Joel Green on the kingdom of God, part 3

In his rather short third post on the kingdom of God, Joel Green begins by asking what we can learn about God’s royal rule by examining how the expression is used in the Gospels. He summarises the various contexts: the kingdom of God is entered, proclaimed, possessed, has drawn near, etc. Then he makes the important point that, contrary to much contemporary talk, the kingdom of God does not depend on what people do. “Humans do not create, build, construct, extend, or make present the kingdom. The kingdom is God’s” (emphasis removed).

The conceptual priority given to entrance into the kingdom of God suggests that it must be understood as a “container” or “place,” which makes little sense if the kingdom is “all-pervasive and eternal.” So better to think of it as a sphere or field of divine influence or activity.

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Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 3: the clash of symbols
The debate about Christmas and politics goes on. Reflecting on Tommy Robinson’s campaign to “put Christ back into Christmas,” soon-to-be Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, is quoted in an interview. ( | 1 comment)
Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 2: the sojourner paradigm
In part one, we looked at the argument that the Christmas stories, the career of Jesus more generally, and the mission of his followers support the view that the church and the societies in which it bears witness are obligated to welcome and include the refugee and migrant. Here we will consider… ( | 5 comments)
Christ among refugees and migrants at Christmas, part 1: neighbours and enemies
There has been a lot of scrambling for the moral high ground in response to the “far right activist” Tommy Robinson’s campaign to put “Christ back into Christmas.”One UK based network of churches states: “Christ is self-sacrificial love. Christmas is a celebration of the moment that love entered… ( | 2 comments)
Pertinent questions about God, Christ, creation, the future, baptism, and the gospel
Elliot has raised some pertinent questions about the continuing relevance of some basic Christian beliefs, given a narrative-historical understanding of the New Testament. They deserve a more substantial answer than I can provide right now, but here’s an outline of how I think we may manage… ()
Is Daniel’s “one like a son of man” who I think he is?
A. J. Derxsen appears to be a rather conservative, Reformed American blogger, so I’m a bit surprised he bothered to read and comment on my post “Who is Daniel’s son of man?” But he did, and I appreciate it, and here’s an attempt to address the counter-assertions made in his brief critique. It’… ( | 14 comments)
Questions about Jesus’ apocalyptic vision
It’s a while since I’ve posted anything here. Been a bit too busy. So I thought I’d post this response to Elliot’s recent comment—just to keep the site ticking over. ( | 13 comments)
Starting soon: a short course in 21st century missional theology
I did something like this a few years back—now updated (what are we to make of the Quiet Revival, etc.?) and better focused. It will be a six week series of online sessions on what I would basically describe here as a narrative-historical missional theology. In other words, how does the church in… ()