks up on this application of the Logos (the Sophia of Proverbs). He calls Jesus, "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." This is expressly said of wisdom in the Wisdom literature. Paul continues, "For in him all things were created, both invisible, and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him." "All things have been created through Him and for Him." Paul finds that the application of this is that we are not bound to keep the Old Testament dicotomy of secular vs. sacred. "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day." He goes on to say, "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as 'Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!'" Because Christ fills all and all there is no distinction between secular and sacred. Jesus is the point of both sacred and secular persuits weather one knows it or not.
posted by Matthew Miller at 12:44 PM
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