A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

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A B i b l i ca l Vi s i on, Par t I I : Mas ter i ng the New Tes tament Wi tnes s to Chr i s t

defeat of Satan. Yes, the Kingdom of God has come near, it is already present.

This does not mean that we now enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings, or that all that is meant by the Kingdom of God has come to us. . . . [T]he Second Coming of Christ is absolutely essential for the fulfill ment and consummation of God’s redemptive work. Yet God has already accomplished the fist great stage in his work of redemption. Satan is the god of This Age, yet the power of Satan has been broken that men may know the rule of God in their lives. The evil Age goes on, yet the powers of the Age to Come have been made available to men [sic]. To the human eye, the world appears little change; the kingdom of Satan is unshaken. Yet the Kingdom of God has come among men; and those who receive it will be prepared to enter into the Kingdom of Glory when Christ comes to finish the good work he has already begun. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom .

~ George Eldon Ladd. The Gospel of the Kingdom . pp. 50-51.

A. The Kingdom come in Jesus: healings and miracles

1. Jesus’ healings were signs of his Messiahship and the Kingdom’s presence in the world.

2. Jesus opposed the effects of the curse : he was endowed with the authority over all the effects of the curse, including disease, corruption, even death.

a. He opened blinded eyes, John 9.1-7.

b. He fed over 5,000 with a few loaves and fish, Mark 6.30-44.

c. He commanded the raging winds and storms, Matt. 8.23-27.

d. He healed the lame, the paralyzed, and the crippled, Mark 2.1-12.