Church

Fulfilled in Him

/ David R Maas / Leave a comment

The Word of God finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “IN HIM,” all His promises are “yea” and “amen.” The things that were “hidden” in the past are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible have become real. All His mysteries are laid bare in the Nazarene.

In the era that dawned with his death on Calvary, the nation of Israel has not been “replaced” by the New Covenant people of God. Instead, the original promise to Abraham to bless “all the nations” has come to fruition as Jews and Gentiles are united in Jesus to form one new people – (Romans 16:25, Galatians 2:28, 2 Corinthians 1:19-2:0).

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Message & Mission

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The Gospel proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth is NOT about reforming a fallen society, fixing a corrupt government, or cleaning up an immoral culture. It summons all men and women to repent and join an entirely new and vastly different social order and political reality, namely, the Kingdom of God. If anything, it subverts the political ideologies and popular beliefs of this age.

Responding positively to this message is vital considering the approaching end of the present age when the existing world order will cease to exist.

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Gender and Spirituality

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The commonly held view that women are by nature “more spiritual” than men is debatable, at least, scripturally speaking. This is the idea that women are more “spiritual” because their emotional nature tends to render them more open to “spiritual things,” “realms,” and the like. Perhaps. But this raises the more important question – Just what do we mean by the term “spiritual”?

Paul gives us a definitive answer in his first letter to the Corinthians. The “spiritually minded” man understands that God achieved victory over sin, Satan, and death through a crucified Messiah. Moreover, the proclamation of “Christ crucified is His power and wisdom.”

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The Sanctuary of God

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Paul consistently applies the term “sanctuary of God” to the church, and he also uses related language when describing Christian congregations, terms used originally in the Hebrew Bible for the Tabernacle and Temple. While the Apostle’s language is metaphorical, it describes new realities and the identity of God’s new covenant people.

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Ekklésia – The Assembly

/ David R Maas / 1 Comment

The New Testament usage of the term “assembly” is based on the image of Israel assembled before Yahweh for worship in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek noun rendered “church” in English is ekklésia, meaning “assembly, congregation.” In secular Greek it may refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state; however, that is not the sense found in the New Testament.

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