INTRODUCTION
And
He Dwelt Among Us, by A.W. Tozer, was compiled from sermons preached on the
Gospel of John. According to the compiler, James L. Snyder, it represents “a
different voice” than one usually hears from Tozer.[1]
The compiler suggests that the book highlights some of the mysticism in John,
whose theology Tozer preferred to Paul, and provided a cure for “spiritual
boredom” through a mature Christology and concept of God.[2]
A.W. Tozer was a minister in the
Christian Missionary Alliance denomination for over 50 years and has been
regarded as one of the finest evangelical preachers of the twentieth century.
The author of more than a dozen books, he is best known for his The Pursuit of God, released in 1948.
Born into poverty, and being largely self-educated, Tozer’s work as author and
pastor has touched countless lives, not least the souls of Southside Chicago,
where he pastored for some thirty years. [3]
This book, published posthumously, is a testament to his life and work that is
engaging and thoughtful, even if problematic at times.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
And He Dwelt Among Us is divided into
thirteen chapters, each of which uses a passage from the Gospel of John as the
impetus for a discussion of the nature of God, Christ’s incarnation, or
Christian living. Though there are thirteen chapters, the book may be viewed as
consisting of four sections on creation (Chs 1-3), incarnation (Chs 4-6),
application (Chs 7-8), and contemplation (Chs 9-13).[4]
Creation
In the first chapter, “God Has Put
Everlasting into Our Souls,” Tozer examines the eternal nature of God, and contends
that man, being made in His image, innately longs for immortality. “There would
not be much trouble in this world at all,” he wrote, “if God had not put
everlastingness in us.”[5]
This will be examined later in greater detail.
Chapter Two looks at God’s
relationship with space and time. Challenging the reader to “think everything
out of existence,”[6]
the self-sufficiency and self-existence of God are examined in a way that
hearkens back to the mystical contemplations of the early Church fathers. The
import of such an understanding is examined, and the chapter closes with the
awe-inspiring statement that “there walks One among us who walked among the
ancient trees. There walks One among us who walked before the world was.”[7]
This chapter represents, perhaps, the highlight of the entire work.
Chapter Three, “The Beauteous World
as Made by Him,” turns to creation itself, examining “the world” in terms of
nature, and then of humanity. God’s world is praised as “orderly,” “beautiful,”
“utilitarian,” and “decorative,” features which each attest to certain aspects
of the Creator.[8]
Turning to his section entitled “’World’ as Humanity”, the author emphasizes
mainly the maintaining and governing aspects of God’s work in the world. In one
of the more poignant statements of the book, Tozer writes, “And when Jesus
Christ became incarnate in human body, He did not cease to be the
all-permeating Word filling the universe and moving among us. He did not cease
ever to be what He always was and will be.”[9]
Incarnation
The fourth chapter, “The Tragedy of
the Incarnation,” the book builds upon the high view of God established in
earlier chapters, presenting not the beauty of the incarnation, but the tragedy
of the world’s rejection of Him. Even those who do believe are criticized for the
patronizing way we often speak of Him, calling Him “our honored guest” or “our
senior partner,” and then acting as if He needs our patronage, our defense, and
our excuses as we “try to explain [Him] in such a way that the world will
understand.”[10]
Tozer reminds his readers that man, in contrast to all nature, all beasts, all
the stars of the heavens, rejects Him, and even those who believe often “cannot
get up enough steam or enthusiasm even to keep from looking bored when we talk
about Him.”[11]
This, Tozer contends, is the great tragedy of the incarnation.
Chapter Five considers “The Mystery
of the Word Made Flesh.” ”The mystery of how the Creator could join Himself to
the creature,” Tozer wrote, “is one of the most amazing mysteries to
contemplate.”[12]
In a chapter filled with highlighter-worthy statements, one finds
contemplations on the deity of Christ, unsullied by his union with flesh, and
full of glory. Tozer argues unabashedly for the unity of the Godhead, even
during Christ’s incarnate period, writing that “the gulf [between God and man]
still existed, even after Jesus Christ had become man,” and that even on the
cross, “the ancient, timeless Deity was never separated.”[13]
Chapter Six is entitled “The Old
Testament Messiah versus the New Testament Christ.” Though the title is
promising, the chapter turns out to be the least satisfying of the book,
beginning with an explanation of the imagery that would have been brought to
people’s minds by John the Baptist’s proclamation of Jesus as “the Lamb of God
which takes away the sin of the world.” The explanation, while
well-constructed, is historically anachronistic, and in conflict with
contemporary scholarly assessments of the impact of John’s statement.[14]
Further detracting from the impact of the chapter is a two-page rant against
liberalism that seems largely out of place.[15]
Application
In Chapter Seven, Tozer asks “What
Really Matters to God?” Approaching John 3:16 with a holy fear akin to Moses’
approaching the burning bush, several observations are pulled out of the
seemingly endless wellspring of material that can be derived from this one
verse. Highlighting the ray of light that is God’s concern for each individual
human being, the chapter seeks to personalize the gospel message to the reader.
The last section, “Come Just as You Are,” reads like an altar call at a church
service, and rounds out the chapter’s message that we matter to God, and He bids us come.
The eighth chapter captures the
applicational bent of the section in its title, “The Personal Application of
Christ’s Coming into the World.” This chapter, taking the words of John 3:17
and calling them a “proclamation extraordinary,”[16]
contends that, if we truly understand their import, much of the indifference in
the Church would be solved by the sheer wonder of it. This proclamation, Tozer writes,
is greater than the Declaration of Independence or anything written before or
since, in that it proclaims God reclaiming what is His for all eternity.
Contemplation
The ninth chapter begins the
contemplative section of the book (though many of the preceding chapters
definitely lead one to contemplation) with a discussion of, perhaps, one of the
most mysterious theological topics, the Trinity. In this chapter, Tozer captures
some of the mysterious nature of the trinity well, confessing that “[i]t is a
wonderful mystery and I do not claim to be able to understand it,” but muddies
the theological water in other places, almost arguing in favor of modalism. [17]
Perhaps the most rewarding section of the chapter is that on prayer,
particularly the addressing of the various persons of the Trinity.[18]
Chapter Ten, “The Eternal Christ is
Both Judge and Savior,” addresses the dual roles of Christ in relation to
humanity. Advocating a more well-rounded and reverent view of Christ, it is
reminiscent of much of Chapter Four. There is no warm-and-fuzzy Christ in view
here, or as Tozer puts it, no “ten-cent-store Jesus.” The concept of Jesus as
Judge is explored in all its majesty, highlighting a Judge who is omnipotent,
impartial, empathetic, and worthy of complete reverence and honor.
The eleventh chapter builds on
Chapter Five, considering “The Wonder and Mystery of the Eternal Christ
Identifying with Man.” Looking at the implications of God’s having come down to
dwell among men, Tozer counted it an amazing fact. “The one who never had an
evil thought,” he wrote, “was among men who never had a holy thought. This
chapter sheds light on the oft-overlooked fact that, for Jesus, who had spent
all of time “with those who worshipped God in reverence” to humble Himself, and
choose to “be among those who worshipped themselves and the goods of this world
and all the false gods the world has taken for her own,” was against all logic,
but necessary for His salvific plan.
Chapter Twelve, titled “Living
Victoriously in Two Kingdoms,” serves as a challenge to believers to believe so
deeply in our faith that it becomes a part of our everyday living. Calling for
recognition of the existence of “two worlds,” Tozer paints a picture of a
spiritual and a physical realm in which, “God made us like the animals in our
bodies, but . . . like the angels in our souls.”[19]
Though the reality of a spiritual real juxtaposed on the physical world is
definitely biblical, he does tend a bit toward a Gnostic view of the physical,
relegating it to the position of temporary scaffolding “made temporarily” by
God, soon to be discarded.[20]
In Chapter Thirteen, “The
Importance of a Proper Concept of God,” Tozer argues that a proper concept of
God is critical to life for the individual, the Church, and the nation. Tozer
presents a call to humility and seeking holiness that is convincing, if not
quite delivering on the promise of such a lofty chapter title.
CRITICAL INTERACTION
And He Dwelt Among Us is a book that
fluctuates between deep spiritual profundity and questionable theology. In the
main, Tozer presents an understanding of the incarnation that emphasizes the
holiness of God, comprehends the severe implications of the incarnation, and
challenges the reader to seek a deeper understanding and relationship with the
Almighty. However, some of Tozer’s assertions, namely those centering around a
quasi-modalistic Trinity are dubious at best.
Strengths
The first
two chapters highlight the greatest achievements of the work – a deep
contemplation on the eternal reality planted in the heart of man, and of the
eternal God who existed before and is wholly unrestricted by the restraints of
time and space. As mentioned above, Tozer writes, “There would never be much
trouble in the world if He had not put everlastingness in us.”[21]
The fact that man seemingly has the eternal hard-coded at the very basest level
of his existence is a significant one. It helps to explain the nearly universal
revulsion man has at the idea of death. It helps to explain the presence of a
“fountain of youth” myth in nearly every culture. What’s more, the idea of
living forever, free from pain and strife, strikes a chord so deeply primal
that it defies alternative explanation. When Tozer asserts that “God made [man]
to look back on the everlasting vanishing point that was, and on into the
eternal vanishing point that will be and feel no age nor count birthdays, but
like God, live in God,”[22]
he not only warms the heart with his words, but quickens the spirit to say,
“Amen” as he elucidates the penultimate spiritual reality – we were made to
live forever.[23]
The next
great contribution his book makes is in its examination of the timelessness of
God. This is a topic that, for many, is so mind-bending that they scarcely
begin the journey before they quit for fear of exhaustion. To imagine a time
(though ‘time’ is not the right word) before time began, to contemplate the
possibility of existence outside that structure which so governs everything we
see and feel that it seems the ultimate permanent reference point, is
excruciating. Tozer, however, acknowledging the impossibility of the task,
invites his readers to embark on the journey nonetheless. “I am going to ask
you,” he writes, “to think everything out of existence. Dismantle the universe
. . . and unmake everything that is made [and acknowledge] there was a time
when time was not.”[24]
If this were not enough, he invites the reader to do the same thing with space,
distance, matter, and every created thing. Then, in that “place that precedes
time, he speaks of God. The uncreated, uncaused, self-sufficient, self-existent
God, who needs nothing, lacks nothing, gives without decrease and receives
without increase. The picture created is beyond breathtaking, and brings the
reader to a place of contemplation that simultaneously inspires wonder and
terror – holy awe.
Weaknesses
While the
book has some wonderful sections, and every chapter contains food for deep
spiritual thought, there are two areas in which its theology becomes
questionable. The first of these involves Tozer’s doctrine of the Trinity.
While he does not detail his theological position fully, he does provide a
glimpse that is less than encouraging. Beginning on solid ground by utilizing
the Athanasian Creed, Tozer affirms that Christ is “[e]qual to the Father as
touching His Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood.”[25]
He then goes on to (rightly) criticize non-Trinitarians, citing the “three
faces of God” theory where one believes that, like the Roman god Janus, God has
three faces – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – which are turned toward man at
different times.[26] Next
he offers a theology which, he says, is “easier to believe.” Though his
explanation begins well, with “an ancient, incorruptible, uncreated Godhead,
and three persons leaping up out of that Godhead,” his elaboration on the topic
makes the quality of the underlying theology questionable. “I believe,” he
continues, “that the Father is the ancient Godhead expressing Himself as the
Father, and the Son is the ancient Godhead in expression as the Son, and the
Holy Ghost is the ancient Godhead – all of one substance and one eternity.”[27]
The problem here is twofold. First, the theology as presented seems to border
on modalism, where the persons of the Trinity are viewed as modes of being
which God assumes depending on the task at hand. For example, God acts as
Father when He is creating, as Son when He is redeeming man, and as Spirit when
He indwells the believer. If this is what Tozer believed, then he is definitely
unorthodox in this important theological concept.
The second problem that arises here
is in the last bit of the quoted section, when he writes, “the Father is the ancient
Godhead expressing Himself as the Father, and the Son is the ancient Godhead in
expression as the Son, and the Holy Ghost is the ancient Godhead – all of one
substance and one eternity.” One may observe the statements about the Father
and the Son as expressions of the ancient Godhead, but that his statement
regarding the Spirit is different, omitting the “expressing Himself” clause.
Was Tozer simply truncating the sentence here to save space, assuming his
readers would interject the clause for the Spirit as it had been there for the
other two persons of the Trinity? It is difficult to tell. On the face of it,
however, is appears as if the Holy Ghost is
the Godhead, while the other two are the Godhead expressing Himself as either Father or Son. Does he view the Holy
Ghost as more basic to the nature of
the Godhead than the Father and Son, who are expressions of the Godhead? Granted, this book is not a systematic
theology, but the lack of explanation here leaves more ambiguity than is
probably appropriate.
CONCLUSION
The contemplation of God is more
than a spiritual exercise. It is more than a discipline reserved for those who
have devoted their lives to monasticism. It ought to be a cardinal joy for
every Christian. For it is in this contemplation that one finds an
inexhaustible wellspring of truth, simultaneously overwhelming in its
transcendence and sublime in its sweetness. And
He Dwelt Among Us draws the reader into this contemplative mode well,
asking difficult questions and encouraging the reader not to shirk the task of
tackling them, though they are, admittedly, beyond our full comprehension.
Within the pages of this book, one
finds a deep spiritual profundity, well-expressed and very engaging. Each
chapter yields nuggets of truth for those mining its pages. By far, the
greatest of these are an appreciation for the timelessness of God and of man’s
longing for the everlasting. These jewels far outweigh the book’s weaknesses,
namely a questionable theology of the Trinity, and make the book a recommended
read for pastor, scholar, and lay person alike.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carson, D.A. The
Gospel According to John. Leicester: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991.
Erickson, Millard J. Christian
Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998.
Tozer, A.W. And
He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John. Edited by James L.
Snyder. Ventura: Regal, 2009.
[1]
A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John
(Ventura, CA: Regal, 2009), 7.
[2]
Ibid., 9-10.
[3]
A.W. Tozer, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.W._Tozer#Published_works (accessed
January 29, 2014).
[4]
Though neither the author nor the editor define these categories, the structure
of the book is such that such sectioning is helpful to understanding its
overall structure.
[5]
Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us, 18.
[6]
Ibid., 29.
[7]
Ibid., 44.
[8]
Ibid., 46-53.
[9]
Ibid., 53.
[10]
Ibid., 66.
[11]
Ibid., 74.
[12]
Ibid., 78.
[13]
Ibid., 80, 91.
[14]
Ibid., 95-99. For an excellent analysis, see D.A. Carson, The Gospel
According to John (Leicester: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991),
148-51.
[15]
Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us,
100-102.
[16]
Ibid., 123 ff.
[17]
Ibid., 142-144. Though Tozer discounted
the Janus-like representation of a three-faced God, in the net paragraph (p
143), he presents God as “expressing Himself as” the Father , Son, or Spirit in
a way that sounds very similar to modalistic monarchianism as described in Millard J. Erickson, Christian
Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 359-362.
[18]
Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us,
149-150.
[19]
Ibid., 189.
[20]
Ibid., 194.
[21]
Ibid., 18.
[22]
Ibid., 22.
[23]
The ultimate reality being God’s gracious gift of salvation.
[24]
Ibid., 29-30.
[25]
Ibid., 141.
[26]
Ibid., 142-143.
[27]
Ibid., 143.
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