#532 – Seeing The Kingdom As A Message
Seeing The Kingdom As A Life
Seeing the Kingdom As A Government
Seeing the Kingdom As The Divine Order of All Things
October 27, 2012
Seeing The Kingdom As A Message
AFTER the Kingdom has been understood and entered into by our life, obedience and Consecration, how can we turn that into a Powerful Message to the world system that couldn’t care less about the Kingdom? If Matthew 24:14 is our commission “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come” we should ask ourselves HOW is that done? What is the exact “message” we have been commissioned to preach. For example; I have written over 400 studies about the Kingdom but is what I have written the real “Gospel of the Kingdom? I don’t know!
Then how should we approach this commission? IF we are to preach ABOUT the Kingdom, we should assemble a lot of facts from what is written. We could develop a Kingdom Philosophy which requires seeking after a wisdom / truth compatible with the Kingdom.
philosophy >noun (pl. philosophies) 1 the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. 2 the theories of a particular philosopher. 3 a theory or attitude that guides one’s behavior. 4 the study of the theoretical basis of a branch of knowledge or experience. Greek philosophia ‘love of wisdom’
I think I have assembled a lot of facts about the Kingdom but is that the gospel? Many of these facts are true but are they JUST facts but without Life? However, we might now create a “doctrine of the Kingdom” by assembling of various facts we have gathered into a religious format. With these “facts” we could develop a kingdom battering ram to break down all barriers and resistence to the message. We could call this effort the”Kingdom Evangelism.” We could create a kingdom weapon /club with which we could beat, threaten and intimidate people. We could create a Kingdom end time threat and focus upon all the unpleasant things that will happen to those who ignore the Kingdom. I may have also done that somewhere in the 400 studies!
In another study we showed why the Kingdom can NEVER be balanced with anything else because there is NOTHING to which it can be compared. We showed how the Kingdom is an Absolute and all other things in the universe are relative. We have boldly stated that there is NO PLAN “B.” Still, even that “conclusion” is rather abstract if we relate it to a practical daily life.
This work of preaching the Kingdom will certainly fail if we approach the “ministry of the Kingdom” as a system imposed upon us and one that is hostile to us. If we present the Kingdom as an impossible idealism, who will want to participate. Still, we be unable to present the message if we preach the Kingdom as just another faith and grace issue that is wholly related to what Jesus has done for us. To make the Kingdom the same as forgiveness of sins will totally misrepresent the Kingdom. We MUST present the Kingdom as fully open and possible to each of us, without diminishing its requirements. After all the grace and faith provision, the end result is that we still must qualify for the Kingdom!
The first fact that we must recognize is the Kingdom is NOT a threat but an offer of a higher life through which the requirements of the Kingdom can be translated into life. However, God never intended the outward natural man, after the order of Adam, to live in this way. This is the explanation that makes the Kingdom practical. The Kingdom requires a new and different kind of creation that is from the Kingdom realm. We must become a new kind of “creature.”
2Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Until there really is a new creature which is practical and experiential, living in the Kingdom reality will always be another fantasy. In other words until there is a new and different species of man on earth, the Kingdom of God and its unrelenting requirements will be impossible to keep.
Let us begin with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and His total example of the new creation man, which is the Last Adam. In the arena of God’s Purpose, He brings to a close the species of the first Adam. He is, without question, a new creature or a new species of man that is integrally or fundamentally linked to the New Covenant.
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.
When He said, “It is finished” this signaled much more than His ministry was finished or the ordeal was finished or that His life was finished. This indicates EVERYTHING that came before was brought to a close. As far as God’s Purpose is concerned the old way of doing the will of God or fulfilling His Purpose by human effort was finished.
Mat 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The era of the Old Covenant came to a close with John the Baptist. Now a new era was about to begin that is inherently linked to the Kingdom of heaven. The least in the New Order will be greater than the greatest in the Old Order which was limited to a natural birth from woman. Why? Because, all those of the New Order must also be Born of God and become a new Species of men upon the earth. We should understand that as great and necessary as forgiveness of sins is in the New Order, it cannot replace the necessity of our total transformation into a totally New Species that is called “CHRISTIAN.”
Which is more important the Person of Christ or The Message of Christ? Of course, if you understand God’s Ultimate Purpose you will surely understand that these are both exactly the same. They are ONE and cannot be separated. Christ, the Word, IS the Message and the Message, the Word, IS Christ. The Person IS the Message. How can that be?
We assume that anyone with training and education can preach the Popular Gospel. However, the Gospel of the Kingdom is not designed to be preached in word only. This is why the Word/ message and the person cannot be separated if the Word of the Kingdom is to be preached in power and in the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the Word of the Kingdom is preached out of the new inner man and NOT out of the intellect. The message is part of the character that is manifested.
1Thes 1:5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
How is this Word preached? By the New Creation man which has become the “embodiment of the Kingdom” which originates in God but and has its “Spirit and Power” in the new inner man.
The next question is one that is integrally linked to the Kingdom. Which is more important the Kingdom itself or the Message of the Kingdom. Of course the Kingdom Is the Message and the Message is the Kingdom and includes its ultimate reality in our experience.
The Divine Person preached the Kingdom of God with its “Gospel Message.” However, these two cannot be separated. The Person, the Word, IS the Message and the Message IS the Person and the “message” is the Kingdom. However, the Kingdom is a Life with Power and Spirit!
Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
When we separate the Person from the Message OR we separate the Message from the Person there is suddenly a melt down from reality and a factual doctrine related to the gospel or even another religion can begin. The result is a confusion between the Christian Religion and a genuine Christian Reality. The Christian religion can be completely external while Christian Reality MUST begin as an internal transformation. Christian Reality begins with a New Creation Man, a new Species, which after Christ is created in the image of God. The Christian Religion can become a “series of doctrines” that have no life and therefore, no reality. Christianity must begin with Christ In You, which is our hope of glory. The Christian religion, without the reality of the Person, is irrelevant! The Christian Religion can embrace traditions, culture, race, principles, ritual or a hundred other things that have NOTHING to do with the Reality of the Living Word of God or the Person of Christ Jesus. A religion can even embrace Mary, the mother of Jesus, or the departed saints or appoint another man as their “father.”
We can make a “doctrine” out of the Person OR out of His message. We can separate these two and replace the Person with a deity called Jehovah and declare that the Person was a good man and prophet. Then, if we separate the Person from the Kingdom, the kingdom just becomes another doctrine of the church. The church then can become the kingdom hall. Is this Jehovah the God of the Bible? Well, we have to check on that and get back to you to be politically correct.
One thing we can be certain about and that is that “the Message of the Divine Person” IS The Kingdom of God. We CANNOT separate the Person from the Message or we lose the reality of both.
Both the Person of Christ Jesus AND the Kingdom of God is a radical departure from
what is “called” the Christian religion. Why? Because, in the visible church, these two are divided into two realms, the present and the future. However, in reality, the Person, Christ, the Living and Abiding Word of God, and His Message, the Kingdom of God, is ONE! The Person and His Message exists and is experienced in the present tense and must NOT be relegated to the future. We could call this New Man THE WORD OF THE KINGDOM MADE FLESH!
If we set out to search the entire universe for the ultimate realty and in the process discovered the Kingdom of God and the Person of Christ Jesus, we would discover the most radical idea ever presented to mankind. That would come as a tremendous religious shock because we would understand this is NOT religious at all. However, this is the most radical proposition ever presented to the consciousness of man. If we could weigh these possibilities in some earth bound scale, it would be impossible to comprehend the magnitude of what God has purposed. Every other possibility, idea or concept just wilts away to nothing and melts in the light of what God is offering to man. This “Kingdom bush” is a burning fire in which nothing that is relevant is destroyed but what is religious and irrelevant is vaporized.
God’s Divine Plan is to replace all the governments of the world by establishing the Kingdom of God as the active Government over EVERYTHING, over all the Works of His Hands. When His Kingdom Government is in full dominion, His unalterable purpose will be fulfilled. All the Kingdoms of this world MUST become the Kingdom our Lord, and of His Christ.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
God, [Father, Word and Holy Spirit], has predestined man to be a participant in this Eternal Government. God has chosen the Ideal and Prototype Man to head up this New Government which reigns over all the works of Gods hands. God now has His MAN who is the High Priest of a new dimension of Priesthood of kings after the Order of Melchizedek.
This is why this RADICAL PLAN includes a body of many Sons (taken from among us and consecrated ) which He will bring to full maturity so they can share in that same glory assigned to the High Priest. These Sons of the High Priest will rule under the Head, the ONE and ONLY High Priest in the new order, and His body will function as a corporate Kingdom of Priests.
Now this is where the “message of the Kingdom” departs from the most popular doctrines of the visible church. The popular doctrine says that we are ALL a kingdom of priests if we believe in Jesus. It also assumes we are ALL the bride of Christ and that every believer will sit with Him on His Throne. These concepts are derived from this popular “gospel of salvation” that is formed outside of the Kingdom Reality and ignores the Gospel of the Kingdom. When we bring the “gospel of Kingdom Salvation” into the qualifications and the confines of the Kingdom Government of God it begins to look quite different from the popular gospel. We saw in a former study that those who are on the outside of the Kingdom Reality receive everything in parables. The popular gospel of salvation (believe in Jesus and accept our doctrine) is of the “parable or story” realm when it is OUTSIDE the actual Kingdom experience. However, I “got saved” by that system!
If we can re-discover the actual Message of the Kingdom and the True Messenger we might, at last, bring total meaning back to a fragmented society, called church. We might, once again, begin with the Absolute Reality {the Kingdom and the Person} and then work downward to all this relativity that is associated with the visible church.
Jesus made the Kingdom His most important Message and He became the prototype Messenger of this Eternal Reality. But, they killed the Messenger. However, His Message survived for about another one hundred years until the messengers no longer lived and demonstrated the message of Matthew 5-6 and 7.
The greatest need of mankind and the visible church is to re-discover the Kingdom of God. Mankind has VERY MANY needs that have arisen out of the Genesis 3 disaster and their downward spiral into oblivion since! However, there are none greater than their loss of the Kingdom and the benefit of the re-discovery of its Eternal Reality. This is what will, at last, bring our life into a total meaning when it is attached to the Absolute Order.
Mankind has been in a progressively dying dimension of reality and existing in the burnt out ashes of irrelevant activities for centuries. The enthusiasm of the visible church for world evangelism has faded into more rituals and dead programs. Why? It was by the elimination of the Gospel of the Kingdom from the church and the diminishing of the Person of the Word of God made flesh. How could that be? By reducing Him to just being the Savior for the forgiveness of sins but NOT the ruling King who is clearly presented as the One Ruling over His kingdom in the present tense. Instead, the Blood of Calvary is presented as full salvation.
1Cor 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1Cor 15:24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
Seeing The Kingdom As A Life
The popular message is related to “a gospel of what we believe” and NOT to how we live or under what Government we serve so it is based wholly upon faith and grace. Why? There are several scriptures that indicate this.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
There are many scriptures that refers to grace, faith and salvation so there is ample reason to relate salvation to grace and faith and faith to salvation.
Rom 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Well, which way is it; are we saved by faith or by His life? Of course it is not either / or but by both. We are not saved by works but we are re-created in Christ Jesus for “good works” to which we were predestined. It should be easy to see that we cannot or should not base the doctrine of salvation upon one two verses but upon the whole counsel of God.
2Thes 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The problem emerges when we remove our “doctrine of salvation” and set it outside the Kingdom Government of God and give that “salvation” some eternal quality as a doctrinal absolute.
If we actually do experience the Reality of the Kingdom, it will be by participating in His Life. Salvation that is within the Kingdom dimension will be within the experience of His Life. We are saved by His Life (Zoe) in the Kingdom realm. The “doctrine” of salvation cannot save you no matter how accurate it is and neither can saying certain words save you. Salvation is a genuine inner Life experience. We are Saved but how? We are “CHOSEN” for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
It is for this reason that we must see the Kingdom as A Life! The Kingdom is NOT just a principal or and external government. The Kingdom, for it to be real and dynamic, must be within us. Salvation as a confession, but without Christ in You, has no hope of glory. Likewise, the Kingdom, as a confession or a doctrine, has no eternal promise without the Life.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
“Say these words and believe this doctrine” has no guarantee that we have received the Zoe Life. Why? Because it is the Holy Spirit that administers the Zoe Life.
John 6:65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
Seeing the Kingdom As A Government
The Government Shall Rest Upon His Shoulders
We cannot separate the Kingdom from the Person or from the Life of God, Almighty! This is the new and unique Zoe Life that is now open for man to reveive. This is the same UNCREATED Life that God possess. This is NOT the life of first Adam but IS the Life of the Last Adam. Salvation is Eternal Life, ZOE. We cannot separate Salvation from Eternal Life because they are one and the exact same thing. We can also include His Eternal Kingdom Government in that same equation dealing with total salvation within His Life!
Isa 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Both His Government and Peace are in a progressive process of increase. They will both continue to increase and there is NO END to the increase of His Government. This increase is not related to the increase of our doctrine but to an increase or growth of His Life in us. His Government must become experiential and His Kingdom is also of the same realm. Still, some see the Kingdom as one thing and His Government as something else. No, this cannot true! The Kingdom and His Government cannot be separated. If we are IN His Kingdom we MUST be Under His Government. But is there no alternative? Yes, we can be on the outside of His Kingdom and receive everything in parables.
If the Kingdom is within you then the Government must also be within you. There is no escaping His Government because it is inherent within the Kingdom. We cannot separate these realms.
To tell people, which are outside the Kingdom, that they will sit with Jesus on His throne and rule is a great injustice to them. Why? It gives people a false hope and is a big a lie. To live in lawlessness in this life and then to be suddenly changed into a Kingdom person in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye is a big fantasy.
The “gospel of only believe” leaves out this whole realm of His Kingdom Government which rules over ALL who are either within or outside His Kingdom. The “gospel of only believe,” that leaves the “believers” outside the kingdom, will guarantee they will receive EVERYTHING as parables. In other words the “kingdom” will remain a great mystery to the multitudes who are “saved” ( by forgiveness of sins) but lawless.
Those who are “in the kingdom” will be expected to live by its laws. Those who live outside the Laws of the Kingdom and its Government are referred to as “LAWLESS.”
Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
If we only see the gospel as forgiveness of sins but outside the Government of God, we my never adjust our life to live according to the Laws of the Kingdom. Is this VERY serious? Yes! It will eliminate us from His Presence. But what does all this really mean?
Mat 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. 25 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. 26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.
The context is VERY clear. Those who hear but do not do will surely fall. Those who hear but do not do can be related to those who practice LAWLESSNESS! How do we know that? By the “THEREFORE” in Verse 24. This is certainly NOT complicated. However, this can be devastating to those who have trusted some alien gospel of “only believe” for their eternal security. The “Therefore” is related to and great was its fall, which is related to “you who practice Lawlessness.”
Most all other popular but religious things are irrelevant and inconsequential when inserted into the Eternal Dimension of Kingdom Christianity.
The terrible sickness that entered into and persisted in ALL of mankind since Genesis 3 is VERY radical. Therefore, the cure must be Very radical. Thank God for forgiveness of sins but that is NOT the total cure for the total sickness. Mankind has generally lost the battle related to the total recovery from Genesis 3 and the spiral into oblivion that we see today. Why? Simply because we didn’t start with the starting point so we lost sight of the true goals. In most of the world, the Ultimate Goal is inherently uncertain because of what is foolishly referred to as the “gospel.” A few are focusing upon the physical sickness of man but have lost sight of the eternal sickness of mankind. Healing this “eternal sickness” requires a much more radical cure! This Radical Cure can only be found within His Kingdom and by experiencing His exacting and unyielding Government.
But what has the visible church offered to the world? “Say these words and believe this doctrine!” Jesus offered a total answer to man’s total need and that involved the Kingdom Government of God as the most radical solution. Healing the body is wonderful but it is still short of a total healing from the fall and the consequences that followed.
Jer 6:13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. 14 “And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. 15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
Jer 6:27 “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way.” 28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt. 29 The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated. 30 They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.
Many of these judgements by God, within the context of the Old Testament, are ignored or rejected by the visible church because of “grace” and the perceived absence of Law. However, we then ignore the Kingdom Government of God and its Laws and fall into the ignorance of “lawlessness” that will ultimate cause our rejection. The cliche “thank God we are not under law” has blinded multitudes to the Law of the Spirit of Life and the Laws of the Kingdom. If there is no longer any Laws, it then follows that there is NO Kingdom Government of God and its Divine Order and the Creative Laws of God must have been repealed.
As ridiculous as this sounds many “believing Christians” will hold to this doctrine of the absence of all laws. The doctrine says that all the Laws of God were done away with in Christ Jesus. They fail to recognized the difference between the Laws of Moses which were for the outer man and the Laws of the Kingdom which requires the existence of the New Creation Inner Man. Being Born Again By the Living and Abiding Word of God means we were born into the New Covenant, into the New Species, and into the Kingdom dimension. As the Old Covenant has its Laws so the New Covenant has its Laws. To assume that there are NO New Covenant Laws is a fatal mistake. The fact that a great majority in the visible church believes this, does NOT make it true. In some cases the majority are always wrong. The world and its politics proves this!
What has the visible church and its messengers in the pulpit and on TV presented? “Be saved and go to heaven someday.” These popular messages are full of sound and sayings but actually signify very little that is relevant to the Kingdom. They signify very little that can perform a radical eternal healing for mankind. The total healing that is necessary as the result of Genesis 3 requires MUCH MORE than forgiveness of sins. It requires a total transformation that cannot be completed outside of our obedience to the subjective or inner Laws of the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, we must See the Kingdom As A Government that Rests Upon His Shoulders.
Seeing The Kingdom As A Message, As A Life, As A Government and as The Divine Order of All Things is essential if ever are going to preach a total answer to man’s total need.
Seeing the Kingdom As The Divine Order of All Created Things.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Psalm 19:1 THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork. 2 Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.
Creation, itself, is a proclamation of God’s Divine Order and is available for all to see and examine. The creation is a voice heard over the entire earth. It affirms that ONLY the Divine Creator could be responsible for such a precision seen in the universe and in the creation of ALL things on the earth. Even our body is so wonderfully made that it daily testifies to the precision of how we were created.
Within the whole of creation there is a visible evidence of Divine Order of All Things. Most believers will acknowledge this Divine Order In Creation but simply cannot relate this Divine Order to the New Creation. The Precision of the Divine Order of the New Creation is discovered in the Kingdom of God reality. We can then conclude that the Visible Church, that is attempting to function outside the Divine Order, is functioning in disorder and can only be evaluated as irrelevant.
But, isn’t the visible church justified in this foolishness because the Kingdom Dimension and the Divine Order is in the invisible realm so who can know it? My thesis is this; The Divine Order in the natural realm can be clearly seen by the outer man. The Divine Order in the Eternal Realm can be clearly seen by the New Creation Man that can function within the Kingdom Realm. The problem is that those who are outside can ONLY see this reality as a parable or another story told on Sunday Morning by those to whom the understanding of the Kingdom has not been granted.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
To be Ignorant of or ignore the Kingdom is a terrible indictment for those who preach because it has not been granted to them to know the mysteries. Why? God is Sovereign over the mysteries. However, He reveals to those who diligently seek Him.
Well, it is NOT by works and God is no respecter of persons! Really?
Mat 13:12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Well, brother, do you mean that God might withhold something from His children?
We must NOT be among that group! Therefore, let each of us resolve this today that we will NOT be among those who see or hear or who understand NOTHING about the Kingdom. How, By seeking, as first priority, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness! Then what can we expect? That all these things can be added to us.
Are these things temporal and seen or eternal and invisible?
We may expect BOTH but what will remain is Spiritual, Invisible and Eternal.