Deep Creek Anglican Church Blog

So we come to the end of our posts on God the Peacemaker: How the atonement brings shalom.

Chapter Ten: Conclusion

Graham Cole sums up in these words:

“Atonement brings shalom by defeating  the enemies of peace, overcoming the barriers both to reconciliation and to the restoration of creation.  This is God’s peacemaking mission.”

I like to think of this peace mission with vertical and horizontal components (just like the Moral Commission): vertical – peace with God; horizontal – peace with one another.

Is this project (that required the blood of the Cross) worth it?  Graham answers:

“Yes!  If it glorifies the triune God and results in a creature as close to being God as a creature can logically possibly become…”

Graham, may the Lord be pleased to greatly bless this book.  The more I have thought about the title of this book; the thesis of the book; the practical call to daily be a peacemaker, and the certain hope in a future state of peace that will never be shattered nor broken, the more I have been both challenged and encouraged.

Read this book slowly; chew on its contents; check out Scripture; and allow the Holy Spirit to continue His great work of transforming the followers of Jesus more and more into His likeness.  For the praise of His glory.

For reference, listed below are the posts on God the Peacemaker:

Introduction

1: The righteous God of holy love

2: The glory and garbage of the universe

3: The great need: peace with God, with one another and for the cosmos

4: Foundations and foreshadowings

5: The faithful Son

6A: The death and vindication of the faithful Son

6B: The death and vindication of the faithful Son (cont.)

7: The ‘peace dividend’

8A: Life between the cross and the coming

8B: Life between the cross and the coming (cont.)

9: The grand purpose: glory

Chapter Seven: The ‘peace  dividend’

What a great title for chapter seven in God the Peacemaker.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ brings shalom – at three levels: personal, corporate and cosmic.

And our author, Graham Cole, notes that this peace is objective – think in terms of ‘peace with’ or ‘peace between.’

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Personal

The personal benefits that flow from the atonement include union with Christ, forgiveness of sins, cleansing from sin, justification, redemption, adoption and reconciliation.  Here are some points that caught my eye in Graham’s excellent treatment:

• Union with Christ: foundational and secured by the Holy Spirit.  ”…the same Spirit who animated Christ’s humanity animates that of the believer’s own.  Thus the gap between the one and the many is bridged , and that that between past and present.”  The challenge for everyone is: ‘are we in Christ or in Adam?’
• Forgiveness: absolutely key in salvation.  The reality of sin means that unless sin is dealt with, the individual faces the prospect of divine judgment.  Especially emphasised in Luke/Acts.  Forgiveness shows itself in doing good to the other (eg. Gen 50:21).  This ‘blessing’ aspect of forgiveness is emphasised in the forgiveness seminar, part of the extremely practical Grant Mullen training DVDs, Transformation, featured in our monthly Free-in-Christ at Deep Creek.
• Justification: Cole does not agree with the NT Wright/New Perspective equation of justification=covenant membership.  Why?  Because of the themes of wrath and condemnation in Romans.  However, our author comments, “I am more comfortable in seeing covenant membership as a benefit of justification.” Cole also expresses concern with NT Wright’s position on final justification on the basis of an entire life.  According to Cole, this negatively impacts personal assurance of salvation.  So is Cole slamming Wright?  Not at all.   He expresses appreciation for “Wright’s many fine contributions to New Testament scholarship.”  And this is so wonderfully characteristic of Graham Cole’s irenic tone in interacting with others.  It is seen throughout God the Peacemaker; I witnessed it again over the weekend during Graham’s keynote address and a seminar on the ‘Trinity without tiers’ at the just concluded Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) International Conference 2010.
• Adoption: the ‘crowning blessing’ secured by Christ’s redemption.  Cole dismisses ‘second blessing theology’: there is no separation between adoption and the gift of the Spirit.
• Reconciliation: a cause for celebration!  Genesis 3 to Revelation 22 is the unfolding “story of estrangement and reconciliation.”

Corporate

God is building a new humanity – reconciled with Him; reconciled with one another (Eph 2:19-22).  Cole comments powerfully:

“Christians who maintain walls of hostility between themselves and others at the interpersonal level need to revisit the cross, the Pauline practice and the words  of Jesus himself ‘Blessed are the peacemakers (Matt 5:9).”

Cosmic

“The scope of the reconciliaiton and peacemaking effected by Christ is breathtaking” (see Col 1:15-20).  How are the ‘powers and authorities’ (Col 2:15) disarmed?  Through the forgiveness of sins on the basis of the cross (Col 2:13).  In one sentence, our author summarises much deep theology: “Christus Victor needs the explanatory power of substitutionary atonement.”  Absolutely!

Read chapter seven of God the Peacemaker slowly, with your Bible open and let the wonder of what Jesus has done, what He is doing, and will bring to completion, fill your heart with great joy, impacting the way we live now.

Chapter Four: Foundations and foreshadowings

Having established important context – the character of God and the multifaceted problem posed by sin – Graham Cole, in chapter four of God the Peacemaker, focuses in on God’s project: to bring shalom to His creation.  And in so doing, our author examines the foundations and foreshadowings of God’s loving provision in Christ.

This chapter is good solid biblical theology.  Prior to embarking on a journey through Scripture, Graham highlights the triune God’s loving motivation in providing atonement, summed up in John 3:16 – a statement expressing the universal character of God’s love, its sacrificial nature and its eternal purpose.

We are then taken on a journey from Gen 3:15 (the so-called protoevangelium) where God promises that the serpent will lose conclusively, crushed by the seed of the woman.

We get greater specificity as to who the male offspring will be in the call and promises made to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3) – a son of Abraham will be a blessing for the sons of Adam.  In Graham’s brief interaction with the Abrahamic framework, he quotes from The Drama of Scripture by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen.  This is a first-class book that we have used widely at Deep Creek, both in one-on-one discipleship and also in a six part seminar series.  Highly recommended.

Chapter Four is rounded out with an excellent overview of God’s dealings with Israel.  The sacrificial system is put in its correct perspective – ‘allowing’ a righteous, holy and loving God to dwell in the midst of an all too flawed nation.  Read this chpater to get an insightful coverage of the significance of the Passover and the Day of Atonement.

If, like me, you love the section of Isaiah from chpaters 40 – 53, then you’ll benefit from our author’s tight summary of the four servant songs and the connection between the Suffering Servant of Isq 52:13-53:12 and the messianic child of Isa 9:5 who will be a ‘Prince of Peace.’  The faithful in OT Israel looked forward to a time of shalom - and in our next post on Chapter Five, Graham focuses in on ‘The Faithful Son.’

Graham Cole, an Aussie, past Principal of Ridley Melbourne Mission & Ministry College and currently Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has recently written a must read book: God the Peacemaker: How atonement brings shalom.

We’re going to be conversation partners with Graham as we takes us on a biblical journey that demonstrates that the atonement should bring us peace – it is made through the blood of the Cross.  On the journey, Graham will interact with two principal ‘models’ of the atonement: penal substitution and Christus Victor.

What dominant image comes to mind when ‘atonement’ is mentioned?  Forgiveness of sins?  Peace?

Graham notes that the “theological code word” to describe the diverse response to evil is ‘atonement.’  It is the cross of Jesus Christ that brings peace – and this peace is not a mere absence of strife.  The biblical concept of peace, quoting S.E.Porter is:

“…one in which God’s authority and power over his created order are seen to dominate his relations with his world, including both the material and the human spheres.”

Biblical peace is simply shalom.  As Graham begins his study, the reader is reminded that the gospel is no narrow affiar.  The cross touches the individual, the church and the wider creation.

Stay tuned for Chapter One – our journey with God the Peacemaker starts with God – the righteous God of holy love.