Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
The speaker claims God’s goal from Genesis (“image of God,” “fruitful and multiply”) is a world filled with “loving children who were obedient and chose to be like Him,” and that Jesus came to restore that project “here,” not to scrap it; how would early Christians—praying “Your kingdom come… on earth”—have understood their everyday forgiveness and love as participation in that restoration?
Another way to ask: If early Christians prayed “Your kingdom come… on earth,” how would they see everyday love and forgiveness as helping God restore what He started in Genesis?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the transcript, early Christians would have seen everyday forgiveness and love as part of God restoring His original purpose on earth: a renewed humanity that reflects God’s image, making the world again a place God can call “very good.”
- The speaker roots the goal in Genesis: humans were made “in our image… according to our likeness” to “do our kind of thing,” and to multiply people “like God.”
- He states God’s purpose: “loving children who were obedient and chose to be like Him… fill the world up with a family of people who were like God.”
- He says Jesus came to restore “that state here,” not so God can “scrap this whole project,” tying salvation to the restoration of life on earth.
- He connects this to prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done in earth just like it is in heaven.”
- He uses 1 John’s vision of present change: “the darkness is disappearing and the true light is already shining,” as Christians live Jesus’ love.
- He claims this love changes the world’s “fragrance,” making it “more pleasing to God” and part of the “restoration” toward “a new heaven and a new earth.”