De betekenis van autoriteit en kracht bij de doop van Jezus

In de charismatische vernieuwing wordt vaak gezegd dat christenen het Koninkrijk van God zouden moeten verkondigen in de ‘autoriteit’ en ‘kracht’ van Jezus Christus, waarmee dan wordt bedoeld dat hun bediening gepaard gaat met tekenen en (genezings)wonderen. Kunnen we dit theologisch volhouden? Is het niet zo dat Jezus wonderen kon verrichten omdat Hij God was?
In dit artikel kijken we naar de doop van Jezus in de Jordaan: wat vertelt deze gebeurtenis ons over de betekenis van ‘autoriteit’ en ‘kracht’ in Jezus’ eigen bediening? We doen dit aan de hand van drie niet-charismatische systematisch theologen uit de protestantse traditie: Abraham Kuyper, Jürgen Moltmann en Wolfhart Pannenberg. De implicaties voor onze geloofspraktijk blijken spannend.

[Dit artikel verscheen eerder in GEESTkracht, bulletin voor charismatische theologie (CWN), nummer 80, najaar 2017]

Woord en Geest en Koninkrijk - een bijdrage aan de discussie rond blogs van Jos Douma

Andrei Rublev's icoon van de drie-eenheid (1425)

Naar aanleiding van twee blogs van Jos Douma ontspon zich op Facebook een mooie discussie over het werk van de Geest, en hoe/of dit te onderscheiden is van het werk van Christus (met bijdragen van o.m. Arnold Huijgen, Kees Haak, Hans Burger, en mij).

De discussie cirkelt rond het begrippenpaar “Woord en Geest” – een ijkbegrip in gereformeerde spiritualiteit en dogmatiek. Jos bepleit een “relatief zelfstandige pneumatologie”, want “wie Geest zegt, moet nog veel meer zeggen dan alleen Woord.”
Er vallen mij in deze discussie twee dingen op, die verraden waar het vaak misgaat in gereformeerde theologie (terwijl gereformeerde theologie bij uitstek veel rijker en evenwichtiger is):

• Een neiging om Woord te vereenzelvigen met Bijbel.
• Een neiging om Woord en Geest niet als gelijke grootheden te zien, maar de een ondergeschikt te maken aan de ander.

Ondertussen mag de christelijke gemeente een voorproefje zijn van Gods toekomst.

“Being in Christ” and the renewal of Reformed theology Or: How Pentecostal theologian Frank D. Macchia could help advance the endeavour of Hans Burger

In his dissertation Being in Christ (2009) Reformed theologian Hans Burger does a commendable effort to renew Reformed theology through retrieving the concept of participation in Christ, in order to warrant the relational and transformative dynamics of the gospel.

It is doubtful, however, whether his systematic-theological proposal offers the dogmatic innovations that seem to be needed to fully achieve his goals. Further steps could be taken. 

In his compelling study Baptized in the Spirit (2006), Pentecostal theologian Frank D. Macchia suggests five dogmatic moves that might be helpful to further advance Burger’s endeavour.

The Baptism of Jesus: Authority and Power (3): Power

If Jesus already was the Son of God, why did he need to receive the Spirit? Even Jesus could do the works of the Kingdom only through the Spirit. And though he had already received all the spiritual gifts and powers, they only became actual and active when the Spirit descended on him at the Jordan, Kuyper argues. Bring fully human like us, he was thus enabled by the Spirit to do the "mighty works" of the Kingdom.
But if Jesus did these "mighty works" being fully human, enabled by the Spirit, what would that imply for our proclamation of the Kingdom, as we "share in the anointing of Christ"? Could we, indeed, share in his ministry of "mighty works" too? The systematics of Kuyper, Moltmann and Pannenberg would allow for that interpretation.

The Baptism of Jesus: Authority and Power (2): Authority

For a Biblical understanding of Jesus' baptism in terms of authority and power, we need to maintain a trinitarian perspective, Abraham Kuyper, Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg argue. In a rather progressive move, Abraham Kuyper emphasized the distinct role of the Spirit. Even though Jesus had authority already before his baptism, he needed the baptism with the Spirit to do the works of the Kingdom. His "mighty works" did not flow from his divinity, Jesus was fully human like us.

Last week we set the scene: We'll have to understand Jesus' baptism from the perspective of the coming of the Kingdom of God, for this is how Jesus himself understood the beginning of his public ministry. This week, we'll explore the notion of "authority" that comes with it.

Salvation & the Trinity (3): Problems with the proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg

The proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg to reconceive the Trinity in "social" or "relational" terms have been influential, and they seem promising for our quest for a systematic-theological framework for the charismatic renewal of New Wine. But their proposals have met with profound criticism too - at which points are their proposals problematic for a New Wine theology? A concise overview in five clusters.

[Part 14 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salvation & the Trinity (2): Welcomed into the Divine Embrace - Reconceiving Salvation

The doctrine of the Trinity should be reconceived in terms of the divine perichoresis, Moltmann and Pannenberg argued (see previous post on salvation & the Trinity): The triune God, who created the universe and human being in his image (imago Trinitatis), is characterized by mutual self-giving love - each Person of the Trinity loves, adores and glorifies the others, giving himself to the others, constituting the identity of the others.
This must also lead then to reconceiving our understanding of salvation, they argue. Salvation is to be understood as being welcomed into the trinitarian perichoresis, the “divine embrace of love.” Let's unfold this statement.

[Part 13 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salvation & the Trinity (1): The Divine Dance of Love - Reconceiving the Trinity

Reformed theology has argued that all theology begins with the doctrine of God and God's self-revelation. How then is the proposed concept of salvation as wholeness (coming with the Kingdom of God) related to the doctrine of God? Both Moltmann and Pannenberg assert that salvation as wholeness flows from the trinitarian inner being of God, introducing the metaphor of the divine "perichoresis" in modern theology.
In four blogs on salvation & the Trinity, I'll explore how a "perichoretic" trinitarian theology allows for a fuller understanding of the distinct role of the Holy Spirit, shedding new light on charismatic experiences.

[Part 12 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salvation & Eschatology (2): Salvation is the Coming of the Kingdom of God (Moltmann)

The salvation of God should be understood in terms of the Kingdom of God. Salvation is not about souls being salvaged from a lost world (as traditional Evangelical and Reformed piety would sometimes have it), but about God's inbreaking reign in this world.
In philosophical terms: the very substance of salvation is God's reign bringing wholeness of life.

In this blog I'll explore Moltmann's proposal to understand salvation in terms of the (messianic) Kingdom. Next week, I'll explore Pannenberg.

[Part 9 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salvation & Eschatology (1): Salvation is for this earth and coming in history

God's goal for us is not that we go to heaven. Our purpose and eternal destiny is on earth. God's salvation, then, is not about souls going to heaven, as in some timeless, spiritual concept of "being saved". Instead, salvation is all about this earth, and it is unfolding in God's history with the world.

In a few blogs, I'll be exploring salvation in eschatological perspective (eschatology = study of the "last things" or "the end of time"), drawing from Jurgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg.

[Part 8 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]