Expedition 44

By Expedition 44Religion & Spirituality Christianity

Expedition 44 episodes

January 08, 20221 Peter: Intro & Background
Significance of 1 Peter
The life of Jesus and the believer’s life are inseparable in Peter’s thought.
First Peter encourages a transformed understanding of Christian self-identity that redefines how one is to live as a Christian in a world that is hostile to the basic principles of the gospel.
First Peter challenges Christians to reexamine our acceptance of society’s norms and to be willing to suffer the alienation of being a visiting foreigner in our own culture wherever its values conflict with those of Christ.
The new birth that gives Christians a new identity and a new citizenship in the kingdom of God makes us, in whatever culture we happen to live, visiting foreigners and resident aliens there.
Date and Authorship
The weightiest evidence that 1 Peter is a pseudonymous work has rested on 3 points:
(1) the Greek of the epistle is just too good for a Galilean fisherman-turned-apostle to have written.
(2) the book’s content suggests a situation both in church structure and in social hostility that reflects a time decades later than Peter’s lifetime.
(3) Christianity could not have reached these remote areas of Asia Minor and become a target for persecution until a decade or more after Peter had died, at the earliest.
Date- Arguments for a 64-ish AD date
Tradition universally has Peter in Rome at time of his death (66 a.d.) and the “coded” Babylon location is almost universally considered Rome (as in 2nd Temple literature and Revelation).

Virtually silent that he was much anywhere else (Acts 12:17) except Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, etc.

Peter could have easily traveled to and from Rome to Jerusalem and elsewhere after release in Jerusalem to his martyrdom.

Paul and Peter may have overlapped areas, but not necessarily communities.

Persecution in region fits Nero's early reign.
Audience
Arguments for a Jewish Audience
The letter contains direct quotations from the OT and abounds in allusions to it, in phrases, characters (Sarah and Abraham), and in references that evoke Jewish history (dispersion, 1:1; exiles and aliens, 2:11; Babylon, 5:13).

Absence in the letter of any reference to tension with Christians of Jewish origin, as one regularly finds in Acts and the Pauline epistles, for example, could also argue for a Jewish origin of the readers.

Those who take a Jewish audience at times do so out of dispensational eschatology and “replacement theology” concerns putting a distinction between the church and Israel.
Arguments for a Gentile Audience
References to the unholy state of their pre-conversion life (e.g., 1:14, 18; 2:10, 25; 4:3–4)

On the basis of 1:18, most modern commentators disagree that the audience was primarily Jewish Christian; that verse refers to the “the useless way of life you inherited from your ancestors” This understanding is reinforced by the further description in 4:3, “For the time past was [more than] enough to do what the Gentiles like to do, as you went along with acts of abandon, lust, drunkenness, revelry, carousing, and licentious idolatries.”
Conclusions
The metaphors of exile can be attributed to both Jews and Gentiles. Jews in the classical definition of being in exile (out of the promise land) and gentiles in the sense of being in exile in their homeland based on their citizenship in God’s kingdom. Regardless of whether the audience is primarily Jewish or Gentile it should be seen as written to the church, which is defined as Jew and gentile in the NT. Peter encourages these churches with phrases connected with God’s chosen people in the OT such as a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, God’s possession, and people of God.
1 hr 2 min
December 07, 2021 Biblical Perfection
What in world does God want?
We get 2 ditches: Legalism (Keep every law and be perfect) and Libertinism (Jesus paid it all so I do nothing). Both are wrong.
Walk before me and be perfect (Gen 17:1)
Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect (Matt 5:48)
Tamim
Shalem
Righteousness
Jesus and perfection
Fulfilling the Law
• The Hebrew and Greek terms we’ve looked at denote someone who is whole, intact, mature, and wholehearted. In no instance do they denote what our English word perfect communicates: flawless, without error.
• To Torah called for Israel’s faithfulness to God, for whole heartedness in relation to God and his ways, and for loving-kindness/mercy that reflected God’s character. This is expressed in the idea of tamim, shalem, and telios.
• What does God require? 12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deut 10:12-13)
Tamim/Telios is to be of a God Centered, allegiant, loyal life and of God like impossible perfection. It is about the trajectory of your life- the consistent path.
39 min
December 04, 2021 Citizens of the Kingdom: Series Recap
Christoformity
Image of God/Image of Christ
Bearing the Name/Faithfulness of Christ
The Example (Phil 2:1-11)/Kenosis Read Phil 2:1-11
The Kingdom of God and the Gospel
5 elements of the Kingdom
Kingdom as both present and future
The Gospel: Gospel mean good news. It was usually a royal announcement in the ancient world
The Way of the Exile
Nationalism is an “idol”
Mark of the Beast
Live as Exiles
Romans 12:2- Be transformed by the renewing of our minds… We don’t think in the ways of this world. We have the minds of the King and the Kingdom, with his rule in focus.
48 min
November 20, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 6): New Heavens and New Earth
The importance of land begins early in the biblical narrative in Eden. This is where heaven and earth overlap. Where God dwells and walks with his priests in the garden which is sacred space. Sacred space is the place were God and humanity dwell together.
With Israel the promise land, the land of Israel, was sacred space. God’s temple was there, and he dwelt with his people. The temple was the new place where heaven and earth overlapped. Israel was exiled for polluting the land with their false worship and God’s presence left.
In Jewish thought the land is essential to their eschatology and their theology. It would be crazy to think that God is a king with no country.
What is Salvation?
Our idea of what salvation is plays a lot into the land. In the west our view of salvation has been based on what we are saved from. We know we are saved from Hell, sin, death, and the Devil. But what are we saved for? Many Christians believe we are saved for heaven but is this true? We are saved for the redemption of creation to image God. The narrative begins with Eden and ends with Eden.
What is the purpose of Heaven?
Heaven is usually understood as a transcendent realm beyond time and space. Heaven is primarily characterized by fellowship with and worship of God. The final destiny of the faithful is conceived of as an unending worship service in God’s immediate presence in another world. In the Bible we see heaven as God’s throne room but also as the place where his rule and reign are perfect… Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Lord’s Prayer). We see very few mentions of going to heaven in the Bible, but it has become a huge part of Christian theology.
Redemption
What is our future? Life after death is not the goal… life after life after death is!
Rom 8:18-25. Liberation from decay and the redemption of our BODIES is the hope we are saved for. And Why? To be the image of God bodily on earth. Creation is longing for us to be redeemed so it can be redeemed too.

Jesus speaks of the regeneration when he sits on his throne. To Jews this was when God would rule on earth again. (Matt 19:28)

Acts 3:21 speaks also of the restoration of all things.

Colossians 1:20 talks about all things reconciled in Christ.

Eph 1:10 speaks of all things being summed up in Christ. In heaven and on earth. Heaven and earth is what is mentioned in Gen 1:1 for all of the cosmic creation so that is what Paul has in view of what is redeemed.

God pronounces creation “very good” Gen 1:31. Our task is to steward that creation not to escape from it to heaven (escapism is platonic and gnostic thinking).
Resurrection
1 Cor 15:44-55- spiritual body is not being disembodied but being imperishable.

Phil 3:20- our body will be like his. Jesus was resurrected bodily.

John 5:28-29 The dead in their graves will rise
The importance of the resurrection is so that the image of God can be restored to its vocation perfectly when death is defeated. Our concentration in salvation is usually being saved from going to hell but we often leave the resurrection behind. Jesus died to defeat death. Death was the result of separation from God in the garden and that is what needs to be reversed. Why?... Image of God
New Heavens and New Earth- What is our destination?
Rev 21:1-7. Heaven comes to earth. Koinos (renewed) is used here.

Isaiah 65:17-25- Consistent with the OT. The Jews didn’t have a disembodied view of being human. They believe in God restoring his Eden mission.

The meek will inherit the Earth!
45 min
November 04, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 5): Law of Christ- Sermon on the Mount
Law as Grace
The Torah was Grace. God didn’t say get right and then I’ll free you from Egypt.

Torah was Israel’s instructions on how to live in a wise way and how to properly represent God in the world. Not necessarily rules but a way of life.
What is the Sermon on the Mount?
The context is about the kingdom of God (Matt 4). So this is the kingdom ethos… the “law of the Kingdom”

The Sermon on the mount is an all-out assault on the ego… a call to be crucified and live the Jesus way.
Beatitudes
Makarios can mean happy or blessed. In classical Greek it meant the divine life… the life of the gods
Poor in Spirit
Kenosis (Phil 2/ foot washing)

Poor= beggar… kingdom of the desperate

This flows into all the other beatitudes
Gentleness that renounces selfishness and my rights over others

The capacity to mourn with the broken and not be obsessed with fixing them

Mercy that puts aside dominance and coercion

The hunger for justice and God to set things right as in the Amos, Micah, and Isaiah prophetic traditions.

The pure heart of the peace maker who does not demand vengeance.

Salt and Light
Light bearers… it’s about reflecting God’s light to those we come in contact with… bearing the name, imaging God

Salt is about impact. Salt was put on sacrifices (covenant), purified things, preserved and restored, was also a weapon of warfare (spiritual?), connected with friendship in the NT.

Light was connected to the gentile mission and Israel’s calling to represent God and also connected to good works (1 Peter 2:11-12)
Dealing with the heart issues
Not legalistic but transformative

Murder… Don’t hate… go even further, actively seek restoration (leave your sacrifice and go reconcile… remember communion last week)

Adultery… Don’t lust

Don’t make Oaths… Be a person of integrity

From the heart your actions flow
Enemy Love
Eye for and Eye was about limiting retaliation in a violent culture. Jesus says don’t even get retribution even if you are entitled to it. This is a picture of Jesus forgiving enemies.

Our love must be displayed as God did… kenosis, service, self-giving (not self-seeking) love.

If this is our high calling, how do we treat those that the church has seemed to make into enemies… Muslims? Gays? Political opponents? … religious, political, and opposites in lifestyle? Jesus would eat with these people.
Be perfect
Telios means complete and the context of this is not moral perfection or without error, but it is about love. Luke 6 translates this same verse as be merciful as your father is merciful. The Jews concentrated on God’s mercy as his chief attribute and not his perfection, power, or sovereignty. For a Jew to be perfect was to be full of mercy.
Conclusion (Matt 7:12-28)
Jesus gives a few parables. Narrow and wide gates, true and false prophets (I never knew you), and wise and foolish builders

We often hear these in the context of salvation… the real context is in living the way of Jesus, walking his path. The way of the sermon on the mount life is narrow (difficult)

Believers can do miraculous things but might not know Jesus. Jesus is looking for the fruit of this sermon… Kenosis, Enemy love, surrender, taking up our cross, …. It’s the christoform life.
25 min
October 29, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 4): Ekklesia
The Ekklesia is a group of Christ Followers who come together to be the living body of Christ. We image him by living in love and unity and continually being a witness to the Kingdom Rule of Christ in the world.
4 Things the church is: a Bride, a House, a Body, and a Family
Bride
Rev 19:7; Eph 5
House
Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Peter 2:1-10; 1 Cor 6:19
Body
1 Cor 12:12-30; Eph1:20-23; Col 1:21-29
Family
The church is described as New Birth, Children of God, sons of God, brothers and sisters, fathers, an household in the New Testament: Gal 6:10; Rom 8:29, Eph 2:19, 1 Tim 5:1-2, 1 Tim 3:15, 1 John 2:12-13, 1 John 3:14
How should the church family act?
The Members take care of each other. James 2:14-17, Eph 4:28, Gal 6:2, Rom 12:13

Spend time with each other. Acts 2:42,46

Show affection towards each other.

Grow: internally (spiritually) and externally (in numbers)

Share responsibility

Reflect the triune God in their relationships 1 John 1:1-3,
The Lord’s Supper
In the Roman context they would have these banquets where there were 3 parts.
First course was a meal together with people ranked from greatest to least (remember Jesus’ saying about not seating yourself in the pace of honor at a banquet?)

Second part was when a cup was raised (drink offering) to Caesar and pledged allegiance to him

Third part consisted of poems, songs, speeches and etc in honor of the emperor.
The church's banquets (meetings) were subversive.
1 Cor 8-11
1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34: The importance unity in relationships and community when taking communion.

1 Corinthians 9 and 11:17-34: Communion represents the fellowship meal of the priesthood in the OT. The church is the priesthood and communion is our fellowship meal.

1 Corinthians 10 and 11:17-34: We connect with God and proclaim our allegiance to Him during communion.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 and 11:17-34: the necessity for equality within the Church and the importance of meeting needs in the Body. We come to the table as equals.
Gifts and Meetings
Rom 12:6-6
1 Cor 12:8-10
1 Cor 12: 28-30
Ephesians 4:11
1 Peter 4:11
We need all the gifts in action because they display and model Christ. We cannot elevate one over another (such as pastor or teacher).
Church Unity
Rom 15:7; 1 Cor 1:11-13; John 17:20-23
In short, whenever the church gathers together, its guiding and functioning principal is simply to incarnate Christ (1 Cor 12:12)
58 min
October 21, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 3): Living as Exiles
We see that in the Biblical Narrative (and still true today) there are only 2 kingdoms: "The World" and the Kingdom of God. All the structures and systems of the world are influenced and run by Satan and the Powers.
The Bible speaks of this often in the way it uses the word “kosmos” usually translated as World. It can mean a few things 1) the earth or creation, 2) The people of the earth, or 3) the systems of world (under the enemy).
Examples of Kosmos:
1 John 5:19; James 4:4; Matthew 4:8; Mark 8:36; John 15:19; John 18:36; Gal 4:3; Col 2:8; 2 Pet 2:20
Baptism
Baptism in the 1st Century was not only an outward sign of an inward faith or simply a religious ritual but it was a political pledge.
“The early Church of the first century viewed baptism as their sacramentum to Jesus. Tertullian (160-225 AD) contrasted the Christian sacramentum with the Roman soldier’s pledge of loyalty to the emperor and the empire. He makes the case that just as a soldier, upon his oath of allegiance, was inducted into Caesar’s army, so a Christ-follower was initiated by the sacrament of baptism into God’s Kingdom. Each person vowed faithful (allegiant) service to his ruler and kingdom. Baptism into empire or baptism into Christ’s nation was the dividing line. Tertullian condemned any Christian who would be willing to swear the Roman sacramentum, since baptism was the only sacrament a Christian should observe. For the early Church, baptism was abandoning empire and claiming new citizenship in Jesus’s nation.” (RivalNations.org)
1 Peter 3:17-22
Babylon
In the early church the phrase “Babylon” became the code word for the system of Satan or the kingdom of the world (kosmos).
The Way of the Exile
We need to view America less like a biblical Israel and more like a biblical Babylon. How do we live as exiles in the midst of empire? -Brian Zahnd
Way not to live as Exiles
Tribalism
Political Parties
Violence
7 Mountain Mandate
Ways to live as Exiles
Jeremiah 29:5-7
1 Peter
Daniel
Jesus calls us to radical allegiance to His Kingdom alone
You cannot serve 2 masters (matt 6:24)

Paul tells Timothy that as a soldier of God’s kingdom he should not be caught up in civilian affairs. (2 Tim 2:4)

James says that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4)

We are called to seek first God’s kingdom (matt 6:33)
5 differences between Kingdom and Empire
1. DIFFERENCE OF TRUSTS
2. DIFFERENCE OF AIMS
3. DIFFERENCE OF SCOPES
4. DIFFERENCE OF RESPONSES
5. DIFFERENCE OF BATTLES
Honor and Pray for the leaders (Emperors)
1 Peter 2:17
1 Tim 2:1-2
We are not called to change the world’s systems but as the church to be the change and embody the kingdom here on earth
Romans 12:2- Be transformed by the renewing of our minds… We don’t think in the ways of this world. We have the minds of the King and the Kingdom, with his rule in focus.
59 min
October 14, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 2): The Gospel of the Kingdom
When we talk about Kingdom, we need to have 5 ideas at play. All 5 are necessary ingredients to define the Kingdom of God
King

Rule or a reign

A People

A Law

Land
So, it’s a king who rules by rescuing and saving people. A People who live the way of Jesus reflecting and imaging the king in sacred space… we are sacred space but our home and churches are also this space and we take this Kingdom with us and expand it as we live like the king and teach others to live under his Rule and his Law.
The Gospel
Both Jesus and Paul derived this important word (Gospel) from the prophetic poetry of Isaiah in the Old Testament (Isaiah 52:7-10) where the future arrival of God’s Kingdom through the Messiah is called good news.

The 4 Spiritual Laws and the Romans Road all contain “truths” but look a lot different than the way the apostles presented the Gospel in the Bible.

The Gospel Romans 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Tim 2:8

The Gospel is about Jesus and not us. We can't let the benefits of the gospel run the conversation of the gospel.

Simple Gospel:Jesus is King

We have a response to make when the gospel is presented... which kingdom will you be part of?
Acts 17:5-7…no king but Christ. Are we being accused of turning the world upside-down by our gospel? And how we live it out?
How do we live?
Skinny Jeans
All about social justice and humanitarian efforts

Kingdom to them means: good deed done by good people in the public sector for the common good

We often hear from these people that “I don’t want to work in the church, I want to do Kingdom Work”
Pleated Pants
Usually means God’s rule or reign but rarely means his realm.

Concentration on souls… salvation… Savior vs. Lord….Kingdom is purely religious and about getting to heaven.

Kingdom work as public activism… trying to get our states and government to be “moral” or transform the culture.
3rd Way
John Nugent: “Our responsibility is not to make the world a better place, but to be the better place God has begun in this world through Christ. We are his kingdom work. We are ambassadors who proclaim what God has done, is doing, and will do. God’s strategy is for his people not to fix this world but to plant a new world in the midst of the old one and to woo the old world to Himself through it. As followers of Jesus, the body of Christ, the new humanity and new creation is us. A new creation as begun in the midst of the old world that remains. It is the new world of God’s Kingdom and its people. So God’s people are not responsible for making the world a better place, but for being the better place that Christ has already made… the early believers were vocal in proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and visible in living it out in community… the church’s calling centers on being the better place God began in Jesus.”
John 13:35 By our love for one another, the world will know you are my disciples.
John 17:23 By being in unity, the world will know that the Father has sent Jesus.
Phil 1:27; 1 Thes 4:10-12; Eph 3:10
49 min
October 07, 2021Citizens of the Kingdom: Christoformity
Matt launches a series on Expedition 44 looking at the Kingdom of God and how to live as Kingdom citizens.
Christoformity
To be conformed/transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29- the purpose of salvation) and reflect that in our daily life. The church has gotten off track when it comes to discipleship. We think that to create a disciple is to teach someone how to make a conversion or just share their faith. True discipleship is to reflect Jesus; to become more like Jesus.
The Word of God
Mark 9:2-8; John 1:1-18
Image of God/Image of Christ
Genesis 1:27-28; Psalm 8:4-8; Romans 1:22-23, 3:23, 8:18, 8:29-30
Glory here can mean honor, but the glory given to mankind as we’ve seen in Psalm 8 is to bear God’s image.

To fall short of the glory is not moral perfection as the modern western tradition teaches. It is failure to bear God’s image.

Glorification in 8:30 is in the present tense (aorist). Glorification is the result of being conformed to the image of the son who is the image of God.

Christian theology teaches us that Jesus has always existed as part of the Godhead. If we are made in the image of God, we are made in the image of Christ (Col 1:15). Christ came and showed us how to be human and live out our calling as image bearers. So, when we conform to Christ, we conform to the image of God our vocation. Jesus is our example of how to be an image bearer (John 12:45).
Bearing the Name
Exodus 20:1-7
Faith(fulness)
Gal 2:16,19-21; 3:21-29
Faith in the western Christian tradition is usually defined as agreeing with certain beliefs or propositions. Essentially a checklist of doctrine… believing Jesus died for you, saying a prayer, affirming God created, etc. … James actually condemns this as true faith; even the demons believe and tremble… faith without works is dead… we are not saved by faith (belief) alone but also works.

While this has an aspect of the word pistis (translated as faith) this is not it’s primary meaning. Faith in the ancient world was a relational word and not primarily mental ascent.

Allegiance to Jesus is also embodying the life and mission of Jesus ourselves.
The Example /Kenosis
Phil 2:1-11; John 13:1-17
Kenosis reveals the fullness of what God is like… remember John 1… “no one has ever seen God at any time”. The fullness of God dwelt in a human body (Col 2:9). Kenosis is not the surrender of attributes but the definition of God’s nature.
Living Epistles
2 Cor 3:3
How might we be living epistles?

How do we embody kenosis to the world around us?

How does “faith” play into being a living epistle?

How do you reflect the image of Christ?
53 min
September 17, 2021 The Atonement Part 12: Series Overview and Conclusion
Where have we been and what conclusions have we come to with atonement?
Intro
• What is Atonement? We saw that the word atonement is an etymology (At- One- Ment) but the Bible speaks more of the words (KPR and hilasterion) translated as atonement as covering or purging. Expiation of sin not propitiation of wrath. God is not acted upon, sin is.
Sacrificial system
Sacrifices:
o Burnt offering is about a gift and just wanting to spend time with God.
o Grain offering is about remembering the covenant
o The well-being (Peace) offering is simply a thank you to God
o The Purification (sin) offering is about cleansing sacred space
o The guilt or reparation offering is about repayment for an unintentional sin (humans making things right with other covenant members and recommitting to the Covenant with God)
• Blood: the blood manipulation was about cleansing sacred space. In combination with atonement language, it meant to purge or cover to decontaminate the sanctuary. The blood was never applied to people except in the ordination of the priests or when the covenant was enacted at Sinai. It was a ritual detergent… the ancient power washer. Blood represented life and not death.
• Laying on of hands: Was not transferring sin but rather setting apart the animal for a purpose
• The animals were never a substitute for the person
• We saw that blood was not requires for forgiveness (there was no sacrifice for intentional sins). There are many examples of sacrifices that were not animals and didn’t require blood for forgiveness. Exodus is the central image of the cross in the Bible. Jesus dies during Passover so we need to make this our main motif of interpreting the cross
Day of Atonement
Isaiah 53
The Gospels and Acts
Romans
Hebrews
o By offering his own life and blood Jesus made purification (1:3) and atonement for sin (2:17- 18).
Died for us
- Huper and peri are always used in the “for us” and “for our sins” verses.
Legal Framework
Righteousness and Justification
Imputation
Atonement History and Church Fathers
Recap Framing questions
• Retribution or Restoration?
• Substitution or Representation?
• Transaction or Transformation?
• Judicial or Relational?
• Did God need his mind changed about us or our mind about God?
• Is there a debt owed? How does the cross bring about justice?
• Holiness and/or Love… are they opposed to each other?
• Who killed Jesus? God or us?
• Is our view of the cross to individualistic?
Recap Atonement theories
 Moral Influence Theory
 Ransom Theory
 Christus Victor
 Satisfaction theory
 Penal Substitutionary Atonement
 The Scapegoat Theory
 Recapitulation
• New Covenant Theory Do we see one theory or many in the scriptures? Do we see any non-existent theories or themes in scripture on this list? Golf club analogy… What do we think are the major themes and how do they work together?
46 min