From Beginning to Forever: A Study of the Grand Narrative of ScriptureEsimerkki

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gathered a community of people, under His rule and blessing to continue His kingdom mission on earth. After Jesus’s resurrection and before He ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples a kingdom assignment to tell the nations the good news that the promised king had come (Matt. 28:19-20). Through Him, the power of sin had been conquered and a way made for reconciliation with God. From Judea to the ends of the earth, Jesus’s disciples would spend their lives inviting people to enter the kingdom community through faith in the King. Read Acts 2:1-21. God’s kingdom mission always included the nations, and at Pentecost, we see that confirmed! For Jesus’s followers, the filling of the Holy Spirit marked a new season of ministry, when the King was dwelling with His people once again. And not only with them but in them! The books of the Bible that follow Acts are split into two groups, the Pauline Epistles and the General Epistles. Both sets provide believers with wisdom, encouragement, and theological truth meant to keep them aligned with the gospel. In his epistles, Paul taught about the kingship of Christ and reminded believers of what it takes to access Christ’s kingdom community. His teaching also helps believers understand how to live as citizens in the kingdom who are on a mission for the King. The General Epistles focus on life in the kingdom community as well, with a focus on what it means to live in allegiance to the King in the last days. Let’s look at a passage in which Paul unpacked what it means to be a part of the kingdom community. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. The kingdom community is not just a social club; we are a global gathering of believers living to fulfill the mission of our King! We are the temple of God. He dwells in us by the Holy Spirit and works through us in this world. We are the body of Christ, with each of us gifted by the Spirit for the common good. But one of the major hurdles to our faithfulness as a corporate group of believers is disunity and spiritual immaturity. Paul knew this and used much of his writing to encourage believers to pursue spiritual fruitfulness. He knew that without it we wouldn’t be able to fulfill the mission of the King.