SLSW and Power

Greg Boyd explains that he is in agreement with the idea "the church is called to bring an end to the oppressive reign of the fallen powers and to reclaim the authority God originally gave humans to rule the earth. This is an essential aspect of what it means to manifest Jesus’s lordship over all things." (p. 213). But he is deeply concerned with Greenwood's view on how the church is to do this. Boyd's specific concern stems from Greenwood's core framework.

Greenwood explains her theology by quoting Steve Thompson.... "Jesus having won back the authority on earth, could now mediate and rule in the affairs of earth. However, Jesus did not stay on the earth to rule it. He ascended to the Father and is seated at His right hand. So who is now responsible to rule and reign in the earth? Believe it or not, the church, which is the Body of Christ." (p. 192). Greenwood views this as an expression of the ministry of reconciliation from 2 Cor 5:18 and understands it to be a "mandate for social transformation". She claims, "because we are members of the army of God, we have the legal right to wield power over the enemy in the name of Jesus"(p.193). And this wielding of power means that through means like the weapons of SLSW, Christians are able to triumph over opposing supernatural forces, thereby clearing the way for social transformation that reflects the Kingdom of God.

Social transformation is often talked about as a desirable goal in Theology Of Work circles. A key aspect of the spiritual significance of work is to engage our work and make it more like the Kingdom of God. N.T. Wright is a favorite theologian who echoes what Steve Thompson and Rebecca Greenwood are championing. In the sermon titled "The Power of Heaven Let Loose on Earth", Wright preaches, "The claim of Pentecost, from Acts 2 and Ephesians 4 and Romans 8 and all those other great Spirit-texts in the New Testament... is precisely that the rule which the ascended Lord Jesus exercises on earth is exercised through his Spirit-filled people." But, while this echoes the same theme, I suspect that N.T Wright might share Boyd's concern.

And that concern is that Greenwood emphasizes a triumphant and victorious church in the world. Boyd explains, "By engaging in strategic-level spiritual warfare and other means, they aspire to have Christians take over and win. I submit that our only call is to serve, not take over, and to even appear to lose when necessary, not win" (p. 216).

But if we are to "reclaim the authority God originally gave humans to rule the earth", that does seem to involve winning in the sense of defeating Satan and taking back the dominion of the world. It is easy to see how Greenwood and others would embrace a call for Christians to reign and rule in society as the means of Jesus taking His place as Lord. And we will need to be more powerful than Satan and his forces in order to do this. So it would seem that we should be looking for and embracing whatever appears to give us the power to reign and rule in society. From this vantage point, focusing on serving and "appearing to lose" seems weak and ineffective for bringing about "Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." Taking over and winning feels far more practical.

Boyd believes that the idea of taking over and winning is not a path to "Thy kingdom come", but a temptation, and one of the ways that Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan offers Jesus all the authority over the kingdoms of the world, the ability to rule and reign, to try and tempt Jesus into worshiping him. Boyd views the theology of the church ruling and reigning in society as falling for this same trap. He writes, "If the example of Jesus and the teachings of the New Testament are not enough to convince us to shun the aspiration to "rule and reign in the earth" as a temptation of the devil, the tragic history of the church that for fifteen hundred years has tried to do this should be. If history teaches us anything, it should be that it is disastrous for the church, as well as for the state, to have Christians "rule and reign" (p. 214).

It seems natural to believe that bringing an end to the oppressive regime of Satan and reclaiming the authority that God originally gave to humans to rule the earth would involve Christians ruling and reigning in the world. As we seek to manifest the Kingdom of God in our work, shouldn't we look for ways to take over our professions and gain the power and influence to bring about social transformation?

The relationship between Christians and power when it comes to shaping society has been debated for centuries. Given the focus within the faith-and-work movement on our call and ability to shape society in ways that are pleasing to God, we need to grapple with this debate. Does Boyd's warning that seeking power is a demonic temptation hold merit? More on that next time.