Jesus Christ is the true ‘Word of God’. In his life, death and resurrection, he has revealed the truth about humanity and about God. He died to reconcile us to our maker and rose again to bring hope to the world. At Saint Peter’s, all are welcomed into relationship with him. Baptism is our entry into Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven. In the eucharist, our new life in Jesus Christ and in the kingdom of heaven is nourished and sustained.

The Kingdom of God

The vision statement of the Anglican Church in Melbourne is ‘To make the Kingdom (or ‘the Word’) of God fully known’. As Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians, Jesus Christ is

‘before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church … For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross … I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant … to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 

—Colossians 1.24–29

Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Having lived and died in humble obedience to God, whom he called ‘Father’, he was resurrected from the dead and exalted into heaven, thereby being revealed as the eternal Son of God. In the incarnation, death and exaltation of Jesus Christ, we encounter the truth of both God and humanity, a truth that brings actual liberation. In the words of Jesus—which are also the motto of the Anglican communion—‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free’.

The truth about God

The truth revealed in the person and history of Jesus Christ is that ‘God is love … In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4.8,10). On the cross, Jesus’ mission to reconcile the world to God is fulfilled. ‘It is finished!’ he proclaims, just before breathing his last.

The Word of God, then, is a message of liberation, reconciliation and hope. Liberated from the power of sin, we are reconciled to God, where we participate in the eternal life of God himself. A participation, through the Spirit, in the personal, intimate, liberating relationship of sonship that in eternity the Son enjoys with the Father. Indeed, we are drawn into the eternal, abundant life of the Triune God—one God, in three persons, whose unity is grounded in self-distinction from the other person.

Jesus, the Word of God, is the revelation of the Holy Trinity in the world. The Spirit that binds the persons of the Trinity together in a bond of love is also the ‘breath’ of God, binding and sustaining the whole physical universe. And it is this same Spirit that binds and sustains the whole Christian church in eternal life, allowing us to participate in Jesus’ own prayer to the Father: ‘Our Father in heaven’.

The truth about humankind

Jesus Christ reveals the truth about humankind. Created in the image of God, for the worship and service of God alone, the human race, under the cosmic influence of temptation, has turned from its true identity, purpose and destiny. Humankind has sought to be God (Genesis 3). In so doing, all have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We live in a fallen world. Having severed itself from its own roots in the Word of God, the world of modern secular culture has become a culture of alienation: from God, from itself, from one another. It has become a place in need of reconciliation: first with God and then, on this basis, with itself and with other people.

Having been reconciled to God in baptism, the church is now called to the ministry of reconciliation in the world:

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  

—2 Corinthians 5:18–20

The mission of God

It is the ministry and mission of Christ himself in which the church participates. As Jesus said, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20:21).

The Christian church is the light of the world, a true witness to the Word of God and to the new creation begun in its own life. It exists as a reminder to human society of its own need for relationship with God. The relationship with God that alone can lead to human destiny in the future kingdom of God. In its liturgical life—especially in the celebration of baptism and Eucharist, and because of the actual presence of Christ himself as host—the church is a sign and instrument of this future of God. As it leaves room in human hearts and social life for hope of the future of God, so it also mediates to individuals today the assurance of future salvation. By living out the righteous will of God, the Christian church is the light of the world, a true witness to the Word of God, a new humanity. By this spirit of ecumenical unity alone, may modern Western secular culture once more turn to Christianity as the one unifying basis of its own life.

Jesus Christ is the Word of God. In him alone do we discover our true human nature: our true human destiny, our true human dignity, our true human freedom. The Christian church preserves and proclaims the truth – the truth about God, the truth about humanity - by maintaining its own institutional independence from the ongoing political orders of this world – the powers of this world. In the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery’ (Galatians 5:1).