Returning to the teachings of Jesus, this understanding of the “kingdom of God” helps to explain sayings such as Matthew 6:33 (also Lk12:31): “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (New American Standard). In other words, seek first the reign and rule of God in your life and He will take care of the rest.
However, there are others teachings of Jesus that do not seem to fit with the concept of the kingdom being the active rule and reign of God. In these teachings, Jesus talked about the coming of the “kingdom of God” as if it was something that was coming soon, or something that had already come. In order to understand how these passages fit within the above definition of the kingdom of God, we will need to turn to the Old Testament writings.
Within the Old Testament there is a duality where God is described both as currently being the king of world and as some day in the future being king over the world. Psalm 103:19 states that the “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (New International Version). Yet, Obadiah 1 talks about the “day of the Lord” when God will become King of Israel and punish all those who do not follow Him. Continue reading Defining “Kingdom of God”: A Paper (Part 2 of 3)
Last month I wrote a short paper about the definition of the term “kingdom of God” for my Fuller class on the Gospels. Originally, I was going to wait until I received a grade for the paper before I posted it online…but since it looks like Fuller is taking their time grading it, I figure I would go ahead and start posting sections of the paper for your reading enjoyment. 
Note that while I am going to save the full bibliography until the end, I will try to include references throughout the journey so that you (and all the copyright lawyers out there) will know where I gathered my information. 
Blessings
————————————————————-
The Gospel texts declare that the central message of Jesus Christ was the “kingdom of God” (Mt 4:17; 9:35; Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:43). Unfortunately, the phrase is not defined in the Gospel texts as the Biblical writers most likely assumed their readers would already know the meaning of the phrase. This leaves the modern reader in the predicament of having to define the phrase based upon the Old Testament writings, Jewish intertestamental literature, and the particular contexts in which Jesus used the phrase. Accordingly, this paper will seek to briefly define the phrase the “kingdom of God” and look at its impact on the teachings of Jesus. Continue reading Defining “Kingdom of God”: A Paper (Part 1 of 3)
The first phrase that came to mind when I sat down to review Don Williams’ new book Start Here was: “It is the new Mere Christianity”.
It may sound crazy, but that is what it is…Don Williams follows in the foot steps of CS Lewis in trying to put and describe the mysterious and [...]
My journey into the issue of women in church leadership began around my senior year of High School. During this time, my folks where helping start a small church with a female senior pastor. Even thought I knew this lady and respected her, I always felt uneasy sitting in her church. My mind said that it was wrong; yet my heart said that God was there and working….
It was all very confusing… I guess that is why in the end, I decided to follow Jesus’ advice to His disciples in Mark 9:40: “whoever is not against us is for us.” (i.e. As long as the Gospel was going forward, I would let God sort out the details.)
For years, I lived in this tension – sometimes leaning towards the egalitarian side (ie. man and women are equal in both role and essence); sometimes toward the complementarian view (ie. men and women are equal in essence but differ in roles).
Then I heard that Derek Morphew (a Kingdom Theologian that I trust and respect) just wrote a book about “going beyond the Complementarian/Egalitarian debate”… My inertest was peaked and I bought the book, “Different But Equal”, as soon as I could.[@more@]
The Book: “Different But Equal: Going Beyond the Complementarian/Egalitarian Debate”
One of the “un-written rules” of reading a book is to always read the author’s bio and introduction. These two things will tell you a lot about how the author is going to approach the subject matter (another rule is to check the publication date as it will give you some context for the material…).
This book is no different.
Continue reading Going Beyond the Complementarian/Egalitarian Debate
A few years ago I was browsing the bookshelf of a good friend when I noticed Ken Blue’s book Authority to Heal. Picking it up, I was intrigued with this book that claimed to have “answers for everyone who has prayed for a sick friend.”
Unfortunately, I was unable to read the book [...]
Normally I try not to follow a book review with another book review…but I am going to make an exception today.
George Eldon Ladd's book The Presence of the Future is one of those landmark theological books that send shockwaves throughout Christendom. This is neither an overstatement nor the ramblings of a lunatic [...]
George Ladd is one of my favorite theologians for a number of reasons. The main one however is his focus on the eschatological Jesus as oppose to the “legal” or “justification” Jesus of most evangelicals.
The Last Things: An Eschatology For Laymen is one of the last book written by Ladd before he died [...]
The church talks a lot about “Who is my neighbor?” – which can be good. But I think Rich Nathan has a point when he said that the “first question the church must answer correctly is, ‘who is my enemy?’”
From this premise, Rich tackles five of the most pressing issues facing the modern [...]
Living between the ages – between the here and not yet.
Gary Best’s book Naturally Supernatural is about such a life: Joining God in His Work God’s Powerful Tools Seeing What God Sees Empowered by God’s Spirit Bringing the Kingdom to People The Key to Persevering
This is a book about joining in God’s [...]
I was browsing the Vineyard National site when I noticed an article published by Bert Waggoner about the Vineyard Core Values. It seems that the National Board has simplified the long list of beliefs and values into five (5) core ones:
* The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God * Experiencing God [...]
Recent Comments