God's Purpose

This teaching stream explores God’s Purpose in time-space history.

Humankind dreams of a better world, but how can that happen? God has a plan for human flourishing – a new world here and now – and it's revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. It is explicated through the biblical motif of 'Kingdom & Covenant'—God's Government and its Constitution as the genius of a New World Order.

Sovereignty & The Pagan Power-State: Studies in Daniel

November 24, 2018 by David Orton

Divine Sovereignty: asserted by Daniel Every chapter of this book clearly asserts the sovereignty of God. In referring to the lesson of fulfilled prophecy that Daniel provides for the church, the translator’s preface to Calvin’s commentary on Daniel points out that, “they [fulfilled prophecies] display His ceaseless dominion over the wills of Sovereigns and over the destinies … [Read more...]

Romans: Justification by Faith Alone Verified from the OT, Part 4c

September 18, 2018 by David Orton

EXPOSITION: Chapter 4:1-25 The Problem of Gospel Myopia Gospel Clarity With his progressively prosecuted argument from 1:18 to its brilliant climax in the passage 3:21-31, the question must be asked as to why Paul continues with another chapter. Surely it is a case of overkill! Not at all, the apostle now goes for the jugular—the chapter is pure polemics and highly … [Read more...]

What is Christianity? 6 Distinctives of Christian Belief

September 9, 2018 by W. J. Ern Baxter (1914-1993)

Since the so-called 'Enlightenment' the church has had a tendency to err to pietism, on the one hand, restricting the gospel to personal salvation while surrendering the world to Satan, and to liberalism on the other hand, making the gospel socially applicable while thoroughly naturalistic in character. Speaking out of a concern for the true nature of church, in light of the … [Read more...]

What We Are Doing & Why

August 25, 2018 by David Orton

Our Call At the age of 18, having been arrested by the call of God, I found myself in Bible School in Sydney. And, through the laying on of hands by the prophetic presbytery, God spoke to me confirming that call: For behold you shall be a teacher of the Word and you shall know loneliness and narrowness as I make demands upon you says the Lord. Behold you shall teach from the … [Read more...]

Romans: The Universality of Judgement & Justification, Part 4b

July 29, 2018 by David Orton

EXPOSITION: Chapter 3:1-31 In v. 1-8 the apostle continues to address the Jews, although, he now rhetorically poses the potential conclusions (v. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8) from the previous passage (2:17-29), asserting that they are fallacious (v. 2, 4, 6, 9). He has so radically redefined the Jew that it begs the question of: 1) their advantage above the Gentiles; 2) the value of … [Read more...]