To know God is to change…
I am feeling a tad philosophical because I have been listening to a remarkable series of lectures by that wonderful Scottish theologian T.F. Torrance. In ways reminescent of my philosophical hero Soren Kierkegaard, he suggests that to know God is to change. This is so, he suggests, because genuine knowledge of God involves requires a ‘cognitive union’ between the knower and the known. In effect it involves the union, or reconciliation, of our thoughts with the object of those thoughts. Knowledge of God therefore does not just involve the relation of our mind to something, e.g. to an idea, but involves the fundamental relation of our whole being to Reality in such a way that our own being is caught up and transformed in and by that Reality.
Perhaps we can understand this by making a comparison with other types of knowing. So for instance, one can be a mathematician or a physicist without being a particularly good person. In fact, there have been scientists that have been thoroughly immoral people (e.g. the Nazi scientists who experimented on hapless concentration camp prisoners.) To know facts about things does not neccesarily change us. This is partly so because in science or maths we are primarily dealing with impersonal and not personal truth as such. But we cannot know God in this way. God is not a (impersonal) ‘fact.’ Rather He is the Truth. And if this is the case, then to know God involves my participation, my involvement in that Truth and that Truth’s involvement with me.
So we simply cannot know God and not be changed in that knowing. For instance, we cannot know God by being immoral; we can only know God in a holy/godly way, because God is himself holy. Our knowing of God affects our whole being–it is neccesarily the case. He is only known in ways that are consistent with His nature. Knowledge of God requires a purgation, a cleansing, a being made holy in order to apprehend that which we wish to know.
In the same way we cannot ‘know’ God without being reconciled to God . To know God is to be transformed by God. The claim to love and know God results in changed relations with Him. Hence the idea of cognitive union.
Anyhow this piece of obscure theologizing might leave some of you wondering “what is this dude on?” But it does change the equation of the meaning of Christmas. The love of God in Jesus, when truly apprehended by us will, indeed must, transform us.
(For those interested in T.F. Torrence you can get the book On the Mediation of Christ. The lectures on that same topic were held at Regent College, I am not sure when.)
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Ach Al…
Just when you were thinking Scottish theology was an oxymoron, along comes a giant to put us in place. I love the way ye spell Torrrence initially (wi’ three r’s) in order tae help peeple pronounce it right! Incidentally it’s Torrance with an a! And you’re right he is brilliant… as is his extended family! Some good things do come out of those long cold, wintry nights in Scotland!
I really don’t care what you’re on dude… this is good stuff. When you begin to get your head around some of Torrance’s thinking it releases you into freedom in Christ that transforms not just the meaning of Christmas, but also the fundamentals of mission and the truth of our message. I’m likely to push the theological boundaries here, and to rephrase a couple of your comments, to better fit my understanding - feel free to push back wherever you feel necessary…
In the tradition of Barth, whom he studied under, Torrance brings an enormous intellect to difficult concepts and helps ground them. I must admit though that I have had little time to read them, and when I do, I feel my dwarf brain struggle to squeeze some of their thinking through it!
What you suggest Torrance is saying is consistent with a more Hebraic understanding of “knowledge”. We understand knowledge to be an ability to comprehend and organise information, the early church struggled with Gnostic dualism, the prior Hebrew concept is much more holistic, embracing and intimate.
Adam “knew” eve, and she conceived and bore a child… authentic knowledge is relational and because of that it changes everyone involved - we cannot retreat back through time and annul experience. Adam’s “knowing” eve has consequence; there is no retreat back to unparentage! They are forever changed by the encounter…
This is the knowledge of God that God intends us to have. The relational intimacy that occurs in the act of genuinely authentically “knowing.” That moment that takes your breath away in magnificent, indescribable throes of ecstasy - so ought to be our relationship with God, our “knowing” of the Godhead.
The triune Godhead exists in intimate knowing relationship - God IS love. Love exists where there also exists an object of that love, and love is also intended to consequently bear fruit… God creates humanity in their image and says “be fruitful and multiply.” fruitfulness is a consequence of love. In a sense the eternal love of the Godhead was destined to produce fruitfulness in God’s image - humanity was (pro) created.
God created humanity, with the express purpose of including us within the divine relationship. In Torrance’s terms we are “caught up” into Christ. In Christ we are drawn INTO the relational matrix of the Godhead - so… we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, we are baptised INTO Christ - literally we are immersed in Christ - in spiritual terms a great exchange has taken place and we are perceived as Christ is perceived.
We know God because God has brought us into the midst of His relationship with us. God has adopted us and assumed us into the triune relationship - we join in the dance that has always existed within the Godhead. In a sense we dance with God…
Dr C. Baxter Kruger - an American disciple of Tom Torrance has written a number of books which are helpful, including “The Great Dance” and “God is for us.” See http://www.perichoresis.org While I’ve found some of Dr Kruger’s thinking helpful, I still remain unclear on his understanding or teaching on “belief” as a response to Christ, particularly as it arises in John’s gospel – I need to develop my own thinking more here too.
I would rephrase this comment you make Al; “we cannot know God by being immoral; we can only know God in a holy/godly way, because God is himself holy.” My personal understanding would be that when we genuinely know God we CANNOT be immoral because we have been caught up in God’s holiness - so the apostle John says;
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God” 1 John 3:8,9
John is stating who we are in Christ, having been adopted into God we have a consequential desire to live in the fulfilment of our potential in Christ, and therefore we are now free not to sin.
When the apostle Peter quotes Leviticus saying “Be holy, because I am holy” in 1 Peter 1:16
he brings it into the era of grace, with a preface in verse 15 - “just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” Peter says we are enabled to be holy because God is holy and has adopted us into themself, the consequence is that we are free to be the holy people that we were always intended to be… that’s FREEDOM.
Again I’d rephrase your final statement Al… “The love of God in Jesus, when truly apprehended by us will, indeed must, transform us. What has the power to transform us is that WE ARE APPREHENDED by the love of God in Jesus - not that we apprehend Him or God’s love…
Our choice - as a response to being apprehended - is to choose to change our thinking, change our minds - as in Romans 12
“conform no longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We have been set free from the rubbish that the world has piled upon us - years of misconception and verbal and physical abuse - crap that has been used by the devil to blind us.
We can now choose to think differently. The biblical term for this is “repent” (metanoia = to change your mind, retract a former point of view) the spiritual work is all done by God and we have an opportunity to respond in our thinking. Biblically speaking, I believe that repentance is not a spiritual turning; rather it is an intellectual response after the Spirit has already turned us. Our response is to put aside our pride and begin to apply God’s thinking, God’s Word, God’s will and God’s ways in our lives…
Literally we line our thinking up with what God has already done spiritually… and we live our lives seeing in the spiritual realm what God has previously done, speaking it out in prayer AND walking it into the natural realm - your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven…
In the words of one mere mortal… “they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our FREEEEEDOM!
a celtic son
Hi Alan,
Your post makes me also think of Polanyi and also reminded me of a great post on the former faithmaps discussion group by the philosopher jon gold before he passed away.
Alan -what about the others who need to be transformed by those of us who have been incarnationally transformed to transform others incarnationally to do the same as we are in the world being uses by and led by the Holy Spirit..
I love “Kirk” - but He didnt’ take it far enough.
Be fruitful and multiply by being in tune with God and in union with Him and His purposes for us as culminated in the Great Commission mandate for all and not just a few. Sorry to disappoint anyone here.
Transformation never stops with us if we are in union with and transformed in Him! Take it out a few more levels and see America changed for God.
But then again, who wants to do that?
Bob, your point is well taken. I agree. theologians can stop with the ontology thing, but fail to take the existential issues seriosly enough. Actually, perhaps they fail to read the text and translate it missionaly. But I do like the strike against dulaism on its own terms (ontology) here.
Good points Bob Carder…
Theology has it’s place for sure… but I’m not convinced that it is in isolation from reality, locked up in adademies of ivory! One of my gripes with “purely academic” theologians and philosophers is that too often their phiosophising and theologising bears no relationship to the current reality… it becomes a circular argument and perpetually anal-ytical! It misses vital factors, because it does not walk where Jesus walked…
If there is no missional consequence, I fail to see how we are in the image of a missional God. If there is no creative consequence, I fail to see how we are in the image of a creative God. If there is no fruitful consequence, I fail to see how we are in the image of a fruitful God. If there is no multiplication as a consequence, I fail to see how we are in the image of a multiplicating (I wonder if I created a new word!)God.
I read God’s word to be “fruitful and multiply” as the recognition of the status of humanity, as humanity is ontologically created to be - in the image of God who “be’s” and is fruitful and multiplies. Creation is a consequence of a God who is ontologically fruitful and multiplying…
God in Christ, restores us to our original status - we are created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to walk in… in that sense “To know God is to change… into who we ontologically are” - our original prescription. We are ontologically fruitful multipliers and God restores us to who we were designed to be.
The nature of sin is to blind our minds to the reality of who we have always been…
The nature of redemption is to remove the blindfold…
The nature of religion is to be shocked by the reality of clear vision… and choose to pull the blindfold back down again…
The nature of fear is to choose to pull down the blindfolds of others…
The nature of repentance is to choose to lift up the blindfold that has already been removed for us…
The nature of sanctification is to live with one hand lifting our own blindfold up…
The nature of mission is to live with the other hand helping others to lift up their blindfolds…
Transformation never stops because we are continually called to be in the process of growing to be more like who we are ontologically -sons of God, created in their image read 2 Cor 3:12-18
in that light…
I am in Christ and He is the same yesterday, today and forever… as I choose to live with the blindfold lifted, I is transforming into who I is…
a brain numbed celtic son
Celtic son now I have a numb brain.
Well written - I can see why your a brain numbed celtic son.
I just hate it when so many try to hide behind the “growing to be like God” as “His sons” without being like Him in His purpose/mission and the core-heart reason that He was born in Bethlehem.
You can’t have a real Christmas without being a real incarnating Christmas before the world. One cannot possible give the message of Christmas without being the message of Christmas. All the Christmas celebrations and programs falls flat if we are not living Christ before the world.
I’m with you celtic son - and I is transforming into who I is and who I is does what God does and I live His redemptive work so others can see I in Christ and I can show them I can help them become I in Christ too.