What I Saw the Other Day

Driving out of Nampa heading toward Boise onto the freeway the other day I was stopped behind a car with that hip, new Christian sticker "NOTW" (i.e. Not of this world). And here's the fun part. Right next to that "christian" sticker was another about twice the size that read "Raise the Wage"!   This, of course, is in reference to the minimum wage.  Raise the wage?  Really?  Not of this world but, wait... "Force another person to give me more money"...huh?

Now, the NOTW is in reference, apparently, to when Jesus was asked if He was a king, and He stated His Kingdom was not OF this world implying He was a King over a kingdom in another place and that His kingship did not derive it's authority, source or power out of this fallen Earth.  Source (i.e. "of ") is the focus not place or realm.

Here's the important part though, what Jesus is NOT saying is that He somehow -- "spiritually" or mystically -- is not "really" in the world and that His "true" self is somewhere else (yeah, you know...spiritually, right? Sure, sure, and that means . . .what exactly?) Sadly, I think that is likely what most evangelical/quasi-christians think Jesus means, but that is ancient greek (gnostic + platonic) thinking and not Hebraic.  

The Hebraic/Biblical point is this: We aren't a "true" or "perfect-whole" person somewhere else and this body of ours, and Creation around it, is just a mirage or incidental or unimportant.  Rather, our regenerated selves are waiting to have this "tent" further or more elaborately clothed ("For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."  2 Corinthians 5.4) .  

In other words, we are waiting to be fully remodeled into "life", or "spirit", as the Scriptures describe it in another way ("What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body... Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven."  1 Corinthian 15.43-44, 49).

That is to say we will correspond to the risen Messiah's physical BODY that had been transformed into pure "spirit" -- which doesn't have anything to do with being an ethereal ghost form-body  --  but everything to do with love, purity, holiness, and sinlessness "powered" by God.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is really not OF this world.