The Kingdom of God in the New Testament - Literature review Example

Summary Paper Danielle Carmitchel MidAmerica Nazarene Introduction The Bible is considered as God’s message for life and encouragement. The verses in Bible show us the true way of living and they are the guidelines to show us the way towards salvation. It also provides the truth about the spiritual life that symbolizes the Jesus Christ, and after death becomes eternal, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (Life Bible Verses). Only by following the words of God manifested through the Biblical verses we can learn to endure all challenges in life. Law and Covenant It is the responsibility of the church to preach the word of God which is both law and gospel. There are two kinds of covenants described in the Bible – “one everlasting, the other temporal; one new, the other old; one perfect, the other faulty” (Heppenstall, n.d.). It is said that before the appearance of Jesus Christ, the Israelites accepted the Sinaitic covenant not knowing that they were not prepared to fulfill the conditions of the covenant. It is believed that this old covenant sustained for the subsequent fifteen hundred years till the birth of Christ, after which the new covenant became the constitutional basis of the church (Heppenstall, n.d.). In Biblical perspective, covenant is a kind of contract between God and his disciples that is based more on loyalty and allegiance. To continue to remain within covenant with God, one has to abide by certain rules, maintaining of which can define life and death of the person. According to Christian interpretation, the two covenants indicate two dispensations. The first dispensation is law which remained till Christ was crucified. After that it was dispensation of grace since mankind was no longer ruled by law. It was mankind’s incompetence in carrying out the terms of law that salvation no longer could be achieved by mere adherence of law. Although it is a popular belief that Decalogue was part of the old covenant, “God has given a new law as the basis of the new covenant of grace, designated variously as the law of the Spirit, the law of Christ, or the law of love” (Heppenstall, n.d.). It has always been mankind for whom the Bible has been compiled, and therefore every single message that we can find in it is pertinent to humanity. For instance, God’s law dictates protection of his creation like the nature, animals and birds. If we see this from the perspective of man, then it means prosperity of mankind. One point to be noted here is that it is God’s wish that his creation gets personal care. Although Bible is written for man, these laws have to be obeyed by man and cannot be changed. However, these laws also can improve human life (Jordan, 1984, pp.1-3). Oppression and Deliverance It is not uncommon for Christians to associate spiritual warfare with demonic oppression. From the biblical perspective, it is not Jesus’s desire that human beings be oppressed or tormented by evil spirits. Evil spirits have oppressed humans, but it is not necessary for man to consider it as normal and go on enduring it as one’s fate since Jesus had clearly stated that it is against his will that demons oppress people. The holy scriptures speak on the way God had smeared the Jesus of Nazareth using the Holy Ghost who did good to all and helped get rid of the devils only since God was with him. Here healing means waning of the evil spirits (A Biblical approach to the ministry of deliverance). Deliverance means free from oppression and is more like spiritual victory over the evil spirits like demons. For ministry of deliverance there are four elements. First is ‘inner healing’ which means healing of hidden emotions taking advantage of which evil spirits can possess a man. Second is ‘tearing down strongholds’ means evil spirits tend to instill false beliefs in the minds of man and making him feel guilty when it is not necessary, and then they survive on those strongholds to torment the person. Third is ‘removing legal rights’ means legal ways of demons entering in the lives of people, and this happens when people commit sins or have spiritual ties with other people or inability to forgive others or rejection by parents during childhood. Evil spirits take advantages of such weaknesses in men which can be controlled with true repentance and forgiveness (The Ministry of Deliverance, n.d.). In the real world, many people tolerate oppression from those who are more powerful or rich because of spiritual warfare. The solution lies in believing that no individual is less worthy than anyone else. Instead of focusing on demons, people should concentrate on what Jesus has done for mankind. He has wanted freedom of soul which can be achieved by liberating ourselves from evil temptations. Only by increasing allegiance to God and believing in true repentance we can be delivered from all sins. Justice and Righteousness In many Bible scriptures, justice and righteousness are almost substitutable terms. Justice leads and ends in God’s righteousness. Both of these God’s characteristics will be found in the fresh world that God has assured and is committed of providing to mankind. These are mentioned in passages like in Psalm 89:14, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you”, or in Isaiah 5:16, “The LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness” (Justice and Righteousness, 2011). In the modern society, many people may believe that we are better off without God acting as the ruling power over mankind. But, the truth is that only when God will deliver his promise of creating his own kingdom of righteousness, peace and justice will thrive on this world. In that kingdom, there will no need of protests and revolutions for claiming one’s right of justice. Not only mankind, but every creation of God will receive justice like there will be no fear of global warming or other natural disasters. In the real world, people get oppressed by the upper class of the society and they are denied of their deserved rights. The oppressed are said to be righteous since they are denied justice. However, righteousness is not about just being oppressed since no one is free from evil deeds. Resenting one’s past sins can make him righteous and in fact here lies the essence of confessions to God. Kingdom of God and Hope The core message of Jesus Christ in the Bible has been the Kingdom of God. For instance it has been stated in Matt. 5:20, “his teaching was designed to show men how they might enter the Kingdom of God” (Kingdom of God, n.d.). John, who was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, had mentioned about creation of Kingdom in the near future in destructive terms, “One was coming whom God would enable suddenly to intervene in human affairs, separate the righteous from the wicked, and establish a Kingdom that would stand forever” (Glasser et al., 2003, p.185). Jesus has spoken about the Kingdom with reference to immediate present. According to him, the kingdom is a thing of present and is no longer something to hope for. Therefore, while John’s disciples mourned and fasted in preparation for the coming of Kingdom, Jesus’ disciples exercise their force as part of a community in the Kingdom (Glasser et al., 2003, p.186). Christian Hope is often rooted in the future like something will happen in the future. In such case, hope will always remain as it is. Only through conviction that God can fulfill his promises, can hope be realized (Marshall, 1990). Jesus’ message about the Kingdom tells us that He has already initiated his promises’ fulfillment. Today, the world is filled with sin as people feel strong provocations towards envy, hatred, violence and corruption. The coming of Kingdom of God has become more important now than in any era. People today are busy fighting the evil spirit that is destroying their lives. People are now living with the hope of a better world. This Kingdom will bring peace, love and respect so that human beings and animals can live in cooperation with one another. Grace and Faith The followers of God are divided into two camps – one questions the duty of God towards mankind while the other questions the duty of man towards God. However, according to Ephesians 2:8-9, mankind can be “saved by grace through faith, and not by one or the other” (Wommack, 2009, p.2). Grace is that blessing of God which is “unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor” (Wommack, 2009, p.3). For instance, if a person commits sin but he is saved by God instead of receiving His wrath, then that is grace. However, to remain under God’s grace, it is important to have faith on Him. It is like a positive response for what God has given to mankind. If salvation would come only through grace, then every individual would be saved. Today, mankind is subjected to all kinds of suffering. Only by having true faith in God we can be blessed by God’s grace that will pave the way for our salvation. The need is to think about our past deeds and focus on redemption to get liberated from the pains of the past. References A Biblical approach to the ministry of deliverance, ministeringdeliverance, retrieved on August 8, 2014 from: http://www.ministeringdeliverance.com/ebook1_oppression.php Glasser, A.F. et al. (2003) Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible, Baker Academic Heppenstall, E, (n.d.) The Covenant and the Law, Seventh-day Adventist Church, retrieved on August 9, 2014 from: http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/covenants/cov-redemp.htm Jordan, J.B. (1984) The Law of the Covenant, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics Justice and Righteousness. (2011) vision, retrieved on August 8, 2014 from: http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=47368 Kingdom of God (n.d.). theopedia, retrieved on August 9, 2014 from: http://www.theopedia.com/Kingdom_of_God Life Bible Verses, biblestudytools, retrieved on August 8, 2014 from: http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/kingdom_marshall.pdf Marshall, H. (1990) The Hope of a New Age: The Kingdom of God in the New Testament. Jesus the Saviour. Studies in New Testament Theology, pp.213-28, retrieved on August 8, 2014 from: http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/kingdom_marshall.pdf The Ministry of Deliverance (n.d.) greatbiblestudy, retrieved on August 9, 2014 from: http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/deliverance_ministry.php Wommack, A. (2009) Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith, Oklahama: Harrison House Publishers Read More