Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra as My Spiritual Guides

Emotions

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show, and been so moved, that you just could not hold back your tears? Or have you ever been in such awe and so full of wonder that you just could not close your mouth? Or have you ever left the theater wishing that the movie was reality because it was just so epic?

What should we make of these emotions?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a kids show from Nickelodeon. Avatar: The Legend of Korra is its sequel. Both of these shows are very entertaining and have received great reviews. I'm an adult and don't usually tune into Nickelodeon, but my wife and I kept hearing over and over again from our youth group kids just how good Avatar is, so we had to watch it.

As I watched the shows, I noticed something happening in my heart. I longed to watch the episodes more than I longed to read my Bible. My mouth would drop as the plot line twisted and turned. My jaws never dropped while reading the Bible since I knew the stories already.

In one scene, Korra water bent and spiraled up out of the ocean to beat up the bad guys. She was awesome and full of glory. To be honest with myself, I watched that scene with more awe and wonder than when I pondered God's glory from Isaiah 6.

I started thinking about the TV show throughout the day while the verses that I read in my daily quiet times quickly vanished from my mind as soon as I closed my Bible. I found my heart desiring that the world of Avatar to be real -- more intense was that desire than even my care for whether Jesus was real or not. I even found myself moving my hands, like the cartoon characters, wishing that I could air bend.

I know that I am not alone in these desires. Humans have made idols for worship for as long as we have existed. In the past, they were gods of metal in the image of man and beast. In modern times, our gods are human celebrities, dogs, and for some in Japan, virtual celebrities. So it is no wonder that I found myself worshipping Avatar.

Again, what should we make of these emotions? We all have them in one form or another.

Cut It Off

One option was to cut off watching Avatar because it was causing me to sin. I do believe it is appropriate and better to cut off things that cause us to sin (Matthew 5:29). There is a place for that. And I wrestled with God in my heart and was willing to drop the show.

But there is also a place where God redeems normal activities like eating, drinking, and watching TV for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). I started to wonder if there was a purpose for my joy in Avatar. Can that joy be redeemed for God's glory?

True Myth

J. R. R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, and C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series, both saw a redeeming purpose in epics. They called it True Myth. They considered God's redemptive story in the Bible the greatest story ever told. God's story is the ultimate story.

We humans create stories. Some are better than others. Good stories always follow the plot line of the ultimate story. There are always elements of good, evil, and redemption. Good stories are good because our hearts intrinsically recognize them as good. God made it that way so that good stories would point us to his ultimate story.

Avatar as a Type of Christ

Avatar is a good story. As I lingered on how Avatar pointed me to the ultimate story, I found my heart, without even trying, redirecting my worshipful emotions of Avatar into deep and true worship of God! My affections were changed and I naturally gave glory to God instead of images made by human hands.


These reflections of  how the Avatar is a type of Christ were helpful in drawing me closer to God. I hope they are helpful for you too. Avatar is not Christ, or even Christian, but simply a secular pointer to Christ.

1.) Birth Foretold

The Avatar's birth is known ahead of time since it follows a predictable cycle (air, water, earth, fire, and then all over again). The monks actively sought out the birth of Avatar Aang among the air benders. The White Lotus actively sought out the birth of Avatar Korra among the water tribe. Morpheus actively sought out the existence of the One, Neo, as predicted by the Oracle. The Jedi actively sought out the birth of "the One who would bring balance the Force" as predicted by the prophecy.

Why is it that all these epics require the birth of its hero to be predicted and sought after? Because the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, was predicted by prophets spanning hundreds of years and sought after by the Magi. The point is that Jesus is special, and any hero that is a shadow of Jesus must also be special. My birth was not predicted, and neither was yours. We're not special. Jesus is special.

But Jesus is more special than Avatar Aang, Avatar Korra, Neo, or Anakin. Ponder on how Jesus is greater than these characters and your heart will naturally worship Jesus!

2.) Never Ending Kingdom

The Chinese have always sought a dynasty that would last  forever. Yet every dynasty rose and fell. Hitler sought after a kingdom that would last 1,000 years. That didn't work.

All humans have long sought after a savior that would reign on and on. Even Americans think so though we may outwardly deny it. Deep down, we do. If we didn't, we wouldn't care so much about the British Royal family, or keep electing people named Kennedy and Bush.

Why do we give more glory to Michael Jordan than to Lebron James? Because Jordan's reign lasted longer. Michael Jordan has six rings and created a dynasty, where as Lebron James only has one ring. Yet even Jordan's reign came to an end.

The Avatar is awesome because his reign goes on and on. We want to worship a king who lasts forever. Ponder on Jesus! He will truly reign forever with an iron scepter! He will come back and be the true king. There will be no more need for elections when he comes back.

3.) Bridge Between Worlds

The Avatar is the bridge between the spiritual world and the physical world. The One, from the Matrix, is the bridge between the machine world and the human world.

We create stories with a "bridger" because we intrinsically know that we do not have access to God. We need a mediator. The ultimate mediator is Jesus!

4.) Young and Forced to Learn

The Avatar has to remaster the bending of the four elements every lifetime. Neo had to learn how to manipulate the Matrix. Why do we want to see our heroes learn?

Because Jesus learned. He humbled himself by becoming a man, and learned through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). It is very weird, but we want to see our heroes make progress. We don't want to just see them effective from day one. We want them to try and fail so that they can understand our frailties. Otherwise, our heroes are unrelatable. We can relate to Jesus because he suffered from the same needs we have. We can relate to Jesus because he became one of us.

5.) Trinitarian

There really is no good illustration that accurately portrays the Trinity except the Trinity: three distinct persons of one essence in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are equally God and one, yet distinct persons. Every illustration breaks down somewhere. The Avatar is not a perfect illustration of the Trinity either, but it is exceptionally close to the Christian Trinitarian view.

The background of the Avatar is the Eastern world view of reincarnation. Every Avatar reincarnates and becomes the next Avatar. They are all one. Yet the show differs very from the traditional Eastern view of reincarnation because each of the previous Avatars, though one with the current Avatar, also has his own distinct spirit.

Roku is often referred to as the spirit of Roku and distinct from Aang. Aang is often referred to as as the spirit of Aang and distinct from Korra. Yet Aang, in the last episode of the first series, recalled all the previous Avatars and communed with them because they were all in him. So they are one and yet distinct.

Avatar gives me the closest example of the Trinity outside of the Trinity.

The previous Avatar represents the Father. Note how Aang communed with Roku and how Korra communed with Aang. Isn't that how Jesus communed with the Father?

The Avatar represents the Son. He is the incarnation in the physical world and bridges us between worlds. He is also called to save the world. When the Avatar reaches the Avatar State, his eyes light up and his feet are like bronze. Is that not a picture of Jesus in Revelation 2:18?

The Avatar State represents the Holy Spirit. When in the Avatar State, he is clothed with power and does amazing things.

The Trinitarian view of Avatar really effected me spiritually. In the same way that Aang had to learn to commune with Roku and learn the Avatar State, so I too must learn to commune with the Father and appreciate the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of me. I've always been taught, that once you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives within you. Whoopie. Most of us nod in Sunday School and it does not move us. Seeing the Avatar State in Aang moved my heart to value the Holy Spirit who lives in me. And that State is offered to every Christian!

6.) Savior of the World

Every epic has heroes and villains. The villains have to be very bad or the story is boring. They are constantly making the world worse and seem to have the upper hand.

Consider the Joker from the second installment of the Dark Knight. That movie was so epic because the Joker was so evil. If he was cute or nice, then Batman would get less glory. It is precisely because he was so evil that Batman got the glory in battling the Joker.

The same evil existed in Amon when he took away Korra's bending. Or the Emperor when he fried Luke. Or Voldemort when he killed Harry Potter. Or the Phoenix King when he attacked Aang.

But at the last possible minute, the hero saves the day. That is why we cheer for them.

Is that not the case for Jesus? The crucifixion of Christ was the climax of evil in this world. The bad guys seemed to have won the day, but it was in that very act that Christ saved us from our moral and mortal dilemma. We are saved from the punishment of our sin and saved to have new resurrected bodies like him!

There is a reason that we cheered when Korra was able to defeat Amon after Amon defeated her by taking away her bending, or why we cheered when Voldemort was defeated after he killed Harry Potter.  They point us to Jesus! Evil is vanquished at the climax of evil by the savior of the world.

7.) Restores the World

Amon was a very wicked villain. I was quite scared and bothered by him every time he took away a bender's bending away. It just felt so wrong. At the last episode of season 1 of Avatar Korra, my heart lept with joy when Korra restored Chief Bei Fong's bending. Korra was restoring the world to what it was like before Amon had messed it up.

Isn't that what Jesus will do when he returns? He will come back and restore the world. He will make all things new. The current world order of death and decay will be no more!

8.) Team Player

The best heroes save the day, but they never save the day alone. I just watched the latest Amazing Spider Man in a theater yesterday. I wasn't really moved by the movie until I saw the construction workers help an injured Spider Man. They all aligned their cranes to make a straight path for Spider Man to go and attack the Lizard.

Neither Avatar Aang nor Avatar Korra could save the world without the help of the rest of Team Avatar. And even Luke needed Han Solo and Chewie.

Why do we want our heroes to need help? Because even Jesus needed help. I do not mean that Jesus is not self sufficient. He is. He made the whole world and by him everything is held together. He could command waves and multiple food. But even Jesus was supported in his ministry by women who worked and paid for his ministry (Luke 8:3). Even Jesus wanted his friends to pray with him at the garden of Gethsemane and was ministered to by angels in the wilderness.

The heroes of our stories save the world, but they never do it alone because Jesus doesn't do it that way. If he did, we would simply be watchers. But as God has ordained it, we are more than watchers, we are participants in his epic fight. We fight by laying down our lives, by picking up our cross to follow him, not because he needs us, but because he has saved us for that very purpose and our participation ultimately brings him more glory.

9.) Master of All Elements

Even though the heroes of our stories rely on others, they are still uniquely gifted. The Avatar is the master of all elements while others are just the master of one. Morpheus and Trinity could bend the rules of the Matrix, but only Neo could uniquely break the rules. Harry Potter had many magician friends, but only he alone could defeat Voldemort.

So in the same way, Jesus, though he uses our help, is absolutely unique. Though he asks us to pick up our cross and follow him, only he could die on the cross as a payment for sins for all who would believe in him. Only he could master all the elements and truly save the world.

Emotions

So what should we do with our emotions? When you watch a movie and you are moved, ask yourself why you are moved. Then ponder and meditate on those thoughts, and see that whatever the reason for your heart's affections, know that those same reasons apply far more in Christ, and let your affections move toward worship of the true meta Hero, Jesus Christ.

Who is more rich, the billionaire, or the mentally impaired?

Eduardo Saverin is worth 3.8 billion dollars. He plays around with female models like you and I play video games. He drives a Bentley like you and I drive our Civic. He's got everything.

Ian lost everything in a car accident a few years ago.

Who is richer? You decide.

You can read about Eduardo's life at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139307/Eduardo-Saverin-Facebook-founder-living-Singapore-drives-Bentley-hangs-supermodels.html

You can read about Ian's life at: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-story-of-ian-larissa

This is not a case of sour grapes. This is a case of finding that which truly is satisfying.

Why does the Chinese culture produce so many girly men and husbands who beat wives?

Li Yang, a Chinese man, married Kim Lee, a caucasian American woman. They have children, and live and work in China. Cross cultural marriages and working overseas is not a big deal.

Li Yang does what many Chinese men do -- he beats his wife. That is sad. It is, however, a big deal that the wife is standing up to her husband by going to the Chinese police and media. That is rarely done. She has become a heroine to many Chinese wives.

But just as it is common for husbands to beat their wives in China, so it is common for Chinese men to withdraw from the family and act like sissies. I kid you not. I've seen many. It is so prevalent in China, that they even have schools that specialize in teaching boys how not to act like sissies.

Why does the Chinese culture produce so many girly men or husbands who beat wives?

My theory, is that men want to act girly to show that they are not male chauvinists. It's a way of over correcting that bad behavior. So Chinese boys see their dads beat their moms. They don't like it, so they want to show that they are not their dads, so they act like women instead.

That is very sad because both men and women play critical roles and contribute to family and society differently. When men act like women, or women act like men, society falls apart. Now, before you crucify me, please do not think that I mean that women should be forbidden from doing everything that men can do.

But, let's think over the matter together. Even if you are a feminist from the West, you too believe intrinsically that there are things that a woman can do that a man will never do, and vice versa. And even if they are activities that both men and women can do, we naturally want to segregate the two genders from those same activities.

For the former, think of breast feeding. Or giving birth. No matter how much I, as a man, want to breast feed or give birth, it just ain't gonna happen. I will never experience that joy.

For the latter, think of sports. Even when we encourage both men and women to play sports, we would not encourage them to compete together. Or even if we did allow them to compete together, it would be OK for a woman to play on a men's football team, but not OK for a man to play on a women's lacrosse team. We intrinsically believe these things because we all know that there is a natural order to things.

And I believe, that in this natural order, men are called to die for women. I am called to love my wife and be willing to sacrifice my life for her. She is not called to do that for me. It is my role to sacrifice for her.

Many would say that this worldview is not fair. And I agree, it is not. But, it is more beautiful.

Think of the case of the Titanic. When a ship is sinking, should we simply let the strongest survive? Or should the men be willing to give up their lives for women? That is exactly what happened. When the Titanic sank, 74% of the women survived, but only 20% of the men survived. Why? Because they knew true beauty.

I know I am called to sacrifice my life for my wife because Jesus sacrificed his life  for the Church. Husbands represent Jesus, and wives represent the Church (Ephesians 5). So, to be true to Jesus, I must never beat my wife but love her and be willing to die for her.

But even if you are not a Christian, you know intrinsically that the unfair worldview of a husband dying for his wife is more beautiful than the fair worldview of letting the strongest survive. Francis Servel sacrificed his life for his wife Nicole when the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank earlier this year. That was sad, but his love was beautiful.

Jesus saves me from my sin. But he does more. He is a role model for me so that I can be a loving husband who does not beat my wife. So, because of Jesus, I have no need to be a girly man as a way to counter my experiences of seeing dads beat moms.

The Gibeonites Are a Picture of Election

Israel was commanded to conquer and kill every person living in Canaan. God not only commanded Israel to do it but he himself fought for Israel to accomplish it (Joshua 10:14). Every king and people group that fought Israel perished. But one group, the Gibeonites, sought mercy and were saved. Why were they spared?

Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:18-20)

God specifically hardened the hearts of the kings of Canaan so that he could destroy them. This was spelled out for us in the encounter with the king of Sihon. Moses asked to pay for the rights to pass through their land. But God hardened the heart of the king of Sihon so that he would not accept terms of peace in order for God to destroy Sihon.

So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace... But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. (Deuteronomy 2:26-30)

That is scary! Those who fight against God are destined to do so and will be destroyed for it! Oh, how we need to beg God for mercy. And that is exactly what the Gibeonites did (Joshua 9). They saw that they had no chance or offer of salvation, and so disguised themselves as a far away nation. They did so because they knew that God had commanded all the people groups of Canaan to be destroyed. They knew they were not even offered a chance at peace! Yet they attempted to reconcile with God. So they disguised themselves and Israel inadvertantly made a covenant of peace with them thinking that they were not Canaanites. Once Joshua found out they were really from Canaan, he got mad at them, and so made the Gibeonites slaves to carry water and wood for the temple of God.

But is that not a picture of salvation for us who are saved? Are we not bond servants, slaves of God as Paul called himself (Romans 1:1)? Were we not plucked out from among a people that were hardened to be destroyed? Do not think that this only applied to the Old Testament. Jesus himself acted in the same way toward a Canaanite woman who, one can say, represented the Gibeonites, not just ethnically, but spiritually.

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21-18)

Is it not ironic that the ones who were offered salvation did not receive it? But that the ones who were not offered salvation believed? King Sihon was destroyed though he was offered peace. The Gibeonites were not offered peace yet found peace. The Syrophoenician woman, who is a Canaanite, received peace though she, like us, was nothing more than a dog and was not even offered peace. Jesus even purposefully ignored her! Yet the Pharisees who were supposed to know God and were offered God's peace did not receive him. Why? Because they were hardened like the kings of Canaan. And the woman was redeemed like the Gibeonites.

What ought we to do? Seek salvation while it may be found! Pursue it whether you are offered it or not. And know, if you do receive it, that it is because God has softened your heart and caused you to believe. He has done this so none of us may boast before him! Seek God!

An Account of Two People

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This is not a tale of two cities, but a true account of two people: Rahab and Achan.

Rahab was a female prostitute who spread her legs out  for money. She was dirty and no man loved her. She grew up in Jericho, a Canaanite city, and so had no direct access to God. But she knew of God's power through hearing of accounts of what God did to Egypt through the ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea. She even knew that God promised to give the whole Promised Land to Israel.

Achan, outwardly, was not a sinner. He was an upstanding family man with sons and daugthers. He grew up among the people of Israel and had direct access to God through Moses. Daily, he experienced God's grace through the miraculous provision of bread from heaven. Daily, he saw manifestations of God in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He saw, first hand, God's awesome power in the destruction of the nations east of the Jordan, the splitting of the Jordan river, and the fall of Jericho's walls.

Rahab feared God. When the Israeli spies came to check out Jericho, she protected them and hid them from the soldiers in the city. Because of that, the spies swore to protect her and her entire family. Eventually, when the rest of Israel came to attack and conquer the city, every man, woman, and child were devoted to destruction. But Rahab and everyone from her household were spared because she feared God and protected the spites.

Achan did not fear God. He was there with the Israeli army in the conquest of Jericho. But he coveted a nice jacket and some money that did not belong to him. He took those things and hid them. Because he did that, thirty-six men died in Israel's next military campaign against the city of Ai. Those men lost their lives because God did not go with Israel to fight Ai. God did not  go with the nation of Israel because one man, Achan, from the nation had sinned. Once Joshua discovered Achan's sin, Achan, and his whole household, including sons, daughters, and farm animals, were brought outside the camp to be stoned and burned alive.

So Rahab, the prostitute, who lied to the soldiers in her city, saved her and her entire household because she had faith to fear God. But Achan, the upstanding family man, who did not lie but told Joshua the truth, destroyed himself and his entire household because he did not have faith to fear God.

Who are you? Or better yet, who am I?

I pray that I may be a God fearer. I would rather be one who only hears of God's power but believes, than one who sees God's power with his own eyes but has no faith.

May God grant us faith to fear him!

Sometimes God Gives Very Inefficient Commands

Flint Knives

Joshua had just crossed the Jordan river to conquer the Promised Land. And God immediately asked Joshua to circumcise all of the men of Israel.

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth... When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. (Joshua 5:3-8)

This command by God was hugely inefficient because it exposed to entire army to attack since all of the men who could fight were incapacitated. Men who are circumcised are out of commission for at least a week because they cannnot run or fight (Genesis 34:25).

And, just think of how silly it sounds. Imagine you enter a foreign land, ready to attack and conquer it, and your commander asks you to drop your pants, and without anesthetics, to cut off a part of your private part. Then, you have to wait for it to heal without any use of modern medicine while the enemy can attack your base because you are defenseless and exposed. Ludicrous and inefficient.

God commands what he commands because he is not concerned with sounding ludicrous or being efficient. He is concerned to ensure that we are a people set apart for him.

Today

The story of Joshua circumcising the men of Israel still applies to us today. The task of taking over the Promised Land was huge and stressful. We are not called, today, to conquer with sword as they were, but many of still feel the same stress because we feel that we have been given an unaccomplishable task. I think God does that whatever stage of life we are in or whatever our calling to force us to rely on him.

It is part of the human condition and in the very air we breathe. Ask around. I don't know of anyone who says that life is a breeze and that they are not stressed out. And as Christians, the more stressed out we are, the more we are tempted to give less time to setting ourselves apart for God instead of spending more time setting ourselves apart for God.

Have you ever been stressed out at work because of a huge dead line? The world tells us to spend all the time possible working to meet a deadline. But God tell us to honor him first by giving him the best of our time, and then we must work at our jobs with all our might for his glory.

Were you ever a student stressed out about an upcoming exam? The world tells us to spend all the time possible studying to get the best grades possible. But God tells us to honor him first by studying his Word with the best hours of our day, and then we must do our best in school to reflect his glory.

It seems that God is not concerned with efficiency. We are commanded, today, to honor God first because we are a people set apart for God, just like Joshua and the nation of Israel.

Why God Purposefully Exalts Individuals Among the Church

It's very counter cultural to believe that God purposefully exalts individuals among the Church. This is hard for us to believe because we are engrossed in the defacto Christian culture that assumes that we are all equals because we are all equally part of the body of Christ.

But what would you do if it was God's specific call for your life that the Church be in awe of you? Do we even have a framework to know how to process being exalted by God?

God Exalts Individuals

Joshua was told by God, specifically, that he would be exalted like Moses among all of Israel. He was individually exalted above everyone else in the nation.

The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you." (Joshua 3:7)

The entire nation stood in awe of Joshua. God specifically lifted up Joshua and wanted the nation to be in awe of him. Sounds awfully man centered doesn't it?

On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. (Joshua 4:14)

Means of Exaltation

How did God exalt Joshua? God did it by drying up the Jordan so that the country could cross on dry land. Back then, the Jordan river then was a mighty river that looked a lot like the Mississippi river today. God asked Joshua and the nation to cross that mighty river during its peak season when the water overflowed its banks. Which means, God wanted them to cross the river when it was scariest and most difficult.

"Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap." So... the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. (Joshua 3:11-17)

God exalted Joshua by associating Joshua with an act that was beyond his natural capabilities. No matter how good of a leader Joshua was, he could not, on his own, change the course of rivers. Everyone knew that Joshua did not have the power to dry up the Jordan river! So Joshua was exalted because he was associated with the God of the universe who could dry up the mighty river.

So, we are never exalted  by our own capabilities, but always by capabilities that point to a mighty God. In the same way, John Piper, a mighty preacher, had problems with speech in his youth. Even Tim Tebow had to win games that did not point to his naturally awesome quarterback skills.

Purpose for Believers

God exalts individual Christians among the Church by having them do things beyond their capacity so that we all know that the awesome thing done, was not done by them, but by God. When we know that the awesome deed is done by the power of God, we know that God is among us. God exalts an individual among us to show us that he is with us.

And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you..." (Joshua 3:10)

By seeing God's majestic acts, we know he is still alive. But we not only know that he is alive and well, we know that he is with us! And that is infinitely better.

This still applies to us today. God is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5).

Purpose for the World

Just as God exalts an individual Christian among the Church for the purpose of showing that God is with the Church, so God exalts the entire Church to glorify himself to the world.

For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.(Joshua 4:23-24)

The purpose is so that all the people groups of the world would know and fear God. Rahab the prostitute was a Canaanite from Jericho who believed in God because she heard of God's mighty power displayed through the destruction of Egypt (Joshua 2:8-14). She eventually became a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 1:5), and is now permanently (1 Peter 1:25) in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11:31). Pretty good for a prostitute from Jericho. She is more exalted than I ever will be.

God gets glory when his Church bears fruit because true fruit bearing can only happen through association with God. We must remain in God. He must be with us. And if he is with us, we bear fruit that ultimately glorifies him.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing... By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:5-8)

So, God exalts individuals, to exalt the Church, to ultimately exalt Himself.