Upside Down Kingdom
Food for thought about the Upside-down Kingdom:
The Christian Church, while it holds within itself the best life of the Kingdom, is not the kingdom of God. The Kingdom is absolute, the Church is relative - relative to something beyond itself, the Kingdom. The Kingdom judges and redeems the Church, and the Church is potent to the degree that it obeys the Kingdom and embodies the life and spirit of the Kingdom. The Church is not an end in itself, the Kingdom is the end. Jesus never said, "May thy church come on earth as it is in heaven." He did say, "Thy kingdom come... on earth."
- E. Stanley Jones
The Kingdom of God holds the church accountable. It is the greater reality to which the church attests. Notice what Jones says: "The Church is not an end in itself, the Kingdom is the end."
Or, as I wrote in The Kingdom of Couches: The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Jesus in the hearts of people. It is spiritual. Churches, on the other hand, are 'outposts of the Kingdom'... They are communities of apprentices who are learning how to follow the King and speak the language of the kingdom. But churches are not the Kingdom.
In what ways do you think Coram Deo is doing well at embodying the life and spirit of the kingdom? Or, where do we need to be rebuked and called back to kingdom values?
The Christian Church, while it holds within itself the best life of the Kingdom, is not the kingdom of God. The Kingdom is absolute, the Church is relative - relative to something beyond itself, the Kingdom. The Kingdom judges and redeems the Church, and the Church is potent to the degree that it obeys the Kingdom and embodies the life and spirit of the Kingdom. The Church is not an end in itself, the Kingdom is the end. Jesus never said, "May thy church come on earth as it is in heaven." He did say, "Thy kingdom come... on earth."
- E. Stanley Jones
The Kingdom of God holds the church accountable. It is the greater reality to which the church attests. Notice what Jones says: "The Church is not an end in itself, the Kingdom is the end."
Or, as I wrote in The Kingdom of Couches: The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Jesus in the hearts of people. It is spiritual. Churches, on the other hand, are 'outposts of the Kingdom'... They are communities of apprentices who are learning how to follow the King and speak the language of the kingdom. But churches are not the Kingdom.
In what ways do you think Coram Deo is doing well at embodying the life and spirit of the kingdom? Or, where do we need to be rebuked and called back to kingdom values?
posted by Bob | 3:09 PM
7 Comments:
I believe that Corem Deo is on the right track to embody the life and spirit of God. I happen to have a friend come to the church last weekend. My friend has been to many churches, but felt that something has been missing. She was floored by Corem Deo. The thing that impressed her the most was the fact that Corem Deo is not afraid to tell us that we are broken. I feel that a lot of churches today and so scared to lose followers that they sugar coat the whole bible, to make their community feel accepted. Corem Deo works on speaking the truth about the bible, which most of us have a hard time hearing. They allow us to see that we are truly broken, but we are broken within a community and as a community we can work to improve ourselves in the eyes of the Lord. By understanding our brokenness it compels me to work on myself throughout the week to become a better Christian, instead of being satisfied every Sunday because my church tells me that I am good. I told my friend after the service that Corem Deo is the only church that I have went to “where I feel a little worse after the service”, compared to other churches where I feel that I have done my part. It is the feeling of brokenness that allows me to humble myself in the eyes of the Lord and strive to be a better Christian.
This Easter season, I find myself thinking in the following way:
God has us be born in this world with a sin nature and on the road to hell by default. He then provides the solution (Jesus) to the problem. So how does this make God good? To compound matters, only "few" find this narrow road. But nevermind that for now.
I can see the goodness of God the Son, paying a debt for us he did not owe. But what about God the Father, why be thankful to him?
any thoughts or help on this?
Nick,
I don't have the answers for your questions, but I can offer my point of view. First, I think about how I am asked to put my faith in Jesus. Jesus it part of the Holy Trinity, therefore, he is is a reflection of God's goodness. Additionally, I find things in my life to be thankful for everyday. My life is full of positive examples that the Lord has blessed me with. I don't believe that our sinful nature is a representation of the Lord as much as it is a representation of the battle between good and evil that we are directly involved in. I personally thank God for the positive things he has done in my life, such as, coming from a abusive household that had no influence to God, to recently giving my life to God who has rewarded me with many things personally and spiritually. Yes, we are born into a sinful nature, but when I think about God's Kingdom, I can visualize a Kingdom with no pain, suffering, or lack of love. That is what I personally thank God for.
Nick, I'd also like to weigh in on your comment. First, though, thanks for the post! I appreciate that you would challenge this community with such a tough question. And then, to sign your name instead of posting anon.- props to you.
Please allow me to present the issue differently by asking a question- what would God have to be like to be worth worshipping?
To me, God would have to be perfect. A god that can be wrong, that screws stuff up, a god that is unfair- why worship a god like that? The fact that God is perfect, that He is absolutely just and right, that he is 100%, purely good- that makes Him worthy of worship. Deut. 32:4 says "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." That's the only being worthy of worship.
So God creates humanity for a perfect relationship of love, in which He delights in us and we worship Him. But we are sinful- not through God’s action but our own. We choose to sin. Ultimately, sin is rejection of God and an affront Him, to His justice. Therein lies the problem- can God abide sin, or condone it? He is perfectly just- can he just ‘let it go?’ No, His justice is fundamental to His character, and His perfection demands perfect justice. God asks in Isaiah 48:11 “How can I let myself be defamed?” He can not and will not.
But His love is the equal of His justice. He found a way in Jesus to satisfy the demands of His perfect justice, and because of His great love accomplished it despite the wrenching cost, as John 3:16 summarizes- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loved us, so He gave us Jesus.
So I worship God because He is the only thing that merits worship, and I love Him and am thankful towards Him because He loves me.
Thoughts?
Thanks for your responses. I can't say that I understand how God can be good yet, but that doesn't change the fact that I believe He is. I chalk this up to the fact that in this life I see through a glass darkly, but in heaven I will truly see. If I am remembering correctly, Bob said tonight that we are not called to understand, but are called to be in the family of God.
Am I getting this correctly?
Hey Nick, I think you are... but if you're having trouble seeing God as good, meditate on his faithfulness and grace to His people, to you and me. When I think about how God would do anything to save me, even send His Son... wow. And then to continue to love me even as I betray Him in the most hateful ways, over and over...
I often unwittingly humanize God, and when I do it is hard to accept His justice. Imagine another person who judged like God judges. Even if he was right, it would be offensive. But it is crucial to remember that God is not finite man [only], He is infinite, and He is justified in all He does. I wonder if you are doing that, maybe?
On that same line though, it is interesting to think of God's grace in human terms. Can you imagine loving a person that betrayed you in the worst, ugliest way? And to keep on loving them, even to the point of death, as they continued to betray you again and again? That really puts His grace in perspective for me.
Maybe these ramblings help, maybe they don't, but regardless, keep thinking about it- ask, seek, knock, etc., and let's keep up the dialogue also, if you'd like.
Here's why I sometimes have trouble seeing God as being good even though I do anyway through faith:
God created a system in which there were angels that could choose to fall away. Lucifer fell and one-third of the angels chose to join him. God creates man with the freedom to sin and allows Satan to take the form of a talking snake in the garden. Man sins, God curses the earth, and the wage of sin is eternal torment in hell. Not eternal nothingness, eternal torment. God comes to the earth in the form of Jesus to pay the penalty for all our sins. However, it doesn't kick in by default. It is incumbent upon us to hear the good news and believe in Jesus so that we may not suffer eternal torment in hell but have everlasting life.
Why did an all-intelligent God's creation go awry, both in heaven and then again here on earth? He must have wanted it to.
Is this because it demonstrates His glory more, to have all of creation groan on a cursed earth for a season? Then after that to have one group being tortured and one group praising Him?
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