Master the Bible: How to Get and Keep the Big Picture of the Bible's Story

Chapter 5: L i v i ng the Chr i s t L i fe , Ser i es 3

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b. In our unity together, the world comes to know the Father sent Christ, John 17.21-23.

c. We hold forth the Word of life in our life together, worshiping God in the Spirit, glorying in Christ Jesus, Phil. 2.14-16, 3.3-13.

Summary In the person of Jesus Christ, God has won the victory over sin, death, the curse, and the devil. Together, all people from every clan and country who believe, are the people of the resurrection, the community of Christus Victor . Through faith in Jesus we have been united to God into Christ, and are now the children of God, indwelt by the Spirit. Through faith we understand the coming of Jesus into the world as the center of history and the key to salvation. We now live between the First and Second Comings of our Lord. During his first coming he died on the Cross and rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father, and poured his Spirit on his own. Soon, in his Second Coming he will gather his saints to his side, finally destroy evil forever, and transform the universe under God’s majestic glory. We are called to bear witness of God’s saving work in Christ, and proclaim in our worship of God through Christ the meaning of time and all history. Through the discipline of the Church Year, we can as disciples and congregations live the Christ life, reflect on the Christ event, as well as proclaim the saving work of God in the world. “Will the true Christian message please stand up?” If you took a poll of ordinary observers of the Church worldwide today, you probably would find that many people associate Christian belief and practice with the promise of health, wealth, and blessing. More and more, Christian faith is associated with a message of prosperity and blessing, and of claiming God’s promise in such a way as to guarantee goodness and riches in this life now. As perhaps the dominant message claiming to be authentic Christianity, the health-wealth message blares over the airwaves 24/7: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, naming the thing that you desire in Case Studies