In my last article, we explored how God reveals his presence through creation as well as through arts and culture. Additionally, we learned that we can use our own creativity to impact our communities for his glory. Now, we will more deeply examine our love for God and how this can shape our world.
Saint Augustine, the great ancient church theologian, wrote the magisterial work, The City of God. There, he explained that there are two loves that shape the world, creating two divergent cultures—two differing civilizations, the City of God and the City of Man. Augustine argued that whatever we supremely love inwardly, we ultimately express outwardly. And this expressed love creates culture.
The City of Man vs. the City of God
By loving themselves, fallen human beings create the City of Man. But the Christian is different in that he loves God. By loving God, he begins to create the City of God—a city with a culture that reflects what God loves.
It is interesting to see that the first use of the word “city” in the Bible is in Genesis 4:17. There, Cain, who murdered his brother Abel and was banished from the presence of God, went to the land of Nod, east of Eden. Nod means “to wander.” Cain built the first city mentioned in the Bible and did not name it for God, but for his own son, Enoch. Cain’s city was the first expression of a city reflecting man.
The City of God began to appear in scripture in 2 Samuel 5:7 with Zion. Zion is mentioned often in the Old Testament as well as occasionally in the New Testament (e.g., Ps. 2:6; 9:11; 14:7; 48:1-14; 87:1-3; Rom. 9:33; 11:26; Heb. 12:22; 1 Pet. 2:6; Rev. 14:1). Zion perhaps means a “stronghold.” Zion, as a city, was destined to become the City of Jerusalem, meaning “the City of peace.” Jerusalem is called the City of God (Ps. 46:4; 48:1) and Zion, the City of God, is ultimately the “heavenly Jerusalem” in Hebrews 12:22.
Revelation concludes with the image of the New Jerusalem being given to God’s people (Rev. 21). There, the Garden of Eden is restored as the Garden of God. The beginning of scripture is there fully realized as the eternal City of God, which is the climax of the whole story of salvation presented by the scriptures. In Revelation 22, the blessings of Eden are forever secured as the Tree of Life is freely given to redeemed and glorified mankind in the celestial City of Christ.
Inner Worship & Public Expression
The history of salvation in the scriptures illustrates how culture is our inward religion turned outward to shape the world by the city of faith that salvation creates. Our love and inward worship within inevitably erupts into the world. Our inner love seeks and longs for others to join in loving what we love. Christians create a culture that celebrates our love for Jesus Christ and the beauties of his salvation.
We have seen that the word culture suggests:
First, to cultivate the land.
Second, the idea of caring for something deeply.
Third, being devoted to something.
Fourth, being so devoted to something that we worship it inwardly and lift it up outwardly as our desired cultural reality.
And finally, the fifth sense of colere is the well-known word “colony.” Perhaps surprisingly, colony is also derived from this Latin word.
The Romans recognized that when they sent people out from the ancient capital city of Rome, they formed a people to care for a distant land by advancing the values of Rome. They did this by creating new farms that eventually created new cities. Their new places of cultivation became colonies of the original city. The colony was to adhere to and advance the values of the original city of Rome that had sent them.
This is what happens to each of us who are called by God to believe in Christ (Rom. 8:30) and called by Christ to carry the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matt. 28:18-20).
Under the skillful and aesthetically pleasing work of our spiritually cultured Christian pastors, leaders, and teachers, we are not merely experiencing aesthetics that reflect wisdom, beauty, history, and faith. But more, they are calling us to fashion a new colony wherever we live, a colony that will share and advance the culture that is fashioned by the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our faithful service, wisdom, and skillful engagement with life in all its varied activities turn our inward love into an outward culture—a colony of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Together we are creating a colony—a culture—that honors Jesus Christ. May our homes, churches, and communities be called outposts of “the City of God” because together we are pursuing the beauty of God himself. A colony of heaven under the lordship of Jesus Christ desires to mirror what the Bible calls “the beauty of holiness” (Ps. 29:2; 96:9; 1 Chron. 16:29).
Closing Prayer
Let us pray that such a biblical understanding of culture may be true of our lives. Please join in offering this prayer for the blessing of God on our lives:
May you, O Lord, enable us to experience afresh the beauty of your glory, as you teach us through your Word and by your Spirit. May our hearts grow inwardly with love for you, and then outwardly for our neighbors and our communities. May we more clearly express our worship of you and truly become a colony of heaven, a Christian culture, that delights to bring glory to your name. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
