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    Giving Wings to the Soul
    Giving Wings to the Soul
    Giving Wings to the Soul
    Ebook102 pages1 hour

    Giving Wings to the Soul

    By Dennis Ngien

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    About this ebook

    A sequel to A Faith Worth Believing, Living and Commendation, Giving Wings to the Soul is the compilation of Dr. Ngien's sermons or speeches, devotional and theological reflections. The materials continue to provide Bible-based, thought-provoking theological, spiritual, and pastoral insights to issues of topical interest. Devoid of complex theological jargon, and crafted with an earthy relevance, Dr. Ngien shows us how to preach doctrinally, apologetically, and pastorally in a way that is clear, readable, and laudable. Reflecting his extensive ministry and academic rigor, his work will instill thirst in a seeker's hearts, and grounds the believer's faith in timeless truth, ultimately giving wings to the soul.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWipf and Stock
    Release dateDec 17, 2010
    ISBN9781498271455
    Giving Wings to the Soul
    Author

    Dennis Ngien

    Dennis Ngien is research professor of theology at Tyndale University. Formerly the Alister E. McGrath Chair of Christian Thought and Spirituality, he is the author of several books including Fruit for the Soul (2015) and Luther’s Theology of the Cross (Cascade, 2018).

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      Book preview

      Giving Wings to the Soul - Dennis Ngien

      Giving Wings to the Soul

      Dennis Ngien

      2008.WS_logo.jpg

      Giving Wings to the Soul

      Copyright © 2011 Dennis Ngien. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Wipf & Stock

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-099-0

      EISBN 13: 978-1-4982-7145-5

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

      In Loving Memory of the Late Madam Ngu Poh Teh,My beloved Mother,Whose wish to be in Heaven Was fulfilled March 06, 2010.

      Acknowledgments

      Almost immediately after the publication of A Faith Worth Believing, Living and Commending , many have requested me to publish another one of the same nature, with the populace as the target. As a sequel to that book, this book Giving Wings to the Soul is a collection of apologetic sermon, speeches or talks, exegetical and theological reflections, pastoral and devotional materials, most of them were delivered in notable occasions or events. The compilation began after the demise of my beloved mother, Madam Ngu Poh Teh, to whom this book is dedicated in loving memory of her. This was completed while at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, where I am appointed as Visiting Scholar, and I am indebted to Dr. Richard Turnbull, the principal of Wycliffe Hall, for his generous arrangement.

      Special thanks must be extended to Dr. Anthony Cross, Regent’s Park College, Oxford University, and Dr. Ravi Zacharias, whom my Centre honored as the prince of apologists, for their generous commendations; and Dr. Matthew Knell, the Visiting lecturer at London School of Theology in England for his editorial task, which helps rescue me from innumerable lapses in style and frequent use of complex theological jargon. Any weakness in the book I shall not impute to them, but to myself, who is learning how to write in a way that gives wings to the soul.

      Last but not least, I owe much to my Ceceilia for her continual support and quiet affirmation of my works in scholarship and service, and our son Hansel-Timon, whose hilarious humor and cheerful disposition has added to his parent joy upon joy. To God Be the Glory!

      Dennis Ngien, PhD

      Professor of Systematic Theology,

      Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Canada;

      Founder, Centre for Mentorship & Theological Reflection, Toronto, Canada

      September 06, 2010

      1

      Apologetic for the attractiveness of Jesus Christ

      (I Pet 2:21–25)¹

      Richard Halverson, the former chaplain of the American senate, said that it is very easy for one to lose touch with the ‘main thing.’ And the main thing of the Christian life is a person, Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity began on Palestinian soil, Halverson continued, as a relationship with a person. When it moved to Greek soil, it became a philosophy. It then moved to Roman soil, and it became an institution; when it arrived on British soil, it became a culture; when it moved to America, it became an enterprise. However when it came to Canadian soil, what did Christianity become? It became new principles to live by, or anything that substitutes for the centrality of Jesus Christ, whose communion with his Father we participate in through the efficacy of the Holy Spirit.

      Christianity is fundamentally about a relationship with a person—in loving, trusting, obeying, and worshipping. That is the ‘main thing.’ Therefore, the crucial task of an apologist or theologian is to keep the main thing as the main thing—the person of Christ—what he does or means to us, how he relates to us, and allow that to shine.

      More than defending Christianity, apologetics is about commending the attractiveness of Jesus Christ, whose very attractiveness is to be found in the acts he performed for us. As a theologian, let me offer you a sample of these acts:

      In I Pet 2:21–25, Peter identifies a three-fold misery of humanity: firstly, there is the misery of suffering and pain; secondly, the misery of guilt and sin; and thirdly, the misery of human straying and wandering. Indeed, we do suffer, we sin and we stray—the three-fold misery. And to each, Peter offered three Christological responses. He explained what Christ means, what he does or how he relates to us in the contexts in which we find ourselves.

      First, when suffering comes, who is Christ for me? Peter wrote in verse 21: Christ suffered for you. When we experience suffering and pain in our life’s journey, we ask the questions: what does Christ mean to us now? What has he done? Where is God now? Does he really care? Is he distant, aloof or unconcerned?! Not at all! Peter simply responded: Christ suffered for us. He is there in your pain. Peter wanted the wounded to perceive in the Cross God’s deepest pain and his loving scars. Our names are written on the wounds of Christ, and he cares for us. Contemplate the wounds of Christ, St. Augustine advised. Ponder them and our hearts shall be satisfied. When we do this, faith in Christ becomes a reasonable act and the most attractive thing.

      When Philip asked, show me the Father so that my troubled heart will be satisfied, Jesus replied: He who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9–10). Our conception of God is to be governed by Christ, not by human philosophy. Dorothy Sayers put this beautifully: In Jesus Christ, God wrote his autobiography. For God is Christ-like, and in him is no un-Christ-likeness at all. As John Austin Baker says, The crucified Jesus is the only accurate picture of God the world has ever seen. The sight of Jesus on the cross discloses God as one who suffers with humanity.

      If we take the Trinity and the incarnation seriously and recognize that this human Jesus is the second divine person, we can say there is no suffering closer to God than the suffering of the human Jesus. Thus, the human suffering of Jesus is really God’s own suffering: God suffers as we do; God suffers humanly, and he knows human pain first-hand. In the cross, there is no surrogate; no delegate; no representative; but God himself. In Christ, God wrote his autobiography.

      Christ is the sign and the substance of God’s pure and boundless love. Christ is the mirror of the fatherly heart of the God who is at the center of the universe. True recognition of God is to be found in the crucified Christ, who led us to the Father in order that we might be seized by the divine and kind paternal heart, one and the same heart—Christ’s heart and the fatherly heart are identical—the perfect heart that beats with earnestness for us from eternity.

      What is a Perfect Heart? A perfect heart is a broken heart: if your heart is never broken, it is imperfect and defective. The love by which Christ loves us is identical to his Father’s love, the one and same love, which burns passionately for his creatures. Concretely we see the sign and substance of God’s love in the suffering of the Cross, encapsulated in the words of St. Peter: Christ suffered for you. He meets you where you are—in your pain where God is to be found. There your hearts will be satisfied, and you will be filled with a reciprocal love for him.

      However, when speaking of God’s suffering, a distinction must be made between suffering that defines God, and the suffering that describes God. Suffering is not that which God is, but that which he assumes. God does not suffer on account of his being as such, but on account of the act that he has performed in relation to us. Suffering is not an ontological predicate, not intrinsic to God’s being, but is that which God undergoes or takes on as he enters into the plight of human condition.

      Love is the essence

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