Monday Musings: A Crack in the Wall Separating our Present from God's Future

As Christians we live as future oriented people. We have a clear sense of how God is going to act in the future to set things right in his creation by removing sickness, death, sorrow, pain, and sin (Revelation 21). One way this knowledge of the future impacts our present is by filling us with hope, a hope based on the firm promises of God. This hope carries us through the difficulties, problems, and sicknesses that characterize our present existence.

In addition to hope, the future impacts our present existence by invading it. In Christ and because of Christ’s death and resurrection future realities have been unleashed in this present evil age that is characterized by sin and death. In Christ the future has invaded the present! I want to draw attention to a few ways the future has invaded the present in this post and will discuss a few more ways in a future post.

The Kingdom of God: When we look at the symbolic visions of Revelation 21 and 22 we are seeing the full, future realization of the kingdom of God. God’s reign and rule will be physically and tangibly present in the new heavens and earth. God will be with us and will personally wipe every tear from every eye (Rev. 21:4). The nations of the earth will exist in perfect allegiance to God (Rev. 21:24–26) and the leaves of the tree of life will bring healing to the nations (Rev. 22:2). God’s reign and rule will perfectly extend through and be acknowledged by all creation. This future kingdom is spoken of throughout the New Testament (Matt. 6:10; 25:34; Luke 19:11; 21:31; Acts 14:22; 2 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 15:50).

In Christ this future kingdom has invaded the present! Christ told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was in their midst (Luke 17:21); of course it was in their midst because it was embodied in the king himself. Jesus directly links his miracles to the coming of the kingdom: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20; cf. Matt. 12:28). Even as we await the coming of God’s future kingdom we experience it to a partial degree in the present as we submit ourselves to Christ’s reign, pledge and live our lives in allegiance to him, and extend his rule and presence everywhere we go. We belong to the kingdom now and reap the benefits of the kingdom even as we wait with longing and expectation for the full realization of the kingdom in the future. Paul notes that, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). This passage clearly links the present experience of God’s kingdom, reign, and rule with another future reality that has invaded the present, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit: In the Jewish thinking of Jesus’ day the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all humanity was an event associated with God’s future kingdom. This expectation was based upon Joel 2:28–29 (see also Ezek. 36:25–27; 37:14) which stated, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Following Jesus’ resurrection the Holy Spirit was indeed poured out upon Jesus’ followers as recounted in Acts 2. Peter directly interprets the outpouring of the Spirit as a fulfillment of Joel 2:28–19 in Acts 2:16. The fruit of the Spirit is thus the fruit of the life of our future existence in God’s kingdom being supernaturally produced and developed in the midst of this present evil age (Gal. 5:22–23). We are commanded to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and the Spirit is our seal and the guarantee of our future inheritance in God’s future kingdom (Eph. 1:13–14). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit follows Jesus’ resurrection; thus pointing out another feature of the future that has invaded the present: resurrection.

Resurrection: Most first century Jews, excluding the Sadducees, believed in a future resurrection that would be followed by vindication for the righteous and judgment for the wicked. This makes Jesus’ statement to Martha particularly startling. “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:23–26). Jesus was the living embodiment of future resurrection power.

Following Christ’s resurrection Paul makes it clear that those who are in Christ share in his resurrection and the power of his resurrection even in the present! Believers are united to Christ and share in his resurrection and power over sin and death: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. . . . Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. . . . If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 6:5, 13; 8:11). Our present experience of resurrection power is directly linked to the Spirit that indwells us. Finally, in Ephesians 2:6 Paul describes Christians as those who have been raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places right in their present concrete, physical existence on earth. Our boots are solidly on the ground in this present evil age, so to speak, but spiritually we are already experiencing the future reality of resurrection!

New Creation: Paul provides a summary description of how the future has invaded the present in 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” “New creation” is a way to point to the future world described in Revelation 21 and 22. In Christ this future new creation has broken into this present creation and is at work transforming those who are in Christ! As Jesus used the illustration of the kingdom of God being like leaven slowly spreading through an entire loaf, new creation has broken into the present and is transforming individuals one at a time as it spreads throughout creation (Matt. 13:33).

Jesus’ resurrection could be thought of as the opening event, the crack in the great wall separating our present and God’s future in the new heavens and earth. In Jesus’ resurrection the future resurrection burst through the wall and opened the way for all of these other “end time” realities to come pouring out: the kingdom of God, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, resurrection, and new creation itself. Our present experience of these future realities is as real and concrete as it is partial and incomplete and we long for the day when Christ will return and completely remove, not just crack, the wall separating our present and God’s future.

Book Announcement: The Final Days of Jesus

I am excited to announce the publication of the first book for which I have made a substantial contribution. I am not listed as an official author but my name appears on the cover with the ambiguous phrase “with Alexander E. Stewart.” This means that although I am not part of the official book contract I made a substantial contribution to the book while working as a research assistant with Dr. Kostenberger.

The book examines Jesus’ final week by carefully comparing each of the four Gospels to each other. We provide the ESV text along with commentary discussing the similarities and differences between the accounts. The goal with this book was to present an academically grounded discussion of this powerful week in history in an engaging manner that could be easily read and understood without advanced academic training. Some scholars only write books for other scholars but this book is for God’s global church. We pray that it will strengthen the faith of God’s people and turn the hearts of its readers to reconsider and reevaluate their commitment to our resurrected savior.

Jenny and I are currently working on an accompanying study guide that will be freely available for download from Crossway. The study guide will help equip Sunday School classes, small groups, and families to reflect on the events that unfolded during this crucial week of Jesus’ life.

The book is currently available for pre-order and will be on shelves January 31, 2014 but I wanted to mention it now because, of course, it is my first book :-). I will post again when it officially hits the shelves and will keep you updated about future writing projects.

Monday Musings: How God's Future Impacts our Present

How does our knowledge of the future affect or impact our lives in the present? One key way is hope. Our certain knowledge of the future fills us with hope in the midst of incredible difficult circumstances in the present: death, disease, natural disasters, and the pain inflicted by the sinful actions of others. This is the way the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 lived as people of the distance who “all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb 11:13).

Revelation 21-22 provides us a visionary picture of the future. The symbolic details of the vision leave much to the imagination concerning what moment-by-moment life will be like but the general outline is quite clear. Here are some of the major contours of this vision.

New Creation: New Heaven and Earth (Rev 21:1; cf. Isa 65:17; 66:22) In fulfillment of the promises made through the prophet Isaiah John receives a vision of the New Creation: God recreation or creation of a new heaven and earth. The judgment visions in Revelation reveal a de-creation of the present order in anticipation of a new creation; the implicit logic being that the one who originally created has the power to de-create and re-create. The absence of the sea in God’s new creation should not discourage avid boaters since the sea is here symbolically representing chaos and disorder. This was a very common symbol in the ancient world.

Existence in God’s new creation is concrete and tangible; we will not exist as disembodied spirits floating around somewhere in space but rather in resurrected bodies in a new, concrete, tangible world.

God’s Direct Presence (Rev 21:3, 7; 22:3; cf. Jer 31:33; Ezek 43:7; 48:35; Hos 2:19-20; Zeph 3:15-17) This is perhaps the most powerful element of John’s vision of the future and comes as the fulfillment of many Old Testament promises and prophecies. Throughout Revelation there is a strong spatial dualism between earth and heaven. Earth is the dwelling place and abode of man while heaven is God’s dwelling place. God’s decrees and judgments from heaven affect the earth and the prayers of the saints on earth ascend to heaven but they are nevertheless two distinct areas. The descent of the New Jerusalem has been understood in various ways but Rev 21:3 clearly interprets it as representing God’s residence with humanity on earth. With the descent of New Jerusalem the barrier between earth and heaven is breached or removed and God directly lives among his people.

No Death (Rev 21:4; cf. Isa 25:8; 26:19); No Mourning or Crying (Rev 21:4; cf. Isa 25:8; 65:19; Jer 31:13); No Disease (Rev 21:4; 22:2; Isa 65:20; Ezek 47:12; Mal 4:2) The direct presence of God with humanity leads directly to these other realities: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes . . . .”

John’s vision of the future sharply contrasts with our present. We weep, and mourn, and hurt, and cry over senseless evil, cancer, heart attacks, violence, and death. We long for Christ to return to set everything right once and for all in his creation. We do not, however, wait in despair. We wait in confident hope and expectation that God will one day make good on his promises to his people!

September 2013 Stewart Family Chronicles

September Newsletter 2013

Introducing the new Seminary Chaplain at Tyndale (drum-roll) . . .

The Fall semester officially began today! In addition to my New Testament and Greek classes I have inherited the position of seminary chaplain. The chaplain is responsible for planning and scheduling the two weekly chapel services throughout the year and for leading a half-hour faculty and staff devotion/prayer meeting each Monday. The chapel scheduling will require a good deal of networking with pastors and Christian leaders in the Netherlands.

In my first time leading the faculty/staff meeting today I shared some of the following thoughts: John concludes his vision of the eschatological New Jerusalem by summing up the future of God’s people: “and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:5c; ESV). This language of “reigning” is significant in light of God’s original creation purpose for humanity to reign and rule in his creation for his glory as his image bearers and representatives  (Gen 1:26-28). As a race we were/are rendered unable to fulfill this purpose by our rebellion, disobedience, and sin, but Rev 22:5 provides a glorious glimpse of our future—we will one day, as a redeemed race, fulfill God’s original creational purpose. We will reign with him as his image and representatives over a renewed and restored creation. Heaven/New Creation will certainly not be boring! Even better, “new creation” begins right now in the midst of this old creation for those who are in Christ (2 Cor 5 17). We engage in this activity of extending God’s reign and rule throughout his creation as we engage and participate in his mission to the world. I.e.: missions is a way for us to fulfill God’s original purpose for humanity while anticipating the future day when we will fulfill this purpose fully and completely in God’s new creation! 

Summer Summary :-)

Wow, this summer has flown by! I spent each weekday at the school teaching the eight week summer Greek class. Every new student starts their studies at Tyndale with summer Greek in order that all of their classes in the New Testament from that point forward can build upon this foundation. All of our evenings and weekends were spent getting things in order and adjusting to our new life and home here in the Netherlands. I want to briefly mention some of our summer highlights in terms of accomplishments and answered prayers.

--We received official government approval to homeschool for the 2013-2014 academic year! We need to re-apply each year but the approval we received this year with no hassles could almost be called a miracle. Many homeschooling families require professional legal aid to get through the red-tape and it is generally expected that there will be an initial refusal. We know that many of you have specifically been praying for us in this regard; thank you!

--We received five year residency cards and BSN (citizen service) numbers within our first month! The five-year residency card was an unexpected blessing since many missionaries and expats only receive one year residency cards and need to reapply each year (for a family of 6 like us that would be a 2,000 euro reapplication fee each year). Nobody we have spoken with knows why, but for whatever unknown reason we all received 5 year residency cards!

--Many of the other missionaries here were anticipating our arrival and set apart various second-hand items over this past year so that we were able to furnish our entire house (beds, mattresses, couches, dishes, tables, chairs, desks, book shelves, etc.) with very little out-of-pocket expenses.

--We have a great group of incoming students; they are hungry to learn, passionate in prayer, and excited about serving God with their lives! We will continue to highlight students in our newsletters and here on the blog as the semester progresses.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support that has made all this possible. We will be starting the Fall semester in one week and look forward to see what God has in plan. 

I live in Holland?

  I was in the living room alone (Legos and nap time are a beautiful thing!) when I decided to practice saying "it".  My voice echoed off our bare walls.  I think I surprised myself when I said it because it sounded strange to say such a thing, it didn't and doesn't feel real, but feelings of reality or not it is quite true!  I said it out-loud just to hear how it sounded.  "Hi, I'm Jenny and I live in Holland."

To God be the glory that we can say it!  We are praising Him for His provision in getting us here and for providing the "things" we need: beds, appliances, Legos.  We are praising Him for giving us the joy and hope in each new day with all of the new things we face.  We are praising Him as He gives us comfort in all the things, places, people (and can I just add in food!?!) that we miss.

So, I'm told a picture is worth a thousand words.  This is a random summary of our past almost 2 months of "Hi, we are the Stewarts and we live in Holland!?!"

A Welcome party on our first day hosted by fellow missionaries at Tyndale.  The boys enjoyed meeting up with some of the friends they made last year!

We stayed in the dorms at Tyndale for the first about two weeks while all the paperwork and construction work was finished on our rental home.  The boys were looking at a card Meme sent Benjamin for his birthday!

During our first week Benjamin turned SIX years old!  All the students joined us for an ice cream celebration and a sweet new friend, Katy, surprised us with fun decorations!

Ready to blow out the candle! 

Our new home pre-floor, lights, and paint!  We had so much help from the students with getting all of those things completed!  We feel so very blessed and are truly thankful for their time and hard work.  Many of them arrived when we did and were travel weary and adjusting to a new culture along with us! 

Paint!

Paul helping with the flooring...

The backyard...before.

Clean up round one...we now have planted some strawberries, raspberry bushes and Alex's long awaited Kiwi vine!  Elijah has planted a pumpkin patch and Mommy put in lettuce and broccoli.

Front yard...also round one we have some flowers now!

Picnic at the house before we moved in.

One of our first nights in our new home...this is 10:30 at night and yes, that's the sun you see not a reflection of the flash on the window!  Not easy to convince little people to go to bed with the sun still up!

Road construction!

More Road construction...

Walking....

Continuing the Stewart tradition of reinforcing the chairs, you will have to ask Alex and his brother Joel about those stories!  We are so thankful for all of the furniture that was donated for our home!

Thankful for the Kauffman Family!  They are here to study at Tyndale and are also homeschooling!  Our kids have really enjoyed playing together.  They have built a fort, made bows and arrows, gone on some fun field trips and discovered some really great parks together!

Independence Day Celebration with fellow Americans in Holland! 

Roasting marshmallows on the 4th of July!

Getting Mommy's bike ready to go.  Micah will ride in the front, Paul in the back and the groceries go on the rack over the front wheel!  Mommy muscle is being taken to a whole new level!

Dr. Alex in his office!  God is so good to guide us to places, people and life experiences we never expected to bring us to this time and place!  We are thankful for your love, prayers and encouragement as we follow HIS leading in being part of the ministry at Tyndale!  To God be the glory!