Africa Study Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 47
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but they declared, “Every honour belongs to him,
for he is God!”
Those who believed the good news, those who
turned to Jesus, lived as his family, his people, his
Kingdom, showing and telling what he is like to
the world. Eagerly they waited for the completion
of God’s victory in Jesus. They wanted everyone
to know him.
The good things started were a long way from
complete. God’s people in Jesus failed. They did
not understand who they really were. And they
did not live like who they really were. Lots of
times, they would get confused.
But Jesus had sent his apostles, empowered by
his Spirit, to declare his message and teach his
people. Jesus’ people belong to him so tightly;
they are his body. They are hands and feet for
him in this world. Just like Adam, they are here to
show his world what he is like, show every people
what he is like. They are also here to suffer as Jesus
suffered. Time and again, they would be attacked
and hurt, just because they were his.
The apostles said, “Look back. Look at Jesus
and all he has done for you. Look ahead. Look to
Jesus and all he will do. You are his people, being
formed from every language, tribe, and nation.
That same enemy from the beginning, those same
rulers and powers who raged at Jesus, they want
to hurt us all that they can. But their time is short.
Jesus will defeat them once and for all. Soon, in
God’s time, they will be stripped of all strength
and doomed to the punishment they deserve.
Even the evil that still lurks inside us will be rooted
out. Jesus is coming back with all God’s power
and authority in full view.”
The story began in a garden. It ends in a beautiful city. A city full of people but still rich in flowing water and flourishing trees. A city of beauty,
praise, and joy. A city without tears or hurt or
wrong. A city with God and Jesus right there, for
ever, with us.
The story of the Bible is the story of God, his
people, and his world. It is the story of Jesus, who
is God, of his new people, of his Kingdom, and
his new world.
And it is our story. We are still living it.