The Kingdom and the Cross E-Book

James Bryan Smith

• Herausgeber: IVP Formatio
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Apprentice Resources
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Seitenzahl: 69

Beschreibung

We believe a lot of false narratives about the nature of God, things like "God helps those who help themselves"; "God blesses the righteous"; "God might not be out for your good, and you might be missing something." But pastor and professor James Bryan Smith, author of the Apprentice Series, points us to the truth of who God is, revealed by Jesus: A God who loves to help the helpless. A God who doesn't play favorites, whether righteous or unrighteous. A God who is, in his essence, self-sacrificing—even to death—to save a people he loves.In six short chapters, The Kingdom and the Cross zooms in on Christ's work on the cross and what it all means about who God is and how we're to live as his people. A soul training exercise is included for each chapter to help the new true narrative take root in our hearts. And a discussion guide at the end makes this complement to The Apprentice Series perfect for groups to work through together, especially during the season of Lent.Understanding Christ's work on the cross is crucial for any apprentice of Jesus. Here is a resource to help you see—and believe—more fully, that you might live more faithfully in his kingdom.

Leseprobe

The Kingdom and the Cross

James Bryan Smith

www.ivpress.com/books

InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400 Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com E-mail: [email protected]

© 2010 by James Bryan Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Design: Cindy Kiple

Cover images: Jason Deines/iStockphoto

Interior images: Rublev’s famous icon showing the three Angels being hosted by Abraham at Mambré: Alex Bakharev/Wikimedia Commons

Our Lady of Korsun: Testus/Wikimedia Commons

Michelangelo’s Pieta: Stanislav Traykov/Wikimedia Commons

ISBN 978-0-8308-6833-9 (digital)

Formatio books from InterVarsity Press follow the rich tradition of the church in the journey of spiritual formation. These books are not merely about being informed, but about being transformed by Christ and conformed to his image. Formatio stands in InterVarsity Press’s evangelical publishing tradition by integrating God’s Word with spiritual practice and by prompting readers to move from inward change to outward witness. InterVarsity Press uses the chambered nautilus for Formatio, a symbol of spiritual formation because of its continual spiral journey outward as it moves from its center. We believe that each of us is made with a deep desire to be in God’s presence. Formatio books help us to fulfill our deepest desires and to become our true selves in light of God’s grace.

Contents

Contents

Introduction

1: The Economy of the Kingdom

2: A God Who Seeks Our Good

3: The Grace of the Incarnation

4: God Emptied Himself

5: No Greater Love

6: The Deeper Magic

Appendix

Notes

The Apprentice Series

Apprentice

Renovaré

About the Author

Introduction

So, what do you think?” is a question we are often asked. It may be about politics or global warming or handguns or prayer in schools. It may be about something someone has done or a project someone has run by you. People want to know what we think. I think this is good, because what we think is crucial. We live at the mercy of our ideas. What we think about things determines our actions.

While politics and projects are important, there are more important things for which our ideas and images play an even greater role. For example, what we think about God—the nature of God, God’s character—is, I believe, the most important thing about us. How we answer that will determine our spiritual future, as well as how we live day by day. Jesus came to reveal the character of God and to reconcile the world. Two key concepts of the Christian faith are these: the kingdom of God and the cross. Jesus spoke over one hundred times about the kingdom, far more than any other subject. Surprisingly, we hear very little about the kingdom in our churches. The kingdom is a life lived under the care, rule and provision of God, and it is entered by surrender. The cross was the greatest act in all of history, God dying to reconcile the world to himself. The cross is the most recognized symbol in the world.

So, what do you think about the kingdom? What do you think really happened on the cross? This little guide is meant to help expand your understanding of these two key concepts. I do not proclaim to have every answer about these subjects, nor do I assert that I have the best explanation of them. What I offer in this book are some of the ideas and images that have been helpful to me in my journey.

Soul Training

In addition to ideas, each chapter contains a soul training exercise. For those who have read other books in the Apprentice series, this will be very familiar to you. As a way of helping to embed the ideas and images in each chapter, I offer an exercise or activity that will help make the concepts clearer, and hopefully they will become more a part of our way of seeing and living. I must say, however, that the exercises in this guide are very different than the others in the Apprentice series. Here I wanted to focus a little more on using the “right side of the brain,” so to speak.

Many of the exercises involve art, the use of icons and watching films. I believe that art is a great medium of communication, but I realize this is not true for everyone. A friend who is an engineer said of these kinds of exercises, “I get very little out of this stuff. My mind is analytical. I like to read and think about ideas. Looking at pictures and icons is not my cup of tea.” While that is true for some, I believe that we can gain a lot from art, icons and movies, so I offer them as new ways for people to find out what they think about God, the kingdom and the cross.

Some Christians feel that icons, art and film border on idolatry (or maybe even are idolatrous). Catholics and Orthodox Christians are very comfortable with these mediums, but some Protestants have been raised to think that these activities are not only unhelpful but very dangerous. I understand that position, and I am wary of anyone who has reverence for an icon, a statue or a piece of art. Icons and art are at best windows to God. Windows are not for looking at but looking through. For me, icons and art are expressions of the character of God. They are theology in lines and colors. Still, if these things are hard for you to engage in, by all means do not do something that is uncomfortable for you.

Reading in Community

At the end of the book is a group guide designed to help you and others to engage the ideas of the book and to share what you experienced in the exercises. This might be helpful to people or groups looking for resources to use during Lent. It can be used by an individual but is much more helpful when used in the context of a small group.

The concepts and ideas in this guide have been instrumental in helping me understand the nature of God, the kingdom and the cross. I hope in some way it will be helpful to you, and if you are in a group, to those who journey through it with you.

One The Economy of the Kingdom

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well.

Matthew 6:33 NIV

I was riding in a car with Dallas Willard somewhere between Colorado Springs and Denver. At one point I said, “Hey, could I get your advice on something?” He said sure.

I told him the following story: “Three years ago I invited a young man to speak at our chapel service. About the time I expected him to arrive he called me from a nearby town and told me his car had broken down. So I drove out to meet him and helped him get his car to a repair shop. The next day he spoke in chapel, and then I drove him to get his car. He spoke to the mechanic, who told him it was done, and then presented him with a bill. The young man came to me and said, ‘Um, I am really embarrassed, but I don’t have enough money to pay the bill. In fact, I don’t have any money at all. Could you loan me the money, and I will pay you back in a week or so?’