Sacred Space in Consummation - The Preface to Consummation

God's promise to recover sacred space - that is, to recover and perfect His intimate relation with His creation - has been realized in Jesus Christ. He is the true sanctuary of God, but also its foundation: In Him, men are being built together to be the Lord's dwelling place. And yet God's ultimate purpose is that the whole created order should become sacred space; the sanctuary that now consists of the Church will, in the end, embrace the whole creation. And so, while the eschatological kingdom that is the "eternal state" has been inaugurated in Christ's new creation, it awaits its consummation at His return. The creational transformation promised by the Old Testament scriptures - that is, the consummate kingdom of God - is now present in substance; all that remains is its progressive growth until it enters into its fullness in the day of Christ Jesus. This sermon considers the present reality of the "eternal state," showing from various vantage points that this is precisely what the New Testament teaches.