What is a Human Being?
Now we want to move on now to our next topic
- What is a human being? - because in the
contemporary scene that is the biggest battle
is to try to understand what a human being
is. So we want to try to get into some of
the biblical material here and go fairly deeply
into this issue.
The current battle over human nature - and
really the extreme form it takes, is: is there
human nature? You can say that the official
point of view on this now is, there is none.
There is no human nature.
Battle Over Human Nature
And you want to understand that that's an
outcome of the drive to total liberty that
was developed in the twentieth century, into
the twentieth century. And this drive to total
liberty is the essential mark of the Babel
orientation in human life. The drive to total
liberty. You go ask - go to a school ground,
little third graders, and ask them: Should
people be allowed to do whatever they want?
What will be their answer? "Yes." That will
be their answer.
Democracy as a political system and a social
system has come to essentially mean the exaltation
of the human will. Everyone should be able
to do what they want to do. And that's a perversion
of human liberty, in fact, but that's how
it's... That's what it's taken to mean.
Nature versus liberty
Now, that can only be true if you have no
nature, because if you have a nature it's
going to put a limit on what you can do. And
that's true of everything - a wristwatch,
a podium. Everything has a nature that limits
what it's good for. You can't pick your teeth
with a podium, can you? It would be very awkward
and you'd have to have a very big mouth.
So you see how nature limits freedom - if
by freedom you mean doing what you want to
do. You might want to be a movie star or something
of that sort, but your looks and your talents
would limit that.
Now, because in the past nature was used as
an argument for what people could or should
- could not, should not do - see, and often
these were bad arguments; so for example,
racism was a bunch of bad arguments based
on supposed nature. You see how that works?
Or more recently in the feminist controversies,
the idea that biology is destiny. Have you
heard that? And the rejection of that because
of arguments that, you are a woman and therefore
you should or could not do this, that, and
the other. And often those were very bad and
harmful arguments. They were oppressive.
So now the swing against that, you see, is
what we see currently. And I've just put the
name John Dewey down here because he's the
most famous twentieth century American to
reject the idea of human nature. But of course
many people have followed after him.
Nature versus public opinion
Now the swing against nature is seen all around
us. For example, natural law cannot be invoked
as a basis for law. And now I don't know to
what extent I, you are into this kind of discussion
or not, but if the idea has been traditionally
that there is natural law - that is, there
are things, there are ways things should be
that are natural - and that these are laws
in nature, and that law in the legal system
should be based on laws in nature. OK. And
now that has been rejected.
So, for example, Justice Kennedy in his - when
he wrote up the decision on the sodomy case
in Texas, the basis for the decision that
he cited was the change of public sentiment.
So public sentiment then is put in the place
of natural law. Public sentiment means: What
does the public like? What does the public
want to do?
Now then, someone might say, Well gee, the
public, what they want, that's wrong. You
see the difference there? And they might say
that's wrong because there is a natural law
and they might also say God has declared what
the natural law is in certain interesting
cases.
And so we've now moved in the last century
to where what is wanted or desired or felt
to be right by the public would be the basis
for law. Now of course you don't have to be
told where that could lead, but that's - I'm
just saying that's - what has changed here
on this issue of nature.
Nature can't be invoked to support hetero-exuality,
we'll see there. I'm missing "s" I guess.
It can't be invoked to support man-woman marriage
and so on. So what, what did the Massachusetts
court say in that case? They cited public
sentiment, the change of sentiment.
Now if you were to say, Well, but, you know,
what about Nazi sentiment? Suppose you had
a whole society that agreed with Nazi sentiment,
would that make it right? They would hastily
say no.
But when asked how they could support that
they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Right?
Because they have already abandoned nature
and the way things are as a basis for law.
You see, denying a human nature takes care
of all the issues where desire wants free
play at one fell swoop and turns it in at
most to a social issue.
So if you desire what society does not desire
then you can be told that you are wrong and
you can be controlled on the basis of that.
But it's only because you have group desire.
Now that's why political correctness becomes
so important in our time.
Struggle of Self-Will and Desire
See, the underlying issue here is the difference
between what is desired and what is good.
What is desired and what is good. And then
that redefines the meaning of love.
Let's go over that for a few minutes, OK?
Desire can be for what is not good. You can
desire what is not good. So you can't define
good in terms of desire. You can't define
good in terms of desire because you can desire
what is not good. If you define good in terms
of desire then automatically if you desire
something, it is good. But most people can't
quite push beyond that because they know they
have often desired things that are not good.
That's one of the meanings of regret. Most
everyone knows what regret is.
Love desires good
Now to love someone means that you will what
is good for them. 
If you love someone you will what is good
for them. That's the meaning of the word be-ne-vo-lence,
benevolence, be-ne-vo-lence, will to good.
OK?
Now, if I love you, that means sometimes I'm
not going to will what you desire, because
you sometimes desire what is not good. Do
you see how that works? So we all know this
again in the case of our families, that to
love a child often means that we do not do
what they want. Isn't that true?
Now frankly, to love me would mean that I
would often not do what I want. Do I need
to say that again? To love me would mean that
I often would not do what I want.
So I might be the sort of person who would
say, If I want to - if I have to die, let
me drown in a chocolate milkshake. I might
just adore chocolate milkshakes. That doesn't
mean they're good for me. So self love would
mean often that I not do what I desire to
do and do what I do not desire to do.
So now this is tremendously important folks
for understanding the kinds of things we deal
with in trying to live for God and looking
at what God says because what God says is
what is good for us, not necessarily what
we desire.
Self simply desires
But self will says, I want what I want when
I want it. Or in the language of the Cole
Porter musical that is now the rage - Anything
goes, right? Anything goes. As long as I want
it. See, that's the poison of self will that
corrupts the good in human life. I want what
I want and again we...
One of the first things you have to teach
a child is, it isn't always good to do what
you want. You would like to hit Johnny over
the head with the truck. That's not good,
and you should not do it. You ought not do
it and if you do it you are a bad boy. Right?
See, those are rudimentary lessons that we
have to keep in...
Nature and Reality
Now nature, that is connections of things
in reality independently of what we think
or desire. See, that's our only salvation,
is to define, to find out what those are;
and when it comes to life at large, we especially
as individuals are not smart enough to do
that. And that is where a God who speaks in
love becomes central to the wellbeing of human
life.
Nature connects reality
So now we are currently awash in a sea of
sexuality of all kinds. God said certain things
about sexuality. But they do not conform with
what people may want in the area of sexuality.
So when you cut loose from the teachings that
God has given about it - I don't mean to say
that there are no difficulties, in that human
beings being what they are, there are difficulties
- but when you just cut that loose and say
anything goes. As long as you have consenting
adults anything goes. Right?
Well, then you have stepped into an area where
things are going to have a nature and results
will be there regardless of what you like
because you can choose the action but you
can't choose the consequences.
So now we have a situation if you want to
see the insanity of sin, we have a situation
where millions and indeed hundreds of millions
of people are going to die of a disease that
is fundamentally tied to wrong sexuality.
And no one can say a word about that.
The Frenchman who was head of the health organization
that first came into Africa to deal with AIDS
made the suggestion that it was related to
sexual practices, and he was immediately fired.
Immediately fired. Why? Because will, human
will and desire, has institutionalized itself
in the culture that rejects truth and goes
for desire. Right?
Now, those are just illustrations.
Now, nothing lacks a nature. A squirrel or
a brussels sprout is a definite kind of thing.
It has actual parts and properties. Because
it has those parts and properties - brussels
sprouts, for example, do not climb trees and
collect nuts. Squirrels do. Squirrels do not
grow in gardens. Brussels sprouts do. See
that's...
Now of everything that's true. And because
things have the parts and properties they
do, they stand in the relations they do and
that's true of human beings.
Nature and God
So now we have to look carefully at this issue
as it regards human beings, because 
whenever we step over the boundary of nature,
then the first thing that happens is God goes
first because God is, if you wish, nature
written large. God's nature dominates everything
and determines what nature is elsewhere.
And so now we need to take some time to look
at Romans 1. I mentioned it earlier. This
passage in Psalm 2 talks about how the leaders
of the earth say: Let's cast aside God's restraints.
Let's get rid of them. And Psalm 2 is an interesting
study in the rebellion of the human will.
But let's just go to Romans 1 now and spend
some time there because this is a profound
analysis of the human situation.
Romans 1:21-23: "Even though they knew God
they did not honor him as God, or glorify
him as God or give thanks, but they became
futile in their own speculations and their
foolish hearts were darkened."
God defines nature and reality
Now you see, when you start to deny the reality
of God then everything comes loose. And it's
now left up to the human capacities to discern
and to act and live within the boundaries
of reality. Since reality does not fit the
human will immediately the mind becomes confused,
and the illustration with reference to AIDS
which I gave just a moment ago is a case of
this; but there are many, many others.
"Professing themselves to be wise they became
fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible
God for an image in the form of corruptible
man."
This is the issue of what you worship, what
you take to be ultimate; and when you turn
from God you take man to be ultimate. And
when you take man to be ultimate, since that
is false, you begin to run to birds and alligators
and cows and other things of that sort, together
as ultimate. So think of the phrase "holy
cow!" If you've ever known a cow, you might
well wonder how they could be holy. But if
your mind has been messed up about God you
might start thinking that a God - a cow is
God.
Rejecting God loosens grasp of reality
Well, how does that happen? That happens because
with the rejection of God you have already
loosened your mind from reality and once you
loosen your mind from reality then again,
Mr. Porter take a bow, anything goes. Anything
goes.
Because now the mind is going to be directed
by the will and it will not function rightly.
The will is supposed to be directed by the
mind under truth.
"Therefore God gave them over to the lust
of their hearts to impurity that their bodies
might be dishonored among them."
You see, the human body is the first thing
that is under the direction of the human will.
So why is sex and violence so prominent in
a society that is devoted to desire? Because
that is what can be fulfilled through the
body. The body is what is under the control
of the will. And when the mind no longer governs
the will through truth, then the will turns
to the body and says: I will squeeze out of
you all the good - and now good means desired.
I will fulfill my desires with reference to
the body.
And so then John says in 1 John 2, there are
three things that are in the world: the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life.
The pride of life means dominance. And dominance
takes all the forms that you see - from power
dressing, to sex in advertising, to brutal
force, gang behavior and so on. Why? Because
that's the body. You've turned from God - now
your body becomes god, if you wish. We will
talk a little bit more about how that goes
later, but for now just to make that point.
So that's the picture. God goes first, then
degrading passions.
Verse 26. God gave them over to degrading
passions. He doesn't say he made them have
degrading passions. See this is the natural
progression of the attempt to have good in
terms of what is desired.
Desire is not self-limiting
Once you turn to desire then you have no way
of limiting it. Desire is not self limiting.
And it will push farther and farther and farther
trying to get satisfaction from desire when
there is no satisfaction in desire. Desire
only leads you on to more desire. If your
life is built around desire you will never
be satisfied. And that will push you increasingly
into the perversion of desire.
So you see there is a certain sense, you may
know this line from Dostoevsky, Ivan Karamazov:
"If there is no God everything is permitted."
Now that's not actually true, but that's the
way the mind works. And this became a sort
of slogan in Europe in the nineteenth century;
and Dostoevsky expresses it because in the
nineteenth century was when God first came
under such pervasive and brutal attack from
the institutions of knowledge; and that worked
itself out in the twentieth century in ways
I described in the last talk.
But for a long while that was just what the
so called leading intellectuals would say.
But then it became more and more commonplace.
The arts picked it up. And it is true only
in the sense that if you if you are not rooted
in the knowledge of God then it will seem
as if there is no restriction on what you
might do to fulfill desire.
So turning to the body then men use it in
every way possible to gratify desire and they
lose their mental capacity to discern good
and evil.
People and Lack of Knowledge
And I do want to look at this passage in Ephesians
with you, so if you would please turn to that
- because again you have to read Paul as if
he were a university professor talking about
social and psychological reality. And if you
don't read him that way you won't get the
full impact of what he's saying.
See, currently in the context of so called
knowledge, sin is not a category. It does
not explain anything. And so we don't understand
why things go as they do because we can't
introduce the appropriate categories. Educators
today are very like farmers who do not believe
in weeds or bugs. They believe in fertilizer.
And so they just pour on the fertilizer. It
makes better weeds and better bugs. Because
they can't deal with evil.
The evil is not a category of explanation
now. Sin is not a category of explanation.
Now for Paul it was. And for Calvin it was.
And for Luther it was. And for most of those
who were responsible for creating the world
out of which the atheism of the nineteenth
and twentieth century grows, these were still
categories.
Distorted reality
Look at what Paul says here in Ephesians 4:17.
"This I say therefore and affirm together
with the Lord that you walk no longer just
as the Gentiles also walk."
Now "Gentiles" always means people without
God. When you read "Gentiles" in the New Testament
you're referring to people who stand outside
of the covenant relationships with God. Now
of course they're being brought in but that's
what the Gentiles is...
The Gentiles, who are the Gentiles? The Gentiles
are people who don't know God. They're getting
to know him, because the mystery of the Gentiles
and God's purposes for them is being revealed
right here, you see.
But it's saying, looking at the people around
you so don't walk in the futility of their
mind. Do you notice that phrase? The futility
of their mind means a mind that doesn't succeed
in getting anywhere by thinking. Their minds
are futile. They don't work. Because they
have distorted reality in their premises and
no matter how furiously they think away they
will always come out at the wrong place.
"Being darkened in their understanding excluded
from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them and because of the hardness
of their hearts and they have become callous."
Now callous means they don't feel. If you
have a callous on your thumb, then you try
to use that to feel with - you don't feel
very well. Right? To become callous means
unfeeling.
Sensual culture
But notice the response. Have given themselves
over to sensuality. Now what does that mean?
They have become callous, so they don't feel
very well, so they have given over themselves
to sensuality to feel more. Feeling. Now we
live in a sensuous age. If you listen to the
advertisements you will have Sylvan Learning
advertising itself on the basis that learning
feels good. No one ever learns in order to
feel good.
I'm going to master quadratic equations so
I will have a wonderful feeling. No. I mean,
you never learn on that basis. You do feel
good if you learn, because knowing is good.
You feel good. But no one learns on that basis.
So you should give your old car to this charitable
group because you'll feel good - not because
giving the car will do good for some people
- but because you'll feel good. Now if that's
the reason you give, then it's irrelevant
as to what it does - it's just you get the
feeling. You see. But we live in a sensual
culture and increasingly that's true.
We even have a song right? Feelings, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa feelings. Ever hear that
song? Oh, feelings. Whooo. Well, see, that's
why we're so addictive. See addiction, the
condition of addiction is a condition where
you say, I've got to have the feeling. And
the only way out of addiction is to realize
you have a will distinct from your feelings,
and you don't have to feel good.
Did Paul? Paul had observed that because this
is a truth of human psychology. If you live
for feelings you will become callous. And
if you've become callous and you're living
for feelings you will do whatever is required
to get more feeling.
Hey, am I making any sense at all? See, this
is what Paul... You have to read Paul as what
he was - namely, a brilliant analytical mind.
Being under inspiration doesn't mean that
you're stupid. See, you can be brilliant and
under inspiration too, and it may actually
help. So you read Paul, you see he knows the
stuff we're talking about.
Institutions and Lack of Knowledge
Now he knows where he bleeds. Look. Once you
get that callous mind and you've misunderstood
your nature in such a way that you're only
going for feeling, then social institutions
and arrangements will conform to that. Let's
go back to Romans 1.
Because when you understand this, then you
can really see, and with understanding where
we are today in our society, well... 28 to
the end of Romans 1.
"Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge
God any longer." Remember that's the linchpin.
Acknowledge God. If you have God then you
have nature. And a God who speaks tells you
the truth you need to know. Don't acknowledge
God. God gave them over to a depraved mind.
Now a depraved mind is a mind which doesn't
work. It doesn't work. So when you listen
to the discourse in our culture today what
you're listening to is a mind which doesn't
work. And this has all kinds of manifestations.
A politics of contempt
For example, we live in a politics of contempt.
I mean, suppose that John Kerry and Mr. Bush
were to say to one another: I believe you're
a basically good person, and I'm not going
to attack you any more about being a bad person.
And what we're going to do is we're just going
to talk about what we would do. We're going
to talk about policy and we're going to spend
our time not trying to blow one another out
of the water with a million dollar television
commercial, but trying to help people understand
what is good and what is right. I believe
that the American people will make a choice.
And if they choose you I'm going to be rooting
for you to succeed because I want the good
of the American people.
When this progression with fallen humanity,
where desire and will does not square with
truth and reality, as that progresses we see
that social institutions and arrangements
adapt to that situation. And we can see this
all around us in our culture now.
A lack of restraint
When Paul spells that out in the last verses
of Romans 1 where he says, "And just as they
did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer."
Now remember that's the root mistake. God
gave them over to a depraved mind. Remember
God leaves you free. He lets you go if you
want to.
"God gave them over to do the things which
are not proper. Being filled with all unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, malice, they are gossips,
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant,
boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, without understanding, untrustworthy,
unloving, unmerciful." Quite a list. Actually
Paul piles those up in other passages as well.
And you may say, Does that really describe
people? Well, I'll leave it to you. I mean,
of course there are exceptions. Thank God
for exceptions. But people in general, unfortunately,
when you look at them thoroughly, you find
them not too far from this.
Though when there is a restraint by the knowledge
of God that is institutionalized in human
institutions, then you see a knowledge that
these are wrong and people step away from
them.
But 31 here is caps it off. "Although they
know the ordinance of God. Because you .." People
do not lose this entirely. They know it - they
just don't accept it. "That those who practice
such things are worthy of death. They not
only do the same but also give hearty approval
to those who practice them." And that's where
the institution dimension of this takes over.
No recognized moral knowledge
Now the situation we're in today is one where
there is no recognized body of moral knowledge.
Because this progression has moved along to
the point that it has. And what I'm saying
here is, seem you may not be familiar with
that way of putting it, but that is the way
things stand in our schools generally, and
our professional institutions. And it is that
way because when nature disappears, knowledge
and truth disappear, because then there's
nothing to be known. And what takes over then
is political correctness.
Now what is political correctness? It is correctness
in someone's view. That's political correctness.
And that's all that's left. So now we have
our pressure groups pushing for this, for
that or the other with the idea that the church
and the way of Christ is just another pressure
group. Right. So just one among many groups
of people who want certain things. And implicit
in this is the idea that will is the only
thing you have to deal with.
So you have a bunch of people called Christians
and their desires and wills go in one direction.
You have other people and their desires and
wills goes in the other direction.
And that's the situation now with regard to
all of our institutional ...
Truth Does Not Change
Now of course it's all a sham. The truth is,
what is good for human beings and what is
right for them to do does not change fundamentally.
And whenever you're in a personal relationship
and, for example, you tell someone what is
false, they will treat you as if that was
wrong. And they will treat you as if this
was not just their opinion and their feeling.
Because the truth is that good and right are
built into human nature, and no matter what
you say about it in an effort to have perfect
liberty you don't believe it actually.
Distorted by desire
But the human capacity to know the good and
the right is distorted by the human will to
fulfill desire. I'm putting a lot of stuff
at you. Some of it is pretty heavy duty. But
if you can just get that one point now it
will sum up a lot of what I'm trying to say.
I'll say it again. The human capacity to know
the good and know right is distorted by the
human will to fulfill desire. We want what
we want.
Divine Knowledge is Essential
And that is why of course a divine source
of knowledge is essential to human life. And
we've been told that over and over by people
through history, from the Old Testament prophets,
up to people today, who say we have to have
biblical knowledge to survive, and so on.
And it actually is true.
And that's because - going back to the last
presentation - the human capacities to know
are extremely limited, and consequently the
things that we most need to know, including
what is human nature, is not something that
is readily accessible to us. So we can have
Ph.Ds and great research institutes and still
come out not knowing.
The Whole Law
Now Jesus sums up the whole law by referring
to the essential aspects of the human being.
And he refers to the heart, soul, mind and
strength; and loving God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind with
all your strength, and loving your neighbor
as yourself. Right. Very simple.
Now remember what was said about love. If
you love something, you will its good; so
to love God with all your heart, soul, mind
and strength is to will what is good for God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,
and your neighbor as yourself. That's what
it is.
That's not a simple thing because often your
heart is one place and your soul is another.
Your mind is one place and your body is another.
And then your social relationships may be
running on a different track.
Integrity and integration
So that's what we call the problem of integrity.
Integrity means everything is integrated.
So, for example, simple things - if you intend
to do something, you do it. If you don't intend
to do something, you don't do it.
Now do you recognize that that's exactly the
opposite of the picture that Paul paints of
the persons who is caught in sin in Romans
7 ? The things that I would that I do not.
The things I would not that I do. That's the
picture of the dis-integrated self.
Peter is a case. Peter said, I will not deny
you. Now, did he mean it? Of course he meant
it. But there was something in Peter that
he didn't recognize. And that something was
something that was going to control his behavior.
And of course Jesus was teaching him very
carefully when he said to him, you're going
to deny me three times. Why three times? Wouldn't
once be enough? No. Because if it's just once
you could say, Whoops, I slipped. If you did
it three times you'd have a hard time explaining
it. Right. You're going to have to... And
that's why after three times Peter went out
and wept bitterly - was because he realized
there was something in him that was not being
directed by him, but was directing him. Jesus
knew that. See.
Love towards God
So this could... This is an analysis of the
essential aspects of the human being. If you
love then that will pull them all together,
but you ... That love has to be directed towards
God, and then out of that comes love of neighbor,
because I'll bet many of you know that if
you don't love God - right? - you'll never
love your neighbor. Right? And it has to come
out of our love for God which comes out of
his love for us; and then we discover love,
and then we find we can actually love our
neighbor. OK. That's the way it works.
So indeed if you do love your neighbor you
will fulfill the law. Because as Paul explains
here if you love your neighbor you will not
steal, you will not commit adultery, you will
not murder and so he says all of these are
contained in love.
But wait a moment. Wait a moment. Wait a moment.
How about the man who says to the police I
just loved her so much I kind of had to kill
her. Do you know that's actually said? See.
So what is love? And how does it work? And
what is ... What else goes into the person
other than what they call love?
Nature of a Human Being
So here's a picture now that draws out the
essential aspects of the human being. This
is human nature. When you look at this you
are looking at human nature. These are the
parts that go into the whole of human nature.
And this human nature is situated in an infinite
environment that has both good and evil in
it. Mostly good.
And now the parts here all have to be aligned
before we can be subject to the law of God.
And that of course means that there's going
to have to be an invasion by the word and
spirit of Christ. This is the living power,
a spiritual power in its own right. It comes
into the heart. Comes through the mind. When
that is accepted, the result is faith in Christ,
which reestablishes communion with God.
The spirit trusts God
The primary function of that center part is
to trust God. It can't do that on its own.
It has to interact with the other parts.
So, for example, what happened with Eve in
the garden. She received a solicitation to
not trust God. Do you understand that? And
that's a general form of all sin, is, don't
trust God, don't believe God. Take it into
your own hands. Make sure that you get what
you want. That's what Eve did.
And it's wonderful to see how you see in the
garden - there replicated the three things
that John said was in the world: lust of the
eyes, lust of the flesh, lust of the eye,
the pride of life. And you study and you see
how all three of those things show up. And
their effect is to seduce the individual into
taking things into their own hands and not
trusting God.
And if you will try to analyze all of the
standard sorts of things that we regard as
wrong - theft, lying, and so on - you will
find that they all come back to mistrusting
God. So you need to look carefully at that
picture and think about it.
Now once - and this is getting a little bit
into what you studied last week, and what
I think Luder is going to deal with in more
detail in the last part of this week - once
that spirit comes alive to God, because of
the gospel that has lodged in the mind, then
the individual begins the process of working
with God for the transformation of the whole
self.
The mind is renewed
So here's Paul in Romans 7: "I beseech you
therefore brethren, by the mercies of God,
submit your bodies a living sacrifice. Don't
be conformed to the world but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:1-2)
Now as the mind is renewed these other parts
are going to be renewed also. Questions like
what is in your body becomes all important.
I mean, what Peter did when he denied Christ
was in his body and in his social relations.
He didn't have to think about denying Christ.
He didn't have to ask him. The question: Shall
we deny? was already there. Just, whoosh,
like that it came out. Now, he probably thought
he was going to be facing some soldier with
a sword. He may have been ready for that but
the thing that tripped him up was a little
girl. See - the social situation, but the
body is ready to do, comes together. Acts
on its own.
The self is transformed
So now then the transformation. The body,
the social relationships, the soul. The soul
is kind of like the computer that runs the
whole show. You're not conscious of your soul,
conscious of your spirit. The spirit is the
executive center of the self. The soul is
like the computer that runs the whole thing.
You don't want to hear about the computer.
You just want it to work.
On the other hand, if you do want to change
it then the executive center is capable of
going through a process of changing the computer,
and that same thing is true; and roughly through
the whole area of spiritual disciplines, things
like solitude and silence and fasting and
memorization and so on. That's what goes into
the transformation of the whole self.
Well, we didn't have a lot of time to talk
about that and I will talk about it a little
bit later on but I hope you get the picture
here now. This is human...
Here's what I'm saying to you. This is human
nature. Everyone has this. If they're dead
in sin, they don't have their relationship
to Christ, but they can still hear the Word,
and the Spirit can still move on them; but
if they're dead in sin they don't have that
relationship, so they turn in on themselves;
and basically they begin to worship their
own will, their own desires, their own body
and so their whole life is devoted to themselves.
Now that's the nature. What's the role?
Role of a Human Being
I want to take you through some Scriptures
here that are extremely important in understanding
the divine conspiracy.
See, the divine conspiracy is not just for
the greatness of God, just to steamroller
everything. It is to elicit love and obedience
through the development of character, so that
out of human history comes a certain kind
of community that then is going to have a
role forever in the universe. 
That's the key to understanding this. This
is what human history is about. This is why
it's worth the awful things that have happened
in it.
So you begin with Genesis 1:26. What does
that say? That's what I call the creation
covenant. That's where God says, Let us make
man. Let us make his ... Let us make him in
our image - and in the next clause tells you
what that is. Let him have dominion.
Be responsible for Creation
Now if you don't like the word dominion - and
there's a lot of reasons why you shouldn't,
because it's been so corrupted by human self
will - just read the word responsibility.
Let us make man in our image and let him be
responsible. And then you see the assignment
that was given to human beings to be responsible
for the earth. That means everything on it.
The people put in terms of plants and animals
and all those sorts of things. And of course
that's still built into human nature. That's
why human beings can't stop thinking about
all the wonderful things they're going to
do.
Do you know at present at my university there
are people spending your tax dollars trying
to figure out how to reforest Mars? Did you
know that? And at other schools they're going
to reforest Mars. How can you do that? Well
I'm not betting on it being done any time
soon but the point is you have people ... Why
do people think about things like ...?
Three whales get trapped in the ice floe up
near Alaska. What do human beings down here
think of doing? What do they think of doing?
Getting them out. Why should they think of
that? Well there are a lot of silly reasons,
but basically it's built into human beings
to be responsible for the earth.
And this is the this is the foundation of
a genuine environmental ethic. Where you wind
up not just hugging trees but actually thinking
about the world and being responsible for
the world. Very important.
Now, is this a lost thought? Because we fell
did we - are we off the hook on that one?
No. We're not. Look at Psalm 8. This is a
psalm that is provoked because the psalmist
is impressed with the greatness of God on
one hand, and the fact that God cares about
human beings - namely himself - on the other.
And so he asks the question, and if you haven't
worked this through you'll find it I think
intriguing to look at.
The psalm starts out, "O Lord our Lord, how
majestic is thy name in all the earth. You
displayed your splendor above the heavens.
From the mouths of infants and nursing babes
thou hast established strength because of
thine adversaries." (Psalm 8:1-2) This ...
I wish I had time to launch into that. It's
a beautiful expression of the inversion of
the kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God,
and how infants and nursing babes testify
to God in the face of those who oppose him.
Now he says in verse 3, "I consider thy heavens,
the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars that thou hast ordained."
Now here's the big question. "What is the
human being that you even think about him?"
(Psalm 8:4) This is actually a large issue
in ancient thought. Did God think about human
beings? And most of the people in the Greek
world thought, no, God doesn't even think
about human beings, doesn't think about them
one way or the other. That was actually a
big step forward, because the previous stage
had been the stage that you read about in
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey where you might
just meet a god around any rock, and he might
just turn you into a turtle. You know how
that goes, right, in Homer?
And so it's a great relief to many people
to think that God doesn't even think about
human beings. That's one of the great difference
between the Jewish tradition - is the Jewish
tradition says that God not only thinks about
human beings - he cares about them.
So now what is man? That's the question. What
is man? What kind of thing is he that you
take thought of him and the son of man that
you care for him? You made him a little lower
than God. You crowned him with glory and majesty.
You make him to rule over the works of thy
hands.
Create and share
OK, so what is the function of the human being?
To rule. To rule, to bring good to pass in
creation. And so that's very natural for human
beings - unless you get a very soured human
being - they want to do good and they want
to share it. A little child wants to do that.
Get a little child - as soon as they can do
anything, they want to make something, and
then they want to give it to you. And if you
haven't had little children yet, get ready
because you'll have to have a special drawer
to put all the stuff in that they made to
give to you. And that's built into their nature.
People, as they grow older, they want to leave
the world a better place. They use that phrase
and you see that's built into the human being.
That's the way it is with human nature.
You made him a little lower than God, you
crowned him, you made him to rule over the
work... Now in those days about all they had
to rule over were sheep and oxen, beasts of
the field, birds of the heavens. You don't...
Now if it were written now it would be things
like electricity, computers, airplanes - most
of you have probably never in your life ruled
over a sheep. We don't live there anymore
do we? We live someplace else. The sheep don't
normally get where we live, so we don't rule
over them, but we do rule over things. And
much of that is human creations in their own
right, tools and instruments and things that
have been made by human beings.
But being made by human beings is to take
the stuff that God created and make something
of it. We don't create ex nihilo, we create
out of things that God has already made. And
among those are things like atom bombs and
all sorts of things - vaccines. That's the
human role. That's our task.
So now we want to understand that this is
something that's to be done under God. God
made us in such a way that we would relate
to him, and then relating to him we would
be able to rule. We can't do it on our own.
We still try but our efforts are thwarted
by our limitations and by our lack of good
will. And you can see that everywhere you
go.
Cooperate with God
Now part of that is acting with God in leadership.
This passage here, Isaiah 63:12 worth taking
a moment to look at. This is about Moses and
how Moses did his work. Because the cooperative
aspect of our work with God is essential to
what we're doing. We can't do it on our own.
And here in Isaiah 63 you have a person who
is reflecting on how God used to work with
the Jewish people, and he hadn't been doing
that lately. And it was because the Jewish
people had rebelled and walked off from him.
But then, verse 11 he says, "But then his
people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is he who brought them up out of the
sea with the shepherds of his flock?"
Now he's not asking: Where is Moses? He's
asking: Where is God who worked with Moses?
Where is he who put his Holy Spirit in the
midst of them?
And then this next clause or phrase: "Who
caused his glorious arm to go at the right
hand of Moses." (Isaiah 63:12) Now think about
that for a moment. At Moses' right hand. That
means Moses acting. But when Moses acted,
who made it happen? God did. So the picture
is Moses' right hand and God's glorious arm
going with Moses. That arm goes when Moses
' hand goes. See, that is the way that we
were meant to live on the earth under God.
God never set us up to be responsible for
the earth in our own strength.
Before Adam sinned he didn't sweat, because
he wasn't acting in his own strength. After
he sinned he had to act in his own strength,
and God said to him: "You shall eat bread
by the sweat of your brow," and since then
human beings have devoted most of their time
trying to figure out how to eat bread by the
sweat of someone else's brow. Because sweating
is, in a manner of speaking, not cool. It's
not cool. So you have commercials: "Raise
your arms if you're sure." Sweat is not good,
it's not cool. But it's going to be sweat
if you have to do it in your own strength.
Now that's important to understand.
So like when Jesus in Mark 4, in Mark 4 sees
this fig tree that isn't doing, right, he
doesn't send Bartholomew back to the shed
to get a chain saw, does he? What does he
do to the tree? He speaks to it. Now, by speaking
he brings into play the power of God. See,
Jesus acted in the power of God. He spoke
in the power of God because he was totally
in line with the Kingdom of God.
Work in the community of God
Now that wouldn't be good for people generally
to be able to do that. You can just see someone
going down the street cursing the trees. Probably
other people would like the trees to stay
there. So we have to understand that when
we work in the Kingdom of God we work in the
community of God. Jesus was prepared to do
that. Moses had a lot of opposition but when
he acted God acted with him.
Now in Luke 16 and 19 you see discussions,
for example, of the parable of the talents
or the money that was given and how it worked.
And let's see - 16 is this interesting case
of the so called unjust steward, as I recall
that. And the language here in Luke 16 is
very instructive.
You remember the parable of the unjust steward,
the fellow who wasn't doing right by his boss,
and the boss fired him and the steward then
found a way to help himself and help his boss.
So he cut deals with the people who owed the
money, and the boss at least got something
rather than losing everything - and the boss
was glad for that, and then the unjust steward
at least had a possibility of a job with the
people he'd cut deals with.
Now you may think that's a pretty shabby way
of talking about the reality of the Kingdom
of God but Jesus uses real life circumstances
to illustrate important points. And so here
he says - now we're talking about ruling - OK,
ruling because ruling is the vocation, the
calling of man.
Verse 9 of Luke 16 he says, "Make friends
for yourself by means of the mammon of unrighteousness,
that when it fails they may receive you into
the eternal dwellings." Now the friend that
you're making to yourself here is God, obviously.
So you should use money as a way of advancing
God's cause. That's how you rule.
"He that is faithful in a very little thing..."
What's the very little thing? Money. Money
and prayer are the two first steps in Kingdom
acting. We'll come back to that later. "He
that is faithful in very little is faithful
also in much. He that is unrighteous in very
little is unrighteous also in much." See,
that's ruling. You rule in the little things.
You use what you have and among the smallest
things you have is money.
You may say that's me because you may not
have much of it, but if you had a lot of it
it would still be the smaller things in life.
And you would use that in a way that you advance
the cause of God for good around you as you
ruled in that aspect of your life.
Human Nature and Jesus
Now Hebrews 2 shows us how this calling carries
over in relationship to Jesus. Hebrews 1 and
2 as you may recall is a passage where Jesus
is put in the right place in the cosmos.
It starts out the book talking about how in
times past God spoke to the prophets. Second
verse in Hebrews 1, "In these last days he
has spoken to us in his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, through whom he also made
the world." Now see that's standard teaching.
We looked at it in Colossians. You can see
it in John 1 and elsewhere.
"And he is the radiance of God's glory and
the exact representation of his nature and
he upholds all things by the word of his power."
So Jesus is a glorious being, is what the
long and short of it is. Much greater than
the angels.
But skip to chapter 2 and verse 5 of Hebrews.
God did not subject to angels the world to
come, the future, the cosmos. The one the
world were speaking about. And then in those
following verses you notice he goes right
back and quotes Psalm 8. And that's to make
the connection now between the place that
God had appointed human beings to, and how
that relates to Jesus. So he quotes Psalm
8. What is man that you remember him and so
on. Put all things in subjection to it ... under
his feet.
Now that eighth verse is key for understanding
where we are. Notice what it says. "For in
subjecting all things to him," now him there
is human beings, not Jesus. "In subjecting
all things to him he left nothing that was
not subject to him. But now we do not yet
see all things subjected to him."
Human beings are not responsible
Would you agree with me that as the world
now runs it isn't in subjection to human beings?
Would you even agree that it's probably a
good thing? Right? And what you know about
human beings might make you hesitate to say,
Let's just let human beings have charge of
everything.
Now that the Babel imperative is driving humanity
in that direction. Do you understand what
I'm saying there? See that's what the whole
thrust of research and development is among
human beings. But not yet. And if you share
my view of human beings you'd be thankful
that there are few things that aren't under
human control. Now when I was a child if someone
had said to me, There are going to be multi-million
dollar operations selling water to drink,
I would have said, You're crazy. 
What did I know? You want to bet on air? 
So I think you might... I'm glad that we do
not yet see all things subjected to him, and
until there's a huge change in humanity I
don't want to see that, folks. I don't want
to see that.
Jesus is the ruler
Next verse, but we do see him - now that's
Jesus - "who has been made for a little while
lower than angels," namely Jesus, "because
of the sufferings of death crowned with glory
that he, by the grace of God, might taste
death for everyone."
Now see Jesus comes into the human scene,
and now he's going to pull them up eventually
where everything can be subject to them, because
they're subject to God. Now remember what
I said to you, that God's intention for each
of us is that we should grow to the point
where he can empower us to do what we want.
That's what this verse is talking about. Are
you with me? You see what I'm saying? See,
this is the role for the human being. This
is what God made them for. He made them so
that this whole cosmos would turn out to be
something that is subjected to God through
them.
Who Are We?
Now Revelations 22:5 - we're done with this
particular part of the lesson. "They shall
see his face, his name will be on their foreheads
and there shall no longer be any night, and
the eye shall not have need, and they shall
not have need of the light of the lamp nor
the light of the sun, because the Lord God
shall illumine them and they shall reign forever
and ever."
Is that talking about anyone in this room?
Who's the they? Well the they is you. Isn't
that right? They is you. 
So Jesus said in Matthew 11, "Among those
born of women there's none greater than John
the Baptist but anyone in the kingdom of the
heavens is greater than John the Baptist."
(Matthew 11:11) Well add that to your list
of things to think about when you're thinking
about human nature. Do you know that verse?
Should we turn to it? I think maybe we'd better.
So look at Matthew 11. Excuse me. Here's what
he says in the eleventh verse of Matthew 11.
Matthew 11:11. You can remember that one.
"Truly I say to you among those born of women
there has not arisen anyone greater than John
the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom
of the heavens," that's plural by the way
- the kingdom of the heavens - in Matthew
it is always plural and that has some important
point to that, "is greater than he."
So now what about this fellow sitting down
here with the backwards cap? If you met him
in the hall would you be inclined to think
he was greater than John the Baptist? He wouldn't
even think that if you met him in the hall.
Right? But on the authority of the scripture
what are we to say about you? Can you say
it?
Unknown male:
Greater than John.
Dallas Willard:
Greater than John the Baptist. Why? Because
when you live in the kingdom of the heavens
as a disciple of Jesus you are related to
something greater than John the Baptist was
related to.
Now, you can quarrel with this. That's up
to you, what you do with it. But you want
to keep that in the back of your mind when
you're trying to think about your nature.
The truth about us
So here's the truth about you. Who you are
and why you're here. You are a never ceasing
spiritual being with an eternal destiny in
God's great universe. 
Can you say I am a never ceasing spiritual
being with an eternal destiny in God's great
universe? Can you say that with me? I am an
unceasing spiritual being with an eternal
destiny in God's great universe.
Could you say that to one another? You you
are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal
destiny in God's great universe. See this
is the true dignity of the human being.
This is why they were worth dying for. This
is why Isaiah 53 says he shall see the travail
of his soul. Can you finish that verse? "...and
be satisfied." 
Because of that, see. So you're spiritual
in substance. You're never ceasing in duration.
You are ruling or creative in destiny. 
Your life as a spiritual being is completed
only by living in and from the Kingdom government
of the heavens.
That's why Jesus' message is, repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The best
way to translate is, "has drawn near." That
was his message.
And you and I face the challenge: are we going
to preach that? Or are we going to preach
something else? And everything else that comes
out of our work is going to depend on the
message we preach. And when we look at the
church as we see it now, visibly, what we
see is the result of the message that is preached.
And it isn't this one.
What is the Message?
I'm going to have time to worry over this
particular point tomorrow in greater detail
but I pause at this moment just so say, What
do we tell people? What is our message? Dare
we preach the message that Jesus preached?
See, repent means think out, think of how,
think about your thinking. Metanoeo. Think
about your thinking. Have a thought about
your thoughts in the light of this new fact
that the rule of God is now immediately available
for you to live in. Immediately.
And then you look at the Gospels, and you
see that's what's being presented over and
over and over again. People pushing their
way in because they've discovered the presence
of the Kingdom in the presence of the King.
Jesus was a king. Right? I mean that's what
Pilate put on his cross, wasn't it? Why did
he put it on the cross? Because he understood
that was what was being claimed.
In Ephesus, was it not, when you come there
they say those who have turned the world upside
down elsewhere have come here preaching one
king, Jesus. You don't have a king without
a kingdom.
Living in a kingdom
And one of the deep sicknesses of our theology
is that we preach a Jesus without a kingdom.
That's why we have a lot of Christians that
believe in Jesus but don't believe in God.
They don't understand who Jesus was. And so
they don't really have confidence in God.
Repent for the kingdom of the heavens is now
available. That's like walking along here
with someone who knows this auditorium, and
someone who doesn't, with the person who's
looking at the building for the first time.
And the one who's here says, Turn because
the auditorium is at hand. That doesn't mean
it's about to come into existence and didn't
quite do it. It means it's there. And that's
what Jesus...
Now then, the whole all of the Gospels are
a manifestation of the presence of the Kingdom
to people who will turn to Jesus.
We've talked some about love already. Just
remember that to love is to will the good
of the beloved. And to know what God wills
for things then enables us to know what is
good for them. Love can't be separated from
God. And if we're going to fulfill our role
we're going to live with love for all of creation.
Possessed by love
And if you ever have time to read Jonathan
Edward's old treatise on virtue - it's not
long and it's a wonderful treatment on love
as the principle of the Kingdom of God and
of what we're to live in. When we come to
the place where we are possessed by love then
we are ready to rule. If we love God with
every dimension of our being - I'll go back
to our circle diagrams - that puts us in a
position to be a fully functioning human being
for the first time. Human beings because they
are loved by God, love God, and through that
love others. They are in a position to be
a fully functioning human being for the first
time.
And so the partial versions of love that do
so much to harm human life, where love is
confused with desire - and anger results when
desire is not fulfilled and so on - that is
done away with in every part of our being
now. Love God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, with all your
strength.
That is something that is increasingly true
of us; and as that personal reality of love,
which is God after all, possesses our being
it enables us to live a free and joyous life
beyond legalism. So we don't aim at doing
the right thing. We aim at being the kind
of person who would do the right thing. And
that's the kind of person who is possessed
by love and who loves indiscriminately with
everything they come in contact. And we fulfill
the law because we're that way.
Free of fear
And then that's where the teaching about perfect
love casting out fear takes hold. We are able
to live without fear because we know we are
loved by God and that we love God, and through
God we love others and that provokes others
towards love of us. Now they may be so messed
up that they won't, but generally speaking
they will love those who are possessed by
love. And so they come to the place where
they can live without fear because they are
secure in the love of God and they themselves
are loving others.
In contrast - if you hear a line from C.S.
Lewis again. "If man is made ultimate, causal
force will eventually rule and thereby abolish
humanity by making everything subject to the
thrust of desire. The desires of some few
who are able to gain the upper hand by force."
And if you've never read C.S. Lewis' Abolition
of Man I do encourage - in the context of
the discussions today - to read it, because
he had absolutely prophetic insight into the
meaning of the Babel imperative, that it meant
to abolish human beings as free people devoted
to good through love, and replaced them with
people who are under the domination of people
- other people who live only in terms of their
own desires.
So the divine conspiracy is God's aim to defeat
this dreadful declension from God's world
and God's Kingdom, by bringing out a world-and-history-wide
community of people who have the character
and power of Jesus Christ himself. Human nature
is built for that.
The nature we have is built to become like
Christ, to live in the Kingdom of God; and
the process of spiritual growth is the process
of doing that.
