Bradley Jersak - IN: Incarnation & Inclusion, Abba & Lamb

The question I address in this brief work is how Christ-followers might hold the tension of these two abiding and complementary truths: 1. Christs one-of-a-kind revelation 2. Abbas all-inclusive love. I believe that Sacred Scripture and Christ himself affirm both these doctrines in a mind-blowing fullness. And yet those who enthusiastically profess either one of these two truths frequently do so at the expense of their complement. I am neither an exclusivist nor a pluralist. I believe in both the unique revelation of Christ and the inclusive love of Abba. In the following study, Ill lay out biblical and experiential evidence for integrating and celebrating both these truths together, espousing the beautiful gospel of Christs unique revelation of Abbas all-inclusive love. By Christ, I am not referring to some abstract, ethereal or disincarnate spirit. Following the Apostolic tradition, I mean specifically our one Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb crucified and risen, whose singular revelation unveiled God as our eternal, cruciform and loving Abba. My primary lens for this synthesis is the prologue of Johns Gospel, where I see: Gods One and Only Lamb, crucified and risenthis Word who speaks ALL into being, this Light who shines on all and in all, this Life who breathes life into all, this One unveils God as Our All-merciful, All-embracing Abba. I, for one, believe that Gods banqueting table is wide open because of Christ. The higher my Christology, the wider I see the reach of Abbas love. The banquet metaphor is a way to think about both the uniqueness of Christ and the inclusivity of his Abba. The Master of the feast instructed his servants to invite, nay, to compel all to join in the feast. Theres a seat and setting reserved for every human in history. I hope this book magnifies both these glorious truths clearly.