Gospel as Center: chapter 11

On "The Kingdom of God."

• What does "kingdom" mean here? It signifies God's authority over both sacred and secular (Luther's right- and left-hand kingdoms), a theme binding the Old and New Testaments together. It is manifested in creation, the Exodus, Israel's and Judah's kings, the prophets, and the person of Christ as revealed in the New Testament.
• How is our identity as Christians shaped by this concept? God's authority redeems us, makes us His own adopted children (with concomitant rights and responsibilities), and spurs us to praise Him through every aspect of our lives.
• What about the right-left overlap? "The church does not have any juridical authority in the city/state public square, but that does not mean that the church ought to stay on the periphery. The church does have the responsibility to act in mercy and to engage our community with deeds of social justice (see James 1:27)" (pp. 204-5).
• Loving our neighbor = noticeable in the world because it is the opposite of the natural man's tendency.