Some Things About The Kingdom Of God
by John Moreland
The Church today must address this matter of the Kingdom of God. It is at the heart of the summing up of all things in Christ. It was the gospel
taught and preached by our Lord Jesus. There really is no other gospel. There may be many facets to it, but the Kingdom itself is the ground of all of them. Salvation is fundamentally about the Kingdom. Deliverance is
fundamentally about the Kingdom. Maturing in Christ is fundamentally about
the Kingdom. While there are several scriptures at which we could look, one
stands out in particular as we point this out. (Mat 9:35 NASB) "And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their
synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
kind of disease and every kind of sickness." All the facets of redemptionpoint to His Kingdom.
It is what Jesus taught the disciples to pray for that it might come on
earth. In Mark 12:32-34, when a certain Scribe with whom Jesus was talking
answered Him by quoting the two great commandments, Jesus reply was that he
'was not far from the Kingdom.'
The definition of the Kingdom is found in Matthew 6:10 when our Lord was
teaching the disciples about prayer. It is the phrase, "Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." The Kingdom is defined here
as the will of God being done on earth as in heaven. It is the rule of God.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines culture as follows. "Culture: n. The
totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought." While there
are myriads of earthly cultures and sub-cultures, none of them can be defined within the framework of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has
it's own government, social character and behavior, economic system and it's own identity.
The Kingdom of God is not, cannot be an amenity to anything. It is not of
this cosmos or world order. This was declared to Pilate by our Lord when He told Pilate He was a King, but that His kingdom was not of this world. You
cannot attach it to your culture, your denomination, your congregation's name, your ministry name, nor your particular doctrine's name. It stands
alone. It is in itself it's own domain. It is a culture all it's own. It is that which our Lord said we were to seek. It is the only entity in time and
eternity which can produce righteousness, peace and joy. It is what our Lord's return will fully establish on earth. It is what the Lord Jesus will
deliver to the Father when the end comes. It is that into which we have been brought and become fellow citizens with all the saints. It is what making
disciples is all about, raising up subjects for the King and His Kingdom. It was the focus of Jesus' life on earth for Hebrews 10:7,9 declares, (7) "Then
said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. ...... (9) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God."
One of the great problems in Christianity today is that we have developed a
Church theology rather than a Kingdom theology. While it is tremendously
important that we know who we are in Him, who He is in us, we must never
lose sight that the Kingdom is to be established through us. The Church, the
Body of Christ is the instrument through which God desires to establish His
Kingdom. Our testimony is the King and His Kingdom. We represent Him as
ambassadors of His Kingdom. It is the gospel which we must begin to teach,
preach and live. The first confession of our mouth on becoming a child of
God is that we confess Him as Lord. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except
by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Lord, the King! 2 Peter 1:11 declares His Kingdom an eternal Kingdom.
May our Lord Jesus Christ grant to us, His ekklesia, His Church, once more
the revelation and grace to begin to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God. It is the message, the good news of the King of Glory. Amen.
More Deep Thoughts by John Moreland
For God So Loved
by John Moreland
I was recently in a small gathering of saints, only eight, in which the
worship was something one rarely is privileged to experience. The Lord
seemed to focus on His great love. To put it mildly, it was an awesome time. During this time the Lord showed me a precious truth.
He showed me, not only how wonderful His love is for us, but remarkably how
wonderful it is that He gave us the capacity and ability to love Him in
return. This is revealed in 1 John 4:19, "We love him, because he first
loved us." When God said "Let us make man in Our image, after Our
likeness..." (Gen. 1:26) He did something He did not do for any other part
of His creation. He said this with regard to no other creature or inanimate thing.
The Scripture declares in Psalm 19:1-3 that...
{1} "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
{2} Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
{3} There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard."
While these things reveal His glory and His handiwork, they are not made in
His image or likeness. He reserved this for mankind. Only that which is
created in His image and His likeness can respond to Him in like manner. He
created us to respond in love to His love.
While one may serve without the need for a return response, i.e., as unto
the Lord, relationships do require response, The great commandment is our
evidence, for Jesus said (Mat 22:37) "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind..." Love is
the very essence of our relationship with Him. He would not command
something of us that He would not give us the capacity and ability to do so. The indwelling Christ is this capacity and ability, for He is our life.
Love produces works and good deeds , but cannot be classified as such. It
all comes from His great gift of grace to us.
Ephesians 2:4-7 reveals this....
{4} "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
{5} Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
{6} And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
{7} That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Love is a matter of the heart, for He said we were to love Him with all our
heart. It is the great issue of our life. The Word says, (Prov 4:23) "Keep
thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." It is
the issue between the saints, for the Word declares that we are to love one
another as He loves us.
Once again, I am overwhelmed, for I realize that I, me, myself do love Him. I also realize that in this finite state my love for Him may still be sorely
lacking, but I do love Him. Dear Lord, grant us the grace to continue to be
filled to all the fullness of Your love, and to love You in return as You
love us. Amen.
More Deep Thoughts by John Moreland
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