To explore the biblical theology of God’s response to suffering, it is critical that we first examine the concept of the “kingdom of God”, then justice as set forth in the Old Testament and an accurate understanding of what poverty is.

My first assertion is that the kingdom of God is central to understanding how God deals with suffering and poverty. Indeed: “The kingdom of God has become a central theme in the biblical underpinning given to much Christian action against poverty” [1] This is because the Kingdom of God is centered on allowing God’s justice to be done in this world.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus sets out His mission statement [2] of how He operates His kingdom:

“…to preach good news to the poor… proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18, 19)

The gospel of Mathew presents a complementary view of Jesus putting these words in action: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”(Matt 9:35)

Both of these Scriptures serve to point out that the kingdom ministry that Jesus undertook was all about: “teaching, preaching, and healing” [3]

Understanding the kingdom of Name God offers us an insight into the mind of our creator. In it, we find that we have all been given worth because we are made in God’s image. The Kingdom of God, is the system which God has instituted and blessed as the way in which we, as His creation should interact with him, each other and our environment.

Being of a fallen nature however, we as humans are geared towards exploiting and undermining this ordained plan. Linthicum explores this perversion of the system:

“Therefore, a system created by God to bring humanity into relationship with God, and through that relationship to create a politics of justice and the nurturing of the ‘common wealth’ becomes a system of economic exploitation and political oppression which uses the values of the community to control and oppress the people.” [4]

Such exploitation can be seen through any broad stroke of history. In recent times, we have seen the communist philosophy take hold (and loosen its grip) in European countries such as the former Soviet Union. This Communist philosophy promises so much, to bring equality of men, to abolish the class system, to allow the common good to take precedence over all else. � However, what we most remember from the Soviet Union� in particular, is the perversion of justice from those in control by exploiting the working class to maintain comfortable and often extravagant lifestyles.

To further help our understanding of the Kingdom of God, Hughes offers us these four perspectives: new birth, forgiveness, obedience and power through suffering. Each of these builds on the previous perspective to create a powerful insight.

It is Jesus who said: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Type kingdom of God unless he is born again.”(Jn 3:3) Paul further underscores this point: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corr. 5:17) Total transformation is a hallmark that a person is living in Gods kingdom. Because: “The kingdom is essentially a work of God in people’s hearts” [5]

Forgiveness flows from new birth as we see with Jesus’ interaction with what his pharisaical contemporaries would call ‘sinners’ or outcasts. [6] By definition, sinners were: “those who had fallen foul of God’s law in some specific way such as adultery” [7] These ‘sinners’ were also the ‘indignant poor’; the destitute who couldn’t afford to participate in the temple rituals.

Jesus extended his hand of healing to these people and offered them forgiveness. “Accepting the forgiveness of Jesus is the way sinful human beings enter the kingdom of God.” [8]

In obedience to God, we, as Christians, realize the outcomes of new birth and forgiveness. Obedience is taking God’s example of forgiveness and putting it to action within the context of our daily lives. Jesus tells us the consequences of obedience:

A consequence of an obedient life is often suffering for the cause of justice. We are exhorted to take up our cross daily (Matt 10:38-39) and share in the suffering of our Lord. Through his suffering and ultimately his death on the cross we find this: “pattern of power through suffering remains the pattern for all members of the kingdom” [9] We are not called to live comfortable lives, rather lives of compassion, following our saviors’ example of sacrificial love.

We have clearly established the kingdom of God as Jesus’ kingdom, where He exercises His authority. We understand this from His mission statement in Luke 4:18-19. We have also seen that this kingdom has been corrupted by sin and the fall. However, we have also noted that all can � enter this kingdom through new birth and being transformed in Christ, accepting His forgiveness, from this flows obedience and resistance against us from the world for seeking to do God’s will.

We will now set out to define who the poor are, how they have ended up in their respective situations and ways that we can combat poverty with regards to justice and the kingdom of Name God.

Stott candidly classifies the poor into three categories:

�”the indignant poor, who are deprived of the basic necessities of life. Secondly, and sociologically speaking, there are the oppressed poor, who are powerless victims of human injustice. Thirdly, and spiritually speaking, there are there the humble poor who acknowledge their helplessness and look to God alone for salvation.” [10]

It is these first two, the ‘indignant poor’ and the ‘oppressed poor’ that Jesus had so much to say about, and so it is here that we will concentrate. The third category, the ‘humble poor’ would best be seen as a result of the transformation as discussed above.

Broadly speaking, it is fair to say that the people in the two former groups are not responsible for their position. The corruption of the system put in place to protect them should illicit considerable blame. It is the lack of justice in society that keeps the poor in their current condition. The Old Testament has long condemned injustice in its various forms. [11]

So what should our response, as Christians, to the poor be? Firstly, we must � align our thinking with � God’s and in doing so we will then find the tools and resources to help us fulfill our part in God’s kingdom

“Our justice corresponds to God’s. We are able to give because God gives to the poor through us, equipping us for this purpose. God’s grace flowing through us is manifested in the form of justice.” [12]

We should be motivated to do God’s justice not out of intellectual understanding or unfeeling readings of the law, but out of gratitude that God has redeemed us already.

“God’s people are commanded to do justice on the basis of what they themselves have received in the gracious acts of God. In a passage in which justice and love are parallel, it is stated:

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner therefore; for you were sojourners in the land of Name Egypt. (Deut 10: 18-19, RSV)” [13]

It is the will of God that Christians be: “engaged in those actions which will bring to an end human misery in all its manifestations” [14] Or, in very simple terms: “God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves” [15]