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the sending of the seventy signaled that the kingdom would take back the nations.
Salvation is not gained by moral perfection. It is a gift that comes by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). That in turn means salvation cannot be lost by moral imperfection. What is not at all gained by performance cannot be lost by poor performance. Salvation is about believing loyalty—trusting what Jesus did to defeat Satan’s claim and turning from all other gods and the belief systems of which they are a part.
baptism was a loyalty oath and a message to the demonic powers (as well as any people present) of just whose side you were on in the spiritual war. Ancient Christians understood this better than we do today. Early church baptismal rites included a renunciation of Satan and his angels because of this passage.
When our worldview is attuned to God’s plan to rescue people from every nation, making them part of God’s family, we are not of this world. Being of this world is to be absorbed by the world’s concerns and living accordingly. Unbelievers should be able to tell from our speech, behavior, ethics, and attitude toward others that we’re not cynical, selfish, or harsh—that our focus is not on getting ahead or on using people. We should not live to gratify ourselves. We are to be the antithesis of these things. In other words, we are to live as Jesus lived. People wanted to be around him because he
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what we do in our churches should elevate God and Jesus.
It’s because we know God could have done something else but didn’t that his love takes on meaning. When a church talks only about the love of God without pointing out the irony of that love when placed against God’s other character traits, believers will take that love for granted. It might sound cheap, for instance, to people unaware of God’s holiness.
the powers of darkness know whose side we are on by our behavior.
they also see us when we act disloyally to God,
we are being watched—by both sides of the spiritual war.
Gentile, a label that comes from the Latin word for “nations” (gens).
We turn what’s actually a nearly inconceivable idea—that we will one day be as Jesus is—into a performance obligation.
Rather than feel guilty about how much we aren’t like Jesus, and pledge in our hearts to “do better,” we need to let the blessing of what he did, and will do, rewire the way we think about being like him.
We can turn Christlikeness into a task we must perform lest God be angry with us, but that’s bad theology. It turns grace into duty. Or we can be grateful that one day we will be what God is thrilled to make us—what he predestined us to be (Rom. 8:29)—and live in such a way that people enslaved to dark powers will want ...
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The Christian life now is not about the fear that we will fail to keep happy the One who loved us while we were still enslaved to darkness. The Christian life is really about grasping two concepts: our adoption into God’s family—which means Jesus is our brother, and that God loves us like ...
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We are, and will be, God’s new di...
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That is what the Bible is about, from Eden to Eden. That is your destiny. Your life now is not about earning your place in God’s family. That cannot be earned. It’s a gift. Your life now is showing appreciation for your adoption, enjoying it, and getting others to share it with you.
To what end, here and now, are we God’s family council? To participate with God in liberating people from darkness.
The wording of Revelation 2:25–28 is powerful. Not only does Jesus say he is the messianic morning star, but he gives to us the morning star—he shares his messianic rule with us.
So that God can give us the dominion over the earth he originally desired.
We either live with our destination in view, or we don’t. And our awareness of our destiny ought to alter our behavior.
If you knew you’d someday be sharing an apartment or working in the same office as that person you criticize, belittle, and otherwise disdain, you’d invest a little more effort into being a peacemaker, an encourager, and perhaps even a friend to that person. How is it that we treat fellow believers so poorly, then? How is it that we don’t put as much energy into moving the unbeliever toward Jesus as we do into engaging with him or her as an enemy? We either have eternity in view, or we don’t.
it’s time to live as though you know who you are and know the plans God has for you.
Once we realize the gods of the Old Testament are real, then the meaning of God’s command to have no other god before Yahweh, the God of Israel, comes into focus.
at Babel he turned his back on humanity, but in the next moment, he called Abraham to raise up a new family—and to be the conduit through which those disinherited could find their way back to him
Embracing the supernatural reality of the spiritual world of the Bible is essential for understanding the Bible.
The members of God’s family have a mission: to be God’s agents in restoring his good rule on earth and expanding the membership of his family.
God wants us to live intentionally—believing that his unseen hand and the invisible agents loyal to him and us (Heb. 1:14) are engaged in our circumstances so that, together, God’s goal of a global Eden moves unstoppably onward.
Each of us is vital to someone’s path to the kingdom and the defense of that kingdom.
