April 1, 2024

Gleanings

The Lordship of Jesus

Indicators of a Holistic View

Gerald R. Chester, Ph.D.

Christianity is a holistic worldview that encompasses all reality based on the truth that Jesus is Lord and Christ. Therefore, he is the source (Creator) and sustainer all things, as the apostle Paul stated:

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15–16 ESV)

If the truth that Jesus is Lord of all is comprehensive, then there are no exceptions. And there are vast implications. This truth is unequivocal and generally recognized in orthodox Christianity in theory, but not necessarily in practice.

Commonly, today there are two views about the Lordship of Jesus—a truncated view (dualistic view) and a holistic view. The truncated view limits the Lordship of Jesus to spiritual matters, while the holistic view encompasses both physical and spiritual matters. The populist view is the truncated view. However, if Jesus is Lord of all—no exceptions, then the populist view is at least incomplete and not fully compatible with Scripture. Only the holistic view is correct.

To live wisely in God’s universe, one is responsible to align with the will of God—to live under the Lordship of Jesus. This is the holistic view and a marker of a person who truly knows the Lord. The apostle Peter summarized this truth:

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1–2 ESV)

Followers of Jesus are mandated to think and live Christlike. If the life of God is in a person, their lifestyle should progressively mirror Christ's lifestyle. What then might be some distinguishing traits of a lifestyle compatible with the holistic view of the Lordship of Christ? Here are a few to consider.

The Creation Mandate would be recognized as the true Great Commission.

The Creation Mandate is the first mandate given to man. It is clear, comprehensive, and unequivocal. When Adam and Eve sinned, the divine response was to temporarily defer full judgment (Genesis 3) and execute a metanarrative of redemption. The metanarrative has two basic eras—the old covenant and new covenant. In the old covenant era, the people of God were not divinely empowered beyond common grace. But with Christ’s advent and the inauguration of the new covenant era, the people of God were divinely empowered. In the old covenant era, sin impeded mankind from obeying the Creation Mandate. In the new covenant era, the people of God are regenerated and indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit. This enables mankind to begin to obey the Creation Mandate more profoundly than ever since the fall of mankind.

The Creation Mandate has never been rescinded or replaced. It is the first and primary mandate given to explain the Creator’s purpose for the existence of humans. It is the directive to multiply and rule creation as God’s agents. This means it was (and is) the Great Commission of mankind.

The call of God to all licit vocations would be recognized and affirmed.

As the sovereign Lord of all, Jesus creates people to serve his purpose and has a purpose for each person in each jurisdiction—individual, family, ekklesia (church), workplace, and civil government. In part, this means that licit workplace vocations should be recognized as divinely assigned venues where people are to serve as God’s ruling agents. This is their ministry assignment.

Commonly today, the term ministry is used primarily in reference to church-related activity (teaching, missions, preaching, pastoral care, and evangelism, etc.), and is viewed as a superior calling compared to work outside the church. Consequently, only church-related work is viewed as worthy of affirmation though ordination. This is a dualistic view not a holistic view.

The first local ekklesia modeled a holistic view of ministry (Acts 6:1–7). Both teaching and food distribution were viewed as ministry and worthy of being affirmed as divine callings.

Vetted gatherings would be held to mutually help one another find and fulfill their callings.

Once all licit callings are affirmed, Christians will want to gather to help each person find and fulfill their calling. This will require vetted gatherings—meetings not open to the public but only to those who truly are Christians. In this setting, the mandate to not neglect gathering to encourage one another to love (sacrificially serving the purpose of God in others) and good works (works aligned with a person’s divine calling) can be obeyed (Hebrews 10:24–25).

To have this type of discussion and accountability requires transparency and trusted relationships. This is only possible in the context of vetted meetings.

The Discipleship Mandate will be viewed as supportive to the Creation Mandate.

In Christianity today, the Discipleship Mandate is commonly called the Great Commission and is viewed as the basis for world evangelism (global attempts to convert people to faith in Christ). Following is the clearest biblical text of this command:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20 ESV)

There is nothing explicit in the above text about evangelism in the sense of making converts—the pedestrian emphasis of current evangelistic activity. There may be human evangelism involved in discipleship, but evangelism does not encompass discipleship. It is interesting that the apostle Paul was not converted through human evangelism (Acts 9). Therefore, the entrance into the discipleship process might include some human evangelistic effort, but it is not necessary for the conversion process.

What is explicit in the above text, however, is the responsibility of Jesus’ apostles to disciple people without ethnic bias and Jesus’ authority to direct this work. Implicit in the idea of discipleship is the work of replicating in disciples what has been given to disciplers. And discipleship is be extended to all ethnicities—a new idea for Jesus’ Jewish apostles who were trained through Old Testament Scripture that only ethnic Israel was the people of God.

This discussion leads to a question. If the above understanding of the Creation Mandate and Discipleship Mandate is correct, how do the two mandates connect? Given that the former preceded the latter by more than four thousand years, the Creation Mandate was given first in time, which suggests first in priority and importance. If so, the Discipleship Mandate should be supportive of the Creation Mandate.

In the Old Testament era, the people of God were not divinely empowered beyond common grace (grace given to all humans to be able to survive as fallen people in a fallen world). Common grace is not sufficient to facilitate obedience to the Creation Mandate. But because of divine empowerment in the New Testament era, the people of God are able to move beyond common grace to maturity in Christ (though never perfectly or completely in this existence). As they mature, their ability to fulfill the Creation Mandate is enhanced as never before since the fall of mankind. This enables the New Testament people of God to obey the Creation Mandate through discipleship.

During the the New Testament era, the people of God are to function holistically under both the Creation and Discipleship Mandates. As they rule (where Jesus grants them authority), they are to disciple others—replicate themselves. And to support this effort, they need interdependent multigenerational communities to mutually help each find and fulfill their calling. When the people of God fulfill the Creation Mandate and Discipleship Mandate well, this will be the light of Christ to others (Matthew 5:14–16), that is, they will serve as evangelists through their actions. This approach to evangelism through discipleship is perhaps similar to what the apostle Paul did in Ephesus as recorded in Acts 19:8–10.

May all God’s people have the grace to live as true disciples of Jesus who stand firm and steadfast in the truth. And may they have grace to guide and direct others into alignment with God’s will, God’s ways, God’s timing, and to work for God’s glory.