God’s Story – The Kingdom Gospel

At Oakbrook Church, we teach, preach, and do our best to live out what we refer to as “The Kingdom Gospel.”  We believe that the tenets of “The Kingdom Gospel” best describe God’s great plan of restoring all of creation.  We have begun to call this “God’s Story.”  Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension Jesus Christ has defeated death, sin, Satan, and the forces of evil.  Today, the disciples of Jesus Christ – filled with the Holy Spirit – continue the work of Jesus in extending His kingdom upon this earth.  Every Christian has an important role to play in this great move of God – a move which will bring salvation to souls, healing to bodies, deliverance to captives, reconciliation to relationships, the destruction of social injustice, and the renewing of God’s beautiful creation.

The key elements of “God’s Story” can be described as follows:

• Since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, God has always been about redeeming His fallen creation and saving the world
• God desires to save souls, restore bodies, heal wounds, reconcile relationships, deliver captives, destroy social injustice and oppression, and renew all of creation
• In other words, He desires for His kingdom [His rule and reign over all things] to come on this earth as it is in heaven
• To renew His creation, God would require a complete defeat of the forces of evil that had brought corruption into the created order
• God chose a covenant people, Israel, through whom He would redeem His creation and restore the world.
• Although the people Israel would not answer this calling, God faithfully established His kingdom on this earth through His Son, Jesus Christ
• Through His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus defeated the forces of evil including Satan, sin, sickness, and death
• God is raising up a new covenant people -- the Church, the body of Christ -- to be His disciples, through whom He desires to further expand His kingdom on this earth
• God’s new covenant community is entered through faith in Jesus Christ (God’s plan and means for redemption), a faith demonstrated through a changed life and lifestyle
• God empowers and cleanses His new covenant people through His Holy Spirit so that they can carry out the ministry of the kingdom
• The Church will not use the weapons of this world to extend the kingdom, but rather weapons mighty in God (e.g., weapons such as love, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, humility, mercy, prayer, peacemaking)
• Faithful kingdom life is challenging and likely will incite persecution
• Every disciple of Jesus has a role to play in God’s story – places and opportunities to be lights in the darkness
• The kingdom will be ultimately established in full upon the return of Jesus Christ in the future
• God has given us glorious visions of the fully established future kingdom (“a new heaven and new earth”) in Isaiah 11 and 65 and Revelation 21-22 – this appears to be a complete blending of earth and heaven together