In the final kingdom, God is victorious over all worlds and takes possession of them in complete justice and perfect peace. Therefore the church is placed into this world as an embassy established by the Holy Spirit so that it may proclaim and put into practice this new kingdom of reborn mankind. The only way this is possible is through the forgiveness of sins: Christ is revealed as the perfect Redeemer, who alone is the center, not only as the King of the coming kingdom, but as the heart and head of his church.
- Eberhard Arnold
December 01,2024
- Eberhard Arnold When the Time Was FulfilledWe work until we are weary to the bone and yet see so little fruit. Does everything remain as it was? Haven’t we made any progress? Have we actually helped at all, or have we merely scratched the surface of things? Is there any trace or glimpse of the goal we long for? What do all our efforts amount to in the face of all the forces of misery and evil in the world? Left before such agonizing questions, it is good to remember the light that shines from the stable of Bethlehem, for it is here we are able to sense what it means that the kingdom of God came as a little child.
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We testify to the church of Christ as an embassy of God’s future state. Therefore the church of Christ should represent today what God’s kingdom will be. The Apostle Paul says, “The kingdom of God is today, here and now, and it is justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the element of the great future. For this reason the church receives the Holy Spirit, not in order to figure out for itself a timetable for God’s kingdom, but in order to let life be directed by the Spirit, through perfect love.
- Eberhard Arnold
We expect God’s future with as much assurance as a farmer awaits his coming harvest. We need to be prepared for terrible suffering and the cruelest death in these dangerous times, for we know that faith can be proved only in distress and persecution. The wrath of God and the fire of his judgment must spread across a world unprepared for his coming. And if we, too, give way to our flesh and want to be spared, if we crave for the comfortable life we led earlier with the rest of the world, then we shall have to meet judgment like everyone else and remain far from God’s kingdom of God.
- Eberhard Arnold