#343 Kingdom: For Jesus’ Sake
After preaching, traveling and teaching for over 36 years I have finally discovered the “Keys to the Kingdom” which is doing all for HIS SAKE. This “man centered” gospel, which is the “ME” centered gospel, which is the “earth centered” gospel, has deceived us all into thinking that God and Jesus did everything for“man’s sake.” If I had been the only one, Jesus would have died just for ME is a popular concept.
If I accept Jesus as my personal Savior, what can I get out of it? If I serve God, what will be my reward? What must I do to sit on the throne of Heaven? How can I fill my pockets and prosper and be in health? If I overcome, what will be my position in the Kingdom? How can I tell if the inconvenience of following Christ will be worth it to me?
The “man centered gospel” has been preached and accepted for so long, anything different is considered as heresy. Therefore, I have assembled some scriptures to show the error of this “what can I get out of it gospel.” This may be a little “overkill” with the scriptures on “for My sake” but we are living in the time when this perverted gospel must be reconciled with the scriptures and be modified with the message of the Kingdom Government of God and His Eternal Purpose.
.MT 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 10:18] and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
Mat 10:39] “He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.
Mat 15: 25] “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
Mat 19: 29] “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.
Mark 8:35] “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it.
Mark 10: 29] Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, [30] but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
Mark 13:9 “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
Luke 6:22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
Luke 9: 24] “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
Luke 18:29] And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, [30] who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Luke 21:12] “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
John 15: 21] “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
Acts 9:16] for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Rom 1: 5] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake,
Rom 8: 36] Just as it is written, “FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
1 Cor 4: 10] We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ;
2 Cor 4: 5] For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Cor 4: 11] For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
2 Cor 12: 10] Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake;
Phil 1:29] For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Phil 3: 7] But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Phil 1: 6] and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the
knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake.
1Pet 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,
1John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
3 John 1: 7] For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the
Gentiles.
Rev 2: 3] and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
Even the restructuring of our inner life is for Jesus’ sake. Our preaching the Kingdom is for Jesus’ sake. For Jesus’ sake, for the Kingdom’s sake, for the gospel’s sake and for Christ’s sake is all focusing upon the same thing. For Christ’s sake or for the Kingdom’s sake is interchangeable and magnifies God’s Eternal Purpose. Jesus didn’t do anything for His own sake but for the Father’s sake. In the same way the Father sent Him, He sends us. When we go out for our own sake we have missed the Kingdom reality of only going out for His sake and for the sake of the Kingdom.
2 Cor 4: 11] For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
This is probably the clearest statement, concerning the personal cross for Jesus’s sake, that we can find. Death works in us so that Life can work in others, for Jesus’ sake! It is the personal cross that is the real key to ministering the Life of Christ and the Spirit of Christ to others, but it is really for Jesus’ sake.
The question that logically arises is this; since Jesus has attained to the highest heaven, to Mount Zion, the Throne of God and has been given all authority over heaven and earth and He has been exalted and given a name above every other name and is now reigning until every enemy is put under His feet, how could our physical death or our death to self and or our death to Adam benefit Him?
Obviously if we looked at this logically and from earth viewpoint, none of this makes any sense. If we only see 2 Cor chapters 4, 5 and 11 as “external ministry” we may completely miss the significance of the meaning and the reality of “for Jesus’ sake.”
Jesus’ whole purpose of coming to earth was to do the will of the Father. This He did for the “Father’s sake.” Then how are we going to “help Jesus” do the Father’s will today? If we lose track of the reality that Christ is both Head and body we may misunderstand how Jesus is doing the will of the Father today.
1CO 12:12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many.
The revelation here is that “CHRIST” is BOTH Head and body. The “MAN CHRIST JESUS” is still the Man Christ Jesus.
1 Tim 2: 5] For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
I will try to say something here without sounding or being a heretic. Christ is the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us in the body of the man, Christ Jesus. We were born again by that same living and abiding Word of God that was birthed in the womb of Mary, Jesus’ mother. This is the origin of the man Christ Jesus! However, now in this dimension of the church age,”CHRIST” is both Head AND body. The Man Christ Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. CHRIST / MESSIAH / WORD OF GOD is here, in this dimension, both with us and in us, COMPLETING THE WILL OF THE FATHER. “CHRIST” is both Head and body! Everything that the body does is for Jesus’ sake, for Christ’s sake, for the Kingdom’s sake and for the Father’s sake. As long as “the body” functions “for its own sake” it has lost its way OR is deceived.
Acts 7: 55] But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; [56] and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
The Spirit of Christ, the Word of God, had already come to dwell in His disciples. At this SAME time Jesus, the son of man, was standing at the right hand of God.
Without laboring the point we should see that Christ is BOTH HEAD
AND BODY. This is not a physical body but a spiritual body. This Spiritual body has both Head and members. Even though this “body and Head” is one but is invisible, it is still a real Spiritual body. This Spiritual body IS “Christ” who is BOTH Head and body.
The purpose and will of the Father is to have many sons who are conformed to the image and just like His only begotten Son. Christ then is our High Priest, who with His sons make up the eternal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. This distinguishes between the children of God and the sons of God. The Father’s purpose is to bring this “body of sons” to the same glory of His only begotten Son.
Now to comprehend the magnitude of this we must move from “man center” to God / Father center to finally realize what the Father will receive from all this to fulfill His eternal purpose. That very purpose was determined, predestined and fixed by God’s absolute sovereignty before the world was. It other words this whole earth experience is being carried out for the “Father’s benefit” to fulfil His purpose. All of creation exists and was created by Him and for Him. Man came much later but his only purpose for existence is to fulfill God’s purpose and bring joy to God’s heart. We could say that when God opens our inner spiritual eyes, we will see everything is for “the Father’s sake.” Jesus Christ came “for the Father’s sake.” Everything He did was for “The Father’s sake.” He didn’t come to do His own will but the will of Him who sent Him.
Now God has set His only begotten Son, the man Christ Jesus, at His own right hand. Still, He is not satisfied until His many sons are developed to share the same glory. However, if we carry this farther we could say “the marriage of the Lamb” has come and His bride has made herself ready. Why? For her sake or for His sake?
Maybe now we can relate our personal cross to how this will benefit the Father and bring joy to His heart. Without the personal cross there can be no sons like His only begotten Son. There will be no Body for Christ because there can be no “manifested sons” except those who are of the same measure and stature as the only begotten son. Jesus Christ IS the “pattern Son” for the perfection and manifestation of the MANY sons of God. Growing up in all things into Him, who is the Head, is the requirement for achieving sonship.
This growing up is not directed to the outer man but is for the new inner man.
2Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. [17] For momentary, light affliction [ personal cross] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, [18] while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Rom 8:16] The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
Developing the outer man is a waste of time because he is designed to decay. It is amazing how we could relate the personal cross to how it will benefit us for all these years. I related the transparency of the New Jerusalem to how it will benefit me. I will ascend the Holy Mountain, Mount Zion, because this is how “I” will benefit! I struggle to become an overcomer because this will benefit me. If I can come to the day when He hands out the rewards, I will receive acknowledgment and a great personal benefit. The real question is this; How can “I” be blest and prosper, and be in health and develop the perfection of the bride that “I” might be a governor in the Kingdom of God. I can promote “myself” in eternity by suffering through the ministry today. The error magnifies as I relate the Kingdom as the means for “my own advancement.” I will follow the Lamb where ever He goes because “I” want be part of the 144,000 for my sake! “I” will get the eternal treasure in this earthen vessel for my sake. I will search for the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price because this will “set me apart” from the rest.
There appears to be no scripture that we couldn’t interpret as benefitting man. This is exactly why our whole theology is screwed up because we can only see that He did everything “for me.” He became poor so I could be rich. He suffered and died so that I can be free. He received the curse so I could receive the blessing. His whole sacrifice was so “I” could be blest.
Even the personal cross is interpreted from the viewpoint of how this will “benefit me.” But, really, if it doesn’t benefit me, why should I bother? If it doesn’t help me fill my pockets, or help me become prosperous here and eternally, or reward me, why should I even be concerned. This “me center” has distorted and perverted the very root and meaning of the “gospel of the Kingdom.”
It is incredible that we could study so much over all these years and never understand how destructive this “man centered”- “me center”- gospel is to God’s eternal purpose and to His Kingdom Government in man. How long have we delayed the fulfillment of the desires of God’s heart to see His manifested sons?
As long as we continue to permit the church to view everything from the earth viewpoint, nothing will change. The “successful” churches today emphasize what man can receive and how he can be the center of God’s blessing. They focus upon what will make their believers happy and contented sitting in church receiving ALL that God has “for you.”
2 Cor 4: 18] while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Other churches follow the Matra of the successful churches and soon the deception flies through the whole church system very quickly. However, if you observe the shallowness, the barrenness of the lives and the empty promises that are made, it is clear that these blessing seekers are not developing an inner life where God can dwell in any fulness.
The objection to the “God dwells in the inner life” message is that the Bible says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Of course that is true! However, in the same way that God dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses, He also dwells in our body. Where in the Tabernacle of Moses did God specifically dwell? We could say “in the sanctuary” and be correct. But if we ask where in the Sanctuary did He dwell, we would have to say “in the Most Holy Place. But where did He actually speak from? From between the Cherubim, above the Ark of the Covenant and over the Mercy Seat.
Does God dwell in our body, which is the reality of the Outer Court? Yes! But more specifically He dwells in the Inner life or the reality of the Sanctuary. But even more specifically He dwells in the spirit of man, the Most Holy Place. This IS the location from where He speaks. In the Tabernacle of Moses, God did not descend INTO the Most Holy Place until everything was completed, in the proper place and EVERYTHING was anointed and sprinkled with blood.
We create a “doctrine” that says God dwells in my body from the first moment I believed.
John 14: 23] Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. [24] “He who does not love Me does not keep My words
It is amazing how easily these shallow doctrines can be destroyed with truth when we see that everything is for “His sake.”
Col 1:16] For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. [17] And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [18] He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. [19] For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, [20] and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
There are two “highways” presented as “the gospel.” One is the “highway of getting and prospering” and the other is the “highway of giving and surrender.” One is the gospel of living for yourself and the other is the gospel of living just for Him. These two gospels are more or less accepted by much of the church as “doctrines” but the confusion comes when we try to live in one or the other “gospel.”
There are two messages that we can identify because of certain emphases. There is the “salvation centered” where “forgiveness of sins” is the goal. There is also the “Kingdom centered” where God’s government is ruling and reigning within the inner life of the person and perfection is the goal. The Kingdom emphasizes personal sacrifice and total consecration to do the whole will of God. This focus emphasizes “I no longer live but Christ lives His Life in me.” I have been bought with a price, the blood of Jesus, and now I belong to Him and can ONLY be a bondservant of God.
The other gospel says “ I can live better in Christ and improve my life. I am saved by accepting Him as my Savior.” Since Christ died for me and in Him I have forgiveness of sins through His blood, I can now live in Adam and for myself and God will bless me because I am His child. I have been bought with a price but I can still live for myself BECAUSE He paid the price for my freedom.
Are these two aspects of the SAME TRUTH as some say? No! One is a twisting of truth or maybe a partial truth. Are “in Adam” and “in Christ” just theological terms OR are they stating an eternal fact? Are these “two different men” that have totally different destinies? ALL in Adam die and ALL in Christ shall be made alive. Life and death are in these two men. There is actually NO SALVATION for those who are “in Adam” even IF they believe something about Jesus. This “fact” will infuriate those “believers” who are still in Adam.
Being IN CHRIST is as eating from the Tree of Life! Being IN ADAM is as eating from the Tree of Death. To assume that God will put the Kingdom Treasure in the old creation is a false assumption. It is my opinion that God will ONLY put His Kingdom treasure in the new creation. That means in the new inner man. We could say that God will only permit the new inner man the opportunity to search for and find the hidden treasure of the Kingdom of God. That does not keep Adam from searching but God is sovereign over those who are permitted to find the Kingdom Treasure. The best place to search for the Kingdom treasure is in the Garden of God. Adam is not permitted in that place. There can never be a “saved Adam”so it seems improper to speak about a “saved Adam and a lost Adam.” Cutting our self off from first Adam should be our first order of business when we encounter the Blood of the Historic Cross and experience forgiveness of sins. “I am saved but not yet crucified with Christ” is a popular concept but Christ’s death for us and our death with Him should be one experience. Otherwise our union with Adam in his life is still intact. Death and resurrection is God’s provision to separate us from Adam and his life.
But why is all this necessary? Because everything is “For Jesus’ Sake.” The Bride of Christ CANNOT be joined to two men. The manifested sons of God CANNOT be also manifested sons of Adam. The New Covenant Priesthood is ONLY after the order of Melchizedek. The Man Child Company is made up ONLY of the new creation man. The first Adam has no inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Adam is totally separated from the Kingdom by the Historic Cross.