The document discusses the concept of the Trinity and the nature of God as expressed in Christian theology, emphasizing the transformative power of seeing God and the importance of Christ's resurrection. It outlines various scriptural references that support the belief in the triune nature of God, detailing the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while addressing common theological misconceptions. Furthermore, it explores the implications of creation, redemption, and the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ, reinforcing the idea that God embodies love and unity.

1. TRINITY AND THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
The God of love turning the world upside right

2. Seeing God is
the most
transformative
power there is
A BIGGER VISION
OF GOD
AND THE LIFE WE
ARE GIVEN

3. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom
to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority
and power.

4. 1 COR 15:20-28
25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put
everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has
been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God
himself [the One], who put everything under Christ. 28When he has
done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who
put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

5. HOW I DO
THEOLOGY
• The Bible is trustworthy
• The Bible is for me
• God can speak to me from the
Bible as it is
• When we disagree, we need good
hermeneutics
• The Bible was written to be
understood by the original
recipients
• We need to translate both the
words and bridge the cultural gap
• There is a place for scholars

6. THE CRUCIFIED JESUS IS THE KEY
The Son is the radiance of God’s
glory and the exact representation
of his being, sustaining all things by
his powerful word. After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat
down at the right hand of the
Majesty in heaven. (Heb 1:3)

7. WHY WE BELIEVE
THAT GOD IS
TRIUNE
Biblical support for
a great idea

8. GOD IS ONE
• Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deut 6:4)
• yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things
came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
(1 Cor 8:6)
• You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that--and shudder. (James 2:19)

9. JESUS IS GOD
• Jesus acts like God
• He is co-creator (John 1:1-3)
• Forgives sins in His own authority
• Parallellism Rom 11:33-36 and C ol 1:16
• Jesus accepts the accusation of calling himself God
• Jesus is identified with Jahve (Rom 10:8-10 + 13)
• Jesus is worshipped and preyed to as God (Matt 28:9; John 9:38; Acts 17:59f;
Rev 5:13)
• Jesus is explicitly called God

10. ”THEOS” VS. ”HO THEOS”
• ”God” or ”the God”
• ”The God” works as a name for God the Father

11. CAREFUL EXAMINATIONS

12. CALLED GOD IN JOHN
• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. (John 1:1)
• No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God
and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (1:18)
• For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking
the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself
equal with God. (5:18)

13. I AM
• The people said, “You aren’t even
fifty years old. How can you say
you have seen Abraham?” Jesus
answered, “I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was even born, I
Am!” (8:57f)
• When Jesus said, "I am [he]," they
drew back and fell to the ground.
(18:6)

14. CALLED GOD BY PAUL
• Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage; (Phil 2:6)
• Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human
ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!
Amen. (Rom 9:5)

15. AND MORE
• But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter
of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Heb 1:8)
• while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ (Tit 2:13)
• And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God
and eternal life. (1 John 5:20b, compare John14:6)

16. NOT A LATER DEVELOPMENT
The 19th century liberal theology was wrong

17. JESUS IS NOT THE FATHER
• He is loved by the Father (John 17:24)
• He listens to and watches the Father acting (John 5:19)
• The Father acts through the Son (John 14:10)
• He obeyed the Father
• He sits at the right hand side of the Father
• Not a literal expression
• He is glorified by the Father
• Etc.

18. THE SPIRIT IS LIKE JESUS
• Another helper (John 14-16)
• Greek ”allos” – same kind
• Not ”heteros” – different kind
• Parakletos
• Called alongside
• Advocate
• Comforter
• Counselor

19. THE SPIRIT IS PERSONAL
• Can be related to as a person
• The spirit speaks and acts
• Acts 5:3  Lying to the Spirit equals lying to God
• Has emotions
• Isa 63:10
• Eph 4:30
• Makes decisions
• Acts 15
• 1 Cor 12:11

20. TRIADIC FORMULAS
• The oldest: 1 Cor 12:4-6
• 4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are
different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the
same God at work.
• Most well known: Matt 28:19
• Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

21. THRE PERSONS, ONE GOD
Not three Gods –
tritheism
Not three roles –
modalism, sabellianism
• The unity
misinterpreted
Not three parts –
tripartism

22. WHAT IS A PERSON
A SELF AWARE ”I” I – YOU RELATIONSHIP A CENTRE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

23. FROM THE RESURRECTION TO THE CREEDS
• The resurrection  Mind blowing surprise  This changes everything
• Jesus is worshipped (Note this step!)
• Encounter with Greek philosophical thought  How do we explain this?
• True God or God-ish?
• Initial rise of arianism
• Niceae (325)
• Arianism intensifies (Constantine is baptized by an arian priest)
• The Kappadocian fathers  Careful exegesis wins the battle
• What about the Spirit then? Yes, the Spirit too!
• Constantinople (381)

24. GREEK PHILOSOPHY
Did not cause the
doctrine of the
Trinity
But influenced how
it got expressed

25. LATER CREEDS
• Theodosios 382: ”I’ve had it!” (Enforcing the
Nicene-Constantinople creed)
• Jesus is both God and man!  Exactly how…?
• Antiochia emphasised Jesus as man
• Adoptianism – Jesus became God
• Nestorianism – Jesus is essentially two
persons
• Monophysites (one nature), Alexandria 
Copts
• Duophysites (two natures, one substance;
”hypostatic union”)
• Chalcedon 451: The Athanasian Creed

26. CREATION AND
THE TRINITY
The Ultimate Gift
of Love

27. PERICHORESIS
The dance of love
in God

28. WHAT GOD DID BEFORE CREATION
• Jesus had glory with the Father (John 17:5)
• ”because you [the father] loved me before the creation of the world” (John
17:24)
• Jesus was chosen (appointed) [for His mission] (1 Pet 1:20)
• “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 tim
1:9)
• We were chosen in Christ for redemption (Eph 1:3-5)

29. IT STARTS WITH AND IN GOD
• Creation is the overflow of the triune lovefest
• The world is a gift from the Father to the Son
• The Son (and Spirit are co-creators)
• From the Father
• Through the Son (Bereshit = ”in the beginning” and ”through
the first” = the Word)
• By the Spirit

30. COL 1:13-20
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

31. PREEXISTENCE + JESUS IS LOVED
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

32. CREATION
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

33. CREATIO CONTINUA
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

34. CHRIST AS CREATOR
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

35. CHRIST AS RECEIVER
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

36. REDEMPTION
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

37. KINGDOM OF GOD
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

38. ECCLESIOLOGY AND ESCHATOLOGY
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

39. TWO STEP ESCHATOLOGY
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

40. FINAL VICTORY
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

41. ALL OF CREATION
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross.

42. THE SHIP SHALL
BE SAVED
Not only the passengers (Life-boat salvation)

43. BRIEF HISTORY OF ESCHATHOLOGY
• Church fathers: The World shall be restored when Jesus comes
• Middle ages: The world is in a static order given by God
• Plus enlightenment = deism
• Joachim of Fiore: The Age of the Spirit shall come
• Postmillennialism
• 19th century fundamentalism: The world shall be replaced with a
new one
• Literalistic reading of apocalyptic texts

44. SECOND TEMPLE APOCALYPTIC TEXTS
• A well known genre
• “communication -- with socially-agreed upon conventions developed over time”
(Wikipedia)
• Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic
Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. (Wikipedia)
• The origins are biblical
• Isaiah 24-27; 33; 34-35
• Jeremiah 33:14-36
• Hesekiel 38-39
• Joel
• Zechariah 12-14

45. FULLY APOCALYPTIC TEXTS
• Daniel 7-12
• Non-biblical
• Apocalypse of Abraham
• Apocalypse of Adam
• Greek Apocalypse of Baruch
• Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
• Greek Apocalypse of Daniel
• Apocalypse of Elijah
• Greek Apocalypse of Ezra
• Gabriel's Revelation
• Apocalypse of Lamech
• 3 Enoch
• Apocalypse of Moses
• Apocalypse of Sedrach
• Apocalypse of Zephaniah
• Apocalypse of Zerubbabel
• Aramaic Apocalypse
• New testament
• The Olivet discourse
(Mark 13; Matt 24)
• 2 Thess 2
• Revelation
• Non canonical
• First Apocalypse of James
• Second Apocalypse of James
• Apocalypse of Golias
• Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius
• Etc.

46. READING
REVELATION
https://theologycurator.co
m/best-commentaries-
revelation/

47. THE TAKEAWAYS
• Heavy symbolism
• E.g. The bride equals the new
Jerusalem (21:2; 9b  10)
• There is no timeline of events
• There is no ”evacuation”
• It is all about God taking control of the
world
• Not about God destroying the world
• But God restoring the World

48. GENESIS ONE
• God brings order (cosmos) to chaos
• God is subduing chaos
• Functional creation, ”what’s the
purpose?”
• Creation is the temple (dwelling place)
of God
• Humankind (”the adam”) is God’s priest
• The mediator between God and
creation

49. TABERNACLE/TEMPLE AS UNITING THEME
• Genesis 1-2: God creates the world as his tabernacle
• Genesis 3: it gets lost
• Moses: The tabernacle restored as a prophetic type
• David/Salomo: God manifesting his presence in the temple
• Jesus as the tabernacle of God (John 1)
• Indwelt by the fullness of God
• The Spirit without measure
• The community of Christ followers as temple
• Where God dwells through the Spirit
• Also the individual believer (1 Cor 6)
• Revelation: The restored earth is once again the tabernacle of God

50. MANKIND WAS
GIVEN A TASK
In order to
complete the
task, God must
become human

51. A COMPLETE GOSPEL
• Mark 16:15-20
• The core is personal salvation
• The reach is all of creation
• The world that God created
• Is the world that God loves
• Is the world that God saves
• Is the world wher God will dwell

52. THE PRESENT
EVIL AGE
The Kingdom
of Darkness

53. HOW THE BIBLE
TALKS ABOUT
EVIL
• Chaotic nature: The sea, waves, “the deep”,
mountains as obstacles
• Mythological creatures: Rahab, Behemoth and sea
creatures/Leviathan
• Cosmic satanic forces (”authorities”, ”dominions”,
”powers”)
• In part personal, in part systemic
• Sin as an enslaving power
• The flesh = our proclivity to sin (not the body)
• The world (culture, thought systems, values,
power structures, men with power)
• Sickness and death
• Demons
• Satan, the devil

54. PSALM 89:10-11
You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
"Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!“ (Mark 4:41)

55. ISA 51:9F
9Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!
Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old.
Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced that monster through?
10Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed might cross over?

56. CREATION SUBJECTED TO EMPTINESS
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing
with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19For the creation waits in
eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20For the
creation was subjected to frustration [vanity, emptiness,
purposelessness], not by its own choice, but by the will of the one
who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated
from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory
of the children of God. (Rom 8:18-21)

57. THE PRINCE AND PRINCES
OF THIS WORLD
• John 12:31
• John 14:30
• John 16:11
• Daniel 10:20 – The prince of Persia, the prince of Greece

58. CREATION GROANS
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the
pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but
we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of
our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen
is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we
hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

59. THIS EVIL AGE
• This age and the age to come (Matt 12:32; Eph 1:21)
• The age to come (Mark 10:30; Eph 2:7)
• The God of this age (2 Cor 4:4)
• Delivered from this evil age (Gal 1:4)
• ”you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to
walk when you conformed to the ways of this world [age] and of
the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in
the sons of disobedience. (Eph 1:1b-2)

60. UNDERSTANDING
THE KINGDOM
The main motif of
Jesus’ preaching

61. BAD OPTIONS
• A bad teaching is often a good teaching
• Taken out of context
• Overemphasized, neglecting complementary truths
• Individual callings means that a single individual may be
“unbalanced”
• Your gift will determine what needs you see
• Beware of gift-ghettos
• Temporary unbalance may be needed to restore balance in the
long run

62. PIETISM AND
CLASSIC LIBERAL THEOLOGY
• What was good about pietism?
• Dead dogmatism does not equal living faith
• “You must be born again”

63. PIETISM AND
CLASSIC LIBERAL THEOLOGY
• What was good about pietism?
• Dead dogmatism does not equal living faith
• “You must be born again”
• What was bad about pietism?
• Inner change (resulting in caring people) only
• Bodily affliction seen as a means to purify the soul
• Salvation = the soul is saved from the body
• Too tolerant of heresy

64. PIETISM AND
CLASSIC LIBERAL THEOLOGY
• What was good about pietism?
• Dead dogmatism does not equal living faith
• “You must be born again”
• What was bad about pietism?
• Inner change (resulting in caring people) only
• Bodily affliction seen as a means to purify the soul
• Salvation = the soul is saved from the body
• (Too tolerant of heresy)
• 19th century liberal theology inherited all that was bad about pietism, while maintain
none of its strengths

65. MODERN LIBERAL THEOLOGY AND
”CULTURE WAR”-EVANGELICALISM
• What is good about these options?
• The Kingdom of God should have an
impact on society
• What is bad?
• Political and societal instutional change
only
• Secular agendas determine the content
of our preaching and direction of our
activism
• Servanthood gives way to dominance
• Coercion is not the way of the gospel

66. DISPENSATIONALISM
What’s good about
Not much…
Anti supercesationism
• Israel “according to the flesh” still has a role to play
What’s bad about dispensationalism?
Future change only
Evacuation
(Flawed hermeneutics)
(Speculation)

67. ANABAPTIST SEPARATION
• The idea: The role of the Church is to model an alternate society
• What’s good about Anabaptism?
• Taking Jesus on His word, radically
• Not conforming to the world
• Non-violence
• What’s bad about Anabaptism (when it becomes separatistic)
• Legalism
• Cultural, rather than ethical, separation
• No evangelism

68. SIGNS AND WONDERS
WITHOUT CONTEXT
Whats good about signs, wonders, healing
and deliverance?
The Bible is full of it!
Powerful evangelism
They demonstrate the victory of Christ
We are commanded to “do the stuff” (Matt 10:7f)
What can go wrong
Too narrow focus
(Charisma over character)
(The hand of God taking precedence over the face of God)

69. ”WORD OF FAITH”
”WEALTH AND HEALTH”
What’s good about “the full
A step up from salvation of the soul-only
God really is good
Sickness really is an expression of the kingdom of
darkness
What’s bad?
Teaching that complete health and wealth
available now
Narrow focus on the blessings for the individual
(Simplistic message)
(Mechanic faith overly centered on the individual)

70. THE ANTIDOTE
Giving the
biblical teaching
about the
Kingdom of God
its proper place

71. OUR GOD REIGNS
• Exodus 15
• Having defeated the gods of Egypt
• And the powers of the sea
• God is enthroned: ”The Lord [Jahve] reigns for ever and ever” (v. 18)
• Psalm 47
• Psalm 146
• Isa 52:7

72. JAHVE IS A WARRIOR
• The God of Israel defeats the gods of the other people
• Egypt (Rahab)
• The gods of the Canaanites
• The gods of the philistines
• Etc.

73. JAHVE IS A WARRIOR
• The God of Israel defeats the gods of the other people
• Egypt (Rahab)
• The gods of the Canaanites
• The gods of the philistines
• Etc.
• The first lesson only
• Casualties are exaggerated
• Missiological hermeneutic: God showing something about himself in a way that the
people could make sense of
• Jahve seems blood thirsty at times? A reflection of the culture. The true image of God is
in Jesus Christ.

74. JAHVE IS INCOMPARABLE
• The second lesson
• The idols are nothing
• No power can stop the ultimate triumph of God
• God’s sovereignty is not micro management
• Especially on the individual level
• When the people disobeys God hands them over
• The judgment of God is when God with a grieving heart withdraws

75. THE DAY OF THE LORD
Examples
• Isa 13:6, 9
• Joel (passim)
• Amos 5:18-20
• Zeph 1:14f
• A day of judgement
• A day of liberation
• A day of restoration
• Of Israel
• Generic sense – in time
• Absolute sense – end of time

76. ”SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM”
• The Hasmonean dynasty – hope and failure
• ”When shall the throne of king David be restored?”
• Ethnocentric hopes for a triumphant Messiah
• Developments
• Scripture and scribes (rabbis)
• Synagogues
• Sects (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Selotes)
• Spirit world (Satan, demons, angels)
• Apocalyptic literature (no more prophets)

77. THE KINGDOM IS AT HAND
• "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come
near [is at hand, within reach]. Repent and believe the good
news!“ (Mark 1:15)
• Kairos = the appointed time
• Basileia = the rule [of God], not a geographical realm
• Kingdom of heaven (Matthew) = Kingdom of God

78. THE KINGDOM COMES
• Your Kingdom come = Your will be done
• From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom
from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people
have been attacking it.
(Matt 11:12, International Standard Version)

79. THE SIGNS OF THE KINGDOM
Healing Deliverance
Authority over
nature
Note the context
of conflict
Note the deep
symbolism
Raising the dead

80. AN UNEXPECTED MESSIAH
• Three themes in the OT
1. The Davidic king
2. The triumphant son of man
(Dan 7:13-15)
3. The Suffering Servant
(Isa 53)
• Don’t tell!
• The messianic secret

81. AN UNEXPECTED MESSIAH
• Jesus predicts His suffering and
death three times (Mark 8, 9, 10).
• Every single time the disciples
just don’t get it!
• Every time Jesus talks about
the way of the cross
• After the crucifixion the disciples
were completely heartbroken.

82. ENTERING THE KINGDOM
• Mark 10:15 – like children
• John 3:5 – by being born again
• Col 1:13 – being brought into the Kingdom
• Also ”inheriting the Kingdom” (passim)

83. LIFE IN THE KINGDOM
• A servant King  servant subjects
• Rom 12:2
• Do not conform to this age (but the coming age)
• The mind must be renewed
• 2 Cor 5:11-21
• If you are in Christ – new creation!
• You have entered the age to come and everything should be seen in that
light

84. YOU ARE PART OF THE FUTURE
Think accordingly!Think
Live accordingly!Live
Love accordingly!Love

85. THE DAY THE REVOLUTION BEGAN
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
13When 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, 14having
canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us
and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And
having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle
of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col 2:13-15)

86. THE FUTURE IS HERE!
• We are living in the last days
• Terminus technicus for the period
between the resurrection of Christ
and the return of Christ
• A qualitative description
• Jesus has been resurrected
• Victory has been secured
• The Spirit has been poured out
• ”The presence of the future”

87. ”IN CHRIST”
• Life in the Kingdom  In Christ
• Through faith, baptised into Christ  Clothed in Christ (Gal 3:26f)
• Partaking of the relationship with the Father that the Son has
• We are beloved in the Son
• Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:39)
• Caught up in the trinitarian lovefest
• 1 Tim 1:14; Rom 6:11; John 17

88. FREEDOM
• 5For if we have been united with him in a
death like his, we will certainly also be
united with him in a resurrection like his.
6For we know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body ruled
by sin might be done away with, a that we
should no longer be slaves to sin—
7because anyone who has died has been
set free from sin. (Rom 6:5-7)
• Since you died with Christ to the elemental
spiritual forces of this world, why, as
though you still belonged to the world, do
you submit to its rules? (Col 2:20)

89. THE SPIRIT AND THE
KINGDOM
• If it is by the Spirit of God
that I drive out demons,
then the kingdom of God
has come upon you. (Matt
12:28)
• We ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly
for our adoption to sonship,
the redemption of our
bodies (Rom 8:23)

90. THE SPIRIT AND THE KINGDOM
• The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power [of the
Spirit]. (1 Cor 4:20)
• For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because
anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and
receives human approval. (Rom 14:17f)

91. SEAL AND DEPOSIT
13And you also were included in
Christ when you heard the message
of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were
marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a
deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God’s possession—to
the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:13-14)

92. ALREADY
BUT NOT YET
• Tasting the powers of
the coming age (Heb
6:5)
• A measure of the
Spirit
• Rom 12:3, 6
• Eph 4:7, 16
• Compare John 3:34

93. EXCURSUS ON HEB 6
• Impossible to return having fallen away?
• ”Once saved, always saved”?
• Clearly not!
• Key for interpretation: The hardening of the heart
• If you want to return, you are welcome!
• “whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (Joh 6:37)
• “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord” (Rom 10:13)
• But some people will not come to Jesus, will not call upon the
Lord

94. THE ROLE OF PRAYER
• Laying everything under the feet of Christ – through prayer!
• “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate” (John 14:16)
• Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand
of God and is also interceding for us. (Rom 8:34)
• 1 Joh 2:1 – Jesus is our “advocate” (parakletos), speaks on our behalf
• Heb 7:25 – “he always lives to intercede for them”
• 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we
ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Rom 8:26f)

95. REV 21 – BRINGING IT ALL BACK
• Recapitulatio: New heaven – new earth (v. 1) – everything made new (v. 5)
• The forces are evil are completely vanquished – ”the sea was no more” (v. 1)
• The creation restored as the tabernacle (temple) of God (v. 3, 22)
• No more dying and death
• The tree of life (v.2, 14) (= Jesus Christ, see John 14:6; 15:1ff)
• The water of life (v. 6, 17) (= The Spirit, see John4:7-15; 7:37-39)
• Everything good in this world will be there
• The riches of the nations (21:26)
• The good deeds of the saints (14:13)  You can do things of eternal value!
• Kingship and priesthood restored (1:6; 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5)

96. IN SUMMARY What we can see with
a trained eye

97. 1 COR 15:20-28
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom
to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority
and power.

98. 1 COR 15:20-28
25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put
everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has
been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God
himself [the One], who put everything under Christ. 28When he has
done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who
put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

99. KINGDOM
24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God
the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and
power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has
put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything”
has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God
himself [the One], who put everything under Christ. 28When he has
done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who
put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

100. THE FALL
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

101. ”THROUGH” AND ”IN” CHRIST
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead
comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then,
when he comes, those who belong to him.

102. INAUGURATION
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him.

103. BODILY RESURRECTION
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him. --- 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

104. CONSUMMATION
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead
comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then,
when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will
come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he
has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must
reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last
enemy to be destroyed is death.

105. REDEMPTION
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead
comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive.

106. INTER-TRINITARIAN LOVE
20But Christ has indeed been raised [by the Father and Spirit] from
the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. --- 24Then
the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the
Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ---
Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is
clear that this does not include God himself [the One], who put
everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son
himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him,
so that God may be all in all.

107. FINAL RESULT
28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject
to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

108. • Greg Boyd
• God at War
• Satan and the Problem of Evil
• Cross vision
• John Wimber
• Power Evangelism
• Power Healing
• N. T. Wright
• The Day the Revolution Began
• Surprised by Hope
DIG DEEPER

109. THANK YOU!
www.slideshare.net/itpastorn/