Are You Catching Kenosis?

By Pastor Vinnie

Related PODCAST Embedded Below

Kenosis (κένωσις, kenosis) is a theological term that dates back the earliest of Christian times. We could consider it the path that Christ took to become incarnate with humanity. That is to say, it is the method by which Christ who is fully God also became fully man by humbling himself to be born as a baby in a manger. It is the voluntary subjection to the humiliation of the creator becoming one with the creation for the sake of uplifting and redeeming the creation to its original status before the fall.

Christ emptied himself out, his rights out, his privilege out, his royalty out, so that he could serve mankind. However; the word Paul uses for servant really means slave (Doulos). God himself lowered his being to the level of a mere human so that he could go from the creator of all to the lowest of all, a slave.

Australian New Testament scholar, Peter O’Brian explains what happened this way;

“Christ voluntarily chose the path of obedient humiliation that led to his incarnation and death. He who was God and never ceased to be otherwise humbled himself in the incarnation. He emptied himself by taking the form of a slave…”^[1]

The word Kenosis itself appears in Philippians 2:7 and it literally means to be “emptied out”, but some translations translate it as “made of no reputation,” or “made himself nothing.”  It is to become as if you were empty of value or position. The God who was worth everything let himself been as nothing. He willingly became the “Nothing-Man.” For our sake, he became of no reputation.

Scholars refer to this as the kenosis, from the Greek. By becoming a man, Jesus did not lay aside his deity but rather let it be hidden to better identify to you and me and someone we could relate to. God came to our level to bring us to his level! Charles C. Ryrie sheds light on this event:

“Christ didn’t become any less God, but he chose not to use some of his divine attributes. This involved a veiling of his pre-incarnate glory.^[2]

This emptying of reputation is not seen to actually be an emptying of any divinity at all but rather the claim of its regard or reputation; hence the reason some translators use the phrase “made of no reputation.”Jesus, although God himself, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, was born among the lowest of all. He was giving no favor or advantage, but rather bored hardships like all men. He willingly subjected himself to the struggles of poverty, and a bad family name being regarded as being born out of wedlock; when he should have been taken to the temple, anointed with oil and made the king. He did nothing to purposely alert people to his divinity, and often tried to postpone miracles, “It is not yet my time,” or deny credit, “tell no one what I have done.” In fact, for his first thirty years on earth we heard nothing of significance from him or about him that should have given him royalty.

Tyndale Bible handbook unpacks the idea:

He did, for a while, hide his heavenly fame in an earthly frame. Even though he retained every single attribute of deity while on earth, he surrendered the independent exercise of those divine characteristics^[3]

Philippians 2:5-11 is believed to be taken for an early Christian hymn^[4] which some claim may have come from an early Christian creed, that Paul repurposed for his epistle. It is poetic, it has a rhythm of ideas, and is it emotionally moving as it describes the path of Jesus in Kenosis. Paul selected it wisely seeking to capture the basic beauty of Jesus Christ and his journey to us.  It goes like this:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation [KENOSOS], and took upon him the form of a servant [SLAVE], and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”[5]

Directions:

As we look at this passage that was once likely an ancient hymn it does not take long to see a pattern of Jesus lowering and lowering himself and God is lifting him up!

Kenosis is all about your direction.

JESUS Made Low

1. Made Himself nothing

2. Made Himself a slave

3. Became Human

4. Obedient unto death

5. Obedient to the call of the cross.

Results: God lifts Him up and every knee will bow and confess Him as Lord.

Now look at this contrasting passage, that is not about Christ but his Adversary, Lucifer!

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

Satan Seeks to be Lift High

1. I will ascend

2. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God

3. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds

5. I will be like the Most High

Results: God will cast him down to the grave [Death and destruction] and into the Pit [Hell].

Which direction are you traveling to?

Leadership and Advancement Implications:

What is your plan to get ahead? How do you lead others? You see, all seeking to be lifted up and noticed will be cast down. All trying to grasp and grab glory will get the lowest depths of the pit. No man (or woman) seeking to lift themselves up, to be glorified will find anything other than God’s disapproval. But he (or she) who is humble and meek, full of love that drives us to service will bury themselves in the work of a slave, seeking no pay, seeking no reward: and in due season God will lift you up!

It takes only five steps upward to end up downward being cast down into hell. Seeking your own glory can never be seeking Christ’s glory for while both take the same amount of steps they, in fact, go in different directions. One direction seeks to make others slaves and the other simply bows, with a towel, and washes the feet of others. It does not seek slaves, it is willing to be a slave; it lifts another out of the filth. It never wants the best seats at a banquet, it is a spirit that considers what is best as if it is nothing worthy to grasp for,  because it is a spirit that knows the Father would withhold no good thing form those who love like Him.

If you want to lead like Jesus, lead from the bottom. Avoid the top at all costs. Seek only ever to be last. The Rabbi made leadership simple: “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” (Matthew 20:16)

• Be last. Be low. Be lifted.

• Be first. Be proud. Be cast down. 

Lord, may we learn to be nothing [Kenosis] that you may be all. That is leadership because the goal is not our greatness but displaying His! Lead in a way that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father –not you!

A Song About The Kenosis Life

Cover of Casting Crowns “Nobody.”

Related PODCAST Episode On Kenosis.

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The Exhaustion Gridlock

Footnote:

^[1] O’Brien, P. T. (1991). The Epistle to the Philippians: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 216). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

^[2] Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 225). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[3] Willmington, H. L. (1997). Willmington’s Bible handbook (p. 711). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[4] Foulkes, F. (1994). Philippians. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1253). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

[5] Philippians 2:5-11, KJV

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Lessons From The Edge Of The Skateboard

By Pastor Vinnie

I bought my seven-year-old a skateboard for Christmas. At first, his Mom was not really a big fan of the idea. Still, I noticed he needed a fun sport that would be all his own. Sure, he has a bike and even roller skates, but they just never seemed to sync with him or have enough personality for him;  he is all about personality.

So there we were on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas for all you Americans), fully suited up with helmet, knee and elbow pads, and all the right gear. We headed over to his school parking lot, knowing it would be empty. We sat the board down while I explained the basics behind it; needing to find balance, needing to get the proper footing, and needing to learn to push and coast at the same time.

He looked up, all excited,  yet frozen.

“What if I fall?” He said with serious seven-year-old concern.

My answer was without pause, “You will fall. Don’t doubt it.”

“But I don’t want to fall! It will hurt. And if I get hurt, Mommy will take my skateboard away!” He protested.

“It will hurt,” I assured him. “But I think your worry is more about you than your Mommy.”

“But can’t I get really hurt bad doing this?” His protest continued.

“Look,” I said, “Let me explain this to you.  You are going to fall, more than once. It is going to hurt. Falling off a moving board is a very serious business. But if you want to skateboard that is what it is going to take. If you don’t want to fall, if you don’t want to hurt, we can go home. The skateboard can just be a cool toy in your room that you never really use, and that is totally ok. But if we stay, expect to fall and to fall hard; just know, I’ll be here to pick you up and if need be carry you home.”

I watched him climb on, just one foot at a time. He wobbled all over. He tripped and caught himself quickly using one foot on the ground to steady himself. Finally finding some balance, he was ready. He was scared but pushed off, and of course, fell right off! That is what happens when you’re seven and leap on a moving board with wheels! Having been spared by his knee pads he got back up and more cautiously tried again. He tripped, stumbled, fell off,  but not down, and finally starting to understand how balance worked on a rolling board and where his feet go.

Soon he was gliding through the parking lot. Then he was just practicing balancing, wiggling all over the board to test its limits and his ability to stay on it. Before long he was actually learning to turn by leaning into the turn with the board and having a blast. He was King of the Parking Lot!

Then he fell. He fell hard. He fell facedown. The board came right out from underneath him and this time he did not catch himself. He hit the hard, cold payment and did not get up. I ran over and asked him if he was ok, but he could not answer. The wind had been knocked right out of him and he laid there stunned, still not sure how it happened. It took him a moment to catch his breath and to stand on his own. But when he did, he realized something, and that was that falling off a board hard, and in fast motion, really hurts; but not nearly as much as he expected! He could get up. He could get back on. So he did! And he once again, with even more confidence and with less fear, was the King of the Parking Lot!

That is sort of how faith works. Belief in God on any level at all works like this:   You are excited. You think it is the greatest thing in the world. You trip. You stumble. You get scared. Sometimes you want to give up and go home. But, at the end of the day, it is always all about needing to find balance, needing to get the proper footing, and needing to learn to push and coast at the same time. The irony of faith is you can’t move if you don’t push forward, but once in motion you need to trust that motion and glide with it and resist the temptation to put your foot down and control everything. Faith is about getting yourself balanced with your feet in the right position to keep you rolling forward, trusting that God is there to steady you when needed.

Will you fall?  You will fall. Don’t doubt it. It will hurt; I promise!  Yet, if we stay, rolling in faith, and expect to fall and to fall hard; just know, God will be there to pick you up; and if need be carry you home.

Rolling with God is like being seven and leaping on a board with wheels. Falling off is as much the lesson as gliding around thinking you’re the King of the Lot. Falling makes us learn to trust in the only One who brings balance to our life.

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

 

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Breaking Up With Nostalgia

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old (nostalgia). Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

 Everyone wants to start new. Everyone wants to start over. Everyone wants to change. The problem is, most people are lying to themselves about all three of these statements. The truth is more like this: most people don’t want a new start or a do-over, or, most of all, to even change much at all! They want everything exactly the same, minus the mess! Nostalgia clings to us all.

So what stops us from changing? It is oddly simple, change, itself. Change means the old must go! The quandary is most people don’t want to let go of the old. We just want God to take away the pain we had “in the old ways,” but let us keep everything else. The truth is, we lived in our old ways because we loved our old ways. We spent our whole life building our old ways. We are actually quite proud of our old ways. We go to great lengths to convince ourselves, and others, that they are the best ways for us to live. Yet, in building our old ways, rarely did we ever stop and ask God if the ways we were building were actually His ways! Had we done so more often while engineering the infrastructure of “our ways,” He would have stopped us and told us, point blankly…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

   neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so are my ways higher than your ways

   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

   and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

   it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”[1]

We don’t like getting rained on, and most of us[2] don’t like snow. But it is the melting of the snow and pelting rain of the Spring that brings forth the harvest of life in the Fall that will feed you in the famines of life. We don’t like rain but water is the building block of life. The avoidance of pain, struggle, and facing your fear dead on, is the very reason we face spiritual droughts in the arid areas of life. God’s Word can only return void to us when we refuse to walk in the rain and fail to trust God that there is a reason we are getting wet, right now.

When life gets hard for us, we choose shortcuts that we design to get around the rain, and the snow, which are the very things we actually need to grow! We build life on our terms. It is grand, it is great, and it is ours, and we will not let anyone take it away from us. We just wish God would hurry up and fulfill his promise and fix all these annoying leaks in the beautiful shelter we built.

Today, I bring you the Gospel of Bad News. God is not going to fix your leaky shelter. God is not even into to fixing old things.

Today, I bring you the Gospel of Bad News. God is not going to fix your leaky shelter. God is not even into to fixing old things. Just stop it! Stop treating God like He is some craigslist handyman you call in for a discounted price to fix up your failed home improvement projects! Jesus is not coming to tack up your old falling- down self-improvements! Actually, the old ways, are never His ways. The old ways are, almost always, sin’s ways. God’s solution is not to fix your leaky shelter of a life but to TEAR IT DOWN! Guess what? The “life inspector,” came, and declared your life uninhabitable and condemned it! He has sent you to notice to vacate it before He comes to destroy it!

The hidden sin of nostalgia is being so in love with the dysfunctional old ways, that you begin to hate, resist, fight, and even go to war against the new things Jesus is attempting to do in your life, right now! There is no spiritual dualism in Jesus. You cannot love the good old days, and at the same time claim to be holding out for Paradise itself. No person will have true love for the Kingdom of God while insisting that their address remains in the Kingdom of Self. It is the sin of nostalgia to love the old over the new because Jesus never does old things in the lives of new creators.

It is the sin of nostalgia to love the old over the new because Jesus never does old things in the lives of new creators.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.[3]”

Did you really think you get to keep your old self and still get to cash in on the new things of regeneration?

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”[4]

New Life!

Which is it? Are you dead to nostalgia or alive to Christ? Do you want the new ways, or for God just to put in some handy patchwork on your old leaky life? Are you willing to get rained on, that you may eat of the good food and drink of the new wine? Can you accept a little pain in a fallen world? Allow yourself to be crucified with Christ, that you might be raised with Him into your Father’s true will?

Friends, I offer you but one promise today. I promise you, you will never enter into “that new thing” God is doing, while coveting and craving the old. Why should you be like Israel of old,– ungrateful, thankless, grumbling, of God’s new way of saving them from the Egyptians, all because they wholeheartedly held on to the hidden sin of nostalgia for the onions, leeks, and quail, of the old ways. Do you not know there is a land of Milk and Honey to be gained? Why? Why? Why? Do we insist, on forty more years in the desert just to avoid a little rain and snow that would give us life?

You cannot go into the Kingdom of God, loving the Kingdom of this world. Forget the past. Bury the past. Stop idolizing the past. God is not sending you to dwell in the past, but in the new thing that He is doing! And He is doing a new thing!!! So, if you want to change, stop fighting God, stop insisting on the old, stop running back to the old when you get scared. Behold, look, pay attention, stop being so blind! You don’t have to do a single thing to change, except let go of the old, because you notice the new that God is doing in you! He is doing it. Notice! Turn your eyes from nostalgia to JESUS!

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

The Sermon Version

Footnotes

[1] Isaiah 55:8-11

[2] at least the sane ones… My apologies to you “Winter people!”

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:17

[4] Romans 6:6-11

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When God Is Not On Your Side:

Exploring Spiritual Narcissism

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac 

“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticism.” The Mayo Clinic definition of Narcissism^[1]

Denver clinical psychologist Susan Heitler, Ph.D. (link is external), a graduate of Harvard with a doctorate from NYU

Doctor Susan Heitler in her article titled, ”Are You a Narcissist?”^[2] for the renowned journal Psychology Today, identified six sure signs you are actually a Narcissist. In brief review they are;

1. Unilateral listening

2. It’s all about me

3. The rules don’t apply to me

4. Your concerns are really criticisms of me, and I hate being criticized

5. I’m right.  You’re wrong.  So when things go wrong between us, it’s always your fault

6. I may be quick to anger, but when I get angry, it’s because of you . . .

Do Christians generally suffer from any of these conditions? Maybe at times as individuals, we do and maybe at other occasions, even worse, it’s collective. A modified list for the church might go something like this:

1. I am the preacher, and you’re the student. You listen to what I say.

2. It’s all about me, and God loves me and my kind more than you and your kind

3. The rules don’t apply to me; I just apply them to others

4. Your lifestyle is really criticisms of what I believe, and I will defend myself against how you live.

5. I’m right.  You’re wrong.  The Bible says so

6. I may be quick to anger but is it Holy anger because you are sinful

It is so easy to think that we are in the right because we have the One who is right and the rest of the world is wrong because they don’t. That is what I love about Joshua chapter five; it totally brings us to this summit. No one could be more in the right than Israel, “God’s very chosen vessel,” to drive out the Amorites, Moabites, Midianites, Amalekites, and Philistines from the promise-land. The lines could not have been more clear. On one side was Israel and on the other side the pagan and heathen nations filled with deplorable sin and debauchery that had to be driven from the land at all cost.

Israel had quite honestly “arrived” at the borders of the promised land, with new circumcisions healing, and no need for manna because the produce of the land satisfied their bellies. So it was now Joshua’s turn at having a “burning bush” type experience to forge what would be his true direction as a leader.

As he reaches Jericho, he knows he must lead out the warfare and with that, on his mind, he turns and sees a mighty warrior standing in the road right beside him. The warrior is powerful and posed; ready for battle But the question remains, battle with whom? Was this warrior meeting him on the road to pledge his loyalty and desire to fight with the armies of Israel or was this warrior en route from Jericho to head them off? All Joshua knew was that this mighty man had no fear and had his sword drawn, ready to go.

Joshua took the wise path and simply asked, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” That is to say, “Are you on the side of the angels or hell?”, “Do you side with my enemies or me?” In short, “Are you on the right side or the wrong side?”

While Joshua may have had every right and wisdom to ask that question, we don’t always have the same spiritual standing as Joshua when we ask it. For Joshua, the answer that would come was a test. So the question I have for us is, are we ready for the testing answer? Will, what we decide to do with the answer of the Mighty Warrior in our path, forge all our future directions?

“Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

“No!” Was the quick answer shot back! Or as some translations put it, “Neither!” was the Mighty Warrior’s answer that beckoned back from heaven.

The expanded answer might be fleshed out more like this; “No. I am not on your side. No. I can’t be on your side because your people claim to be all hallowed and pious, but we saw your people worship the golden calf the second Moses turned his back! All heaven heard you cry for quail while we offered you food from heaven, and your rebellion once reached to the point where we opened the ground and swallowed some of your people up!

“But no, we are also not on their side either! We can’t be for the Philistines of Jericho because we have decided to evict them. We reject all their false worship, idols, and temple prostitution because they reject our laws, ways, and instructions for which their ancestors once knew too! You may be sinners, but you have not passed the point of no return like these people. Still, this does not mean we are for you because we wish you both to be saved.”

In essence, this Might Warrior from Heaven says, how dare you even ask the question, I am not on your side, and I am not on their side, I am on the LORD Yahweh’s side!

Then he said, “No; but I am The Commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” Joshua 5:14^[3]

How black and white we get because our love is so darkened, in God’s eyes, for compassion. We assume our sins have no stink, but our adversaries must be wiped off the face of the earth with no chance of salvation because of the foul stench of their transgressions. But God has those in Jericho whom he is still going to redeem^[4], and Israel already knew this.^[5]

Maybe the lesson Christians need to take to heart is really this; God takes no sides! But you can take His side.

Maybe the lesson Christians need to take to heart is really this; God takes no sides! But you can take His side. Maybe our sinful self- bent fixation makes us want to re-imagine God in our image rather than be transformed to His? Perhaps, unless we join God’s team and leave room on the team bus even for our enemies, if they choose to get on, it might well be us that faces the drawn sword of the LORD God Yahweh’s Mighty Commander of Holy War.

What The Commander the Army of the Heaven says was a real wake up call to me when I was doing my devotional reading of this chapter the other day. He tells Joshua to stop guessing what side God is on and to get his shoes off and to stop trampling Holy Ground of privilege!

You see, whenever we assume our enemies are those whom God hates we are trampling Holy Ground because it is ground that belongs to God alone!

It is ground with a gigantic “Keep off the Grass” sign on it. It is a spiritual no trespassing zone!

In my opinion, what makes Joshua a better leader than us is he does not fight this idea when he hears it. He quickly falls to his face and cries our “What do I do!”

Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:14-15)

Joshua did so. Joshua changed sides. Joshua was a good leader. Had he not switched sides I am convinced the Holy Commander of the Army of the Lord may have slain him where he stood if not all of Israel even.

Stop trying to get God to join “Team You” and take off your shoes and humble yourself and join “Team God.” So much time, effort money and talent is wasted attacking enemies whom God actually loves and who he may still yet redeem a portion of and use them to finish his work. Jesus died for sinners, even sinners who hate you because they hated Him first.

What do you do when God is not on your side? Stop practicing Spiritual Narcissism! Get your shoes off, drop to your knees and join His team! The commander of the Armies of Heaven is waiting in the roadway. Look up and see him as Joshua did!

Footnotes:

^[1]https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/basics/definition/con-20025568

^[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201210/are-you-narcissist-6-sure-signs-narcissism

^[3] It is worthy to compare this passage to Revelation 12:7-8

^[4] See Joshua 2 for the introduction of Rahab and her family whom will be saved and added to the lineage of Christ.

^[5] See my article “From Harlot to Holy.”

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Spiritual Regeneration

and Doctor Who

By Guest Blogger: Darrell

Today we have a special treat for you sci-fi fans out there! Darrell wrote this article on spiritual growth and renewal based on the theme of Doctor Who! Enjoy and Thanks, Darrell! –Vinnie

All 13th versions of the Doctor

[Darrell Ellis] In 1963, the BBC in England premiered a new television series called “Doctor Who.”  The program is about a mysterious time traveler who calls himself simply “The Doctor.”  No first or last name, just “The Doctor” which of course begs the question “Doctor who?”  and thus the title of the TV series.

When the first actor who played The Doctor, William Hartnell, became to ill to continue playing the character, producers decided to give the role to another actor named Patrick Troughton.   They knew that children would never buy a new actor taking over the role without a good explanation.  So the show’s writers came up with the idea of “regeneration.”  Whenever The Doctor is about to die, every cell in his body is reborn, and he regenerates into a new doctor (and thus the old actor retires, and a new actor takes his place).  He has a new face, a new personality, but still, retains all his old memories of past adventures. 

The 11 (left) and 10th (right) and mysterious War Doctor (middle)

One of these actors, David Tennant, had a very memorable scene when he left the series to be replaced by Matt Smith.  On David Tennant’s final episode as the 10^th doctor, we see him sacrifice his life to save a friend.  Unfortunately, he knows the radiation he has just absorbed will kill him soon.  So in his last moments on Earth, he goes and revisits some old friends and begins making plans for his demise.  Ultimately, he goes home to his Tardis and in his final moments as the 10^th doctor, a teary-eyed doctor sobs “I don’t want to go!” just before his current body dies, and regenerates into the 11^th doctor, played by Matt Smtih.

A question we might ask though is why The 10th Doctor was so sad?  So upset?  He knew what would happen next.  He’d been there before.  The 10^th doctor had already regenerated ten other times, so he knew what was coming next.  Soon he would have a new body and could go on new adventures, and he would still remember all his old friends and past adventures.   The 10^th doctor had nothing to fear, he knew he wouldn’t actually die but instead would receive a brand new body and a new life.  So why did he cry out “I don’t want to go?”

The Doctor  (Jodie Whittaker is the first female Doctor)

We as humans often do the same thing.   As Christians, we know that as long as we have faith in Jesus, we’ll regenerate.  We too will someday have new bodies; we will regenerate into a perfect body that will never know death again.  If our faith is in Christ, we have nothing to fear.  If you found out tomorrow that you were going to die soon, would you feel the same way the 10^th doctor did?  Would you find yourself saying “I don’t want to go?”

The Apostle Paul called the degenerated self the old self or old man and counseled that we needed to let him go in order the become the new person we are to become (see Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 6:6, Galatians 5:16-18). The Bible calls this being, “born again.” One of the great lessons we can learn from Doctor Who is that while dying to the old you and being regenerated into a new version is both somewhat scary and even sad in some ways, the truth is the new you is still you but only an improved you. It is amazing how the more the Doctor changes, the more he is still always the Doctor. Growth is scary, and different but is always makes us better versions of what God intended when he envisioned us, “In the beginning.”

The Doctor and Clara.

Fear of the unknown is a normal human response.   And even the doctor admitted to being scared at times.  One of my favorite Doctor Who quotes comes from the 3^rd doctor, Jon Pertwee, who said “Courage isn’t a matter of not being afraid.   Its being afraid, but doing what you have to do anyway.”  And with that same spirit, we should face every day with courage and face the fact that someday we too will meet the end of the road in our current bodies.  When that time comes, we shouldn’t say “I don’t want to go,” but instead look forward to the glorified bodies and eternity with Jesus that God has promised us.

Darrel Ellis, It guy by day, Superhero by night!
Seriously, the biggest Superman fan I know!

Darrell Ellis

is a fun loving I.T. professional. He loves God, Kathrine, Superman, and Doctor Who! Darrell is an accomplished guitarist and country music historian and one of the funniest guys you could ever want to meet!

*Doctor Who and all the images and ideas associated with it are the property of The BBC, and their use in the article is a “fair use” application only. Simplyvinnie.com makes no claim to ownership or property past illustrations purposes.

The famed 10th Doctor Regeneration aka “I don’t wanna go!”

Check out the regenerations of all the Doctors!

Darrell and his future wife Katherine (Kat) meet Jenna Coleman at a convention

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