…the A in DA; regeneration; the kingdom of God; gospel-centredness; the new perspective on Paul; the gospel and social justice, personal evangelism; matters of conscience, and much much more. Well worth an hour’s viewing. (HT: Justin Taylor)
The Kingdom of God
Word and Spirit: The Kingdom
Timmy Brister on the instrumentality of the Word and agency of the Holy Spirit as it relates to the kingdom of God. Jesus inaugurates the kingdom by His coming to earth as the Word made flesh (John 1:14). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18), anointed (Matt. 3:16; 12:18; Luke 4:18) and empowered by the Holy Spirit, through which He gave commands (words) to His disciples (Acts 1:1-2). The kingdom has come precise because of the mighty works performed by Spirit-anointed Messiah (Matt. 12:28) who utters the words of God as one who has received the Spirit without measure (John 3:34). Jesus establishes His kingdom in the hearts of men as people are born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3-8) and brought to faith through hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17; 1 Pet. 1:22-25). It is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63), and it is the Word which is able to make one wise
What You Can and Can’t Do with the Kingdom
From George Eldon Ladd’s, The Presence of the Future (Eerdmans), p. 193. The Kingdom can draw near to men (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; etc.); it can come (Matt. 6:10; Luke 17:20; etc.), arrive (Matt. 12:28), appear (Luke 19:11), be active (Matt. 11:12). God can give the Kingdom to men (Matt. 21:43; Luke 12:32), but men do not give the Kingdom to one another. Further, God can take the Kingdom away from men (Matt. 21:43), but men do not take it away from one another, although they can prevent others from entering it. Men can enter the Kingdom (Matt. 5:20; 7:21; Mark 9:47; 10:23; etc.), but they are never said to erect it or to build it. Men can receive the Kingdom (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17), inherit it (Matt. 25:34), and possess it (Matt. 5:4), but they are never said to establish it. Men can reject the Kingdom, i.e., refuse to receive it (Luke 10:11) or enter it (Matt. 23:13), but they cannot destroy it. They can look for
Greg Gilbert on Cross and Kingdom
From Justin Taylor: The kingdom is an incredibly important theme in the Bible, and it’s good that evangelicals are thinking hard about it. But it seems to me that far too often when evangelicals start talking about the kingdom, there’s an almost reactionary tendency not to say much about the cross. It’s almost like it’s a different story, and we can’t figure out very well how the cross fits into this story of the kingdom. So we manage to create in our thought and conversation a rift between the cross and the kingdom, with cross over here and kingdom over there and everyone crouching on one side or the other of the chasm, sneering suspiciously at each other. I don’t think the Bible leaves us with such a division, though. Here’s why: The only way into the Kingdom is through the Cross. Yes, Jesus came to inaugurate a kingdom which will one day be established with perfect justice and righteousness.
Our great hope
“The great hope for Christians, the thing for which we long and to which we look for strength and encouragement, is the day when our King will part the skies and return to establish his glorious kingdom, finally and forever. That glorious moment is when everything in this world will be set right, when justice will finally be done, evil overthrown forever, and righteousness established once and for all.” – Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel? (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010), 91. (HT Of First Importance)
Already Not Yet 