What is an evil heart?

When we consider evil we usually think in terms of horrendous acts such as torture, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, genocide, and the like. 

But what about an evil heart? Is this something different than evil actions? It is - though they are connected. But unlike evil acts, an evil heart is far more common than we may think. 

This involves the why of our actions i.e. what is our motive for acting? Are we acting for the

¹glory of God or glory of self i.e. are we acting to advance God's rule (kingdom) or ²our own? We either do one or the other. These are opposite as well as opposed to each other. There is no middle ground. There can't be since seeking God's glory and ours, independent of God, are ³contrary to each other.

One of these two is the ultimate end we seek in every action - from the most grand of actions to the least significant - e.g. eating and drinking. 

What is at the heart of this difference and what enables us to live for God's glory?

We must behold God's glory (His infinite worth, importance, significance, beauty etc.) and partake of it in order to display it. If we do not, we will not experience it or be able to extend it to others. We are left to act only for inferior self-glory (self-exaltation), for we must experience ¹glory.  

Because we are created to know and partake of God - who is all glorious (most significant, important, and valuable) - but are absent this due to our rebellious distrust of God, we must experience ¹glory in some other way to function (even if it is inferior to the way we were designed to operate - i.e. in, by, and through God). 

To use an analogy, drinking from a toilet is better than dying of thirst...(at least initially, for we could die from disease if we continued doing so). Just like we must have food, air, and water, we must also know we have value-significance (glory) to exist much less function well - if not physically, at least spiritually and emotionally. 

If our experience of glory comes from the Source of glory - i.e. God - we function optimally and are most fulfilled and effective, as we were designed to be. If our sense of glory (worth) is ⁶self generated or achieved, we operate contrary to our design, break down, and eventually crash and burn at all levels, i.e. spiritually, emotionally, and physically. If we are not receivers of God's glory (as we are designed to be) we become only takers or grabbers of glory from somewhere other than God, the one true Source of life, love, and all things. 

To take glory is to dishonor and harm others. God first - the Source of glory - then our fellow image bearers. For we must take from others what they also ⁷need - i.e. their sense of dignity, importance, and worth - in order to do so.

This is the essence of an evil heart. It is the strategy we all engage in when not captivated by God's glorious love and beauty.

For a further discussion on how we are created for glory click here.

Are we actually rebels against God? For a further discussion click here.

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¹Glory - value, significance, importance etc., and a sense of these. God is most glorious and the source of all glory, we are designed to partake and participate in it.

2 Pet 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Some may wonder why or how not glorifying God is evil. Good question! 

If God is the Creator and sustainer of all good things, to deny this by living contrary to it (as if something other than God is the source of life) is a lie that results in actions with far-reaching and harmful consequences; actions that point to anything other than God as the source of true happiness (glory). To point people away from God by our seeking things other than God as the Source of life, love, and all things is to misleads them (whether intentionally or not). To mislead someone causes them harm. Causing others harm is the essence of evil. 

For a further discussion, click here.

²Some may wonder what is wrong with building our own kingdom? Isnt this a noble and worthwhile effort? 

Stated simply, we were created for much greater, more meaningful things. Building our own kingdom does not fit who we are (we only think it is because outside of God this is all we know and the best we can do). We are created to build kingdoms - grand ones at that -  but not exclusively for ourselves but for the King of kings. We are creatures in the image of God designed to  participate in Him. In doing so we find our greatest sense of meaning, purpose, and joy. 

But we must choose this. God does not force us to pursue Him, He lets us choose. 

Nevertheless enjoying Him above everything else is what we are designed for and where we find our greatest joy, meaning, and purpose. We are still a major part of the equation, but not the focus of it.

³They may be opposite but they are not separate. They are connected. How? When we glorify God we experience our greatest glory. But we do not honor-glorify God for this reason - i.e. our glory is not our focus but the result of focusing on God. We do so simply because God is all glorious and deserves all praise and all our praise. It is when we discover him as all glorious that we experience our greatest glory i.e. when we humble ourselves we are exalted...to find our life we must lose it...to live we must die etc. (This is a reoccurring theme throughout scripture, - and the essence of Christ's main teachings - sometimes referred to as the upside-down kingdom).

 

Experiencing our greatest glory (worth) is the fruit of recognizing God's infinite worth (glory). To see His glory, we must first die to efforts to try to obtain glory independent of Him. Obtaining our own glory independent of God's not only doesn't work, it is in opposition to God as well as to us.

⁴Because we were created for glory if we do not receive it from God we will seek it elsewhere. Otherwise, we give up and die.

⁵Seeking glory illegitimately is wrong for two reasons. 

1. It is contrary to our design and therefore what is best for us (i.e. it doesn't work long term). 

2. It is also contrary to who God is, who alone is all glorious (most valuable, significant, and worthy of all our affection and loyalty) and therefore, most worthy of our trust. 

To not recognize Him as He truly is dishonors Him. He alone deserves our worship (our highest regard for His infinite worth) and faithfulness.

⁶By using creation to get a sense of glory - value (both internally through the talents/abilities He's given us and externally through the natural resources all around us).

⁷except God, who is the cause and source of all dignity, worth, and greatness.

created for glory II

Everyone desires to feel important and significant. Is this a problem or wrong in some way? 

Our need and desire for significance - worth - value - glory - is not a problem. It is who we were created to be and are. We were created for¹glory; to receive it, experience it, reflect it back to the Source, and out to others. It is fundamental to who we are and were designed to be. 

Why? Because God is all glorious (most valuable, significant etc.). To experience his glory, we must take part in it.

To take part in it, we must be like God i.e., designed to take part. We cannot partake of His glory if we do not have the capacity

to experience it ourselves i.e., we are in His image and created for glory; God's glory. 

By partaking of His glory (significance, value etc.), we experience our own. This is the only time we experience it in the way we are designed to. To seek glory in another way - outside and apart from God - does not truly satisfy us because it was not designed to satisfy us. Therefore, it leaves us empty and if pursued unchecked leads to our eventual harm and destruction. 

This is part of being in God's image. We are like God, i.e. designed to behold and enter into His glory and thereby experience our own. Our greatest sense of meaning and purpose (happiness) is obtained by participating in God in all His glory, not other creatures or created things.

This also explains why everything we do apart from God - i.e. actions that are not driven by the Spirit-Love of God - does not truly satisfy. They are attempts to gain or restore the glory we lost and so desperately desire - an attempt to gain a sense of meaning, significance, worth, purpose, love, etc. - through our finite, feeble, independent, self-sustaining efforts with things that are temporary.

We can never successfully (i.e. permanently) find satisfaction outside of God since He created us for infinite and ultimate glory, only found in and through Him.

A desire or longing for a sense of worth isn't our problem; our attempts to acquire it (i.e. " self-worth") apart from and outside of God are. An infinite need for worth-glory can never be satisfied by a finite source, i.e. by us and our use of created things (including other finite image bearers). 

Our need is infinite because God is infinite in love-glory. We were designed to be engaged with and for the infinite i.e. God. This is where we shine brightest - best - and have our greatest sense of joy, meaning, and purpose...worth. It is who we are meant to be and what we are designed for. Nothing else works long-term.

Fallen from glory...

To behold God's glory, we must be able to see his glory. To see it, God must reveal himself to us. Why? Because we have turned away from God, severing our relationship with him and all the infinite love and life that comes through that relationship/union. We are spiritually blind. 

We cut ourselves off from the Source by acting contrary to His loving direction and design and are now broken, ²empty, and unable to see God in all his glory -- though we can certainly see enough to know something significant about him Rom 1:19-20.

Still created for it...

Nevertheless, even in our present state of separation, we are still created for glory i.e. we long for it and still have the capacity to behold His glory, just like a person with cataracts still has eyes capable of seeing that have been blocked and blinded by an obstruction. God must do spiritual surgery and remove the obstruction -- our self-centeredness along with all its effects -- before we can clearly ³see again.

When the obstruction is removed, and our eyes are opened (unblocked and clear), we again began to see God in his infinite majesty, beauty, wisdom, power, and love (i.e. his glory). We find what our hearts have longed for all along, and we start to fill with light again and a sense of purpose and completeness. 

The more we focus on this most glorious God, the more we experience and participate in the glory we were originally designed to have. As we do, we increasingly are filled with his glory, and are transformed and shine it back to him and out to others.

2Co 3:18  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image (the Source of our God-likeness) from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 

John 17:22  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one... - (Christ praying to the Father).

Rom 8:21  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

1Co 13:12  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face (with Christ). Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears (when Christ is displayed to us in all his glory) we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (i.e. in all His glory).

Mar 12:29  Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  31  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 

For more on what God is like and how we are like him click here and here.  

For more on how we are hard-wired for glory click here. 

For more on how God's glory is our highest good click here. 

Is God's glory and our delight in conflict? Click here

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¹What would be the equivalent of the word glory today? If you look at and compare the word in the original Hebrew and Greek, it gives us an interesting picture. 

Hebrew 

H3519   כּבד    כּבוד        kâbôd  kâbôd   kaw-bode', kaw-bode'

Definition:

From H3513; properly weight; but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness: - glorious (-ly), glory, honour (-able).

The Hebrew definition depicts glory in terms of amount or volume. 

Greek 

G1392  δοξάζω  doxazō

Thayer GDefinition:

1) to think, suppose, be of opinion

2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate

3) to honour, do honour to, hold in honour

4) to make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendour

4a) to impart glory to something, render it excellent

4b) to make renowned, render illustrious

4b1) to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged

From G1391

From the base of G1380  δοκέω

dokeō; from δόκος dokos (opinion); to have an opinion, to seem: - deem (1), expect (1), has a mind (1), inclined (1), recognized (1), regarded (1), reputation (3), reputed (1), seem (3), seemed best (1), seemed fitting (1), seemed good (4), seems (3), suppose (5), supposed (2), supposes (1), supposing (4), think (18), thinking (1), thinks (6), thought (4).

The Greek depicts glory in terms of display or view. 

At first, it may not be apparent how glory - as defined in the Old Testament and New Testament - is connected. They seem to be very different. Where is the connection?

Originally Israel's economy was predominately agricultural, so the more weighty something was (or the greater the number, such as 100 camels versus 10) meant the more valuable, like 10 bushels are heavier and therefore of greater value than one or several talents of gold weighed more than one. The greater or more "copious" the amount, the heavier its weight and the greater its value. 

To show forth or manifest the dignity and worth of something in the NT was to put it on display. Shining a light on a copious pile of gold coins would reveal the greatness of its value. Or as the definition indicates, "...to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged..."

Within both definitions is the central concept of value-worth. That we are in God's image and therefore can experience and display God's great worth/glory makes us significant and of great worth. We behold his infinite worth and display it to others. In so doing, we also find our greatest worth and glory i.e. purpose and meaning. 

²it is not that we experience nothing of life without a conscious interaction with God, but we only experience limited aspects of physical and emotional life through the creation - i.e. by using our internal abilities/giftedness and the resources of the material world around us. But these are all finite (limited) and do not bring fullness of life we were designed for or seek. We are made for the infinite i.e. God himself, the source of love, life and all things. We can not find true and lasting meaning, purpose, and value (happiness) until we find and engage the infinite God.

³We see truly again, once our spiritual eyes are restored - regenerated. But we do not yet fully see. We will see fully when we see him face to face. 

What does God value in us?

Why is humility so important? 

What best brings it about? 

Is there any connection between our value, as bearers of God's image, and humility?

We will start by looking at humility and then how this is connected to being like God - Jesus i.e. in His image.

There are at least three foundational truths to grasp for humility to increase in us...

1. We must know - in our heart, not just our head - that all that we are and have comes from God - especially our being in His image with the capacity to partake of and participate in the union of Father, Son, and Spirit.

2. We must know God values us regardless of our failures (or struggles). In fact, He actually uses struggles to advance us and strengthen our relationship with Him.

3. We must know God values us regardless of what anyone else thinks or says about us - i.e. we don't need to ¹promote ourselves and derive our sense of value through the praise (or criticism) of others. 

We are already fully and eternally valued and cherished by God. If God is for us, who can ultimately be against us? Hint...nothing and no one...including ourselves! 

What is the basis of God's value of us? It is threefold.

1. God made us like Himself. It is His image in us that He values. Or it may be more accurate to say he values us because we are in his image.

But why does God value his image in us? What is it about His image He finds so attractive and appealing, even though we are so broken, often ugly, full of doubts and distrust of Him? (...or maybe in part indirectly because of these - i.e., because of the humility our failures and struggles help develop in us.  Plus what normal fathers care isn't more heightened when his child is in more distress, not less). 

Christ also being in the image of God may be an important first clue to our value and humility. Let's take a closer look.

God knows our capacity and sees fully what we are becoming and will be that day we are finally and fully glorified and perfectly united with Him in ²eternity (because we are in his image we will be more ³like God on that day than we can even imagine or now see).

2. God no longer holds our failures against us - Christ already fully addressed them ⁴legally. 

In Christ, there is now no barrier between God and us on his side of the relationship (though we wander back and forth in our trust of Him i.e. our side of the relationship always fluctuates, but His never does). 

Therefore, He fully and perfectly receives and embraces us in His love. He will never love us anymore (now or in eternity) more than He already does because of Christ. To use a description by Paul, we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, at this very moment and every moment since we first trusted Christ! 

 

3. He knows where our struggles and failures are ultimately taking us. Since, in Christ, our rebellious distrust of God is no longer a legal issue, He now focuses on how to maximize the use of our failures and struggles ⁴practically i.e., how to use them to humble us - if we let Him - and how they advance our increased participation in Him in all His infinite glory, both now but particularly in eternity. 

Our eternal reward is God Himself. The more we humble ourselves, the more we see and experience Him in the fullness of His glory and the greater our joy.

God is thrilled and delighted in us - because He is thrilled and delighted in Himself and His Son first, and how we are becoming more like His Son through our struggles - and how we will finally be like Him when we are fully in union with Him and fully glorified alongside Him the moment we step into eternity. Because, at that time, our union with Him will be complete and perfect in the same way His Son's is - and was from eternity past and is again since his resurrection - the Son who is already and fully in the perfect image of the Father. 

We will be like the prodigal son that his father lost, ⁵who returned. For now, God eagerly watches our progress as we grow in greater trust. He awaits our perfect restoration and union with him (in the same way the prodigal son's father did). At that time God will throw His arms around us, kiss our neck and throw a feast for us, ⁹celebrating our complete union and exaltation with Him forevermore. We will fully experience our glory by fully partaking of His. 

Like Christ, His only begotten Son, we too are his sons and daughters (even though Christ is the only eternally begotten Son; like Christ, we are the sons and daughters of the all-glorious Creator God). 

Because of what Christ did for us, He earned the status of being the first born of many "brothers" i.e. of additional sons and daughters. 

He was also the first (first fruits) to go through death and come out the other side fully glorified and victorious. This suggests there are others like Him to follow i.e. others who put their complete trust in Christ (as Christ did in the Father) and what He did to restore us to the Father. As God's sons and daughters in Christ, we are next, for we too have died in Christ and therefore will also be resurrected in glory.

Imagine the delight the Father had in His Son from all eternity past and the excitement he felt upon His return to Heaven and being restored to His full glory and by His side again. The Father has this same ⁶eager anticipation and excitement for being with us and our being united with Him. He values us as His sons and daughters in the same way He values Jesus, His eternal, only begotten Son.

And what a day of joy and celebration that will be for God and us! The greatness of our capacity to be like God (Christ) and enjoy and reflect him throughout eternity will only be 2nd to Christ Himself! 

And the greater our ⁷humbling in this life - whether self imposed (through self denial and sacrificial love of others) or through painful circumstances - the more fully we will participate and engage in, experience, and enjoy the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit - both now, but more importantly throughout eternity. At that time we will fully join in the celebration and divine dance of glory and love between the Father and Son in, through, and by the Spirit. The greater our humility and trust now the more we enter into and partake of the only true God now but especially in eternity.

So never shy away from discipline, obedience to the Father, struggle, disappointment, setbacks, suffering, but embrace them - in the same way Christ did. The more we do, the more we become like Christ, and the more fully we will partake of glory (God's and our own), in the same way Christ does.

God Himself is our reward and struggle is often the primary means by which we draw nearer to Him. The ⁸more you partake of challenges of any kind - either self imposed or externally imposed - and let them humble you, the more fully you will be able to engage and participate in God in all His wonder, majesty, beauty and glory both now but especially throughout eternity.

So count it all joy when you go through various struggles. Fix your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the greatest pain. Get ready for His celebration of you and your joining Him in the greatest party you will ever have or experience. A celebration that never ends! This is the essence and glory of heaven.

For a discussion on what makes Christ unique as the only begotten son click here. 

For a discussion on the humility of God click here

For a discussion on why evil exists click here.

For a discussion on if we are accountable for Adams rebellion click here.

For a discussion on who we are but who we are not yet but will be click here.

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¹Self promotion - exaltation - is at the heart of pride and pride is the opposite of humility. We seek to promote ourselves to fill the void caused by God's absence, brought about by our rejecting and distrusting God in all His care, love, value, support, advancement and promotion of us. To lay down attempts to advance ourselves and receive the love, care and support of another requires humility and trust (and not just any "other" but the all wise, loving and powerful Creator God). It is acknowledging our dependence on another versus being our own god i.e. vs being independent. It is the reversal of the spirit of distrust and rebellion displayed by Adam in the Eden.

²We have the short view. God has the long view which happens to also be the most important and true view.  

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient (temporary, fleeting), but the things that are unseen are eternal (permanent, unshakable)" 2 Cor 4:16‭-‬18

³The potential of our being like God and fully experiencing Him lies dormant in us as bearers of His image. This capacity was not lost in our rebellion but lethally suppressed i.e. we died spiritually the day we rebelled and chose to be our own god. When we rebelled and broke trust with God, our spiritual light went out (though the capacity for that light to be turned back on remained). When we turned away from God, our full brilliance - glory - went dormant. What was left was a spiritual void - hunger - that we now seek to fill. But due to our rebellious distrust of the only One who can fill it, we seek glory outside of and apart from God through creation, instead of in and through Him who is the Creator.

Now we treat God as our enemy and the one that blocks (prevents) us from obtaining fullness of life - or so we think - through created things instead of the Creator of them. 

 

But is this true? Do we really think he's our enemy? How do we know? How can we tell?

If we get angry, when our plans to gain life outside of God are thwarted, we are ultimately shaking our fist at God. We believe He's the cause of our pain when it is His absence - due to our distrust of Him - that is the actual cause.

Physical death is evidence and the outward manifestation of our internal spiritual death that occurred at the rebellion of our original parents, Adam and Eve. In order for our true spiritual brilliance to be completely manifested in and through us again, we have to abandon our pursuit of being our own god and be fully united with - plugged into - the source of life and love - the all glorious, brilliant, majestic, and beautiful God who is our Creator and the Source of us and all things. God alone is our true life source - the source of all glory and brilliance...and of our glory and our brilliance - we are not. 

Being reunited with God - the source of life, love and all things - only occurs in and through placing our trust in Christs efforts on our behalf, not our own.

⁴Our rebellious unbelief (sin) is addressed in 2 ways:

Legally - objectively. Our rebellion is no longer held against us because of Christ and His bearing the full legal consequences of that rebellion i.e. God's condemnation and judgment for our rebellion are gone, removed forever and never revisited again by God. Christ bore all of it when He died and came back to life, putting these away from us forever.

Practically - subjectively. As we become more aware of the depth of our rebellious distrust we are humbled and increasingly understand the significance of Christ fully removing the legal consequences of our rebellion and our desperate need for Him.

⁵Due to his son humbling himself because of his failure to make it on his own.

⁶And not the Father only but the Son also eagerly anticipated His return as well.

⁷Challenges will either make us distrusting and bitter or better. It is our choice. We must choose to believe He is working for our good or not i.e. we are tested on whether we believe he is for us and not against us, just as Christ was tested in the wilderness, in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.

⁸Do not question God's love and the good intentions He has toward you when allowing you to enter into and go through struggles or fiery trails. He is working in you things you do not yet fully see or understand, to humble you and enable you to be more like his Son so that you can better feast with Him in eternity as the Son does.

So "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing..." - Jas 1:2‭-‬5

 

⁹If this is the response of a finite and flawed human father, imagine the response of a perfect, infinitely wise, loving, and all powerful heavenly Father. I would say we can't and won't be able to fully grasp this until that day we are looking face to face into His eyes.


A personal note regarding this post...

I used to dread dying and have always hoped I would die quietly in my sleep some day but after understanding the truths above I am inclined to accept the most challenging death, and now recognize going through such a death might humble me further so I might be exalted even more when I finally step into eternity with God. 

The closeness of our union with God and extent of our partaking of God in eternity is in proportion to our humility in this present life. 

Don't shy away from the things that humble you, embrace them. Doing so increases your capacity to experience more of God's embrace of you. Not His actual embrace (i.e. He already perfectly receives us now in Christ) - but our more fully receiving and experiencing His embrace of us now emotionally. This is already perfectly ours in Christ because of His efforts (not yours) on your behalf.

 

A conversation regarding obedience

In Nov. of 2017 I posted the following on Facebook. 

"Why do we pursue God, out of love or fear? 

Both! 

Out of love because he first loved us. 

Out of fear because operating contrary to God's design (how and why he made us) always has an adverse effect (if not immediately, eventually)."

This resulted in an instructive conversation between Rick (a FB friend) and I. I am posting that conversation below to illustrate the misunderstanding, tension, and confusion around our pursuit of (obedience to) God in the hope of clarifying some of the dynamics of that pursuit.

Now to Rick's response and the conversation that followed:

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Rick: 

You mean you aren't a Christian Hedonist? :/ I'm not either :)

Other valid reasons to seek God...

God exists and is the source of all meaning, purpose, and value. Without God, there would be none of these in an objective sense.

God is the ultimate authority over all creation and deserves our utmost obedience to his will, his pleasure and his purpose.

God is the ultimate worth and he is worthy of our praise and worship. Our surrender to God's will is the first step towards truly worshipping God.

Jim: (In response, I sent Rick the following blog post on the dynamics of what moves us to pursue and obey God)

http://thotsaboutgod.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-anatomy-of-motivation.html

Rick quotes from the above blog article adding his comments below...

Rick: 

"An anatomy of motivation - There are two overall but opposite approaches we observe in scripture regarding our motivation to obedience. All underlying forms of motivation fall under these two. These two broader areas are...

· positive motivation
· negative motivation"

His added comments...

- These two categories of motivation are based on the idea that we can expect something good or we can expect something bad. Another option that I believe is important is to acknowledge the authority of God as a basis of motive. In this respect, it is not so much what we personally expect but who God objectively is that forms the basis. If we believe God exists, we can obey God simply because of God's authority, without even contemplating what we personally expect. For example. We are commanded to submit to God and obey God. I can do this simply because God has clearly commanded it and not necessarily for any other reason. Do you agree?

Jim:

Yes, but I believe there's a bit more to obedience than simple willpower. If you haven't read the rest of the article at the above link it hints at this. 

Paul also points out it is God who enables us to choose and desire to pursue him in vs 13 of the following: 

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Php 2:12-13

How does he do so? By appealing to self-interest. For example, we are told in Heb 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." The appeal of this verse is not just that God exists but OUR (us/self) being rewarded. 

Another example is "to gain your life you must lose it." What's the appeal? Us gaining life. The verse simply tells us the best way that happens is by losing our life i.e. we don't find our life by seeking life but by seeking God who is life. 

There is a difference between self-interest and self-ISHNESS. Not distinguishing these causes confusion. Several posts on my blog touch on this. If interested let me know.

Rick: 

Those are interesting verses and I would not be opposed to reading your articles. Because there are so many scriptural aspects of obedience to God, to me this implies that there are many valid motives that can overlap and are not mutually exclusive. I believe that there is a danger of taking a verse like Heb 11:6 and suggesting that this one verse codifies our approach towards obedience to God. For example, there is the motive of love of God that Jesus stated was a valid motive:

"If you love me, keep my commands." John 14:16

The word love is from the Greek "agape" which is translated as a self-less benevolent and giving type of love. So in other words, our motive for obedience based on this verse is not self-interest but is based on pleasing God.

Jim:

Love is THE key motive to obedience. So the question becomes how and when do we love God i.e. what is the cause of (stirs up) our love for him. Scripture clearly teaches our love (the key motive "behind" obedience) is a RESPONSE to his love for us. 1 Jn 4:10 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." In 1Jn 4:19 John goes on to say, "We love because he first loved us." We are not the initiators of love, God is.

This is also implied in John 15. It says without me "you can do nothing..." (vs 5) i.e. we can not bear fruit on our own. Fruit in the context is loving God and others (vs 12,17). So our loving God and others is based on and caused by our abiding in his love for us (vs 9). We can not love as God loves - i.e. sacrificially - otherwise. To say it another way, we are not the cause or source of love but the conduits of it.

Re: the Hebrews passage...it is simply an example, not a proof text. Self-interest is implied throughout scripture. His great offer is eternal life to us i.e. our eternal life. Even fear of the consequences for disobedience is the fear of US suffering. We do nothing apart from self-interest. 

Christ's very appeal to loving our neighbor is love for ourselves "...love your neighbor AS you love yourself..." He doesn't condemn our love of self (our desiring what is best for ourselves) he assumes it and makes his appeal based on that assumption.

The issue isn't our wanting what is best for us, it's how is that best accomplished. Through self-effort or in and by God i.e. through his love for us. 

I think the issue is we don't realize our greatest joy is IN God and recognizing the greatness of his glory i.e. our greatest joy (pleasure) and God's highest glory are not in opposition to each other but tied together. To say it another way, pursuing God and his highest glory IS our greatest joy (pleasure).

Rick: 

Jim Deal - "Self-interest is implied throughout scripture. His great offer is eternal life for US i.e. OUR eternal life." ...Christ's very appeal to loving our neighbor is love for ourselves "...love your neighbor AS you love yourself..." He doesn't condemn our love of self (our desiring what is best for us)

I'm sorry, but implications of our self-interest are always subservient to the interest of pleasing God in the whole of scripture, and plainly commanded as such, and to place our self-interest on equal grounds with pleasing God I believe is shown to be actually heretical based on traditional interpretations.

To take your first point, eternal life is epitomized by relationship together with God: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) And relationship is defined as "being one" in the spirit: "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:22) --- These verses do not imply that eternal life is based on focusing on the self or that the motive for eternal life is self-interest, rather, the focus is on interrelationship and unity for the glory of God, that is, mainly for GOD'S sake, not our own.

In your second point, you reference the second part of a two-part command and left out the most important first command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Matthew Henry clarifies the primacy of scriptural value:

"As we must, therefore, love God BETTER THAN ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbor AS OURSELVES, because he is of the same nature with ourselves;" (emphasis added). Here is Matthew Henry's full commentary on this verse:

2. That the second great commandment is, to love our neighbor as ourselves (v. 31), as truly and sincerely as we love ourselves, and in the same instances, and we must show it by doing as we would be done by. As we must therefore love God better than ourselves, because he is Jehovah, a being infinitely better than we are, and must love him with all our heart, because he is one Lord, and there is no other like him; so we must love our neighbour as ourselves, because he is of the same nature with ourselves; our hearts are fashioned alike, and my neighbour and myself are of one body, of one society, that of the world of mankind; and if a fellow-Christian, and of the same sacred society, the obligation is the stronger. Hath not one God created us? Mal. 2:10. Has not one Christ redeemed us?"

If we try to ignore or deny a direct commandment, that clearly states pleasing God (with others-centered agape love) is the highest commandment, and offer that self-interest is on par with or even above the command to please God, how is this not patently heterical?

"our greatest joy (pleasure) and God's highest glory are not in opposition to each other but tied together."

This is basically a toned-down re-phrasing of Piper's maxim. However, the phrase "God is not most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him" is misleading because the true measure of God's glory is not our personal satisfaction. The highest measure of God's glory is our conformity with God's nature and will, which is most emphasized by conforming to God's nature and will, which is based on agape love and holiness.

Scripture advocates worshipping God in spirit and in truth:

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24).

Piper completely discounts many critical aspects of worship, such as affirming and meditating on truth, and heretically demands that the worship of God is based on emotions as an end in and of themselves:

"It can be done only when spontaneous affections arise in the heart. And these affections for God are an end in themselves. They are the essence of eternal worship" (p92 DG)

Jim, I am reading a brief but excellent new book on Piper titled "Christian Hedonism? A biblical examination of John Piper's teaching" by ES Williams, and I believe that it might help you to glean from his research some of the many critical scriptural errors of CH.

Jim:

Rick W Thanks for the feedback.

I don't disagree with anything you said.

Everything must be subservient to God simply because he is the cause of all things (i.e. a more than sufficient reason if there were no other one) "... For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen..." (Rom 11:36)

Nothing in scripture (regarding our obedience) is based on FOCUSING on self.

It sounds like you are equating self-interest with selfishness and that our interests are ABOVE Gods. I've said neither.

What I am saying is our (self's) best interest is IN God. God is our (self's) best interest.

My point is in order for us (self) to know and enjoy God, "self" is not set aside but fully engaged. We (us, self) give God the greatest glory when we (self) find him our greatest joy, treasure, pursuit etc. This isn't putting self above God at all. It is self delighting IN God above all things, vs self delighting in created things over and above God the Creator (our delighting in creation above God is the essence of self ISHNESS. It is seeking to make life work WITHOUT God i.e. through what I can obtain by myself and solely for myself. It is seeking meaning, purpose, joy, etc independent of God for my glory, not his).

However our (self) finding God to be more glorious than anything else "shows him off" (brings attention to his infinite glory, i.e. glorifies him). To believe and then act as if something is more valuable than God, dishonors him. When we find God our greatest delight and pursuit we are telling others, God is more important to me than anything else and therefore could be to you as well.

Regarding the greatest commandment, this actually underscores the point I am seeking to make. Loving our neighbor flows out of loving God first (which is the fruit of his love for us). It all starts with God, is through God and is for God i.e. for his glory e.g. Rom 11:36 

End of our FB conversation. 

In this conversation, we are dealing with very nuanced points. Facebook is generally not the best place for in-depth discussion and contemplation of such things. I say this because after looking this over there are things I did not address that I could have. Therefore I offer these additional thoughts.

Regarding obedience to God out of fear i.e. respect for God, even this is based on "self-interest" i.e. I wish to honor God out of respect for him and because he is worthy of all honor/respect but why do I respect Him?  Because he is all-wise, all-powerful, and just and I don't want something bad happening to me (self) if I don't honor him as such. This isn't selfish. It is rooted in our very being as God's image-bearer. Our being a creature who desires our own best interest is actually necessary in order for us to be able to enjoy and honor God who is most high and most delightful. 

For more on this point click here. 

Rick said, "I'm sorry, but implications of our self-interest are always subservient to the interest of pleasing God in the whole of scripture, and plainly commanded as such, and to place our self-interest on equal grounds with pleasing God I believe is shown to be actually heretical based on traditional interpretations."

This is a common misunderstanding and is hardest to grasp. God's highest glory and our greatest joy are not in competition or opposed to each other or that we can only do one or the other. So there are no "equal grounds." They are tied together but not equal because everything must start with God. Nothing happens if God were not all glorious. However, our greatest joy is God's highest glory. The more we exalt him - recognize His glory - the more we experience Him as He is and the greater our joy becomes. Joy is the result of recognizing and acting upon God's greatness - His infinite glory. We find him to be our greatest joy when we lift him up (glorify him) as the highest/greatest (most delightful) being of all beings or things and the only one worthy of our honor and greatest delight. This is not an "either/or" scenario. God's glory and our delight in God go hand in hand but in that order. It always must start with God, not us. If God were not the greatest of all beings, we would not and could not find the great joy that is God himself. And we are wired this way because this is how God designed us, so we might share in His glory as He does as Father and Son in by and through the Spirit. To enjoy God most we have to be most like Him without being God i.e. we are in His image.

Rick said:

Another option that I believe is important is to acknowledge the authority of God as a basis of motive. In this respect, it is not so much what we personally expect but who God objectively is that forms the basis. If we believe God exists, we can obey God simply because of God's authority, without even contemplating what we personally expect. For example. We are commanded to submit to God and obey God. I can do this simply because God has clearly commanded it and not necessarily for any other reason. Do you agree?"

Whether Rick deliberately intends to, the implication of what he is proposing is we have within ourselves the spiritual strength to obey God by simply willing ourselves to do so without God empowering us i.e. apart from his Love/Spirit. This is placing our will as the key (central) to obedience instead of God. However, God is the driving force behind our obedience, not our will. It is God who works in us "...both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Our will is an intricate part of obedience but it is not the central part, God is. Our will is vital in deciding (choosing) to believe God is who He claims to be and does (did and will do) what He promises/claims He will do. But this is choosing to believe is anchored into who God is generally and who He is for us specifically. It is based on faith in the character of God,  not faith based on faith in itself or how great our will is.

For a further discussion on this point click here.

The following verses clearly show the will and desire to obey God come from God, not us. Yes, it is our desires but desires that God "works" in and through us by revealing to us His great glory. 

Philippians 2:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV) 

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Though we are in God's image which allows us (gives us the capacity) to honor and enjoy God, absent God's Spirit/Love we are dead to God. We are not the source/cause/initiators of sacrificial love. Only God is. We can only love sacrificially when we know God loves us sacrificially and "has our back" i.e. God honors and rewards us and all our actions when done for his honor.

For more discussions on obedience click here.  

For more discussion on how our worth is tied to God's click here.