From Shame to Glory
Long-time readers might recall stories of my disturbed teenagerhood, particularly of how I would take my fists to my own head or bash it against the wall. These were attempts to alert my parents to my distressed state, and usually drew out the dismissive remark, “Don’t be a silly fool!”. The other night I regressed to something similar, except in this case, in stress at something very minor with Donna (I’d had a hard day), and thankfully out of her sight or knowledge, I grabbed the TV remote and nearly destroyed it against my skull. I was of course feeling rejected and misunderstood at the time; but what was really going on below the surface? This article expounds the results of some prayerful probing into the incident just described.
Ashamed as a son
Since Adam is described as a “son of God” (Luke 3:38), the fundamental satanic deception in Eden must be an assault of his sonly (filial) status. The demonic accusations that the Lord’s prohibitions concerning the tree of knowledge are untrue (Gen 2:19) are pure lies, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:6). As Paul remonstrates, “Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.” (Rom 3:4). We have a choice, believe God, or believe ourselves/others. If we choose the latter, no-one and nothing is trustworthy! The foundational satanic lie is that the Lord had something less in store for people than equality with himself. Adam and Eve knew from their creation that they were already in the “image and likeness” of God (Gen 1:26-27), the Satanic assault exposes that they did not believe it was the good pleasure of their heavenly Father for them to ever “eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev 2:7 cf. Gen 3:22). If they had resisted the devil, by faith, in time they would have partaken of the tree and been elevated into the fullness of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4; 1 John 3:2). Mutual selfish ambition (the “you” in Gen 3:1, 4, 5 is plural) robbed the first man and woman, and subsequently each of us, of the fulness of our family inheritance (Eph 1:18). Thankfully, as God’s wisdom is beyond time (Rom 11:33; 16:27; 1 Pet 1:19-20; Rev 13:8), this robbery was always going to be temporary in its effects.
The Broken Mirror
If Adam had believed by faith that in the created order, he “was a pattern of the one who was to come” (Rom 5:14), he would have seen himself in Christ as the “mirror of election” (Calvin cf. Eph 1:4). Instead, the first father listened to the devil and lost the glory of God. A glory, to be fully and finally revealed in Jesus (2 Cor 4:6). Instead of entrusting himself to the goodness already made known in the splendours of Eden (Gen 1:31; Rom 1:19, 20, 27) Adam was enticed to see himself in the mirror of a self-exalting imagination whose origin is in the heart of Satan. Following in the way of Adam, “every imagining of the thoughts of man’s heart was (soon) only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Tragically, have all been trapped by our imaginations in a hall of ever-distorting and down-sizing mirrors. Confused as to the divine nature, we all need to be told from above “you thought that I was one just like yourself” (Ps 50:21 cf. Rom 1:22-23). Our idolatry that “I AM” is just like our fallen “I/ego” is all encompassing and penetrates to every level of human reflection of things divine. Only Jesus can deliver us from this foundational confusion.
The naked unashamed Son
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus reverses the tragedy of the Fall, for “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor 1:25). This reversal comes through the Son’s loving acceptance of undeserved suffering. Knowing that those who came before him as witnesses to the Lord were “tortured 36 suffered mocking and flogging, chains and imprisonment. 37 were stoned, sawn in two, killed with the sword…went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated.” (Heb 11:35-37), Jesus was inspired by their testimonies to reach the pinnacle of highest sacrifice. As the founder and perfecter of our faith, “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2). Whilst execution by crucifixion was designed to maximise shame, Jesus looked beyond it to see all the glory that would be revealed to him (Rom 8:18; 1 Pet 5:1). This pattern in repeated in the New Testament, not through our copying Jesus, but by sharing and being incorporated by the Spirit in Christ’s journey of “the author and finisher of (our) faith” (Heb 12:2).
Shameless in Jesus
Revelation tells us exactly how to triumph over the lies of the devil; “they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Rev 12:11). If you belong to the Lord, your garments have been “washed in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 1:5; 7:14; 22:14), this makes us blameless before the Judge of all (Phil 2:15; Col 1:22; 1 Thess 5:23). Opposition, accusation, lies, deceit, rejection and so on must not be treated as marks of shame, they are signs of glorious acceptance in the kingdom of God (Gal 6:17). The first disciples heard Jesus teaching promise of gladness and joy when we are persecuted for justice sake (Matt 5:11-12), and then they lived it out! “the (Jewish leaders) beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.” (Acts 5:40-41).
Conclusion
There are two mirrors of self-image, we can see ourselves in the immeasurable greatness of the super-exalted Christ (Rom 5: 9, 10, 15, 17; Eph 1:19-21 etc.), or picture ourselves according to the image of the runted Adam (1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:1-3 etc.). Which mirror are we looking at ourselves in, daily? When I started to destroy the remote on my own head, I was looking into the mirror of fantasy. We need constantly to “look to Jesus” (Heb 12:1). Not the cut down version of Jesus peddled (2 Cor 2:17) in much of the Western Church by her “super-apostles” (2 Cor 11:5), but the Lord who was glorified for us through great suffering (Luke 24:26). A suffering into which we are called to share (Eph 2:13; Col 1:24 etc.). Our problem is that we love a down-sized image of ourselves that has been sown into our hearts by the greatest down-sizer in the created order. The measure of the down-sizing of the devil, is the depth of his self-magnification, as he tried to make himself, and his beast, as greater than any possible god, real or imagined (Gen 3:5; Isa 14:13-14; 2 Thess 2:4). The greatness of Jesus is of course revealed in his unlimited voluntary humiliation is suffering and sacrifice on behalf of our salvation (Phil 2:5-11). Let us discipline our minds to look only into this mirror. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action2 and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:13).