The Kingdom of God, Mentor Guide, MG02

/ 3 3 1

T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

The view of the Church as locus is directly related to its role as the agent of the Kingdom. As locus, the Church is the place where the kingdom gifts and blessings are experienced through God’s Spirit and presence; as agent, the Church is the vessel through which God’s kingdom message and power are displayed and announced in the world. On the one hand, the Church is the recipient of the blessings of the Messianic age, and on the other hand, it is the instrument through which the kingdom blessings are made available in the midst of the world, which now, through God’s grace, the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation, is being given. To speak of the Church as the locus alone is to make the Church an isolated community, and makes it appear as if God’s kingdom blessing is given with partiality. To emphasize the agency of the Church over its place is to confuse the work of the Church with the actual bringing in of the Kingdom. The Church is neither the Kingdom, nor does she of her own power usher in its power and glory. Rather, through faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, the Church becomes the means by which God literally invades this present sphere with his kingdom power and love. Your focus here should be to assert that the Church is BOTH the locus and agent of the Kingdom. In other words, the vision of the Church as locus should always be kept in sync and spoken with the Church as the agent of the Kingdom. This is key for the student’s proper understanding of the Church’s role and responsibility in the world. The Church’s responsibility to worship God is its most significant work. In its identity as a royal priesthood, the Church’s duty is to declare the excellencies of him who called her to his own splendor and glory (cf. 1 Pet. 2.9-10). The Church was born again to praise, to ascribe to the triune God the worth for which he alone is worthy. The kingdom initiative, from the beginning, was the work of the triune God as Divine Warrior, covenanting and working within human history to restore to this fallen world his own rule and reign. In the person of Jesus Christ, Yahweh has fought the battle and won for his own right hand the glorious victory, and now, throughout the earth, his kingdom offer of reconciliation is going forth. The Church of Jesus Christ, as his agent and steward of this great tale and story, is

9 Page 79 Summary of Segment 2

10 Page 80 Outline Point I