Tabletalk Devotions with R.C. Sproul - December 08, 2020

A Christology of Feeling 1 John 1:1–4 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes…and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 John 1:1–3). Yesterday we focused on the impact of the radical immanentism of G.W.F. Hegel in the nineteenth century. Hegel's theories, however, were not universally embraced. Schools like Princeton Theological Seminary, for example, held fast to Christian orthodoxy in the 1800s. Others attempted to hold to the uniqueness of Christ and yet were unable to totally break away from an immanentistic bent in their theology. The most influential of these men was Friedrich Schleiermacher. Schleiermacher maintained that there was a divine element in all men, which illustrates his affinities with immanentism. Yet unlike Hegel, Schleiermacher maintained that Jesus was different from other men in that He represents the supreme perfection of the divine element in humanity. This is particularly evident in Christ's "God-consciousness": Jesus was acutely aware of His "absolute dependence" on His Father and thus He was rendered sinless. Of course, it is true that we are all absolutely dependent on God, for "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). But Schleiermacher did not emphasize this absolute dependence in any objective kind of way. Rather, he subjectivized the Christian faith, saying that the essence of religion is the feeling of "absolute dependence." Jesus really "felt" His dependence upon the Father and that made Him the perfect man, the authentically religious man. Combined with his unbiblical view of immanence, Schleiermacher's view of religion shaped the theological liberalism that came to the fore in the second half of the nineteenth century. Soon Jesus became the great teacher and model for what it means to be dependent upon God — whether or not He was God Himself. To be sure, Jesus is the supreme teacher and model, but this is not the whole story. He is also God incarnate who reconciles repentant sinners to the Almighty through bearing the Father's wrath on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). Biblical Christianity is not pure subjectivism. There is an objective content — Christ's life, death, and resurrection — that undergirds our faith. Without this content there is no way to know if we are depending upon the right God. Coram deo: Living before the face of God Hegel, himself no friend of biblical Christianity, criticized Schleiermacher, saying that if the essence of religion was the feeling of absolute dependence, then the dog, being absolutely dependent upon people, is the most divine creature of all. Many people feel dependent on their spouses, their jobs, or the teaching of other religions, but this does not make them truly pious. Only those dependent upon the biblical Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, will ever find salvation (John 14:6). For further study: 2 Kings 20:20 The Bible in a year: Hosea 5:1–6:11

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Copyright Information INTO the WORD daily Bible studies from TableTalk Magazine, Matthew Studies. Copyright © 2008 by Ligonier Ministries. Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact us. *Manage all Bible Gateway subscriptions —  *Opt Out of all Bible Gateway communication *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally R C Sproul R.C. Sproul (Drs, Free University of Amsterdam) was the founder of Ligonier Ministries and general editor of The Reformation Study Bible. A prolific author, he wrote more than sixty books, including The Holiness of God, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone, Chosen by God, What Is Reformed Theology?, The Glory of Christ, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, and Getting the Gospel Right. Dr. Sproul was professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale until 2004 and, before that, taught at Reformed Theological Seminary. He served as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel, Sanford, Florida, and taught on the national daily radio program Renewing Your Mind. Want to buy R. C. Sproul books on Alibris?