The brokenness of the world, the falleness of the human race.

The condition of the world, and particular the condition of the human race has been the subject of much debate, whether that debate be theological or philosophical. Unfortunately an awful lot of those debates discuss the possible symptoms of the human and cosmic condition without engaging with any real or possible solutions. I want to look at the human condition which the bible calls sin, which I will explain in a moment, I want to look at the way God sees that condition and then to look at the process which God undertook in order to address the issue and supply His own solution.

Most of you know me well enough to know that will mean looking at Jesus as the key to unlocking the answers, I make no apologies for the amount of time I spend discussing the impact of Jesus upon our world, and the very real need for the world to know about and receive him as Lord and Saviour.

Before we look at God's solution lets look at the issue from the biblical account. The story of the fall of men and women is given to us Genesis chapter 3. I am taking it for granted at this point that each of us believes that God created everything, and that everything that God created was in perfect working order.

I am not at this point about to enter into any debate concerning the theology of creation, I simply want to state that however creation took place, God  did it, and as the bible states "It was good".

The biblical account informs us that the problem began when God's one and only rule was broken by the human races first parents, the essence of all sin is displayed in this first sin. Having been tempted to doubt God's word (Did God say????), man is led to disbelieve it (You will not die), and then to disobey it (they ate).

Sin then is the human races rebellion against the authority of God, and pride in its supposed self-adequacy, the serpent informed Adam and Eve "You will be like God".

The consequences of this rebellion then are awareness of guilt and immediate separation from God; relationship is broken first of all with the introduction of sin. Secondly, the sentence of the curse, decreeing toil, sorrow and death for the human race, and in addition this would involve the whole of the created order, of which the human race is the crown.

At this point I want to express something of the nature of the curse in under which the human race now finds itself, it does not come as a punishment from a vengeful God, because his perfect creation has been tampered with and spoiled, but the curse is a consequence of disobedience to the creators instructions. Like the child who is warned not to touch the fire, but does so anyway. Burned fingers are not punished fingers, but a consequence of disobedience to a loving rule.

From this point on the human being is perverted creature, in revolting against the purpose of his being, which is to live and act entirely to the glory of his sovereign and benevolent Creator, in this act of disobedience with its devastating consequences the human being who was made in the image of God, ceases to be all that the we were originally created to be.

 It is this characteristic of the human race, having been made in the image of God, that allows for communion with God, it is this communion that is now shattered by wilful disobedience, bring about its terrible consequences.

Yet, rebel as the human race does against the image of God which we have been stamped, it cannot be erased, it is apart of our constitution as human beings. It is evident in our pursuit of scientific discoveries, in our desire to harness the forces of nature and in our constant attempts to develop culture, art and civilisation. But at the same time all these efforts are cursed with frustration, which evidence to the fact that the human race is fallen from grace and subject to the curse. History has proven that with every great discovery that can be used to benefit humanity, through misuse, we have perverted each discovery in order to cause great harm.

The human race is made in the image of God, but because of rebellion against God, the image of Satan, the great hater of God and all that he does is superimposed over the top of God's image.

This concept of the fall contradicts the popular modern view of the human race as a being that, by slow evolutionary development, has succeeded in rising from the primeval fear and groping ignorance of a humble origin to the proud heights of intellect and civilisation. The bible does not portray the human race as risen, but as fallen, and in an extremely desperate situation. It is only against this background does the work of Jesus Christ take on its proper significance. Through Christ's actions that which was forfeited by the fall is restored to the human race, the purpose of life is recaptured, and the image of God restored and in so doing, communion with God established.

Incarnation - God's Solution

But what is God's solution, we have already stated that it is worked out in Jesus, but how, and how as a church do we begin to demonstrate the love of God in a broken or fallen world.

God's solution is surprisingly simple, but incredibly complex.

God's answer is to enter our world Himself and deal with the consequences of rebellion Himself, in order to do that, God must become a human being, but in order to complete His mission, God must remain God. Again if you want to discuss Christology, then make an appointment when you have about six or seven hours to spare. God's answer is incarnation, something that we only seem to speak of at Christmas, and then with the scantest of remarks.

The theme of God entering our world in Christ is set out clearly in Johns Gospel chapter one, which culminates in the statement "The word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, and we saw his glory - the glory, such as belongs to the only-begotten of the father, full of grace and truth." The idea of incarnation simply means God taking on human flesh, God went through a voluntary process of humiliation to enter into human history and take on the entire experience of existence as a human being.

The concept is difficult for us to think about, and explanations can often tie us up in knots, therefore I simply want us to accept for now that incarnation is God's solution, but what it means is, that God experienced everything that we experience, from temptation to pain, heartache to abuse, laughter and mourning, extreme sorrow and the heights elation.

Jesus through his life saw the consequences of the fall, or the brokenness of the world and demonstrated in healing, exorcism and teaching the desire of God to put right that which has been corrupted by our rebellion. God wants to address the devastating consequences of the fall and restore the original freedom of communication that human race had by right of being created in the image of God.

Jesus by nature of his incarnation was fully human, but without the consequences of the curse or the fall, he was in fact human like the original human, Adam before sin.

And so looking at Jesus, the image God was clearly visible, Jesus had perfect communion with the Father, because he was like Adam was before he sinned and the curse came.

The religious people of the day, believed that their religious purity could be destroyed by touching or association with that, that was considered unclean, especially other people. Jesus however, the incarnate Son of God, God in flesh demonstrated that this was not so, and engaged with, kept company with and touched those who were most unclean.

The story of the demoniac know as legion is a telling as could be about the nature of God's love and attitude towards broken and unclean things. Everything about that incident would have caused revulsion to the Jews, but Jesus was prepared to engage with the brokenness of human nature in order to restore it back to original purpose, that is to glorify God and live in communion with him. We shall look more at the story of legion tomorrow.

For God, the only solution to the problems of the world that began with Adams initial disobedience, disobedience that has affected every human being since, and has had its consequences in all the created order, is to come along side and identify with us on every level. Jesus identified with us first of all in undergoing a baptism that was unnecessary for him, but God's will was that he identify with us, as one us, and deal with sin for us, which he did on the cross.

So if the world is in a terrible situation, under the curse that is the consequence of disobedience, and God's solution is incarnation, becoming human and dying our death so that we may escape death. What now, the world is still broken, the fall is still very evident and this year we have seen more devastation, more disaster, and more brokenness than ever before. What is the churches role as those who have been rescued by the grace of God, as those whose eternal destination is secured, what is our role, how do we respond to the brokenness we see all around.

Part of the answer I want to suggest to you to day, is by being the people of the incarnate God, that there is something incarnate about the church. The church believe it or not is a gift to the world from God, though at times we haven't behaved that way, the church is part of God's ongoing solution, in that we assist people in appropriating the death of Jesus for themselves.

John 20:21 speaking after his resurrection Jesus says "Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, I am sending you." These are remarkable words, words to which I believe we need to take a great deal of notice. What is Jesus saying? In the same way, or with the same attitude as the Father sent me, I am sending you. Not in the same way as pious religious Jews, who look from their so called positions of ritual cleanliness and judge those not like themselves, not with arrogance, not with aloofness, but in the same way that Jesus was sent us, we must go into a broken, devastated sin filled world, and do what he did. We need to get along side the sinner, the wounded, the proud, the obnoxious and everyone else who is affected by sins curse and be Jesus to them. That means eating with, listening to, and challenging with words and lifestyle their self-understanding and their world views. We are not to hide in holy huddles, but to engage with and identify with the world in all its brokenness. In the same way as the Father sent him, he is sending us.

But wait a minute, this is Jesus, we have already said he is God in flesh, the incarnate one, how could the disciples obey this command, and how can we obey this command, we are not God incarnate. No we're not, there is only one Jesus, the great I AM. But we can obey this command because of the next verse in Johns Gospel. "and with that he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit."

The verse is problematical in the light of the Spirit being given at Pentecost, and don't intend to unwrap the complexities of Johns interpretation of events at this point. But the solution to our question of how we go in the same manner as Jesus went, is here, as Jesus gives us the third person of the trinity, to indwell and empower us. God is again dwelling in flesh, the church of God is incarnate, in his church, a church which is commanded to do the works of Jesus, releasing people in his name through preaching the message of the cross and demonstrating the love of God in every action.

We are sent as he was sent, full of the Holy Spirit, God dwelling in us, making possible that would be impossible without him.

We are sent as he was sent

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he has anointed me.

To preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

And recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

Well now the Spirit of the Lord is upon us.

He has anointed us.

To preach good news to those in spiritual poverty.

To proclaim freedom to those who are prisoners to sin.

To open the eyes of those who cannot see the way.

And to proclaim God's favour to those who believe they past redemption.

The fall still has its terrible affect upon the world, the human race is blind to its terrible plight, nature is affected and the world order is corrupted, but the church incarnate is in the world, we are called to engage, not hide, to get our hands dirty, not remain ritually pure, to go as he did, to behave as he did, to produce the results that he produced and if necessary to suffer because he suffered, but also to here the voice of God saying, this is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased. This is my beloved church in whom I am well pleased.