(Conclusion of this week's blog series)
The message of new birth and freely given salvation by sovereign grace must be combined and held together with the message of the in-breaking future eschatolgical Kingdom that transforms our lives now.
I am convinced that the key to a unified model for Gospel ministry - one that brings together the message and model of Jesus in the four Gospels with the Apostolic epistolary teaching on justification and sanctification - can be and will be found in a combination of the inaugurated eschatology understanding of the Kingdom of God and the concept of Eternal Life in the Gospel of John.
I've been trying for a while to come up with a short, memorable statement of the model. Although I'm not satisfied with it yet, here is what I've come up with so far.
Jesus Christ lived and died on the Cross to birth a Kingdom people, who through faith would be reborn and thus see and enter the Kingdom of God and experience the life of the Age to Come, in a down payment form now and in its completeness in eternity. From these Kingdom people He now forms communities of Jesus' followers who embrace Jesus' Cross, speak Jesus' message, live Jesus' lifestyle, and do Jesus' works in Jesus' way, for Jesus' purpose and in Jesus' power, so that more people can enter the Kingdom and the Father will be glorified.
Comments and suggestions for improvement are very welcome.
Previous Posts (in reverse order):
To See The Kingdom See the Cross
Uniting the Message of Jesus and About Jesus
The Gospel / Epistle Disconnect
Barry, thanks for your blog. My initial comment is that I am hearing more about a gospel of the kingdom than the gospel of salvation. Your summary statement however, does not seem to include anything about the nations... I am currently hearing that Jesus commanded us to disciple nations, not individuals. When we get the nation, we get the individuals. Nations will be sorted by sheep and goat nations. Apparently, our judgement may in part be based on how our nation is judged. Seems important to do everything we can to ensure our nation is a sheep nation. Is it? How we align with Israel will be very important. Do you agree? Are you hearing anything about the 7 mountains: Government, Economy(Business), Education, Family, Religion(Worship), Celebration(Arts & Entertainment), and Media. God wants us to enter the Promised Land and stop living in the Wilderness asking for emergency miracles, ie: daily manna, water from the rock, etc. In the Promised Land there should be a constant abundance, signs, wonders, miracles. Where is the Power of God being manifested today? It is not religion that is important, ie: a religious spirit. It is all about an intimate relationship with Him. We need to be doing what He is doing. I am hearing nations... the Kingdom descending from Heaven to Earth, now... With a demonstration of power... Should we settle for any less? Any comment? Don Raymond
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