Fully Devoted: New CreationSample

The Time for Fulfillment

The biblical story begins with Creator God making everything with His words as an act of love. This God breathed life into dust to form human beings in His own image. And this God desires communion with us, a partnership between us. So He picked a partner named Abram and promised that through his descendants, all the nations of the world would be blessed. 

“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:17-18 NIV

And God gave this family, the nation of Israel, the tools they needed to be a blessing to the rest of the world. He set them apart, planted them strategically in the middle of the ancient nations, and chose to dwell among them. The biblical story highlights moments when Israel got this right and moments when they really got it wrong. It invites us to see when they lost sight of the purpose of their partnership and all the ways that they cheapened its significance. The very nation that was supposed to bless the whole world was using the tools God had given them to oppress the people around them. 

So at just the right time, Jesus stepped onto the scene. The Word became flesh. The Author wrote Himself into the story. He came to remind us what being human was all about. He came to show us what it really looks like to be set apart and bring blessing to others. He came to show us what the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham really looks like and how to actually experience it. Jesus introduced us to the kingdom of heaven:

“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1:15 NLT

Like Israel, the kingdom that Jesus introduced was intended to continue to fulfill God’s promise of blessing to all of creation. The good news Jesus was announcing was that He was beginning the process of rejoining heaven and earth. Through Jesus the seeds of heaven took root in human history. Literally, He allowed Himself to be killed and buried … mixing heaven and earth in a way that no one could have expected or anticipated. And before He ascended, Jesus charged His followers to continue to spread the seeds of heaven—to be fruitful and multiply and fill the whole earth with the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come near and everyone is invited in. 

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

And we watch the early church carry this out. Four times in the book of Acts, we read that the Word of God spread, increased, multiplied, and flourished.

And what is so powerful is that when Jesus ascended to heaven, He noted four distinct places the Word would spread and the powerful way in which it would multiply: 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

Did you catch it? Exactly what Jesus said would happen is happening! He is faithful to His Word—He is committed to the story of blessing that He has been writing from the beginning. 

And the ultimate expression of this blessing is when God’s rule and reign reaches every corner of creation. That’s what we get to look forward to. God’s Kingdom, which is built on a bedrock of blessing, will one day fill the whole world as heaven and earth are brought together under their one true King. Paul describes this day saying:

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 NLT

When we recognize that God’s Kingdom is built on blessing, and that from the very beginning of the story, God has been partnering with people for the purpose of blessing all nations—the full realization of Jesus’ authority over everything becomes the hope of heaven we can hold on to. 

Journaling Questions 

• What verse stuck out to you the most in today’s reading? Write it in your journal. 
• In your own words, explain what God’s promise of blessing means. 
• What is our part to play in the fulfillment of that promise? How can you choose to play your part this week?

Memory Verse

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 NIV