Creation.
Fall.
Redemption.
Restoration.
These words sum up the great movement of God throughout all of history to bring people to Himself for His own glory. However, I have been reading N.T. Wright's excellent ponderings on the story, and he identifies us as being in the fifth act of history. His acts are the Creation, the Fall, Israel, Jesus, and The Church.
His first two mirror ours exactly, and his last two have overt connections to redemption and restoration. However, he includes Israel as an obviously integral part of the story. I think he may have a point, and I wonder if Doxa Church should consider rephrasing our story words in order to appropriately place us in the fifth act.
If such a reconsideration was in order, what would we call act three, or Israel? What is the gospel purpose of the history of Israel in context of movement from fall to redemption?
A few words come to mind. Calling...Hearing...Reaching...Promise...
I think of the "God of the Oppressed" theology that comes from Exodus 2:23-25. It says,
"The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew."There is an important piece of history here, that perhaps we ought include in our basic outline of the meta-narrative of the gospel. How do you think this part of the story fits in, and how could it best be represented in our progression? Creation...Fall..._______...Redemption...Restoration.