The Good Life: A series through the Sermon on the Mount!

Transcription

1 The Good Life: A series through the Sermon on the Mount An introduction to the Beatitudes Matthew 4:12-5:12 Definition of The Kingdom of God God s kingship, rule, and authority The kingdom of God AP it is already here it is coming it is now active through the church it s present effect is to conform everything to Christ Ephesians 1:10; Romans 8:22 Why is the Kingdom important to the Beatitudes? Intro: Sermon on the Mount we love that it s there, but we don t know what to do with it It is only in context of God s kingdom that the Beatitudes begin to make sense. Without this context, the Beatitudes can be stripped of their meaning, or at best, dumbed down. For example, there are 36 different interpretations of the SOTM 1 Seven major interpretations: 2 I. The multi-level Christian (Medieval) II. The shame-inducer (Luther) AP III. The literalist (Anabaptist) IV. The idealist (Liberalism) V. The futurist (Dispensationalism) Beatitudes in context of Kingdom But let s read the SOTM in context of Matthews book Matthew 4:23 opens with three characteristic works of the Messiah in His kingdom 3 He s inaugurating His kingdom Look at the ends of the beatitudes: they will inherit the earth. 1 Craig S. Keener. The Gospel of Matthew: A Social-Rhetorical Commentary. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009) This list is from Craig Keener, who has a much longer list of all the different interpretative lenses p.160 Robert A. Guelich. The Sermon on the Mount: Foundations for Understanding. (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982) 56

2 The Beatitudes are a description of the good life 4 of God s kingdom breaking into the present among those who were least expecting it. 5 What do we do with them? 1. They are not conditions 6 The eschatological promises of the Good Life are being announced to the unsuspecting 7 The Sermon does involve grace for we are not capable of living this way alone. The Beatitudes should draw praise from God s people. yet, it is not merely an indictment, as Luther articulated. Christ clearly expected his followers to obey (Matt 5:19, 48; 7:18-20, 21, 24-27) 2. They are not intellectual fodder It s a moral family portrait 8 We are supposed to look different 9 Craig S. Keener They are gracious, but not a workless grace they transform all who are meek enough to embrace them, and they crush the arrogant 10 The million dollar question: How do we live them? The key to interpretation often missing: Jesus the Messiah (5:17) The Beatitudes contained therein are only intelligible in light of the kingdom reality established by Jesus person and ministry 11 Therefore, if the beatitudes are a description of God s Kingdom and they arrive with Jesus and if you are a citizen of that Kingdom, then the only way this makes sense is through being conformed to His image. 4 5 Stanley Hauerwas. Matthew. (Grand Rapids, MI: BrazosPress, 2006) 61 Willard, Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. (New York, NY: HarperOne, 1997) 115. (contra Carson, SOTM. 12) Guelich, 67 Scot McKnight. Sermon on the Mount. (SGBC; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 1 Stott, 18 Keener, Says Guelich: For Matthew, as for the traditions, these Beatitudes were not intended to be benedictions that pronounce one blessed in a sacral rite, nor did they intend to express popular wisdom or ethical teaching of that day. Rather, these are to be heard and understood as having been spoken by the one who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (5:17) The implicit attitudes and conduct of the Beatitudes as well as the demands of 5:20-48 are only intelligible in light of that new eschatological moment between God and humanity established by Jesus person and ministry. p.111

3 Where our power comes from AP The Sermon only makes sense via our union with Christ When a person becomes a Christian, they are not brought into merely an assent to beliefs, or a list of behaviors, but into mysterious, all-encompassing, multi-faceted relationship and realm of another Person. Scot McKnight Only in association or relationship with Jesus does the Sermon make sense. Jesus does not offer abstract principles or simply his version of the Torah for a new society. Instead, he offers himself to his disciples, or, put differently, he summons them to himself and in participation with Jesus and his vision the disciples are transformed into the fullness of a kingdom moral vision. 12 We see this in the union language throughout Scripture... VI.Christ is in us AP A. Christ s presence 1. It s not just an idea or His teaching that is in us, but Jesus Christ Himself. 13 Galatians 2:20a I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Romans 8:10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? unless you fail the test. Colossians 1:27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Revelation 3:20 Listen I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. But here s what some of us do: we take the presence of God (the spirituality) thinking nothing in our lives will or should change. But Christianity is not just relationship with God, it s moving into the realm of God s influence and desires. Everything changes 12 McKnight. Sermon on the Mount. p John Murray. It is union of an intensely spiritual character consonant with the nature and work of the Holy Spirit so that in a real way surpassing our power of analysis Christ dwells in his people and his people dwell in him. Redemption Also, Wayne Grudem, There is a real, personal dwelling of Christ in us this does not mean that we merely agree with Christ or that his ideas are in us. Rather, he is in us and remains in us through faith. Systematic Theology. 845

4 VII.We are in Christ 14 AP A. Christ's work 1. Our regeneration a) Spiritual transformation Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace 2. Our redemption a) Redemption from our sins Ephesians 1:7 We have redemption in Him through His blood 3. Our justification 15 a) Imputed righteousness Philippians 3:8-9 Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ the righteousness from God based on faith. Romans 8:1 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus Our acceptance a) Adoption by God Ephesians 1:5-6 In love He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved. 5. Our allegiance 17 a) New leadership 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (speaking of sexual immorality) Don t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. 6. Our sanctification 14 Wayne Grudem, explains that union with Christ is a summary of several different relationships between the believer and Christ, including the fact that we are in Christ, Christ is in us, we are like Christ, and we are with Christ. Systematic Theology. p Wayne Grudem: God thought of us as going through everything that Christ went through, because he was our representative. When Jesus perfectly obeyed God for his whole life, God thought of us as having obeyed, too (emphasis by author). Ibid For more references on imputed righteousness, see Rom 3:21-22, 26; Rom 4:5; 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21 16 J. Todd Billings writes, adoption is first of all a legal matter of justification through Christ justification is received as a gift as believers are united to Christ. Union With Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011) p Constantine R. Campbell, Union with Christ involves the identification of believers with Christ. Situated within the realm of his rile, believer s identity is shaped by their belonging to Christ, the Second Adam. We are marked off as his rather than belonging to Adam, and this is to shape believers sense of who they are and to whom they owe allegiance. Union with Christ. p.408

5 a) Conformity into the image of Christ. Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Ephesians 4:13 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you Colossians 1:27-28 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 7. Our new family 18 a) Incorporation into God s people Galatians 3:27-28 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 8. Our resurrection a) Death is dealt with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. (or 1 Cor 15:22) 9. Our glorification a) Our mind, body, soul are made perfect Philippians 3:21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. The entire Christian life, from conversion to glory, is made possible only through our union with Christ and participation of the benefits thereof. 18 Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology. 844

6 Yet because the here-but-not-yet nature of the Kingdom, conformity to Christ has already begun, yet is not yet perfected. That s why Paul says, Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14, ESV) Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Perhaps all of this will illuminate Jesus last words in Matthew This is the Christian life. It s too hard, you say. Maybe. But if our union with Christ is central to Christianity, perhaps there is a better way to think about it All are called to be what in the reality of God they already are - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 19 (worship band) The beatitudes describe the Kingdom of God, our union with Christ, and the implications thereof in rigorous beauty. The question we must ask at the present time is this: is this what we signed up for? Is this what we want? Because make no mistake, the life of the kingdom will demand our all. It will require things closer to us than our breathe. It may even require our breathe. Is it worth it too you? Is Jesus worth more than your life? The Beatitudes will ask you this. But ask yourself right now. Jesus is already King. But is He your King? 19 Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Cost of Discipleship. (New York, NY: Touchstone, 1937) 107