Recently i have been trying to look at Scripture in the meta-narrative that God places it in. Trying, as it were, to see things in the context of the grander story of God. With this there has been a bit of a paradigm shift from the individual to the plural, from me to us, from a bunch of Christians to the Body of Christ. In doing this things seem to make more sense, our Christian lives seem to correspond to reality a bit more when we look at them in the context of the People of God. The truth of the gospel (it’s corresponding to reality) seems to be more evident when the focus is taken off of me and placed on us. This idea is not one of my own, nor is it a new idea that people are just beginning to grasp, but has been around since the beginning.
If we look at the story of God, we see that he created man, that it was not good for man to be alone so he created woman, and they all lived in communion, in community with each other in the garden. Next we see a deviantion from the path of good, a deviation from the standard set by the nature of God, where man went against His word and chose to live in rebellion. Sin/evil/deviation from His perfect standard, then ran rampant throughout humanity. God decided to punish that grevious rebellion with the flood but he chose Noah and his family to continue his plan. Out of Noah, God brought a people into existance, he chose that people to display his glory on earth, Israel, but they too lived in rebellion. God stayed faithful and continued to work out that plan of his through that people. Ultimately he sent his people into exile, promising that he would send a messiah, a savior, to gather that people once again. Then Jesus came. At this point we often tend to forget that plan. God made parts of his plan known, that he wanted his glory and that he would get it through his people, but in Christ he makes the mystery of his plan known and that is that God’s people are a people from all nations, Jews and gentiles. That is the context we forget but as Steve Timmis has helped me to see, Christ is fulfilling that purpose that God the Father gave him. Jesus is gathering a people, and in the sermon on the mount, we see that at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, he is gathering his body and he is creating, or describing the culture of that community. This created culture of the community of the people of God is very counter cultural to the culture of the day, and even now, stands set apart, holy, as a counter culture in the people of God through His Spirit (or at least it should). Now, as we read the beatitudes and even Ephesians in that context, we can see that people and that culture that Christ came to call into existance.
When God pulled his people out of Egypt, he had them pass through the red sea, into the wilderness, and later into the promised land. He led them through the wilderness, testing them among other things, and he then gave them a book to explain the kind of people he was making them and calling them to be so that they would be a holy, set apart people bringing glory and praise to God. That book was Dueteronomy, the law of the land, their culture. In Matthew, God fulfills these pictures of Christ in various ways, showing Christ as God himself, showing Christ as the true way of salvation. Christ was baptised in the Jordan, led into the wilderness, tested there, and then Jesus began his ministry, calling his disciples to follow him, be missional with him, and as crowds flocked to him, he went to a mountain, similar to Moses, the disciples came to him and he taught them. He laid out for his disciples the culture of his people, of the disciples themselves, just as Dueteronomy did. It is this culture that God’s people living out God’s purposes ought to have and it is only accomplishable in the context of community.
We are to be a people poor in spirit, mournful, and meek. That is so wrong to the way we often think, as we often attribute power, authority, and truth to those bold, strong, and sorrowless. But what would a missional people characterized by these qualities look like? The power of God for salvation, a humble people, who love and always consider eachother over themselves, and who have no hope or value placed here but put it all in Him. That is a glorfying picture of God that we can’t do ourselves, and don’t often do anyways. God’s people are to be a missional people characterized by commitment, and other-centeredness. A people who don’t anger against their brother, but instead will even put aside their worship time and gift offerings to seek out reconciliation with people that they have wronged(5:23-24). How different is that? We often think that if someone has a problem with us, it’s their deal, but Jesus says his people live a different way.
In Ephesians, we see this contrast laid out even more clearly. After Paul lays out our corporate identity (blessed us, chose us, predestined us, lavished upon us, etc.), he then prays that it would be applied to our minds and hearts. After Paul lays out our salvation at the beginning of chapter 2, he continues, explaining that corporate identity again, praying that we would have that. Then in 4:17-32, he lays out the contrast of community. It is the communities of darkness that are darkened, alienated, ignorant, callous, given up to idolotry, etc. It is us as recreated beings in Christ, missional communities of light with a corporate identity, that are members of one another, that don’t steal but instead work with our hands so that we can give away, that don’t speak with corrupting talk because we desire to give grace to those who hear us, a people characterized by complete other-centeredness, a love for God and a love for others. A people where it is never about them individually but always about others. It’s not about me, it’s about you brother, and as we both live that way together we can fulfill that calling by the power of the Spirit that we were given in our missional roots, Israel, to bless and glorify God, as we are now that missional people, the people of God.
It is not until we realize our corporate identity in Christ and our other-centered culture we are reborn into, that we will fulfill the calling God has given us, to make his name known, to glorify him, and love him fully. A great passage of Scripture which displays that over-arching plan with it’s purpose is Ezekiel 36:16-38. In that passage you can see over the timeline that is given how we as new testament believers in Christ fit into that missional people, nation of Israel. God called a people to be his people, that he would be their God, that they would make his name known among the nations, that they would missionally do that. They failed. But as you read that passage, God will vindicate his holiness, he will make his name known, and it is through the gathering of his people once more. We are that missional people and WE ought to live TOGETHER as such.
Again, merely an introduction, open for discussion, comment if you like. But really, each one of you individuals, need to live like the corporate people you are. Your identity is not in you, it is in Christ and his Body, and your salvation rests there also, in Christ and his Body.
