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.

How to Live Long & Prosper in the Land: Paul’s Gospel And Civilisational Renewal

April 25, 2020 by David Orton

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. Romans 10:5 Paul declares unequivocally that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). And yet the majority of commentators have … [Read more...]

Radical Witness in Hostile Times: A Eucharistic Prayer

April 12, 2020 by Virginia Orton

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” 1 Corinthians 11:26 This Easter we consider the radical nature of this covenantal meal, particularly in a culture that is increasingly hostile to the Christian witness. Even though many national governments have decreed "lock-down" because of COVID-19, the kingdom of God is … [Read more...]

Cultural Apostasy: The Coronavirus in Context

March 20, 2020 by David & Virginia Orton

You may well be asking, “Where is God in the current Coronavirus outbreak?” How do we understand it and respond in this moment of crisis? First, we must establish that God is good. He is not the author of evil and tempts no one: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. James 1:13 Second, … [Read more...]

Romans: Covenant Predestined, Part 6a

January 31, 2020 by David Orton

EXPOSITION: Chapter 9:1-29 9:1-5—Introduction: The Tension Between God’s Promises and Israel’s Plight 1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of … [Read more...]

Romans: Disobedience & Dispossession—Covenant Administered, Part 6

January 26, 2020 by David Orton

EXPOSITION: Chapter 9:1-11:36 Chapters 9-11 follow fast on the heels of ch. 8—of Paul’s declaration of God’s predestined purpose for history. We have seen that God, in his sovereignty, has purposed to fill the earth with his glory through the unveiling of his mature sons, the corporate Christ, and thereby liberate creation from its corruption. The apostle now, in these … [Read more...]