Christocentric Insights

Last night I had the priviledge to attend our church's teacher training seminar, let by our new pastor/teacher, Paul Alexander. While a lot of the content was review (though still refreshing and encouraging to hear), some materiel hit me in a new way and I wanted to share some of that with you and read your thoughts on it. Here we go:

The Reversal of Babel: In Genesis 11, we read about the tower of Babel. At this time man was supposed to be spreading God's rule and blessing throughout the world by multiplying and filling the earth, but instead he had gathered together to promote his own name and his own rule, defying God. God's solution was to confuse their speech, stopping them from spreading their own rule. Fast forward to Acts 2. Man is again gathered together, but this time, God is ready again for them to spread the message of God's rule through the gospel and God's blessing through Christ. However, the boundary of speech is still with them. God's solution is to reverse the effects of Babel and allow men to speak in language understood by all. Now His blessing can again be spread and his rule can grow, filling the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

The Partial Kingdom: The Kingdom of God is defined by Graeme Goldsworthy as: God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. In Genesis 12, a kindgom promise is given to Abram that he would have a land, descendants, and blessing. This is promise that would be partially fulfilled in several ways, but never totally fulfilled until the events of Revelation 22 take place. We see Israel as a partial fulfillment of this promise. They have a physical land in Palestine; they are a physical people group; they are under God's rule; they spread God's blessing to the nations around them (specifically under Solomon's rule). However, they are not the total fulfillment of all that the promise intended. They do not spread God's blessing to all nations, they do not contain all of God's promised people, etc. Rather, Israel is a model for the kingdom still yet to come. The aspects of their kingdom point to the fulfillment, which is ultimately Christ. Even the church doesn't fulfill the ultimate expression of the Kingdom, although it serves as an even better model than Israel. Christ is the only one who fulfills God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. Christ is the ultimate place: the tabernacle (Jn. 1:14), the ultimate temple (Jn. 2:18-21; Rev. 21:22), and the ultimate Lamb (Heb. 10:10). Christ is God's people (Mt. 1:1- the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Gal. 3). Christ is the arm of God's rule and blessing (Mt. 12:28, 28:18; Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 1:20). God's Kingdom is now here in part through Christ and the people of God who are the children of Christ, the true seed of Abraham. This Kingdom will continue to grow and spread until God makes all things new through His established King, Christ. There is no need for a reversion back to previous models, like Israel, or even the church. There is no need to revert back to old sacrifical systems or temples. Christ fulfills all.

The Wilderness Wanderings: As Israel was being prepared for her entry into the promised land and the beginning of her ministry to spread God's message to the nations, she was tested in the wilderness. She failed the test and was judged with 40 years of wandering and ultimately with exhile and rejection. Christ underwent this same test. As he prepared for his ministry, he was also tested in the wilderness, yet was successful. He use the same text from Israel's wanderings and defeated Satan's temptations. After that he gathered to himself 12 men, also an allusion to Israel's 12 tribes. Even in this small example, Christ is seen as fulfillment.

Sorry for the length, but I was excited about what I learned. Keep on studying and unfolding the many layers of our precious scriptures.

-Sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli deo Gloria-