A Form of Godliness

At the end of the last post we were examining the idea that God has placed himself within his own creation; he does not stand aloof of what his hand has made. Let us focus on this idea and see what we can discover.

God said, “Let there be,” and there was. Most people wouldn’t argue against the assertion that the scriptures show form coming from the word of God. But let us also note that the scriptures tell us that a thing springs from its own kind; therefore, if form springs from word, then word is also form, word is image. Jesus Christ is called the Word of God, and this is why we are also told that:

Jesus Christ is the express image of God.

or, in the words of the NRS:

He is the exact imprint of God’s very being.

We hear sermons on the theme that God is bound by his word. And, in accepting this, we accept that God is within creation, and constrained by boundaries. Why do you think it is that you don’t hear God very often? God is bound by his word, and every time he speaks he come under constraint, he obligates himself.

Think back to the discussion of the preternal God as symmetry. If, as we have been saying, name is what fills, then we can see that this preternal God was more name than form. What are the boundaries of the One? The existence of boundaries implies more than one. It is when this symmetry is broken that we find edges, we find boundaries, we find form. God says that he has placed his word above his name. Form has taken precedence over fill. Boundaries are established before that which is within those boundaries is named. This is an inescapable result of creating.

The scriptures tell us that we are filled with power by the Spirit of God. This is a problem for those whose emphasis is solely upon the word. They become empty shells, they become those who have a form of Godliness, but deny the power. It appears that this isn’t the result of merely an overemphasis on form, but an actual denial of fill.

Then there are those who want the fill without the form. Most of these people would call themselves spiritual, but not religious. What they mean is that they want all the benefits of name without any of the restrictions of form. What they are is deceived by the elemental spirits of this world. Only a limited power can establish you in power without any form or boundaries. The form, the limits, are actually found in the power, which is itself limited. God’s power is without limit, but you need some type of governor, because you wouldn’t be able to contain or control what you are given. Paul calls Jesus Christ the fullness of the Godhead within form (not the one who is poured into you, but the container). It is through the boundaries of Jesus Christ that the Spirit of God is poured out into men.

All that is was formed by the Word of God. The word itself is form. Cherubim guard this word. We are warned that if you add to or take away from this word, judgment will fall upon you. Just like the Ark of the Covenant, the form is protected.

Remember that peace is the boundary, the borders, the form. We have also stated that Jesus Christ is the boundary. That is why scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is our peace. This passage goes on to state that he has broken down every wall. Our old temporal contraints are done away with, and replaced with the borders of eternal expansion.

A previous chart showed that the removal of restraint has now begun. Given what we now know, we can also rephrase this as peace is taken from the earth. Compare this with the second seal as detailed in Revelation 6.

God is light. When light was given form, God place himself within creation, he became subject to boundaries. Through Isaiah, God tells us that he formed light. Light becomes a boundary, a barrier guarded by Cherubim. When restraint is removed, it would not be surprising to find that the barrier of the speed of light is exceeded.

If light has form it is also filled. We often think of something as filled with light, but we rarely think of light as being filled. Surprisingly, we learn through Isaiah that light is filled with darkness. This is why Amos says:

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? It is a day of darkness, and not of light. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light; darkness with no light in it?