A man with an exceptionally large house decided to invite others to come and live with him. He had the space, in fact he had quite a mansion with many wings, apartments and rooms, extensive gardens and forests all around and a huge estate beyond these, and an amazing diversity of stimulating possibilities for fulfilling activity. Many regarded this house and estate as the best ever; some said it was more a grand palace, almost like a small country. Some had already moved in and found that no matter how much they explored, there was always more. Out of considerable grace and generosity, he sent out his servants to extend the invitation.
The servants worked hard to help people know that they were most welcome. But mostly they made a fundamental mistake. With much diligence and care the front door of the house was described. It was solid and secure, unbreakable, full of pleasing aesthetic qualities, impressive in every way. The details of how to open the door were carefully explained. When people asked about what was inside, what would they do there, the servants said very little. They just focused on the door and how free it was to get in. They told people that the owner was totally forgiving towards those who would join him, even for the worst of them their past was not necessarily an issue. They told people about the owner and how he was a great guy to live with but spending time with him in diverse and stimulating activities didn’t seem to have much to do with it. In fact, the main thing seemed to be endless singing! Many turned down the invitation, the door was remarkable but there was no sense of missing out on anything much as beyond the door was more a mystery than something appealing.
Unfortunately, no one was ever allowed to just come in to taste and see before deciding. Unfortunately, the servants passed on very little about the richness and diversity of everyday life within. Unfortunately, there was no connection between the salvation and excellence of life within and the realities of life causing despair across the world.
In the International Church (IC) as much as anywhere else, reductionism is the constant temptation of faith; to make the faith more manageable requiring less study and thinking, to domesticate it so that it doesn’t intrude too much into the values of our culture, to not disturb too much the preferences in our lifestyles, or to serve the controlling fear narratives in our churches. In ICs and elsewhere, too often the rich and comprehensive salvation of the Scriptures is reduced to personal faith and piety, the door without the mansion.
“For most of this century white evangelicals have subsisted largely on a spiritual diet of highly individualized piety. Their preaching, hymnody and spiritual practices have combined to emphasize the central value of one’s personal relationship with Jesus. So long as that relationship remains intact, one might infer, everything else is relatively unimportant.”1
Salvation matters, all of it, but if the people in our ICs see no connection between Christ’s salvation for us and the realities pressing upon the cities in which they live, then this disconnect will always minimize engagement in, and involvement with, the wider society. Mission is thereby discouraged and discouraging. We become voiceless because we have so little to offer that addresses the big issues, the hearts and minds hungers of the day. Then our silence sends the message that God either doesn’t care or is in some way incapacitated. Then our claims of salvation seem to be anything but salvation. In Scripture, salvation very much includes a salvation for the issues of the day. Salvation offers a concrete hope.
As leaders of ICs, our calling includes building up the theology of the people so that they are equipped to meaningfully engage in conversations about the hearts-and-minds issues of their neighbours. That is, a deep and comprehensive understanding of God and His plans for all peoples and all the earth. The credibility of the Gospel in a pluralistic world depends quite a lot on the credibility of (1) how well the fullness of the Gospel’s salvation is fleshed out in our churches and (2) how well the Gospel is understood to engage with the multiple issues of our day, from justice, peace and reconciliation through to climate change and inept political leadership. In other words, the contexts in which personal and individual concerns are shaped and lived out. Our people are already a long way behind if they cannot think theologically about climate change or immigration or nationalism or gender or violence or …………
Too often we talk only of the means of salvation (grace, the cross, the Spirit, repentance and faith) without addressing the full content of this salvation in the Kingdom Jesus is bringing into the world. Salvation is both a matter of being saved from and saved for.
Saved from sin, guilt and the resultant death of condemnation: and from all the consequences of sin within ourselves and throughout all nations. God saves us from ultimate condemnation, most willingly, because His grace is overflowing and Jesus died the death that should have been ours. All we need to do is repent and believe. Saved by grace through faith, a free gift.
Saved for the full forgiveness that flows from the cross by the mercy of God, for new life in Christ through the Spirit, for a new relationship as children of the Father, for incorporation into the community of all God’s people, for the restoration of our full humanity as creative co-workers with God towards God’s vision for His creation, and for the comprehensive realities of new creation, fulfilled Kingdom, New Jerusalem, new heaven and new earth, and the diverse abundance throughout the renewal of all creation.
- Saved from the past for the future.
- Saved from the world fractured by sin for a world reconciled to God and filled with the peace bought by the cross.
- Saved from curse to live in the liberated creation.
- Saved from the corruptions and pollution of sin for the new society of nations transformed to enter the presence of God in the New Jerusalem.
- Saved from the brutalities and injustices of humankind to a new humankind in which character of God prevails in all human interaction.
Many will be excluded/exiled from these coming realities. So, rightly, we make known the good news of Jesus, the Door, through whom access to this new world is granted. This Gospel is an awesome message of salvation. We must preach the details of the means of God’s salvation for each one so that our people have no doubt about the reality and the means of God’s salvation. Essential as this is, this particular emphasis is not the focus in what follows.
The Gospel is both the front door and the world beyond; both the means of salvation and the fullness of Kingdom life in the new creation. This Kingdom Gospel presents us with a new kind of society through which we can think, with a radical new perspective, through the issues of the day in every society and city and nation.
Salvation is a concept far broader than simply the words ‘salvation’ and ‘saved’. The concept is present throughout Scripture and expressed in multiple ways. Proof-texting on such a subject is doomed to reductionism. Salvation is so breathtaking that rightly do we celebrate it, but let’s ensure the fullness of salvation is embraced.
Biblical Perspectives On Salvation’s Content:
- The Nations: Nations2 consist of land and people, institutions and culture, industry and art, religion and politics, economics and education, sub-groups and sub-cultures. Sometimes emphasis in national identity may be on ethnicity and religion and other times may be land and government. The beginning of nationhood is in the instruction of God to “spread out and multiply”. Then the listing out of nations in Genesis 10-11 forms the substance of the promise that through the descendants of Abraham, God’s blessing will extend to all the nations/families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3). This multinational purpose of God is repeated many times in Genesis,3 lies behind the vision for the Law,4 shapes much of the future hope in the Psalms,5 and repeatedly is included in the promises in the Prophets for the rule of the Messiah over all the earth.6 “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.” (Psalm 82:8). And so, John repeats the salvation expectation of Isaiah 60-66 that the nations, as nations, will take their place within the walls of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:24-26) as healed nations (Revelation 22:2). A sufficient remnant in each nation will find salvation in Christ to ensure each nation is well represented in the entry of the nations into this new heaven/earth. Imagine the nation in which your IC serves, so transformed that it is brought into the presence of God in the new earth!
- Land: “actual earthly turf”7 . The creative grace of God brought Adam and Eve into the Garden, the redemptive work of God brought the enslaved people of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. But in both, sin brought removal from the land. Land is seminal to the salvation God brings to His people. Brueggemann’s classic establishes well the great importance of land in the Biblical narrative. The blessing of God brings “landedness”, the judgement of God brings “landlessness”. This is the covenantal pattern laid out in Deuteronomy 28-30. As for Israel, so ultimately for all the nations. So, Jesus speaks of the inheritance of the earth as one of the salvation gifts in the Kingdom (Matthew 5:5) and Revelation 21-22 promises a renewed earth. A place to belong, to be at home, to be secure, to find the joys of community, to be productive, to know the fellowship of God in all of life, to be filled with peace, to live everyday with the diverse brilliance of God’s creative genius in all the earth. This is salvation.
- Visionary Songs. The Psalmists are consistent with the unfolding vision of the OT; as you would expect! Messiah’s reign, hope for the nations, God glorified in everything, and personal restoration are all recurring themes. Salvation is anticipated, bringing the best of life and the reversal of the troubles of the day.8
- Isaiah’s Grand Vision. The prophets flesh out the expectations of salvation that will fill the earth when Messiah comes; Isaiah more than any other. What is summarized here of Isaiah can be found readily in the other prophets. While there is no doubt that God’s judgement on Israel and the nations will be severe, there remains a future for both. Out of the devastation of God’s refining work, will come societies enriched with the transforming power of the Spirit, societies that comply with the values and ideals of holiness and righteousness that shape the Law of Moses. Messiah will bring justice within and between nations, healing of persons, forgiveness of sin, renewal of the environment, freedom from violence, provision for the poor, liberation for the enslaved, righteousness as a way of life. To express the impact of Messiah, Isaiah has a collection of images for mountain and desert, often with a highway between them.9 He speaks of the coming of YAHWEH,10 the Messiah,11 and the Servant.12 These overlapping and intertwined images and promises express an all-of-life-and-society transformation.13 Isaiah’s Grand Vision is God’s gift of salvation; a salvation that ultimately fills the earth.14
- Jesus’ Kingdom Framework and Vision. Matthew, Mark and Luke summarize the ministry and Gospel of Jesus as Kingdom oriented.15 Likewise, Luke summarizes the ministry of the apostles as Kingdom focused.16 Mostly Jesus’ parables are Kingdom parables.17 From Mark 1:15-15 onwards, Jesus declares the ways in which the Kingdom promises of the OT are now being fulfilled through His presence and His ministry.18 This is a Kingdom that begins in the presence of just one person, Jesus Himself, but grows gradually like a planted seed until all the earth is filled with the heavenly New Jerusalem. All of heaven and earth are integrated in Him (Matthew 28:18) and will be integrated in Him (Ephesians 1:9-10). Already inaugurated but only completed when Jesus returns to be with us here. Until we unpack the vast range of Kingdom expectations throughout the OT, much of Jesus’ Kingdom remains vague and less inspiring. But when we take the time to see how the vision for the Kingdom builds up steadily from The Garden to the Prophets, we discover an all-embracing vision of transformation and renewal. Salvation is Kingdom fulfilled and Kingdom fulfilled is salvation that changes everything in every nation.
- Life for the Age to Come. The hope of Eternal Life, most frequently referred to in John’s Gospel, is more than just life everlasting. It has a quality of life as expressed in the more literal translation, “life for the age (to come)”. This life is caught up in Christ19 and in the Spirit (Romans 8:1-11, Galatians 6:8) and therefore is life that expresses their common comprehensive Kingdom agenda and purpose. This life is Light-shaped (John 1:3, 8:12, 2 Timothy 1:10). Eternal Life is salvation life lived out in the Light of Christ, in the enlightenment of the Spirit (John 14:26, 16:7-15). Salvation life is Christ filled and so a well-developed Christology is essential for appreciating the character of this life, including the Kingdom that He brings to fill the earth. Salvation life is heavenly (Colossians 3:1-4); check out how Paul describes such life in the following verses (5-17). Unfortunately, when life is not fleshed out in the Light of Christ, with His Kingdom values and agenda, the fullness of life in John 10:10 is wrongly and commonly filled out with the expectations (emotional and otherwise) from our self-indulgent culture. When we proclaim an abundance of life, but fail to flesh this out with the life of Christ and His kingdom, the values and assumptions of culture rush in to fill the gap. Eternal life is that which flows from the river and tree of life (Revelation 22:1-2) and so full salvation is life with all the richness of renewal to be found in the new heaven/earth.
- Paul’s Mega Picture. Most of what Paul has to say is responsive to the questions and issues of the day in the churches for which he had responsibility. So often, as might be expected for young churches, he needed to establish again the free-flowing grace of God, through the cross, to all who believe. So often he needed to help them think through the practical living out of such grace. Yet from time to time he steps back from these more immediate concerns and informs us of the larger vision that frames and directs his thinking. As you would expect from someone deeply informed by the Old Testament, he endorses the vision therein of nations and creation renewed through the rule of the Messiah. The gentiles/nations are grafted into Israel and both share together in the salvation promises laid out throughout the Old Testament (Romans 9-11). Jesus is Lord, and He rules with an agenda for “all things” reconciled in peace (Colossians 1:15-20). He brings liberation for all the creation (Romans 8:). Heaven and earth come together in Him (Ephesians 1:9-10, cf. Matthew 28:18). Given the Old Testament vision for the rule of Christ and the salvation it brings, the enthronement of Christ (Ephesians 1:20-23, Philippians 2:9-11) can mean only that salvation includes the transformation of all things in all creation.
- Revelation’s doom for all empires of evil but the restoration of nations. The extremist apocalyptic imagery makes it absolute; whatever they may be, the powers of rebellious evil are doomed. The superpowers with all their arrogance will come crashing down. All who bow down to the emperors of sin will perish with them. Yet Revelation is a message of profound hope. The worst that evil can be, the worst that the judgement of God might be, will not prevent the earth affirming, nations renewing, victory of Christ. John, with brief references to various promises in the prophets, draws in a wealth of expectation for the reign of Christ over all the earth. All in Christ, the overcomers and the martyrs, will reign with him as the earth is filled with the transforming presence of New Jerusalem, and the omnipresent reality of God and the Lamb (Revelation 21-22). Salvation brings heaven to earth; our prayers answered as the heavenly practice of the will of God now fills the earth (Mathew 6:10). Death will be destroyed, the curse will be no more, the river of life will heal the nations, the glory of God will illumine everything, joy will replace tears, sin will be no more. Justice, peace, holiness, and goodness saturate this new creation. Salvation in all its fullness perfected.20
- In summary, salvation brings peace, the shalom of God which will fill the heaven-filled earth. That is an omni-present, omni-directional, total Christ-filled harmony that floods out across the spectrums of creation.
Let the Adventure Begin!!
Paul celebrates the enthronement of Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11. One day all will bow to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, Jesus the Messiah. The whole of creation is His inheritance. He is now supreme in every way and free to implement the fullness of Kingdom salvation. He is the one worthy to open the scroll of Kingdom completion and fulfilment.
But then comes a simple exhortation to the followers of Jesus (vv. 12-13), “… work out your (sing) own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you (pl), enabling (you, pl) both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Each of us has a part to play as God works to fulfil His purposes. Salvation is both to be received and to be practiced. Individualistic Westerners internalize and personalize this exhortation (not in itself wrong of course) to the neglect of its wider and more comprehensive application. As much as one has opportunity, engage together with the fullness of the salvation that comes because Christ is now enthroned.
Hauerwas and Willimon put it like this; salvation is a movement which places us “… within an adventure that is nothing less than God’s purpose for the whole world … communally training us to fashion our lives in accordance with what is true rather than what is false.”21
As preachers, our primary task is to enable people to see God and His vision for the fullness of salvation that fills the earth. Preach and teach so that the followers of Christ grow in hope, increasingly see what God is doing all around them, expand their understanding of the Kingdom’s vision for the multiple issues filling our media and our fears. Develop their motivation to love their neighbours (as defined in Luke 10:25-37) and serve the least, enabling them to see the truth of God’s Kingdom and just how much it stands against much of the self-indulgence of our surrounding cultures. Help people to see what the Kingdom’s impact will be on the various major issues facing 21st century societies and nations.
So preach it! Proclaim it from the roof-tops! Yell and shout, explain and declare, allow the excitement of the future to permeate your preaching! Let your people see this salvation of life and forgiveness, of freedom from shame and fear and ignorance, of justice for the suffering and the least, of abundance for the poor, of peace across all expressions of violence, of a new social order of deep love for the other, of Spirit-filled productivity, of leadership the walks every day in the shoes of Jesus, of an environment free of pollution and human destructiveness, of persons liberated from sin and fully healed, of welcome and hospitality for all those who are different.
The Kingdom fulfilled is bringing the very best of art and music and literature and creativity and beauty, the very best of warmth across all relationships, the very best of the never-ending creativity built into God’s earth, the very best of education and learning, the very best of joy-filled diversity in every-day life, the very best of architecture and industry, of gardens and wilderness, of celebrations that include everyone equally. Jesus’ mustard-seed Kingdom is filling the earth, filling every community and nation, with justice and peace, every detail of life reconciled to God. This is a global Kingdom which rejoices in the multiple diversities across the planet and dismisses the forces of uniformity and minority privilege. Somewhere within the Kingdom is the fulfilment of our deepest longings for self and society, the dreams in which we imagine the worst transformed into the best, the whole earth transformed into the temple of God. Preach it!
Such a vision energizes God’s people, puts their personal issues into context and perspective (very much needed in our evangelical culture of self-oriented spirituality), catches them up in the glory of God that already is on the way to filling the whole earth, sets up direction and focus for missional engagement beyond the church, and enables people to see just how much they have to offer our broken world – no matter how limited they might be personally.
True Kingdom discipleship really is an adventure: of learning, of loving others, of increasingly seeing God at work, of growing passion and excitement for a salvation that opens up beyond the front door to a whole world of joy and possibility in the presence of Jesus! Preach it!
Graham Chipps
REFERENCES
[1] https://religionnews.com/2017/11/28/why-its-not-just-nominal-evangelicals-supporting-donald-trump/ [2] A fluid concept in much of Scripture. Sometimes referred to as “peoples”, it includes families, tribes and languages. What matters is that the collective identity of peoples is expressed in the multiple ways the nations feature in the Biblical hope. [3] Genesis 17:4-6, 16, 18:18, 26:4, 27:29, 28:3, 14, 35:11, 48:4, 19, 49:10. cf. Romans 4:13-18, Galatians 3:29. [4] Exodus 19:4-6. So, foreigners are to be welcomed (Exodus 12:48, Leviticus 19:33, Numbers 9:14) and were already included amongst the people (Exodus 12:37-38). God’s name and glory to be known over all the earth (Exodus 7:5, 17, 8:22, 14:4, 18, 9:14, 16, 29). [5] Psalms 2, 33, 66, 67, 72, 96, 98, 100, 117, 145. There are multiple references throughout the Psalms declaring God’s purposes for the nations. [6] The references to God’s future for the nations are too numerous to list out here. Isaiah in particular has a global, multinational, perspective on the realm of the Messiah. [7] Brueggemann, Walter, 2002: The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith (Second Edition), Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press. p. 2. [8] Context (usually the whole Psalm) is essential for seeing the content of the salvation anticipated: Psalm 9:14, 13:5, 14:7, 18:2, 27:1, 28:8, 35:3, 9, 37:39, 50:23, 51:12, 53:6, 62:1, 2, 6, 7, 67:2, 69:13, 27, 29, 74:12, 85:7-9, 91:16, 95:1, 96:2, 98:1, 2, 3, 116:13, 118:14, 21, 132:16. [9] Isaiah 2:1-5, 4:3-6, 24:23, 25:6-8, 32:2, 15-20, 35:1-10, 40:1-11, 41:17-20, 44:1-5, 49:11-12, 51:1-16, 52:1-2, 7-10, 56:6-7, 62:1-12, 66:7-14. [10] YAHWEH will come to be King and Saviour: Isaiah 33:17, 22, 40:1-11, 43:15, 44:6, 45:15, 21, 60:16. [11] Messiah will come to be King and Saviour and put all to right: Isaiah 4:2-6, 9:1-7, 11:1-16, 16:4-5, 19:20 (cf. 16-25), 28:16, 32:1-5, 15-20, 55:3-5, 59:20, 61:1-11. [12] The Servant’s Suffering will bring mercy, forgiveness and justice: Isaiah 42:1-9, 49:1-13, 50:4-9, 52:13-53:12. [13] See also Isaiah 12:1-6, 26:1-15, 60:1-22, 62:1-12, 65:17-25, 66:5-13, 18-23. [14] The language of salvation is woven into the descriptions of renewal of all things: Isaiah 12:1-6, 25:4-10, 26:1-15, 30:15, 33:2-6 (note here that salvation includes justice and righteousness, wisdom and knowledge), 45:8, 17, 46:13, 49:3-13 (again note the content of this salvation), 51:4-5 (salvation includes justice and light for the nations), 52:7-10, 56:1, 59:9-20, 60:18 (salvation includes the nations within the New Jerusalem), 61:10 (cf. 61:1-11), 62:1-2. [15] Matthew 4:17, 4:23, 9:35, Mark 1:14-15, 4:43, 8:1, 9:11, Acts 1:3. [16] Acts 8:12, 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 28:31. [17] Many speak of the Kingdom’s small beginnings and gradual increase. [18] Perhaps Luke 4:16-21 is the most well-known but there are others. [19] John 6:35, 6:47-51, 8:12, 11:25-26, 14:6, 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 1:1, 10, 1 John 5:11-13. [20] Revelation 7:10 (cf. 9-17), 12:10-11, 19:1ff. [21] Hauerwas, Stanley & Willimon, William H, 1989: Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, p. 52.
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