Core Value: Portray
December 2, 2007
We prayerfully seek to portray the gospel of the kingdom through acts of mercy, the pursuit of justice for the oppressed, and a church community that reflects the multi-varied nature of the kingdom of God.
In our study of the kingdom of God we saw that the kingdom is God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule and blessing. The good news, or gospel of this kingdom is that such a situation is not a far off dream we pine for in sentimental songs, but a reality that has intruded into this godless world in the crucified and risen Christ. Our Lord’s ministry provided glimpses of the perfected kingdom through the proclamation and portrayal of the kingdom (Matt 4:23, 9:35). He sent his disciples throughout the towns and villages of Israel with the same charge: “Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:7-8). They were to proclaim and portray the kingdom of God.
While last week’s article addressed the issue of proclaiming the kingdom, this week we look at portraying the kingdom. Certainly God’s rule can be on display in myriad ways, but our core value focuses on three that seem to be closest to the heart of Jesus’ teaching and the New Testament church.
The first is acts of mercy. Many of Jesus’ healings were spurred on for cries for mercy from those in need (Matt 9:27, 15:22, 17:15), and Jesus’ indictment of the Pharisees centered on their failure to understand God’s words from Hosea 6:6– “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Matt 9:13, 12:7). For Jesus, mercy was not merely the right handling of requests for help, but proactive help of those in need. This was displayed in the story of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus reversed the restrictive question of “Who is my neighbor?” to “Which of these [men in the story] proved to be a neighbor?” The question was rightly answered, “The one who showed him mercy” (Luke 10:29, 36-37).
Likewise, the pursuit of justice for the oppressed was at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, not in the sense of political upheaval, but in setting individuals free from the lies and bondage of the enemy through the display of God’s power and communication of God’s truth. Jesus did this not only by casting out oppressive demons but also by confronting religious leaders who had abused their power and neglected “justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42). Whereas his mercy was displayed by reaching out to society’s outcasts, his justice was displayed by giving a voice to the oppressed and condemning those would take advantage of the vulnerable (Matt 18:6).
Finally, Jesus’ ministry focus made it clear that the Kingdom of God includes those from every socio-economic strata and even all nations. He called the rich and poor alike to follow him, and predicted that “many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). This is borne out in Acts as the gospel spreads among Jews first then to Gentiles, and includes both wealthy landowners and the poor. Reflecting back on this nature of the church, Paul says that it springs from the “very diversified” wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10), and John’s vision of the perfected kingdom consists of martyrs and kings from every ethnic background (Revelation 5:9, 20:4, 21:24).
These are the values that drive us in thinking through what ministry priorities we should take as a church as we seek to portray the gospel of the kingdom, that is, to put on display what it looks like for God’s people to live in God’s place under God’s rule and blessing.
Pastor Chris