7363	Forums / Theology Forum / The Snake Pit	on: June 06, 2007, 10:38:55 AM
MBG, yesterday I was midrashing with my pastor about my thoughts on will being self driven and why circumstances and influences shape us without needing to interject God into our every action and he mentioned Edwards' \"Two Lenses\". Now I am familiar with what he is speaking but I wanted to get your thoughts on it. Also, I wanted to ask you the same thing I asked him, \"Isn't it possible (notice I did not say it is so) that ST is a lens unto itself which more or less encourages its followers to view everything through it's lens?\"   I am not sure about the two lenses but i will speculate here. I guess you are talking about his metaphysical side along with his theological side. In studying his works, i have found that he does not contradict  any proposition found in the biblical revelation. As long as teaching is taken from the exegesis of the text then having those propositions we can argue for divine origins, the Trinitarian theology, and the identity of Christ in a logical way. I think Edwards employs logic so that what is revealed about God is made clear by his logic. Every document of man must be subjected to scrutiny of the word of God so that the revealed revelation is clearly understood from the ideas that are from mans inventions. Edwards theology of the soul of man is proposed from that biblical world view. It is the most profound and balanced view of the workings of the soul that has ever come into print. His logic in the use of grammar in his freedom of the will has changed my world view about origins and about freedom.I  see nothing wrong with his metaphysical approach. Quote We have these analogies of faith throughout the new testament. Our life in Christ is compared to being identified with Him in His death and being raised with Him to newness of life. We are not physically present with Him in His death and resurrection even tho those terms are employed to describe our salvation. In another place Paul says that he wants all men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer. Another analogy to mean that that describes saints coming together corporately to pray , a historically accurate exegesis of that text in Timothy. The holy hands simply are stating another way to describe saints. The same thing with the blood of Jesus, or His stripes, or The holes in His hands. All analogies to the death of Jesus as a substitute for us. And then we have here the anointing of oil, but then the text makes no reference to that being the thing that gets forgiveness, but rather the prayer. So that its another analogy of special prayer for the one who is struggling with illness, or sin or some other malady. Its our great Shepherds love for us that is expressed through our shepherds in prayer that intercedes on our behalf in a priestly sense that is part of our saving process. The Holy Spirits presence in the Shepherds prayers is the healing balm for the saints. We need to see that our new covenant worship is in the Spirit. The life of our Sovereign Lord is flowing down our of the waters from heaven that are before His throne, and they are brought down by the Spirit into our hearts so that out of our hearts flows this living spiritual life. And it is mainly through the Spirit and the word that we receive this gracious infusion of life. What happens is there is peace like the earthly waters who are like glass in the morning , of which we experience in a corporate way through the ministry of the word and sacraments for a spiritual worship and a favor of grace that is authoritative as God looks on the anointed or the shepherd. So that the Sovereignty of grace is expressed corporately by the saints calling on God to look on our shepherd, look with favor on your anointed. This corporate grace is a ministered through the prayers of the shepherds in a spiritual sense so that our spiritual worship is of a nature that is of one heart and will show forth in the great assembly. When we understand the nature of our Lords rule through the word and the sacraments we will take our supernatural prayers very seriously, because our methods are mainly spiritual as our worship. We worship in spirit and truth. Have we seen the Lord look with favor on our shepherds? Do we know what that kind spiritual transaction works out in the practice of worship? Have we experience the well of waters welling up within us by the power from on High? Do the waters from the throne of God pour down from His throne in our cooperate unity? May He look upon our anointed one.