He Has Hazarded Himself

Here is the prayer by Karl Barth with which we concluded our most recent session:

“We come before you to spread out everything that, according to our understanding, is difficult, unresolved, solved, and in our eyes needs help. We ask you in your grace to consider each of us and have mercy on each of us, who can do nothing without you, now and forevermore. Have mercy on your church on earth in its confusion fusion and scattering, in its weaknesses and errors! Have mercy on your people Israel in their blindness to the salvation that indeed came first to them and that indeed first went out from them! Have mercy on the heathen old and new, near and far, and on the godless and the idolaters, on whom your name has not yet, or not yet properly, shined! Have mercy on the governments and the nations of the earth, on their perplexed search for peace and justice; on all the confusion in our human efforts in science, training, and education; and on all the difficulties in so many marriages and families! Have mercy on the innumerable hungry and thirsty, the many persecuted and homeless, the sick, both in body and in spirit, both here and elsewhere, where, the lonely, the prisoners, and all those who are punished by other people! Have mercy on all of us in the hour of our struggle gle and death! Lord, because we believe and know that you have conquered and that, with you, we also have conquered, we call on you to show us but the first steps on the embattled path to freedom. Amen.”

Summary

The conversation explores the concept of double predestination and the fallen nature of humanity in relation to God's election. It delves into the idea that God chooses to be in fellowship with fallen humanity and the implications of this choice. The discussion also touches on the role of agency and freedom in making loving choices. The conversation emphasizes that God's love is unwavering and that the cross is the ultimate expression of God's love and election. It concludes by highlighting the importance of faith and trust in God's absolute decree to be the God of Jesus Christ. The conversation explores the theological implications of the concept of predestination and the role of faith in personal relationships. It delves into the fear and anxiety that can arise from the idea of being unable to escape God's love and the challenge of trusting in God's sovereignty. The conversation emphasizes the importance of faith as an engagement with reality and a recognition of the personhood of God. It also highlights the need to focus on the concrete yes of God's love and the freedom that comes from entrusting ourselves to that love.

Takeaways

• God chooses to be in fellowship with fallen humanity

• The cross is the ultimate expression of God's love and election

• Faith and trust are essential in understanding God's absolute decree

• God's love is unwavering and overrides human choices The concept of predestination raises theological questions about the nature of God's love and our ability to trust in His sovereignty.

• Faith is an engagement with reality and a recognition of the personhood of God.

• Fear and anxiety can arise from the idea of being unable to escape God's love and the challenge of trusting in His sovereignty.

• The concrete yes of God's love gives us freedom and the assurance that we are known and loved.

Sound Bites

• "God has chosen this man and fellowship with this man in the election of Jesus Christ."

• "The cross is the yes of God as the election to be for us."

• "The cross is going to be the removal of all that guilt and shame."

• "What is so terrifying about an announcement, a gospel that says you cannot in life or death get outside of the love of God."

• "Faith is to the world of personal relationships what science is to the world of physical being."

• "The yes of God's love being for all through Christ's obedience is asserted before Paul works all the rest of it out."