Mutant Incarnation

by Tom Johnston

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:17, ESV

The Eternal Word – God Himself, put on flesh and dwelt or “tabernacled” – literally “pitched His tent” – among us. This very same God continues His incarnational work in this world through the Church, which is His “body,” the fullness of Him that fills everything in everyway (Ephesians 1:22). This “body,” His people, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, becomes His hands which serve and heal, His arms which embrace in love and acceptance, His feet which carry the euangélion – the good news of the Kingdom.

Every living thing – everything with a body – has DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which defines it. The DNA is the substance that informs the development of the living creature as it grows and reaches maturity. This “genetic code” determines what we will look like, how tall we could be; the color of our hair, our eyes, our skin. The Body of Christ, too, has a genetic code, but being spiritual in nature, this code is of the Spirit, and not of the flesh. At the core of the Christian live and experience is this spiritual DNA – what we at Praxis refer to as the “Irreducible Core” of the Christian faith – namely Jesus’ commands to love God, love others and make disciples (Matthew 22:34-40, 28:18-20). This “code” is like spiritual strands of DNA which inform what we should look like as we grow and mature as the Church – becoming like Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). Wrap around this core, this spiritual DNA, the cultural elements in any land, of any people, and you can get a glimpse of what Jesus would look like in that environment – and what His Church should look like as well. That’s all good.

In biological life forms something unhealthy happens when elements not found in the DNA are added into the initial life-forming mix – or the DNA itself is tampered with or damaged. We get what is known as mutation – changes in an organism that results from chromosomal alteration. A mutant organism is one that has gone through such changes. Some such mutations produce birth defects, some of which are so severe as to cause major mental and physical dysfunction, and even death. I have one of these genetic defects, a condition know as Cystic Fibrosis, which kills most with the condition by age 30, and affects many aspects of my physiology. I guess that makes me a mutant (a fact that friends and close associates have known for years!)

It seems in the biological realm that all mutation is derived from the Fall – death entered the world, and organic life, broken by that alteration of our universal reality, in essence continues to replicate that brokenness by reproducing after its kind. All health care is focused on combating and rectifying the ongoing mutation in the human form. These mutations by and large are negative – not the kind we find in fantasy tales that enhance superheros like the X-Men with unique powers and special attributes. Quite the contrary – mutation is disempowering.

You can see where I am going with this, I’m sure. When applied to the Church in the Western world, the spiritual DNA within what we call “church” has been so radically altered – through both addition to and subtraction from – and mixed with other substances – like incompatible worldviews – that the “church” looks little like Jesus. Certainly, we would have to admit that we function in the West with a fraction of the effectiveness and fruit of the Church that Jesus founded. We’re mutants, plane and simple, a mutant incarnation that has the form of faith, but not the power of the living Christ. Our genes have been altered to such an extent that we are losing the power to give life – that life of Jesus Christ. We bear His name, but look little like Him. How can I say this? The ugly mutant statistics prove it – we spend more than $280 Billion on ministry in the USA every year, and our witness continues to rapidly decline as a percentage of the current population.

So, is all hope lost? Is the Church in the West locked into a death spiral, a flat spin from which there is no recovery? Not at all. The Church in the Western world is in serious trouble, but the Church of Jesus Christ is not. The Church in the West can become once again the Church of Jesus Christ through one simple process – spiritual gene therapy. We must have a fresh infusion of the Irreducible Core of the Christian faith, aligning our lives and organizations with this original DNA from the Maker. Church life and ministry practice must be once again driven by loving God, loving others and making disciples everywhere we go, all the time. Gene therapy is a difficult process in the natural, our technology for it is immature. However, spiritual gene therapy by the Maker and Builder of the Church is not as difficult, with the Holy Spirit of God reshaping and realign us with His original spiritual genetic code.

All we must do is admit our defects and embrace His spiritual realignment of who we are – individually and organizationally – and let Him make us whole. We must look in the mirror, admit we are mutant Christians, a mutant incarnation and embrace the re-implantation of His DNA with meekness. Being remade in His image, we can then truly reproduce disciples that look like the Master.