What if . . .? Musings on God, Salvation, Gospel, and Church
What if God's eternal purpose is fellowship with us on the earth created for hosting such a fellowship? What if God made us to be his royal representatives in and priests for creation's well-being and flourishing? What if we rejected God and God's purposes? What if God never changed his purpose but instead set about pursuing it in spite of us? What if Israel was the means by which God sought to pursue and achieve his purpose? What if almost all Israel defaulted on God's purpose for it? What if the point of Jesus (the one faithful Israelite) and his work was achieving this purpose, which he called the "kingdom of God" or, in John, "eternal life"? What if God raised him from the dead to vindicate and validate Jesus as the One who fulfilled and fulfills his purpose? What if "following Jesus" or "faith" or "discipleship" or "salvation" means experiencing and sharing in spreading that purpose even no...