The central message of Jesus was the good news of the kingdom of God. He began his ministry with the proclamation that "the kingdom of God has drawn near" (Mk 1.15). It cannot be doubted, however, that Jesus saw in his own work the arrival of the eschatological kingdom of God on earth. Thus he finds and reads in the Book of the prophet Isaiah these words:

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Lk 4.18f).

Immediately after reading this, he declares: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4.21). In Luke 11.20 we find: "If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom, of God has come upon you." In Jesus' message and ministry the reign of God has not merely drawn near but has already begun. Thus Peter declares that God has made Jesus the Lord and Christ (Acts 2.36) and Paul speaks of Jesus as Christ who is destined "to reign until God has put all enemies under his feet" (1 Cor 15.25). The Christian Community came into existence by this conviction, that through Jesus the mission of the kingdom has begun in a new way and that God has made Jesus the eschatological Lord.

The people of the covenant and the proclamation of the death of Christ

There are surprisingly few references to the covenant in the New Testament. There can, however, be no doubt that in some circles, if not all, the early Christian community did regard themselves as a community bound together by covenant.

To obtain the proper perspective and understanding of the concept, the idea of a "new covenant" must be understood against the Israelite background of "covenant." At Mt Sinai, God had said to Moses: "I have made a covenant with you and with Israel" (Ex 34.27). It was God's initiative which established the covenant relationship between God and Israel in which she is bound. Throughout the following centuries, when the people of Israel were not faithful to their covenant relationship with God, the prophets called on them to be faithful to their Lord of the covenant.

In Jeremiah's view, however, the covenant had been so utterly broken by the people of Israel that the Sinai covenant was thought of as dead (Jer 6.27-30). At the same time, believing that God would restore the covenant with his people, Jeremiah predicted the days of the new covenant (Jer 31.31-34). It was this prophecy of the new covenant which provided an important motif for the Christian community's conception of itself as the people of the new covenant. Convinced that in Jesus Christ the hope of the centuries was realized, the Christian Community believed that the new covenant was established for it.

In the New Testament the principal source for the motif of "covenant" is found in the traditions of the Lord's supper (Mt 26.28; Mk 14.24; Lk 22.20; 1 Cor 11.25). But it is not altogether certain whether Jesus said "new covenant" or merely "covenant"; it is certain, however, that the Christian community was convinced that through the death of Christ it had come to live in a covenant relationship with God.

For the understanding of the theme, "The people of the covenant and the mission of the kingdom," our discussion will be focused on the meaning of the Lord's supper, baptism and the Lord's prayer which are most characteristic of the Christian community.

According to 1 Cor 11.23ff, the earliest citation of the Lord's supper, the gift offered in the cup is the new covenant that is enacted by the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the gift offered in the bread is the body of Christ which is given for us. For Paul, the sacramental participation establishes a bond of "one body" between believers. The body of Christ which the broken bread mediates to us means the body of Christ in which we are bound together in the Lord's supper. In the sacrament, thus, we receive the body of Christ by which we as the congregation are to be the body of Christ.

With the declaration that those who partake in the Lord's supper are to be the people of the new covenant as well as the body of Christ, Jesus commands his disciples, "Do this, in remembrance of me." To the Christian community this command stands for its mission which is explained by the following verse: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (v.26). The phrase "in remembrance of me" was clearly stated with a sense of the proclamation of the saving significance of the death of Christ. Accordingly, the mission of the Christian community is to proclaim the kingdom, which was revealed in the death of Christ. And as it is suggested in the clause "as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup," they proclaim the death of Christ through their participation in it.

The real significance of the celebration of the Lord's supper lies in the fact that the celebrants are to be the people who really participate in the death of Christ. For Paul the tradition of the Lord's supper is understood in terms of the motif of "participation" (1 Cor 10.16). As we drink the cup, we participate in the blood of Christ; as we eat of the bread, we participate in the body of Christ given in death. To be the people of the covenant and to be the body of Christ, indeed, means to participate in the death of Christ.

What is, then, the significance of the participation in the death of Christ? In the sacrament, the believers are received into the realm of Christ's reign. The new covenant refers to the new eschatological order of salvation; it is the reign of Christ, established in his death. Thus, those who participate in the death of Christ through the sacrament are to be the people of the kingdom of Christ. Because of such nature and meaning of the Lord's supper, Paul argues for the incompatibility of participation in the Lord's supper and in the sacrificial idol feasts: "You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons" (1 Cor 10.21).

This motif of the reign of God in Christ is well explained in Romans 6, where Paul interprets baptism in terms of the participation in the death of Christ. According to Romans 6.2ff, in baptism the believer has shared with Christ his death and thus died to sin. We may, then, ask: In what sense has the baptized died with Christ and thus to sin? Any answer can be found in the teachings of Paul who speaks of the old man who has been crucified with Christ (Rom 6.6). The "old man" is the man who belongs to the "old aeon" and is characterized by its nature.

Thinking in terms of the two aeons or dominions, Paul sees man's existence as characterized by two sets of powers which have dominion over him. In principle, the opposing lords of the two dominions are God and sin, although there are some variations. The believer in God is called a slave of God, or a slave of "obedience" (Rom 6.13, 22). Sin is referred to as the lord of the old dominion (Rom 6.6). Sin is not merely a series of separate evils but the demonic power of the old dominion, which claims the obedience of man just as God does (Rom 6.17). Man's difficulties, in Paul's view, are not so much his guilt as it is his bondage to the demonic kingdom.

The good news is, then, that something has already happened to alter this situation. In the death and resurrection of Christ the demonic dominions of the old aeon were cast down; the new aeon has begun. Paul speaks of 1ife, death and resurrection of Christ in terms of "dying to sin" and "living to God" (Rom 6.10). The believer who participates in the eschatological events of Jesus Christ through baptism is, thus, transferred from the demonic dominion of sin to the new reign of righteousness (6.18, 22). It implies a transfer of loyalty, becoming the people of God's kingdom. It should be kept in mind, however, that through the death of Christ the reign of God was carried into the demonic dominion so that the struggle with the powers and authorities of this present evil aeon has certainly begun, but has not been finally and universally completed. But man has only two possible modes of existence: to be a slave to sin or to be a slave to God. There is no possibility for a man not to be enslaved to sin unless he presents himself to God. The question, therefore, is not whether one is subordinate or independent, but to whom one is subordinate. Paul reminds Christians of the fact that they are the slaves of the master to whom they present themselves for obedience. For the people of the covenant, obedience to God is the only criterion for claiming their relation to God as the Lord and their covenant relationship with him. Paul stresses the obedient life of the believer to the degree that the believer is called to be the slave of "obedience". The truth is that the significance of the believers' participation in the death of Christ lies in their obedience to the reign of God in Christ. Thus, the obedience of the believer can never be maintained in a submissive attitude, but must be extremely radical: the kingdom of God is credible only in the confrontation of this world with the gospel of the crucified Lord. In other words, in striving to be loyal to the reign of God in Christ, the Christian community must confront the values, structures, ideologies and practices of the society of which it is a part. Accordingly, the believers' obedience means that instead of being allowed justifiably to set aside the demonic kingdom in indifference, the believers are called to fight against it with the weapon of righteousness (Rom 6.13).

In the sacrament, that is, through participation in the death of Christ, the believers are united into the body of Christ. As discussed above, the body of Christ given for us and received in the sacrament unites the recipients in the "body" of the congregation. Paul speaks of the unity of the congregation in the following words: "Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the same loaf" (1 Cor 10.17). The significance of the participation in the death of Christ refers also to the unity of the congregation as the body of Christ.

Paul's immediate concern for the Corinthian church relates to this motif of the unity as the body of Christ. In the Corinthian church the Lord's supper was celebrated in the context of and at the end of the communal meal at which the participants ate together what each contributed, according to his means. It appears, however, that in the Corinthian church all the significance and value was attached to the Lord's supper held at the end of the gathering, resulting in the preceding meal's becoming very much neglected. The communal meal was conducted in such a selfish, unbrotherly way that Paul describes the situation in these words, "For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk" (1 Cor 11.21). In doing so, the community, which should have been the body of Christ, was divided into two: those having too much and those having too little. Such a division entails, ironically, a denial of the sacrament, ie of the participation in the death of Christ. Thus Paul declares, "when you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat" (1 Cor 11.21). What becomes clear as a result of this incident is the fact that the communal meal and the holy meal are so fundamentally related that one cannot truly celebrate the holy meal when he has violated his brotherly duty. For Paul, there is no holy meal when there is no brotherly meal and there is no holy living when there is no brotherly living. To discern the body means to understand that the body of Christ received in the sacrament unites the celebrants into the body of the congregation so that they can no longer be selfish individuals "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1 Cor 12.26f).

In conclusion, to the extent that the people of the Christian community are faithful to the new covenant and the body of Christ, they participate in the death of Christ by which they proclaim its saving significance. Indeed, this proclamation remains the witness for which the Christian community exists.

Such a proclamation is to be continued until the coming of the Lord. By the phrase "until he comes", the mission of the Christian community receiving a very definite duration, becomes an interim mission between the death and Parousia of the Lord. The mission is to be very historical and even urgent, but never timeless. Yet, the consummation of God's reign will not be possible solely by the successful completion of the mission of the Christian community but by the coming itself of the Lord. Our proclamation is never worthy or capable of bringing in the eschatological salvation; it is always in a position as a sign and an instrument to resist the demonic powers and an instrument to extend God's salvation to others. Thus the people of the Christian community who proclaim the death of Christ also pray for the coming of the kingdom.

The people of the covenant and the prayer - "Thy kingdom come"

As the Lord has taught his disciples, the Christian community prays the petitions for the final consummation of God's eschatological salvation:

"Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Mt 6.9ff).

Jesus bids his disciples pray for the kingdom of God, which has already begun, but is not yet complete, to be established by God, who alone can fully establish his kingdom. The third petition "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," appears only in Matthew's version. This additional petition actually is an explanation of the petition, "Thy kingdom come," for it defines the nature of the kingdom. The kingdom for which Jesus teaches his disciples to pray is the reign of God on earth, which is the fulfilment of his will here. Accordingly, this petition calls on the praying person to conform to the will of God here on earth.

The fourth petition of the Lord's prayer requests "daily bread" (Greek, artos epiousios). In the New Testament the word epiousios is found only in the Lord's prayer where the word has been generally rendered as "daily". Although the meaning of this word has been the object of lengthy discussion, a consensus still has not been reached. The words "daily bread" are used in the RSV but the translators have added in a footnote the alternative meaning, "bread for the morrow". As Joachim Jeremiah confidently maintains, the eschatological thrust of the Lord's prayer as a whole speaks, indeed, for the fact that this petition for bread is eschatological too. We should note that for Jesus there is no distinction made between "physical" and "spiritual", "earthly" and "heavenly" bread. For him, daily, physical bread and "bread for tomorrow," ie bread of life are not exclusive of one another but are inclusive. The petition for "bread for tomorrow" certainly includes "daily bread," but the petition, referring to more than mere physical nourishment, encompasses the totality of life. Wherever and whenever body and soul are parted, the good news of the kingdom is diluted. Thus, when we pray, "Give us today the bread for tomorrow," we ask God to give us the bread of life now to enable us to live the eschatological life here on earth. Because the eschatological life begins "here", the bread of life is needed "now".

The meaning of the fifth petition is also in the same direction. Although this request is also for eschatological forgiveness, the reference in the second half, to forgiving "our debtors," is noteworthy: it refers to human activity. For Jesus, it is impossible for us to ask God for forgiveness if we ourselves are not prepared to forgive (Mk 11.25; Mt 5.23-24). Our petition, therefore, is true only when we are ready to forgive others, and our willingness to forgive others validates the sincerity of our petition for God's forgiveness. In short, there is no divine forgiveness if there is no human forgiveness; there is no divine acceptance of us if we show no brotherly acceptance here and now.

The heart of the Lord's prayer is the petition for the coming of the kingdom. But the prayer asks for the eschatological fulfilment of God's will on earth. It asks for eschatological bread, ie. the bread for tomorrow, yet, today. It asks for eschatological forgiveness, but not apart from our forgiveness of others in this life. It is clear that the practical significance of the prayer for the coming kingdom has to do with living the eschatological future here and now. The Christian community is called upon to pray for the coming kingdom, but their prayer "Thy kingdom come," is actual when they partake in the life of the coming kingdom already in this place and in this present time.

The final petition, however, reminds us of the reality of Christian existence. The reality of living the eschatological future now, here on earth, is indeed continually threatened and tempted. Hence the believers pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

In summary, for the people of the covenant, the fruit of the mission of the kingdom revealed in Jesus Christ, their obedience to the reign of Christ and their fellowship and brotherly responsibility in love, alone, remain the test for their proclamation of the death of Christ and their prayer for the kingdom to come. Though the people of the covenant are called to partake in the death of Christ and to live the life of the kingdom to come here and now, they are at best signs and instruments for the mission of the kingdom in which God will destroy all demonic forces and his reign alone will be established fully in power and glory over the whole world. Hence, we pray, "Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory." Amen.

Questions

What does it mean that we participate in the death of Christ when we proclaim the death of Christ?
What does it mean that we live the eschatological future here and now when we pray, "Thy kingdom come"?
What has the biblical teaching about "covenant" to tell us about our understanding of human community and the community of the church?
Because the church, the people of God, has its foundation in the grace of God, what conclusions can one draw for our understanding of the unity of the church?
How does your church at both the national and local level interpret the missionary task of the gospel?