Lesson 7 was one of the best. I know, I've say that about all of them...but it really was.
Dr. Tackett began by looking at the chicken egg and explaining how intricate and well designed it is. Then by means of subtle sarcasm he noted that the chicken egg has a problem (if it's really a product of evolution) because it suffers from "ORDER." This is because random, purposeless, mindless forces should produce a random, purposeless, mindless cosmos. But the egg shows that this is not what we have. We have order, structure and lost of stuff that seems to have a purpose.
Dr. T quoted several Scripture's which were very applicable. These are from the NIV.
Job 25:2 "Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes order in the heights of heaven."
1 Cor. 14:33 "For God is not a God of disorder..."
James 3:16 "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."
The point is that God is a God of order and disorder and confusion are not in His nature.
Dr. Del said that Order is seen in the systems God created which are countless and incredible because of the perfect harmony, order & relationship both within the system itself and in relationship to the systems around it. Examples are The Atom, Cellular system, Skeletal system, Circulatory system, Photosynthesis, Coral reefs, Metamorphosis, Pollination, Water cycle, Lunar tides, the Solar system and on and on... He then drew our attention to God's social order which is found in Family, Church, Law, Politics, Economics, Art, Music, Literature and so on. These are not the results of chance but of a God who sets them in motion and maintains His creation.
Here are some good comments by Melvin in an email and my thought back to him:
Mike,
I found the comparison of the 3s interesting. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Husband, wife, and children. Church, leaders, and members. They all have the same relationships, privileges, and responsibilities. Take the relationships of any of these spheres and compare them to either of the other 2 spheres and they are pretty much the same.
Since the God head sphere is so intimate and unique it models a very unique relationship for the family and church. Neat.
Yet it also models a very significant amount of responsibility. We must “play our role” properly in both of the spheres in which we live and associate. Challenging.
Melvin
My Response:
Well said Melvin.
I agree, it is very neat. The idea of unity within diversity is certainly a Trinitarian theme. Seeing this in a variety of relationship is one of those wonderful theological quirks we can enjoy as we make sense of God's creation and rightly see His creative hand weaving all things together.
I suppose we would want to be careful about thinking this way about every relationship in that the pattern analogy can go too far, but I do think that there are very many things which God has made to reflect who He is. It seems to be one way he communicates important principles. Typology, I think, is this sort of deep indirect communication to us; one where we can look back at what God has done and have that "Ah...ha!" experience. But also one where we can look at what God is doing in the present and be assured that his purposes are being sovereignly worked out.
Michael
By the way, I invited Dr. Tackett to our church for March 13th. I sent the invitation through Focus on the Family and here is their response:
Dear Michael:
Warm greetings, and many thanks for your recent e-mail to Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project®. We’re encouraged to learn of your participation in this endeavor, and you can be sure we will forward your kind invitation to Dr. Tackett’s office for follow-up. Grace and peace to you!
Kathryn Lisle
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Who knows, maybe he will make appearance. I'll certainly see if I can remind him at the prayer breakfast on March 12th.
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