Fall - Alienation and Corruption

In our last “Musings4Mission,” we looked at the roles and responsibilities of humanity established by God at creation. These included the responsibility of worship toward God (spiritual), relationship toward other people (social), and stewardship of the natural order (physical). This ‘paradise’ created by God’s plan did not last too long, however. After humanity's surrender to the temptation of the devil in the guise of a serpent (Genesis 3), everything went drastically wrong. The two main results of this fall into sin can be expressed as ‘alienation’ and ‘corruption.’ Alienation is a description of what happened in the three major roles of humanity, and corruption is a reflection of what happened in the main actors themselves.



We see the ‘alienation’ effects in the account of the Fall itself. Humanity is alienated from God, as Adam and Eve hide from the Lord as He walks in the garden (Genesis 3:8). Adam and Eve are alienated from each other, as their shame causes them to cover themselves with fig leaves and hurl accusations (Genesis 3:12, 16). Finally, as a result of the curse, humanity is alienated from the natural order (Genesis 3:17-19). These various categories of alienation, left unchecked, lead to more comprehensive problems. Alienation from God leads humanity to seek substitutes for Him, resulting in idolatry. Alienation from other people leads to multiple dysfunctions in human society, a condition which we can (as we shall see in later “Musings4Mission”) call underdevelopment. Finally, alienation from the natural world and a rejection of humanity’s role as stewards of it leads to environmental degradation (see diagram below).



Key actors in this horrific drama are also corrupted by the fall into sin. God Himself, of course, is holy and remains untouched by sin. However, humanity’s choice of disobedience leaves opportunity for the infiltration of a usurper – Satan with his demonic forces (Ephesians 2:2). The facilities of man, created in God’s image, are corrupted (Ephesians 4:17-19). We call this ‘the flesh,’ humanity’s natural powers being used in a way of life which exalts self and opposes God (Ephesians 2:3). The collection of fleshly humans into society is also corrupted, resulting in the evil world system (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 2:15-17). Finally, the natural order is corrupted, resulting in universal decay (Romans 8:20-23).



The results of human sin on the paradise created according to God’s holistic plan were nothing short of devastating. All of the problems we face in the world today can probably be categorized in the fields of idolatry, underdevelopment, and environmental degradation. All of them can be traced back to a single root cause – humanity’s sinful rebellion against the holistic plan of the Creator.

Creation - Roles and Responsibilities

In order to grasp the vast array of Biblical teaching which relates to holistic development, we need a clear framework to organize our thinking. Various teachers have suggested a four-stage process in the implementation of God’s plan to bring glory to Himself through His people. This process consists of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. In the upcoming “Missional Musings,” we are going to look at these four phases of God’s holistic plan for the world.

CREATION

The starting point of a Biblical worldview comes in the understanding that God is the Creator. This fundamental premise is clear from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1), and on throughout all of Biblical revelation. It is clear that God has created all things in existence in the natural world (Genesis 1:1-25), and He is the creator of humanity as well (Genesis 1:26-31). As Creator, He is the Master of all that exists (Psalm 24:1-2, 89:11-12). Another way to say this is that God is the sovereign Lord, or that He reigns as King. As such, all created things are accountable to Him, and are made for His glory (Psalm 19:1; Psalm 95:6; Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11).

The pinnacle of God’s creation is humanity, which God has made – male and female – in His own image. God designed humanity for a relationship with Himself. Humanity was designed to love and serve the only true God, his Creator. We can call this role or responsibility of man ‘worship.’ It is clear, however, that humanity was not designed to be an isolated worshipper. Worship is not the sole responsibility or role of man. God also designed man to be in ‘relationship’ with other human beings (Genesis 2:18-25). This responsibility of relationship is the foundation of human society. Finally, God also entrusted man with a role of responsibility over the natural order. The natural order still belonged to God, but man was expected to rule over it on God’s behalf as a vice-regent (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8:6-8). Thus, we call this responsibility ‘stewardship.’

Each of these roles/responsibilities is also an area of need. Humanity needs a right relationship with God, a right relationship with other human beings, and a right relationship between his body and the natural order. This is clear in Genesis 2:16-18. God gave man a command – man must obey in order to be in right relationship with God. God created a helper for the man – to ensure that he was not alone. God provided food for the man – ensuring that he was in a right relationship with the natural order.

Thus, in creation we get a clear picture of man’s true identity and calling. He is made in God’s image, and is called to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of worship, relationship, and stewardship. It is little wonder that, when man truly fulfilled these roles under the sovereign Lordship of God, we call that condition ‘paradise.’

(These ideas are based on materials produced by John Steward for World Vision.)

Why "Holistic" Mission?

In this blog, we are trying to understand the various aspects of this key concept we are calling ‘holistic mission.’  The word ‘mission’ is probably something we have a pretty good understanding of.  But why are we calling it ‘holistic’ mission?

 

Let me explain part of this by sharing an experiment I like to do with my students in Cambodia.  Sometimes a student will talk about how their job or school is just related to the ‘flesh.’  The implication seems to be that it is somehow less important than things related to the ‘spirit.’  So I do a little exercise with my students.  I draw a chart on the whiteboard – on one side I write ‘spirit’ and on the other side I write ‘flesh.’  I ask them to describe things related to the spirit, and they come up with things like going to church, evangelizing, worship, reading the Bible, etc.  Then I ask them to describe things related to the flesh, and they talk about going shopping, going to work, studying at school, etc.  Life is pretty neatly divided into those two categories.

 

Then I ask them, “So, God is really concerned about the stuff on the ‘spirit’ side, but the stuff on the flesh side isn’t all that important, right?”  At first, students seem to think that this is exactly right – that God is concerned about going to church, studying the Bible, and sharing the gospel, but that we are somehow one step down from God when we go to work at a ‘secular’ job, when we go to the market, etc.  I then erase the line down the middle of the chart and say, “NO!”  This distinction between the “sacred” (the spiritual side of the chart) and the “secular” (the so-called fleshly side of things) is NOT in the Bible.  The Bible teaches us that God is Lord of everything.  Everything matters to God.

 

Jesus’ right as sovereign Lord extends over Bible studies, and over shoe sellers at the market, and over students taking final exams at school, and over ecosystems, and over producers of karaoke VCD’s, and over mission trips, and over the decisions of the National Assembly, and over everything else that happens in this world!  We cannot divide our lives into nice little categories of the spiritual and the non-spiritual, as if God only cared about what we do on Sunday mornings and the rest of our time was up to us!  We need to demonstrate the Jesus is Lord over the whole of life!

 

The word ‘holistic’ can also be written ‘wholistic’ – and it comes from this word ‘whole.’  Holistic mission is mission that embraces the whole of life – not just the so-called spiritual, but also the very tangible social and physical issues which human society faces in our fallen world.

 

Let’s keep breaking down the imaginary wall between the spiritual and ‘non-spiritual’ and repeatedly proclaim that Jesus is Lord over the whole of life.

 

Introduction

The internet is an incredible medium for communication and collaboration. This blog, called Musings4Mission, together with the new website, Mission4Shalom (http://www.mission4shalom.net), constitutes the creation of a new "web presence" by Mark Fender. The purpose of these two sites is to foster an ongoing dialogue and dissemination of ideas related to the idea of "holistic mission" and the role of the church in pursuing that mission.

Upcoming posts on this blog will explore various aspects of holistic mission and the church's role.

I welcome comments and interaction! Please comment and respond! Together, we can pursue holistic peace for all of God's world!