The Kingdom of God: The life and work of Jesus, salvation, and the birthing of the Church.
The King’s University, Southlake, Texas
New Testament Studies (BIBL1306)
Professor: Jonathan E Jennings MTS
April 4, 2021
By Darrell Wolfe
The Kingdom of God: Jesus’ Life Mission and Message
The mission and message of Jesus can be wrapped up in the phrase “He came preaching and teaching The Kingdom of God”.[1] So, what is this kingdom? Approximately one third (or 32 percent) of the New Testament is built from quotes of the Old Testament (OT).[2] A Rabbi himself, Jesus “strings pearls” by using Old Testament quotes more often than most western Christians realize.[3] A review of the macro-story of the Old Testament shows that God’s Dominion (or Kingdom) is consistently pitted against those of other nation’s gods (like Baal and Dagon). The OT promises echo-forward to a time when God’s divine King would come and restore all things. By the time Jesus arrived, driven largely by the book of Daniel, many in Israel were already expecting The Kingdom of God to come and restore Israel’s fortunes.[4]
In the Gospels, Matthew shows us that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah and the Kingdom of God is realized in His arrival.[5] Mark shows us the “Now and Not Yet” of this Kingdom.[6] John wanted to make it so clear that “God So Loved The World” that he used the word “world” seventy-eight times in his Gospel.[7] John demonstrated that the life (Tree of Life) that was lost at Eden was restored through Jesus, who was the fulfillment of the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, and that Jesus was the start of a New Covenant which included the nations (world) lost at Babel.[8] Luke emphasized that Jesus came to “seek and save what was lost” (19:10) and was the only Gospel writer to use the Greek words for Salvation and Savior.[9] He showed that Jesus came to redeem the world of sin so that we could enter the Kingdom of God and inherit “eternal life” or God-quality-life.[10] The theme of God as source of all life is echoed throughout the Old Testament and finds its crescendo in the Eternal Life (Zoe Life) found in Jesus.[11]
The Birthing of The Church
Luke then takes us a step farther in his part two. In Acts, the Holy Spirit (third member of the YHWH Godhead) storms onto the scene.[12] If the Father is the star of the Old Testament, and Jesus (the Son) is the star of the Gospels, the Holy Spirit is the star of Acts; ushering in the “fruitful and multiply” component of the Kingdom of God. Every major plot-movement in the book of Acts is driven by the work of the Holy Spirit himself.[13] Luke-Acts could be considered both a blue-print for building the church and for discipleship.[14]
Peter gives the first sermon and 3,000 Jews were restored into The Kingdom of God (aka the Family of God) on the first day; birthing The Church (Ekklesia, a political-governing term).[15] God’s Dominion was being declared pre-eminent over Planet Earth once again, and these were his Kingdom Ambassadors. Then Paul joins the Kingdom and for the first time since Babel, the nations begin being restored to God’s Dominion.
Among the key pinch-points in Acts is the battle between “Judaizers” on one side and “Pagans” on the other.[16] On one hand, Judaizers threaten to return God’s People to a dead-works style of doing a better “Knowledge of Good”; which was rooted in the Tree of Knowledge, which was the root of the death of Eden in the first place. On the other hand, they are constantly pressured to placate the people of other nations who worship other gods (The Pseudo-Kingdom of Darkness).
Conclusion
God (YHWH) consistently demands believing loyalty from his Kingdom Citizens; a theme throughout the Old Testament and only strengthened in Acts. When God’s people demonstrate their loyalty preaching the Kingdom, God confirms his word with signs and wonders.[17] Even though it may lead to their death in this life, Kingdom People keep showing The World that God’s Kingdom reigns over all, calling them home.
One day, The King shall return.
Bibliography
Berding, Kenneth, and Matt Williams. What the New Testament Authors Really Cared about: A Survey of Their Writings. Second Edition. Grand Rapids Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2008.
Chilton, Bruce. Pure Kingdom: Jesus’ Vision of God. Studying the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids, Mich. : London: Eerdmans ; Society for Prommoting Christian Knowledge, 1996.
Heiser, Michael. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. First edition. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.
Hill, Andrew E., and John H. Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009.
Jennings, Jon. “New Testament Studies (BIBL1306).” Lectures, The King’s University, Southlake Texas, Spring 2021.
NET Bible®New English Translation (NET). Online Notes Edition. HarperCollins Christian Publishing; Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., n.d. https://netbible.com/copyright/.
Perrin, Nicholas, Jeannine K. Brown, and Joel B. Green. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (DJG). IVP Bible Dictionary Series, K is for Kingdom; Judaism, Common. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2013. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=633424&site=ehost-live.
Spangler, Ann, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith. Updated edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2018.
Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. London : Grand Rapids, MI: SPCK ; Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Notes
[1] NET Bible®New English Translation (NET), Online Notes Edition (HarperCollins Christian Publishing; Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., n.d.), Matthew 4:23 Paraphrase, https://netbible.com/copyright/.
[2] Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 3rd ed (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009), 744–45.
[3] Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith, Updated edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2018), Chapter: Stringing Pearls.
[4] Bruce Chilton, Pure Kingdom: Jesus’ Vision of God, Studying the Historical Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich. : London: Eerdmans ; Society for Prommoting Christian Knowledge, 1996), 25.
[5] Kenneth Berding and Matt Williams, What the New Testament Authors Really Cared about: A Survey of Their Writings, Second Edition (Grand Rapids Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2008), 37; 41–43.
[6] Berding and Williams, 75–77.
[7] Berding and Williams, 122–23.
[8] Berding and Williams, 121–42; Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), Concept of restoring the nations lost at Babel found in this work.
[9] Berding and Williams, What the New Testament Authors Really Cared About, 89.
[10] Berding and Williams, 90–91.
[11] Nicholas Perrin, Jeannine K. Brown, and Joel B. Green, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (DJG), IVP Bible Dictionary Series, K is for Kingdom; Judaism, Common (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2013), LIFE, ETERNAL LIFE, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=633424&site=ehost-live.
[12] NET Bible®, Acts 2.
[13] Jon Jennings, “New Testament Studies (BIBL1306)” (Lectures, The King’s University, Southlake Texas, Spring 2021), Lecture on Acts.
[14] N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians (London : Grand Rapids, MI: SPCK ; Zondervan Academic, 2019), 644–45.
[15] Perrin, Brown, and Green, DJG, “Church.”
[16] Wright and Bird, The New Testament in Its World, 109.
[17] NET Bible®, Mark 16:20; Acts 2:22, 2:43; 4:16-30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12;; Wright and Bird, The New Testament in Its World, 113–15.
Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
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