This is the first post of an intended ongoing series on biblical theology. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God: Universal Restoration in Biblical Theology Scott Coulter Part I (9/30/08) a proposed thesis: 1. The Gospel: The message of Jesus and his apostles in the New Testament is God’s working in Christ to restore the whole of God’s creation from its marred and fallen state. 2. Restoration: The restored state of God’s creation may rightly be described with the word shalom, which denotes peace, wholeness, and integrity. God’s restored creation is primarily characterized by harmonious, rightly-ordered relationships: both “vertically” between God and God’s creatures, and “horizontally” among all of God’s creatures. Other good words to describe the restored creation include: “reconciliation”, “atonement”, and “justice & righteousness”. 3. Sin: The nature of sin is best understood as relational brokenness: that is, as the opposite of the relational wholeness denoted by shalom. Or, perhaps, it is better to describe sin not as an opposite of shalom but as a privation of shalom—that is, a deficiency in the perfection of shalom. The meaning of salvation (or deliverance, or redemption) from sin is fundamentally that those who are saved are moved from the sphere of the fallen world which is characterized by sin or relational brokenness into the sphere of the restored creation which is characterized by shalom. 4. Partial Restoration vs. Complete (Universal) Restoration in God’s Cosmos: a. In one sense there can be shalom in one part of the creation while there is brokenness in another part. For example, we can conceive of one human person reconciled to God in Christ while another’s relationship with God is still broken. Similarly, we can conceive of a community of human persons reconciled to one another (and to the rest of the creation) and to God, whose horizontal relationships are characterized by justice & righteousness, and whose vertical relationship to God is whole, in Christ—and we can conceive of this community of shalom existing while in another part of God’s creation simultaneously there are groups of human persons whose relationships with each other, the rest of the creation, and with God remain broken. Sin and righteousness, injustice and peace can simultaneously exist in different parts of the world (or indeed, in different parts of the same community, and even in different parts of a single person’s life understood as the totality of his/her relationships). b. Yet in another sense, shalom denotes an ideal state of the whole creation. In this sense shalom is not realized unless all relational brokenness throughout the creation has been undone, and the whole of creation has been restored to a state of wholeness, peace, and integrity. 5. Fulfillment—the Work of God in Christ & in His Church: a. In Christ, God has already accomplished the restoration of God’s creation. God’s accomplishment of God’s plan of salvation is as certain as if the work has already been finished: for indeed it has already been finished in the work of Christ. b. However, the full effects of God’s restoring work are not yet manifest in the world in which we, the Church of God, now are living. Not only in the world surrounding us, but also within the community that is God’s Church and in the lives of the people making up this community, there is still sin and relational brokenness. c. It is the mission of the Spirit-filled Church, as given by Jesus to his disciples, to participate in the ongoing work of Christ (as we are Christ’s body) in bringing about reconciliation where there is brokenness, until the end of the present age when universal shalom is fully realized. d. The ultimate vision of the Church of Jesus Christ is the beginning of the new age when our Lord returns and visibly brings about universal restoration. In this new, restored creation, sin and its effects will have been fully eradicated. There will be no relational brokenness between God and any of God’s creatures, nor among God’s creatures. It is my intent to show, in a series of posts on this blog, that these tenets are a legitimate interpretation of biblical theology. Critical comments and discussion are very welcome. Over time, I will modify my expression of the above statements for clarity, or revise them for faithfulness to the testimony of scripture as I become convinced that either is necessary. Two questions are of especial interest to me here: (1) Does scripture teach the theology I have expressed above? (2) What are the implications of the theology I have expressed above for a biblical theology of final judgment (i.e., a theology of Hell)? I am also interested in other implications of this theology to practical ecclesial & missional issues including: (a) racism in the Church, (b) denominationalism, (c) the incarnational mission of the Church in the world locally & globally, (d) church government & the ordering of Christian community, (e) the relationship of church & state, (f) non-violence in Christian community & in the mission of the Church in the world, (g) ecological & environmental concerns, (h) social justice concerns, (i) concerns for justice for non-human animals.
1. Here I propose an expression of theology I call "universal restoration". (637 words) This is intended as an interpretation of the central message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
2. To set up for future posts & interactive discussion, I specifically raise questions concerning biblical support for this theology and implications for our theology of final judgment (i.e., Hell). (105 words)
3. At the end I also list numerous other practical ecclesial & missional issues to which this theology likely has relevance. (84 words)
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"Make me a channel of Your Peace."
-St. Francis
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2 comments:
I am looking forward to reading your thorough examination of scriptures. At this point, I disagree with the idea in your thesis that the whole of creation will be restored, and your assertions in 5d. that there will be no brokenness between God and any of His creation. I will not say that I completely disagree at this point because much detail needs to be fleshed out. Jesus teaches on the future state of the wicked in Matt 25:41 and Matt 8:12. The Bible speaks of the eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46), torment (Rev. 14:10-11), the bottomless pit (Rev.9:1-2,11), wrath of God (Rom. 2:5), second death (Rev. 21:8), and eternal destruction and exclusion from the face of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:9) that is awaiting the wicked.
There are three distinct sections of God's creation: humans, spiritual beings (angels), and "everything else." "Everything else" seems to be preprogrammed. A rock, as far as I know, does not contemplate falling but falls because it is compelled to fall. "Everything else" follows the will of God or "the laws of nature." Angels and Humans are different. We have the capacity to chose not to follow the will of God. It is clear that some angels are for God, and that others are against him. It is not entirely clear whether God will provide some kind of salvation option for those angels that are opposing Him. I Peter 1:12 makes a vague reference to that fact that angels desire to look into the issues of salvation and the works of Christ which leads me to believe that they are not presented with the same gospel as humans are. Humans seem to be unique in that we have the capacities to be like gods, but, given the capacity for ultimate acts like love, we are equally capable of the most heinous distortions, like self-idolatry. The other curious thing is that God has, in some incomprehensible way, allowed us to not choose him nor to be redeemed by him without giving up His love, justice, and sovereignty.
The questions I would ask:
Is God less loving if in order to make a creature who is completely able to freely love him, He must make a creature that is completely able to reject Him, and in creating this creature, He redeems those who are willing to come back to Him? (Along the lines of the classic argument: Is God less of a Mathematician because he is unable to make a four sided triangle?)
Why would Jesus talk about a place that doesn't exist? Is he trying to manipulate people into believing in Him? Loyalty by fear does not seem to be a way to get genuinely devout followers.
If all things will be restored in Christ, do we really have a choice? What is the point of giving us a choice to reject God if we will not have a choice in whether we are restored to God?
Are souls ultimately ravaged by the wages of sin something? My work in the ICU has led me to consider how far the human, embracing sin and despair, is from being human. I wonder if there can be a full restoration of the creation without the damned because, in all real terms, the damned are no longer creation.
When you say that all creation will be restored to God, does that include all creation of all time? Is my dog Bach going to be resurrected and restored to God? If not, than what does all really mean? Along those lines, when the earth is destroyed and a new heaven and new earth is created, are they recreation or restorations of all the created material already made? Does it matter if a particular rock is restored or that rocks in general will no longer succumb to the decaying affects of sin (whatever those effects might be)?
I could ask more but I am not sure of the value in doing so. Again, I look forward to your insights and passionate knowledge of the scriptures. May God bless your reading for His glory.
Thanks, Michael. You raise some good questions! :)
We'll see how thorough this actually becomes. I knowingly set up a really big picture intending to defend some parts more thoroughly than others--and which parts raise questions for other people (and for me!) are those parts I intend to discuss more fully.
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