The Great Cover-Up – I John 4:7-21—3-22-09
Above all keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8
God’s word through the Bible is often a form of communication more like art than science. The Bible is less like actual recordings of events as they occur and more like inspired works made afterward by gifted artists; they are more like paintings with words by inspired authors who remember and interprets particular events using the memories, traditions and interpretations of their faith community.
An artist sometimes covers a prior work with a new painting. This practice also offers a way of gaining insight into God’s word. God’s earlier picture of humanity and man’s earlier picture of God have both been covered up in a fashion that enables both God and Man to be seen in new ways. The good news is that Jesus is the supreme Biblical artist who paints for all humanity the definitive picture of both God and Man.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:10
The Bible uses the term: Propitiation [I John 2:2; 4:10] which is an act of God to cover up man’s sin. To put it mildly God expects more of his people whom he created. Sin as like shooting an arrow which misses its mark. We miss the mark of God standards. However Jesus lived his life without sin, moment by moment following God’s will; doing so,he covered over our sin. In this great cover-up, God looks at us and sees Jesus whose picture has been painted over ours. Jesus is the perfect picture of human kind!
The great cover-up extends to those unflattering pictures of God painted by the Old Testament authors. Such paintings of God carry devastating consequences: Endless cycles of war, violence and destruction.
“Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” I Samuel 15:2-3
These old “paintings” of God are made of the same anger, hatred and fear that those today use who picture their god as approving the acts of terror they inflict on their fellow human beings.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18
Jesus paints this new picture of God to cover-up Man’s destructive views born of fear. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, an older painting of God is covered over by this new painting of Jesus as the likeness of God. With Jesus’ brutal death on the cross, the old pictures of God die with him—so that with the resurrection a new painting of God as being like Jesus comes into being!We have been introduced to this gospel [the good news] in which Jesus paints the full picture of God as God of love!
Jesus said to him…he who has seen Me has seen the Father…. John 14:9
Jesus is both fully God and fully Human. Jesus covers God so we now look at the picture of God and see Jesus. Jesus covers us so God now looks at us and sees Jesus. Jesus paints both the full picture of humanity and the full picture of God! There is yet one more step: Which is for us to picture others as Jesus does!
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:7
God sees us; God loves us as He sees and loves Jesus; we see God through Jesus, seeing God as we see Jesus! Now we are to see others as God sees them and loves them [Because God sees and loves them through Jesus.] God loves us; we love God; we love others. Jesus paints this new picture in love as his great cover-up of sin. How can we love others? It is with Jesus—living in us—loving others through us!
It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness [of love] to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…. Colossians 1:19-20