Characteristics of the New Humanity; New Humanity Part 12

1Co 13:2-3  "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  (3)  If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

A question that has been asked through out the centuries by Christians of all ages is "how then shall we live?" It is a very important question. The answer to this question was shown to us by the incarnate life of Jesus. Joh 13:35  "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So first and foremost, the characteristic of the New Humanity is love. It is important to point out that it is agape/love, the same love that the Apostle John wrote of when explaining who God is. It is unconditional love that puts the good of the other first. It is patient and kind. It does not envy, is not arrogant or prideful. It is hopeful and faith filled. It loves truth and it is unending.

How is it birthed in the New Humanity? What is the source of this love? The simple answer it is God's grace. All of the previous posts in the New Humanity Series have focused on God's grace, the finished work of the cross of Jesus, and the absolute fact that it was accomplished in God's plan before creation. As I have stated over and over in many different ways on this blog, transformation results from believing the gospel of God's grace. Being justified by the faith of Jesus, being reconciled to God by the faith/faithfulness of Jesus produces real profound peace with God which in turn results in real profound love for God. This peace and love is the source of agape/love in the believer.

Jesus modeled a perfect example of this love in his earthly sojourn. He became the champion of the disenfranchised. Wherever he found a need he met it. He healed the sick and maimed. He fed the hungry masses. Further, and probably most important he taught what loving "agape-style" looked like. It was to love our enemy. It was to do good to them that misuse us. It was to go the extra mile when asked to only go one, in other words, do more than was requested. These were not platitudes. It was how he lived his life. Paul describes Jesus as a human this way. Php 2:5-8 " Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,  (6)  who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,  (7)  but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  (8)  he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." In other words, he became a servant though he was the King.

The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom where his followers strive to follow his leadership. Not in a compulsive way; not as the commandments of the Old Covenant, but by a transformed mind that is ever growing toward being the very mind of Christ. As the mind of Christ develops in the believer, as she or he moves closer to having the compassion for humanity, especially the poor, the poor in spirit as well as the poor in possessions and wages, the more compelled he or she would be to love in an unselfish, serving way.

This is the importance of the synoptic gospels. The sermon on the mount, the sermon on the plain, Matthew 25:31-46 becomes important in understanding what it means to become a follower of Jesus and to begin to have the mind of Christ. Jesus said let your light shine before humanity so that others may see your good deeds and thereby glorify your Father in heaven. I love the way that Isaiah put it. Isa 58:6-12  "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  (7)  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  (8)  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  (9)  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,  (10)  if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.  (11)  The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.  (12)  Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in." Look at the promises that accompany this prophecy. There are two things that Isaiah points out. One is to have compassion and provide aid to the less fortunate, and the other is to refrain from religious judgment.

So when Jesus said the words recorded in Matthew 25:31-46, he was pointing out what Isaiah had  written 750 years earlier. Yes, one of the characteristics of the New Humanity is to rebuild the ruins of all the years of greed and oppression. The New Humanity, Jesus followers, will be busy doing these things, and quite frankly, if they did they would not have the time to focus on sin and sin management. They would be so busy doing the good works that God had determined before the foundation of the world for them to do that they would be too exhausted to sin. I say that in jest but in reality there is a lot of truth in it. This is where our resources should be donated. When I say resources I mean both our time and our financial contributions. It would not be to have stained glass windows and salaries for people who are doing our work so we don't have to. I would argue that very little of this work is being done by Curchianity anyway, but too often, the little that is being done is done by those who we have hired to do it.

I realize that there are many doing this, but when you look at world statistics, see how many people name the name of Jesus and attend some kind of church; there is precious little of this being done for there to be so many Christ followers in the world. I believe that the proper understanding of grace and the method that the Holy Spirit uses to transform needs to be widely understood for this work would become a natural outflow of redemption. It needs to be understood that these works are not the reason that God loves us so passionately. He loves us because he loves us and nothing will change that so it is not to gain favor that we will model these characteristics. Rather, it would be what we would/will do as we grow having the mind of Christ.

Until this becomes our characteristics as Christ followers, it is almost like having wasted grace. Oh it is definitely great that we realize we can set aside our shame and fear, and that we can rest in the eternal love of Father and Jesus, but demonstrating this love to the rest of humanity is another important reason for redemption. And, it will definitely bring more praise to God's glorious grace!