Image of God in the Parables E-Book

Stephen W. Hiemstra

• Herausgeber: T2Pneuma Publishers LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Image of God
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 168

Beschreibung

Our image of God reveals not only God’s character, but our own.  

Jesus’ parables reveal a God who is intentionally available to those who seek him. They invite the listener to enter the narrative and engage with God one-on-one to expand our understanding of faith and of ourselves. 

The image of God in the New Testament takes at least three forms: The person of Jesus, Jesus' teaching about the kingdom of God with the parables, and the founding of the church on Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. In this book I will focus on the image of God the Father found in the parables. 

The authenticity of the parables as Jesus' own words is seldom questioned, in part, because Jesus' parables are unique, a genre unto themselves, but not a typical genre. A typical genre might adhere to a particular structure or story form, but not a parable.

Image of God in the Parables is written in a devotional format with a reflection, prayers, and questions for study.  

Cover art by C. Hiemstra (2023), The Lost Sheep, Used with Permission

Hear the words; walk the steps; experience the joy!

Author Stephen W. Hiemstra (MDiv, Ph.D.) is a slave of Christ, husband, father, author, and volunteer pastor. He lives in Centreville, Virginia with Maryam, his wife of more than thirty-five years. They have three grown children

***********

Clear, well-researched, and innovative, Hiemstra has produced an important work investigating the defining feature of humanity—the Image of God.

Paul Lauerman, Pastor

Image of God in the Parables introduces you to a different perspective of God that you might not have considered before, an intimate God that seeks you out to have a relationship of Creator with created.

Nohemi Zerbi

The book will deepen your spiritual walk with the Lord as He continues to disciple us daily through His written word and many of life’s experiences.

Eric Teitelman, Pastor

In Image of God in the Parables, Stephen Hiemstra uncovers the image of God as Jesus taught in his parables

Sarah Hamaker, Author

Stephen W Hiemstra helps us deepen the truths of the Kingdom of our beloved God.

Julio Martinez, Pastor

Stephen reminds us that: “We can never fully comprehend God, but he invites us to try. When we do, the forms that lead us to him, like the parables and worship, no longer constrain us. They simply launch us into this new dimension available only through faith.”

Briane Pittman Kairns

“Jesus’ parables are like the water offered to desert traveler lost, faint-hearted, and close to death.“ The Image of God in the Parables is a drink from the Living Water for the seeker who longs to quench his thirst for God in the arid desert of modern materialism.

Sharron Giambanco

Leseprobe

Contents

Endorsements

Other Books by the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

Introduction

The Face of God

Indirect Speech

Parable as Genre

Parables in a Postmodern Context

Mercy

The Good Samaritan

The Unforgiving Servant

The Barren Fig Tree

The Tax Collector and the Pharisee

Applying Mercy

Grace

The Hidden Treasure

Lost Sheep

Sin as Sickness

Contending Grace

Applying Grace

Patience

Two Builders

Sower

The Talents

Ten Virgins

Applying Patience

Love

The Good Samaritan Revisited

The Two Brothers

The Friend at Midnight

The Dragnet

Applying Love

Faith

The Rock

The Callous Judge

Pharisee and Tax Collector

The Physician

Applying Faith

Conclusion

Who God is Not

Image of God

References

About

Notes

Endorsements

In the Image of God in the Parables, Stephen Hiemstra teaches us about the person of Jesus, His teaching about the kingdom of God with the parables, and the church’s founding on Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. In a world where humanity constantly seeks to understand itself apart from God, Stephen shows us that by discovering who God is in scripture, we discover who we are in Him. Our true identity will always be determined by God’s divine nature and how He created us. Similar to other books in Stephen’s series, this book is written in a devotional format with a reflection, prayers, and questions for study. The book will deepen your spiritual walk with the Lord as He continues to disciple us daily through His written word and many of life’s experiences. I highly recommend this book and all the others Stephen has written.

Eric Teitelman

House of David Ministries

Image of God in the Parables introduces you to a different perspective of God that you might not have considered before, an intimate God that seeks you out to have a relationship of Creator with created. The questions at the end of each chapter help you think more deeply about what you have read. But the prayers are the crown jewel of each reflection. Deep and personal, these prayers help you align your heart with God's heart and will. Stephen Hiemstra truly takes you to a special place with God through his new book.

Nohemi Zerbi

Bridging the gap between the academic and the personal, Hiemstra unites expert research and incisive practical observation. To his credit, his book would work as well as a text for a church Bible study as it would for a first-year seminary class study group. Clear, well-researched, and innovative, Hiemstra has produced an important work investigating the defining feature of humanity—the Image of God.

Paul Lauerman

Pastor, Centreville Presbyterian Church

One of my passions is studying Scripture through varying lenses and topics. Consequently, I was pleased when Stephen W. Hiemstra asked me to review and endorse his book, The Image of God in the Parables. The title intrigued me, and the book is a lovely gift.

Stephen has structured a thought-provoking devotional that uses the parables to view five different aspects of the Image of God: mercy, grace, patience, love and faith. Each chapter concludes with a prayer as well as questions for reflection that solidify the focus of the chapter. Both of these encourage the reader to take in the content slowly and intentionally in order to thoroughly absorb key points.

As I read each chapter I frequently said Wow! out loud as Stephen presented God’s character in a parable in new and fresh ways. I especially enjoyed the linguistic insights that add depth and richness to his insights.

The book concludes with some excellent insights about who God is not. Stephen reminds us that: “We can never fully comprehend God, but he invites us to try. When we do, the forms that lead us to him, like the parables and worship, no longer constrain us. They simply launch us into this new dimension available only through faith.” Stephen has offered just such a new dimension in this lovely book.

Briane Pittman Kairns

“Jesus’ parables are like the water offered to desert traveler lost, faint-hearted, and close to death.“ The Image of God in the Parables is a drink from the Living Water for the seeker who longs to quench his thirst for God in the arid desert of modern materialism. Dr. Hiemstra offers insight into God the Father in the parables of Jesus. He mines deeply in the culture and languages of the Old and New Testament and presents diamonds of spiritual treasures for those of us who long to understand more of Scripture.

Sharron Giambanco

Wanting to seek God in a deeper way helps us to relate to Him in a more effective way. It is precisely what this great book offers us. The possibility of finding through the parables a much deeper revelation of the essence of Jesus Christ. Stephen W Hiemstra helps us deepen the truths of the Kingdom of our beloved God.

Julio Martinez

Pastor, Shadai Phoenix

Knowing we're made in the image of God is a source of comfort and awe, but all too often we don't dive below the surface of this amazing fact. In Image of God in the Parables, Stephen Hiemstra uncovers the image of God as Jesus taught in his parables. If you're eager to see the connection between our character and God's as Jesus shows us in his teachings about the kingdom of God, then this is the book for you.

Sarah Hamaker

Writer’s coach

and author of The Cold War Legacy series

Christian Spirituality Series:

A Christian Guide to Spirituality1

Life in Tension2

Called Along the Way

Simple Faith

Living in Christ

Image and Illumination

Masquerade Series:3

Masquerade

The Detour

Prayerbooks:

Everyday Prayers for Everyday People

Prayers4

Prayers of a Life in Tension

IMAGE OF GOD

IN THE PARABLES

Stephen W. Hiemstra

Image of God in the Parables

Copyright © 2023 Stephen W. Hiemstra

ISNI: 0000-0000-2902-8171, All rights reserved.

With the exception of short excerpts used in articles and critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without prior written permission of the publisher.

T2Pneuma Publishers LLC

P.O. Box 230564, Centreville, Virginia 20120

www.T2Pneuma.com

Names: Hiemstra, Stephen W., author. Title: Image of God in the parables / Stephen W. Hiemstra. Series: Image of God. Description: Includes bibliographical references and index. | Centreville, VA: T2Pneuma Publishers LLC, 2023. Identifiers: LCCN: 2023905718 | ISBN: 978-1-942199-97-7 (paperback) | 978-1-942199-45-8 (KDP) | 978-1-942199-92-2 (epub). Subjects: LCSH Jesus Christ--Parables. | God--Christianity. | Christian life. | BISAC RELIGION / Christian Living / Devotional | RELIGION / Spirituality. Classification: LCC BT375.3 .H 2023 | DDC 226.8/06--dc23

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Many thanks to my editor, Sarah Smith Hamaker, and to Jean Arnold and Donald Fairbairn, who offered comments.

Cover art by C. Hiemstra (2023), The Lost Sheep, Used with Permission.

Cover by SWH

Preface

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed,

The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

(Exod. 34:6)

Our image of God reveals not only God’s character, but our own. Jesus’ parables reveal a God who is intentionally available to those who seek him. They invite the listener to enter the narrative and engage with God one-on-one to expand our understanding of faith and of ourselves.

The image of God in the New Testament takes at least three forms: The person of Jesus, Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God with the parables, and the founding of the church on Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. This is a Trinitarian revelation of God, not by analytical description, but through word pictures. In this book I will focus on the image of God the Father found in the parables.

The authenticity of the parables as Jesus’ own words is seldom questioned, in part, because Jesus’ parables are unique, a genre unto themselves, but not a typical genre. A typical genre might adhere to a particular structure or story form, but not a parable. The parables distinguish themselves by inviting the hearer to participate in the story and requiring a response to the call to faith, many times without explicitly mentioning God.

This invitation to enter God’s presence is unexpected and contrary to our experience. The narrative is more than the sum of the parts, like an Easter sunrise that transforms everything else. The freshness of the event surprises, even taunts us, to see everything new. It’s like climbing the mountain to discover that you live on an island, but the good news is that on the horizon is a whole new world accessible through faith. Old limits no longer apply. God’s transcendence works this way and Jesus’ parables provide a path to experiencing it.

Circumlocutions

Explicit in some parables and implicit in others are the words: The kingdom of God is like… Because the covenantal name of God, YHWH, is sacred in Jewish thought, the Bible uses numerous circumlocutions—indirect references—for God’s name. The most common circumlocution is Lord, which in Hebrew is Adoni. Another common circumlocution is The Name, which in Hebrew is Shema.

The use of circumlocutions, indirect speech, like poetry, is most common in repressive societies. Jesus began speaking in parables after the Pharisees began to plot against him (Matt 12–13).

New Testament references to the Kingdom of God (Mark, Luke) or the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew) are circumlocutions for the name of God. Almost all of Jesus’ parables refer to the kingdom of God, while rabbinic parables typically elucidate a passage of scripture (Blomberg 2012, 77).

God’s Self-Revelation

Because we are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), it is important that we understand what God’s image implies. After the second giving of the Ten Commandments, Moses is given a description in Exodus 34:6, cited earlier, of who God is that is repeated throughout the Old Testament (e.g. Ps 86:15, 103:8; Joel 2:13; and Jonah 4:2).

This latter reference is interesting because Jesus described his mission in these words: “For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.” (Luke 11:30) Because Jesus knew the story of Jonah, he clearly knew Exodus 34:6 for Jonah’s reason for running away from Nineveh hinged on it: “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah hated the Ninevites and refused to preach God’s forgiveness to them because he knew God would forgive them if they repented of their sin.

Nineveh was the superpower of that day, much like Washington, Moscow, and Beijing are today, which suggests that the story of Jonah remains timely. God’s character provides a model for us, both as individuals and as communities.

Jesus’ Authority

Why is Jesus an authority on the image of God? Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection accredit his link to God as the author of our faith (1 Cor 15:20–28; Heb 12:2). In fact, because the New Testament was written after Christ’s death and resurrection, every sentence in the New Testament should be read as if prepended with the words: Because Christ rose from the dead, therefore…

The parables of Jesus therefore read as if penned by God himself, something worthy of further study. These five characteristics of God—mercy, grace, patience, love, and faithfulness—provide a powerful classification for Jesus’ parables.

Context of Christian Spirituality

A complete spirituality addresses each of the four questions typically posed in philosophy:

1. Metaphysics—Who is God?

2. Anthropology—Who are we?

3. Epistemology—How do we know?

4. Ethics—What do we do about it? (Kreeft 2007, 6)

My first two books—A Christian Guide to Spirituality and Life in Tension—address the metaphysical question. My third book—Called Along the Way—explores the anthropological question in the first person. My fourth book, Simple Faith, examined the epistemological question. My fifth book, Living in Christ, explored the ethics question. My sixth book, Image and Illumination, returned to Christian anthropology from a community perspective.

Image of God in the Parables builds on lessons learned in Image and Illumination with a renewed focus on metaphysics. It is written in a devotional format with a reflection, prayers, and questions for study. For those of you who may have wondered, I find the devotional format a compelling way to share my own meditations.

Soli Deo Gloria

∞

God of all Mercy,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth, and justice are yours because you created us in your image, male and female, and ransomed us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We confess that there is no law that we have not broken in spirit and in truth, nor have we loved you with all of our hearts and minds, nor have we loved our neighbor. We are shattered images undeserving of your love and attention.

Thank you for your love, both unconditional and conditional, loving us better than our own mothers and fathers, in spite of our rebellious nature and broken faith.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, break every chain with which Satan binds us, be it traumatic pain, impious griefs, blistering illnesses, or soul-crushing addictions. Come in our hearts and cleanse us of all such sin, transgressions, and iniquities that we might be whole again. Give us hearts and minds for you alone, and Christian friends and a faithful church to aid us in life’s journey.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Questions

1. What are three New Testament images of God?

2. What are several circumlocutions for the name of God?

3. What self-disclosure does God give to Moses?

4. What is interesting about the story of Jonah, other than the whale?

Introduction

The Face of God

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them,

does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country,

and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

(Luke 15:4)

The Lost Sheep (1898), a painting by Alfred Usher Soord (1868–1915), captured the enthusiasm of the great missionary movement of the late nineteenth century that followed the call by Dwight Moody to: “The evangelization of the world in this generation.” (Longfield 1991, 18, 185). The painting pictures a shepherd hanging off a cliff to rescue a lost sheep stuck on a limb in imminent danger of either falling to its death or being eaten alive by a circling eagle.

This painting tells a story and draws us in. But what is that story? Even though we cannot see the face of the shepherd in Soord’s painting, we immediately intuit that he is an honorable, trustworthy, and courageous man, someone devoted to his flock. Yet, we do not know his ethnicity, his religion, or even his age. Still, we want to emulate this shepherd as a role model.

For the believer, this painting evokes the image of an activist God who takes great risks to rescue sinners from impending death. We know this shepherd image from Psalm 23:1, which begins: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Jesus himself called on this image in John 10:14: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” This image is poignant because we have more experience with bad shepherds than with good ones (Ezek 34).

Digging deeper into John 10, the story Jesus told may not be the one heard. Jesus heals a blind man during the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1), while the shepherd discussion takes place during the feast of Dedication (John 10:22), which like Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the temple by Judas Maccabees in 165 BC. The Maccabees led a rebellion against the Hellenization of Israel and the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanies—a very bad shepherd! While today John 10 is typically read along with Psalm 23 (good shepherds), the context suggests that Ezekiel 34 (bad shepherds) is the more apt sermon text.

For the unbeliever, bad shepherds like Antiochus Epiphanies would be a more common experience than good shepherds and would clearly not be hanging off cliffs for lost sheep. In preparing to paint, Soord clearly read Ezekiel 34:5–6: “My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.“ Unbelievers almost certainly would not see the allegory so obvious to most believers.

This is not a painting that leaves the viewer without an emotional response. Even a materialist might recognize the magnetism of this art. A cynic might scoff at the idea of the shepherd’s divine symbolism; a feminist might write off the story because the shepherd is male. A first-century Jerusalem resident might easily have seen the shepherd as a shady figure—a poor, smelly beggar or thief—not a Sunday school icon. A nonbeliever might reject the analogy obvious to believers as naive and work hard to come up with alternative narratives.

The point here is that Soord’s painting, like the parable itself, forces the viewer to accept or reject the theme of the painting. Jesus himself says: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matt 13:13) The parable (and the painting) bring us into the presence of God and confront us with a decision of faith. Our hearts are either willing or not.

When Moses asked to see God’s face, God cautioned him to look only at the tail of his robe as he passed by. God then said: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exod 34:6) God’s face in the Old Testament was veiled and elusive. Seeing only God’s robe, Moses’ face began to glow (Exod 34:29). It is only in the person of Jesus and through his parables that we get a fuller picture.

∞

Father God,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours because you created us and have rescued us like a Good Shepherd in spite of our foolish wandering from your image and word.

Forgive our wanton behavior, our directionless lives, and willful sinning when you have provided for all our needs, both physical and spiritual.

Thank you for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the teaching of his parables, and the guidance of the church, founded and provisioned by the Holy Spirit.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, draw us to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our minds, and strengthen our hands in your service.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Questions

1. What scriptural passages come to mind in the parable of the Lost Sheep?

2. What examples of bad shepherds can you name?

3. How does God describe himself to Moses?

4. What does it mean to have the glow?

Indirect Speech

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house

who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day,

he sent them into his vineyard.

(Matt 20:1–2)

In the early 1980s while I was in graduate school, a Russian friend invited me to a vodka party. My friend’s Russian, ex-pat friends affectionally referred to him as Boris the spy because of his strong family ties to the KGB. At this party, an inebriated Russian friend of his, a professor, came up to me and began translating an article from Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the USSR.

He started by asking: How could Pravada