Theology Thursday
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:11
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
At the beginning of human history we were in God’s place, as God’s people under God’s rule. This is as it should have been. But due to human sin everything changed. The theological theme of exile is particularly about our displacement from God’s place.
Because of their rejection of God’s rule, Adam & Eve were exiled from the garden. But this didn’t mean they should no longer live as God’s people under His rule. It just meant that fulfilling this purpose was harder. We see this in their children. Cain and Abel came to offer sacrifices but now sin raged in their hearts.
This theme is picked up again when Israel finds itself in Egypt. They are God’s people but not in His place. But God rescues them from exile in Egypt, bringing them to the promised land. It’s restoration. God’s people again in God’s place and under His rule through the law.
But it’s short lasting. Sin again rears its ugly head. Time and again in fact. God’s people reject His rule and are again ejected from His place. For their disobedience, they find themselves living in Babylon and beyond. But as the Book of Daniel so helpfully records. This doesn’t mean no longer being God’s people or living according to His rule. Exile just makes it harder and different.
But Jesus came to gather His people. Remarkably, Gentiles and Jews who come together ‘in Christ’ through faith. Now, all who trust in Christ are raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Spiritually speaking, we are no longer exiles.
But physically speaking we still remain in the kingdom of this world. We are not in the promised land but in Babylon. With a purpose. To live as God’s people in exile. Like Daniel we faithfully trust and follow God’s rule through the law of Christ in spite of a disbelieving kingdom that surrounds us. This is not our home.
And our hope and conviction is this. The promise of God, realised through Christ’s death and resurrection is that our exile will not last forever. One day we will enter our own promised land, the new creation where we will be once and for all God’s good people, under God’s good rule and finally in God’s good place. That’s something to look forward to.
But for now. How do we live as exiles?
For Today:
Pray: Praise the Father for His people, His rule and His place. Give thanks for Jesus who saves us from exile spiritually and physically. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others live as God’s people in exile.
1 Peter 2:11
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
At the beginning of human history we were in God’s place, as God’s people under God’s rule. This is as it should have been. But due to human sin everything changed. The theological theme of exile is particularly about our displacement from God’s place.
Because of their rejection of God’s rule, Adam & Eve were exiled from the garden. But this didn’t mean they should no longer live as God’s people under His rule. It just meant that fulfilling this purpose was harder. We see this in their children. Cain and Abel came to offer sacrifices but now sin raged in their hearts.
This theme is picked up again when Israel finds itself in Egypt. They are God’s people but not in His place. But God rescues them from exile in Egypt, bringing them to the promised land. It’s restoration. God’s people again in God’s place and under His rule through the law.
But it’s short lasting. Sin again rears its ugly head. Time and again in fact. God’s people reject His rule and are again ejected from His place. For their disobedience, they find themselves living in Babylon and beyond. But as the Book of Daniel so helpfully records. This doesn’t mean no longer being God’s people or living according to His rule. Exile just makes it harder and different.
But Jesus came to gather His people. Remarkably, Gentiles and Jews who come together ‘in Christ’ through faith. Now, all who trust in Christ are raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Spiritually speaking, we are no longer exiles.
But physically speaking we still remain in the kingdom of this world. We are not in the promised land but in Babylon. With a purpose. To live as God’s people in exile. Like Daniel we faithfully trust and follow God’s rule through the law of Christ in spite of a disbelieving kingdom that surrounds us. This is not our home.
And our hope and conviction is this. The promise of God, realised through Christ’s death and resurrection is that our exile will not last forever. One day we will enter our own promised land, the new creation where we will be once and for all God’s good people, under God’s good rule and finally in God’s good place. That’s something to look forward to.
But for now. How do we live as exiles?
For Today:
- Do you see yourself as an exile?
- How do we make sure we don’t get too comfortable in Babylon?
- Is there a sinful desire waging war against your soul?
Pray: Praise the Father for His people, His rule and His place. Give thanks for Jesus who saves us from exile spiritually and physically. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others live as God’s people in exile.
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