Theological Statement, Part 2 - Jesus & the Holy Spirit
Theological Statement, Part 3 - The Bible
Theological Statement, Part 4 - The Human Condition
Theological Statement, Part 5 - Salvation
(Icon of the Second Coming, Greek, c.1700)
Eschatology
– I
believe that Jesus Christ will return again in glory (Ac. 1:11; 1 Th. 4:16), that
the dead will rise again, and that we Christians will share fully in Christ’s
own resurrection (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:20-23); that God will judge the earth and
all its inhabitants in righteousness, each according to their own works (Ps.
98:9; Rev. 20:11-15); that there will be a separation of the unrighteous from
those who have been made righteous in Christ, the former being given over to
judgment, and the latter (though still having to submit to an accounting of
their acts) will be welcomed into the full bliss of the presence of God (Mt.
25:31-46; Rev. 21:1-4); that all of creation will be purified, restored, and
united with the spiritual reality of heaven (2 Pet. 3:7; Rev. 21:1-3; Is.
65:17-25); and that Christ’s kingdom will have no end (Is. 9:7; Rev. 22:3-5).
Beyond these points I am freely willing to admit that I don’t know exactly how
it will all play out; I consider a number of the traditional Christian
interpretations of eschatology to be valid possibilities. I tend to prefer an
optimistic amillennial stance regarding the end times, because not only does
this position have a very long and deep theological pedigree throughout
Christian tradition, but it also offers powerful encouragement to the church
here and now. Thus, while in my teaching I emphasize “the big picture” of
biblical eschatology rather than the minutiae of disputed speculative
scenarios, in my own interpretation I hold to the idea that this present age of
the church is itself “the last day” (Ac. 2:16-21): that it is in fact both “tribulation”
and “millennium”; it is the time of the suffering of the saints (Rom. 8:17-18;
2 Thess. 1:5; Rev. 1:9) and of their reigning with Christ (Eph. 2:6), serving
as the ambassadors of the Kingdom of God on earth.
The
Purpose, Place, and Mission of the Church in Today’s Society – As mentioned above, the
church is the Body of Christ, and as such it is the main thrust of “the Kingdom
of God at hand,” just as Jesus himself was during his earthly ministry. The
church carries out a commission from Christ to continue his own mission (Jn.
20:21; Mt. 28:18-20)—to work toward the restoration of all things by preaching
the good news of the Kingdom of God, making disciples, healing diseases,
breaking the cycles of poverty and violence, confronting the powers of evil,
tending to the commission of humanity to care for creation, and pouring out
self-sacrificial love throughout the world. As such, the church is essentially
called to be the presence of Christ in this world: to bring in as many new
converts as will join the new humanity in Christ, to raise them up to greater
holiness and participation in the divine nature, and to anticipate the return
of the Lord by bringing his Kingdom into ever fuller realization through our
daily work, through our prayers, and through our love for one another.
Along with all these things just mentioned, which could be categorized as
falling into two categories of (1) an outward call—evangelization, work,
creation care, social compassion, and prophetic justice—and (2) an inward call—discipleship,
holiness, progress in virtue—there is also a third calling, (3) an upward call:
to worship God, the grand and ultimate calling of all creation. By simply
worshiping God, we become the anticipatory sign, here in history, of the full
and eternal reign of God, when he will be all in all.