The providence of restoration in the New Testament Age
25 Jesus Christ came to the earth to fulfill God's covenant with the Israelites, by having them uphold God's Will. He came to fulfill God's covenant with the people who at an earlier point in history had been in the position of servants, and restore them to the position of adopted children and then true children. One who has faithfully fulfilled his or her duty as a loyal servant can then stand in the position of adopted child. That is why in the providential history of restoration God tried to lead the Israelites to fulfill the duty of loyal servants, and upon that foundation He wanted to relate to them as His adopted children. (42-283, 1971.03.27)
26 How can one become an adopted child? Until the Son of God came to this earth, it was not possible. After the Son of God came to the earth, those who listened to the Son's commands and obeyed them could finally become adopted children. This is how God worked to connect the Old Testament Age to the New Testament Age. Believers in the Old Testament Age were servants who wished to receive the inheritance, which is a benefit of becoming adopted children. That is why they waited for the coming of the Messiah. In other words, their desire was to surmount the sorrowful circumstances of a servant and advance, through the Messiah, to the position of adopted children. In the absence of a son or daughter of direct lineage, an adopted child is entitled to receive the inheritance from his or her parents. God, in directing the servant-level Old Testament Age, therefore guided the people so that they would maintain their desire to transcend the servant's position and thus benefit from attending His Will. God desired them to do so. This is why the Israelites continued to long for the privilege of leaving behind the position of servant and receiving God's inheritance, and why they maintained the concept of being the chosen people. (42-283, 1971.03.27)
27 Jesus went one step higher and introduced God's love. In the Old Testament Age, Moses introduced only the God of authority, the God of power and the God of judgment, but he was not able to introduce the God of love. It was Jesus who introduced His love. Yet although he introduced the God of love and was himself a man of love, the people of his time did not accept him. (35-277, 1970.10.25)
28 Two thousand years ago, Jesus was sent to the earth. On the foundation of Judaism, he was to establish the realm of a world religion in his lifetime. He was to stand as the axis of a religious movement on God's side that would assimilate Rome, even though it might face Rome's opposition. That is, in Jesus, God sent the very Messiah that Judaism had been waiting for. Who was Jesus? He came as the Messiah of Judaism and died while pioneering the way of the Messiah of the world. Then, what happened to Judaism? Up to that time they had been attending God as the God of Judaism, but that was no longer sufficient. What did Jesus come to earth to teach? He did not come to teach about God according to the teachings of the Old Testament. He came to teach about the God of the New Testament Age. (105-214, 1979.10.26)
29 As a first step, God raised up Israel as a servant nation and raised a people who would serve. Then, when Jesus, the Son of God, came to them, had they believed in him and believed his words, then by their faith in him they would have been elevated from the position of servants to that of adopted children. Then, when Jesus had gone a step higher, his believers would have become his children. What do I mean when I talk about Jesus going a step higher? After the Fall on earth, there were no original ancestors. Therefore, if Jesus had been elevated to the ancestor's position, the people of Israel could have gone from the position of adopted children, been engrafted into him as God's children, and received their right of inheritance. However, this did not happen. That is why Romans Chapter 8 says, “But we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies,” and also, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” This shows that they could only become adopted children. Christians today are adopted children, from a different lineage. (154-337, 1964.10.05)
30 What must you do to become adopted children? That is the question. Adopted children should be better than servants. Adopted children should be better than the servants on God's side and better than Satan, who is the king of the evil world. Satan was originally an archangel, a servant; to be an adopted child you have to be better than a servant. This is logical from the viewpoint of the Principle. Therefore, you must have the conviction that you will conquer Satan's world with your own hands; otherwise you cannot become adopted children. In order for God to move forward, today He needs one representative who can live for His sake more than anyone else has in history. Only when that person appears can we enter the era of adopted children. God has toiled throughout the long ages of history, through a vertical history age after age, to mobilize one people and create the realm of adopted children. We too need to emerge as adopted children in order to earn our right of inheritance from God, our Parent. (89-203, 1976.11.22)
31 If God had His own children, He would have no need to adopt children. It is because He has no children of His own that He needs adopted children. God's purpose in adopting children is eventually to restore true children. Therefore, an adopted child should have the heart that the inheritance he or she receives from God is not really theirs to keep; it is meant for God's direct sons and daughters. This is how adopted children should be. Adopted children should be willing to offer their lives for the sons and daughters who are to come. They should hope to see the birth of the sons and daughters of direct lineage whom God desires, although it may require sacrificing everything they have. They must always prepare such a heart to receive them. Unless they uphold this standard as adopted children, they will have no relationship with the direct children of God. (89-204, 1976.11.22) |