glorious – Dancing In The Kingdom

Rejoicing in the hope of God

[Bible references: Psalm 42; Isaiah 40; Romans 5:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21]

The relationship between lament and hope is crucial. Reconciliation without lament cheapens hope. To be deeply bothered about the way things are is itself a sign of hope.^[1] It is because of our great hope that we can face the brokenness around us and within us, knowing that God still rules over all things and above all things, knowing that He has not and will not cease working to bring his mercy and justice, and knowing that God will eventually restore all of creation to what He has intended from the beginning.

That is the hope we can remember each time we share communion. In the broken bread we remember: Christ broken for us; our sharing in His brokenness; the Body of Christ, that the church now broken will be made whole when our joy will be consummated at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. In the wine we remember: Christ’s blood shed for us; our sharing in His suffering; the Blood of Christ which cleanses and redeems us so that with pure hearts and with one heart, we may enjoy the glorious presence of our Lord. And so it is, after facing the reality of our brokenness, acknowledging it with our lament, looking forward to the reality of the hope we have in God and seeking His desire to restore all things to Himself, that we can face the reality of what we need to do, so that we can join Christ in his redemptive work. If we have truly faced the reality of our brokenness then we will not be deceived by the illusion of progress in our culture, which ultimately is unable to overcome evil.^[2] Our hope is fixed solely in Christ who has defeated evil.

^[1] Katongole, Emmanuel. Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace, and Healing Intervarsity Press, 2009; Wright N.T. “Five Things to know about lament” NT Wright Online www.ntwrightonline.org/five-things-to-know-about-lament

^[2] Wright, N.T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking, Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church Harper Collins 2008. Kindle Edition (p.84-86)

Reflect

How can communion provide us hope within the brokenness that we live in?

Observe

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. What do we need to experience before we can act a ambassadors of Christ?

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 12 – Launching the church

Kingdom of God

[Bible references: Matthew 4:12-23; 5:43-48; 6:31-34; 13:1-9; Mark 1:15; 4:1-33; Luke 4:17-22; 17:20-21; 18:16-18; 1 John 5:3-5; Romans 14:17]

“The primary idea of the Kingdom of God in Scripture is that of the rule of God established and acknowledged in the hearts of sinners by the powerful regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit, insuring them of the inestimable blessings of salvation, — a rule that is realized in principle on earth, but will not reach its culmination until the visible and glorious return of Jesus Christ.”[1]

The Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven) is broadly wherever the rule of God is in the universe[2] or spiritually in the hearts of those who do His will. Although the Kingdom of God has arrived already, it has not yet arrived in its fulness. That won’t happen until Christ returns. There are some who make the Kingdom of God synonymous with the institutional church, however, the church itself belongs to the Kingdom. When Christians do anything under the authority of God, then they are making manifest the Kingdom of God[3]. Believers belong to the Kingdom when they receive God as their ruler, and they belong to the church in the separateness from the world in devotion to God and in their union with one another. As a church they are called to be God’s instrument in bringing in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom then is not defined by any physical location, nor does it have physical boundaries, rather it exists wherever God’s rule is in heaven or in earth. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus declared that the Kingdom has come near and then he described it in terms of healing the sick, loving enemies as well as neighbors, righteousness, freedom for prisoners, giving sight to the blind, and setting the oppressed free, that it must be received as a child, that it requires repentance to receive it, that it’s like a seed on the ground that falls on various kinds of soil.

[1] Louis Berkoff. Systematic Theology William B. Eerdmans 1974 (Kindle Locations 14321-14324)

[2] Bible Study Tools “Kingdom of God” Biblestudytools www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/what-is-meant-by-the-kingdom-of-god-10-things-to-know.html

[3] Christianity.com “What is the Kingdom of God? Understanding its Meaning” Christianity.com www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god-understanding-it-s-meaning.html

Observe

Read Luke 17:20-21. Where do you see the Kingdom of God?