Disciples of the Kingdom
(In Quest of a Kingdom – Steve Bray)
Christ’s
teachings revolve around His kingdom. It is not easy to describe its meaning. Moffit calls it the “realm” of God. It relates to the “reign”
of God. It can also be expressed as, “The regime in which love rules.”
We are not being irreverent when we say that
even Jesus found it difficult to describe the “life” that His followers would
need to receive from Him. Even though He was revealing this Kingdom-life of
divine love through His own mortal body, He still struggled to make this
profound message about the
In fact, the divine life we are expected to
receive from heaven exceeds anything the mind can comprehend. The only way we
can “know” this heavenly life is by depending on the Spirit of Christ to
supernaturally reveal God’s nature of divine love within the heart. (1 Cor. 2: 9-10; John 16:14)
According to the apostle Paul, this life of love
“surpasses knowledge.” In other words, the life of God can only be known by
entering into a participation with Christ in His
divine nature.
I pray that out of his
glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your
inner being… And I pray that you…may have power {from the Spirit}…to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled
to the measure of the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:16-19 NIV
Emphasis added)
The
Of
course, this does not mean that we will contain the infinite God. But we can
become like Him in love and display His glory—His spiritual image—when the
temple of our body is “filled” with His Spirit. Through a faith that fully
yields to being taken into His life of promise, we can truly become “one spirit
with Him.” (1 Cor. 6:17)
Again,
we use Wesley Duewel’s words to describe the true
meaning of Pentecost. He said, “The holy Shekinah,
the fiery glory cloud, was removed symbolically from the Old Testament temple
just as Ezekiel prophesied (Ezk. 11: 22-24)… Ezekiel
foresaw in his vision that one day the Shekinah glory
would return (43:1-5). This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the
glory came to the upper room and then divided into separate tongues of fire
that rested on the head of each one who was filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:
2-3). No longer was God’s glory indwelling a building; now it was indwelling
each consecrated believer. The Shekinah is to be
personalized in the life of each sanctified, Spirit-filled believer… This
amazing Bible truth is not just a beautiful poetic statement or figure of
speech; it is a true spiritual reality. God means just what He says: we can be
transfigured.” (More God More Power; p. 82)
Duewel also said, “Christ’s transfiguration
on the mountain was not the shining of heaven’s light upon Him. It was God’s
glory radiating from Him. The transfiguration of the Christian is not a halo
sent from heaven to crown you. It is a radiance from
the holy Trinity indwelling you. It is the radiance of the Father’s presence,
the Christlikeness of the indwelling Son of God, the
glory of the Holy Spirit expressing His natural fruitfulness personalized in
your life.” (More God More Power; p. 81)
The true Gospel message will tell people how
they may have the Kingdom-life of God established within the temple of their
body. This is the gospel that Jesus taught. “Jesus came preaching…the gospel of
the
The people of God were expecting a Messiah
when Jesus came with this message. But their thought processes were still tied
to the temporal realm. It prevented them, as it prevents people today, from
understanding the meaning of Christ’s teachings. They were unable to relate to
His spiritual truths because they were still thinking in terms of a physical
kingdom.
Jesus told His followers that some of them
would see the kingdom established by the power of the Holy Spirit before they
physically died. However, we need to realize that it would be a kingdom that He
established within their hearts. He would come to them individually with His
own Kingdom-life from heaven.
Assuredly, I say to
you, there are some standing here who shall not taste
death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Matt. 16:28)
A little while longer
and the world will see Me no more, but you will see
Me. Because I live {in the kingdom-life}, you will live also {in the same
life}… He who has My
commandments and keeps them {taking the way of the cross}, it is he who loves
Me…and I will love him and manifest
Myself to him {as an indwelling life from heaven}. (John 14:19, 21 Emphasis
added)
The
Assuredly, I say to
you that there are some standing here who will not taste {physical} death till
they see the kingdom of God {His overcoming Kingdom-life of perfect love}
present with power. (Mark 9:1)
Behold, I send the
Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry…until you are endued with power from
on high. (Luke 24: 49)
The only way to truly understand the Gospel is
to see how it relates to the
In
fact, Jesus spoke of the kingdom far more than He spoke of the church. Of
course, the development of the church—His body here on earth—is a part of this
central idea. His “light of life” from heaven was to be revealed through the
church as individual members permitted Him to establish His Kingdom-life of
perfect love within their own hearts.
The
church is a fellowship of men and women who have been called out from the
self-seeking ways of the world so they may be taken into this life of promise. Each member of
Christ’s body is to reveal the nature of God’s kingdom here and now. Because
the life originates in the Father and comes through the Son to the individual
members of His body by the power of the Holy Spirit, every “believer” can
become “one” in life and nature with our Triune God. (John 17: 22-23) Jesus
said, “Because I live {in the Kingdom-life}, you will live also {in the same
life}. At that day {when you are clothed with power from on high} you will know
that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
(John 14:19-20)
It is rather strange that we have heard so
little from the church about the
I
pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may
know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him…in the heavenly realms…
(Eph. 1:18-20 NIV)
Christians today have access to a divine power
that will enable them to be raised spiritually into the heavenly realms where
they can begin sharing in every heavenly blessing that is found within Christ’s
Kingdom-life. (Eph. 1: 3) Yes, when it comes to filling our eternal souls with
the life of God, He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” (Eph. 3: 20 NIV)
The creeds of the church do not mention
Christ’s Gospel of the Kingdom, even though it was more on His lips than any
other teaching. The Thirty-nine Articles elaborate on various doctrines that
Jesus did not clearly express, but they are silent when it comes to His
teachings about the
It is therefore not surprising to find how
this phrase has very little meaning to the average Christian. People who diligently
study their Bibles must suppose it means something. They see the phrase
constantly used in the Scriptures. But they seldom, if ever, seek out an
understanding of its real meaning.
If pressed, most Christians would say the
The
In
other words, the
There is no basis in the New Testament for
depending on outward laws to reform the social order of the world. Even if the
best possible reforms were implemented, the old carnal way of life would
remain. Self-seeking and strife would continue to rise out of the fallen
nature. Selfishness, bitterness and hardness of heart would be just as
prevalent. An outward system of laws cannot overcome this evil within the
heart. As we have quoted from James, “where envy and self-seeking exist,
confusion and every evil thing are there.”
Again, the Kingdom-life of God, the New
Jerusalem, must come down from above as an indwelling life. Those who are
willing to lose their old flesh-life will find Christ’s Kingdom-life. (Matt.
16: 25) Those who refuse to follow Christ’s instructions,
which includes denying themselves and taking His way of the cross so
they may find His Kingdom-life, will remain forever separated from His divine
presence.
We do not have to wait until some future age
to begin enjoying the firstfruits of this life from
heaven. Christ has come to enable each one of His followers to enter into an
abundantly full measure of His “life” in this world. (John 10:10)
We are speaking of a way of life where
Christian love abounds; a life where the atmosphere of positive good will comes
with every breath; a life where the primary desire is to sacrifice ourselves
for the good of others. It is a life where pride, selfish anger, jealousy,
envy, lust, gossip, backbiting and self-seeking are completely purged out of
the heart by the pure and living water that flows like a never-ending river
from Christ’s life of divine love.
And
he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from
the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Rev. 22:1)
Whoever drinks the
water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling
up to {a display of} eternal life.
(John 4:14 NIV Emphasis added)
There are several kinds of life described in
the Bible. There is physical life {bios, Greek} that everyone receives at
birth. Then there is life {psuche, Greek}, which is
sometimes used when referring to the lower form of life that is developed
through the works of the flesh. And finally there is true spiritual life {zoe, Greek}, that comes from
heaven. Whenever the Scriptures refer to the “life” we are to receive from the
Son, it is referring to the “eternal life” {aionios zoe, Greek} that originates in
God. As the apostle John has explained in his first Epistle, Jesus displayed
the eternal life in a mortal body. (1 John 1: 2-3) And we are expected to
display this same heavenly “life” in this current world as Jesus did. (John
8:12; 1 John 2: 5-6) Again, “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
body.” (2 Cor. 4:10) His life of love is to well up
from within our inner being like a never-ending river and become a display of
the firstfruits of the eternal life.
This life becomes all embracing because of the
way it sacrifices itself for the good of others. It displays a heavenly “light”
that reveals the nature of God. Everyone will recognize its goodness even
though they may not understand all of its workings and how it has its source in
God.
But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light {the Son’s life of love from
heaven}, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done
through God. (John 3: 21 NIV)
For it is the God who
commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
{God speaks, and the Holy Spirit reveals this perfect love that surpasses
knowledge within our inner being, so we may display the life and image of the
Son through our mortal body.} But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and
not of us. (2 Cor. 4: 6-7)
This abundant measure of God’s grace, as it
provides the “gift of righteousness” and enables the believer to “reign in
life,” will provide sufficient power to completely overcome the self-centered
nature that everyone receives from Adam. (Rom. 5:17) You will find these fully
sanctified Christians manifesting a life of self-sacrificing love in everything
they do. (Acts 2: 44-47)
This is the message that Paul taught to
the early church. He also said that God’s called-out people could receive His
grace in vain.
For example, there were many Christians within the Corinthian church who were
not becoming Christlike in love. They still needed to
surrender themselves to the work of grace so that Christ would be able to
establish His Kingdom-life within their hearts.
Moreover,
brethren, we make known to you the grace
of God bestowed on the churches of
We then, as workers together with Him also
plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2 Cor. 6:1)
There are many Christians today who have
been receiving the grace of God in vain. They have not fully surrendered
themselves to be vessels of the Lord’s life of love. Like the Corinthians, they
still have a tendency to live for themselves. It is their “psuche”
life that separates them from the eternal “zoe” life
that God intended for man to possess. This form of life {psuche}
comes from the world and its things. The Bible reveals how fallen man uses the
flesh (sarx, Greek) to develop a “psuche”
form of life. Because this lower form of life is dependent on temporal
circumstances for its support, it is very unstable. It is that up and down life
that the people of the world, including many in the church, just naturally
experience. This {the “psuche” life} is what Jesus
chose to lay down in order to share with His Father in the eternal “zoe” life. It is also the life we must “lose” if we are to
find His eternal life {zoe}.
(Matt. 16: 25)
If this message is speaking to you, we encourage
you to begin yielding to the grace that you have already received. “Therefore
be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has
loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling aroma.” (Eph. 5:1-2)
Everyone
who has truly died to self, and has begun to live for the good of others as
Jesus did, will continue to expose the remaining selfishness in the lives of
people who are still yielding to their flesh-life. There is a distinct aroma
in the life of sacrificial love. When we find others becoming offended by it,
and justifying their “right” to live for their self-centered purposes, we can
know they remain lost in carnal darkness. “For we {as those who reveal
God’s life of love} are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are
being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of
death leading to death {as we expose their self-centered nature by the way we
live}, and to the other the aroma of life {as we reveal the hope of entering
into the heavenly Kingdom-life} leading to life.” (2 Cor.
2:15-16)
Those who enter into our Lord’s Kingdom-life
of perfect love will find that the saints of all ages, all races, and even all denominations
speak the same language. Everyone has the same basic message. It is “the
mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been
revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of
the glory of this mystery…which is Christ in you…” (Col. 1: 26-27) We naturally
give all glory to God for what Jesus Christ is doing through our lives by the
power of His Spirit. The divine nature of love that is established within our
heart is truly a gift from God through a work of His grace.
For
the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints,
but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God … because of the
exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for
His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:12-15)
The kingdom of heaven knows no barriers.
Rivalries and bitterness fall away. It is the kingdom of forgiveness and mercy,
where all that rankled is forgotten, and the unity of perfect love prevails
over all. “Now the multitude of those who believed were
of one heart and one soul.” (Acts 4: 32) Let us therefore listen closely to the
voices that are now attempting to lead all members of Christ’s body into His
Kingdom-life from heaven.
There
are still many people in the church expending their labors in an attempt to
further the kingdom of political opinion, the kingdom of social aspirations,
the kingdom of economic progress, the kingdom of intellectual development, the
kingdom of professionalism, and the kingdom of ecumenical harmony. But as we
listen to all these different voices, it is like the jarring noise that occurs
when the knob of a radio is rapidly turned through a score of stations. We will
never find true harmony in what these people are trying to do.
Let us therefore listen to the voices that
teach of Christ’s Kingdom-life of perfect love—the life that comes down from
heaven through faith. This is the true music of the soul. “They may be made
perfect in one…” (John 17: 23) Those who are truly yielding to the leading
of Christ’s Spirit will be able to recognize this truth when they hear it.
We need to be encouraging every member of
Christ’s body to begin this pilgrimage. Yes, it will cost everything from the
flesh-life. No one will find the resurrection life of Jesus Christ without first
dying out to their old self-centered way of life. Jesus was speaking the truth
when He said, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will
find it.” But also remember that “the