Your Square Inch, Part 1: Finding Your Spheres
Where has God given you influence?
In our last blog post, I told the story of God's grand redemptive arc. Though beautiful and compelling on its own, it admittedly runs the risk of dying the death of idealistic absurdity. So, God is redeeming all of creation back to its pre-fallen state. Wonderful news! But the news remains inconsequential to our lives if not pressed down into the ordinary of our lives. This is the challenge I wish to take up with this post.
The name of our podcast comes from a famous line delivered by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper when he delivered the prestigious Stone Lectures at Princeton University. Kuyper's subject was Calvinism, but the vision of Calvinism he offered is not what one might expect. He didn't lecture on divine election in Christian salvation but on politics, science, art, business, and other spheres of societal life.
What does Calvinism have to do with business and art, one might ask? Everything. At the heart of Calvin's theology is a God who is sovereign over all things. Not just over individual souls as much as the entire cosmos. Thus, Kuyper's famous line from those lectures, "There is not one square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who sovereign over all, does not declare mine." The risen and reigning Jesus Christ owns every square inch of the domain of human existence.
But there is an obvious problem with that claim. Does it look like Jesus owns all things? If Jesus owns Kentucky, then why is Kentucky replete with injustice, poverty, corruption, obscenity, abuse, exploitation, and on and on we could go with that which does not belong to the reign of Christ. Beneath the reign of King Jesus, Kentucky ought to be heaven on earth. Therefore, the Christian may claim Jesus is sovereign over every square inch of our Commonwealth, but there is little evidence this is so. That seemingly irreconcilable dilemma is what the followers of King Jesus are expected to reconcile. Jesus owns all things, but because of the parasitic nature of the fall, it doesn't look like Jesus owns all things; what, follower of Jesus, are you going to do about it?
Kuyper's solution is a theological concept called sphere sovereignty.
Historically speaking, the ultimate arbiter of the common good was the coercive power of either the Church or state. For most of human history, the good of the world was entrusted to the Church, or another form of religious establishment, depending upon the culture. Then the post-enlightenment answer replaced institutional religion with the authority of the state and the secular promise of a better world. So, how do we cultivate a more just, good, and beautiful world? Typically, societies have looked to either priests or politicians. But both have failed to bring about the world we long to see.
For readers of this blog, there is probably no need to argue the failures of the state's coercive power. But what about the Church? With the resurgence of Christian nationalism, this question is once again being debated. Is it good for society for the Church institution to be sovereign of society? Our answer must be no.
I was lecturing on Kuyperian theology at the University of Kentucky, and a professor of science was in the room. I noted how problematic it once was when ecclesial authorities oversaw academia. Galileo proposed the outlandish notion that the earth was not the center of the universe but revolved around the sun, which contradicted the Church's long-held position. Thus, his teachings were declared heretical, and he was condemned as a heretic. No, I do not want the Church in charge of the University of Kentucky, nor should you.
And yet, I do want a better University of Kentucky. And I do believe higher education in America is now beholden to certain ideologies that are harmful and destructive for society and do not cultivate truth, beauty, and goodness as academia should. I do believe college students are suffering in unprecedented ways, and I want that to change. Well, if that doesn't come by the coercive power of the Church or state, how is it achieved?
Abraham Kuyper turns to sphere sovereignty. If Christians believe Jesus is sovereign over every square inch, the question becomes to whom or what has he entrusted that sovereignty? Kuyper argues the original vision behind the original mandate is still God's plan. Originally, image bearers of God were commissioned to rule and reign, to have dominion over creation on behalf of the Creator. Because of sin, human dominion has turned into human domination, and the collective ruin of creation is the outcome. Every sphere of society—business, politics, media, education, technology, entertainment—nothing is exempt from the ruin of sinful corruption.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Dominion can still be exercised according to God's design, bringing glory to Creator and shalom to creation. Therefore, now the Christian project is a form of re-subduing, thus reclaiming spheres of society co-opted by the fall. This is the essence of sphere sovereignty. The Church is not sovereign; the state is not sovereign; you are sovereign over the spheres God has entrusted to you. The state exists to protect your ability to serve within your spheres, and the Church exists to equip your ability to serve within your spheres, but God is calling you to the redemptive work within the spheres where the true Sovereign has made you sovereign.
Kuyper argues that God's creation flourishes when delineated yet interconnected spheres of creation flourish under the reign of Christlike ambassadorship.
Consider your life, for example. Ask yourself where Jesus, who is sovereign, has entrusted his sovereignty to you. Your home should be the most obvious. Your family, your marriage, your parenting, heck, your physical residence—the homes of society are massively significant spheres, and Jesus has made you sovereign over yours. Does your home reflect the reign of Jesus?
Do you know the significance of raising children who love their God and neighbor, who then have children who love God and neighbor, who have children who love God and neighbor, and organically the love of God and neighbor is multiplied exponentially? The sphere of parenting holds power to change the world in immeasurable ways for generations to come. What about the actual house or apartment where you live? Does that belong to you or Jesus? The Christian must answer Jesus. If so, then that house is to be an oasis of hospitality to the lost, the least, the friendless, and the hurting. Christian hospitality changes the world around it.
But our homes are only one sphere. You most likely also have a vocational sphere. And whatever your vocation may be, chances are the field is not known for its righteousness, integrity, humility, and so forth. It is likely a selfishly cutthroat line of work brimming with deceitful greediness. But not your sphere. In your office, business, technical trade, cubical, classroom, boardroom, studio—wherever Jesus has made you sovereign, you are planting a proverbial flag in the ground, saying, in essence, this belongs to King Jesus, and it will operate according to the ways of his Kingdom.
Depending upon your sphere, that may come at a cost. I can imagine several vocations where if you were operating according to the ways of Jesus won't get you ahead. So be it. The Kingdom is worth it, the common good of the world is more important than your advancement, and great will be your reward in heaven for righteously ordering your sphere at whatever cost. But in some vocational spheres, the ways of Jesus may come with great gain. Jim Collins convincingly demonstrates in his classic Good to Great that leaders with character and humility are actually very successful leaders. And candidly, I think our world is so weary of corruption that doing things with righteous integrity could bring with it success. Thus, practicing sphere sovereignty may bring advancement and profits. If so, Jesus is also sovereign over your power and profits; therefore, you are to bless others with them.
Do you see? Your neighborhood, social media profile, friendship community—we at all times inhabit differing spheres, which are but a few inches of every square inch that belongs to Jesus, and we, the ambassadors of his sovereignty, labor to reclaim these fallen spheres for the glory of the Creator and the good of creation.
Brothers and sisters, we are not serving Jesus only in those limited evangelism opportunities. We must be zealous evangelists, but even our evangelism is not merely about saving souls but about saving the world. Far from offering the lost a way to heaven, we are recruiting ambassadors of Jesus' reign to bring heaven to earth in the spheres where their newfound Lord has placed them. The greater point, however, is that our service to Jesus is not limited to evangelism, mission trips, or volunteering in your local Church. Every minute of every mundane day is in service to the Sovereign of the mundane. Thus, it doesn't matter what you are doing, but what you are doing matters.