Modern March | a Christian blog

For the Love of God – Part 1: God’s Redemptive Love for the Church

Posted: 19 Nov 2011 05:15 PM PST

Part 1: God’s Redemptive Love for the Church

History has an impeccable way of giving mankind a glimpse of what to expect in the future. As mankind experiences the thrill of a job well-done and the misery of a decision gone wrong, we find that history is the greatest teacher. Empirical knowledge allows us to go left instead of right, to vote yes instead of no, and to prepare for the worst. Any gray-haired veteran of life will take every opportunity to tell you, "Don't do what I did."

In the same way, Biblical history teaches us about ourselves, our condition, and our God. If there is a lesson to be learned or a false step to be taken, the pages of Scripture reveal the outcome and afford us the opportunity to attempt at avoiding disaster. Perhaps the most beautiful picture of this, to me, is God's covenantal love for His Church. Above all else, the Bible is a sixty-six book love letter written to us from God revealing who He is in relation to who we are. That is, that He is infinitely holy, glorious, loving, and just. These attributes are played out over and over as He deals with those He calls His own. If we allow the knowledge of the history of God's love to lead our churches forward, we may be able to position ourselves in a way to best affect our city, our country, and our world. After all, understanding God's immutable attributes allows us to respond appropriately in every aspect of our lives.

In order to fully understand this concept, let's take a walk through the pages of Scripture.

Genesis 12:2-3

God appears to Abram, later Abraham, and makes a promise to him:

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, andin you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

The Lord is making a covenant with Abraham and is essentially saying, "Everything that happened in the Garden is going to be fixed through you." The Kingdom of God is coming, through a chosen people, to redeem mankind to the perfect shalom it was created for. Redemption is being set in motion.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

God makes another proclamation of covenantal promise to His people by referring to the original promise He made to Abraham and the patriarchs:

"It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations."

The Lord is a faithful God, who keeps His promises and never lies (Titus 1:2). God chose to free Israel frombondage not because of any merit of their own (sound familiar?), but because He is a God who can do all things but one: lie. Redemption is given through freedom from slavery.

Matthew 16:15-18

Jesus, the in-the-flesh fulfillment of God's promises, makes a vital declaration to His disciples:

"[Jesus] said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, ^'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.'"

First, remember that Jesus chose His disciples, not vice-versa. As His chosen disciples, they are heirs to God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12. The Kingdom of God, a blessing to all nations, would continue to be established by the faith of God's chosen people. Redemption will come through the incarnate God Himself.

Romans 5:8

Paul sums the fulfillment of Jesus' Matthew 16 statement like this:

"God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The covenant between God and Abraham is fulfilled once and for all in the death, burial, and resurrection of the awaited Messiah. Redemption has a name: Jesus Christ.

The Role of the Church

Of course, the Church is the body of God's chosen people, but the local church is a centralized representative of this body. As God's children saved by grace through faith, we reflect and bear the image of Jesus Christ, who reflected God perfectly in every way (Eph. 4:24, Col. 1:15).

As Jesus has given us the keys to His Kingdom, we are the torch-bearers of the fulfilled promise of Genesis 12. We are commanded to reach the nations with the Gospel, teaching everyone about this great salvation (Matt. 28:19). Do not be fooled, the Bible is about God. It is His Kingdom that is unfolding. He just loves us enough to prepare good works for us in the midst of it (Eph. 1:3-14).

The church is the cornerstone of God's work in creation, as history has shown us, and this series will tackle what this reflection of divine love looks like missionally.

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