The Unity of the Transcendentals

What a mindful! The unity of the transcendentals! It sounds like a notion developed by someone with too much time on their hands.  I hadn’t ever recalled hearing of such a concept.  The unity of the transcendentals. This is what  Dr. Albert Mohler entitled his lecture in the series Truth and Consequences, produced by Ligonier Ministries and shown in the Elk Point Baptist Adult Sunday School class on Sunday, May 1st.

So what is it, or are they?  The transcendentals are those universal virtues of the good, the beautiful, the true and the real.  They have been understood in the history of Western thought to be indispensable categories for understanding the world.  Mohler points out that the unity of the transcendentals is a foundational theological belief for the Christian because it points to the One who is good, beautiful, true, and real. The concept of unity suggests that they are indivisible.  You can’t have something good, if it’s not true or real.  Scripturally they are seen clearly in Paul’s letter to Philippi:

Philippians 4:8 (ESV): “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Our culture craves beauty but has no clue what beauty is because it denies basic truth about God and the world as He created it.  Instead we fabricate fake beauty; we manufacture our own truth; we consider it our right to create our own reality; and so on.  All this due to a denial of God and His Word.  Dr Mohler gave an example.  He said that from the Christian worldview, a Down-syndrome child is more beautiful than a exorbitantly made-up fashion model. The former carries the Imago Deo, the latter is a fake.  Yet the former is aborted (killed) in thousands by our culture.  

Another important thing that Dr. Mohler said was that truth is never bad news.  In relation to the gospel, telling someone about the truth of their sin is necessary to point someone to Christ. The fact that Christ is presented as the solution to the problem of sin makes the bad news of sin, while a harsh reality, good news in actuality. He illustrated that point by showing that a physician’s news that one has a malignant tumour is “hard” news but if there is a remedy it is not bad news.  It is never unloving to give hard news (the Truth) if you have a solution.  So-called “bad” news becomes good because it is true.  And if it is true then it is beautiful and real.

The transcendental realities of the good, the beautiful, the true, and the real are not just philosophical mambo jumbo, they are deeply theological, because they speak of the character of God.  This Christian worldview is the only worldview that can hold together in a logical, cohesive, comprehensive package because it is based on the reality of a God who is the good, the beautiful, the true, and the real. Other worldviews cannot claim the same ability, therefore they are fractured, inconsistent, confusing and lack all logical integrity.

Love Is Not The Goal!

Galatians 5:22–25 (NIV),

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

"The Apostle saith not, the works of the Spirit, as he said the works of the flesh, but he adorneth these Christian virtues with a more honourable name, calling them the fruits of the Spirit. For they bring with them most excellent fruits and commodities: for they that have them give glory to God, and with the same do allure and provoke others to embrace the doctrine and faith of Christ."[1]

"The list is not exhaustive, but representative (e.g., no mention of generosity). It presents the desires and characteristics God cultivates in believers through His Spirit. This list describes a community of believers “under the Spirit”—empowered and directed by God’s living presence rather than the dictates of the law. Just as fruit needs time to grow, these qualities require time to grow in the life of the community." [2]

"Against such things there is no law." "Although the flesh resist, yet do they walk after the Spirit. So a Christian accomplisheth the law inwardly by faith (for Christ is the perfection of the law unto righteousness, to all that do believe), outwardly by works and by remission of sins. But those which perform the works and desires of the flesh, the law doth accuse and condemn both civilly and spiritually." [1]  Or in other words: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  This is a settled matter for the believer.  For the Christian, our identity with Christ has "indicatively" crucified the flesh (See 2:20; 6:14; Rom. 6:6.). Sin's grip has been broken.  And because this is true "indicatively" we have the power to obey this "imperatively". "The Christian is to daily give outward expression of his inward experience and in order to do this, he must constantly reckon himself “to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 6:11)." [3]

How do we crucify and deal with the "cancelled sin" in our lives?  Answer: We live by the Spirit. We keep in step with the Spirit.  We follow the Spirit.  "For where the Spirit is, it reneweth men and worketh in them new motions: that is to say, whereas they were before vainglorious, wrathful and envious, &c., it maketh them now humble, gentle, and patient, &c. Such men seek not their own glory, but the glory of God: they do not provoke one another, or envy one another, but give place one to another, and in giving honour prevent one another." [4]

There can be the tendency as we examine these attributes of the Spirit that we so desire them for our lives that we fall prey again to making laws to arouse them and keep them in our behavior.  Not so. In fact the best way to be loving is to not try to be loving, but in fact to be filled with the Spirit, to be living and walking in the Spirit.  To follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.  “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13, NIV).

Father, I find it so easy to be a judaizer.  As soon as I hear that I need to be loving or patient or whatever I immediately start to think of rituals and disciplines that I can engage in to make me so. I'm a great law-keeper.  Unfortunately that always fails in my life. It is the Holy Spirit who must produce these wonders of grace, not me.   Help me today to get over this knee-jerk reaction.  Train in me the desire to look to the Spirit for help.  Sins power has already been broken.  Now with the grace of the Spirit we can produce His fruits and in a way that He gets the glory, not me.   Help me, Father, to do so.  For Your sake and Your glory.  Amen.

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1. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:22). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

2. Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 5:22–23). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

3. KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2399). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:25). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

To Obey Is To Believe. To Believe Is To Obey

"This is the true meaning of becoming a Christian, even to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law." [1]

“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:15–16, NIV)

This affirmation of the Gospel does not reject good works, but it places them in the proper order and sequence.  Luther tells a parable:

"This bridegroom must be alone with the bride in his secret chamber, all the servants and family being put apart. But afterwards,. when he openeth the door and cometh forth, then let the servants and handmaidens return, to fulfil their ministry. There let charity do her office, and let good works be done." [1]

Now Paul writes,"So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus" that we might be saved.  The ESV translates this “. . . so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ . . . ”  The Greek text is καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιστεύσαμεν; or also we on Christ Jesus believed.   This is the essence of Christianity.  “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”” (John 3:14–15, NIV)

The question raised by this text is, "What does it mean to believe?" John writes in the 3rd chapter of his Gospel:   ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

True to Hebrew literature, John’s Gospel is structured a lot in parallelisms. This helps us understand his meaning; and more importantly, the meaning of the Holy Spirit.  Note the parallel ideas:

(+) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;

(-) Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life . . ..

John equates belief with obedience.  Some translations use the word reject instead of obey, but that is an inaccurate interpretation of the Greek.  The word is ἀπειθέω and is clearly used in terms of refusing to comply or obey. Notice how Jesus makes this plain in this encounter:

“While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”” (Matthew 12:46–50, NIV).

To become a Christian and live as a Christian is defined by Jesus who said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, NIV).

 Father I love You.  Today I desire You more than I normally do.  I thank You for that passion.  I wish I always had such a preeminent affection for You.  I know part of the reason is that "the things of this earth are growing strangely dim." There is a sadness and a struggle in this life that propels me more and more to see my Savior, face-to-face.  You have saved me by Your grace.  You have given to me as a gift a precious faith purchased by Your Son on Calvary.  You have set before me a purpose and ministry in this life.  I thank you for all that because it provides on the horizon an inheritance that will never fade or grow old.  To be with Christ is far better.  But to serve and obey You is also awesome.  Help me today to magnify Jesus in my life.   May my walk of obedience confirm Your calling and choice of me.  For the glory of Christ and the joy of all who love You.  Amen.

Faith is trusting God's goodness sufficiently that it is evidenced by obedience.

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1. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.