KELSIE PETERSEN | Contributor and a Boy-Mom |
They say time flies when you’re having fun. I’m not sure if “fun” is how I would describe the last couple of years, but here we are, and (as I talked about last time) I’m choosing to find the joy! It seems that it was not that long ago that I spent a little time here going through 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, comparing how I see those passages now, to how I saw them with my “Adventist glasses,” but over two years have passed since I last wrote about this, and I decided now is as good a time as any to start again!
As I read through 2 Corinthians 5, preparing my thoughts for what I would share, one thing that struck me was how I had to work to get my brain to think “like an Adventist.” There must be something to be noted there, perhaps as time passes and I continue to grow and mature in my faith, that “default” switch in my brain, from my Adventist training, is less touchy!
As I read through 2 Corinthians 5, preparing my thoughts for what I would share, one thing that struck me was how I had to work to get my brain to think “like an Adventist.”
2 Corinthians 5 begins by comparing our state in our bodies on earth with our heavenly state with Christ. Reading this passage can bring about some confusing thoughts and feelings for the Adventist reader, as it touches on one of their unique doctrines, the state of the dead. Paul compares our earthly bodies to “tents,” purposely painting a picture of impermanence and even weakness. He goes on to say that, in “the heavens,” we have a “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. Comparing the heavenly “house” with the earthly “tent” gives the reader the understanding of the permanence, and even the strength, of our dwelling with Him in heaven. He describes being rid of the tent and being in the house as being “further clothed” and says that the “mortal” will be swallowed up by “life,” further adding to the depiction of the superiority of the heavenly “house.”
The Adventist “Pause”
In the Adventist mind, this passage can provide a tricky situation. It clearly says that by putting on the heavenly dwelling, we will “not be found naked,” but the Adventist believes in an intermediary state, of sorts, between death and the resurrection. A time of “soul sleep” while those who have died “wait” for the resurrection and the judgement. As an Adventist, I probably would have just added room for a “pause” between dwellings in my own mind, and carried on…but the description Paul gives does not seem to leave room for any such pause.
Before moving on, Paul says something very brief, but very interesting. Verse 5 says “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” I don’t know about you, but while an Adventist, any time I read about a guarantee, or a seal, or any sort of promissory sign in the Bible, it always took me back to the Sabbath being the seal of God. Of course, I would not have argued that the Spirit was not present, but the unspoken assumption would be that Sabbath keeping would be the sign of the presence of the Spirit in the life of a true believer.
Next, the believers in Corinth are encouraged by the Apostle Paul to walk by faith, not by sight, while they are “at home in the body” and “away from the Lord.” He states the obvious, that they would all rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord, but that their time in the temporal body is serving a purpose: to please Him (the Lord). Again, this very clear depiction of “one or the other” provides a bit of a conundrum for someone subscribing to a soul sleep teaching.
Looking at the first half of this chapter as a believer, I find Paul’s words to be encouraging and uplifting. Reading through his first paragraph about the tent and the house, it gives me a sense of “already but not yet”. Being with the Lord is something that is definitely happening; we have His presence, but we aren’t “there” yet. Because that eternal presence is promised and guaranteed (and evidenced by the Spirit in us), we can “make it our aim to please Him,” no matter which dwelling we find ourselves in. No matter what, He is good!
Adventist Eisegeses
The second half of this chapter is one of my favorite passages of scripture because of the way it makes it so clear that our salvation, our acceptance by God, our standing with him is NOT because of us, but because of HIM.
As an Adventist, I would read verse 12b, which says “…to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart” to be referring to worldly adornment, AKA jewelry and showy clothing versus an obedient heart—which would refer to keeping the Sabbath, of course. The text goes on to talk about the love of Christ controlling us, and how we are to live for him and not for ourselves. I would understand this to mean that we should keep the Sabbath and not do our own “pleasure” on that day.
The text goes on to talk about the love of Christ controlling us, and how we are to live for him and not for ourselves. I would understand this to mean that we should keep the Sabbath and not do our own “pleasure” on that day.
The last paragraph of this chapter includes the well-known verse ,“Now if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” Oddly, I don’t remember reading or hearing this verse before I was born again. At that point, while still an Adventist (being only 12), I understood that it was speaking about our spiritual state before and after salvation, but before I was saved, being a “new creation” would have meant “being convinced of the Sabbath.” Verse 20 speaks of being “ambassadors for Christ,” which would have meant, you guessed it, telling others about the Sabbath.
As I read through these passages, it keeps occurring to me, over and over, how much an Adventist reads unique Adventist doctrine into Scripture, adding context that is neither there, nor supported by the context of the passage. I’m also struck by how much a person misses, how much beauty is lost, when incorrect concepts are inserted into the meaning of these passages.
Words of Life
In verses 11-15, Paul is pleading with the Corinthians NOT to look at what he and his companions are accomplishing as being due to their own effort, or to see them as somehow “better,” for their own sakes. In the world, the opinion of unbelievers seems often to be that we, as Christians, somehow see ourselves as “better than” others. May this never be the case! We have something that they do not, this is true, but it is not because WE are better. It is because of Jesus, who he is and what he has done for us, and for them! Because he died for us, we can LIVE for him!
Verses 16 though 21 contain that famous verse that speaks of the old passing and the new coming. It goes on to remind the Corinthians (and us) that ALL of this is from God, not from us, and because Jesus has reconciled us to himself, he has now given US the ministry of reconciliation, to take his love and his message of salvation, to share what has been done for us, to the world. We can now go to those who do not know, and tell them that they, too, can be reconciled to God. Just as it was with us, it will not be because of what they have done, but because of what Jesus has done.
For a long time, I struggled to read the Bible without a “split” vision. I would have all of the Adventist context fighting for bandwidth in my mind. While I knew that it was wrong and false, and I didn’t struggle with wondering if it was true, it still took up space in my mind as I read. Over the past two years, since I last visited a passage of Scripture for this blog, I have noticed this is less so than it was. This brings some relief to my mind (it’s much easier to read without competing messages), and it also allows me to more deeply appreciate how much the Adventist “context” can take away from the true beauty of Scripture and the simple but profound message of the Gospel. No longer is every passage a place to look for unique Adventist doctrine that “other” Christians wouldn’t see, like some secret code. The biblical account of the simplistic complexity of a perfect man, living the life we could not live, dying the death we deserved, and being raised to conquer death, is free to be what it is: wonderful words of life! †
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