Celtic Odyssey

Table of Contents Part 01 Part 02 Part 03 Part 04 Part 05

As we conclude this series on the goodness of humanity ( Part 1 is here ) , I want to look at the obvious signs — all of the “bad things” that happen in the world—that point in the opposite direction of what I’m advocating. That is, if Jesus has really reconciled all things to God, then why aren’t things getting better? For a lot of Western Christianity, the answer to that question would be, “Because of sin. We’re still sinful people. This is who we are at the core. We’ll never be free from sin this side of heaven.” But, as we saw in Part 1, that’s not who we are “at the core.” That’s Genesis 3. But in Genesis 1, at our deepest level, we’re made in the image and light of God and sin can never defeat that (see Genesis 1.26-27 ; cf. John 1.4-5 ). I remember being in a men’s Bible study group once. We were reading the “Sermon on the Mount” from Matthew’s Gospel. We had just finished reading this passage: Matthew 5.38ff (adapted) : “You’ve heard that it was said, An eye for an eye...

In this series, I’ve been answering a question about the “good virtues and attributes” of humanity. Part 1 addressed the issues of the brokenness of the world and Yahweh’s plan to fix it. In Part 2 we addressed the plan finding its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. We saw how the Realm of God began through his life and continues to expand and grow. One of the outcomes of Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension was the reconciliation of all things. In Part 3 , we listed the “good virtues and attributes” of humanity because of this reconciliation. We ended that post with remarks that people will say I’m naïve and delusional for thinking humanity is righteous, holy, faithful, good, etc. We briefly looked at the idea that, while God’s Realm was established in the first century, it continues to grow and expand. We see this idea of God’s Realm expanding quite clearly: Ezekiel 47.1-12 (adapted) : When the man brought me back to the temple’s entrance, I noticed that water was flow...

In answering a question from a friend about the “good virtues and attributes” of humanity, we started laying the groundwork for a response. We ended Part 1 with the Jews searching their scriptures and praying for Yahweh to rescue them. Then, in Part 2 , we saw how everything changed with the incarnation of Jesus. And we ended that part showing how all of humanity, all of creation, was changed because of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The world has now been reconciled to God ( Colossians 1.19-20; 2 Corinthians 5.18-19 ). With all of that as a backdrop, here’s what humanity is now becoming (though some, perhaps most, may not know it yet): Righteous: Acts 10.22; Romans 2.13; 3.21ff; 5.1ff; 8.30; 9.30; 10.4ff; 14.17; 1 Corinthians 1.30; 2 Corinthians 5.21; Galatians 2.16; 3.6ff; Philippians 1.11; 3.9-10; 1 Timothy 6.11; 2 Timothy 2.22; Titus 3.7; Hebrews 12.11, 23; James 2.24; 5.16; 1 Peter 2.24; 1 John 2.29; 3.7; Revelation 22.11 Holy: Acts 2.4; 4.31; 8.17; ...