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#318 Kingdom: The Kingdom Class


The Kingdom is not a call to ministry but a call FROM eternity to grow up to the perfection of Christ. Our “call” is to acknowledge and surrender to the Government of God and to live according to the Laws of the Kingdom that have been put into our minds and written upon our hearts. We must recognize that the Kingdom of God is a total Kingdom and is the only answer to the frailties and apathy of the church. A “partial Kingdom” is no solution to human failures or the fallen nature of unredeemed man. A “partial Kingdom” is no solution to the directionless church that is wandering in the wilderness of sin and corruption.


A true Christian is designed for the Total Kingdom and within the Inner Life of each Christian there is a continuous calling and drawing into that Divine Order of His eternal Government. The fact that man is not able to live within those standards or that he cannot change himself to conform to our divine destiny is irrelevant if we have set that goal of the Kingdom as our Number One Priority. Human effort is of absolutely NO help in striving for the Kingdom Life. Everything is by God’s grace but Kingdom Grace is not the sloppy grace being promoted by the Natural Light Church. Kingdom Grace is directly linked to His Zoe Life in us and provides unlimited redemptive favor to build His Kingdom within rather than our trying to force our way into a Kingdom without.


In other words Heb 12: 28 we see this; Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;


We must “receive the Kingdom” in all its diversity and dimensions because it is the Fathers good pleasure to “give you the Kingdom.” That is Kingdom Grace! While we can never “earn the Kingdom” we still must be counted “worthy of the Kingdom.” This Kingdom Grace to receive the Kingdom is directly related to our “thankfulness to God for the opportunity and understanding.” Multitudes have no idea that the Kingdom is available to us today and are ignorantly ignoring the opportunity.


There is a Grace from God the Father and the Grace from the Lord Jesus Christ.


My theory is that most all church divisions and structures are outside the structure of the Kingdom and represent a blatant disregard for the Government of God and the Kingdom Grace to live in harmony with other Kingdom Believers. Of course the problems appear when we find that not all believers are Kingdom Believers. When I look back on my many failures I can see my disregard for the Kingdom Demands and the Kingdom Grace that was available to meet those demands.


We have presented “abstract claims” that we should clear up. We have spoken of the Christian Inner Life which IS God’s uncreated Life and His own Life, Zoe. Because it is difficult to sense the difference between our own life, psuche and His Divine Life, Zoe we may see them as one and the same. Our old life, psuche, is NOT designed for the Kingdom and its demands. However, His Life, Zoe, comes from God and is the very Life that God, Himself, has. This Life IS the original Light that we see in Genesis 1 that came before the sun, moon or stars appeared. This Life is fully compatible with the Kingdom Government of God and is fully able to meet every Kingdom demand from within us.


If we miss this one point the Kingdom demands will submerge us in frustration because of our own inability. When we rely upon our “psuche” life to function within the church problems we soon find that we have failed to live up to the Kingdom requirements. If we don’t know about His Life, Zoe, that He has imparted to us we want to quit because of our weakness and failure. “My grace is sufficient for you” is not applied to the natural life but to the Life of God within. All the grace that God makes available will be of little help if we try to live by the old “psuche life.”


A serious part of the Consecration Offering is the removal of this limited and confused natural life so that the Zoe Life of God might rise to power within us. This is not the removal of the “soul life” but a sanctification and cleansing of the soul of its dependance upon the “psuche, life”. Only then can we systematically lean on and trust in God’s Life, Zoe, to meet the demands of the Kingdom!


John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. [4] In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.


This can refer back to Genesis 1 when the “light that was Life, Zoe,” shined into that darkness that was upon the face of the deep and the darkness could not prevent the Light from overcoming the darkness and there was LIGHT.


This same Light / Life, Zoe is now the Light of men, objectively, and is also the Light / Life in the restored person, subjectively. All things came into being through Him, who IS the Creative Word of God. This Light / Life is the source of the Kingdom of God within. If we can just see this eternal Truth we can accept our Kingdom Destiny.


As long as we don’t try to meet the Kingdom demands out of our own fallen resources but rely wholly upon the Life / Light within the Kingdom, we will discover the righteousness, peace and joy within. We cannot say that about the Kingdom when we try to meet its demands out of our fallen resources. The Consecration Offering then is designed to remove our “fallen resources.”


It is clear that the church of the Kingdom (Lampstand) must be of a different mentality and function than we see today. It must truly become a “new creation” but there must be a repeat of what happened in Genesis 1. The Light / Life must shine into this darkness and recreate the whole Inner Man. The Light / Life / Power / Grace of the Kingdom must dwell in the Sanctuary of the Inner Life. The “fallen psuche” must be fully committed to the fire of Consecration, even unto death, and then there can be a resurrection of Life, Zoe! If we save the “psuche” we will lose it but if we lose it we will find Zoe, eternal. Just learning that doctrine has not resulted in the experience EXCEPT in those who have experienced the full Consecration Offering.


One source of Church divisions is when some are conservative and some are liberal and some are radical. This is the problem that has disrupted the Southern Baptist Church. Their solution was to get rid of the liberal AND the radical and make the whole denomination conservative. Each one of these groups are weak in themselves. If all power of the Kingdom comes from God they may be weak because they are outside the Kingdom. The Church that is based solely upon the Kingdom will be “conservative, liberal and radical.” How do we know that? From the parables about the Kingdom.


Mat 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. [This is radical]


Mat 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, [46] and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. [This is radical]


Mat 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; [48] and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. [This is conservative]


Mat 13:51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” [52] And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” [This is both radical and conservative]


Mat 6: 26] “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? [ This is liberal]


The Kingdom teacher is basically “conservative” by example, by precept and by experience. While it is necessary to present the demands and truths of the Kingdom, the Kingdom teacher must hold firmly to the absolute of the Kingdom. Therefore, he must be radical in comparison to others that teach the Bible. Of course this too radical for most. To be “conservative” in the Kingdom will be radical to the church. A Kingdom teacher that IS conservative will want to make all the blessings of the Kingdom available to every believer. In this he is considered as a “liberal.” The “conservative” will want to confine the privilege of the Kingdom to a few who are worthy while the “liberal” will want to offer these privileges to the universal church. However, this is too radical for some who are pressing into the Kingdom.


It is amazing how many irrelevant things divide the church. In the Amish a particular kind of engine will divide the church. A wheat binder that cuts and binds in one operation has divided the church. This sounds silly but many things like this are the source of division. Much of what divides the church later was found to be totally irrelevant to Christian faith. In fact EVERYTHING that divides the church becomes irrelevant when the Kingdom that unites the church is fulfilled in their experience.


Unfortunately, the things that divides the church which is outside the Kingdom will become a permanent division and even the source of hostility. It seems that doctrines that are not fulfilled experientially will always divide. After each doctrine has become real in our experience it unites us with those who have a similar experience. However, it will divide us from those who have ignored the experience. Once a doctrine has become our experience we can move on to the next doctrine and the problems repeat until we come into a genuine experience. Then unity comes with some and division comes to others.


Mat 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; [36] and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.


The conclusion is this; The Kingdom is conservative; it is radical; and it is liberal. This also makes it confusing. The Kingdom is ultra-conservative in its demands and obedience and cuts no slack for anyone. It is liberal in that whosoever will may access the Kingdom and receive the Kingdom life. It is radical because it sets itself against every other kingdom and seeks to shake every other kingdom to pieces.


To bring out of our treasure things new and old is a Kingdom principle. When we bring out the “new” we are viewed as too radical, too progressive, departing from the proven “truth.” Not holding to the traditions of the fathers. We are accused of walking on a slippery slope. Taking undo chances.


If we bring out something “old” we are too conservative, stuck in the mud, refuse to move forward, trying to bring us back under the law. Just the same old, same old! According to the parable in Mat 13 the Kingdom is a blend of old and new. A composite of new and old. Both liberal and conservative but totally radical to those outside the Kingdom.


The question that is presented is this; How can we hold this “church system together” until the Kingdom can be established in each one of us? How can we change from a “ministry class” and “believer class” into a “classless Kingdom?” That means into a “classless body.” How can we turn from this system where some are superior and some are inferior to a Kingdom where there are NO distinctions?


Heb 7: 7] But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.


This shows two “classes!” However, in the context the “greater” is Melchizedek and the “lesser” is Abraham. In this context the two “classes” are correct. Nevertheless, when the “lesser” in the church pays tithes to the “greater” in the church something is sadly wrong. Paying tithes to Melchizedek is still OK in the Kingdom.


For each of us who are beginning, there must be an incentive for all that we do within the Kingdom. The “incentives” within the Kingdom varies and are progressive. If there are NO incentives why do it? This IS the problem with the way the “gospel” is taught today.


Luke 19: 21] for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ [22] “He said to him, `By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave.


This slave fell into the old “labor” and “management” syndrom. Why should I work harder because by boss just gets richer and I receive no more. He expects me to do all the work and he just sits in his office. The problem is this slave saw no “incentive to work.” To rule over 10 cities or 5 cities is plenty of incentive but that was not explained in the beginning. That was the hidden “reward” at the end.


Therefore, the Kingdom preacher should keep presenting God’s eternal purpose as the “incentive” for the Kingdom now! Luke 19: 27] “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.” This is a very compelling “incentive” but was not made clear at the beginning. The Kingdom teacher must make these things clear to those who are fully consecrated. Will the worthless slave be “divided” from the others? Yes! And much more!


Divisions must come! Some will move forward and some will move backward. This causes division that cannot be prevented unless everybody moves forward together.


This current doctrine that everyone will reap equally because God loves us all the same ignores the Kingdom demands. If we reap what we sow it seems clear that if we don’t sow we will not reap. If we don’t reap it means we have no harvest and we will have to appear before God empty handed.


Exo 23:14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. [15] “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.


All seven of these feasts were harvest feasts and those who had no harvest to present could not appear before God. All these examples are clear incentives for us to produce something eternal within the Kingdom.


Now this question always arises. How can we expect to hold the church together in a classless Christian society? If there is no “believer class” and no “ministry class” how can it function and who will be in charge? The answer is part of the “radical Kingdom.”


Within the “body of Christ” there must be a “classless society” where every member is answering to the Head. The answer to “who will be in charge” is ; this function is assigned to the Head. The “lesser” being in charge is NOT a Kingdom principle. The “Head” represents a totalitarian government called the Kingdom of God! The “body” cannot be a separate government functioning on its own behalf. It is Divinely Right for the Kingdom to be a totalitarian government but it is divinely wrong for the church to be a totalitarian government. All this was murky and confused in the natural light of the Outer Court but becomes very clear in Spiritual Light.


Col 3: 9] Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, [10] and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him [11] -- a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.


When there are NO DISTINCTIONS there will be a “classless society” and Christ can finally be all, and in all. [The Head] Today we see the biased and the unbiased approach to “church” but it is weighted heavily toward the “biased.”


bias >noun 1 inclination or prejudice in favor of a particular person, thing, or viewpoint. 2 a slanting, influence unfairly; prejudice.


unbiased >adjective showing no prejudice; impartial


Mat 23: 8] “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] “And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. [10] “And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. [11] “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.


Here Jesus presents the Kingdom as a classless, leaderless and teacher-less society where all are holding the same ordination called “brothers.” The greatest is servant of all and all these other “positions of grandeur” are in trouble.


In the Kingdom everyone begins equal and as babies / children whom Jesus welcomes because such is the Kingdom. The concept of racial and cultural inferiority is assigned by men but rejected by the Kingdom as irrelevant. Jesus could choose ignorant and unlearned fishermen because what they DID was irrelevant. NO distinctions is the rule in the next restoration. “One IS your Father” puts everyone in the same family with the same genealogy.