part
11 the typology of the Kingdom
This morning’s message is entitled the typology of the
Kingdom. Typology pertains to types and shadows
which are Old Testament people, places, things, or events that foreshadow spiritual
realities found in the New Testament.
Simply put, the OT is the story of national Israel, the
Old Creation while the NT is the story of the New Creation, spiritual
Israel. Let’s begin with the beginning.
NEW
BEGINNING
The Bible from beginning to end is a story about Israel,
God’s creation. It begins with the book
of Genesis,
which means beginning. Genesis
begins with “In
the beginning.” It begins
with Adam and lists his descendants but it moves rather quickly to the point,
which is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is Israel, God’s creation.
Israel is the clay and God is the potter. Israel is his handiwork, his workmanship. National Israel is in this sense, the Old
creation.
The NT clues us in on the fact that God was in the
process of creating a New Israel, the New Creation, in Christ.
John’s gospel opens up with the very same words as
Genesis, “In the
beginning.”
John 1:1 In the beginning was the
Word and the word was with God and the word was God...” It goes on in v14 to say “the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
Virtually everyone agrees that this refers to Jesus.
Now we clearly have here a new Genesis, a new beginning
in which we see a new creation and that new creation is the New Israel in
Christ.
2 Cor 5:17 if anyone is in Christ he
is A new creation. The old has gone the new has come.
Eph 2:10 for we are god’s
workmanship created in Christ Jesus
We, the spiritual Israel are the new
creation, the new Israel, god’s workmanship
Thus, National Israel was a type of the
Spiritual Israel in Christ. The NT opens
with the beginning of this new creation, this new Israel, this spiritual
Israel.
NEW
FOUNDATION – THE 12
Now the story of Genesis, the story of the beginning of
God’s old creation Israel teaches that the community of Israel has its
foundation upon the 12. Jacob aka Israel
had 12 sons and from these 12 sons came the 12 tribes and the descendents who
make up the Israel of old. In this sense
Israel was founded upon the 12. If you
spend time in the Old Testament you will see that there is heavy emphasis on
that number twelve and the corresponding 12 tribes. Very significant.
In the New Testament, the story of God’s new creation,
we see that the New Israel also has its foundation upon a 12.
When Jesus began his ministry he spent an entire evening
in prayer and then in the morning he selected from among his many disciples, 12
who would be apostles. That wasn’t an
arbitrary number. The number 12 is quite
significant and it should clue us in on the fact that God is in Christ creating
a new Israel, his new creation and this 12 is the foundation upon which his new
Israel is built.
In speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, spiritual
Jerusalem, New Jerusalem Rev 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb
Just as national Israel was built upon a foundation of
the 12, so also, spiritual Israel, the new creation is built upon a foundation
of the 12. The
12 tribes foreshadowed the 12 apostles as foundation of Israel.
NEW
BIRTH
In the Israel of old, how did the community grow and
expand? How were new people added to
their number? By birth!
In the old creation, to bring forth children two
Israelites got together and birds and bees…did what they do to bring forth kids
and then badda bing badda boom… Membership in Israel was primarily an ethnicity
thing by flesh and blood relation, by national descent. To grow a kingdom and expand it, you simply
have many children.
In the NT we find that people are also born into the
new Israel not by natural birth, but by spiritual birth through faith. People become part of God’s family, Israel
through faith, not through the womb.
John explains it this way in
John 1:10ff 10 He
was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him. 11 He came to that which was
his own, but his own did not receive him. (by
and large, most of national Israel rejected Jesus) 12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a
husband’s will, but born of God.
Those born OF
GOD belong to the Kingdom OF
GOD. They are born from above
just as the kingdom to which they belong is from above.
NEW
SLAVERY
In the OT, the Israel of old eventually became slaves
in Egypt and were in need of redemption, rescue out of that slavery.
In the NT, we find that God’s creation, Israel is enslaved
once more, not to a literal earthly Egypt but to a spiritual Egypt and are also
in need of redemption, rescue out of spiritual slavery.
We see this explained in Paul’s letter to the Galatians
when he contrasts slavery and freedom.
He says in
Gal 4:21ff 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai (OC) and bears children who are to be slaves: (so Paul is saying that those still clinging to the OC are enslaved and in need of redemption) This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
Paul is comparing the people of his day. There were those who were clinging to the OC
which corresponds to the Old Creation and there were those who were coming into
the New Covenant and participating in the New Creation. He points out that those in his day in
literal Jerusalem clinging to the OC were in slavery. In the first century, the city of Jerusalem
had become a spiritual Egypt which had enslaved God’s people as they were in
bondage to sin and death under the OC.
We see first century Jerusalem clearly identified as a
spiritual Egypt in
Rev 11:8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually
called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Where was the Lord crucified? Just outside the city gates of Jerusalem
which is here called Egypt.
Egypt’s enslavement of Israel in the OT
served as a type that foreshadowed the spiritual enslavement of God’s people
that we find in the NT in the spiritual Egypt of Israel.
NEW
GOSPEL
In the OT for the captives in Egypt, there was good
news. There was a gospel message that
God was going to raise up a servant to lead them out of captivity and set the
captives free, to bring them into a Promised Land where God’s name would
reside, where they would have freedom and rest.
In the NT, we find that there is also a gospel message
of good news for the captives. God was
raising up a servant to set the captives free and bring them into the land, but
in the NT, just as the slavery is spiritual, so also the kingdom into which
they are rescued is spiritual.
We see this good news in the words and actions of
Jesus.
Luke 4:1ff 16 He went to
Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the
synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll
of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where
it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus, in first century was proclaiming, “I am here to
bring the prisoners out of slavery and into freedom and rest in the new Land.”
Israel’s captivity in literal Egypt was a
type of the spiritual captivity under the OC in Jesus’ day and just as they had
good news preached to them by God’s servant, the New Israel had good news
proclaimed to them by God’s servant.
NEW
EXODUS & PASSOVER LAMB
In the OT we have a book called Exodus dedicated to
detailing the exodus out of Egypt. This
exodus was initiated with the shedding of the blood of the Passover Lamb.
In the NT we have a new Exodus out of the spiritual
Egypt and it is also initiated with the shedding of the blood of the true
Passover lamb, Jesus Christ.
Remember from last week when Jesus was crucified? His blood was shed on the cross during
Passover. Think that’s a coincidence? 1 Cor 5:7b for Christ
our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
The Passover Lamb served as a type
foreshadowing Jesus, the true Passover Lamb.
NEW
WILDERNESS WANDERING 40 YEARS TRANSITION
In the OT, after God brought Israel out of Egypt they
wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they came into the Promised Land. Thus we have a forty year period as they
transitioned from slavery to freedom.
In the NT, between 30 and 70 AD there is another 40
year transition period as the new creation, spiritual Israel transitions from
slavery to freedom. Jesus proclaimed the
good news around 30 AD and they were fully redeemed from that bondage in 70 AD
with the abolition of the OC. This is a
40 year period of transition between the Old and New covenants, an overlap in
the ages. What they called the present
age, the OC age was coming to an end – their time of slavery had come to an end
and they were looking forward to entering their promised Kingdom. The good news was preached and they were
making their way to freedom in the kingdom.
But until the OC was fully done away and the NC fully ushered in, they
were in transition between spiritual Egypt and the Spiritual Land of Israel,
the Kingdom.
In the OT, during that 40 years in the wilderness, many
wanted to return to Egypt saying to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness.” They perished because they lacked faith. Look at what the author of Hebrews
says to his contemporaries in the first century:
Heb
4:1-2 1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest
still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short
of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us,
just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because
those who heard did not combine it with faith.
In the NT time, during the 40 years between 30 and 70
AD many were tempted to turn back to the Old, but Jesus and the apostles and
writers of the NT encouraged them to stay strong till the end, don’t turn
back. Anyone who puts hand to the plow and looks back
is not fit for service in the kingdom.
NEW
WILDERNESS GENERATION
That OT generation that wandered for 40 years served as
a type of Jesus’ first century generation.
We have that explicitly stated in the NT.
1 Cor 10:6,11 (Paul is pointing to the generation that wandered in the wilderness)
6 Now these things occurred as (types) of us.
Thus, the 40 year wilderness wandering in
the OT foreshadowed the 40 year transition period between 30 and 70 ad.
NEW
MOSES
In the OT God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites
out of slavery. Moses was a type of
Christ as Christ was the one who God raised up to lead (what scholars call) “the 2nd Exodus.”
When Moses was born, his life was endangered because a
king whose position was threatened by the Hebrews decided to kill all of the
baby boys. Sound familiar? In the NT, we have Jesus, the New Moses, born
and we have a king Herod who saw his throne threatened and killed all of the
baby boys of Israel.
So Moses was a type of Christ. Christ is the fulfillment.
NEW
COVENANT FOR LIFE IN NEW LAND (FREEDOM & REST)
Moses was also the mediator of the OC that corresponded
to the Old Creation. As God was bringing
his people out of Egypt and they were transitioning from slavery to freedom,
God gave Israel a covenant through Moses, which was embodied in The Law written
on stone tablets. This Law contained the
stipulations for Israel regarding life as God’s people in the Land.
Jesus, as the antitype, also, in the process of leading
Israel out of slavery gave a New Covenant which corresponds to the New Creation
and a new law to be written upon the heart.
Many point at the sermon on the mount as Jesus’ giving of the new
law. As Moses gave instruction through
the Law for Israel’s life in the Land, so also Jesus gave a NC, a Law by which
the people were to live in the Kingdom.
The OC law served as a type foreshadowing the things of
the New Covenant.
Heb 10:1 The law is only a
shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.
Col 2:13ff 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code (the Law), with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
So the Law and those elements of the OC
were shadows of the New Covenant realities found in Christ.
NEW
JOSHUA TO LEAD THEM INTO THE NEW LAND
Not only did Moses foreshadow Jesus, but so did
Joshua. Joshua is the one who actually
led the Israelites into the Land. Israel
came to conquer the Land and first came to Jericho. After marching around the city of Jericho
seven times, they blew a trumpet and gave a great shout after which the walls
fell down and the Land was given into their hands.
In the NT we see that Jesus, the antitype of Joshua
leads the New Israel into the Kingdom. The Kingdom is given to the saints with a loud command, with
the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God (1 Thess 4:16).
NEW
INHERITANCE (LITERAL PROMISED LAND; SPIRITUAL KINGDOM)
The OT calls the Promised Land Israel’s inheritance. Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all
that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions
by their tribes.
The NT calls the Kingdom Israel’s inheritance. Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world.
In OT the Promised Land as the
Inheritance of OC Israel served as a type of the Kingdom as the inheritance of
the saints.
NEW TEMPLE, PRIESTHOOD, CIRCUMCISION
In the OT there was a sanctuary, a tabernacle a temple
in which God’s presence dwelt. It was
physical, earthly and built with literal stones.
In the NT there is a new sanctuary, a new temple in
which God lives by his spirit, it is not physical or earthly, but
spiritual. Jesus is chief cornerstone and people are built
together as the temple. Spiritual
temple in a spiritual kingdom.
The temple of Old served as at type of
the body of Christ, the new temple.
In the OT, literal Levites (those from the tribe of
Levi) served as a priesthood offering literal animal sacrifices to atone for
the sins of the people.
In the NT temple, the spiritual temple there is a spiritual
priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices.
These are not literal Levites, but those who have been made Levites by
the spirit. We
find this in the syllabus.
Isaiah 66:19ff 19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of
those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and
Lydians (famous
as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or
seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. (Paul
and Barnabas who go to the nations and distant islands to proclaim God’s name
and glory among the nations) 20 And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy
mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules
and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring
their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.21 And I will select some
of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
Um, what??? You
can’t just make someone a priest who is not a Levite. And you can’t just make someone a
Levite. Levites are descendants of
Levi. In the New Israel you can because flesh
and blood, ethnicity, and pedigree have nothing to do with status. In the Kingdom God turns people from the
nations not only into Israelites, but into Levites and priests to become a kingdom of
priests.
In the OT, the literal priesthood as the
literal blood descendants of Levi served as a type foreshadowing the spiritual
priesthood found in the NT.
CIRCUMCISION
In the OT, circumcision was huge. It was the defining mark of Israel, a symbol
of the covenant. But look what we find
in the NT:
Gal 6:15 Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision mans anything; what counts is the new creation
Paul points out that circumcision of the flesh is no
longer what counts because that pertained to the OLD Creation. The NEW creation is what counts and the new
creation is not associated with circumcision of the flesh, but a radically
different kind of circumcision, a spiritual circumcision not done with human hands. Look what Paul says in
Rom 2:27ff 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code (the OC Law) and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
In the OT circumcision of the flesh done
with human hands foreshadowed the spiritual circumcision of the heart in NT.
NEW
SON OF DAVID-KING
In the OT, once Israel established themselves in the
Promised Land, they put a king over them.
Once they inherited the land, the goal was to have rest from their
enemies and peace. David and his mighty
men shed much blood and put their physical literal earthly enemies under their
feet.
In this way David also foreshadowed Jesus in that he
put the spiritual enemies of God’s people under his feet. Jesus ultimately conquered death, the last
enemy and put it under his feet.
After David, in the time of Solomon, Israel enjoyed
great peace. Solomon means peaceful. It is a variant of Shalom which means
peace. Solomon, the son of David, as
king foreshadowed Jesus, the prince of peace, the true shalom, the King of the
Kingdom.
Solomon, the literal son of David is a
type of Christ, the heavenly son of David.
NEW
KINGDOM (COMMUNITY & TERRITORY)
Solomon’s Kingdom, was for Israel a time of
unprecedented peace and prosperity. 2 Chronicles 9
tells us that he reigned in righteousness and justice and that he had great
renown as the wisest of all men. Israel
enjoyed great economic and territorial expansion as well as freedom and rest
from their enemies.
In this, Solomon’s Kingdom foreshadowed the Kingdom of
Christ. In Christ, under his reign,
Israel is restored to her former glory under a king reigning in wisdom, justice
and righteousness, territorial expansion, in peace and prosperity. This gloriously restored Israel is spiritual
Israel, the NEW CREATION. The Kingdom is
Israel restored to her former glory under the reign of the son of David.
The earthly kingdom of Solomon in the
Land foreshadowed the heavenly Kingdom of Christ.
NEW
ZION
In the OT Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, the city of his
father David, the fortress of Zion.
In the NT we have a Heavenly Jerusalem a Heavenly Mt
Zion. As the author of Hebrews says:
Heb 12:22ff 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken —that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
DOMINION
In the story of the OT the old creation, Israel walks
in rebellion to God and gets removed from the Land and dominion is transferred
to the gentiles. We don’t find a NT
counterpart to this in the story of the NT regarding the New Israel because the
kingdom of God will never be shaken. It
won’t be handed over to another people or taken away; it is an everlasting
kingdom that will remain forever. The
saints have inherited the kingdom and will possess it forever.
SUMMARY
In the OT we have the story of God and his people
Israel. This was manifest in physical
earthly elements, an earthly or natural beginning, natural birth, literal
slavery in a literal Egypt with a literal exodus, a literal wandering in a
physical wilderness on their way into a physical earthly Promised Land where
they lived under the administration of the OC, in which they built a literal
temple, had an earthly priesthood administering earthly rituals, making literal
sacrifices, in an earthly kingdom. All
of this served as types foreshadowing the spiritual realities found in the NT.
There we have the same story retold following the
spiritual counterparts, the antitypes to these very same earthly elements. A new beginning, of a new Spiritual Israel
bringing forth spiritual descendants through spiritual birth, a spiritual
exodus out of a spiritual slavery, a forty year wandering in a spiritual
wilderness, being brought into a spiritual kingdom in a heavenly Jerusalem to
operate under the administration of a new covenant.
HELPS
US TO SEE NATURE OF KINGDOM MORE CLEARLY
When framing the Bible in terms of types and shadows it
becomes easy to see how the Kingdom fits into the Biblical narrative
contextually. We see the antitypes that
correspond to those OT types and shadows.
We can see the nature of the Kingdom even more clearly
as SPIRITUAL. The OT story of Israel is bound
up in earthly natural, physical elements.
In the NT, we find their spiritual, heavenly counterparts. That is the pattern, the flow of the
narrative. Why would God bring forth a
new creation that is spiritual, with a new birth that is spiritual, bring his
people out of a slavery that is spiritual to wander in a wilderness that is
spiritual in order to enter into a kingdom that’s PHYSICAL in a land that’s
physical??? That’s not upgrading. That’s downgrading. That’s like going from a Harley Davidson to a
Schwinn. It doesn’t follow the pattern
or flow and it’s not what the Bible teaches.
HELPS
US TO APPRECIATE THE BIBLE
Understanding this framework of Biblical typology gives
us an appreciation for beauty of the Bible as we see the wider Biblical
narrative as one beautiful story about God’s creation, Israel.
SEE
WHERE WE FIT
It also helps us to understand where we fit in God’s
story as we identify our OT counterparts.
To whom in the OT do we correspond?
Who are we the spiritual counterparts of? Are we the 12? NO, those were chosen in Jesus’ day and are
found in Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, Matthew, Nathaniel, Judas and those
guys. Are we those coming up out of
spiritual Egypt? NO. That Egypt was judged in the first century
with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Are we amongst the generation wandering in the wilderness who have not
yet received the inheritance of the Kingdom?
NO. The Kingdom was given to the
saints in the
time of those kings, which was the
time of Ancient Rome, seriously. Our
spiritual ancestors received the kingdom 2000 years ago. Our OT counterparts are those dwelling in the
land during Israel’s glory days during the reign of Solomon – a time of unprecedented
peace prosperity, territorial expansion, during an administration characterized
by wisdom, justice and righteousness.
We are among those who have been born into the already
established kingdom. We could think of ourselves as the antitype of
those who lived during Solomon’s reign. We
have come into the Kingdom and enjoy the benefits of it, namely the presence of
God dwelling in His tabernacle, peace, prosperity, freedom and rest, under a
king reigning in glory, in wisdom, in justice, in righteousness.
This is where we find our place in God’s story. We are the spiritual counterparts to those
dwelling in Israel during the glorious reign of the son of David. We dwell in the everlasting kingdom in the gloriously
restored Israel and this glorious kingdom will remain forever; it will never be
handed over or given to another people.
ENJOYING
WHAT WE HAVE
There is a lot of teaching out there that says that we are still looking forward to the establishment
of the kingdom. In an
American church inundated by that kind of teaching we may have developed some
false expectations and may be tempted to ask, “If the inheritance of the kingdom
has been given already, what do we have to look forward to?”
Imagine you’re 14 years old and you came across a will
written by your great grandparents, which decreed an inheritance of a mansion
to be given. If your parents inherited
that mansion 10 years ago would you look back at that document and say, well if the
inheritance has already been given, what do I have to look forward to? No, you rejoice that the inheritance was
already given, and you continue enjoying the benefits of that inheritance as
you were born into it and dwell in that BIG BIG HOUSE WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF
ROOMS.
We aren’t amongst those looking forward to the
kingdom. The kingdom has come. We are among those that get to enjoy the
kingdom that has been given. I don’t
think anybody living during the reign of Solomon ever said, I sure am
looking forward to the time when God will put us in the Land where his name
will dwell and establish a kingdom of unprecedented peace and prosperity with a
son of David on the throne over a glorious kingdom. They were already enjoying that. They simply recognized what they had and enjoyed
it.
As their spiritual counterparts we have the antitype of
that which is far greater! Let’s enjoy
it! We are dwelling in the Kingdom under
the reign of the son of David, Jesus Christ who is wiser than Solomon and rules
with more justice, and more righteousness.
We get to enjoy the spiritual prosperity and peace of the kingdom. We get to enjoy the freedom and rest of the kingdom.
Jesse is going to expound upon the freedom of the
Kingdom next week, so in closing I’ll touch briefly on the idea of rest
in the Kingdom.
The Sabbath rest in the OT foreshadowed Jesus who is
the antitype, the reality the substance, the true Sabbath rest (Heb 3 & 4). Let us rest in Christ who is our Sabbath
rest.
When somebody retires and has a fat 401K, pension,
social security or retirement check coming in they are secure, at rest. They know that their survival is not
dependent upon their work. Money is
coming in and they don’t have to continue to work to earn money. They are able to rest. They CAN work if they desire and they have
the freedom now to do what they want to do.
They don’t have to consider all of those factors they once did when
their job was the primary means of provision.
They can get a job where they want doing what they want and can rest
easy knowing they have provisions.
Life in the kingdom is similar. In the OC, their righteous standing before
God was based upon their works, their ability to do the righteous requirements
of the Law. They didn’t have the full
measure of rest. But in the NC, in the
Kingdom, Jesus has already met the righteous requirements of the law on our
behalf so our righteous standing before God is already secure. Like the retired person whose income is
already accounted for, our righteousness is already accounted for; we can
rest. Jesus has already met the demands
and our righteousness is secure in Him.
In that sense, we can rest.
But that doesn’t mean that we SHOULD cease from doing
good works. It means that we aren’t
saved by doing good works. For it is by grace
you have been saved…We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph 2:8-10). We have been saved to do good works. Whereas the mantra in the OLD CREATION was do this and
live, that of the NEW Creation is live and do this (Spurgeon). Now that the kingdom has come we don’t cease
to do the will of God, but because the kingdom has come we seek to do his will on earth
as it is in heaven.
But for citizens of the kingdom, motivation for doing
God’s will isn’t fear of condemnation or punishment. As the prophet says the punishment that brought us peace was upon
him and by his wounds we are healed (Is
53). There is no
condemnation for those in Christ. Now the motivation to do good works is
love. Because God loved us so much and
expressed his love for us in Jesus, let’s serve him in the kingdom out of our
love for him all the while enjoying the rest that is in Jesus knowing that our
righteous standing with God is secure in Him.
We serve Him, not because we have to but because we
want to and because the NC law written upon our hearts compels us to.
It is our great honor and privilege to serve the king
of glory.
www.ncfgeorgetown.com
Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist
church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Sermon audio mp3 sermon download
Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page
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