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Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

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Did Jesus Fail? 

On May 5th . . . my new book JESUS NOW releases. The book is a quick read (200 pages) unfolding the present-day ministry of Christ.

Every New Testament reference to Christ’s present-day ministry is covered in the book.

WAIT until May 5th and get it from a special bookstore (not Amazon) at a 50% and you’ll also receive the companion Study Guide free.

May 5th is the same day that 24 returns to television. So save the date!

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JesusNow

Here’s a short excerpt . . .

To natural minds, Jesus’ ministry ended in failure on two counts: (1) a failure in Galilee when most of His followers turned away from Him, and (2) a failure in Jerusalem when His disciples deserted Him, and He was put to death on a cross.

But the work of Christ went on.

Jesus was raised by His Father and ascended to God’s right hand (Eph. 1:20–22; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 7:26; 8:1; 10:12).

But He didn’t retire, nor was He detached from the world. Instead, He began His present-day ministry, where He became powerfully present with His followers.

His followers weren’t to carry on Jesus’ work in His absence. No, Jesus shared His ministry with them (Mark 16:19–20;  Acts 1:1–2).

The work of God today is still the work of Christ. He carries it out in His enthroned state, withdrawn from visible sight but active in Spirit in and through His followers.

The book of Acts would be more accurately called “The Acts of the Risen Christ through His Apostles.”

While Christ is no longer visible to unaided human sight, He is still powerfully active through His disciples. Jesus doesn’t operate us by remote control. He’s present with us by His Spirit.

He’s not a clockmaker who sets the work going and then leaves it to go on by its own momentum. No, Jesus keeps it going Himself.

Jesus still is—present tense—the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). When we see Jesus operating through His people, we see God. Jesus is still the human face of God.

—

The ascension of Jesus demonstrates that we are part of another world, another realm, another kingdom. As Christians, therefore, we shouldn’t identify ourselves with the present age—whether country, culture, or race. We are part of a new humanity where Jesus is head. As “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), we have a source of continuing transformation that empowers us to transcend nationalism, racism, and culture wars—to be a people of reconciliation who stand in the gap between the petty conflicts that often rule this present age.

The ascension shows us that the church ought not to be captive to the partisan spirit of this present world. We are not home in this old world, which is passing away. Rather, we are part of the new heavens and the new earth.

The ascension is God’s no to the principalities and powers, and God’s yes to His Son. Jesus has triumphed, and there is no other Lord but Him (Acts 2:36).

Historically, Christians have made three main errors when it comes to their relationship to the world. Properly understood, the ascension of Jesus corrects each error. They are …

Problem 1: Withdrawal from the World

Solution: In His ascension, the body of Christ is Jesus acting in and for the world. Christians are light and salt in a dark world. Recall that when Jesus was on earth in His human body, His main task was to see what His Father was doing and join Himself to it.

Today, our main task is to see what Jesus Christ is doing and join ourselves to it. Thus we don’t draw away from the world; we enter into it and follow Jesus wherever He is moving

Problem 2: Trying to Bring the Kingdom on Earth

Solution: In His ascension, Jesus brings part of His kingdom on earth now through His ekklesia, but He will bring it in its fullness only at His second coming. The kingdom is here already but also not yet. We cannot bring the kingdom into being in our own power. And we cannot bring the kingdom ahead of the King.

Problem 3: Conformity to the World

Solution: In His ascension, Christ lives in His people by the power of His indwelling life. That life keeps us distinct from the world and its values as we answer a higher, more compassionate call. The Lord’s ascension also proves that Jesus is Lord.

As such, His followers are part of a different kingdom with a different core trajectory.

Looking at all three problems and their solutions, we encounter a paradox in Scripture. And that paradox can be put this way: for God so loved the world versus love not the world. 1

1. For details, you can freely listen to my conference message For God So Loved the World vs. Love Not the World.

We live on earth with the life of eternity in our spirits. The ekklesia is a colony of heaven on earth (Eph. 2:18–22; Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Pet. 2:9–12; Heb. 11:13–16). The Holy Spirit is the reality of Christ’s presence and dispenses to us the very life that Jesus lived.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came as the Spirit of the glorified Jesus, the Spirit of the incarnate, crucified, and exalted Christ. The Spirit came to take the life that had interwoven humanity and divinity in the person of Jesus and dispense it to God’s people. And He, Christ, promised to be present with us until the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20).

Knowing that Jesus is ascended and enthroned in heaven, we have assurance of final victory. If we take the time to pay attention and rest in these promises, this knowledge delivers us from fear, depression, and insecurity during the trials and tests of life.

Whatever happens, Christ is still on the throne and in control. The Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today and will one day become the Jesus of tomorrow.

Our representative Man has reached the goal; the forerunner blazes the path for us all. We are partners of the heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1), pioneers of the heavenly way. He has dominion over heaven and earth. He secured the eternal purpose of God and “ascended on high” to bring forth “many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10; Eph. 4:8). And for reasons hidden in His infinite love and mercy, God has allowed us to participate in Christ’s present-day ministry of sanctification and redemption.

We can lay hold of these realities only with the eyes of faith. Here’s how . . .

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Category: Rethinking

About Frank Viola

Frank Viola is a best-selling author, blogger, speaker, and consultant to authors and writers. His mission is to help serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can experience real transformation and make a lasting impact. To learn more about Frank and his work, go to 20 Years of Projects. To invite Frank to speak at your event, go to his Speaking Page. Due to a new problem with persistent spam that we haven’t figured out how to control, comments are closed for the present time. To contact Frank, use the “Contact” page in the top menu.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. the Old Adam

    April 26, 2014 at 12:47 PM

    None of us are rule ‘up to it’ (the Christlike life).

    We are ungodly. And we are basically determined to stay that way all throughout our lives.

    That’s why we don’t live on a thin margin of income, giving the rest to the poor and downtrodden. That’s why we rarely visit nursing homes and jails to comfort and to edify in Christ. And why we spend so much time with matters that concern ‘the self’.

    We are truly self-obsessed idolators and are bound to sin.

    That’s why we need a Savior…and not a self-help guru.

    Thanks.

  2. Laurence Smart

    April 23, 2014 at 10:00 PM

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. Just downloaded and listened to “The Gospel Of The Kingdom” podcast. Absolutely spot-on. Just where I have come to and just what I want others to hear. The Forerunner meetings I run focus on the King, The Kingdom, and the King’s return. This podcast is an extremely valuable message for Forerunners saying what I’ve been coming to a point of teaching on. I will pass it on to those who come to the meeting. I will also play it to our Kingdom Community when we meet.

    Laurence Smart
    Canberra Forerunners, Canberra, Australia

    • Frank Viola

      April 24, 2014 at 7:18 AM

      So glad you’re sharing the podcast! I didn’t see the link on this post, but here it is for others: http://ptmin.podbean.com/e/the-gospel-of-the-kingdom/

  3. Derek

    April 23, 2014 at 6:37 AM

    Thanks for the anchor to Jesus in the present, it’s easy for me to get lost looking into the mysteries of the future or drown looking into the past. The last paragraph on Jesus reaching the goal was especially encouraging to me today.

    Looking forward to reading this book, it seems like a good follow up for “From Eternity to Here” (admittedly the last book of yours I’ve read, your blog has sustained so much!)

  4. Pat

    April 21, 2014 at 12:13 PM

    Great Post Frank! Can hardly wait for May 5th.

  5. Robyn G

    April 21, 2014 at 10:32 AM

    Powerful points…love the 3 descriptions of how many of us deal with abiding in Christ while living in this world. My mind has pondered this often. I’ve forgone, years ago, hiding away in buildings, schedules and activity…that was a newfound freedom. The second point hasn’t been a struggle for me for the most part…and I continue to surrender to Christ, to be conformed to His image and not the world but that is always a re-examining for me. What you brought to my attention in this post is the freedom that comes from not identifying with race, nationality, culture…those are things I don’t have a huge struggle with…my personal passion is race relations and breaking down socio-economic/status…but I never thought of it in light of it being a broader calling for all believers. One of the most painful things for me is to see professing believers who exhibit obvious racism and spend so much energy ranting about the government, politics, or those who are “leaching” the system to the point that they lose their compassion for the truly needy. Thank you for reminding me that sometimes even being a “patriot” or fighting for “causes” can be a distraction from the spiritual campaigns we are called to 🙂

  6. Dave

    April 21, 2014 at 9:07 AM

    Looking forward to the book and I’m happy to wait. Will it be released in Nook format or only dead tree format?

    • Frank Viola

      April 21, 2014 at 11:23 AM

      Yes, you can get it for the Nook from that same bookstore that will be unveiled May 5th right here on the blog.

      • Dave

        April 21, 2014 at 11:35 AM

        Outstanding! Thanks.

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Frank Viola

Frank is a bestselling author, speaker, podcaster, and blogger. He helps serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can experience real transformation and make a lasting impact. His blog – frankviola.org – is regularly ranked in the top 5 of all Christian blogs on the Web and his podcast – Christ is All – has ranked #1 in Canada and #2 in the USA on Apple Podcasts. He and his conversation partners also host The Insurgence Podcast. Frank’s books have sold over 600,000 copies and they’ve been translated into many languages.

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