We now come to Dr. Wright’s final opinion in his list of four responses to the claim that Jesus is, presently, King over Heaven and Earth, namely, Davie.[1] Davie believes the other three worldviews, Andy, Billy and Chris are all wrong. He gets it right, when he claims, all worldwide movements are not of God. Otherwise, the German church would have been correct to support the rise of Hitler and Nazism in the early decades of the 20th century. This tells us two things. First, the obvious take away is, God didn’t cause the rise of Hitler and Nazism, and secondly, even Christians are able to labor against the work of Christ/God in a worldwide manner, vis-à-vis the German church at large really did support the Nazi regime. We cannot claim innocence in matters that caused World War II in the 20th century, nor are we able to claim innocence in the cause of the Inquisition during the 13th to the 19th centuries of Christian history. Christians can and often do get it wrong in matters of worldwide significance.
We need to recognize, as Davie does but Chris ignores, that there are, indeed, other forces at work, undercurrents that drive worldviews and headline news, forces like: money, military power, race, border issues and sex, vis-à-vis both sex-drive and the gender issues. Each of these will make the world go around for certain people, and, when there are enough people in agreement, or when there is sufficient power behind a few people, a worldwide movement has begun, not of God, but of men. Nevertheless, God is able and often does bring the event to a conclusion that he desires. For example, God didn’t raise up Hitler, but without Hitler, perhaps the Jewish state would never have been born! Therefore, if we believe Jesus is King of the Earth, just as he is of Heaven, we are able to conclude that he caused an evil movement of mankind to bring about a good end (Judges 14:14).
Davie claims that Chris’ idea that worldwide trends are caused by God, and his disciples need to get behind him and labor in his service to bring about a good end, is simply a form of pantheism that mixes the world with God and the result is confusion—a whitewashing of human works. What Davie believes the world needs is a “fresh word from God!” We cannot bring about a godly end by colluding with the world. Jesus is on a course of taking what is rightfully his, but has been under the control of his enemies (Luke 20:9-18).
A little truth is far more dangerous than the complete truth. THE Truth (John 14:6) is dangerous to the world, but he will bring about a good end. Nevertheless, a little truth is always a danger, because it can and will destroy everything, even its own desired end. In reality, Davie has the idea, like the ancient Epicureans, that God is a long way off, and there is a great divide between him and mankind (cp. Luke 16:26). Davie modifies the Epicurean philosophy that God simply created the world and has let it to its own devices without any further intervention on his part, to needing hand hoping for God to intervene in our affairs with a fresh word, a fresh sense of direction from him, whereby we are able to address current issues without colluding with this world’s power systems, which would be idolatry according to Davie’s worldview.
Perhaps the biggest problem with Davie’s worldview is, he doesn’t see Jesus is near to man (2Corinthians 4:10-11; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4). We don’t need a fresh word from God, because God has already spoken to mankind. God’s Word is Jesus (John 1:1, 14), and his word is new every day (Lamentations 3:21-23; Zephaniah 3:5). Therefore, it is not a matter of when Jesus returns; he rules today. It isn’t a matter of finding a worldwide movement to support; all we need to do is ask: WWJD (what would Jesus do) and obey him. Finally, it isn’t a matter of receiving a fresh word from God. God has spoken and Jesus is his Word (John 1:1, 14); continue to spread the Gospel (Mark 16:15-16), behave as harmless disciples of Jesus in the world (Matthew 20:25-28) and live, individually, in submission to your King (John 8:31)!
____________________________________________
[1] I am presently involved in a slight departure of following the work of N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus. I have decided to pause at the beginning of chapter 15 and expand upon the list Dr. Wright offers us as a response to the claim that Jesus is King of Earth as of Heaven. The four responses to that claim are personalized in the characters: Andy, Billy, Chris and Davie.
Smoodock's Blog 