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Jumpstarter 10 of 10

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Question 10

Finny insists theology must move “from Jesus to God,” not from a prior definition of God to Jesus, citing Jesus’s limited miracles in Nazareth due to lack of faith (Mark 6:5) and the kenosis (Philippians 2) as “divine self-limitation”; where do the Gospels portray God making Himself “partially dependent” on human covenant partners, and what concrete habits (prayer, repentance, faith, evangelism) would change if you treated that as the normal pattern of God’s sovereignty?

Another way to ask: Where do the Gospels show God choosing to work with, and in some ways depend on, human partners (like faith affecting what happens)? If that’s normal for God’s rule, what would change in your habits like prayer, repentance, faith, and evangelism?

Direct Answer Finny’s point is that the Gospels show God’s sovereignty working through relationship and response: Jesus “couldn’t do miracles” in Nazareth because of “lack of faith,” and the incarnation shows God voluntarily limiting Himself (kenosis). If that pattern is normal, Christians would treat faith, repentance, and evangelism as meaningful cooperation with God rather than passive outcomes of determinism.

Support from Transcript:

Finny: theology should be “christocentric… starts with Jesus and ends with Jesus,” and “if you want to know who God is, look at Jesus.”
He cites key texts: John 14:9 (“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”), Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3.
Roger Olsen on Mark 6:5: Jesus “could have healed everyone… But he couldn’t do miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
Olsen’s conclusion (endorsed by Finny): Jesus “did not want to go around unilaterally healing people without some measure of cooperating or receptive faith.”
E. Frank Tupper quote: God “has chosen to make himself partially dependent on his human covenant partners.”
Kenosis (Philippians 2): Jesus “emptied himself,” “limits himself,” showing “divine self-limitation” as an alternative to divine determinism.

Discussion Follow-ups If God ordinarily works through receptive faith, how might you approach prayer and repentance less as explaining the inevitable and more as real participation in God’s covenant purposes?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10