Divine Order: extension

The precise of this blog is simple: with divine order comes divine authority; with earthly order comes earthly authority.

The definition of ‘order’ has more to do with an arrangement than a sequence, and this detail is pertinent to the previous post, which dealt with the difference between God’s intended order and our earthly interpretation thereof, which tends to be primarily chronological. I append to the previous post that our prophetical interpretations also sway in this direction, which is sometimes enlightening but can also be deceptive. Consider, for instance, the numerous ‘double-layer’ prophecies in the Old Testament, which can allude to both Christ’s first and second comings. Consider, for instance, the verse that instructs us that God does not differentiate between a day and millennium. Consider, for instance, the strange sequential jump that our conception of life after death must entail, especially if we adhere to theories of ‘ultimate resurrection of the dead’, whilst acknowledging that everybody dies at different points in time.

Expanding the etymology of ‘order’ is primarily religious. However, notice the elaborations of the term. ‘Order’ can denote a society, usually a select, sometime clandestine, group of individuals either with common interests, achievements or heritage. In this sense of the word, it is not very different from a ‘family’. Another extension of the word ‘order’ is in a command (think military). Moreover, ‘order’ can express calmness (think a court room). And finally, ‘order’ can allude to a specific sequence of events.

This elementary endeavour at etymological exploration, however rudimentary, is informative. There is clearly a common strand to all of these usages (a proper arrangement or sequence, a family, and a command). Think of earthly ‘authorities’ that are emerging or have emerged. The EU, for example, is an attempt to create a proper arrangement. It is a select group (entry is restricted), and ‘orders’ are given (there is a notional hierarchy of command). The Old Testament law was an ‘order’: it set out a ‘proper’ way of living, with explicit commands, and it established God at the apex of authority.

One of the interpretations of 'order' was the calmness of a courtroom: a setting conducive for justice. Notice how we can never be justifed by the Old Testament law, because we can never fulfill it. Notice how no earthly order (take the EU) will ever be completely at peace, because its conditions will never completely be fulfilled. Without a proper 'order' (arrangement), 'orders' (commands) are not obeyed, and so the 'order' (group/society) falls apart, and its authority diminishes. The environment is not one of 'order', but rather of war, and justice flies out of the window.

The New Covenant is a different type of order. We learn that ‘everything is permissible, but not everything is desirable’. When love enters the fray, interests should become mutual. Commands exist, but they supplement our desire to follow them. A hierarchy exists, but we are forgiven, and so are considered as equals. In this sense, an ‘order’ becomes a ‘family’, and we can truly be called sons and daughters of God. Divine authority allows for justification by grace through faith, rather than by adhering to the commandments. Love allows for fulfillment of orders, creating a divine order and a divine authority, establishing an environment of order and justice.

However, those commandments do not lose relevancy. The Bible tells us that there is no earthly authority that has not been established by God, and we are indeed instructed to abide by earthly laws. The reason is that with divine order comes divine authority; with earthly order comes earthly authority – and crucially, earthly authority is subservient to divine authority. For this reason, the Tower of Babel could never stand. For this reason, nonexistent money could not propel the financial system. For this reason, ‘the Law’ is still relevant to us as Christians, because when we fail to act in love, we must be checked to ensure that we do not fall out of the new order of love, by which we are justified. Rather than subside into obsolescence, the Law becomes fulfilled, and engrained on our hearts. An analogy can be made to ‘the Temple’: Christ stated that he would rebuild the temple – what he was meant was that a physical structure (along with physical acts of sacrifice) was no longer required to enter ‘the Kingdom’. The Temple would be inside of each of us.

Christ is King of Kings, and so his kingdom is above any earthly authority. It is imperative that we understand that this divine order is not waiting for us in Heaven; it is right here, on planet earth, inside each of us. We must live our lives in accordance with the directives and purposes mandated to us.

One salient point is that justice and love are intricately connected by the concept of an order. We are punished for not following commandments (orders), only out of love (divine order) for us, because being inside the society (order) is better for us than being outside of it, which is the consequence of unpaid sin (the result of an improper order). Conversely, we follow orders out of love and so enter into the peace that surpasses all human understanding.

After all, if God = Love, and Love = Life, then if you don’t love God, you haven’t lived.