Disciples of the Kingdom

Disciples reign with Jesus by fulfilling their role as “priests” who render divine service to God and mediate His light to the world .  At Mount Sinai, Yahweh summoned Israel to become a “ kingdom of priests, a holy nation .” If she kept His covenant, the nation would become “ my own possession… FOR all the earth is mine .” God never intended for His people to be a community isolated from the rest of humanity. Instead, Israel was to reflect His light in a world darkened by sin - [ Photo by IV Horton on Unsplash ].

The “one like a Son of Man” from the Book of Daniel is the source for Christ’s self-designation, the “Son of Man”   –   Daniel 7:13-14 .  In the gospel accounts, the “ Son of Man ” is the most frequent self-designation heard on the lips of Jesus, a term derived from Daniel’s vision of the figure “ like a Son of Man ,” the one who approached the “ Ancient of Days ” to receive “ dominion .” At the end of the age, “ all the tribes of the earth ” will mourn when him “ coming in the clouds  of heaven .” - [ Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash ].

The “word” of the Son is superior even to the “word” of Moses, the “servant” in the house of Yahweh, the Great Lawgiver  -  Hebrews 3:1-6 .*  The letter to the  Hebrews  demonstrates the superiority of the Son by comparing his word to the “ word ” of angels and of Moses, his priesthood and sacrifice to the Aaronic priests and the repeated animal sacrifices required by the Levitical regulations, and the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus to the old one rendered obsolete by the ministry and exaltation of the Son - [ Dawn - Photo by  Nick Scheerbart  on Unsplash ].

The Apostle Paul links the bodily Resurrection of the saints with the New Creation. The promised redemption includes both – Romans 8:1-23 . Paul begins the second half of Romans by declaring that, for all those who are “ in Jesus ,” there is “ now no condemnation .” This happy condition is because the “ law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set them free from the law of sin and of death .” And the Apostle goes on to link the salvation of believers with the inheritance of Christ and the  redemption of the created order  - [ Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash ].

The equality of Jew and Gentile before God is a key theme throughout Romans – both stand or fall on the same basis   –   Romans 1:15-16 .  Paul wrote to the churches in Rome for two purposes: First, to prepare the ground for his planned visit to the city. Second, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers. In the first half of the letter, he presents a detailed explanation of his gospel. In the last half, he deals with questions about the status of the Jewish people and the areas of conflict in the congregation - [ Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash ].