This series of posts is meant to begin to lay a theological and spiritual context to this blog. It is a work-in-progress and I assure you it will be amended. Look for my credo to unfold over the next few weeks.
I believe the Kingdom of God is the society that embodies God’s will as found in the Jesus Creed, “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.” This God-created society is the result of His promise to His people, and is marked by release, healing, freedom, favor, justice, mercy, peace, and love.
I believe the Kingdom of God embodies the purpose for which Jesus was on earth, as outlined in His words in Luke 4:16-19. Jesus came to restore.
I believe the Kingdom of God is the central vision of Jesus, and the cross was the culmination of and catalyst for accomplishing His vision. Because Sin destroyed both the God-Man relationship and creation-society, it is the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, in addition to the bodily resurrection of Jesus, that makes restoration possible.
I believe the Kingdom of God is the central purpose and vision of the Ecclesia (the Church), and any vision that does not begin with Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom is a denial of Jesus’ Lordship and a misunderstanding of the New Testament. The way in which God executes Jesus’ vision and accomplishes the restoration of the God-Man relationship and creation-society is through the Church.
I believe the Ecclesia is the community of Jesusly restored individuals and is formed through justification, atonement, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This Kingdom community of Jesusly restored individuals is what “produces” release, healing, freedom, peace, justice, mercy, and love.
I believe, ultimately, the Kingdom of God comes about through the Gospel and the Gospel alone. The God-Man relationship is restored to the way in which they was originally intended to be, an eternal relationship defined by mutual love, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Creation and Society is restored to the way it was originally intended to be through the restoration of individuals and the adoption of the Way of Jesus.
