The Lordship of Christ and Christian Ethics (Galatians 2:11-21)

Christians know that for them ethics or morality boils down to living under the Lordship of Christ. So Paul, introduces a long section on Christian morality, by urging:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

This is another way of saying something along the following lines:

When Jesus rose from the dead we Christians, because we are joined to him, received new resurrection life, a life that is inseparable from who Jesus is, namely the Lord, the one who occupies the position of ultimate power and authority. So focus your minds on those things that are tied up with us being inseparably linked to Jesus as Lord.

John Frame has a helpful way of looking at God or Christ’s lordship in the Bible, identifying three dimensions - authority, control and presence. Here’s how I think about it with respect with Jesus’ lordship:

1. Authority: Because Jesus is our Lord we, corporately and individually, accept his authority to tell us how we should live our lives (Matthew 28:18-19).
2. Control: Because Jesus is our Lord we, corporately and individually, expect and ask him to use our lives to fulfil his good purposes in and through us (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1).
3. Presence: Jesus is with us wherever we (corporately and individually) go (Matthew 28:20) in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-23; 2 Corinthians 3:17) engendering in us the desires we need to live the kind of life that will please him (Romans 8:5-9; Galatians 5:16-17) )and, indeed, producing the godly character that honours him (Gal 5:22-23).

Frame has a way of looking at most things in threes (technically called tri-perspectivalism) and, since a moral or ethical life is all about living under Christ’s lordship, Frame identifies three fundamental ethical perspectives or principles. Here is how I see these in connection with how Christ’s lordship impacts our Christian lives:

1. Corresponding to Authority: Christians, corporately and individually, have a duty, obligation or responsibility to do what our Lord tells us to do. The Greek word for “obligation” is deon, so the technical term for this ethical principle is deontology.
2. Corresponding to Control: The lives of Christians, corporately and individually, are presented to the Lord as “living sacrifices” so that he might accomplish his purposes through us. The Greek word for “purpose” is telos, so the technical term for this ethical principle is teleology.
3. Corresponding to Presence: The Lord indwells his people, both corporately (as church; 1 Corinthians 3:16) and individually (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and thereby motivates us and shapes us to live out the kind of life that conforms to his ever-excellent moral standards. Frame calls this ethical principle an existential principle, because the philosophy of existentialism is concerned with creating meaning from within, and the Lord’s presence is likewise concerned with our inner life.

For Christians these three principles (deontological, teleological and existential) are illustrated by Paul’s confrontation with Peter, as recorded in Galatians 2:11-21:

1. Paul sees that Peter, by his actions, and those who followed suit, are no longer walking in step “with the truth of the gospel” (verse 14). Paul spells out what is implied by the Gospel and thereby impresses on Peter what duty he has, especially as a leader, given what the gospel has to say about how he should live and relate as a Jew to non-Jewish people. That is, Paul is operating on a deontological ethical principle at this level.
2. Paul is clearly concerned for the unity of the church at Antioch and is concerned about the damage being done to Gentile Christians. He ends up his rebuke of Peter warning him that if this situation persists it implicitly amounts to nullifying God’s grace and would mean “Christ died TO NO PURPOSE” (verse 21). Paul wants to see the purpose of Christ’s death realised in the life of this church community. From this perspective, then, Paul is operating according to a teleological ethical principle.
3. In helping Peter to understand why his conduct has been unethical and what needs to happen for his behaviour to be brought into line with Christ-honouring morality, Paul, elaborating on the implications of the Gospel, makes the point that as one crucified with Christ it is no longer he who lives, but Christ living IN him (Galatians 2:20). The implication is that if the life of Christ is being lived out from within then it is at odds with the way Peter has behaved and, indeed, motivates him to get the train back on the tracks. From this perspective we might say Paul is operating according to an existential ethical principle.

For Christians, then, ethics involves the complementarity of these three perspectives or principles. They are not at odds with each other. If Christians do get themselves into situations where these principles are clashing with each other then it is because, like Peter, they are confused. They have not reached a point of understanding the implications of the Gospel for the situation they are facing. For example, in Peter’s case, after separating himself and other Jewish Christians from eating with Gentile Christians, he was operating according to a deontological principle of sorts, evidently a sense of duty to elevate Jewish values and scruples (verse 14) with this being at loggerheads with the purpose of Christ’s death (teleological principle) and the outworking of Christ’s life from within him (existential principle).

While for Christians these principles fit together well, Frame argues that there is no system of non-Christian ethics which is able to harmonise these three principles.

www.facetofaceintercultural.com.au

Posted October 30, 2009

Upon clicking 'Buy now' you will be redirected to paypal.com where you can securely and quickly complete your purchase with a few clicks.

Immediately after payment at PayPal you will be redirected to a download page which provides you instant access to your purchase.