It was fitting for (Jesus), for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering (Heb2:10 New King James Version)
If I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring; every heart would have a new song to sing and we’d sing of the joy every morning would bring. My world would be a beautiful place where we would weave such wonderful dreams... I could go on, but it has all been sung before1. For the Christian, the spiritual dimension that has been the focus of our consideration in this book transcends the sentiments of that song from “Pickwick”, but one should acknowledge that it does depict a better world in terms of actual human experience than exists at present or has ever existed since the Eden incident. Christians will hasten to explain that the cruelty, injustice, broken relations, sickness and death that has become an inescapable aspect of life on Earth was the result of that one act of disobedience by the first human couple. Non-Christians presented with such a concept are inclined to regard it as facile and frankly I cannot blame them, for it is only a third of the story when understood from a more enlightened Christian perspective such as that possessed by the thirteenth apostle (cf. Rom8:20,21). But before we come to the providential dimension hinted at in those verses of Paul we must recognize also that there exists a realm of evil that is extraneous to humanity which took the lead in that initial catastrophe; a sophisticated principality of wickedness that endures as a force in the world to the present day:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph6:12 New King James Version).
The verse is addressed to Christian believers, but the One who remembers the needs of the sparrows is aware that the activity and influence of this evil realm impinges upon the whole human family and all created life that falls under His care. For there is a third reason apart from humanity’s initial disobedience and Satan’s treachery for things having to be as they are in the World, and that will be unravelled as we progress through the chapter. In terms of the realm of evil that confronts mankind, it might appear that we are wrestling against flesh and blood for the diabolical activity that St Paul was referring to is normally exercised through the human agencies under its control. These are the human seed that we considered in the previous chapter – they are the darnel poisoning the wheat that must remain until harvest. Of course, the rest of humanity sins and causes plenty of trouble as well, the more so for being led astray and corrupted by Satan who deceives the world through the people he controls. So, God holds Satan rather than mankind personally accountable for the world being in the state it is; he will pay by far the greater price, as will his delegates, messengers or agents. What is more difficult to explain is why these wicked beings continue to thrive, influence and offend. As one traces events back to the Fall, one should discern that it is not entirely a matter of “free will” that resulted in wickedness being retained on the Earth but a deliberate aspect of divine providence. Yet the evil does originate from a malign exercise of the free will that the Creator is bound to give to any being to whom He wishes intimately to relate, starting with the angelic realm. However, and here lies the problem for many, it must be acknowledged that the extent to which a created being having chosen a course of evil is then permitted to continue practicing it and hurting others is entirely a matter of divine prerogative (or else impotence or indifference which is not the case here). Being one who since rejecting the theology of the Reformers has come to perceive the Creator to be holy and loving in the sense that that these qualities are defined in Scripture (1Cor13:4-5), this whole area had been hard to reconcile until recently.
Adam and Eve had been warned that if they disobeyed God they would die that very day. I explained earlier that the warning did not refer to physical death (they continued for centuries) or what would happen to their souls after they died, but to the disruption in their relationship with God whilst they were in the body. Yet this pair could have been eliminated there and then; the Adam project could have been rebooted, feasibly with a better outcome for humanity, for the two had been created pure in soul and body and unlike fallen man were potentially capable of full obedience. God was not obliged to establish His human creation through such corrupted progenitors; He well knew the outcome for His creation, Himself and His Son when He chose to reject what might appear to human minds to have been the logical rebooting option. Yet as hinted earlier, this incident in the paradise Garden and the inscrutable way that God chose to handle it is in fact the most staggering aspect of His love for humanity in view of the personal cost to Himself and especially His Son. In terms of the consequences for His earthly creation, many were now to be subjected to a life that was frustrating, vain and unfulfilled (mataiotes - Rom8:20). For the majority that has been the case: their life has certainly not been without purpose and sometimes joy, yet the primary intent for which they had been created was not accomplished during their earthly lifetime – that had been to know God; that had been Life of an eternal quality. Very shortly after the incident in Eden the divine prerogative was exercised again with the first man to be born of woman. Cain had become entirely alienated from God (Gen4:14), yet He still ensured that this murderer and his seed survived. Again, he could have been wiped out there and then for his fratricide and insolence towards God but instead was provided with a mark for his protection (Gen4:15) such that he and his accursed seed would continue up to the time of the flood. The book of Enoch relates how the spirit of Abel petitioned God for Cain’s seed to be annihilated, which duly occurred through the worldwide Flood. This clarifies Gen4:10 and especially Heb12:24 concerning the reference to Christ’s blood speaking better things than Abel. This inspired book also expands on Gen6:1,2 also alluded to in Jude1:6 concerning angelic or rather satanic union with women and the irretrievable corruption it caused, even extending to the animal Kingdom through bestiality. But what cannot be perceived without reference to the book of Enoch yet is needed to understand the rationale behind the universal Flood is that these satanic collaborators had imparted knowledge to humanity that the Lord had intended mankind gradually to discover over many centuries. As with Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, humanity in its infancy was not ready for the knowledge they provided which would lead to their destruction, yet could never be unlearnt, hence the need for a radical universal cleansing by water. Enoch19:1 explains that these rebellious sons of God who left their appointed place (cf. Jud1:6) and were responsible for the global contamination and the thwarting of God’s plans for mankind’s development were able to assume different forms to carry out their illicit unions (re: objections raised by Mt22:30). Through God’s mercy, the bulk of humanity who ignored Noah’s warning and perished in the Flood has subsequently had the Good News preached to them by Jesus Himself (1Pet3:19,20), as, the apostle indicates, do all the dead have opportunity to hear the Good News so that although having been punished in the flesh “they might live according to God in the spirit” (1Pet4:6). Some struggle with that concept believing it to undermine the relevance of the gospel. It becomes far more intelligible once one understands the context of gospel salvation within God’s broader reconciliatory plans. These imprisoned spirits were given the opportunity to repent and acknowledge Christ’s lordship; they were not to be betrothed as His eternal Bride, nor did they escape punishment for they had been imprisoned for centuries. The very early Christian writers including Irenaeus confirm my understanding that Adam’s physical death, though partly a punishment, was in effect a concession by which once freed of the body he could be freed from sin so that he could begin again “to live for God”2. He was equally clear that the spirits of those who died in Old Testament times had the gospel preached to them by Jesus after His crucifixion and were given the chance to place their faith in Him3
As we saw earlier, although all who came off the ark were blessed by God, one of the sixteen seeds stemming from Noah’s sons was cursed, leading to the wickedness of Sodom, Gomorrah and the Canaanite territories resulting in their partial annihilation. Of course, wickedness continued through till the time of Christ and until the present day, and that is not surprising in view of the role Satan himself had been permitted:
Then the devil taking (Jesus) up on a high mountain showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, all this authority I will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and I give it to whomever I wish; therefore, if You will worship before me all will be yours (Lk4:5-7 New King James Version)
Satan was a liar, but he could hardly hope to deceive the Son of God on such a matter, nor did Jesus deny Satan’s claim to have been given authority over the world’s kingdoms. Jesus goes on to describe him as the “prince of this world”, or “leader of the world order” (archon tou kosmou), whilst Paul refers to him as the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph2:2) and “a crafty schemer” (2Cor2:11); St Peter as a prowling lion (1Pet5:8), and St John as holding the whole world under his control (1Jn5:19). Unlike the coming age of the Kingdom of Christ (cf. 2Tim4:1), Satan is not currently prevented from deceiving the world (Rev12:9) but in spite of the salt and light provided by the worldwide churches and many people of good will outside them, he continues to preside over a principality of wickedness that impacts upon nations and their governance, greatly adding to people’s suffering. This prince had not been cast out after the resurrection of Christ (cf. Jn12:31) – it looked initially as though that was being indicated by the short-lived witness of expelled demons and miraculous healings, but the Adversary’s final ignominy has been deferred. Yet if, as is indeed the case, Christ has done everything necessary to achieve Satan’s demise, why should that be? Or were the apostles Peter, Paul and John mistaken on the matter of his continued authority on Earth? One only has to review the events of the century just past to recognize not only that they were right, but that that influence has scarcely been eroded nineteen centuries into the Christian era. Was there ever a conflict as grim as the Great War whose centenary is currently being commemorated; or a deception so insidious and activity so heinous as that practiced by the German Nazi Party in the war that followed it? It is as if suffering were an essential part of God’s purposes for humanity. Whilst He does not initiate it, He certainly has the power to end it for He is sovereign, and his Son has already been victorious over Evil.
Now that I am clear why these things must be, I would not wish it any other way for truly God is Love personified and does know best. Suffering is no accident: “I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create calamity. I the Lord do all these things” (cf. Is45:7). Spiritual masters in the past have put forward various philosophical arguments for the need for such suffering within God’s economy. We have already touched upon “free will” as the instrumental cause of evil’s introduction into God’s good creation. But that doesn’t of itself explain why evil beings have been permitted to prosper or have been granted ongoing major spheres of operation and influence. Thomas Aquinas provided a partial solution to this mystery in his epic Summa Theologica when he stated quite succinctly that “God permits evil so as to bring out of it a greater good”. More specifically he proposed that “diverse grades of goodness occur in things, many of which would be lacking if no evil existed; indeed, the good of patience could not exist without the evil of persecution" 4. In other words, without evil and the dysfunctional practices associated with it, there would be no place for virtue, or at least it would not so clearly be seen to be virtuous and something to delight in; not only in human affairs but in the worshipful admiration of God Himself. If Satan had not been permitted his little triumphs, there would have been no glorious victory for God and His Christ, for there had been nothing to conquer. How could God have demonstrated the staggering extent of His love and grace if He could have spared His only Son? If Adam had not sinned or the humanity project rebooted, there would have been no Saviour, and what a Saviour: O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorum5.
The ultimate purpose for human suffering
But this is only a part of the story, although I think we can already dispense with comic writer Woody Allen’s proposal that the existence of evil indicates that “God is at best an under-achiever”. Such a case could be made if evil existed to the degree that it does and yet God was unable to overcome it or had no real use for it, but neither is the case, for it is a temporary yet essential ingredient within the plan of human destiny. Suffering is neither a result of divine impotence nor a miscalculation; as well as being the backdrop to highlight the beauty and loveliness of the good and therefore of God Himself, its principle purpose is to prepare humanity for the next phase in her development. Neither is that merely a philosophical speculation, it is a biblical reality that again has been historically eluded through a failure to grasp both the context of gospel salvation within broader providence and the nature of the ages to come. Human beings currently possessing bodies originating from dust (cf. Gen2:7) are destined for glory and service at least as splendid as that of the angels of Heaven (cf. Heb1:14). Suffering, and consequently the existence of evil is a necessary part of the process of deification which requires human beings to be, as it were, “stretched” or go beyond themselves in order to be fitted for such glory and responsibility. The Son of Man set the pattern: He tasted death for every man for our salvation, but there is something else we are told about His death:
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb12:2 New King James Version)
The highlighted phrase is hardly the one on which one would normally focus - this is something you may have noticed within this presentation. The Godhead’s love for all humanity (Jn3:16) and the Son of God’s obedience and suffering to deal with our sin are rightly the focal points. But Jesus’s awareness of the joy and glory awaiting Him is nevertheless referred to and it hints at what is to be adduced in this chapter: the divine principal that suffering is beneficial, indeed necessary for those who are to be glorified. Jesus might appear to be the exception, for He is worthy of glory through divine birth-right. Nevertheless:
It was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering, for both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren (Heb2:10,11 New King James Version)
So even the Son of Man was made perfect through suffering (confirmed also in Heb5:8,9). In His case it had nothing to do with being made sinless, for He always was sinless. It pertained to His personal capacity and Office, especially that of High Priest:
Therefore, in all things (Jesus) had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make a propitiation for the sins of the people, for that He himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Heb2:17,18New King James Version)
His awareness and personal experience of human suffering also prepares Him for His role as a merciful Supreme Judge of humanity. It set a pattern and example for those who as co-heirs must support Him as priests, kings and judges; they are to share in Christ’s glory but must firstly share His suffering:
Now if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ; if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory (Rom8:17 New International Version)
But what advantage could human beings have had over the angels of Heaven? – a personal day-to-day experience of sin and suffering. Is that really an advantage? – Not if our destiny were to be a spiritual, albeit blissful stasis, beholding the vision of God’s glory, wonderful though that currently is for those who have “fallen asleep” as Scripture describes the temporary separation of body and spirit in Heaven. But the emphasis from the Old Testament prophesies, the gospels, the epistles and Revelation as far as the next age is concerned is for the elect to be “the children of the resurrection” (Lk20:36). For the believer’s destiny once resurrected does not merely consist in beholding but supporting God in His activity in eternal union with His Son. But as with any marriage, howsoever the Bridegroom may relate to His Father through eternity so must His Bride for they are now in union; and whatsoever His Son’s activity and domain, so shall His co-heirs share in it (cf. Dan7:18). Clearly the spouse concept is mystical in the sense of the “wife” (cf. Rev19:7) being a corporate identity, but so is Christ’s bride-in-waiting the Church, which functions as His Militant Body on Earth; each person playing his or her role as a member of that spiritually directed administration. St Paul also affirms that eternity will comprise numerous ages (e.g. Eph2:7 cf. Greek) and, if the title-subject of this book is anything to go by, God is full of surprises. If the Church thinks she can be clear about the precise nature and procession of eternity, she should surely think again. For this few millennia of human history on this pin-prick we call Earth is in terms of time and space a grain of sand within the desert of eternity. Who knows what plans God has for the limitless theatre that is His universe? For God’s Word became flesh; Jesus being from two natures (human and divine) yet essentially one subsistent nature as the incarnate Word of God. Humanity has therefore been permanently incorporated into the Godhead, indicating future physicality and terrestrial activity as well as delighting in the prospect of beholding the divine Glory that historically has tended to be the focus and expression of the Christian’s future hope. Yet none shall be disappointed, for being in eternal union with the One “in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily; the Head of all principalities and powers”, we shall be complete in Him (Col2:9,10).
Yet it is all humanity that suffers in the present: having encouraged believers to stand fast against their Adversary who is prowling the Earth like a roaring lion, the apostle Peter adds this: “knowing that the same sufferings are to be completed in your brotherhood who are in the world” (1Pet5:9 cf. Greek). It is unlikely Peter here was alluding to their sister churches, he is surely referring to the human family. They also are suffering through the devil’s malevolence, and for a purpose, for all the scattered seed of God will in due time enjoy future communion with the divine glory; it is a question of staging, the faithful of the Church being the first-fruits. For when Jesus comes again:
He shall be glorified in His saints and admired by those that believe on that day, for (after all), our testimony among you was believed (2Thes1:10).
This is re-affirmed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive; but everyone in his own class: Christ the first-fruits; afterwards those who are Christ’s at His coming (1Cor15;22,23).
Where profundity lurks
“Christ the first-fruits” could refer to the Church a.k.a. the Body of Christ, a.k.a. Christ (e.g. 1Cor12:12). Christians are the “first-fruits of creation” (Jam1:18). Jesus is also described as the First-fruits but He was never “dead in Adam” in the Pauline sense for He Himself was the Second Adam; and He cannot be a “class of those in Christ” (hekastos de en to idio tagmati) for He is the Christ. Likewise, Christians are no longer “dead in Adam”, they are alive in Christ now, so it cannot be they who are spiritually made alive at His coming, rather those who receive and acknowledge Him when He appears. The verse is unlikely to be referring to resurrection, partly because the context is the consequence of original sin (dead in Adam, made alive in Christ) apart from which it would hardly be necessary to inform the Church that Christ arose from the dead before they will. The apostle never states the blindingly obvious any more than he was likely ever to have been absurdly tautological (e.g. Gal2:16 earlier translations): such instances are where profundity or mystery lurks. As with the passage referring to the fellowship of the secret (Eph3:6-9) in which Paul takes three verses, a pulsating build-up and three references to “a mystery” to inform us that the Church is not Jewish, something has to be amiss in our understanding or in the translation, or there is something we are simply not perceiving.
St Paul’s verses quoted above align with Old Testament prophecy that all who shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved from perdition. Logically and fairly, the same principle would be expected to apply to those who have died having never had the opportunity to know the Saviour, and that is substantiated on two occasions in the first epistle of Peter (3:18-20 & 4:6). On the other hand, those alive at His coming who are not of God and refuse to obey the gospel of Christ will in Paul’s language be set ablaze (2Thes1:8) however literally one chooses to take that; they will certainly be removed from His presence and everyone else’s (v9). By “not obeying the gospel” is meant refusing to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ even after His identity has been manifested. For one can only obey or refuse to obey what has been clearly understood; so when Christ re-appears on Earth and indeed wherever He has presented Himself in person (cf. 1Pet3:18,19; 1Pet4:6; Jn15:22) there can be no excuse for those who reject Him. Likewise, if a universally agreed announcement of the coming Kingdom of Christ were presented to the world from a re-unified Church it would be a clarion call that would seriously need to be heeded (cf. Mt24:14). And such would be the roll-call: Who is on the Lord’s side; who will serve the King?
The apostle Paul regarded the earthly creation as being in labour during the current age (Rom8:22), waiting for the revelation of the sons of God in the regeneration. When Christ is glorified in His saints the birth-pangs having at that time reached their crescendo will be over, and, the apostle indicates, the whole Earth can be healed and renewed. Then:
He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet (1Cor15:25)
The Church as the Kingdom of Christ on Earth is involved in a spiritual battle with satanic forces yet cannot eradicate them. It may have appeared to fourth century Christians that things were heading that way in the wake of Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity such that Romans16:20 concerning the future crushing of Satan under the Church’s feet would be achieved through a progressive ascendancy of the Church. Sixteen centuries later it should be obvious that could never have been what was intended: world peace and Christian dominion cannot occur in this age. Apart from which Jesus had stated quite categorically: the darnel will grow till the end of the age, then the reapers (His angels not the Church) will remove it and destroy it (Mt13:30). As for the a-millennial perspective I had once favoured, either Revelation 20 is entirely meaningless (a very dangerous position to assert in view of the epilogue (ch22:18-19)), or else the elect are in some sense already ruling with Christ on Earth. I think not: the Pilgrim Church was never even metaphorically intended to be in the business of “ruling the nations with a rod of iron” (Rev2:27 & 12:5). That could hardly be further removed from the Biblical depiction of the assemblies of Christ in the late first century and how their apostolic founders had instructed them to relate to the world and its authorities. It refers to what is to be done in the next age such that when at the end of the “Day”, all earthly authorities have been subjected to the Arbitrator (cf. Is2:4), His Kingdom will be handed over to His Father for whatever subsequent ages may hold in store within a new Heaven and Earth (cf. 1Cor15:27-29).
Caesar is king of the world and Jesus isn’t (yet)
I would like to be able to re-echo the aforementioned Professor N T Wright’s frequent mantra that Jesus is King of the world and Caesar isn’t, but alas not just yet. It is true that all authority in Heaven and on Earth has already been given to Jesus Christ by the Father (Mt28:18), but as is obvious as one looks out of the window, He does not in any constitutional or executive sense function as King of the World in the current age, nor is He referred to as such in the New Testament. The messianic role prophesied for Jesus according to the Old Testament is another matter but in view of “the fellowship of the secret” that more pertains to the age to come. The Holy Virgin’s child was declared to be the King of Israel and King of the Jews by the astrologers, and later rode into Jerusalem on a donkey prefiguring such a Kingship; for that is what the prophets expected would be the Jewish messiah’s imminent destiny:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called: Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Is9:6 King James Version)
And through the same prophet:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings Good News, who announces salvation, who says unto Zion, “your God reigns!” (Is52:7).
But notice how St Paul when quoting this prophecy in his letter to the Romans (10:15) subtly subverts it: the single messenger (intended to be John/Elijah) is replaced with “those” (i.e. the preachers of the gospel), whilst the bit about “your God reigning (on Earth)”, which after all was Isaiah’s central message, is omitted. Christ is only once alluded to as King of the World in Matthew25 (v34) when He takes His seat to judge the nations at the close of the age. His first act will be to remove the godless and loveless, resulting in peace and reconciliation for all people of good will, such that the Church will in its fullest sense be able to proclaim: our God reigns! But for now, darkness still invades the Earth and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise over His restored Church and His glory shall be seen upon her; then the un-churched shall come to her light and kings to the brightness of her rising (cf. Is60:2,3).
Exploring this theme a little further, there are essential elements of a meaningful global reign which are entirely lacking in the current age: not just a physical Presence but any designated vice-regent or institution to carry out regal functions on the King’s behalf such as to regulate government or appoint and if necessary admonish those in high office. The Bishop of Rome is Christ’s