Is COVID-19 the end of the modern world? (Part 3)

Rethinking the Theory of Man [New Daily Theology] Series 3

Translated by Lin Yu

In the first two articles of this series, I suggested that COVID-19 may be the watershed moment that turns the "modern world" into a truly "post-modern" one. Many people believe that what was called "postmodern" in the past is actually late modern, rather than truly post-modern. Along with the social, economic, institutional, political, and cultural changes we are currently experiencing, COVID-19 is also pushing us to rethink some evangelical theological structures that are too accommodating to the modern world.

The first article proposes a relationship-oriented understanding of salvation to balance the tendency to overemphasize “justification by faith” based on the law. The second article proposes a church that focuses on individuals, has no anonymous members, focuses on pastoral care, and is not busy, and uses baptism and the Eucharist to understand the meaning of being a member of such a church. In contrast, modern evangelical churches are project-based management oriented toward megachurch goals, in which the importance of membership has never really been defined.

In this article I will turn my attention to theological anthropology as it relates to soteriology and ecclesiology.

▲As a human being, we should have a correct relationship with God, which will also help our relationship with others, ourselves, and creation.

"Being" a perfect person in Christ

A large part of the meaning of "salvation" is the restoration of humanity, because sin hurts and distorts our relationship with God, others, ourselves, and creation. Viewing ecclesiology through the same filter, we understand that the church is to be a sign and a preview of Christ's future kingdom here and now. Such a sign involves the restoration of our humanity through participation in the humanity of Christ, who alone is "real." "True Human". In many ways, anthropology is a key in theology, even if this key remains under the theme of "theology".

加爾文《基督教要義》開宗明義指出：「幾乎我們具備的所有真實、純正智慧，都包括兩部分：對神和對己的認識。」 ¹ 的確如此，對神真正的知識能帶出對人真正的知識，反之亦然。

Regrettably, within the modern evangelical church, the understanding of the reason for the existence of the church has been reduced to the evangelical task of “training disciples to make disciples.” Theologically, the complete understanding of “what it means to be human” has been cut off from the beginning to the end. . To say this is not to belittle the importance of the gospel mission. After all, the apostle Paul called Timothy to faithfully “do the work of the preacher” (see 2 Timothy 4:5). Rather, in terms of importance, when evangelism unintentionally replaces all other human tasks, values, callings, meanings, and priorities in life, the definition of "what it means to be human" can easily be reduced to a single specific, task-based oriented approach.

Ironically, perhaps the most irresistible form of evangelism, and what can open up unambiguous and unreserved gospel conversations, is not “doing” anything, but rather “being” a perfect person in Christ, responsible and Being loving, arousing curiosity in people, and thus longing for such abundance oneself. From this point of view, instead of subsuming "being human" under the task of evangelism and relegating it to the practice of "gospel prelude", what we need is to fundamentally restore "human being", that is, "becoming" The inherent meaning and importance of being human.

Priests of the Created World

Christian theologians often distinguish one's calling, or vocation, from different biblical perspectives. As human beings, if we want to have a "calling" (calling), we must have a calling person (Caller). Such a crucial point is ignored in the secular usage of "vocation". The theological distinctions shared below can help us place the evangelistic task of “making disciples and making disciples”, that is, the Great Commission, within a broader vocational framework and view people more holistically.

All people, not just Christians, are created in the image and likeness of God and are called to culturally care for and nurture the creation around them (see Genesis 1:26-27, General Call it the Great Creation/Cultural Mandate). When we live out the full range of human life in Christ through the Holy Spirit, life is closely connected to the Christian faith in every aspect of the created world, not just those aspects that are valuable to the church or evangelism.

It is this broad human vocation that allows Eastern Christianity to typically define humans as "priests of creation", which appropriately explains why when Adam sinned, the created world fell, and it also explains why Christ in his humanity, through his obedience to death and, most importantly, resurrection, can represent the renewal of all creation in him. It is within this broad framework that the apostle Paul draws from his instructions"No matter what you do, orexplainWhatever you say or do, let it be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, byHimThank God the Father” (Colossians 3:17), spiritualizing all life in the form of praise.

「創造／文化大使命」和愛上帝並鄰舍的「大誡命」，是永久的呼召，持續到末世。大使命則是暫時的，直到耶穌再來。 ²

This may lead one to think that the Great Commission is more urgent and therefore more important than other aspects of vocation. It does a disservice to Christians to divide vocations into categories and compete with each other. This kind of comparison is an intellectual habit and a Western Christian thought. The debate between "God's sovereignty" and "human will" throughout the ages is the most tragic example. On the contrary, we need to shoulder the temporary great commission, but never stop “being” human beings in a more original and permanent sense.

Tradition places too much emphasis on the task of preaching the gospel, and the burden and anxiety we place on ourselves to save the world can only be borne by God. In fact He often chooses to work through us, if only faithfully and without undue anxiety, through our specific, personal vocation, in a specific time and place, to live out the wider human vocation. Doing it in a natural, comfortable way, rather than consciously striving, allows God to witness Himself through us and create opportunities for the Great Commandment and the Great Commission more naturally and organically.

This is why Jesus tells us to rest in Him! For His yoke is easy and His burden is light. When we are faithful to our callings, no matter how big or small, deep or wide, the Lord appears in a redemptive way, not only saving the world, but also continuing His work of creating and sustaining all things through us.

If this is the “normal” way God works, the emergency caused by the coronavirus and the subsequent “new normal” will not change the standard way God works in and through us. Although the Great Commission may seem more important in the current crisis, it is actually no more or less urgent than before because the urgency is always there. The same goes for the Creation/Cultural Great Commission or the Great Commandment; its meaning and importance have not increased or decreased due to COVID-19, because it has always had the greatest meaning and importance.

In this difficult and challenging time, Christians need to continue to faithfully trust in the three aspects of our vocation (the Creation/Cultural Commission, the Great Commission, and the Great Commandment) that God will work through us inHiminside and throughHimThe work is done.

Perhaps the problem that has arisen in my discussion of people so far is that through the filters of "task", "calling", "vocation", and "work", people are defined in terms of "functionality" and bring everyone into the common The trap is to regard oneself as more of a human doings than a human being. However, the new coronavirus has inspired me to rethink theological anthropology, and what I ultimately pursue is to regard “doing” as more important than “doing.” After all, “doing” needs to flow naturally from “doing,” not the other way around.

Related to this, modern evangelicals often seek to "apply" biblical truths when dealing with scriptures, focusing on "doing." Perhaps a more correct approach, as the theologian Darrell Johnson borrowed it, is to identify the "implications" of scriptures for our lives, which are different from "applications". The correct emphasis is on "doing" by "doing" Come. In terms of Greek grammar, the essence of "meaning" can be seen from the fact that the imperative mood (imperative) comes from the indicative mood (indicative).

How does one bear the “image of God”

Most traditional systematic theologians have always tried to point out the exact "image of God" when defining "humanity", whether it is the essence or the essence. However, the answer is always less than ideal.

Could it be that the "image of God" in man is related to the physical body, as Mormons say, meaning that God himself has a physical body and that we are created accordingly? Or is "His image" related to cognitive abilities? This has been the most common answer, but it raises questions about the human status of infants and young children whose cognitive abilities have not yet developed, and those whose cognitive abilities are impaired by disability or disease.

Let me tell you a joke, is this kind of person "less human" than a person like me, whose cognitive ability is certified by a doctorate? It is not sufficient to define man in the image of God in terms of substance, because all attempts to date are riddled with exceptions.

Even so, the contribution of a substantive interpretation of the image of God is to identify the innate worth of each person. In this era, especially when faced with issues such as how to fairly allocate hospital beds and vaccines, such recognition is particularly needed. COVID-19 may help us understand that the most fruitful way to understand how man is and has always been the "image of God" is through so-called relationality.

What I'm talking about is different from substance and functionality, but includes both. Even if it cannot be completely defined in terms of language and concepts, there is indeed substance in identifying the "image of God". It also identifies the qualities that we are created in the "image of God" and endow us with specific functions in the created world. Relationality engages in a human discussion that answers the question of how we represent God—participating in God. This is not pantheism because, in the Christian definition, "participation" carefully maintains the distinction between Creator and creation.

Such participation is the reality of a dynamic relationship, not a static possession of substance. The fall from Adam's disobedience distorted this relationship, but it was redeemed by Christ through His human obedience to God.

All those who are still in Adam, that is, non-Christians, including atheists who are hostile to God himself or to the concept of God, continue to participate in God, that is, in His image, in a broken dynamic way. Dynamic, meaning that the image of God they maintain is inversely proportional to their distorted relationship with God. That is, through the refraction of the quality of their relationship with God, the degree of distortion is increased or decreased.

As for those who participate in Christ, to be more precise, they participate in His humanity, not only through the righteousness of Christ’s humanity, but in the eyes of God, the righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness (that is, “justification”) , and also looking forward to the future “glorification” (glorification) when Jesus returns. The movement toward or away from the "image of God" at this time depends on our growth and maturity. To be in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to be more and more like Him is to be sanctified.As we grow in sanctification, we become more and more “human.”

▲How can we still be fully human, continue to love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves amidst the layers of post-COVID-19 safety restrictions?

Participate in Christ

The hallmark of being "human" is a correct relationship with God. However, the relationship with God in the divine image has a reciprocal function and helps our relationship with ourselves, others, and the created world, which is the salvation understood from the four-fold relationship mentioned earlier.

On the whole, to be "fully human" means that all four relationships are correct, and the next three are derived from the first. Whether in Adam or in Christ, bearing the "image of God" is a dynamic reality that reflects the integrity of our relationship with Him.

Those who are in Adam still directly participate in the image of God in ways broken by sin. It is important to note, however, that the New Testament writers (especially Paul) also spoke of believers being in the likeness of Christ rather than simply in the image of God (see Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:49; Corinthians 2 Thomas 3:18, etc.). A specific transposition occurs here. Christ is the "Second Adam," or "Last Adam," who is different from the previous Adam; in His humanity, He has the divine image that has never been broken. Those who are in Christ participate in Christ's participation in God; those who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior of life participate in the one True Human and His image of God inside.

Markers of the COVID-19 era, like illness and death, masks and social distancing, remind us that things are less than ideal. Let me briefly mention here that the need to maintain social distance is the biggest evil brought about by the new crown. For the physical presence among others, especially eating and drinking together, is a sign of being "fully human." The new crown epidemic has made such an appearance harmful and even fatal.

Nonetheless, with all the health and safety restrictions within our reach, how can we do our best to be "fully human" during this difficult time? How can we have the right relationship with God, ourselves, people, and creation as much as possible? In what specific ways are we called to “become” fully human in the divine image by participating in the postmodern COVID-19 world? What significance does this kind of thinking about people have in practicing the church and living out salvation?

I hope that these three rethinking theology articles presented humbly will encourage you and me to further "do" and actually "do" in order to love God and love others as ourselves in the post-modern COVID-19 world.

Glory to God!

Note:
1. Refer to John Calvin, Institutes are from Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, ed. John T. McNeill, 2 vols., The Library of Christian Classics, vols 20-21, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960).
2. Thanks to John G. Stackhouse, Jr. for the words “permanent” and “temporary” from his book Need to Know: Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistemology, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. For more information on the vocational distinctions mentioned in this article, please refer to Ross Hastings, Missional God, Missional Church: Re-Evangelizing the West, Downers Grove, IL:: InterVarsity Press, 2012, pp. 147-89.
3. For more information on this aspect, please refer to Darrell W. Johnson, The Glory of Preaching: Participating in God's Transformation of the World, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009, pp. 158-71.

Rev. Dr. Clement Wen, currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at China Evangelical Theological Seminary in Taiwan. He served as the youth pastor of the Chinese Bible Church in Maryland (2010-2015), and later obtained a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Pastor Wen is the son of Professor Wen Yingqian, the former chairman of the board of directors of KRC. He and his wife Lu Xiaojun have two sons, Ethan and Micah.