Once we truly believe our citizenship is in the Kingdom of Heaven, everything changes.
In my last post, I addressed why the promises of God apply to you, today. I promised to follow up that post to explain doctrinally why the promises of God to Israel and the Patriarchs are ours through adoption and citizenship.
To understand God's adoption and citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven, I'll touch on two rather deep concepts: covenants and the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather than cram it all in to this post, I've added notations that go more in depth at the end of this post. Feel free to read them when you have time. (What mom has time, right?!)
First, Paul makes it clear that simply being born a Jew or following Jewish customs was not a guarantee of being a part of God’s family.
"It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring." - Romans 9:6-8 (Emphasis added)
In Galatians 4:28, Paul tells us who the children of the promise are: "Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise." Luke records John the Baptist telling us how we are to be children of the promise: "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." Paul agrees in Acts 20:21: "I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." Jesus tells us what repentance brings: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
So, by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ we receive the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 6:33, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Luke 12:32, Matthew 19:14, John 3:3, Luke 10:9, Matthew 5:10, John 3:5, Colossians 1:13-14, Matthew 7:21, 2 Timothy 4:18)
"Christians may rightly embrace the promises of the Old Testament made to Israel, because in union with the Messiah, Jesus, we are the true Israel." - John Piper
Second, while the writers of the New Testament make a great case for our adoption which would make the promises to Abraham and his people also ours, I want to go back further—to when the foundations of the earth were laid.
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." - Matthew 25:34b NIV
When he created the universe, God was establishing his kingdom on earth. His plan was (and is) to co-rule with us. He planned to dwell with us in intimate, unbroken fellowship, establishing righteousness on earth—this has always been his plan. And while the Hebrew word for covenant is not found in the Genesis account in reference to God’s relationship with Adam, it was understood by the Jews. The word for covenant is used in Hosea where, regarding the transgression of Ephraim and Judah, the prophet says, “like Adam, they have broken the covenant—they were unfaithful to me there“ (Hosea 6:7 NIV). God also consistently uses the covenant word "lovingkindness" or "covenantal-love" (hesed) when he describes himself.
From his own description of himself, we can see that whenever God interacts with humankind, it is always within the context of who he is: a covenant-making God who keeps his covenants by his covenantal-love.
He made a covenant—setting the participants, the terms, and the blessings/curses—with Adam and Eve as well as Adam and Eve's posterity, which obviously includes us. It is important to recognize that through Adam the human race as a whole is in covenant relationship to God (whether they know it or not). Long before there was a covenant with Israel, Abraham, or even Noah, God had already entered into a covenant with humankind in which eternal life was promised in fellowship with him.
This is often called the Adamic covenant or the Covenant of Life (see Section 1 below). While consecutive covenants appear later in history and often fulfill or further explain past covenants, I don’t think that they replace those covenants. (This is a part of what is known as replacement theology and it can lead to some really terrible thinking and ethical conundrums.)
"Hence, from Genesis to Revelation there’s one overarching covenant of God: the covenant of life. There can be no adequate understanding of the Bible as a whole or the intervening covenants unless this covenant is constantly recognized." - J.Rodman Williams
When rightly understood, the terms of the first covenant prepare us for the reception of the Noahic covenant, Mosaic covenant, and the New Covenant, the latter in which God himself comes to fulfill the obligations to ensure eternal life, restore our broken relationship, and establish rulership within the Kingdom of God.
Indeed, whenever we read the authors of the Bible, they are always writing with the overarching context of this first covenant and citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Noah and his family are kept safe by God to keep the terms of the original covenant. Abraham was tested numerous times by God so he might, in faith, come through with the promised line to the Messiah. Isaac and Jacob—flawed men with flawed wives and even more flawed sons—are somehow kept by God. The prophets challenged recalcitrant Israel when they failed to keep the covenant terms. The multiple exiles of Israel were the consequences for not keeping those terms. All of this pointed to the promise of the future One who can and will keep the terms.
Christianity looks backward to these covenants, but also looks forward to “how it will all come out.“ This is the now and the not yet and the tension between the two is where we live. This tension is felt when we read Paul's exhortation to submit to authority and government while he refuses to comply with Roman officials who demanded he and the disciples stop sharing the gospel of Christ. Their answer: "We must obey God and not man" is a declaration that their citizenship is in the Kingdom of God and their hope is in the first covenant of eternal life. Their purpose and view of the world was always grounded in the context of being members of the kingdom of heaven and bringing it to earth.
This citizenship changes how we interact with God—being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. This citizenship changes how we interact with others—loving them by laying down our lives for them. This citizenship even changes how far we obey customs or don't—there is no difference between male nor female, Jew nor gentile, slave nor free.
Obviously, when Paul wrote there was no difference in the Kingdom of Heaven, there were differences in his time and culture. There are still differences felt today! Slaves were certainly treated differently then and still treated heinously across the globe. Women are still treated differently—even within the Church which is supposed to establish this Kingdom of Heaven through its radical, otherworldly principles.
Our job in Christ is to do our part in the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven until the day Christ returns to establish it with finality. Churches and groups of Christians should demonstrate the ethos of the Kingdom of Heaven by treating all people with the respect, care, and self-sacrificial love Christ demonstrated to everyone he encountered. As much as it is possible, we are tasked to live the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, here, now. This is where God's promises to us come in to play.
God's promises are portions of his character declared by his eternal words, breaking in to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in our hearts.
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.” - 2 Peter 1:4-5a NLT
By sharing his divine nature God provides the necessary power to live the Kingdom of Heaven, now, when all looks like complete and utter chaos.
This is our forward-looking promise: At the end of history a voice will cry, “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.“ - Revelation 11:15
Grace changes our citizenship.
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More On Covenants & The Kingdom of Heaven
Section 1: Covenant of Life
The Hebrew word for covenant is found in many scriptures in Old Testament books, including the one I listed above (Hosea 6:7). An interesting passage is also found in the apocryphal book of Sirach, where the creation of man is described: “He visited knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life. He established with them in eternal covenant, and showed them his judgments or decrees." (Chapter 17:11-12) However, I put the greatest emphasis on when God uses the word to describe his own actions toward his Creation from the very beginning.
It seems clear from both canonical and non-canonical texts that the primary covenant of God was with original man—Adam. J.Rodman Williams makes the case in his Renewal Theology, that it should not be called the Adamic covenant because it is not Adam's or man’s covenant: it is God's covenant with man to give us eternal life. He explains:
"...Observe that this covenant is a universal covenant. Although it is made with a particular man, Adam, it is universal in that Adam is man and the progenitor of the human race. Thus the covenant affects all mankind...the covenant promises continuing life: the tree of life is included among the trees of which men may eat...True life is to be found outside of man in God."
The original covenant of God with man may also be called the covenant of life. For life—eternal life—is the promise. Moreover, it is to be understood as such is not earned by man’s efforts; it is there, available to man for his partaking. To be sure, man forfeit that life by his disobedience, but his obedience does not earn it or merit it. Thus it is not a “covenant of works” in the sense that man is granted life on condition of obedience, as if to say that eternal life would be achieved by not eating of the forbidden tree. Rather this life is granted to man through his continuance in fellowship with God and partaking of the 'tree of life.'"
This is why I have written above that it is important to recognize that through Adam the human race as a whole is in covenant relationship to God—whether they are aware of it or not. Long before there was a covenant with Israel, Abraham, or even Noah, God had already entered into a covenant with man in which life was promised as a part of fellowship with him.
And, since it is God himself who has made the covenant, we can trust that it will surely be fulfilled.
"Hence, from Genesis to Revelation there’s one over arcing covenant of God: the covenant of life. There can be no adequate understanding of the Bible as a whole or the intervening covenants unless this covenant is constantly recognized." - J.Rodman Williams
Section 2: Noahic Covenant
After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah and all creation again.
“I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:8)
Note that the covenant again is God’s covenant: “my covenant.“ In this sense, the covenant was with Noah and all the earth is, like the covenant with Adam, a covenant of life.
Section 3: Abrahamic Covenant
Later we are told, “the Lord God made a covenant with Abraham“ (Genesis 15:18). We need to note, however, that the covenant was not only with Abraham but also with Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham‘s physical seed thereafter. It was also with Jesus Christ and those who belong to him: Abraham‘s spiritual seed.
Exodus explains the covenant is with all three—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and Jacob.“ (Exodus 2:24)
It is also apparent that the covenant is not with all the sons or grandsons of Abraham—God makes a selection. As Paul writes: “not all children not all our children of Abraham because they are his seed…This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as seed.“ (Romans 9:7-8)
It is through the children of promise—the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and therefore through the Israelites, the sons of Jacob, that the promise continues and the covenant is maintained.
God makes it clear his covenant is also with Abraham seed in the generations to come: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant.“ (Genesis 17:7) The Abrahamic covenant includes us as well because it says all peoples will be blessed because of Abraham‘s seed, referring to Jesus Christ and the promise of a Messiah.
According to John Piper, it is also our union with Christ that makes us heirs of all the promises in the Old Testament:
"2 Corinthians 1:20 says, 'All the promises of God find their Yes in him [Christ].' In union with Christ, the Messiah, Christians become the heirs of all the promises in the Old Testament. And there are different ways to explain why that is, and one is to realize that in spiritual union with the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, Christians are the messianic people, the true Israel, the heirs of everything promised to the true Israel. (Piper)
A final note: This does not exclude future for present day ethnic Israel in God’s purposes, because many scholars believe they will one day profess faith in Messiah Jesus and be grafted back in to become part of the true Israel along with all other Christians who are part of Jesus Christ. (Romans 11)