Kingdom Disciples

Paul connects the bodily resurrection of believers to the New Creation. Both events are vital for our redemption and our salvation . There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone who is “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because “ the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In his  Letter to the Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance we have through Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies when Jesus returns – (Romans 8:1-2).

The promise to bless all nations in Abraham culminates in the innumerable multitude of the Redeemed inhabiting New Jerusalem . The foundation of the doctrine of redemption is the Covenant with Abraham. It includes the promises that “ all the nations of the Earth will be blessed in Abraham ” and innumerable descendants of the Patriarch. “ I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore <…> and in your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed ” – (Genesis 22:17).

In his Letter to the Romans , Paul presents his most detailed explanation of the Gospel. His purpose was to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members of the Assembly and prepare the ground for taking the Gospel to the West. In doing so, he touched on key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation. Believers are justified through his death, and saved by his resurrection life.

Salvation includes the bodily resurrection of the saints and life in the New Creation, which will occur when Jesus arrives . Central to the doctrine of salvation is the promise of  redemption . God will not abandon what He first created, and both the term and the concept mean the  recovery of what was lost . The universe is enslaved by sin and condemned to decay and death. In God’s redemptive plans, the end state of redeemed things and persons is vastly superior to their original state, and this principle is epitomized in the promises of bodily Resurrection and New Creation.

The New Covenant includes the Gift of the Spirit, the first fruits of the New Creation, and the gathering of the nations . The National sins of Israel caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant  energized and characterized  by His Spirit . It would include the salvation of men from every nation and culminate in the resurrection of the dead and the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .” With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the New Covenant began in earnest.

There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In  Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself.

The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, the Heir of the Patriarch and his Seed, including the possession of the Earth  – Romans 8:1-23. The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of the faith, the model for believers to emulate as they live from “ the faith of Jesus .” God counted the Patriarch’s faith as “ righteousness ” while he was uncircumcised and thus justified him apart from “ the works of the Torah .” He is the father of all those who live “ from the faith of Jesus ,” whether Jew or Gentile, and Abraham is “ the heir of the world .”

The Gift of the Spirit is the first fruits of the resurrection and the guarantee of our participation in the coming New Creation  – Romans 8:1-23. The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great model of our faith. God counted the Patriarch’s faith as “ righteousness ” while he was uncircumcised and thus justified him apart from “ the works of the Torah .” He is the father of all those who live “ from the faith of Jesus ,” whether Jew or Gentile, and Abraham is “ the heir of the world .”

In his second epistle, Peter addresses the growing weariness of some believers due to the apparent delay in or even the failure of the “ arrival ” of Jesus to materialize, an open door for false teachers and outside critics to exploit. Instead of the predicted terrestrial and cosmic upheaval, daily life was continuing as it always had. The Apostle’s explanation is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.

Jesus grants his people the Spirit without which there is no enduring life or salvation. His words are Spirit, and they are Life . Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the biblical principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” has no lasting life apart from the Spirit.