Uncommon Ground 5-Day Devotional by Tim Keller and John Inazu Àpẹrẹ

 The Theologian: Kristen Deede Johnson

A realization that transformed my faith was the understanding that Christ continues to live and reign in this world. The reality is not only that Jesus Christ died two thousand years ago for our sins, but that in his resurrection and ascension he has an ongoing ministry. Scripture tells us that Jesus “always lives to make intercession” (Heb. 7:25, emphasis mine) and that he “is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Heb. 8:1, emphasis mine). As Jesus proclaims in Revelation: “I am . . . the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever!” (Rev. 1:17–18).

These present tense verses matter. They show us that Jesus has an ongoing role in this world. The classic categories of Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king are helpful here. Christ continues to serve as prophet (through the witness of his life and his teachings entrusted to us in the Scriptures), priest (through his sacrifice on the cross and his ongoing intercession between us and God), and king (through his conquering of sin and evil and his unending rule at the right hand of the Father).

The ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ, made known and empowered by the Holy Spirit, means that it’s not up to us to save others or save the world. We attest to the saving love of God in Christ, we seek God’s kingdom vision for the world, and all the while we trust that God is active through his Holy Spirit. God is the one who calls, justifies, and sanctifies. And God is the one who will usher in his kingdom.

To put this differently, we are not called to be heroes who save the day or save the culture. . . . Our story is to live as beloved children of God set apart by the grace of God in Christ and the Spirit to seek the things of God. . . . Neither the souls of other people nor the state of our cultural institutions is ultimately in our hands. And neither is our sainthood—our status before God as disciples—dependent on our work and striving. We are already beloved and holy children of God (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 4:4–7). Our motivation for seeking God’s kingdom first comes not from the need to earn our way into God’s family but from the adoption we have already received into God’s family.