The Theology of the Cross: Cross-Shaped Theology

by Todd Wilken
What Shape is Your Theology?

"I’m no theologian." Oh, yes you are.

Everyone is a theologian. Are you human? Then you are a theologian. Every one of us is
a natural-born theologian. This accounts for the tremendous variety of religions among us.
From Animism to Zen, from Zoroastrianism to Atheism — everyone is a theologian.
Theology is nothing more than ideas about God. Everyone has ideas about God. Everyone is
a theologian.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone is a good theologian. In fact, by nature, we are all lousy
theologians. St. Paul puts it this way in the first chapter of Romans:
What may be known about God is plain to [all men], because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine
nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men
are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
We are natural-born theologians. But we are fallen people; and so our theology is fallen too.
Paul continues: Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory
of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and
reptiles. Man-shaped, bird-shaped, animal-shaped, reptile-shaped theologies; this is the shape
of our fallen theology.
And what do all those theologies have in common? Paul says, they neither glorified him
as God nor gave thanks to him… [but they] exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images.
Paul is saying that instead of giving Glory to God as God, fallen man seeks that glory for
himself. It began in the Garden of Eden. You will not surely die," the serpent said to the
woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God…" In all of his fallen theologizing, man seeks but one thing for himself: the glory
that belongs to God alone. This is the Theology of Glory.

The Theologian of Glory vs. the Theologian of the Cross.

Scripture says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. The
way that seems right to a man is the theology of Glory. We are all natural-born theologians
of Glory. A theologian of Glory believes that:

1. God’s ways can be generally understood by human reason;

2. God’s favor is manifested in the circumstances of life, in particular, life’s
successes and victories;
3. God is pleased by sincere human effort.
All the religions of the world, except for Christianity, are theologies of Glory. Whether
it manifests itself as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism or some strange cult, it is all
essentially the same theology and it is all the theology of Glory. The theology of Glory is the
way that leads to death.
But Christian theology is fundamentally different. Christianity is not a theology of Glory, but
a theology of the Cross. This is how Paul contrasts the two:

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where
is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of
God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through
the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand
miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified:
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God
has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness
of God is stronger than man's strength.

In complete contrast to the theologian of Glory, the theologian of the Cross believes that:

1. God’s ways are paradoxical and hidden to human reason;

2. God’s favor is manifested in Jesus, in particular, His suffering, death and
resurrection;
3. God is pleased only by Jesus.

The theology of Glory and the theology of the Cross are mutually exclusive. They are two
completely different ways of understanding God. One is false, the other is true. One leads to
death, the other to life.

The God Who Hides Himself.

Regarding the theologian of Glory, Martin Luther wrote:

That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the
invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things
which have actually happened.

What are the "invisible things of God"? This question brings us back to the first chapter of
Romans:
What may be known about God is plain to [all men], because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine
nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.
Virtually every religion acknowledges that their gods possess certain characteristics: life,
wisdom and power. Many further speculate that their gods possess qualities like justice, love
and mercy. However, God’s true disposition remains completely hidden from them.
How is God disposed toward me? Is he pleased or displeased? To answer this question the
theologian of Glory must speculate based upon his own life’s circumstances. If things are
going well in his life he concludes that God is pleased with him.
Why is God pleased with me? The theologian of Glory speculates further and draws the only
conclusion that his theology will allow:

God is pleased with me because I have pleased Him.

But if things are not going well, God must not be pleased, and more effort to please Him is
required.
Isaiah writes, Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. God’s
gracious disposition toward us is not revealed in the visible things God has made —it remains
hidden— leaving the theologian of Glory to speculate. The theologian of Glory wrongly
believes that he can discern God’s disposition from the world around him. The god he invents
is a god whose disposition can be manipulated with human works.
But if God is really a God Who hides Himself, then why does God hide Himself? The answer
is a paradox. God hides Himself in order to reveal Himself.
Where does God hide Himself? The answer is another paradox. God, Who is all-powerful,
hides Himself in weakness. God, Who is all wise, hides Himself in foolishness. God, Who is
living, hides Himself in death.
Here is where the theologian of Glory begins to object. God is not weak, foolish or dead! And
here the theologian of Glory shows his true colors. Luther rightly diagnosed the problem:
This is clear: He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore
he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and,
in general, good to evil. These are the people whom the apostle calls "enemies of the cross
of Christ" [Phil. 3:18], for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of
works.
To know Jesus Christ is to know God hidden in weakness, foolishness and death. Luther
writes: He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and
manifest things of God seen through suffering and the Cross.
Rather than looking to the circumstances of his life to decipher God’s disposition, the
theologian of the Cross looks to the suffering and death of Jesus to know God’s disposition.
Rather than speculating that God must be pleased by human effort, the theologian of the
Cross sees in Christ crucified the One who has pleased God once and for all. Life’s
circumstances, whatever they might be, are now comprehended in the suffering, death and
resurrection of Jesus.
 The theologian of Glory defines God according to human concepts of power, wisdom
and reason. The theologian of the Cross allows God to define Himself, regardless of how
paradoxical, weak and foolish it may appear.

The Cross is Our Theology

Here I must sadly note that Christians are not immune to the theology of Glory. The glory
of works outshines the shame of the Cross in many churches today. Pulpits free of paradox
proclaim the Christian rather than the Christ. God is presented as easily understandable and
easily pleased. This is a god who does not require a Cross or a dead Jesus.
In short, the Church seems anxious to exchange the shame, weakness and foolishness of the
Cross for human glory, strength and wisdom. To a group of Christians who seemed anxious
to do the same Paul wrote, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ…
What is Paul saying? He is saying that the Cross isn’t just a part of our theology; the
Cross IS our theology. The Cross permits no speculation about God or His disposition. There,
written in the broken body and shed blood of Jesus His Son, is God’s final word.

Rev. Todd Wilken is host of Issues, Etc.

Theology of Glory Theology of the Cross

Key principles

Human beings (though flawed and sinful) Human beings are intrinsically and radically
are fundamentally capable of doing good sinful, incapable of doing good or truly
and knowing God knowing God

God is to be sought by ascending ladders of God is to be sought only in the Cross of

mystical experiences, religious or Christ, with knowledge and communion him
philosophical speculation or moral being given as a gift, received by faith
achievement (“mysticism, speculation or
merit”)

God is the Deus Revelatus – he can be God is the Deus Absconditus – he can be
known through all things and events known only through the Cross of Christ and
the witness to that of the Word

Seeks direct, unmediated knowledge of &
encounter with “the naked God” (and sees
such a direct encounter as an unqualified
“good thing”)
Recognises that (for sinners such as
ourselves) the “naked God” at the end of
the ascent is not salvation, but the
“consuming fire”. One day there will be
glory, but for now, the Cross – the Cross is
both the basis of our righteous status before
God and the model of how we are to live for
God

Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation

“Looks upon the invisible things of God as
though they were clearly perceptible in
those things which have actually happened”
“Calls evil good and good evil”
Observations by Don Matzat
The gospel is what gets you saved – then
other things take you forward in the
Christian life. “Once saved, always saved”
Repentance = sorrow for sin and
determination to sin no more
Christian living is detached from the gospel
– reduced to a set of do’s and don’ts, with
“rededication” the proper remedy for
backsliding
Testimonies focus on the change in the
individual’s life
Sermons lead you to try to live a better life
Christian life seen as an ascent through
different stages (conversion, “entire
sanctification”, “baptism in the Spirit” etc)
“Every day in every way I’m getting better
and better”
Encourages inward focus (which is the
essence of sin – homo incurvatus)
Other observations
Can contemplate God’s omnipresence and
majesty without fear
Content with God’s general revelation in
nature
Worship as celebration, seeking to ascend
to God through our worship
“Comprehends the invisible and manifest
things of God seen through suffering and
the Cross
“Calls the thing what it actually is”
The preaching of sin and grace, Law and
Gospel, produces sanctification as well as
justification
Repentance = sorrow for sin coupled with
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation
Never gets past the Cross – good works are
the fruit of faith
Testimonies focus on the work of Christ in
history for us
Sermons lead you to rejoice in forgiveness
You’re never “better” than anyone else – a
growing appreciation for Christ’s work
“Every day in every way I’m not getting
better and better” – growing awareness of
sin
Turns us away from ourselves, forsaking our
own good works and spiritual experiences
and clinging to Christ’s blood and
righteousness
Recognises our sin, deserving of God’s
condemnation. The testimonies of nature
etc to God’s glory only confirm in our
conscience the verdict against us (The God
we see in nature is “One who is angry with
us, and threatens evil” [Newman]).
Recognises our need of a promise of
forgiveness and acceptance
Worship as receiving the mercies of God in
Christ, through the means of grace (Word,
sacraments, prayer)
Seeks to strike a bargain with God, Permits God to do everything to effect and
tendency towards a moralistic works- preserve his salvation
righteousness

Feels it knows God immediately through his Recognises God in the place he has hidden
expressions of divine wisdom, power and himself – the Cross and its suffering
glory

Source: http://www.confessingevangelical.com/?p=1086