Christ's resurrection doesn't mean escaping from the world; it means mission to the world based on Jesus's lordship over the world.
Interpretation
The resurrection of Christ signifies a call to engage with the world rather than withdraw from it.
N. T. Wright's quote emphasizes that Christ's resurrection is not merely a promise of escape from worldly troubles but rather a directive to actively participate in the world under the authority of Jesus. This mission is grounded in recognizing His sovereignty, urging believers to engage in transformative actions that reflect their faith and commitment to His teachings.
In practice
Using this quote in a sermon to inspire community service and social responsibility.
The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom. . . . It is the decisive event demonstrating thet God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven." "The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.
True worship doesn't put on a show or make a fuss; true worship isn't forced, isn't half-hearted, doesn't keep looking at its watch, doesn't worry what the person in the next pew is doing. True worship is open to God, adoring God, waiting for God, trusting God even in the dark.
Most of the things that really matter require faith. How do I know that my wife loves me? How do I know that Mozarts Jupiter Symphony is sublime and beautiful? There are all sorts of things which come at a more lowly level than that - How do I know that two plus two equals four? There are different layers, different types of knowing.
To get overprotective about particular readings of the Bible is always in danger of idolatry.
Without God's Spirit, there is nothing we can do that will count for God's kingdom. Without God's Spirit, the church simply can't be the church.
I'm not a universalist, and the way I talk about final loss is this: People worship idols - money, whatever. Their humanness gets reshaped around the idol - you become like what you worship. That's one of the basic spiritual laws.
When God accepts a sinner, He is, in fact, only accepting Christ. He looks into the sinner's eyes, and He sees His own dear Son's image there, and He takes him in.
We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a singleminded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature.
We know a thing by its opposite corollary; hot by having experienced cold; good by having decided what is bad; love by hate.
If I define my neighbor as the one I must go out to look for, on the highways and byways, in the factories and slums, on the farms and in the mines, then my world changes.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
The exit is usually where the entrance was.
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