2013 Soma School Phoenix – Who is God and What is His Story? |
Pastor Jeff Vanderstelt and Pastor Chris Gonzalez
Happy New Year! I have been planning to provide Soma School notes from our time in Phoenix in November 2013, and now I have a minute to actually jot some things down.
This is the 1st post of a 6-part series reflecting on sessions taught by Jeff Vanderstelt from Soma Tacoma, Chris Gonzalez and Mark Durben from Missio Dei Communities, Brent Thomas from Church of the Cross, and Michael Goheen from the Newbigin House and the Surge Network at Soma School Phoenix in 2013.
This is the 1st post of a 6-part series reflecting on sessions taught by Jeff Vanderstelt from Soma Tacoma, Chris Gonzalez and Mark Durben from Missio Dei Communities, Brent Thomas from Church of the Cross, and Michael Goheen from the Newbigin House and the Surge Network at Soma School Phoenix in 2013.
In discussing knowing God and His story, Jeff Vanderstelt often mentions the words "Gospel Fluency." If you would like to delve deeper into how the good
news of Jesus shapes every area of life, check out the five video links with Jeff below
provided by the Austin Stone Institute:
- Gospel Fluency – Part 1
- Gospel Fluency – Part 2
- Gospel Fluency – Part 3
- Gospel Fluency – Part 4
- Gospel Fluency – Part 5
Jeff Vanderstelt and Chris Gonzalez | Thursday and Friday, November 7-8
Genesis 1-2; Genesis 3; Genesis 11-12, 17; Matthew 1 - John 21; Acts 1-2; Revelation 21-22 – Who is God and What is His Story?
God is Creator
Genesis 1-2 reveal a God who is creative, personal, and relational who creates a beautiful world with people who bear His image.
God is Savior
Genesis 3 reveals a God who confronts the sin, fear, and death that humanity brings into His world by promising to defeat evil through a future human.
God is Redeemer
Genesis 11-12, 17; Matthew 1 - John 21; Acts 1-2 reveal a God who calls one man to bless people from all nations through who follow Him by faith; He redeems His people by becoming one of them, taking their place in order to save them from their sins and His righteous judgement, so they can – by His Spirit – become part of His new creation, sharing the good news of our reconciliation back to God so that we can enjoy being with Him forever.
God is King
Revelation 21-22 reveal a God who is coming with His kingdom to earth to restore creation and make all things new; He will separate those who trusted Him from those who denied Him, and the world will be rid of sin, fear, and death forever.
In light of who God is as Creator, Savior, Redeemer, and King, we also see the four key themes of the story of human history: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration/Recreation.
Genesis 11-12, 17; Matthew 1 - John 21; Acts 1-2 reveal a God who calls one man to bless people from all nations through who follow Him by faith; He redeems His people by becoming one of them, taking their place in order to save them from their sins and His righteous judgement, so they can – by His Spirit – become part of His new creation, sharing the good news of our reconciliation back to God so that we can enjoy being with Him forever.
God is King
Revelation 21-22 reveal a God who is coming with His kingdom to earth to restore creation and make all things new; He will separate those who trusted Him from those who denied Him, and the world will be rid of sin, fear, and death forever.
In light of who God is as Creator, Savior, Redeemer, and King, we also see the four key themes of the story of human history: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration/Recreation.
How do the four key themes of God's story reveal how we live our stories?
Creation: What is my identity?
What do I assume the world is like and should be like? What kind of person do I think I am and would I like to be? What would have to be in place in my life to make me happy?
Fall: What is my problem?
What are my struggles and battles? What do I lack? Who do I think is responsible for my problems?
Redemption: What is my solution to my problem(s)?
What do I think will make my life better? What provides me with a sense of escape or relief? Who will deliver my hopes and dreams?
Restoration/Recreation: What is my hope?
What are the dreams I am willing to make sacrifices for? Or is my hope so minimal that I only live to make it through today? What is the long-term goal I am working towards?
For example, in Genesis 3 God's Word gets reinterpreted by the Serpent:
Creation: We are meant to be gods who rule our own lives (identity).
Fall: We are held back by God and his insecurities (problem).
Redemption: We can be set free by not listening to God when we don't want to (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: We will be gods (hope).
Despite each of us buying into the Serpent's lies and rejecting God's Word and rule, God's response to us is:
Creation: We are made in God's image to love Him, to reflect His glory, and to love others (identity).
Fall: We have rebelled against God's rule, and our self-rule leads to conflict, poverty, slavery, death, and judgment (problem).
Redemption: God redeems us by sending his Son and graciously enables us to live under his rule by paying the price of our judgment on the cross (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: God will restore and recreate this broken world for us when King Jesus returns (hope).
Reflect on a recent conversation you have had with an unbeliever. Can you identify any comments in which he or she expressed alternative creation, fall, redemption, and restoration/recreation stories? How might you have used those moments to speak about the gospel story?
Here are two case studies of people who follow a different gospel than the one God has provided us in Jesus.
Case Study 1: The Control Gospel
Creation: I should be in control of my life (identity).
Fall: Too often, other people or situations prevent me from being in control or ruling my life (problem).
Redemption: I will avoid situations which I cannot control and people who challenge my rule (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: I will work towards creating a life where my control is never challenged or usurped (hope).
God's good news response to each person struggling with control:
Creation: We find freedom in knowing God is in control (identity).
Fall: We rejected God's rule in favor of taking control of our lives for ourselves (problem).
Redemption: God welcomes us back under His rule by giving us Jesus and His humble sacrifice on the cross (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: God will restore His liberating rule over all the world when King Jesus returns (hope).
Case Study 2: The Body Image Gospel
Creation: I should be happy and valued because of the way I eat and look (identity).
Fall: I'm not physically attractive enough because I'm overweight or not fit (problem).
Redemption: I can change through willpower, weight loss, and exercise (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: I work hard for my body to be transformed so that I can be happy, appreciated, and valued (hope).
God's good news response to each person struggling with body image:
Creation: We are meant to enjoy God and His good gifts of our bodies, food, and exercise (identity).
Fall: We used God's gifts of food and activity to replace God and find ourselves enslaved to these gifts, which can fill us with shame when we don't use them the way we think we should (problem).
Redemption: Jesus restores us by offering His body in our place, and He invites us to a meal and an active life with Him and for others (solution).
Restoration/Recreation: We can find ultimate satisfaction in Jesus who is the Bread of Life and the Resurrection, so we do not find our refuge in food or how our bodies look today (hope).
God not only saves us from something, He saves us for something. We not only need the cross, we need the resurrection. The blood of Jesus was shed so that we could be part of His new creation, a holy temple where the Spirit comes to dwell in us so that we can see God as He is – our Father – and be reconciled to Him.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
What is our hope? Jesus Christ in us by the power of the Spirit. The resurrection is a taste – a first fruit – of what the future is going to be like. "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:5). Why have we been given the Spirit? It's communal, not individual. It's cosmic, not small. We – the church as His body, His holy temple – are part of God bringing Himself to the world. Worship isn't on Sunday. Worship is all of life in recognition that Jesus is King. And He does the opposite of the kings and kingdoms of this present world. He gives His life and kingdom for the least of these instead of inviting the so-called powerful and self-ruling to join Him.
Followers of Jesus know they are loved by God the Father to be with a family – His church – empowered by the Spirit to proclaim the gospel to others by inviting them to be reconciled to God with His family, and served by the King to serve others and provide them with a glimpse of the Kingdom.
Next post: Soma School Notes 2 | What is Church?
Next post: Soma School Notes 2 | What is Church?
– Sully
Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect.
Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect.
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