——————–
THIS IS WHAT WE SEE IN THE BOOK OF ACTS:
Jesus = “Lord” (YHWH and Caesar — King of Creation and of the nations) and “Christ” (Promised Savior)
Acts 2:36 (ESV) “ ‘Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’ ”
It is not untrue to call Jesus our personal Lord and Savior — the Triune God is deeply personal. But the Lordship of Christ is not, as Leslie Newbigin reminded us, a private opinion, but a public truth. The rulers of Rome wouldn’t have trembled if the Apostles preached Jesus as their personal Lord who was living in their heart. No — Herod and Caesar and all the other “powers” trembled because these Christians were announcing Jesus as the true Lord of the Cosmos. For them, the resurrection and ascension were not “Jesus going home” (as though He were ET!) … but Jesus being enthroned!
Salvation = God working within His world to redeem and restore all things
Acts 3:21 (ESV) “ … until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.”
By the same token, salvation is much more than the forgiveness of sins. It is the setting right of all that is broken in the world. At the heart of what is broken is the human; and he must be set right with God. So, it is not wrong to emphasize the forgiveness of sins. It’s just not the whole Story.
Church = the Kingdom community, formed by the Spirit, living now as it will be then.
Acts 2:42 (ESV) “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Church becomes not a collection of saved individuals but a new community. The first priority of the eleven apostles in Acts 1 is to replace Judas. Why? Because 12 was a significant number — it signified the Church as the new Covenant People. The Church is a sign of the Kingdom — a people who live as if Jesus is King now, and whose very love for one another point to the Future that Christ is bringing.
Mission = to announce Christ as King here and now and to anticipate the Kingdom
Acts 8:6-8 (ESV) “And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.”
We are not told to build the Kingdom. We are not called to expand it. Rather, Paul tells us to build for the Kingdom (1 Cor. 15), to do things here in Christ. So, we announce Christ as King — we preach the Gospel — and we live in anticipation of His Kingdom arriving in fullness. This idea of anticipation is how N.T. Wright frames works of justice and restoration done in Jesus’ name. We are beginning to live now as it will be then. In living this way, the Gospel is both seen and heard.
