The Favorite Phrase Potential of coram Deo
While
pondering recently on potential future permanent something, I came across the phase
"coram Deo" which (per Wikipedia) “is a Latin phrase translated "in the
presence of God" from Christian theology which summarizes the
idea of Christians living in the presence of, under the authority of, and to
the honor and glory of God.”
R.C
Sproul (admittedly I know nothing much of the person), recently wrote the
following blog article on coram Deo.
What Does “coram Deo” Mean?
I remember
Mama standing in front of me, her hands poised on her hips, her eyes glaring
with hot coals of fire and saying in stentorian tones, “Just what is the big
idea, young man?”
Instinctively
I knew my mother was not asking me an abstract question about theory. Her
question was not a question at all—it was a thinly veiled accusation. Her words
were easily translated to mean, “Why are you doing what you are doing?” She was
challenging me to justify my behavior with a valid idea. I had none.
Recently a
friend asked me in all earnestness the same question. He asked, “What’s the big
idea of the Christian life?” He was interested in the overarching, ultimate
goal of the Christian life.
To answer his question, I fell back on the
theologian’s prerogative and gave him a Latin term. I said, “The big idea of
the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram
Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.”
This phrase literally refers to something that
takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God. To live coram
Deo is to live one’s
entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory
of God.
LIVING CORAM DEO
IS TO LIVE ONE’S ENTIRE LIFE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD,
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF GOD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF GOD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD
To live in
the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we
are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is
no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.
To be aware
of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His sovereignty. The
uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is
indeed sovereign. When Saul was confronted by the refulgent glory of the risen
Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question was, “Who is it, Lord?”
He wasn’t sure who was speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was
certainly sovereign over him.
Living under
divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer
sovereignty that is motivated out of a fear of punishment. It involves
recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God. Our lives
are to be living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration
and gratitude.
To live all of life coram
Deo is to live a life
of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in
the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration. It is marked
by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction,
and chaos.
The
Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the
religious and the nonreligious has failed to grasp the big idea. The big idea
is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. To divide life
between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.
This means that if a person fulfills his or her
vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram
Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a
soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as
religious when he obeyed God’s call to be a shepherd as he was when he was
anointed with the special grace of kingship. It means that Jesus was every bit
as religious when He worked in His father’s carpenter shop as He was in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
Integrity is
found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a
pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a
life that is open before God. It is a life in which all that is done is done as
to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility
before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience
that is held captive by the Word of God.
Coram Deo … before the face of God. That’s the big idea.
Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles.
Scriptures for further study: Matthew 24:13; Romans 8:31-36; 2 Corinthians 4:7-16; Hebrews 6:9-12; 10:35-39
~~~~
Squee, isn’t it like the bestest
phrase you’ve heard as of late? As you ponder upon what this means to your own life, I hope that you feel a sincere sense of peace and comfort, knowing that you are loved beyond measure, and that you are never without hope. I pray that you become willing, bold, and unshakable in your faith. That you will not be bound any longer by past sins or regrets, habits that you think can never be broken, but know that you are a new creation in Christ. His mercies are renewed every day, and that as a believer you have the HOLY SPIRIT INSIDE OF YOU; so victory is really yours for the taking to be claimed in the name of Jesus!
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