I asked this in a previous thread without an answer. I want to see if anyone had any insight into this. What is the Kingdom of God?
Can anyone speak to what the Kingdom of God is with experience rather than just quoting scripture?
I asked this in a previous thread without an answer. I want to see if anyone had any insight into this. What is the Kingdom of God?
Can anyone speak to what the Kingdom of God is with experience rather than just quoting scripture?
The best teaching I have heard on this is here; there are 11 lectures in the left hand column:
Tyler,
I am happy to share with you what The Lord has taught.
I have a testimony here on SI, that I shared some time ago,...in it I shared how The Lord worked in my life, and wanted me to know what ‘the kingdom of God’ was/is.
That is the very first thing that He, through His Grace/Spirit,started just drawing me to,in a mighty way.
I was not being disrespectful but I thought, ‘of all subjects, Why the king of God.’... (because there are sooo many good subjects in the Bible)
(By the way, I later realized that there was NO subject more important than this subject on ‘the kingdom of God’ ,... because out of it has flowed the understanding of many other things relating to this subject, making The Word ‘ONE’ thoughout),.... as He continues to open our seeing/understanding / reveals to us.)
Nevertheless, I began compiling and compiling the subject on the kingdom that He continued to draw me to. But after quite some time, ..still not understanding,... I laid it aside and went on to other interesting subjects.
Then, .. maybe month or so, one morning as I was rising out of bed, it just flowed out of my Spirit,...
’The kingdom of God, is the resurrected Lord IN US ‘
So, with much study to confirm this,... by looking then to ‘resurrection, rise , raised,risen,... anything to do with ‘RESURRECTION ‘
I did not know what He told me meant at the first, but then He showed me,...
The Kingdom of God is within us,.. His Spirit came to LIVE within us to do a work of God ,... He is LIVING/ ALIVE,... (He is not a dormant Spirit)
He came to live in us to be King / kingdom rule / be Lord, in our life, through be led by our King, through The Spirit of God.
( Rom. 8:14,
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Wasn’t ‘Jesus our example ?
He was led by His Father,God in everything,...
*Paul was reaching for, ... pressing into the kingdom,..desiring to keep his body in subjection, lest he preach to others, and he,himself should be a castaway.,,... even though God had revealed this Great knowledge of His Word to Him.
Paul, not only seeked after the ‘kingdom of God, but he was seeking The righteousness of that kingdom.
( "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness ")
To seek the kingdom of God, we know, is to seek The King,.. who is Jesus, and say as Paul,..’What would Thou have for me to do, Lord?,... in all things ,... always.
Jesus came to set up a Spiritual Kingdom now,..
That is not to say that He will not set up a kingdom in the end, I do not know about that,.. all I know is what He has taught me now.
Phil.3:11-12,
"... If by any means I might attain unto "THE RESURRECTION " of the dead.”
12 ¶” Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."
Well, I can stop for now,
IN Him we Live,.. Have Life,
””””””””””-
elizabeth
And, thank you Todd,..
I would like to hear what this man says.
Can anyone speak to what the Kingdom of God is with experience rather than just quoting scripture?
Martyr, You asked a great question. The only suggestion I would make is that you do the research yourself. It's fine to ask others to provide the answers, but then you never get the benefit of rigorous searching yourself. I know you will be far more blessed if you dig in - look this up, take several months to work on it. Look up all the references in scripture to the Kingdom of God. Study Jesus's parables about the kingdom, collect all the points you discovered and organize them. Consider the wider context of the Biblical text (the Old Testament, the Psalms, etc)
It will change your life!! Radically!! And furthermore, it will protect you from false teachings and assumptions about God's kingdom. (and there's plenty of that around!!!)
Martyr: I will give it my best shot from my own experience and what God has been teaching me.
Obviously there are a few places in scripture where His kingdom is a future, literal kingdom over which He reigns. But that would be, I think, the minority of the references.
The kingdom of God is His reign and rule in my life. It is entered into by my death and new life in Him. When I enter His kingdom, He now calls the shots and as a result, I get to operate under the delegated authority of the King. I represent Him to the world as an ambassador, but what an ambassador, because through the power of His Holy Spirit the power and authority of the King now fills me and flows from me as rivers of living water. I can now be a perfect representation of the King to the world around me.
I find it interesting how many times Jesus either preached or commanded the disciples to preach the kingdom of God. Obviously if it were all about being forgiven of sins so we could go to heaven, then He would not have spent so much time preaching the kingdom. He would simply have preached forgiveness of sins. But the kingdom goes so much deeper. Forgiveness of sins is like the doorway we pass through in order to enter the kingdom. In that kingdom, I am no longer my own, but His. And I have full intimacy and fellowship with Him. He is free, because I am His, to work in and through me in the power of His Spirit.
Amen, well said!
Without a King there is no kingdom.... where a king is King there is His Kingdom -
So is He the King;
on the throne of our hearts or are we?
in our minds or are we?
Another way to say it is, is He the producer and director of our lives or are we?
Are we part of His production or are we the star of our own all while speaking christianese with Jesus stickers on our set??
So we come to the crux of the matter...
Mostly people believe and therefore live a lie, doesn’t matter what we call it, it is what it is.
The lie says we must work to get something (that has already been given) so we project our programming onto reality and act in response to our projection. Our projection is based on our programming which itself is an amalgam of memories and experiences that "program” us to think things are as we imagine them. We then identify ourselves with this program as "this or that” and then proceed to "act” out the part we’ve imagined for ourselves... it’s all a lie!
Anytime we identify with or as something external we immediately begin to live accordingly ...
Mostly we respond to a sense of lack, which itself is also a lie- "before you have asked, I have already given- exceedingly, abundantly more than you could ever ask or even hope for”
Remember -
"Kingdom is within”
"In your midst”
If He is the Director and Producer of our lives then our only striving is to stay on script, in character, remembering our lines and following His direction- so then nothing is done in and of ourselves but all is of Him.
Then this; "do ALL that you do as unto the Lord” makes perfect sense as it’s the inevitable conclusion of one submitted to His directives.
So (for me), the Kingdom of God is like His Production- and tho I may at times go off script or forget my lines or even get out of character, is my heart settled on studying and striving to please Him.... do I show up and submit myself to His cause,... do I trust His grace and guidance is sufficient,... do I believe that He cast me to play this part and that through His direction, He will draw out of me exactly what He wants... do I believe that even my failings and weaknesses will be used by Him to bring an element, not before considered, that in fact adds to the overall value of His plan and thereby He willl receive glory and be magnified by my testimony...?
That’s what the Kingdom is for me.... the place where He is my eternal King and that place exists right now ~
Edited to add;
Salvation is itself a means to an ends and not an end in itself. What we are being "saved” from is the lie that we have to create a kingdom that is worthy to merit Gods approval by our own efforts. It is simply impossible by definition...
Being "born again” is dying to our petty kingdom life and being reborn into His glorious eternal Kingdom life. This is why - "ya must be born again, else you cannot enter my kingdom”.
Sometimes we get hung up on salvation and miss the kingdom-
Brother Fletcher! Reading your post was truly refreshing this afternoon! I appreciate your use of allegory!
I believe the Kingdom is God is a crucial reality to meditate on!
Thank you all for this convo (love your tenacity and perseverance for answers Tyler)!
Love you all!
Edited for more love...:
P.s. I wanted to encourage Diane’s rock solid advice and for brother Travis’s post too....ya’ll are so precious...truly thankful for the privilege to read your thoughts here.
I think i will have to add my two cents
A personal and a biblical journey
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1. Biblical
Daniel 2:44 NIV
https://www.biblestudytools.com/daniel/2-44.html
44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
Daniel 2
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly* strong, and partly* broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves* with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter*: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
In the bible
15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
John 18:36 KJV
https://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/john/18-36.html
36 Jesus answered,My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
To go through the numerous passages to do with the kingship of the Messiah as Jesus is the king of the Jews and is a King in the lineship of David !
What is hard to explain to people that Jesus has a time when he will reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years before the eternal kingdom!
Isaiah 2
The Mountain of the Lord
1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Scriptures regarding the thousand year reign of Christ !
Revelation 20:6 KJV
https://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/revelation/20-6.html
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Zechariah 14
All Nations will Worship the King
16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts
The Bible talks in Zechariah that all the Nations will go up to Jerusalem and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles if they do not there will be no rain.
Can you imagine a future godly kingdom in which there will be no mosques , where god would replenish the earth and creation again.
Can we imagine a kingdom in which Yeshua reigns, where there will be no mosques, no sin, no violence and no temples but a perfect government where he is ruling from Jerusalem!
Where the kings of old like David and all the other famous kings in scripture will be there. All the famous prophets of old.
Can we imagine a kingdom during the time of the Millenium that even thou there is a perfect king that people will still rebel because of there sin
Revelation 20
Satan Cast into the Lake of Fire
7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Can you imagine a world in which there will be no more hospitals when a child will live to be 100 during the time of the millennium, where the wolf shall lie with the lamb!
What I find interesting is that
Isaiah 65
17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
21And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, saith the LORD.
John 1:49
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
I love dwelling on this subject imagining a king a future kingdom in which there will be no more cities and that Yeshua will rule from Zion.
I believe there is a non visible Kingdom in the true church and we are waiting for the true king to come, I do not believe in Domionism that we have the conquer the world before the king comes , We have a Jewish King who is Both God and Man who is coming to rule from Jerusalem.
Where we live under a very different world when he reigns. Imagine a world without crime, where dinosaurs will roam the earth again, where the dead sea will be given life and there will be fishing from En Gedi, Where there will be leaves in Jerusalem that will heal the Nations.
Then on to the Eternal State where there will be a new Heavens and Earth.
Hebrews 11
8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Like Abraham we are desiring a heavenly city and a heavenly country!
Luke 17
20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
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2. Personal
One of my recommendation is art katz sermons
Man’s Petty Kingdoms vs. God’s Kingdom
http://artkatzministries.org/audio-messages/man%E2%80%99s-petty-kingdoms-vs-god%E2%80%99s-kingdom/
We are all trying to set up are own kingdoms and essentially unless it ligns up with scriptures even with church work, missionary work and even so called Christian things but does it line up with the Bible! Does it line up with the Future Kingdom that Jesus is going to create when he returns are you as Amos put it, Prepared to meet thy God.
I know I am the worst mess, sinful and without Jesus I can do nothing! Will all my so called Christian work be wood, hay and stubble because I did "so called Kingdom work" and it does not line up with what it says in the Bible.
How can Christians try and set up a Kingdom of there own making that is in direct opposition to the true King and his word (The Bible) even thou in maybe through Sermons and Books, Missions or Christian Things.
Without consulting the Bible we disregard the King of King and Lords of Lords who every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
Another thing I loathe is the type of New Age belief that the Kingdom is within you even thou Jesus does say that, the way that People intepret it is sometimes ethereal and they have no grounding to realise that Jesus is the true King.
To realise that there will be a true kingdom that will make America look like a nightmare, when archaologists from a thousand years from now, dig up our present culture during that millenium reign of Christ. How dark will they see our culture.
I doubt people will even read my post !
What i hate at the moment is when christians use the phrase I am doing kingdom work and it is more like AntiChrist work!
Even using it when the bible forbids it and calling it Kingdom work!
It is amazing to think the true Son of David, who has the royal linage from Kings to Hezekiah to Solomon to Josiah, is engrossed in the churches sometimes blatent disregard of his kingdom.
They are like the Dead sea Scroll essences who want to conquer this world through war as that was what they wanted to do, read the war scroll!
https://www.qumran.org/js/qumran/hss/1qm
God bless
Dom
Hi Tyler:
Lots of good answers so far, I'll share a readers digest version.
The Kingdom of God is the place of God's rule, the citizens of that Kingdom and the power of God.
One of the exciting things about the Kingdom of God is we are citizens of it, we are ambassadors sent from it, we (the Church) are carriers of that Kingdom.
Since the Spirit of God indwells us, we are citizens under the rule of God, since we are indwelt by the Spirit of God we are empowered to 'bring the kingdom' to whomever God sends us.
In short, when we preach the Kingdom of God or the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, we are in fact declaring Jesus has come into the world and was crucified for us. When Paul said 1 cor 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He was saying in his way what Jesus had taught his disciples.
Find these in Matt 13, "The kingdom of heaven is like"
a man who found a treasure and paid all he had to purchase the field. Or a man who found a great pearl and paid all he had to purchase the pearl. We are that treasure dear brother, we are that pearl that Jesus paid all for. So in declaring the kingdom of God, we declare what Christ has done for us, and this same Christ has sent me ( and the rest of us) to find his treasure he paid for ( the lost) and find the pearl he purchased ( the lost) and love them, declare to them the kingdom of God has come unto them.
The other posters alluded to a great deal more than this tidbit, but for all practical purposes, know the kingdom of God is you and me because Christ lives in me and you. Our lives are to manifest the rule of God, they are to manifest the life of Christ all over again in this sinful age we live in.
Rejoice brother, we are ambassadors declaring "be reconciled to God!" For great grace is abundantly available in Jesus Christ.
Spiritual: God is Spirit and we worship Him in spirit and truth against
Material: Money, lust, things, position etc.
Invisible: The Kingdom of God is within us. It is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit against
Visible: what the eye can see
Eternal: …and of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end against
Temporal: the world and its lusts are fading away but the Word of God endures forever
The Kingdom of God is in His Son, Jesus Christ: All authority in heaven and on earth (and under the earth) has been given to Him. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord!
And, of course, this spiritual and , for now invisible, kingdom will manifest in a visible way when Christ the Lord returns and executes righteous judgement on the earth
"Thy Kingdom Come”
"This is not only a desire of the church, it is also a responsibility of the church. The church ought to bring the kingdom of God to earth.”......Watchman Nee (The Prayer Ministry of the Church).
This should be the prayer of the Church. The Ekklesia should be advancing the Kingdom of God in whatever region that we are in.
"If I By the Spirit of God casts out demons there is the Kingdom of God.” (Matt. 12:28). "Today wherever the children of God cast out demons by the Spirit of God, and destroy their work, there is to be found the kingdom of God.”... Watchman Nee. (The Prayer Ministry of the Church).
"and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9)
"nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21)
Another important perspective Mike
"Thy Kingdom Come”
"This is not only a desire of the church, it is also a responsibility of the church. The church ought to bring the kingdom of God to earth.”......Watchman Nee (The Prayer Ministry of the Church).
Watchman Nee didn't go far enough.
We don't bring the kingdom of God to earth, its already here.
If we are born of God an indwelt by the Spirit of God, there is the Kingdom of God. If you are born of God and know you are made a part of Jesus bride, you are a citizen of that Kingdom. If you are born of God and believe God's spirit has anointed to you fulfill his will, obey his commands, bare his spiritual fruit, you manifest the Kingdom of God in your own life.
Everyone that is born of God is in God, as Christ is in the Father, so we are in Christ and Christ is in us. God's kingdom dwells in us, we dwell in God where God's kingdom originates.
We don't bring it, Jesus has already brought it, we are it and we are to declare it to the lost, rejoice in it by way of covenant and worship Jesus because he has made us partakers of it.
The gospel of the kingdom is the goodnews that a sinner may enter that kingdom at the moment of faith. When we put on immortality, we will see the Kingdom of God without blinders, without carnal intrusions. We will see that when Christ lives in us by the Spirit of Christ who is the Holy Spirit sent of God, we will know what we declare and proclaim to the world is a Kingdom we are citizens of and sons and daughters of God himself. We are a royal priesthood a holy nation...we are not merely secular people who have added Jesus to our list of gods we serve.
I tend to believe there are two phases to this,... ‘SEEING’ and ‘ENTER’
What do you see ?
Jn.3:3,
"¶ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, ‘HE CANNOT ‘SEE’ the kingdom of God."
............
Jn.3:5,
"¶ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, ‘HE CANNOT ‘ENTER’ into the kingdom of God.”
We know what it is to be born of ‘THE SPIRIT’, but what is it to be born of ‘WATER’ ?
Eph.5:25,26,
"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the ‘WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD”
But, what does it mean to wash with The WATER of The WORD ?
.... not just washed with The Word,... The ‘Water’ of the Word-
To me,
If we try to just read the word and do it,.. ... NO,...we are to be led by The Spirit of that Word,..to lead us,...show us,.. led by The Spirit of God,Who is The Word,..
OR,.. (the same)...
Baptized unto a death,....
.....is that a death that has to continually be worked in us through
The Spirit ?
Paul said death worketh in him, but life in others,... then I believe once life was working in them , then death worked in the one (s) that comes to that life,..... there has to be a death to bring forth life.
THAT, is the Life He leads us into.
Titus3:5,
"Not by works of righteousness which we ‘HAVE’ done, but according to his mercy he saved us, ‘by the washing of regeneration’ , and ‘renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
(Changed from glory to glory)
Or, wouldn’t our King , give us power to become son’s/ children of God,
in God’ kingdom...
( meaning: children of The Word ? (God,...He is The Word).... in His Kingdom,... as obedient son’s / children ?,...
*the ‘high calling’ of God.
Jesus,Who cannot be separated from ‘The Word’ is our King.
A love that will not let us go,
Oh ! What a love,
â¤ï¸
””””””””””””””
elizabeth
Yes Amen!!!
Praise God for His mercy and how He is revealing Himself in this thread!
So encouraging to read so many posts that bare witness of His present and eternal glory:)))
Continuing with the aforementioned analogy (not because it is mine, but is literally how He began confronting/comforting me a month or so ago) utilizing the producer/director/script context;
"The Lord directs the steps of the godly” psalms 37:22
Jesus Himself is the kingdom and the script-
"The universe cannot contain Him”
"In Him we live, move and have our being”
A kingdom is the area in which the authority of the King is actualized...
"Anyone who claims to live for God must walk as Jesus walked” 1 John 2:6
So how did Jesus walk...was His life "scripted” by the Father?
"The Son can do nothing of Himself but all things are of the Father. The Son doesn’t do anything He hasn’t seen the Father do and doesn’t say anything He hasn’t heard the Father say,... if you’ve seen the Son you’ve seen the Father- for the Father and I are one” (paraphrased from memory)
Sure sounds like Jesus was following a script...
here are more examples;
"Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” Luke 4:4
"Why do you say you love me but you don’t do what I say” (paraphrasing from multiple scriptures)
So Jesus served as an example of one whom obeyed or stuck to the script... even unto death and a death on the cross-
When one is under orders of a King, everywhere their feet go to carry out those orders, there is the kingdom being advanced. Hence blessed are the feet that bring the good news!
Declaring the captives free is to say that they are no longer bound by fleshly efforts, groping in the dark, attempting to be good enough all while caught in a closed loop whereby the more success they have in that endeavor the more death and destruction it brings- but now Jesus (the King of creation) has reconciled in Himself ALL THINGS WETHER ON EARTH OR IN HEAVEN!!!
Hallelujah praise God:))))
Now we have the very light by which God created light, no longer groping in the darkness tryin to find Him, but He has appeared to us and given us a new life as citizens of His kingdom:)))
When we find this, it is indeed a pearl of great price and we gladly go and sell (die to) all of our old life and joyously go ALL IN on this new found treasure, whereby we have assurance that He will by His Spirit direct us in the way of His Son. And while it does start as a small seed, if we continue in His production- not going back to our old one, it grows and grows spreading, flowing into every nook and cranny of not only our life bed but those whom He has authored to touch thru us:))))
I mean how awesome is that??!!!!!
As best I can presently see, God the Father went "all in” on Jesus and everything He does, by word or spirit, serves to glorify/magnify His Son the Christ. And as we follow the script written for us before the foundation of the world, doing the good works for which we were created, by the power that works mightily in and thru us, He brings about His will- the expression of His perfect love:)))
How cool is that??!!!!
I mean the beauty of His love is sooo overwhelmingly glorious that it is literally the desire of the nations, the song of our hearts, the anthem of our lives!!!
Christ is in me!!! His is alive and risen in me!!! His kingdom is within me!!! And I’ll not be ashamed for I will boldly proclaim His glory and praise Him and worship Him because He is good to me and is worthy of all praise!!
"To he that is holy, everything is holy... to He that is not holy, nothing is”
If we are allowing His grace to divinely influence our hearts to follow His Holy Spirit, then everything we see and do, being His will, is Holy!
"Pray continuously, without ceasing, giving thanks in ALL THINGS, for this is God’s will for you IN CHRIST JESUS”
If we are standing on His promises, walking in His ways, then EVERYTHING that happens with/for/to us is part of His will and we can fully trust in it:))) Peace!!! The unending, overwhelming, Peace!!!
How great is our God!!!
How great is His name!!!
How blessed are we that we should be called His children??!!!!
Thank you Lord!!! Thank you for who you are and everything you’ve accomplished thru Christ Jesus and for the gift of your Spirit and your Word!
May we walk worthy of the gospel that saves us
"We don't bring the kingdom of God to earth, its already here."
Brother Marvin, I agree with you that the Kingdom of God is within every believer, but the Lord has taught us to pray "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are to continue to pray this prayer until Jesus Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom upon the earth.
We are in a spiritual warfare with principalities and powers, and even as the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, the Church has been called to declare the victory of the Lord Jesus over all of the works of the devil.
The Kingdom of God has yet to come in it's full manifestation, for when that happens the principalities and powers will be displaced, for the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I believe the KOG "is what it is.” It is fully in force now. The extent to which it is not fully manifested is due to our failure to fully "enter in,” not because the KOG has only partially been revealed.
ADD: 7Â Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8Â And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9Â concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10Â concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11Â concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16:7-11
Jesus did not seem to think his physical presence was needed for the KOG to function fully.
Nonetheless, we look forward to his physical presence.
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence
If Jesus thought his kingdom was not of this world should we not think so , Jesus could have defeated the Romans and set up his kingdom but he chose to die on the cross for our sin
I think most people are trying to set up there own kingdom in the guise of the kingdom of God
Jesus is setting up a future kingdom, when the disciples asked and thought about the kingdom
The messianic kingdom is yet future , I can see noone has actually read what I have written
Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
We tend to play pick and choose with the verses we like that support are view of the kingdom of God without taking a whole Bible approach from genesis to revelation
I guess this is due to biblical illiteracy
Acts 1
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth
Note when they say the kingdom to Israel in acts
The millennium is something that is discussed throughout the old testament
Like in John Bunyan's pilgrim progress most people are trying to make the city of destruction the heavenly city it will not work
There is an invisible kingdom , who is waiting for the Kong of kings and lord of lords
It seems to be a flights of fancy kingdom , when we say THY kingdom it is not our own view of what the kingdom is
//I guess this is due to biblical illiteracy//
Is that your go-to comment when people do not agree with your view?
Jesus clearly said the KOG was "upon you” meaning "here, right now.”
Your interpretation is strained at best.
Hi Dom:
Well, to put if frankly Dom, youre either not reading what's being said or you are unwilling to listen to what is being said.
1. Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence
You quoted the verse in rebuttal to an opinion no one who has posted on this thread holds. "set up there own kingdom in the guise of the kingdom of God"
Then you said "Jesus is setting up a future kingdom, when the disciples asked and thought about the kingdom
The messianic kingdom is yet future , I can see no one has actually read what I have written" Ive read this whole thread and what you've written. The problem may be you have an incomplete understanding of the Kingdom of God yourself.
Again, there is no one here claiming we are living in the full manifestation and full completion of God's kingdom. We (I specifically )are saying the Church is under the rule of God, we can see the kingdom as we see Christ work in and through us and one another. We enter the kingdom by faith, which starts at the moment of conversion. The Church is Jesus kingdom, God's kingdom. Since the kingdom is "in us" we know we have both seen and entered the Kingdom of God.
You quoted the Act 1 text supposing the 'kingdom' means the Kingdom of God, but that is not what is I view here, it's the land first obtained under Moses and Joshua, where Israel may live out its covenant with each other and with God. The restoration of promised land is what the disciples asked about, but Jesus wanted them to see "new covenant" minded, that their inheritance is to be Ps 2 I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance"...way beyond the little plots of land they were concerned with.
They were going to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, so that the heathen may enter it both immediately and finally when they receive immortality in their bodies.
We also know this present world is not fully yielded to Christ, and Christ has not presented it to the Father as yet. So we wait for that and in that sense Jesus is still setting up the Kingdom of God.
Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
You quote the James text as a proof text, yet seem to miss the reality of God's present "kingdom rule" in the Church.
Then you quote other texts all alluding to future restorations, fulfillments and completions of God's work in this world. But none of that undoes the remainder of God's word pertaining to the Kingdom of God being entered, seen and obtained this very moment.
Ive read Pilgrims progress about a dozen times, I am currently re-reading it now. It does not teach what you say "most people are trying to make the city of destruction the heavenly city it will not work"
Bunyan taught that the city of destruction was poplar because the celestial city was evil spoken of, difficult to go to, or didn't really exist. The city of destruction was inhabited mainly because sin and the pleasure of sin is its main attraction.
lastly, Ive not read any flight of fancy posted by anyone speaking of the Kingdom of God, so far ( other than yourself) we are all echoing in our own words the very present working of God in his people; they are citizens of that kingdom and declarers of it's immediate availability upon faith in Christ. The full apprehension of that Kingdom will come in Christ's appointed day.
The long post was not made with the intention of belaboring my point of view, but to give you reason to rethink your position and attitude about the previous posts that were made.
This discussion is locked.