I have been thinking alot lately about our world view and the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus. For thirty nine years my world view has been changing along with my understanding of the revelation of God in the Bible. In my early years my world view was shaped by a futurist eschatology that thinks that Christ's kingdom is a future event.
More recently I have come to the view that Christ's kingdom was fully initiated in the first century, first in heaven, immediately following his ascension and then on earth starting with the Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem. From there increasing throughout Judea, Samaria and unto the utter ends of the Roman and Jewish world and then continuing until today to all peoples (a few yet to be reached) and the uttermost parts of the earth.
One of the foundational scriptures that leads me to this view is found in the Messianic prophecy given through Isaiah.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
( Isaiah 9:6,7 NIV this and all following Bible references are from, biblegateway)
Here God reveals that the Messiah, referred to here as a child and son, will be born with the government upon his shoulders. And that the Messiah's government will increase and be an eternal government starting in that time and continuing forever.
Note that nothing here supports an idea that the child would be born only to die and later in some future time establish an earthly government or kingdom. As I am now seeing all in the NT writers support the idea that Christ was presently the king, that his kingdom for them was a present reality, and not a future event.
Consider also that God does not reveal that the Messianic kingdom would spring forth as a full reality across the whole earth, but rather that it would increase. This to me says it has a beginning, a small beginning and increases from there and forever.
I see that all who are in Christ are also citizens in his eternal kingdom. And that the church is also the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus upon the earth. I don't have in mind here any particular organization that calls itself Church, but instead all true believers in Christ Jesus, in all their existence universally and in local fellowships.
Consider how the church started. There were about five hundred disciples of Jesus (based on Paul's statements in 1 Cor. 15:6), that followed him during parts of his earthly ministry. Some of those followed him all the time. Out of this group were selected twelve disciples to be sent out to represent the Messiah to carry on his work after his departure. These Christ ordered to wait in Jerusalem until "...the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1: 4,5).
Those gathered at Jesus ascension that heard these words clearly saw it time for the Messianic kingdom to be established. These were not confused about the times as some today teach. They were not holding on to some contemporary Messianic kingdom theory. No, these were holding on to the clear promises of God that are clearly stated in prophecies regarding the Messiah and the establishing of his kingdom.
These asked Jesus, "Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”" (Acts 1:6)
Jesus answer was to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit.
"7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” " (Acts 1:7,8)
And so they waited in Jerusalem for the promised immersion in the Holy Spirit and the establishing of the Messianic kingdom. And it did come upon them and was established.
"Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." (Acts 1:13)
"1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:1-3)
In an upper room in Jerusalem, there waited the twelve (including Matthias), some of the women, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers (of whom we know James, the elder was one). And on the day of first fruits of the harvest, the day called Pentecost, the first believers received the promised immersion in the Holy Spirit, and the church was born. This too was the establishing of the eternal kingdom of God in Christ Jesus upon the earth. What had been birthed in eternity past, when God first desired a family and a kingdom, was now started in the earth. All former kingdoms were just a shadow of this one. This one alone was an eternal kingdom, made up of citizens that had the eternal life of God within them.
On that day three thousand were added to the church. The kingdom of Messiah increased. Soon after about five thousand more were added, increasing the kingdom of Messiah again. And this addition continued to increase. Extending to all of Judea and Samaria. And finally to the ends of the Roman/Jewish world.
From that beginning to today the eternal kingdom of God in Christ Jesus has increased. Extended to the very ends of the physical earth, reaching almost every people of every language group. But this kingdom is a present reality, not a future one.
This is my present view, based on my almost forty years in the Lord and study in the Bible.
Showing posts with label body of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body of Christ. Show all posts
Monday, December 06, 2010
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Evangelism are we doing it right?
I've been part of the evangelical church since my rebirth into the Kingdom of Christ/God. I fully understand that to enter into the redemptive relationship with God in Christ is one that involves the work of the Holy Spirit and of man in cooperation.
Predestination or Free will?
I do not hold to the extreme Calvanistic view that some are predestined to be saved and others are not. I read too much in the NT about the entering into redemption being of one making the choice to submit to God for redemption, or free will.
I also see that within the concept of the sovereignity of God that even if we really don't have free-will in this area, that God's choice for us is hid in the mystery of God's knowledge within eternity and we are not privy to that information.
This whole debate in the church becomes one of division rather than encouragement to evangelize or live our lives in Christ. And as Paul points out to the Corinthian assembly, division of the body of Christ is sin.
True Evangelism is based on a Loving Community.
One of my observations regarding the foundation of evangelism is that it must be based on a loving community of believers.
Jesus taught the disciples a new command, John13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Jesus taught that the foundation of our communnities is love. Here he shows that the world, all men, would recognize that we follow Christ by our love for one another.
We have alot of ideas as to what the church is. It is very popular to think of the church as being the universal body of Christ, encompassing all beleivers, every where all around the world, as well as the living and the dead. This idea is meantioned in the NT, yet it is not the main way the church (Greek word is ekklesia, literally meaning an assembly of called out ones) is defined. The NT is mostly discussing the local assembly. The brothers and sisters we are in direct fellowship with.
The basis of our local assembly life is to live out the love for one another. In doing a study of the NT to understand what they did for meetings I found very little about meetings, in fact only one passage of teaching, and that was corrective in nature, 1Cor 11-14. The major teaching regarding assembly life is about loving one another in real practical ways. (If you would like to read my study, please email me as it is comprehensive and too long to post in this format.)
Jesus is not talking about the church universal in this reference. He is talking about the local group of believers that you and I fellowship with on a normal basis, daily, weekly.
Jesus says that the world will recognize that we follow Him by the way we love those we are in relationship with.
This is one reason that division in the Body of Christ is so sinful. For us to be divided over doctrine or practice to the point that we can't love one another prevents those outside the body of Christ from recognizing that we are Jesus' disciples. Remember this love is practical, not just making statements that we love all believers. We must show it in serving one another, even considering the needs of another believer as being more important than our own.
The world is not fooled by our love statements. They want, they need us to show them the money. To put feet to our statements. To work to show ourselves approved of God by actively, practically loving one another.
The world is not impressed with our temples made to house God. They want love.
The world is not impressed with our programs. They want loving relationships.
The world is not impressed with our Christmas or Easter extravaganzes. They want daily loving relationships.
The world is not impressed with our books, DVDs, tv programs. They desperately need to know that we really, really believe what we say. That we are willing to die for our beliefs, and really do walk them out in love for each other.
Look at all the literature and self help programs, helping people learn how to love. Look at all the misguided attempts of men to find love. Dating services, hook up places, meet markets of all types from bars to coffee shops to book stores. They want love....
For any of our evangelism to be fruitful it must be founded on real, practical loving relationships with one another that spill over to all our neighbors. The division of the body of Christ into unloving denominations prevents many from seeing Christ, from being drawn in by His love.
Predestination or Free will?
I do not hold to the extreme Calvanistic view that some are predestined to be saved and others are not. I read too much in the NT about the entering into redemption being of one making the choice to submit to God for redemption, or free will.
I also see that within the concept of the sovereignity of God that even if we really don't have free-will in this area, that God's choice for us is hid in the mystery of God's knowledge within eternity and we are not privy to that information.
This whole debate in the church becomes one of division rather than encouragement to evangelize or live our lives in Christ. And as Paul points out to the Corinthian assembly, division of the body of Christ is sin.
True Evangelism is based on a Loving Community.
One of my observations regarding the foundation of evangelism is that it must be based on a loving community of believers.
Jesus taught the disciples a new command, John13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Jesus taught that the foundation of our communnities is love. Here he shows that the world, all men, would recognize that we follow Christ by our love for one another.
We have alot of ideas as to what the church is. It is very popular to think of the church as being the universal body of Christ, encompassing all beleivers, every where all around the world, as well as the living and the dead. This idea is meantioned in the NT, yet it is not the main way the church (Greek word is ekklesia, literally meaning an assembly of called out ones) is defined. The NT is mostly discussing the local assembly. The brothers and sisters we are in direct fellowship with.
The basis of our local assembly life is to live out the love for one another. In doing a study of the NT to understand what they did for meetings I found very little about meetings, in fact only one passage of teaching, and that was corrective in nature, 1Cor 11-14. The major teaching regarding assembly life is about loving one another in real practical ways. (If you would like to read my study, please email me as it is comprehensive and too long to post in this format.)
Jesus is not talking about the church universal in this reference. He is talking about the local group of believers that you and I fellowship with on a normal basis, daily, weekly.
Jesus says that the world will recognize that we follow Him by the way we love those we are in relationship with.
This is one reason that division in the Body of Christ is so sinful. For us to be divided over doctrine or practice to the point that we can't love one another prevents those outside the body of Christ from recognizing that we are Jesus' disciples. Remember this love is practical, not just making statements that we love all believers. We must show it in serving one another, even considering the needs of another believer as being more important than our own.
The world is not fooled by our love statements. They want, they need us to show them the money. To put feet to our statements. To work to show ourselves approved of God by actively, practically loving one another.
The world is not impressed with our temples made to house God. They want love.
The world is not impressed with our programs. They want loving relationships.
The world is not impressed with our Christmas or Easter extravaganzes. They want daily loving relationships.
The world is not impressed with our books, DVDs, tv programs. They desperately need to know that we really, really believe what we say. That we are willing to die for our beliefs, and really do walk them out in love for each other.
Look at all the literature and self help programs, helping people learn how to love. Look at all the misguided attempts of men to find love. Dating services, hook up places, meet markets of all types from bars to coffee shops to book stores. They want love....
For any of our evangelism to be fruitful it must be founded on real, practical loving relationships with one another that spill over to all our neighbors. The division of the body of Christ into unloving denominations prevents many from seeing Christ, from being drawn in by His love.
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