Church

By David Maas
{IDENTITY}

[Click on the title below to open an article]
  1. One New People - {PDF Copy} - (By his death, Jesus has formed one covenant community, “one new Man,” based on faith in him by one and all)
  2. When Pentecost Arrived - {PDF Copy} - (On the day of Pentecost, the time of fulfillment arrived when Jesus bestowed the gift of the Spirit on his church – Acts 2:1-4)
  3. Ekklesia - The Assembly - {PDF Copy} - (The use of the term “church” or ekklésia is derived from the “assembly of Yahweh” gathered for worship before the Tabernacle)
  4. The Sanctuary of God - {PDF Copy} - (In his letters, Paul applies Temple language to the church of Jesus Christ, the sanctuary of God)
  5. Priestly Reign of the Saints - (The saints reign as a kingdom of priests during the thousand years, having overcome the Beast) - {PDF Copy}
  6. Reigning with Him - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples reign with Jesus as priests that render service in his Tabernacle and mediate his light in the world)
  7. People of the Last Days - {PDF Copy} - (The church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and the Ancient Serpent, Satan)
  8. The Redeemed of the Earth - (Included in the people of God are men and women purchased from every nation by the blood of Jesus) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Heirs in Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (With the arrival of the "seed" of Abraham, Jesus Christ, the old divisions between Jew and Gentile are wholly inappropriate)
  10. Both Jew and Gentile - {PDF Copy} - (The equality of Jew and Gentile before God is a pivotal theme in Romans. Members of either group stand or fall before Him on the same basis)
  11. Do Not Drift Away - {PDF Copy} - (A dire warning of the consequences of failing to heed the superior word spoken in the Son – Hebrews 1:4-2:7)
  12. Holding Fast to the Word - {PDF Copy} - (Followers of Jesus must cling continually to the word spoken in the Son lest they drift away from the salvation they have received from God)
  13. Harden not your Hearts - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples who fail to hold fast to their confession due to unbelief will not inherit the coming rest of God)
  14. Enter His Rest - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples who fail to hold fast their confession due to unbelief and disobedience will not inherit the coming rest of God)
  15. Let Us Draw Near - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples must hold fast to their confession and approach Jesus in boldness, especially in times of great need)
  16. Gender and Spirituality - {PDF Copy} - (The genuinely spiritual man or woman understands that God’s power, wisdom, and nature are revealed in the preaching of a crucified messiah)
  17. Fulfilled In Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (The promises, types, and shadows of the Hebrew Bible are fulfilled in the Son of God and Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth)

{STATE AND SOCIETY}
  1. The Choice - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, humanity is divided into two and only two groups – followers of the Lamb or subjects of the Beast)
  2. Christendom? - {PDF Copy} - (‘Christendom’ is the attempt to invoke God and Jesus to validate national and political institutions, agendas, and ideologies)
  3. Jesus versus Caesar - {PDF Copy} - (Christ’s submission to an unjust death on a cross stands in stark contrast to the political mechanisms and philosophies of this age)
  4. No Neutrality - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples who give their unrestricted allegiance to the State are at risk of taking the mark of the Beast)
  5. Transitory Powers - {PDF Copy} - (Only God’s kingdom will prevail and endure. All other political powers are fleeting. Already they are passing away)

{MISSION}
  1. Sign of the End - {PDF Copy} - (According to Jesus. the end will not come until this gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed to all nations)
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  2. The Mission of the Church - {PDF Copy} - (The Church is commissioned by Jesus to proclaim his gospel to ALL nations until the end of the age)
  3. For All Nations - {PDF Copy} - (The gospel of the kingdom announced by Jesus is a message of life for men and women of every nation)
  4. Call to Action  - {PDF Copy} - (Through seven beatitudes, Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
  5. Heir of the World - {PDF Copy} - (According to Paul, the covenant promise of land for Abraham and his seed always envisioned the inclusion of the entire world)
  6. Tribulation of the Church - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, faithful saints undergo tribulation, but the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth  receive wrath, the Second Death)
  7. To Whom Homage? - {PDF Copy} - (Satan offered Jesus unlimited political power to achieve his messianic mission if only he acknowledged him as his overlord)
  8. Tribulation and Wrath - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples escape God’s wrath, but they endure tribulation. And according to Paul, the church has been appointed to tribulation – 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4)
  9. Only SOME Nations? - {PDF Copy} - (Is the Good News of the Kingdom of God a message of hope for only SOME nations, or is it for all?)
  10. First Martyr - {PDF Copy} - (Under the guidance of the Spirit, and in fulfillment of Scripture, Stephen gave eloquent and effective testimony to the leaders of Israel)

{MINISTRY}
  1. To You is the Promise - {PDF Copy} - (The gift of the Spirit is for all men who repent, even to those afar off, in fulfillment of the promise of the Father)
  2. Spiritual Warfare - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples wage spiritual warfare through right conduct and by emulating the example of Jesus)
  3. Taking the Kingdom - {PDF Copy} - (Christ’s comment about violence taking the kingdom refers to violent men who attempt to seize the work of God)
  4. True Worship - {PDF Copy} - (In Samaria, Jesus revealed that the presence of God no longer is limited to geographic locations or man-made structures)

{SCRIPTURE}
  1. New Testament Language - {PDF Copy} - (Was the New Testament originally composed in Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, or something else? Overwhelmingly, the evidence points to Greek)
  2. Literal and Nonliteral Language - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation informs the reader from the very first verse of the book that it communicates symbolically)
  3. Stand Fast! - {PDF Copy} - (Believers prepare for the apostasy and the man of lawlessness by standing firm in what Paul had taught them)
  4. Unlocking Prophecy - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the key that unlocks Bible prophecy, unveils God's nature, and reveals His previously hidden mysteries)
  5. Jesus is the Key - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and reveals the nature and redemptive purpose of God)
  6. Christianity's Forgotten Hope - {PDF Copy} - (Central to the hope of the apostolic church was the bodily resurrection of the dead at the end of the age when Jesus returns)

{NEW COVENANT IN JESUS}
  1. For All Nations - {PDF Copy} - (The gospel of the kingdom announced by Jesus is a message of life for men and women of every nation)
  2. Abraham' Seed - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the true “seed” of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in Him)
    3. Heir of the World - {PDF Copy} - (According to Paul, the covenant promise of land for Abraham and his seed always envisioned the inclusion of the entire world)
  3. The Spirit and Inheritance - {PDF Copy} - (The gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant and the first fruits of the New Creation, the gathering of the nations, and the resurrection)
  4. The Incomparable New Covenant - {PDF Copy} - (In his death, Jesus inaugurated the promised and vastly superior new covenant, rendering the old one obsolete)
  5. Promise of the Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The promise of the Spirit is part of the blessing of Abraham for the nations and the children of Abraham)
  6. Priest Forever - {PDF Copy} - (The priesthood of Jesus is superior because it rests on the endless resurrected life of Jesus, the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek)
  7. Inheritance of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (In Jesus, the original limited promise of territory to Abraham is transformed to encompass the entire creation)
  8. The Inheritance of the Saints - {PDF Copy} - (Believers are the heirs of Abraham, and the possession of their inheritance is secured by the gift of the Spirit)
  9. Authority over the Sabbath - {PDF Copy} - (In response to Jewish leaders, Jesus demonstrated that he is Lord even over the Sabbath Day)
  10. From Shadow to Substance - {PDF Copy} - (The types and “shadows” of the old covenant find their substance and fulfillment in the Son, Jesus Christ)
  11. The Land Promise to Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (In Jesus, the limited land promise to Abraham now encompasses the entire Cosmos and all nations)
  12. The Spirit of Life - {PDF Copy} - (The Spirit of God imparts life, especially the everlasting life in Jesus of which the gift of the Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee)
  13. The Tent Pitched by God - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus intercedes without ceasing for his people in the true heavenly Tabernacle, one not made with human hands)

{THE LAW - TORAH}
  1. Circumcision - Cutting Issue - {PDF Copy} - (If circumcision is no longer required, the jurisdiction of the old legislation has changed fundamentally)
  2. Authority over Ritual Purity  - {PDF Copy} - (The touch of Jesus cleansed a leper, and the forbidden contact did not render him “unclean”)
  3. Jesus and Tradition - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus undermined the religious rationale for dietary restrictions. With the Messiah’s arrival, the old rituals lost their relevance)
  4. Food and Calendars - {PDF Copy} - (Paul argues for tolerance in the church on food regulations and the observation of holy days – The shadows now find their fulfillment in Jesus)
  5. The New Covenant in Jesus and the Law - {PDF Copy} - (Hebrews 8:1-13 - The “word spoken in the Son” inaugurated the New Covenant that rendered the old one obsolete)
  6. Law and Prophets - Fulfillment - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus came to bring all this is promised and foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures to fulfillment)
    7. Why, Then, the Law? - {PDF Copy} - (If a man is not justified from the works of the Law, what was the purpose of the Torah given through Moses at Mount Sinai? – Galatians 3:19)
  7. Rudiments of the World - {PDF Copy} - (The Messianic Age dawned in Jesus, and calendrical rituals and other Levitical regulations belong to the obsolete old order)
    8. Doing the Whole Law - {PDF Copy} - (Anyone who is under the Law is obligated to keep all its required deeds and rituals, and therefore, risks coming under its curse)
  8. Limits of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (The jurisdiction of the Mosaic regulations over the covenant community reached its limit with the arrival of Jesus, the true seed of Abraham)
  9. Redeemed and Adopted - {PDF Copy} - (The Law was an interim stage with a termination point. Disciples are no longer under its jurisdiction, but now, are in Christ)
  10. Works of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (In Paul’s letters, references to justification by “works” have a specific category of works in view – the works of the law)
  11. Change of Law - {PDF Copy} - (The new priesthood after the order of Melchizedek inaugurated in Jesus also means a change in the Law - Hebrews 7:12)

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