Sometimes we portray Jesus as providing us with a ladder to bridge the chasm between our sinful selves and a holy God. Jesus made a way for us to reach God. This is inaccurate. Jesus didn’t just provide us with a ladder and tell us to climb, but Jesus provided the ladder and climbs it for us. We get to the top – not by climbing it ourselves – but by riding on the back of Jesus.
February 9, 2021
Jesus is more than a ladder
Posted by Theosophical Ruminator under Justification, Soteriology, Theology[3] Comments
Thinking to Believe 
February 9, 2021 at 11:37 am
Praise The Lord Sir. That’s good but I believe Jesus is the Ladder. The full picture given to us in Jacob’s vision is as such… God the i.e. Jehovah stands at the top of the Ladder (the head of Christ is God), the Ladder is Jesus (or a type of Christ ex., “that rock was Christ”), the angels ascending and descending i.e. ministering spirits sent into the earth transporting the prayers of His Saints between earth and heaven and assistance and strength down from heaven to earth (also a possible type of the Holy Ghost, “the Spirit makes intercession for us according to the will of God”). All of this revelation, communication and exchange are made possible through the ladder.
At the same time it is a sad commentary on the human condition. Whereas in the garden Adam had direct communication and fellowship with the Father yet as we continue to move forward from there the gap continues to grow. Our sins truly have separated us from our God.
Thanks for the “rumination” :-).
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February 9, 2021 at 2:37 pm
Hi Toure. The point of the post is not about whether Jesus is the ladder, but whether Jesus has done everything necessary to get us connected to God. The idea that Jesus made the connection possible but requires us to work to reach God is contrasted with the idea that Jesus made the connection possible and personally connects us to God. Jesus does it all. We’re simply along for the ride.
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February 11, 2021 at 5:21 am
Jason, well put .. Jesus does it all.
The “ladder” analogy distinguishes Christianity from every other belief system. Every other religion/belief system is based on climbing a ladder to try and achieve, improve, enlighten, to attain to some level of spirituality or connection with the divine.
Unfortunately this notion of climbing the ladder has also creeped into the church at large. We embrace terms like “backsliding” and growing closer to God without realizing we are thinking with the ladder concept in our subconscious.
The truth is that if there is any ladder to speak of, God Himself came down that ladder to reach us and save us. He came to be one of us and ultimately live in us in a perfect union that can never be separated. We don’t need to climb or strive to connect with Him. All we need to do is grow in the grace and knowledge of Him and what He has already accomplished in us.
Naz
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