I'm currently teaching an adult Sunday School class at Bethel World Outreach Center, an Every Nation member church, in Brentwood, Tennessee. The purpose of the class is to provide a theological overview of the overarching biblical narrative concerning God's purposes in creation and redemption.
Lecture notes and audio for this class can be accessed at "The Bible: God's Story of Redemption." The link to this page is also located on this blog in the right hand column under "Pages."
The class will tentatively run approximately 25 sessions long, beginning October 17, 2010, and ending May 22, 2011.
fidworks.blogspot.com
17 October, 2010
21 September, 2010
The Apostolic Gospel: Second Coming (I)
An analysis of the apostolic gospel as presented in the Book of Acts lends itself to a categorization of core information into five constituents, all of which are centered upon Jesus. These involve Jesus' identity, his first and second comings, his fulfillment of ancient prophecies, and his call for a radical response to himself. Having covered the first two, we now move on to a preliminary consideration of the third constituent.
The apostolic preaching of Jesus' second coming focuses on the future historical consummation of his mission, even as their preaching of his first coming focused on its historical inauguration. Several of the accounts of public witness in Acts reference this consummation by focusing at various times on four of its major components. These include Jesus' eventual physical return to earth from heaven, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the living and the dead, and the full establishment and reign of the kingdom of God upon earth.
However, an exclusive reading of Acts apart from other Scripture does not render a clear, coherent picture of the historical consummation of Jesus' mission. This is because most of the references to the various components are relatively brief and are not combined in a comprehensive manner. Given that Acts is the second part of Luke's historical-apologetic work, the reading of Luke's Gospel is necessary to remove the ambiguity that arises from such an exclusive reading. This of course is not problematic since the intended recipient(s) of Acts is the same as that of his Gospel. Thus, Luke's Gospel serves as an appropriate presuppositional source of information to the reading and interpretation of Acts (cf. "The Apostolic Gospel: Core Content (Excursus)").
Of particular interest is the fact that Luke's Gospel explicitly identifies Jesus as the Messiah numerous times. As has been pointed out earlier, the various beliefs extant among Jews in the first century concerning a Messiah shared a common constellation of eschatological beliefs and hopes, whether that Messiah was understood to be a singular historical figure or a figurative metaphor for the corporate people of God. Resurrection from the dead, God's judgment on the nations, the ultimate vindication of Israel (God's people), the outpouring of God's Spirit and the abiding presence of God, and the full establishment of God's kingdom through the reign of a Davidic king were central to these Messianic beliefs and hopes, being derived from their sacred prophetic texts. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus himself teaches about all of these themes by placing them in direct relationship to himself, identifying himself as the precipitous cause and agent through whom they would take place. It is important to note that many of these themes appear in the apostolic preaching recorded in Acts.
Luke's identification of Jesus as the Messiah is also implicitly underscored by Jesus' own self-identification. It is interesting to observe that Jesus preferred to call himself the "Son of Man" over any other term. This is true not only in Luke's account, but also in the Gospels as a whole. The term, Son of Man, is derived from three Old Testament sources (Ezk 2:1ff.; Psa 80:17; Dan 7:13-14) and connotes two primary meanings, which involve his humanity and his Messianic identity.
The prophet Ezekiel is referred to by Yahweh with the same title approximately ninety-three times, beginning with his divine call to prophetic ministry (2:1), wherein his humanity and his common human bond with the rebellious Israelites is placed in contradistinction to the glory and majesty of God which were revealed to him in a vision (ch. 1). Thus, "Son of Man" connotes Jesus' humanity and his identification with the fallen human race (albeit exclusive of any existential or ontological participation in its sinfulness).
As a side note, this designation of Ezekiel which contrasts his humanity with God's glory is not without a peculiar, subtle comparison. The vision which Ezekiel saw included a divine figure "like that of a man," who "looked like glowing metal," full of fire and surrounded by brilliant light. After describing him, Ezekiel states, "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh" (1:26-28). It is immediately after this vision that Yahweh calls Ezekiel "son of man," drawing an interesting comparison between the divine figure and Ezekiel, and calling to mind the fact that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. This is not without significance, particularly in light of Jesus' incarnation (Lk 1-2) and transfiguration (Lk 9:28-36). Jesus' adoption of the term "Son of Man" includes within it this reference to the divine figure of Ezekiel's vision.
In the prophetic oracles that ensue, Ezekiel goes on to prophesy about many, if not all, of the major eschatological themes that came to be associated with the Jewish Messianic hopes and expectations of the next several centuries. Jesus' identification with Ezekiel as the "Son of Man" thus also includes his association (as evidenced by his own preaching and teaching) with these Messianic themes.
The second Old Testament source for the term "Son of Man," which Jesus adopted for himself, is Psalm 80:17. This text appeals to God for a Davidic ruler to serve as God's agent to bring about deliverance for oppressed Israel: "Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself." Again, the Messianic implications are clear.
Finally, the term is used to identify a mysterious figure seen by Daniel in a vision. "...(T)here before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (7:13-14). This vision follows sequentially upon another that beholds a session of the heavenly court with the Ancient of Days in attendance, at which divine, permanent judgment is rendered against a monstrous human empire which had oppressed the people of God. The ensuing result of the fulfillment of these two visions is that "the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him" (7:27). It's worth noting that Stephen's apologia in Acts 7 identifies Jesus as the "Son of Man" exalted to the "right hand of God" (7:55-56). The implications are, once again, clear.
Taken together, these three Old Testament sources for the term "Son of Man" provide strong eschatological overtones to Jesus' choice for self-identification. Jesus embraced not only his own humanity through his use of the term, but also his Messianic mission to deliver the people of God and establish the everlasting reign of God's kingdom upon the earth. This is clearly evident throughout Luke's Gospel, which provides the interpretive backdrop for the apostolic speeches recorded in Acts.
Having provided a preliminary sketch of Luke's identification of Jesus as the Messiah/Son of Man who will consummate God's plan of redemption, we will next turn to a consideration of the four major components associated with that consummation which appear both in Luke's Gospel and in the apostolic preaching recorded in Acts. Jesus' return to earth, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the nations, and the full establishment and reign of God's kingdom on earth will be reviewed in light of Luke's Gospel, which provides the informational foundation necessary to grasp a clear picture of the apostolic preaching as it touches upon the historical consummation of Jesus' Messianic mission.
Textual References
Messiah - Luke 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41; 9:20; 20:41; 22:67; 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46
Son of Man - Luke 5:24; 6:5, 22; 7:34; 9:22-26, 44, 58; 11:30; 12:8-10, 40; 17:22-30; 18:8, 31; 19:10; 21:27, 36; 22:22, 48, 69; 24:7; (cf., Ezk 2:1ff; Psa 80:17; Dan 7:13-14)
The apostolic preaching of Jesus' second coming focuses on the future historical consummation of his mission, even as their preaching of his first coming focused on its historical inauguration. Several of the accounts of public witness in Acts reference this consummation by focusing at various times on four of its major components. These include Jesus' eventual physical return to earth from heaven, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the living and the dead, and the full establishment and reign of the kingdom of God upon earth.
However, an exclusive reading of Acts apart from other Scripture does not render a clear, coherent picture of the historical consummation of Jesus' mission. This is because most of the references to the various components are relatively brief and are not combined in a comprehensive manner. Given that Acts is the second part of Luke's historical-apologetic work, the reading of Luke's Gospel is necessary to remove the ambiguity that arises from such an exclusive reading. This of course is not problematic since the intended recipient(s) of Acts is the same as that of his Gospel. Thus, Luke's Gospel serves as an appropriate presuppositional source of information to the reading and interpretation of Acts (cf. "The Apostolic Gospel: Core Content (Excursus)").
Of particular interest is the fact that Luke's Gospel explicitly identifies Jesus as the Messiah numerous times. As has been pointed out earlier, the various beliefs extant among Jews in the first century concerning a Messiah shared a common constellation of eschatological beliefs and hopes, whether that Messiah was understood to be a singular historical figure or a figurative metaphor for the corporate people of God. Resurrection from the dead, God's judgment on the nations, the ultimate vindication of Israel (God's people), the outpouring of God's Spirit and the abiding presence of God, and the full establishment of God's kingdom through the reign of a Davidic king were central to these Messianic beliefs and hopes, being derived from their sacred prophetic texts. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus himself teaches about all of these themes by placing them in direct relationship to himself, identifying himself as the precipitous cause and agent through whom they would take place. It is important to note that many of these themes appear in the apostolic preaching recorded in Acts.
Luke's identification of Jesus as the Messiah is also implicitly underscored by Jesus' own self-identification. It is interesting to observe that Jesus preferred to call himself the "Son of Man" over any other term. This is true not only in Luke's account, but also in the Gospels as a whole. The term, Son of Man, is derived from three Old Testament sources (Ezk 2:1ff.; Psa 80:17; Dan 7:13-14) and connotes two primary meanings, which involve his humanity and his Messianic identity.
The prophet Ezekiel is referred to by Yahweh with the same title approximately ninety-three times, beginning with his divine call to prophetic ministry (2:1), wherein his humanity and his common human bond with the rebellious Israelites is placed in contradistinction to the glory and majesty of God which were revealed to him in a vision (ch. 1). Thus, "Son of Man" connotes Jesus' humanity and his identification with the fallen human race (albeit exclusive of any existential or ontological participation in its sinfulness).
As a side note, this designation of Ezekiel which contrasts his humanity with God's glory is not without a peculiar, subtle comparison. The vision which Ezekiel saw included a divine figure "like that of a man," who "looked like glowing metal," full of fire and surrounded by brilliant light. After describing him, Ezekiel states, "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh" (1:26-28). It is immediately after this vision that Yahweh calls Ezekiel "son of man," drawing an interesting comparison between the divine figure and Ezekiel, and calling to mind the fact that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. This is not without significance, particularly in light of Jesus' incarnation (Lk 1-2) and transfiguration (Lk 9:28-36). Jesus' adoption of the term "Son of Man" includes within it this reference to the divine figure of Ezekiel's vision.
In the prophetic oracles that ensue, Ezekiel goes on to prophesy about many, if not all, of the major eschatological themes that came to be associated with the Jewish Messianic hopes and expectations of the next several centuries. Jesus' identification with Ezekiel as the "Son of Man" thus also includes his association (as evidenced by his own preaching and teaching) with these Messianic themes.
The second Old Testament source for the term "Son of Man," which Jesus adopted for himself, is Psalm 80:17. This text appeals to God for a Davidic ruler to serve as God's agent to bring about deliverance for oppressed Israel: "Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself." Again, the Messianic implications are clear.
Finally, the term is used to identify a mysterious figure seen by Daniel in a vision. "...(T)here before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (7:13-14). This vision follows sequentially upon another that beholds a session of the heavenly court with the Ancient of Days in attendance, at which divine, permanent judgment is rendered against a monstrous human empire which had oppressed the people of God. The ensuing result of the fulfillment of these two visions is that "the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him" (7:27). It's worth noting that Stephen's apologia in Acts 7 identifies Jesus as the "Son of Man" exalted to the "right hand of God" (7:55-56). The implications are, once again, clear.
Taken together, these three Old Testament sources for the term "Son of Man" provide strong eschatological overtones to Jesus' choice for self-identification. Jesus embraced not only his own humanity through his use of the term, but also his Messianic mission to deliver the people of God and establish the everlasting reign of God's kingdom upon the earth. This is clearly evident throughout Luke's Gospel, which provides the interpretive backdrop for the apostolic speeches recorded in Acts.
Having provided a preliminary sketch of Luke's identification of Jesus as the Messiah/Son of Man who will consummate God's plan of redemption, we will next turn to a consideration of the four major components associated with that consummation which appear both in Luke's Gospel and in the apostolic preaching recorded in Acts. Jesus' return to earth, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the nations, and the full establishment and reign of God's kingdom on earth will be reviewed in light of Luke's Gospel, which provides the informational foundation necessary to grasp a clear picture of the apostolic preaching as it touches upon the historical consummation of Jesus' Messianic mission.
Textual References
Messiah - Luke 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41; 9:20; 20:41; 22:67; 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46
Son of Man - Luke 5:24; 6:5, 22; 7:34; 9:22-26, 44, 58; 11:30; 12:8-10, 40; 17:22-30; 18:8, 31; 19:10; 21:27, 36; 22:22, 48, 69; 24:7; (cf., Ezk 2:1ff; Psa 80:17; Dan 7:13-14)
05 September, 2010
The Apostolic Gospel: First Coming
I have suggested that the core content of the apostolic gospel as presented in the Book of Acts can be understood as being comprised of five constituents or categories of information regarding or related to Jesus of Nazareth. Having considered Jesus' identity as the first of these (see "The Apostolic Gospel: Jesus' Identity"), we will now turn our attention to another of these constituents, his first coming.
By "first coming," I am referring to the apostolic emphasis placed upon the historical public mission of Jesus, not to the circumstances surrounding his birth or his life prior to his public ministry, which are not mentioned in the texts of public proclamation recorded in Acts. Although the Gospels of Matthew and Luke give attention to the significance of Jesus' miraculous conception, the lack of reference to his conception in the record of apostolic preaching in Acts as well as in the Gospels of Mark and John suggest that it is not necessary as a functional element in the preaching of the apostolic gospel. This is not to say, of course, that his divine conception is not of major theological significance. It is to suggest, however, that it is a supporting element of the overall gospel and not intrinsic to its essential communication for salvific purposes.
An analysis of the twelve relevant texts (2:14-41; 3:12-4:2; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 7:1-60; 10:34-43; 13:16-41; 14:8-18; 17:2-3; 17:16-31; 26:1-29; 28:17-31) reveals that the preaching of Jesus' historical mission involved four major components. These are his public ministry, his suffering and death, his resurrection, and his exaltation. Of these, his suffering, death and resurrection are given the greatest emphasis. A detailed list of references appears below.
The primary references to Jesus' public ministry involve two fundamental points. The first is that Jesus engaged in performing extraordinary acts of divine power for the benefit of those who were suffering or in need, and that he did so because God was with him in the person of the Holy Spirit. The second is that God did this to accredit or attest to his identity, particularly as the Messiah. In other words, the apostles included Jesus' public ministry as part of their gospel presentation for the purpose of underscoring God's goodness and his redemptive purposes as specially manifested in Jesus, who alone is God's unique means by which he has chosen to redeem humanity. The miracles, wonders, and signs which Jesus performed are a divine attestation to his identity and mission, which thus call for an existential response of repentance and faith on the part of all who hear the gospel.
Even greater weight is given in the apostolic preaching to the suffering and death of Jesus. Half of the references recorded in Acts that address this point of the gospel explicitly mention his crucifixion, while the remainder merely refer to his suffering and/or death. The apostles clearly proclaim Jesus as innocent and undeserving of the evil which befell him. Although they make clear that his execution was instigated by humans and constituted a heinous, unjust murder of outrageous proportions, they also attribute this woeful historical event to the superintending providence of Almighty God and describe Jesus' sufferings as "necessary." This is to be understood in relation to the fulfillment of ancient Israelite prophecies concerning the Messiah, and, by intimation, God's own design for procuring redemption for sinful humanity.
The resurrection of Jesus is given equal, if not greater, emphasis to his suffering and death. God is repeatedly identified as the one who explicitly and deliberately raised Jesus from the dead. This extraordinary historical event, which was confirmed by reliable witnesses, served to validate the claim that Jesus is the Messiah, who came to inaugurate the redemption of humanity with a view toward an eventual "restoration of all things." As has been previously mentioned, first century Jewish eschatological views typically included an association of the resurrection of the dead with the appearance of the Messiah-King, whose arrival was to establish some form of the kingdom of God on earth, particularly through Israel for the glory of God and the ultimate benefit of the nations. Consequently, Jesus' resurrection is not merely the vindication of his own innocence, but is also a sign confirming that God has begun and will eventually complete the full establishment of his reign upon this earth through his chosen Messiah, who is established as his vicegerent to rule as king over all humanity.
The resurrection of the dead is often referred to by Paul in Acts as the "hope" of Israel (cf., 23:6; 24:15; 26:6-8, 23; 28:20), since the common belief of many first century Jews held that by this means the faithful believers of past generations would at last be enabled to participate in the fullness of the covenant promises during the enduring reign of the Messiah-King. It is in this light that the resurrection of Jesus should also be understood. As Paul puts it, Jesus was the "first" to rise from the dead, implying that others would eventually follow (26:23). Thus, the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection led to the proclamation of the "good news" of the resurrection in general (4:2; 17:18; 26:6-8, 23), which now could become the hope of not only faithful Jews, but also any and all Gentiles who turn to this Messiah who redeems them, even Jesus. Jesus' resurrection procures our own resurrection, and serves as a sign confirming its eventual occurrence. Consequently, his resurrection has now become the basis of our own hope to also participate in the kingdom of God when it is fully established on this earth upon the return of the Messiah.
A survey of the apostolic preaching in Acts reveals that the implications of the resurrection of Jesus involve both existential and societal redemptive concerns. Examples include the forgiveness of sins, the inevitable judgment of all humanity (the dead as well as the living), and the consequent, implied restructuring of all human societies in light of the full establishment of the kingdom of God. More will be said about this when the fifth constituent or core category of the apostolic gospel is considered.
The final major component involved in the preaching of Jesus' historical mission is his exaltation, to which there are three discernible dimensions. That is, we can speak of his relational, ontological, and functional exaltation. According to the apostolic preaching, God has exalted Jesus to his "right hand" in heaven (2:33; 5:31), a designation which refers to both his relational and functional exaltation. As a human, Jesus now enjoys the unique privilege of immediate intimate access to God the Father in the same unhindered manner as he did from eternity as the Son of God. Of course, he already enjoyed unique access to the Father during the time of his incarnation on earth, having received the Spirit without measure. Nevertheless, his relationship with the Father during that time was necessarily subject to traversing the invisible bridge between heaven and earth, since Jesus' humanity was localized upon this planet. Now, however, he has been exalted in his humanity to the very epicenter, as it were, of the presence of the Father in heaven. The eternal oneness of the Father and the Son, which has always characterized the relationship of God within himself, is now uniquely experienced and enjoyed by Jesus in heaven in his humanity in addition to his divinity.
That Jesus is exalted to God's "right hand," also refers to his functional exaltation, indicating the supreme power, authority, and honor bestowed upon him as a reward for his suffering obedience in conformity to God's will. Indeed, he is exalted "as Prince and Savior" (5:31), which underscores both the compensatory nature of his entitlements and the redemptive function which he is privileged and authorized to fulfill. The immediate redemptive consequences of his exaltation, as cited by the apostolic preaching, are the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the bringing of repentance and forgiveness of sins by Jesus to a desperately needy humanity.
Thirdly, we understand that Jesus has been exalted in an ontological fashion. By this I mean that the glory which is intrinsically his by virtue of his divinity, has now been given to and revealed through his humanity in heaven. Both Stephen and Paul, in their public witness, testify to seeing Jesus in his post-resurrection exalted glory by means of divinely granted visual revelations into heaven. Paul even verbally dialogued with him!
While his exaltation in all three dimensions is implied to be eternal, the place of his exaltation is not. "Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets" (3:21). This exalted Jesus, who performed extraordinary signs and wonders as a testimony to his own identity and God's redemptive purposes, who suffered, died, and rose again according to God's predetermined plan, has promised to return to earth to consummate the establishment of his kingdom, which he inaugurated with his public mission at his first coming. This promised return constitutes the third constituent or core category of the apostolic gospel, to which we will next turn our attention.
Textual References
Public Ministry - 2:22; 3:26; 10:36-39
Suffering & Death - 2:23; 3:13-15, 18; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52; 10:39; 13:27-29; 17:3; 26:23
Resurrection - 2:24, 31, 31; 3:15; 4:2, 10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37; 17:3, 18, 31; 26:6-8, 23
Exaltation - 2:33; 5:31; 7:55-56; 26:13-19
By "first coming," I am referring to the apostolic emphasis placed upon the historical public mission of Jesus, not to the circumstances surrounding his birth or his life prior to his public ministry, which are not mentioned in the texts of public proclamation recorded in Acts. Although the Gospels of Matthew and Luke give attention to the significance of Jesus' miraculous conception, the lack of reference to his conception in the record of apostolic preaching in Acts as well as in the Gospels of Mark and John suggest that it is not necessary as a functional element in the preaching of the apostolic gospel. This is not to say, of course, that his divine conception is not of major theological significance. It is to suggest, however, that it is a supporting element of the overall gospel and not intrinsic to its essential communication for salvific purposes.
An analysis of the twelve relevant texts (2:14-41; 3:12-4:2; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 7:1-60; 10:34-43; 13:16-41; 14:8-18; 17:2-3; 17:16-31; 26:1-29; 28:17-31) reveals that the preaching of Jesus' historical mission involved four major components. These are his public ministry, his suffering and death, his resurrection, and his exaltation. Of these, his suffering, death and resurrection are given the greatest emphasis. A detailed list of references appears below.
The primary references to Jesus' public ministry involve two fundamental points. The first is that Jesus engaged in performing extraordinary acts of divine power for the benefit of those who were suffering or in need, and that he did so because God was with him in the person of the Holy Spirit. The second is that God did this to accredit or attest to his identity, particularly as the Messiah. In other words, the apostles included Jesus' public ministry as part of their gospel presentation for the purpose of underscoring God's goodness and his redemptive purposes as specially manifested in Jesus, who alone is God's unique means by which he has chosen to redeem humanity. The miracles, wonders, and signs which Jesus performed are a divine attestation to his identity and mission, which thus call for an existential response of repentance and faith on the part of all who hear the gospel.
Even greater weight is given in the apostolic preaching to the suffering and death of Jesus. Half of the references recorded in Acts that address this point of the gospel explicitly mention his crucifixion, while the remainder merely refer to his suffering and/or death. The apostles clearly proclaim Jesus as innocent and undeserving of the evil which befell him. Although they make clear that his execution was instigated by humans and constituted a heinous, unjust murder of outrageous proportions, they also attribute this woeful historical event to the superintending providence of Almighty God and describe Jesus' sufferings as "necessary." This is to be understood in relation to the fulfillment of ancient Israelite prophecies concerning the Messiah, and, by intimation, God's own design for procuring redemption for sinful humanity.
The resurrection of Jesus is given equal, if not greater, emphasis to his suffering and death. God is repeatedly identified as the one who explicitly and deliberately raised Jesus from the dead. This extraordinary historical event, which was confirmed by reliable witnesses, served to validate the claim that Jesus is the Messiah, who came to inaugurate the redemption of humanity with a view toward an eventual "restoration of all things." As has been previously mentioned, first century Jewish eschatological views typically included an association of the resurrection of the dead with the appearance of the Messiah-King, whose arrival was to establish some form of the kingdom of God on earth, particularly through Israel for the glory of God and the ultimate benefit of the nations. Consequently, Jesus' resurrection is not merely the vindication of his own innocence, but is also a sign confirming that God has begun and will eventually complete the full establishment of his reign upon this earth through his chosen Messiah, who is established as his vicegerent to rule as king over all humanity.
The resurrection of the dead is often referred to by Paul in Acts as the "hope" of Israel (cf., 23:6; 24:15; 26:6-8, 23; 28:20), since the common belief of many first century Jews held that by this means the faithful believers of past generations would at last be enabled to participate in the fullness of the covenant promises during the enduring reign of the Messiah-King. It is in this light that the resurrection of Jesus should also be understood. As Paul puts it, Jesus was the "first" to rise from the dead, implying that others would eventually follow (26:23). Thus, the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection led to the proclamation of the "good news" of the resurrection in general (4:2; 17:18; 26:6-8, 23), which now could become the hope of not only faithful Jews, but also any and all Gentiles who turn to this Messiah who redeems them, even Jesus. Jesus' resurrection procures our own resurrection, and serves as a sign confirming its eventual occurrence. Consequently, his resurrection has now become the basis of our own hope to also participate in the kingdom of God when it is fully established on this earth upon the return of the Messiah.
A survey of the apostolic preaching in Acts reveals that the implications of the resurrection of Jesus involve both existential and societal redemptive concerns. Examples include the forgiveness of sins, the inevitable judgment of all humanity (the dead as well as the living), and the consequent, implied restructuring of all human societies in light of the full establishment of the kingdom of God. More will be said about this when the fifth constituent or core category of the apostolic gospel is considered.
The final major component involved in the preaching of Jesus' historical mission is his exaltation, to which there are three discernible dimensions. That is, we can speak of his relational, ontological, and functional exaltation. According to the apostolic preaching, God has exalted Jesus to his "right hand" in heaven (2:33; 5:31), a designation which refers to both his relational and functional exaltation. As a human, Jesus now enjoys the unique privilege of immediate intimate access to God the Father in the same unhindered manner as he did from eternity as the Son of God. Of course, he already enjoyed unique access to the Father during the time of his incarnation on earth, having received the Spirit without measure. Nevertheless, his relationship with the Father during that time was necessarily subject to traversing the invisible bridge between heaven and earth, since Jesus' humanity was localized upon this planet. Now, however, he has been exalted in his humanity to the very epicenter, as it were, of the presence of the Father in heaven. The eternal oneness of the Father and the Son, which has always characterized the relationship of God within himself, is now uniquely experienced and enjoyed by Jesus in heaven in his humanity in addition to his divinity.
That Jesus is exalted to God's "right hand," also refers to his functional exaltation, indicating the supreme power, authority, and honor bestowed upon him as a reward for his suffering obedience in conformity to God's will. Indeed, he is exalted "as Prince and Savior" (5:31), which underscores both the compensatory nature of his entitlements and the redemptive function which he is privileged and authorized to fulfill. The immediate redemptive consequences of his exaltation, as cited by the apostolic preaching, are the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the bringing of repentance and forgiveness of sins by Jesus to a desperately needy humanity.
Thirdly, we understand that Jesus has been exalted in an ontological fashion. By this I mean that the glory which is intrinsically his by virtue of his divinity, has now been given to and revealed through his humanity in heaven. Both Stephen and Paul, in their public witness, testify to seeing Jesus in his post-resurrection exalted glory by means of divinely granted visual revelations into heaven. Paul even verbally dialogued with him!
While his exaltation in all three dimensions is implied to be eternal, the place of his exaltation is not. "Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets" (3:21). This exalted Jesus, who performed extraordinary signs and wonders as a testimony to his own identity and God's redemptive purposes, who suffered, died, and rose again according to God's predetermined plan, has promised to return to earth to consummate the establishment of his kingdom, which he inaugurated with his public mission at his first coming. This promised return constitutes the third constituent or core category of the apostolic gospel, to which we will next turn our attention.
Textual References
Public Ministry - 2:22; 3:26; 10:36-39
Suffering & Death - 2:23; 3:13-15, 18; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52; 10:39; 13:27-29; 17:3; 26:23
Resurrection - 2:24, 31, 31; 3:15; 4:2, 10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37; 17:3, 18, 31; 26:6-8, 23
Exaltation - 2:33; 5:31; 7:55-56; 26:13-19
21 August, 2010
Worldview, Postmodernism, and Hermeneutics
Do you find that you need coherence in your worldview? Do you need your understanding of reality to harmoniously fit together as best as possible with as few unexplainable inconsistencies as possible? Research suggests that humans in general seek to make storied sense of the world around us (cf., "The Aposotolic Gospel: Narrative (2)"). Many such stories have been constructed throughout history and across cultures to interpret shared human knowledge and experience. The greatest of them seek to function as metanarratives; that is, as overarching stories that individually claim to be absolute and comprehensive in their explanation of human knowledge and experience. Such stories develop over time and find their expression in various religions and philosophies, some ancient, such as the great faiths of the world, and some relatively recent, such as scientific modernism.
Postmodernism, however, categorically rejects the plausibility of a metanarrative. Since all human knowledge is perspectival, postmodernism argues, there can be no metanarrative that is true for all humans. There can only be personal or group narratives, which nevertheless often function as metanarratives for those who subscribe to them. But such subscription is based on a lack of awareness of the limitations of perspectival knowledge and experience. Consequently, the quest for a coherent metanarrative is an exercise in futility. There can only be a fragmented collection of potentially equally valid stories. There is no overarching true story that makes sense of our collective human knowledge and experience. There is no Truth, there is rather a kaleidoscope of variegated "truths."
The Church, on the other hand, has historically claimed that the Christian Bible unabashedly presents the world with a metanarrative that is divinely revealed. Its primary theme is the costly redemption of creation by its Creator. Its key elements involve God's creation of the world crowned by the fashioning of humans in God's image, human rebellion against God, God's purposeful interaction with a chosen people for the ultimate benefit of all humanity, God's incarnational appearance in and departure from this world following his death and resurrection, God's continued interaction with humanity by his Holy Spirit, and his promise to return incarnationally in order to consummate his redemptive plan for creation, particularly humanity.
The challenge for the Church is to coherently expound the biblical metanarrative to each successive generation and era throughout history and around the world in the light of collective human knowledge extant at any given time. The reason this is a challenge is that the sacred writings which comprise the Bible were historically and culturally conditioned. God condescended to reveal universal, eternal truths relevant to his redemptive purposes through the medium of human knowledge and experience extant at the times such revelation was divinely communicated. In other words, eternal redemptive truths were clothed with the particularities of historical-cultural human knowledge and experience, which of course finds its ultimate expression in the historically-culturally conditioned incarnation of the divine Logos.
For example, the scriptures have innumerable references to an ancient phenomenological understanding of cosmology and cosmogony; that is, an understanding of the origin, development, and general structure of the universe that is primarily based on human sensory observation. When human knowledge in the Modern era supplanted the ancient understanding, this produced a crisis for many in the Church who could not discern the distinction between universal, eternal truths revealed in the biblical record and the historically and culturally conditioned medium through which they were transmitted. Consequently, it took two centuries for the Catholic Church to officially acknowledge the validity of Galileo's pioneering heliocentric astronomical research when in 1835 all such works were finally dropped from the Index of Prohibited Books.
Today, however, most Christians read the biblical text with its ancient cosmological references and don't think twice about their incompatibility with present cosmological knowledge. Rather, we typically read such texts as though they are poetic expressions, and we interpret them in the light of present knowledge. But for the original authors such cosmological descriptions were a reflection of their understanding of the universe. The reason we are able to read such texts without epistemological difficulty is because previous generations already labored to adjust their worldview by integrating modern scientific knowledge with the biblical record. We are the heirs of their mental labor, having been bequeathed their integrated worldview.
On a personal level, the greatest challenge many Christians will ever experience with regard to the coherence of their worldview takes place at the time that the reality of God in the person of Jesus is revealed to them by God's Spirit and they experience spiritual conversion through repentance and faith. The profundity of this revelational experience challenges whatever aspects of their worldview did not allow for the validity of God's reality revealed in Christ. However, this will not be the end of the struggle for many believers to integrate contemporary human knowledge and experience with the biblical record. Collective human knowledge continues to grow, presenting new challenges of integration.
The presupposition of a biblical worldview is that all knowledge is ultimately derivative of God. The revelation of Jesus Christ and of Christian scripture must ultimately be compatible with all growth in true knowledge. By true knowledge, I mean that which progressively conforms to an accurate understanding of that which constitutes the reality of God's creation as known and experienced by humanity. Against postmodernism, Christians believe there is ultimate reality, since God is the sole author of all creation. Our perception and understanding of that reality continues to change as humanity's collective knowledge and experience grows. But such epistemological mutability does not indicate an intrinsic inability to construct a coherent metanarrative that encompasses both the physical and metaphysical worlds. Rather, it is merely an indication of the progress of human knowledge and experience with God and his creation, provided of course we are not departing from either the eternal truths of Christian scripture or from a strict adherence to critical research in every branch of human learning.
Consequently, the Church is in desperate need of educated preachers and teachers whose grasp of hermeneutics (the principles of biblical interpretation) enables them to remain faithful to the historic Christian faith and its divinely revealed metanarrative without retreating into a ghetto of epistemological fundamentalism. The challenge is to discern where contemporary knowledge and experience is mere speculation which stands in opposition to biblically revealed eternal truths, and where it is indeed beyond reasonable doubt and in need of integration with the biblical worldview in spite of its apparent contradiction at times with the medium of the ancient historical-cultural context through which the biblical record came into being. In other words, we continue to embrace the truth that God created the universe, but accept the fact that the sun doesn't revolve around the earth even though the culturally conditioned language of the bible purports that it does.
Two questions we must ask ourselves involve two errors which can be observed to have been historically committed by the Church. First, have we rejected some advancements of human knowledge in certain disciplines out of a rigid inability to distinguish between eternal truths regarding redemption in the biblical record and the historically-culturally conditioned medium through which they were given? Second, have we uncritically accepted purported advancements of human knowledge in certain disciplines out of an ignorance of biblically revealed eternal truths regarding redemption and out of a failure to subject such knowledge claims to critical research and analysis? In either case, the cause for such errors is, among other things, intellectual flabbiness.
As Christians, we should seek to glorify God by seeking to understand his revelation and his creation in an integrated, coherent worldview. The explosion of human knowledge that has occurred over the last several centuries challenges us to harmoniously fit new knowledge together with the ancient biblical witness, which we believe is divinely given but historically and culturally conditioned. While the biblical texts do not substantially change in spite of advancements in biblical textual criticism, our knowledge in many academic disciplines continues to grow, develop, and change, sometimes substantially. Hence, biblical and theological reflection is ever necessary in each successive generation in order to present the biblical metanarrative of redemption in a coherent manner that is compatible with the contemporary collective knowledge of humanity.
If we fail to do this, we will fail in both evangelism and discipleship. We will fail in evangelism because many will not be able to make storied sense of the biblical message in light of their prior commitment to reasonable contemporary knowledge. We will also fail in discipleship because many who do accept the biblical message will not be able to integrate their biblical faith with reasonable contemporary knowledge, and so will live fragmented, compartmentalized lives with no worldview coherence. The end result in both cases will be the intellectual and cultural irrelevancy of the Church. Frankly, many portions of the Church already occupy such a position.
Postmodernism, however, categorically rejects the plausibility of a metanarrative. Since all human knowledge is perspectival, postmodernism argues, there can be no metanarrative that is true for all humans. There can only be personal or group narratives, which nevertheless often function as metanarratives for those who subscribe to them. But such subscription is based on a lack of awareness of the limitations of perspectival knowledge and experience. Consequently, the quest for a coherent metanarrative is an exercise in futility. There can only be a fragmented collection of potentially equally valid stories. There is no overarching true story that makes sense of our collective human knowledge and experience. There is no Truth, there is rather a kaleidoscope of variegated "truths."
The Church, on the other hand, has historically claimed that the Christian Bible unabashedly presents the world with a metanarrative that is divinely revealed. Its primary theme is the costly redemption of creation by its Creator. Its key elements involve God's creation of the world crowned by the fashioning of humans in God's image, human rebellion against God, God's purposeful interaction with a chosen people for the ultimate benefit of all humanity, God's incarnational appearance in and departure from this world following his death and resurrection, God's continued interaction with humanity by his Holy Spirit, and his promise to return incarnationally in order to consummate his redemptive plan for creation, particularly humanity.
The challenge for the Church is to coherently expound the biblical metanarrative to each successive generation and era throughout history and around the world in the light of collective human knowledge extant at any given time. The reason this is a challenge is that the sacred writings which comprise the Bible were historically and culturally conditioned. God condescended to reveal universal, eternal truths relevant to his redemptive purposes through the medium of human knowledge and experience extant at the times such revelation was divinely communicated. In other words, eternal redemptive truths were clothed with the particularities of historical-cultural human knowledge and experience, which of course finds its ultimate expression in the historically-culturally conditioned incarnation of the divine Logos.
For example, the scriptures have innumerable references to an ancient phenomenological understanding of cosmology and cosmogony; that is, an understanding of the origin, development, and general structure of the universe that is primarily based on human sensory observation. When human knowledge in the Modern era supplanted the ancient understanding, this produced a crisis for many in the Church who could not discern the distinction between universal, eternal truths revealed in the biblical record and the historically and culturally conditioned medium through which they were transmitted. Consequently, it took two centuries for the Catholic Church to officially acknowledge the validity of Galileo's pioneering heliocentric astronomical research when in 1835 all such works were finally dropped from the Index of Prohibited Books.
Today, however, most Christians read the biblical text with its ancient cosmological references and don't think twice about their incompatibility with present cosmological knowledge. Rather, we typically read such texts as though they are poetic expressions, and we interpret them in the light of present knowledge. But for the original authors such cosmological descriptions were a reflection of their understanding of the universe. The reason we are able to read such texts without epistemological difficulty is because previous generations already labored to adjust their worldview by integrating modern scientific knowledge with the biblical record. We are the heirs of their mental labor, having been bequeathed their integrated worldview.
On a personal level, the greatest challenge many Christians will ever experience with regard to the coherence of their worldview takes place at the time that the reality of God in the person of Jesus is revealed to them by God's Spirit and they experience spiritual conversion through repentance and faith. The profundity of this revelational experience challenges whatever aspects of their worldview did not allow for the validity of God's reality revealed in Christ. However, this will not be the end of the struggle for many believers to integrate contemporary human knowledge and experience with the biblical record. Collective human knowledge continues to grow, presenting new challenges of integration.
The presupposition of a biblical worldview is that all knowledge is ultimately derivative of God. The revelation of Jesus Christ and of Christian scripture must ultimately be compatible with all growth in true knowledge. By true knowledge, I mean that which progressively conforms to an accurate understanding of that which constitutes the reality of God's creation as known and experienced by humanity. Against postmodernism, Christians believe there is ultimate reality, since God is the sole author of all creation. Our perception and understanding of that reality continues to change as humanity's collective knowledge and experience grows. But such epistemological mutability does not indicate an intrinsic inability to construct a coherent metanarrative that encompasses both the physical and metaphysical worlds. Rather, it is merely an indication of the progress of human knowledge and experience with God and his creation, provided of course we are not departing from either the eternal truths of Christian scripture or from a strict adherence to critical research in every branch of human learning.
Consequently, the Church is in desperate need of educated preachers and teachers whose grasp of hermeneutics (the principles of biblical interpretation) enables them to remain faithful to the historic Christian faith and its divinely revealed metanarrative without retreating into a ghetto of epistemological fundamentalism. The challenge is to discern where contemporary knowledge and experience is mere speculation which stands in opposition to biblically revealed eternal truths, and where it is indeed beyond reasonable doubt and in need of integration with the biblical worldview in spite of its apparent contradiction at times with the medium of the ancient historical-cultural context through which the biblical record came into being. In other words, we continue to embrace the truth that God created the universe, but accept the fact that the sun doesn't revolve around the earth even though the culturally conditioned language of the bible purports that it does.
Two questions we must ask ourselves involve two errors which can be observed to have been historically committed by the Church. First, have we rejected some advancements of human knowledge in certain disciplines out of a rigid inability to distinguish between eternal truths regarding redemption in the biblical record and the historically-culturally conditioned medium through which they were given? Second, have we uncritically accepted purported advancements of human knowledge in certain disciplines out of an ignorance of biblically revealed eternal truths regarding redemption and out of a failure to subject such knowledge claims to critical research and analysis? In either case, the cause for such errors is, among other things, intellectual flabbiness.
As Christians, we should seek to glorify God by seeking to understand his revelation and his creation in an integrated, coherent worldview. The explosion of human knowledge that has occurred over the last several centuries challenges us to harmoniously fit new knowledge together with the ancient biblical witness, which we believe is divinely given but historically and culturally conditioned. While the biblical texts do not substantially change in spite of advancements in biblical textual criticism, our knowledge in many academic disciplines continues to grow, develop, and change, sometimes substantially. Hence, biblical and theological reflection is ever necessary in each successive generation in order to present the biblical metanarrative of redemption in a coherent manner that is compatible with the contemporary collective knowledge of humanity.
If we fail to do this, we will fail in both evangelism and discipleship. We will fail in evangelism because many will not be able to make storied sense of the biblical message in light of their prior commitment to reasonable contemporary knowledge. We will also fail in discipleship because many who do accept the biblical message will not be able to integrate their biblical faith with reasonable contemporary knowledge, and so will live fragmented, compartmentalized lives with no worldview coherence. The end result in both cases will be the intellectual and cultural irrelevancy of the Church. Frankly, many portions of the Church already occupy such a position.
18 August, 2010
The Apostolic Gospel: Jesus' Identity
The core content of the apostolic gospel as presented in the Book of Acts can be categorized into five groups of information regarding or related to Jesus. This is based on an analysis of twelve relevant texts (2:14-41; 3:12-4:2; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 7:1-60; 10:34-43; 13:16-41; 14:8-18; 17:2-3; 17:16-31; 26:1-29; 28:17-31; cf., "The Apostolic Gospel: Core Content (Excursus)"). The first category to be considered will be the identity of Jesus.
Jesus is identified with a variety of titles and ascriptions (see the list below). For the purposes of analysis these can be viewed as touching upon his nature, his authority, his role or function, and his character. In terms of his nature, his humanity is assumed as a foregone conclusion. While his divinity is never explicitly stated, it is clearly and strongly implied by his being called "the Holy and Righteous One," the "Author of Life," and more frequently, simply "Lord." Psalm 2 is quoted and applied to Jesus, identifying him as God's son. Jewish audiences most likely would have understood the implication of these ascriptions; namely, that Jesus was divine in addition to being human. While this would have been problematic for them, Gentiles could have more readily accepted the concept of the divinity of a human. Their stumbling block would have been the exclusivity and preeminence of Jesus' divinity, which is inherent in the apostolic preaching.
Jesus' authority is a dominant theme associated with his identity. He is repeatedly called "Lord," in addition to being identified as the Judge of the living and the dead, and the Prophet who is like unto Moses. Furthermore, he is also identified as the "Son of David," the Messianic-King, which implies the wielding of authority over not only Israel, but all the Gentile nations on behalf of God. He is, in effect, the Father's human vicegerent, who is to be obeyed. All of God's authority is vested in him. Therefore, our fealty belongs preeminently to him above every other source of authority, be it spiritual or human, whether personal, familial, or civil.
The exercise of his authority is of course an aspect of his role or function. Yet the primary emphasis regarding Jesus' role and function revolves around his being the Messiah or Christ, both terms being translations of Χριστός, which literally means "anointed one." In fact, references to Jesus as the Messiah or Christ and as the Savior/Deliverer outnumber references to him as Lord by a margin of two to one. Various views of such a Messiah figure were extant among Jews in the first century, but many of them involved a common constellation of eschatological concepts. These included resurrection from the dead, deliverance from spiritual and natural enemies, the establishment in some form or other of the kingdom of God on earth, and the restoration of God's presence among his people. The apostles never rejected these aspects of messianic hope, but they did understand them to take place in a different manner than that which was typically expected by first century Jews.
The apostolic preaching in Acts clearly presents Jesus as the Messiah who brings about the fulfillment of these hopes. He is the first to rise from the dead, leading the way as the "Prince" or eschatological leader into resurrection life (5:30-31; cf., ἀρχηγὸν in EDNT). His sufferings, death, resurrection, and exaltation have resulted in a deliverance from sin and spiritual enemies now in the present time, and will give rise to a future deliverance from wicked people when he will one day judge the living and the dead. He has restored God's presence (in a significant measure) among his people by pouring out God's Spirit upon all who turn to God through him. In terms of his establishment of God's kingdom on earth, little is explicitly said by the apostles, but much is implied. He is the Lord of all, who has been exalted and is seated at the right hand of God, from whence he shall return to fully establish God's rule on earth. Already this reign is manifested in a measure upon earth as evidenced by the signs, wonders, and miracles which he performs by the Holy Spirit, and by the communities of believers who acknowledge him and demonstrate by their love and deeds the virtues of the kingdom which he himself embodied while on earth.
Lastly, in terms of Jesus' identity, the apostolic preaching in Acts draws attention to his character. Phrases such as "the Holy One," "the Righteous One," and "Holy and Righteous One" underscore his impeccable moral purity (sinlessness) and the perfect uprightness or justice of his soul before God in his interactions with humanity. His designation as "the Holy One" also underscores his set-apartness to God, while his being called "God's servant" underscores his humility and perfect obedience to God. All of this is of course consistent with his nature, and necessary to the fulfillment of his role and the exercise of his authority. He alone is qualified to deliver, restore, and rule God's creation, especially humanity.
In light of the foregoing comments, it is clear that the preaching of Jesus' identity must be a core element of any gospel presentation. Although this goes without saying, it would be worthwhile to evaluate how well we are communicating Jesus' nature, authority, role or function, and character. Of course, any single conversation or address may not allow adequate time to fully develop these aspects of Jesus' identity. Yet, we can also say that until these have been properly addressed, this dimension of the gospel has not been adequately communicated.
Textual References
Messiah / Christ - 2:31, 36, 38; 3:18, 20; 4:10; 10:36; 17:3; 26:23; 28:31
Lord - 2:25, 34, 36; 10:36; 26:15; 28:31
Son of David - 2:30 implied; 13:23, 34
Savior / Deliverer - 5:31; 13:23
Judge (of living & dead) - 10:42; 17:31
Prophet (like Moses) - 3:22
Prince (Leader) - 5:31
Author of Life - 3:15
The Cornerstone - 4:11
Servant of God - 3:13, 26
"Son" of God - 13:33 implied
Holy One - 2:27; 13:35
Righteous One - 7:52
Holy & Righteous One - 3:14
Jesus is identified with a variety of titles and ascriptions (see the list below). For the purposes of analysis these can be viewed as touching upon his nature, his authority, his role or function, and his character. In terms of his nature, his humanity is assumed as a foregone conclusion. While his divinity is never explicitly stated, it is clearly and strongly implied by his being called "the Holy and Righteous One," the "Author of Life," and more frequently, simply "Lord." Psalm 2 is quoted and applied to Jesus, identifying him as God's son. Jewish audiences most likely would have understood the implication of these ascriptions; namely, that Jesus was divine in addition to being human. While this would have been problematic for them, Gentiles could have more readily accepted the concept of the divinity of a human. Their stumbling block would have been the exclusivity and preeminence of Jesus' divinity, which is inherent in the apostolic preaching.
Jesus' authority is a dominant theme associated with his identity. He is repeatedly called "Lord," in addition to being identified as the Judge of the living and the dead, and the Prophet who is like unto Moses. Furthermore, he is also identified as the "Son of David," the Messianic-King, which implies the wielding of authority over not only Israel, but all the Gentile nations on behalf of God. He is, in effect, the Father's human vicegerent, who is to be obeyed. All of God's authority is vested in him. Therefore, our fealty belongs preeminently to him above every other source of authority, be it spiritual or human, whether personal, familial, or civil.
The exercise of his authority is of course an aspect of his role or function. Yet the primary emphasis regarding Jesus' role and function revolves around his being the Messiah or Christ, both terms being translations of Χριστός, which literally means "anointed one." In fact, references to Jesus as the Messiah or Christ and as the Savior/Deliverer outnumber references to him as Lord by a margin of two to one. Various views of such a Messiah figure were extant among Jews in the first century, but many of them involved a common constellation of eschatological concepts. These included resurrection from the dead, deliverance from spiritual and natural enemies, the establishment in some form or other of the kingdom of God on earth, and the restoration of God's presence among his people. The apostles never rejected these aspects of messianic hope, but they did understand them to take place in a different manner than that which was typically expected by first century Jews.
The apostolic preaching in Acts clearly presents Jesus as the Messiah who brings about the fulfillment of these hopes. He is the first to rise from the dead, leading the way as the "Prince" or eschatological leader into resurrection life (5:30-31; cf., ἀρχηγὸν in EDNT). His sufferings, death, resurrection, and exaltation have resulted in a deliverance from sin and spiritual enemies now in the present time, and will give rise to a future deliverance from wicked people when he will one day judge the living and the dead. He has restored God's presence (in a significant measure) among his people by pouring out God's Spirit upon all who turn to God through him. In terms of his establishment of God's kingdom on earth, little is explicitly said by the apostles, but much is implied. He is the Lord of all, who has been exalted and is seated at the right hand of God, from whence he shall return to fully establish God's rule on earth. Already this reign is manifested in a measure upon earth as evidenced by the signs, wonders, and miracles which he performs by the Holy Spirit, and by the communities of believers who acknowledge him and demonstrate by their love and deeds the virtues of the kingdom which he himself embodied while on earth.
Lastly, in terms of Jesus' identity, the apostolic preaching in Acts draws attention to his character. Phrases such as "the Holy One," "the Righteous One," and "Holy and Righteous One" underscore his impeccable moral purity (sinlessness) and the perfect uprightness or justice of his soul before God in his interactions with humanity. His designation as "the Holy One" also underscores his set-apartness to God, while his being called "God's servant" underscores his humility and perfect obedience to God. All of this is of course consistent with his nature, and necessary to the fulfillment of his role and the exercise of his authority. He alone is qualified to deliver, restore, and rule God's creation, especially humanity.
In light of the foregoing comments, it is clear that the preaching of Jesus' identity must be a core element of any gospel presentation. Although this goes without saying, it would be worthwhile to evaluate how well we are communicating Jesus' nature, authority, role or function, and character. Of course, any single conversation or address may not allow adequate time to fully develop these aspects of Jesus' identity. Yet, we can also say that until these have been properly addressed, this dimension of the gospel has not been adequately communicated.
Textual References
Messiah / Christ - 2:31, 36, 38; 3:18, 20; 4:10; 10:36; 17:3; 26:23; 28:31
Lord - 2:25, 34, 36; 10:36; 26:15; 28:31
Son of David - 2:30 implied; 13:23, 34
Savior / Deliverer - 5:31; 13:23
Judge (of living & dead) - 10:42; 17:31
Prophet (like Moses) - 3:22
Prince (Leader) - 5:31
Author of Life - 3:15
The Cornerstone - 4:11
Servant of God - 3:13, 26
"Son" of God - 13:33 implied
Holy One - 2:27; 13:35
Righteous One - 7:52
Holy & Righteous One - 3:14
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