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Resurrection
A survey of the book of Acts reveals that the Apostles et al went out from Jerusalem to proclaim the risen and ascended Jesus. They went to the Jew first, giving those people a “second chance” to repent and accept Jesus as the risen and ascended Messiah. Jesus Himself had warned that if Israel did not repent He would come in judgement within one generation (Matthew 24:34 ). I am not inferring a low view of man’s salvation nor am I diminishing the importance of salvation by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9 etc). What I am pointing out though is that the Gospel is news, it is new information. The means of salvation (grace through faith and cleansing via blood atonement) was revealed in the old world. The faithful Jew (like John the Baptiser’s parents, Lk 1:16) and God fearers in the Old Covenant looked forward and understood that the Messiah would come and provide/be that blood atonement. They knew that salvation could not be earned meritoriously by man. However, faithless Jews had perverted this message and viewed Israel as special in and off itself. These unfaithful sons did not recognise that Israel was to serve the nations. She was to act in a priestly role to the lands surrounding. Israel’s duty was to faithfully take the Torah out and disciple the dispersed nations around her. However, the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders lost this view. They believed the Messiah would bring a restoration to the old earthly world. Faithless Israelite leaders were waiting for political liberation and the restoration of the kingdom. This view is corrupt. All of the covenants God made with His people are essentially one. Each new covenant restored and then transformed the old, moving history through a spiral of maturation. Jewish leaders corrupted this view and looked to military power. They were awaiting a revolutionary liberator not a suffering King.
If the reader examines the book of Acts it will be noted that the pattern of preaching centred on the resurrection/ascension/enthronement of Christ (Acts 1:22 , 2:31, 2:34, 4:2, 4:33, 17:18, 17:32, 23:6-8, 24:15, 24:21 etc). I am not diminishing the importance of placing individual faith in the completed work of Christ alone for salvation; rather I am asserting that it is not the extent of the Gospel. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of His elect. But there is more. He came to save the world, ascended into highest heaven (as the first man to do so) and was enthroned at the Father’s right hand to rule the nations of the world (Ps 2). In other words, the Gospel is the news that Jesus died, resurrected, ascended and was enthroned in glory as the King of kings. This news is good indeed.
Angelic tutorage - under grace not law
No longer do angels rule the world using the tool of the Law to tutor us. Christ was the mature Adam. He was the New Adam. We are under Him (grace) and not the Law (Ro 6:14). This does not mean that we now get to break the Law (Gal 2:21 ). Just because Jesus has come does not mean we get to commit adultery or whatever. Rather the new world, ushered in by Jesus, transforms our relationship to God and the world. Being under grace and not law refers to the transformation of our position. In Christ man is mature and no longer the child who is under the schoolmaster (Gal 3:25 ). We are no longer under the tutorage of angels who ordained the Law (Gal 3:19 ) and use it to lead us to Christ. The Messiah has now come. We are now grown up. Under the old world believers were still immature as they looked forward to Christ and were ruled by angels (Gen 3:24 , Acts 7:53 , Gal 3:19 , Heb 2:2 ). But they were under the rule of angels, who used the Law as tool to bring man to God. In other words we (i.e. man) were once under the tool (i.e. the Law) used by the schoolmaster (i.e. angels) to brings us to God. This is why the resurrection, ascension and enthronement of Jesus is so important. It changes everything. Our position moves from being under the Law to being under Christ. Now that man has matured and entered the Holy of Holies he rules. His can now judge between good and evil. Man is now in the place of the angels, using the Law as a tool to exercise dominion. No longer does Satan have a place in heaven to deceive the nations. Followers of Jesus take the Good News of the enthronement of Christ to the nations and teach them to obey the Law (Matt 28:18-20 ). The Good News (or new news) is that Jesus resurrected from the dead and is enthroned in the sanctuary. In other words God is the Gospel[1], it is the revelation that the Second Adam (the mature man) has come, fulfilled the Law, entered heaven (the sanctuary), and all the “kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15 ). No man rules the world from the Father’s right hand. He has been restored as God’s rightful vice-regent.
Salvation by God’s grace through faith was clearly revealed in the Old Covenant, it was not the new news in the New Testament writers’ view. Blood atonement was also made clear through the sacrificial law, particularly in the cleansing rites/rituals of Leviticus.[2] Faithful Jews and God fearers under the old covenant knew they could not save themselves. They understood the blood of bulls and goats did not save but reminded God of His promises (i.e. a sweet smelling aroma) and pointed to the coming Messiah who would die in their place. The new news in the first century A.D. centred on the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the glorified man, and His enthronement in the Holy of Holies as the reigning King of kings. This means that the Gospel fundamentally centres on the change in governmental administration of the cosmos, which occurred in the first century A.D. For the first time in history a man entered the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. This was what the first Adam was supposed to do but failed. The Second Adam, Jesus, succeeded and the various curtains of separation between God and man were destroyed in His death, resurrection and ascension. The Gospel is that all authority has been given to the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, who is enthroned in power at the Father’s right hand. Satan has been cast from heaven and all nations are to be discipled. Thus the Good News is the high king; King Jesus rules the cosmos (Matt 28:18-20 ). He now rulers the kings of the nations (Rev 1:5 ) and His body exercises that rule on earth through the Great Commission.[3]
Cosmic transformation
“The Iiteral heavens were changed when a man, Jesus Christ, ascended into them for the first time, and sat down next to God the Father (Hebrews 9:24 ; Revelation 4-5 ). This had never been the case before, because Adam and his posterity had been barred from the garden and from heaven. Now that Jesus has taken His throne, there is no longer any room for Satan in heaven; and at last, Satan is cast out (Revelation 12:9 ).”[4] Angels mediated the old creation and ruled the old world upon the ejection of man from the garden (Gen 3:24 ). They guarded the inner sanctuary and tutored man with the Law (Gal 3:24 ), bringing man under the Law to lead him to Christ.[5] In the Garden of Eden (sanctuary) man was to eventually eat from every tree (Gen 1:29 , 2:9, cf. Gen 2:16-17 ). However, he was not to immaturely grope at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If the reader studies out the phrase “knowledge of good and evil” it will be established that the Bible associates it with rule and judgement. When man looks with his eyes in the Bible he is passing judgment. However, the first man immaturely grabbed at the office of rule. He was to rather mature and receive it from the hand of God. Thus God cast him from the sanctuary and banished man from His presence. This is important to note. God gives rule/dominion to those who obediently serve Him and thereby become mature. Dominion is achieved through service, as Christ was given His inheritance after submission and faithfulness likewise the Church will be given rule as a result of her servitude. Jesus suffering, dying, resurrecting and ascending to highest heaven changes everything.
As a result of man’s fall circular degrees of nearness to God were established in the old world. Those relationally closest to God were the nation of Israel.[6] Israel’s evangelical mission was to take the Torah to the nations. Why? Abraham was to be the father of many nations, kings and princes were to come from his loins.[7] They were not chosen because of national greatness (Deut 7:7 ) but were elected to serve as Priests (Ex 19:6) to serve the surrounding nations. Under the new creation, established by the Second Adam, man (in Christ) rules the cosmos. The Messiah, the perfect man, obeyed the Law of God, suffered, died, resurrected and ascended to glory at the Father’s right hand. He has received the nations of the world as His inheritance (Ps 2, cf. Matt 28:18 , Rev 11:15 ) legally/covenantally and the Church works in history/covenantally to bring that decree to pass (Matt 28:19-20 , 1 Cor 15:24-25 ). The angels cast down their crowns before the throne of Jesus in the first century A.D. (Rev 4:10 ), thus administration of God’s Kingdom was transferred to man. Christ (Head) rules and His rule is extended to His Church (body). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the resurrected Christ (Matt 28:18 ). Thus every government on earth derives its authority ministerially from Christ. The legitimacy of law, reign and rule is to be found in Christ and His Word alone. In other words, we are working to bring about the theocratic rule of Christ over every nation.[8]
One and many
God is three and one. He is the one and the many. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are of the same essence and are three persons. Trinitarian thinking must shape all of life.In fact the Gospel is Trinitarian. The Good News tells of the salvation and transformation of the one and the many. In Christ individuals are reconciled to God. As the body of Christ, the Church is to go out and disciple the nations. Trinitarian, Gospel centred ministry and preaching speaks to both scenarios. It highlights there is a new King who demands everyone to repent, believe and confess His name. It does not stop there. Trinitarian thinking must be pushed to the corners of life. The Word of speaks to everything we do. We are clumps of dirt in the holy land and are charged to bring the reign and rule of Christ to bear in time and space. The nations are to be discipled. This is more than plucking souls from hell fire. It is framing all of life through Scripture. We need new eyes to do this, eyes of faith.
What the reader must note is that the Church has practically turned her back on Trinitarian theology. She may confess it with her tongue but her actions are strange fire. Western Christianity has turned to the harlot of individualism and rejected the relational community within the Godhead. Members of the Trinity are in relationship with each other. We are to live in such a relational community. The Gospel brings the restoration of families, societies and nations. We are in the process of building Christian civilizations. Our view must be long term and covenantal. God is faithful to His promises. He will mature the mustard seed into a great tree. His Word will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. This means that societies and nations will be discipled. The Gospel restores man to the position of God’s vice-regent, to take dominion over the earth. It brings man into a right relationship with God and man. And man is then to conquer the world in the name of high king Jesus.
End notes
[1] John Piper, God is The Gospel – Meditations on God’s love as the gift of Himself , 2005, Cross way Books, Wheaton, pp. 25-33. Through this book Piper explores the concept that God is the Gospel. He defines the Good News as being broader than personal salvation. Amongst other things he details that the Gospel entails personal salvation, “the arrival of God’s Imperial Authority,” and that through the Gospel peace will be brought to every nation. You can download Piper’s book for free here: http://www.desiringgod.org/media/pdf/books_bgg/books_bgg.pdf.
[2] James B Jordan (Covenant Sequence in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, 1989, Institute for Christian Economics, Tyler, pp. 18-19) makes some helpful observations about sin and cleansing. “The first aspect of the covenant is the affirmation of God’s transcendence and His relationship with man. This correlates with the first and sixth commandments, but in Leviticus the first is preeminent. The first commandment, which prohibits ‘having any other gods besides the Lord, deals with covenantal idolatry, idolatry in the whole of life, disloyalty to God. They must be loyal to the God who initiated covenant with them, and any sin must be covered by sacrifice. This is the overall theme of Leviticus 1-7 . The second aspect of the covenant is its transition from an old to a new order. When covenants are made, generally this second part is taken up with a description of how the original order broke down, and how God worked to restructure the world and society and bring about a new order. The order itself is a system of mediation, and the process of bringing it into being is a process of mediation. Thus, mediation, the concern of the second commandment, is highlighted here. It deals with liturgical idolatry (iconolatry), access to God, man’s relationship to God, and the image of that relationship in marriage (hence, also the seventh commandment). This is the overall concern of Leviticus 8-16 , for men must be “clean* to draw near…God will not hold the man guiltless who wears His name emptily. As we have seen in Chapter 1, this is an overall concern of Leviticus as a whole, but it is focussed in chapters 17-22. ”
[3] God has always ruled the world. I am not denying this. What I am arguing is that the administration of God’s rule has fundamentally changed in the Gospel. Man is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Governance has been taken from angels and given to man. After the mature Man, we are no longer under the tutoring of angels using the Law as their tool. Men are now ruling, in Christ. Due to this position, we are not under the Law but now use it as a tool for taking dominion. The Law is still valid, man’s position has changed from immature to mature in Christ.
[4] Ibid., Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World, p. 270.
[5] Angels ruled the old creation, they directed men and brought God’s revelation to man. This is seen initially in God giving the angels a flaming sword to guard the entry to the inner sanctuary of the Garden of Eden in Gen 3:24 . The rule of angels continues until the full inauguration of the new creation in the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. From that point in history forward God-man is in heaven ruling the world. The changeover occurs in the destruction of Jerusalem where we read the angels cast their crowns down before Jesus in Rev 4:10 . At the judgment day the saints (men) will judge angels (1 Co 6:3). There are numerous examples of the angels ruling, in a ministerial capacity, the old creation - Gen 16:7-11 , 22:11, 15, 24:7, Ex 3:2, Nu 20:16, 22:25-35, Jdg 2:1-4, 6:11-22, 13:3-21, 2 Sa 14:17-20, 19:27, 24:16, 1 Ki 13:18, 19:7, S Ki 1:3, 15, 19:35, 1 Ch 21:15-30, 32:21, Ps 34:7, 35:5-6, 37:36, Zec 1:11-14, 3:1-6, 6:5, 12:8, Mt 1:20-24, 2:13-19, 28:2, Lk 2:9, Jn 5:4 , Ac 5:19, 8:26, 12:7-23.
[6] In the Old World the nation of Israel was set aside to be a nation of priests with a mission of serving God in the land and taking His Word to the nations. The degrees of nearness were: High Priest (could entire the inner sanctuary once per year), Priest (could enter the sanctuary), Levite (could place offering on alter and were guards of the sanctuary), layman (could bring a sacrifice but not lay it on the alter or touch it), God-fearers (were restricted to the outer courts). These categories of relational nearness were abolished by Christ. There is now one new Man, with now no distinction between Jew and Gentile. If you are in Christ you are as relationally close to God as you can be.
[7] The number seventy is symbolic in the Scriptures and it usually refers to nations (Gen 10 ). Israel’s mission was to be priests to the nations (Ex 19:6). “Her water would cause their trees to grow. This was signified to all men when Israel came out of Egypt, for ‘then they came to Elim, where they were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters’ (Ex. 15:27). Seventy is the number of the nations of the world (Gen. 10). Israel, at the Feast of Tabernacles, sacrificed seventy bulls for the nations of the world, a substitutionary atonement for them offered by the priestly nation on their behalf (Numbers 28:13-32 ; Haggai 2:1-9 ; Zechariah 14:16-21 ).” James B Jordan, The Sociology of the Church, 1986, Geneva Ministries, Tyler, pp. 101-102. At Babel the nations were cut off and scattered but at Pentecost (Acts 2 ) they were regathered and the promise to Abraham was ultimately fulfilled – this promise had been initially fulfilled in Egypt where Israel (through Joseph in Gen 45:8 ), Ninevah (Jonah) and the Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel). You can download Jordan’s book for free here: http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/pdf/jjsc.pdf.
[8] David Chilton’s (Paradise Restored, 1994, Dominion Press, Tyler, pp. 219-220) discussion of theocracy provides some useful background information. “Now by theocracy I do not mean a government ruled by priests and pastors. That is not what the word means at all. A theocracy is a government ruled by God, a government whose law code is solidly founded on the laws of the Bible. Civil rulers are required to be God’s ministers, just as much as pastors are (Rom. 13:1-4 ). According to God’s holy, infallible Word, the laws of the Bible are the best laws (Deut. 4:5-8 ). They cannot be improved upon. The fact is that all law is “religious.” All law is based on some ultimate standard of morality and ethics. Every law system is founded on the ultimate value of that system, and that ultimate value is the god of that system. The source of law for a society is the god of that society. This means that a theocracy is inescapable. All societies are theocracies. The difference is that a society that is not explicitly Christian is a theocracy of a false god. Thus, when God instructed the Israelites about going into the land of Canaan, He warned them not to adopt the law system of the pagans: ‘I am the LORD your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if He does them; I am the LORD’ (Lev. 18:2-5 ). That is the only choice: pagan law or Christian law. God specifically forbids “pluralism.” God is not the least bit interested in sharing world dominion with Satan. God wants us to honor Him individually, in our families, in our churches, in our businesses, in our cultural pursuits of every kind, and in our statutes and judgments. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov. 14:34 ). According to humanists, civilizations just “rise” and “fall,” by some naturalistic, evolutionary mechanism. But the Bible says that the key to the history of civilizations is judgment. God evaluates our response to His commands, and He answers back with curse and blessing. If a nation obeys Him, He blesses and prospers it (Deut. 28:1-14 ); if a nation disobeys Him, He curses and destroys it (Deut. 28:15-68 ). The history of Israel stands as a warning to all nations: ‘for if God did it to them, He will surely do the same to the rest of us’ (Jer. 25:29 ).”
