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Imagine for a moment that a creature from another universe invades planet earth. This being is male, but he is profoundly different from us earthlings. He is neither Jew nor Gentile. He is altogether other. He is a unique creation from a unique world. He is, if you please, a new species.
As this creature enters into adulthood, he begins to teach the principles that govern his world. These principles operate on a higher plane than those that govern our world. He also demonstrates these principles in visible action.
He is directed by a voice from another realm, the realm from which he came. He has the capacity to receive two forms of nourishment: one human and another that comes from his own world. Again and again, this creature mystifies and perplexes those who observe him. No one can quite figure him out. His message is deeply challenging. It flies in the face of all cherished tradition—political, social, and religious. It confronts the status quo.
More surprising, he becomes the champion of outcasts, some of whom are notorious. He gravitates toward the marginalized, the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden—the “scum of the earth.” His message is scandalously inclusive. It excludes no one, except for those who resist its radical inclusivity.
His revolutionary message and behavior quickly furnish him with enemies. This creature is a threat to the wealthy, to the powerful, and mostly, to the religious. His enemies stand in line to try and trap him with his own words. They seek to put him into a box of their own making. He, however, refuses to be put into anyone’s box.
With unbroken consistency, he transcends the boxes erected by mere mortals. His thoughts are unique. His ways are uncommon. He is completely “other” than fallen humanity, on every level. One of the centerpieces of this creature’s message is that he is not native to planet earth. Instead, he has been sent from another realm.
And more: He announces that he is a ruler in that other realm. He is a king from another universe. But more startling, he proclaims that he has come to establish his rulership on planet earth. Specifically, he has been sent to establish a colony of his own kind that will represent his rule. And that colony will eventually take over the planet.
On the heels of this alarming message, he issues a call to action. He invites all earthlings to abandon their way of life, and instead, embrace his way. He beckons them to yield their lives to his rulership and to shape their conduct by the principles that regulate his world. In short, he demands that all humans pay complete allegiance to his kingship.
What happens next is as strange as it is shocking. He announces that he will suddenly leave the planet and return in a different form. And when he returns, he will impart his own nature into those who wish to have it. The result? He shall reintroduce his own species on planet earth. Those who submit to him will become part of his species, citizens of his world, and they, along with him, will eventually rule the universe.
Many are threatened by his message. It’s a scandal, a bold affront to the powers that be. So they put him to death, for only three days. But as he promised, he returns in another form and sets up a colony of his own kind on earth.
Does this story sound at all familiar to you? It should. Because it’s the story of Jesus Christ and God’s ageless purpose in Him.
I Am Not of This World
When the Lord made His entrance on this planet, He did so as a new and unique species, even an endangered species. Biologically, He was human. Yet He was unfallen. Spiritually, He was divine. Jesus was a hybrid of perfect God and perfect man.
Though Jesus was born into a Jewish home, His origins were not of this earth. They were from unseen realms called “the heavenlies” or “heavenly places.” Consider the following statements that demonstrate that our Lord’s origins were not from this world:
But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.” (John 8:42)
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)
Jesus Christ was a King from another universe. His principal message was that the kingdom of His Father, the Ruler of the universe, had come to earth in His own person. This was a shorthand way of saying that the reign of God, who lives in the heavenlies, had arrived on planet earth in the coming of Jesus, God’s only Son.
Those who pay their allegiance to Jesus will become citizens of that new realm. In fact, they will be born from that realm. And they will be given the very life that the King lives by, thus making them part of His own species. As C. S. Lewis once put it, “Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed, you might say in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in His great campaign of sabotage.”
Another Life
Because His origins were not of this earth, Jesus Christ had a very different way of living. He lived by two different kinds of food. One human, the other heavenly. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (John 4:32). He heard two different kinds of voices. Some earthly, another heavenly. “I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it” (John 12:49). He existed in two different realms at the same time. One earthly, the other heavenly. “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in
heaven.” (John 3:13 nkjv).
In contrast to natural men and women, Jesus had a dramatically different way of looking at the world. His way of life, His view of the world, and His values were in sharp contrast with all earthly powers—political, social, and especially religious. For this reason, the powers that be sought in harmony to exterminate Him. And they did.
The powers of this world put this King from another world to death. But in so doing, they unwittingly created the womb for Him to multiply and fill the earth. This brings us to an important aspect of God’s ageless purpose. The New Testament uses two phrases to portray it: the body of Christ and the family of God.
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This is an excerpt from Frank Viola’s new book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God (David C. Cook, March 2009). This highly acclaimed book is endorsed by Ed Stetzer, Greg Boyd, Alan Hirsch, Shane Claiborne, Leonard Sweet, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, Andrew Jones, Myles Monroe, James Goll, Dan Francisco, DeVern Fromke, Ralph Neighbour, Mike Morrell, and others. From Eternity to Here is regarded as a masterpiece in narrative theology. A beautifully crafted saga of God’s greatest passion. The sweeping story of God’s eternal purpose and grand mission that is centered in Christ. A groundbreaking work in biblical narrative and missional ideology.
For more information, go to www.frometernitytohere.org. For best prices, order from www.Parable.com.
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This is where Frank loses me. Jesus is a Jew; he is not so wholly other that His humanity is meaningless. To say that He is an alien invader who is neither Jew or Gentile trivializes the incarnation. He isn't "from another universe" - He is just as much from this universe as anywhere else. I got the sense from Frank's talks that I have heard that his theology is still very modernist and that he has a very one-dimensional Christology and this only confirms it. But to say He is neither Jew nor Gentile sounds like he is so over-spritualizing Jesus that he crosses into gnosticism. Jesus is a Jew. It doesn't mean that Jews are ontologically "better" than Gentiles, but it does mean that Jesus was of a particular race in a particular time when a particular eye-color and spoke a particular language. The Incarnation means He shares the same limitations we do as humans, he inhabits the particulars, not the great universal abstracts.
Derek,
I believe that you missed the main point that Frank is trying to make here. I don't see that he is making his humanity meaningless or trivializing the incarnation. His point is that before he was Jesus of Nazareth, he was the eternal Word, the Son of the living God. He came from another realm. A higher realm called heaven, the heavenlies, the eternals. This is very clear in the writings of John and Paul.
Knowing Christ after the flesh is not where we are supposed to stay (II Cor. 5:15-17). Paul said that he once knew Christ that way, but not now. You will also notice that Paul very rarely speaks of the Lord's earthly life in his writings. Instead, he brought the revelation of an ascended, glorified, eternal Christ who now indwells the believers so that he can have a corporate expression. I don't know about you, but I want to know this Christ as much more than a Jew. He is the All in all.
In fact, he is the one new man where there is neither Jew nor Greek, nor barbarian, Sythian, slave or free, but Christ is All and in all. (Col. 3:9-11)
Woa good to see frank isn't selling himself short here 'This is an excerpt from Frank Viola’s new book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God (David C. Cook, March 2009). This highly acclaimed book is endorsed by Ed Stetzer, Greg Boyd, Alan Hirsch, Shane Claiborne, Leonard Sweet, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, Andrew Jones, Myles Monroe, James Goll, Dan Francisco, DeVern Fromke, Ralph Neighbour, Mike Morrell, and others. From Eternity to Here is regarded as a masterpiece in narrative theology. A beautifully crafted saga of God’s greatest passion. The sweeping story of God’s eternal purpose and grand mission that is centered in Christ. A groundbreaking work in biblical narrative and missional ideology. '
Franks article and book is not based in biblical reality. Jesus that cause people to be born again commanded those who were to believe in Him to Unity and Loving one another as proof they were His disciples. The kind of theory that Frank Viola proposes only appeals to the unregenerate and naive believer and makes the writer in danger of judgement because he very well could make the weak in faith stumble.
Great article. I'm gonna check out the book.
hooray, Derek. I would comment, but Derek already has. (reading Hauerwas, maybe?)
I read the book and Milt is right, it shows that Jesus was the head of a new humanity, not the old humanity. He was Man and God incarnated in human flesh, but He was sent from heavenly places. This way of reframing the story made it come alive for me and really resonated. it shows our true identity as Christians, we are part of that same new humanity. I loved the whole third part of the book the best, which this article was just an intro. Can't draw a right conclusion just from one small excerpt as Milt shows. The book is really great.
I understand that this is an excerpt from a book. But, in the narrative that Viola gives of the life of Christ, where is the cross? Viola on gives a passing reference to His death. The central purpose of His incarnation - the very act that makes a new humanity possible is virtually ignored.
I think the sentimate and purpose of this writing is pretty good. The work, however, isn't altogether creative. It is rather boring and cliche. I agree that the presentation seems to minimize or, perhaps, misrepresent the incarnation. It is true that there are no distinctions in Christ. Col. 3 is right on. But Jesus Christ did exist as a man, who was Jewish, a fact which is not in tension with the Colossians passage. Let's not compromise fact for a botched attempt at creative engagement.
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This is where Frank loses me. Jesus is a Jew; he is not so wholly other that His humanity is meaningless. To say that He is an alien invader who is neither Jew or Gentile trivializes the incarnation. He isn't "from another universe" - He is just as much from this universe as anywhere else. I got the sense from Frank's talks that I have heard that his theology is still very modernist and that he has a very one-dimensional Christology and this only confirms it. But to say He is neither Jew nor Gentile sounds like he is so over-spritualizing Jesus that he crosses into gnosticism. Jesus is a Jew. It doesn't mean that Jews are ontologically "better" than Gentiles, but it does mean that Jesus was of a particular race in a particular time when a particular eye-color and spoke a particular language. The Incarnation means He shares the same limitations we do as humans, he inhabits the particulars, not the great universal abstracts. Posted by Derek | Posted at 03/09/2009 9:56 AM
Derek,
I believe that you missed the main point that Frank is trying to make here. I don't see that he is making his humanity meaningless or trivializing the incarnation. His point is that before he was Jesus of Nazareth, he was the eternal Word, the Son of the living God. He came from another realm. A higher realm called heaven, the heavenlies, the eternals. This is very clear in the writings of John and Paul.
Knowing Christ after the flesh is not where we are supposed to stay (II Cor. 5:15-17). Paul said that he once knew Christ that way, but not now. You will also notice that Paul very rarely speaks of the Lord's earthly life in his writings. Instead, he brought the revelation of an ascended, glorified, eternal Christ who now indwells the believers so that he can have a corporate expression. I don't know about you, but I want to know this Christ as much more than a Jew. He is the All in all.
In fact, he is the one new man where there is neither Jew nor Greek, nor barbarian, Sythian, slave or free, but Christ is All and in all. (Col. 3:9-11)
Posted by Milt | Posted at 03/09/2009 10:47 AMWoa good to see frank isn't selling himself short here 'This is an excerpt from Frank Viola’s new book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God (David C. Cook, March 2009). This highly acclaimed book is endorsed by Ed Stetzer, Greg Boyd, Alan Hirsch, Shane Claiborne, Leonard Sweet, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, Andrew Jones, Myles Monroe, James Goll, Dan Francisco, DeVern Fromke, Ralph Neighbour, Mike Morrell, and others. From Eternity to Here is regarded as a masterpiece in narrative theology. A beautifully crafted saga of God’s greatest passion. The sweeping story of God’s eternal purpose and grand mission that is centered in Christ. A groundbreaking work in biblical narrative and missional ideology. ' Posted by matybigfro | Posted at 03/14/2009 5:16 AM
Franks article and book is not based in biblical reality. Jesus that cause people to be born again commanded those who were to believe in Him to Unity and Loving one another as proof they were His disciples. The kind of theory that Frank Viola proposes only appeals to the unregenerate and naive believer and makes the writer in danger of judgement because he very well could make the weak in faith stumble. Posted by Jdeter | Posted at 03/14/2009 8:01 AM
Great article. I'm gonna check out the book. Posted by Tom | Posted at 03/15/2009 4:50 AM
hooray, Derek. I would comment, but Derek already has. (reading Hauerwas, maybe?) Posted by The Charismanglican | Posted at 03/15/2009 2:28 PM
I read the book and Milt is right, it shows that Jesus was the head of a new humanity, not the old humanity. He was Man and God incarnated in human flesh, but He was sent from heavenly places. This way of reframing the story made it come alive for me and really resonated. it shows our true identity as Christians, we are part of that same new humanity. I loved the whole third part of the book the best, which this article was just an intro. Can't draw a right conclusion just from one small excerpt as Milt shows. The book is really great. Posted by RD | Posted at 03/15/2009 2:42 PM
I understand that this is an excerpt from a book. But, in the narrative that Viola gives of the life of Christ, where is the cross? Viola on gives a passing reference to His death. The central purpose of His incarnation - the very act that makes a new humanity possible is virtually ignored. Posted by Paul | Posted at 03/20/2009 6:14 PM
I think the sentimate and purpose of this writing is pretty good. The work, however, isn't altogether creative. It is rather boring and cliche. I agree that the presentation seems to minimize or, perhaps, misrepresent the incarnation. It is true that there are no distinctions in Christ. Col. 3 is right on. But Jesus Christ did exist as a man, who was Jewish, a fact which is not in tension with the Colossians passage. Let's not compromise fact for a botched attempt at creative engagement. Posted by Rick | Posted at 03/30/2009 3:03 PM