Dr.L.M.Murry
Chairman, Okotsoe Mission Society
The Nagaland Baptist Church Council had celebrated Platinum Jubilee with all the fanfare and publicity. Some reaction had come out in local papers by different individuals of their observations. My friends had requested me to write about my impression of the Celebration. At first, I hesitated to write because, I can see that there are a lot of controversies. After vacillating for sometime, I thought, I must also air my point of view. However, I have decided to write in general, without particularising on the Platinum Jubilee. The Bible records only one Jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year.Lev.25:10. In the NT, we do not come across any mention of or celebration of Jubilee. We have no information about the observation of Jubilee by the nascent church. Jubilee celebration was introduced by Pope Bonafice at the beginning of the 14th Century. Pope Clement VI repeated it in 1350 AD. Pope Urban II reduced the interval between Jubilees to 33 years. Finally, Pope Paul II reduced the interval to 25 years. Thus, Silver, Golden, Platinum and Centennial Jubilee came into being. What we called Centennial Jubilee is in fact, Second Jubilee, Biblically speaking.
As I have said earlier, I will not write about Jubilee, but about God’s Cosmic plan and the role of the Church in this plan. I want the readers to reflect and interpret it for themselves.
The Kingdom of God
We have today, different groups of Christian, with diverse interpretations of some specific texts. The result is fundamentally divergent view of the Kingdom of God. Medieval Roman Catholic Church, understood it as institutional visible Church. Modern, Social- activists interpret it as socio-political reality that we human beings are capable of creating through politics. Even within the Protestand faith, there are those social activists, Charismatics, Pentecostalists and other advocates of World Evangelisation, refer to the Kingdom of God. Each one of them quotes the same Bible verses to support their different and mostly, one sided concern. Social activists quote Lk.4:18, 19 to demonstrate the necessity of meeting the physical and social needs. The Charismatics quote the same verse to emphasise their belief on the filling of the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to perform miraculous signs and wonders, like predictions of the future events, healings, and speaking in tongues. There are others, who also quote the same verse, to preach the gospel to those who have never heard the gospel. But, strange as it may sound, each group has their own agendas, with total neglect or rejection of the concerns of other group. How little is our knowledge, compared to the infiniteness of God’s. “My thoughts are not your thoughts .......” Isa.55:8. This has been the tragedy of human history. We see only, what we want to see, or know only, what we want to know. The sinful nature enslaves us always in the narrow confines of our own wishes. Even among the Evangelicals, they understand the Kingdom of God as an inner Spiritual reality of an individual believer. But there are other Christian groups understand it, as entirely of a future. We must therefore, carefully examine the meaning of what the Bible teaches about the Kingdom of God.
A kingdom is a realm over which a king exercises his authority. In our modern times, a monarch has become merely a figure head. His role is simply to keep the tradition for ceremonial purposes. All powers are vested on the Constitution. Some of us may think God as figure head only. The definition as we see in Webster Dictionary is the rank, quality, State, or attribute of a king, royal authority, dominion, monarchy, and kingship. The Hebrew word “malkuth” and the Greek “Basilia” means rank, authority and sovereignty, exercised by a king. Therefore a kingdom means the authority to rule. We can understand clearly if we read the parable of Jesus “A nobleman went to a far country to receive kingly power” Lk.19:11. In fact this literally happened, with Herod. He was already in Galilee but he was no king. He went, all the way to Rome, to receive the power to rule from the Roman Senate. Then only he became a king. The Kingdom of God means His reign, His rule, and His Sovereignty. Therefore God’s reign extends far beyond what a finite man can imagine. God’s Kingdom speaks of His Universal rule and Sovereignty. Ps.145:11-13. When we pray, the Lord ’s Prayer, as everyone of us can fluently recite by memory, “Thy Kingdom come....” we are not praying that for heaven to come down to earth. This is a petition for God to reign and to manifest His Kingly Sovereignty and power to fight the enemies of un-righteouness and of His Devine rule. So that God alone may be the King over all the powers of the World.
In Markan account, he tells us that Jesus began to preach the gospel of the kingdom. It was not something one can earn by good deeds or socio-political engineering. Anyone can receive the kingdom of God as a gift through repentance and God’s forgiveness.
The first Evangelistic Team
Jesus organised a new community of forgiven sinners. They included, prostitutes, social out casts, like lepers, the most hated tax collectors and challenged the entire social system of the day. He surprised the rich by asking them to share. He told the young rich ruler, to sell his wealth and give it to the poor. When he turned away from Him, He said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom”. Jesus made radical challenge to the negligence of the wealthy establishment. Those rich and powerful people who never care for the poor, marginalised society that made a mockery of the kingdom of God.
The attitude of Jesus, towards women was another challenge to the existing social system of the day. Women were excluded from the Temple. No sensible man would ever be seen with woman in the street, not even to speak to. Jn.4:27. But Jesus gathered the first and amazing evangelistic Team. “Jesus travelled about from town to village to another proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him and also some women who had been healed of evil spirit and sickness; Mary who was called Magdalene from whom seven demons had gone out and Joana the wife of Chuza, Herod’s Steward and Susana and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means” Lk8:1-3. For the first time, men and women together in the public, announcing the kingdom. Imagine, the wife of Herod’s Finance Minister. In our modern days understanding, people would have taken it as a scandal. Verse 3 is more astonishing. The women in the Team were not cooks helping them in the kitchen, but they were literally the bread- earners of the Team. This gospel Team consisted of men and women, clergy and laity, fisherman and most hated tax collectors, forgiven sinners, like prostitutes, the affluent and the poor. This evangelistic Team was so radical that it sent out shock waves to the religious community. Jesus new community will have to remain as such.
The mystery of the kingdom
The Bible meaning of mystery is not something mysterious. Rather, it is something kept secret through times but is now revealed. Eph.1:9. It is a divine purpose designed from eternity but hidden from men. However, in the course of God’s redemptive mission, He reveals the purpose and makes it known to us through the Bible. Rom.1:25.
John the Baptist came preaching “the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news” Mk.1:14. From the prison, he sent some of his messengers to ask Jesus, if he was really the coming one or they were to look for another. Matt.11:2. It is, not that John doubted the credentials of Jesus. The problem with John was that Jesus was not acting like the Messiah, as the Jews understood at that time. There was no baptism of the Holy Spirit. There was no judgement of the wicket. The sinful institution remained unpunished. We, like John, ask the same question ourselves. The reply given by Jesus is interesting. “Blessed is he, who takes no offence at me”. Matt.11:6. Jesus simply told the messengers, to go and tell John, what they saw. The manifestation of Messiahnic age has begun. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Instead of attacking human institution, He is attacking the sovereignty of Satan. He is not destroying the socio-political system of men. He is making changes in the spiritual order and the lives of men. The new revelation is that, the Kingdom of God is already at work among men. It is not destroying human institution or political system but it is abolishing sin from the World. The Kingdom has already come quietly, without the crowd noticing it. The Kingdom of God is an offer, which men can accept or reject. The Kingdom is in our midst with persuation rather than with power. Before the day of harvest, before the end of the Age, God has entered into human history in the person of Jesus to work among men to give the blessings of the Kingdom.
The Jews understood the coming of the kingdom as one time event. They called it “The day of the Lord”. The Pharisees taught that the Messiah would come, if everybody observe the Law. Jesus reputated them. He told them, compassion is more important than observing the law. He healed the sick on the Sabath. He told them Sabath was made for men. The Zealots and the revolutionaries thought, it was right to wage war against the Roman Imperialist. The ruins of their last fortress in Masada, on the West bank of the Dead Sea stands to this day, and reminds us of their faith in counter revolution against foreign domination. But Jesus refused to follow them. He demonstrated to them that the Kingdom of God is a free gift of God.
The role of the Church in the Kingdom
The Church is not the Kingdom. She is the agent of the Kingdom. In the first three chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he has clearly spelled out God’s Cosmic plan. He compared it to a household management. In Ephesians 1:10, he speaks of “oekonomia” which means household management. In the household of God, He is the Master. He has an orderly and pre-meditated Divine plan or design for salvation. Paul was very clear about the Cosmic plan of God. He said in Ephesians 1:9-11 “to unite all things to Himself, things in heaven and things on earth”. In his striking statement in Eph.1:20-23, about the power of God, He said “which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him up from dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this Age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection over all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”. He could foresee, how God will glorify Himself by uniting all things in Christ. He was clear in his mind about God’s plan for the restoration of His creation. In Markan account, the Commission is “go into all the World and preach the gospel to all creation” (not all creature). God is reconcilling the Universe to Himself in Christ and has entrusted to the Church, both the message (logos) and the ministry (diakonia) of reconciliation. The God, Who perfectly created the Universe and sustains it in its fallen condition, will all be restored through the work of Jesus Christ. Heb.1:3.
Paul had emphasised the role of the Church in this Cosmic redemption. God’s Cosmic plan is that through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God, should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm. Eph.3:10. God’s plan is to sum up all things in Christ, the Church being the Body of Christ.
What then, is the Church? The Church is a community of God’s people and not human institution. God is acting in history to call out and prepare a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. 1 Pet.2:9. The Greek word for people is “Laos” from which comes the English word “Laity”. Therefore the whole Church is a laity. It is never meant to be a division of clergy and laity as we commonly understand. Clergy means simply an authentication of a particular ministry in the whole ministry of the Church. The Church people are all laity. The Church is a community and fellowship (koinonia) of God’s people. All institutional structure like Association, Unions, Conventions are the servants of the Church. They are supportive institution created by men to serve the Church in its life and mission. We must not therefore confuse the Church with human organisation. Organisations and those who hold responsibilities within the organisation are only servants of the mission. The Church does not exist for them They are part of the good news. They are its servants. The main concern should be to have a structure that will make more efficient for the Church to work together in the common mission. We have now understood that the Kingdom of God is God’s reign defeating His enemies and bring men and women into the enjoyment of the blesswings of God’s reign. We have also learned that the coming of the Kingdom of God is accomplished in two stages. The Kingdom will finally come at the end, destroying every human attempt to usurp God’s rightful rule. But the Kingdom is now come in hidden form.
The Kingdom of God has already been manifested in the Mission of our lord Jesus Christ. Before the Age to come and before the Millenial reign of Christ, the Kingdom of God had entered this present evil Age in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We may therefore experience its power and its life. For us, who have enjoyed such blessings, are obligated to bless others also.
When will the Kingdom come?
The disciples asked Jesus “when will the Kingdom come”. We do not know, when? But we know it will come. The verse in Matt.24:14 distinctly tell us the time of His coming. Jesus foretold about the destructions, earth quakes, wars and rumours of wars, persecutions, martyrdom, will come first. In this evil Age, we can expect intensifications of evil. But God has not abandoned us. The Kingdom of God has already entered into this Evil Age. Satan, sin, and death have been conquered. The Kingdom of God in Christ has created the Church to accomplish the divine purpose of extending His Kingdom in the World. God’s Kingdom is working in the World through the power of the gospel. “and this gospel will be preached (communicated) through out the whole World, as a testimony to all nations”. Here the “nations” means “ethnos”, the ethnic people groups of people. It does not mean geo-political geographical boundary. All the ethnic groups of people within a country.
The challenge before us is to evangelise each and every ethnic people group. The latest statistics tells us that there are still 8,000 such people group waiting to hear the gospel. Our responsibility is to complete this unfinished task. We now, have the advantages of modern technologies of printing, automobiles. Aeroplanes. Electronic media like radio, televisions, internets which make things a lot more easier and quick. Many unknown languages have now been reduced to writing. The Bible, in part, at least, have now been translated into 1,700 languages and dialects. If we are ready to respond to this challenge, we can finish the task in our generation, and see the Lord’s return. I am sad to read the resolution of the Platinum Jubilee of NBCC, completely devoid of this challenge of completing the task which has been entrusted to us. I know, there are tensions between evangelism and social actions. Some Christians think that evangelism is our priority. Others think, social justice is a priority. They try to speak to the world but has almost lost the world. And some others say of balance of the two. This also is wanting. In any partnership, there must be a leading partner, “ a first among equals”, otherwise, nothing gets done. Real good news is not what our benevolence do for others but what God has done for us in Christ. The supreme task of the Church is evangelism. It is also a supreme challenge for the Church. The Church has many things to do but if we lose the central issue, we may lose all others. The central issue is that God, has revealed Himself by acting in history in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. God is acting in history to bring about redemption and establish His reign over the entire creation in rebellion. The Church mission is her participation in and co-operation with what God is doing redemptively here and now.
