Why Paradox?

A Paradox is two seemingly contradictory truths that coexist side by side.
Throughout the new testament, as Jesus is expressing the reality of the Kingdom of God, He uses many statements that are paradoxical.

Phrases like,

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16
“For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” Luke 9:48
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:35

are examples of paradoxes that don’t make sense in the natural order of our world but are realities of His Kingdom.

We might naturally assume that if we want to be first, we need to fight to get into first place; we need to be the best that we can be in order to outrank those around us. Jesus reveals to us that the Kingdom of God doesn’t follow the pattern of this world – it seems to contradict the natural order of our world.

It can be natural for us to want to reconcile paradoxes that we encounter in scripture because we can feel uncomfortable in the unresolved nature of a paradox. In order to partner with God to see His Kingdom come we must embrace, and live in the tension of, the paradoxes of God’s Kingdom. As we trust Jesus’ ways we will see the unique expression of His Kingdom comes to pass in our lives and the world around us.

Another reason behind the name Paradox is found in Luke 5:26. After Jesus healed a man who was paralised, the crowd that witnessed the event were amazed,

Luke 5:26 – And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

The word translated as ‘extraordinary’ is the Greek word paradoxos.

παράδοξος parádoxos, par-ad’-ox-os; (in the sense of seeming); contrary to expectation, i.e. extraordinary (“paradox”):—strange.

We desire to see Jesus do extraordinary things in people’s lives. We believe that God is present in the earth today by His Spirit and continues to transform people, communities, cities and nations for His glory! Our heart is to yield to His desires and partner with His purpose to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.