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We cannot have the Gospel
of Jesus Christ without the Gospel of the Kingdom, which refers to the
Kingdom of God (also called the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of
Christ), for they are one and the same. Yet many expositors of gospels today
leave out the Kingdom aspect of the Gospel and focus only on spiritual
salvation. They do not explain all that salvation entails, thus hindering
the hopes as well as the service of those who respond to their gospel.
The full Gospel is the telling not only of God’s redemption of man, but of
His deliverance of His entire creation. If one does not understand the
Gospel of the Kingdom one does not fully understand what salvation means
both for the present and for the future.
The purpose of Jesus dying to atone for man’s sins was not only for the sake
of mankind; it was first in order to restore the Kingdom of God in the
earth; man is incidental to that restoration. While we are blessed to know
that we are saved by that great sacrifice, we must also know the purpose for
which we have been saved. Seldom has that purpose been fully proclaimed in
the gospels preached today.
By God’s grace many have been saved through what may be deemed an inadequate
gospel. But many are also stunted in their spiritual growth because of the
failure of their spiritual leaders to fully explain what the Gospel really
entails, not only in blessings, but in responsibilities. For there are
responsibilities that come with one’s commitment to Christ.
This, in simple terms, is the Gospel, given to us by God in His Word. It is
summed up in John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Yet while this is a good summation of the Gospel, it is not the Gospel in
its entirety. For the full Gospel reveals how man enters into God’s Kingdom,
and what awaits those who do so, not only in this world, but in the world to
come.
Answering His disciple’s questions of when He would come again, and what
would be the signs of the end of this current age, Jesus replied that, among
other things, “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew
24:14).
What is the “Gospel of the Kingdom”? How often do we hear that phrase when
we hear the “gospel” from today’s pulpits? How often is the Kingdom of God
expounded upon without some hare-brained theory of man establishing
righteousness in the earth without the physical presence of Jesus?
Certain cults have arisen that claim their religious system is the Kingdom
of God, or at least the only true representative of the Kingdom of God.
These include, among others, the late Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide
Church of God; the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses); The Church of
Jesus Christ, Latter-day Saints (Mormons); and, most infamous of all, Roman
Catholicism. All these have their own take on the Gospel of the Kingdom, and
believe they alone will inherit it. Some leave room for those outside their
organizations to possibly populate the Kingdom of God, but not inherit it.
They are all in error, for no organization of man will ever inherit the
Kingdom of God; only God’s true saints will do so, regardless of any
religious affiliation to which they may adhere.
While there are many takes on the Gospel of the Kingdom, seldom, if ever, do
we hear the true Gospel of the Kingdom, even among the more Bible-oriented
churches?
We hear that Jesus died for our sins. We hear that we can be “saved” if we
“accept” Him as our personal Savior. Some even distinguish between His being
Savior and being Lord, intimating that we can accept Him as our Savior even
if we do not accept Him as our Lord. But Scripture speaks of Jesus as “Lord
of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). If we are to enter into His
Kingdom we must receive Him as our Lord. Jesus chastised those who called
Him Lord without obeying Him:
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke
6:46)
There is seldom an explanation of what being “saved” really means beyond
eternal life with Christ. The reason Jesus became man’s Savior is so that He
can be man’s Lord. The two roles are inseparable! Yet many gospels today
deny that one must receive Jesus as Lord, and stress only that He is man’s
Savior. This effectively leaves man in his sins, impotent to live
righteously for God’s Kingdom.
The mutilated gospels we hear these days leave us with half gospels, quarter
gospels and, in some cases, no gospel. As a result we have worldly-minded
churches comprised of the weak, led by the weak. All these non-gospels can
do is give a false sense of security. They have left out enough so that they
can be classified as “another gospel,” different from that proclaimed by
Paul.
Now, we must be careful not to assume that the Gospel is only found in that
which Paul wrote. He proclaimed the Gospel from the “Old Testament”
Scriptures. Therefore he no doubt expounded much more than he wrote,
considering that his epistles were written to the assemblies of believers
who had already professed faith in Jesus Christ. It wasn’t necessary for Him
to write what He had already proclaimed to them. But he did feel it
necessary to warn them of those who might preach another gospel from the one
he had proclaimed to them initially.
The full Gospel is found in the whole counsel of God. One cannot pull out
certain verses, isolate them from the rest of Scripture, and then say, “this
is the Gospel.” A single verse or passage of Scripture may well summarize
the Gospel, as does John 3:16, but the full Gospel is much more than any
portion of Scripture can convey apart from the rest of Scripture.
The Gospel of the Kingdom is a Gospel promising rulership over the earth
with Jesus the supreme Ruler. The Kingdom of God is where, ultimately,
unrighteousness is banished. It is a Kingdom that came with the creation of
man, has been coming through God’s plan of redemption, was demonstrated in
the life of Jesus of Nazareth, continues to come through the proclaiming of
the true Gospel, will be manifested in the physical reign of Jesus on the
earth, and will culminate in a New Heaven and a New Earth, when God moves
His throne from heaven to the earth after all iniquity is done away with
(Revelation 21:1-8).
Let us look at each of these manifestations of the Kingdom of God as they
pertain to the Gospel:
It Came Through the Creation of Man
When God created man He commissioned him to subdue the earth and to
replenish it:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God
blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26-28)
By giving man dominion over the earth, God established His Kingdom in the
midst of Satan’s territory. Scripture does not reveal all about how Satan’s
fall came about, but the prophet Isaiah gives us a clue in his lament to the
king of Tyre:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of
the pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15)
The king of Tyre, in his own estimation, had exalted himself above God.
Isaiah, speaking prophetically, likened the king of Tyre to Lucifer, the
“light bearer,” who came to be called Satan, the “destroyer.” Paul tells us
that Satan comes as an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of
righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
The Gospel of the Kingdom, which includes God’s redemption of man, cannot be
told without divulging the truth of man’s fallen condition that requires a
Redeemer. Because Adam succumbed to Satan’s temptation, all those born of
Adam are lost in sin, unable to rise to the former status of fellowship with
God and to the place of exercising dominion over the earth in a truly
righteous manner.
Man still has dominion over the earth and all its creatures, but his
dominion is corrupt, largely controlled by the evil spiritual entities that
guide man from the unseen realm.
Satan is the god of this world system (2 Corinthians 4:4). Thus, the world
system is utterly corrupt and unredeemable, being a creation of Satan. But
God has provided the means by which He will destroy Satan’s present world
system and establish His own system wherein will dwell righteousness. The
means is Jesus Christ who came to redeem out of lost mankind a remnant of
faithful men and women who will rule with Him in that new Kingdom on earth.
The first step in building the Kingdom of God on earth was the creation of
man.
It Has Been Coming
The Kingdom of God has been manifested throughout history by the righteous
men of faith who obeyed God in the midst of a sinful world. As mankind
became more and more corrupt, God found Noah alone to be righteous. The
account of Noah is much more than that of a man and his family saved from
the destruction of a worldwide flood. Unfortunately that account is reserved
largely for children’s Sunday school classes, with the major focus being on
the animals that entered with Noah into the ark. But were it not for Noah
and God’s grace, man’s role in the Kingdom of God would have ceased.
God intervened before man’s corruption had been completed. Because of His
promise to Adam and Eve, He would not allow that to happen. However, had it
not been for that promise, and had He not found Noah to be righteous, He
would have destroyed man utterly:
"And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved
him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created
from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and
the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:5-8)
This tells us that the redemption of man is not the central point of the
Gospel. It is incidental to God establishing His Kingdom on the earth. The
central point of the Gospel is the deliverance of the whole creation, not
just of man.
I realize how this may seem blasphemous to some. That is because the
churches have focused only on man, largely ignoring the Kingdom of God. Yet
this does not negate the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; it
merely establishes that God’s purpose for redeeming man is to develop the
visible Kingdom of God on earth. His love for man prompted Him to make that
provision even from the foundation of the world. Yet, again, had Noah not
been found faithful, and had God not promised to send a Redeemer for
mankind, man would not exist now.
God’s promise that the woman’s seed would bruise Satan’s head had to be
fulfilled. Thus, God saved Noah and his family, as well as a remnant of
animals, so that His promise may be fulfilled in mankind.
Noah, then, is the human patriarch of the Kingdom of God from the time of
the flood onward. He was given the same command as was given to Adam: be
fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 9:1). In other words,
God told Noah to be the representative of God’s Kingdom on earth in the
midst of Satan’s kingdom.
From the time of Noah the Kingdom of God continued to be manifested among
fallen men, both of Israel and of the nations, through a remnant of faithful
believers in the promise. That promise was reiterated throughout the
millennia in the words of God’s prophets among those remnants. His prophet
Moses was the first to proclaim that Israel would be a kingdom of priests if
it obeyed God:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then
ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth
is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their
faces all these words which the LORD commanded him." (Exodus. 19:5-7)
Peter applies this prophecy to those who believe in Jesus Christ:
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were
not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Yet even before Moses—indeed, before Israel came into being—God chose one
man through whom the promise of redemption would come. Abram, from Ur of the
Chaldees, was a man of normal passions. He had failings as do we all. Yet he
trusted God; he had a faith that pleased God. It would take great faith for
an ordinary man to believe the promise that God made to him.
Because Abram (Heb., "high father") obeyed God, God changed his name to
Abraham ("father of a multitude"). For out of him would come many nations so
that his offspring would be likened in number as the stars in the sky and
the sand upon the seashore (Genesis 22:17).
One nation in particular would be the means by which God’s Kingdom on earth
would be evident to the rest of the world. Abraham’s son Isaac, and Isaac’s
son Jacob (whom God later named Israel), continued the lineage through which
that promise would be realized. It would culminate in the twelve tribes of
Israel, with Messiah coming through the tribe of Judah.
For Israel to fulfill that purpose God, through Moses, made a specific
covenant with that nation’s twelve tribes. That covenant made all Israelites
subjects of the Kingdom of God whether or not they were faithful. Why?
Because the nation of Israel was the visible manifestation of God’s Kingdom
on earth—the only theocracy throughout history from the beginning until
today. And there will be no other until Jesus returns to establish it once
again through His physical reign on the earth.
God’s covenant with Israel carried blessings for obedience to His Law, as
well as curses for disobedience.
God’s dealing with Israel puzzles many because of the manner in which He
held the entire nation accountable for the sins of individuals. Until the
sins were dealt with, the nation suffered. He did not spare the righteous
from captivity when Israel became so apostate that it was aborted from the
Land it had been promised and given. Because of His promise, initially to
Abraham, later reiterated to Isaac and Jacob, God did not select another
lineage through which He would channel His redemptive plan.
The “Old Testament” is a written history of God’s plan working through the
nation of Israel to bring into the world Jesus, the Redeemer of mankind, by
whom the Kingdom of God on earth would be ruled. Israel was not chosen
because it was more righteous than other nations. It was chosen because of
Abraham’s faithfulness and because of God’s promise to Abraham that through
his seed the Redeemer would come (Genesis 15:6; 22:18).
Not all citizens of ancient Israel were saved; only those were saved who
placed their faith in the Redeemer even before they knew who He would be.
Israel was not chosen to be blessed with automatic salvation for every
Israelite person; the nation was chosen as a vessel through which God’s
Messiah would come. When He came He fulfilled all the Scriptures that
pointed to Him.
Although the majority of the Kingdom’s subjects committed treason, God
spared a remnant of the righteous— mostly from the tribe of Judah (the
Jews)—and allowed them to go back into their land. The vast majority from
the other tribes were dispersed to become assimilated into the nations. It
was through the remnant—specifically the tribe of Judah—that the King made
His initial appearance.
It Was Demonstrated in the Person of Jesus
The prophet Malachi foretold the day when a special prophet would announce
the coming of God’s Messiah (the uniquely Anointed One) who would perfectly
demonstrate to man the Kingdom of God:
"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:
and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the
messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith
the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 3:1)
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)
When Malachi gave this prophecy Elijah had been dead for centuries. Thus,
the prophecies revealed a future time when Elijah would come again to
proclaim the day of God’s visitation.
Jesus applied Malachi 4:5-6 to John the Baptist who came in the spirit of
Elijah, proclaiming that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand in the person of
Jesus of Nazareth:
"For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before
thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you,
Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John
the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the
prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this
is Elias, which was for to come." (Matthew 11:10-14)
The Greek “Elias” is the equivalent of the Hebrew “Elijah.” John the Baptist
appeared before Jesus of Nazareth did, proclaiming that the Kingdom of
Heaven was at hand, and identifying Jesus as the Messiah sent from God.
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he
that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias [Isaiah], saying, The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight." (Matt. 3:1-3)
Jesus repeated John’s proclamation:
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17)
Later, Jesus commissioned His twelve apostles to go throughout Israel with
the same proclamation:
"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power
against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease.…These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any
city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils:
freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:1-8)
Jesus’ miracles were not merely for show or to demonstrate power for power’s
sake. They were proof that the Kingdom of God is a reality, and that He is
the administrator of that Kingdom. He took power over the kingdom of Satan
to destroy Satan’s works, especially the works that lead to sin:
"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8)
Jesus’ miracles foreshadowed the healing that would come upon the nations at
the end of this age when He returns to establish His visible reign upon the
earth. The evidence of His power over Satan was in the miracles He
performed.
When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He were the Christ,
or if they should look for someone else, Jesus affirmed that His miracles
coincided with the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things
which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall
not be offended in me." (Matthew 11:4-6)
When Jesus proclaimed what have come to be called the “beatitudes,” He was
explaining to the people the Kingdom of Heaven, and what promises awaited
those who obeyed the Gospel of the Kingdom:
"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set,
his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them,
saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they
shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say
all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:1-12)
These words give hope to the righteous who suffer for their faith in this
world. The “beatitudes” speak of the Kingdom of God manifested in the earth
through the visible, personal reign of Jesus Christ. How else could the meek
inherit the earth? His words do not offer one type of blessing for each type
of person. The poor in spirit are not distinguished from the peacemakers, or
the meek distinguished from the pure in heart. The true believer in Christ
is all of these. And the several blessings are for all the saints when they
come to possess the future Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
This is what Paul was speaking of in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he tells us to
examine ourselves whether we be in the faith:
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know
ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates?"
Paul was not merely suggesting that we ask ourselves what we believe and why
we believe it; he was admonishing us to see if our lives measure up to the
godly standard required to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven when Jesus returns.
For those who are loyal subjects of His Kingdom there will be many blessings
and they will rule the nations with Him:
"But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that
overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over
the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a
potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And
I will give him the morning star." (Revelation 2:25-28)
In His mercy, God has provided for those believers who are deficient in
their service. Though they may lose their rewards, they may still be saved:
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise
masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But
let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build
upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's
work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he
shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (1
Corinthians 3:10-15)
There is held by some an erroneous interpretation of these verses—that sin
only results in the loss of rewards in the Kingdom. Besides esteeming God’s
rewards as something to be taken lightly, they equate sin with faulty works.
But this provision for rewards does not include unrepentant sin; it has to
do with lack of service in the Kingdom of God. We build our works (service
in the Kingdom) on one foundation, Jesus Christ. We can build gold, silver
and precious stones for faithful service, or we can build wood, hay and
stubble for works performed in the flesh—good works of “righteousness” with
either impure motives, or outside the will of God. They are all good works,
built on the foundation of Jesus, but only those works done in accordance
with God’s will shall result in lasting rewards. All others will be burned
up, although the servant may still be saved as through fire.
A brother once described this latter scenario as appearing before God like a
singed chicken. How ignominious, even in the wake of eternal salvation.
Though they may enter the Kingdom, there will be few or no rewards for them.
Works built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, whether for reward or not,
are not the same as willful sin, which brings condemnation and rejection out
of the Kingdom of God. Although it is sinful to do works of righteousness in
the flesh, this is not the same as committing overt, willful sin such as
fornication, adultery, murder, lying or stealing for personal gain, or
anything that is contrary to godliness.
When Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is “within you” (Luke
17:21), He was telling them that the Kingdom was not coming at that time in
the way they anticipated; it is within everyone in the sense that the
Kingdom has sovereignty over every soul, to judge every person’s faith or
lack of faith. It will be manifested as a government on earth after Jesus
comes the second time, and not before.
Do not be deceived to think that sin in the Kingdom of God is something to
be taken lightly. God’s judgment is reserved for those who continue in
willful sin, because they did not respond to His love manifested through
conviction for their sins, or even chastisement.
It Continues to Come
Every time the true Gospel is proclaimed the Kingdom of God is being
manifested in the earth. It continues to come each time a new soul enters
into God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It continues to come every
time a believer in Christ demonstrates obedience to God’s Law through love
for his fellow man. For love is the embodiment of the Law:
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him,
and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said
unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew
22:35-40)
This is why Jesus said that His commandments are not grievous. We need not
focus on the minutia of the Law; we need but love God with all our hearts,
all our souls, and with all our minds, and to love our neighbors as
ourselves. If we will do this we will not sin.
In essence, the Law has been done away with in terms of the necessity to
struggle over how to keep ourselves from sinning. It remains to tell us what
pleases God, and how we can demonstrate our love for Him and for our fellow
man. But the Holy Spirit is in the believer now to guide into all truth
through the study of God’s Word. The heart that is truly in love with God
will abhor sin and will keep the law of love by not willfully disobeying
God’s Word.
Because of Christ’s sacrifice we no longer need to keep the ceremonial and
sacrificial laws that pointed to His coming. To do so would be sin, because
it would demonstrate lack of faith in His perfect atoning death. This is a
dichotomy to the legalist, because it means that keeping those laws breaks
the law of love. Paul said those men were breaking the law who insisted new
believers be circumcised. They were counting circumcision as righteousness
necessary for salvation (Romans 2:23-29).
We can be part of the continuing manifestation of God’s Kingdom on earth
through our love for God and for man. That love compels us to minister the
truth of God’s Word so that others may enter into His love through faith.
At present, the Kingdom of God is visible to the world only through the
lives of God’s people. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God to the
kingdoms and peoples of the earth, bringing the news of God’s
reconciliation.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s
stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor
5:17-21)
Wherever our feet are planted the Kingdom of Heaven is manifested among the
people of the earth. We are first of all citizens of Heaven, secondly
citizens of the nation that holds our citizenship in its records. The first
is a heavenly citizenship; the second an earthly citizenship. The first
holds our spiritual allegiance and our primary responsibility in any
temporal sense; the second holds our temporal allegiance only insofar as it
does not conflict with our heavenly allegiance.
We may appeal to our earthly citizenship, as Paul did (Acts 22:24-30), in
order to protect ourselves and to gain advantage for our ambassadorship. But
we may not take undue advantage of others for personal gain, or rebel
against any earthly government.
The most important thing we have as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is
our testimony; we cannot risk sullying our testimony because of scandal. We
obey the laws of the land; we pay our taxes; we love everyone; we do not
return evil for evil. These things are essential if we are to have a good
report among those who are outside the Kingdom of God. This is especially
true for those who hold positions of leadership among God’s people. But it
is no less a requirement for all His people (1 Timothy 3:7; 1 Peter
2:11-25).
A dear brother in Christ offered this poem as an example of our being living
Gospels:
You’re writing a Gospel, a chapter each day
By the deeds that you do and the things that you say.
Others read what you write, distorted or true.
What is the Gospel according to you?
As ambassadors of Christ, our message is one of peace and reconciliation.
Ambassadors do not foment rebellion against the people to which they are
sent by their own government. Nor do they rightly abuse the privileges that
come with their office. But they do work in the best interests of their own
government. And they may work peacefully among the people of the nations to
which they are sent in order to gain loyal subjects for their own
government.
We cannot control how others treat us, but we can control how we treat
others. And God’s Word leaves no room for rebellion or dishonesty on the
part of His people:
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of
all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all
men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for
in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of
evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:17-21)
While the King remains in Heaven, conducting the affairs of His Kingdom on
earth through His ambassadors, His Kingdom is not fully manifested over the
nations. It will be fully manifested when He comes to conquer the nations
and establish His rule over them. |
The
Resurrection
Before the Lord returns to establish His Kingdom on the earth
there will occur a great event which Scripture calls our “lively hope” (1
Peter 1:3). That event is the bodily resurrection of all those who are in
Christ Jesus.
When Jesus said that the gates of Hades would not prevail against His called
out ones (Matthew 16:18), He did not mean that it was the duty of His
disciples to attack Satan and his domain with the purpose of establishing
dominion over the earth. Hades had two compartments: one where the
unrighteous were held in torment for the day of judgment; another where the
righteous were held in comfort awaiting their release (Luke 16:20-31). With
the resurrection of Jesus, the captives were set free to follow Him to
Heaven to await the end of the age. Presently, believers who sleep in the
Lord are immediately in His presence (2 Corinthians 5:8); there is no longer
the need to wait in Hades. In other words, the gates of Hades cannot prevent
the resurrection of the saints. And that resurrection is the great hope of
the Gospel of the Kingdom.
When Jesus returns, those who are asleep in Christ will be raised
incorruptible and will rise to meet the Lord in the air. Those who are alive
in the flesh will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible to join them:
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent
[precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians.
4:15-17)
"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and
the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall
he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven." (Mark
13:24-27)
This speaks of what has come to be called “the rapture” of the Body of
Christ and is affirmed in Matthew 24:29-31.
The world will see Jesus take His saints out of the world and it will know
His wrath is about to be meted out:
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig
tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the
heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain
and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and
the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,
and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the
rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able
to stand?" (Revelation 6:12-17)
After this event the saints will remain with the Lord while He pours out His
wrath upon the satanic world system ruled by a man called anti-Christ. The
“good news,” or Gospel, is that the Lord’s disciples are not appointed to
wrath, though we may suffer tribulation in this world because of our faith:
"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should
live together with him." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
These verses are in concert with Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27 and
Revelation 6:12-7:17. Read these verses together, in their proper contexts,
to see the true scenario of the Lord’s catching up of His saints to meet Him
in the air. That will be the “fullness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25), and
the beginning of God’s dealing with natural Israel again (Revelation 7:1-8).
The Second Coming
At the proper time, the Lord will return with His saints to destroy the
armies of anti-Christ; He will then set up His visible Kingdom on earth:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 1:14-15)
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and
he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he
cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of
heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great
God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the
flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them,
and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I
saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his
army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark
of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive
into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with
the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his
mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Rev. 19:11-21)
This horrific scene speaks of God’s wrath upon all who will not bend their
knees in submission to His rightful claim as their King. It need not befall
anyone who will only heed His plea.
Men seek escape from the world unaware that its problems exist because of
Satan’s rule. Their escape takes the form of drugs, alcohol, sex, suicide,
even religion. They do not know they can escape through faith in Jesus
Christ who offers perfect peace to His faithful subjects. Yet because the
churches do not proclaim a full Gospel of the Kingdom many think of
salvation as only “pie-in-the-sky”—a fable. Some come to Christ merely for
“fire insurance,” but they have no sustaining strength to remain in the
Kingdom. This is what Jesus was speaking of in His parable of the sower:
"A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way
side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And
some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away,
because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns
sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang
up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he
cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him,
saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that
seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the
parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they
that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they,
which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root,
which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that
which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and
are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no
fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an
honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit
with patience." (Luke 8:4-15)
Let us have eyes to see that this was a “mystery of the Kingdom of God.”
Many enter the Kingdom with gladness for a time, eager for its blessings,
but they do not remain. As long as they remain they will be saved.
It Will Manifest in the Millennium
The Kingdom in visible operation as a government on earth will be manifested
in the future millennial (one-thousand-year-long) reign of Jesus Christ. He
will establish His government and will apportion rewards to His saints
according to their work for the Kingdom while in their mortal bodies. Thus,
He will demonstrate to the peoples of the earth the manner in which
righteous government should rule. His righteous government will rule with a
rod of iron, and justice will be meted out without compromise.
This promise to the Son of God was prophesied in Psalms 2:7-12:
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them
in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be
instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way,
when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their
trust in him."
During Jesus’ reign, the nations will be powerless to oppose Him, for
Satan—the deceiver of the nations and ruler of this world system—will be
bound for one thousand years.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless
pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should
be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation
20:1-3)
The great hope of the true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be
resurrected to eternal life in a new body impervious to death, and to reign
with his Sovereign King over the nations of the earth, first until such time
that God renews all things, then for eternity.
But even by the end of the Millennium the battle will not be over. For Satan
will be released to try the hearts of those who, though obeying the Law of
the Kingdom out of fear, hold no love for the King and resent His rule over
them:
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison, And 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. And 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. And 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. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev 20:7-15)
When the thousand years are ended the eternal phase of the Kingdom of God as
it applies to its human subjects will have just begun. The Kingdom has been,
is now, and always will be, eternal. But we have merely entered into the
portal of that eternal Kingdom. What lies ahead is truly wondrous.
It Will Culminate in the New Earth
The Kingdom of God will reign triumphant over the nations, and then God will
renew His creation to what it was before the fall of Lucifer and Adam.
Exactly how that will take effect in the stars and planets we are not told.
What we are told is that God will move His throne from Heaven to the earth
and will dwell with His people for eternity in a New Heaven and a New Earth:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first
earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of
the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful,
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
(Revelation. 21:1-8)
The New Earth will come into existence when this present earth is renovated
through fire which will destroy every corrupt thing (2 Peter 3:10-12).
John was privileged to see the final culmination of the Kingdom of God on
the earth:
"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the
temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to
shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of
it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And
the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night
there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And
there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written
in the Lamb’s book of life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In
the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there
the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his
face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night
there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.…He that is
unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy
still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is
with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they
that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and
may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 21:22-22:14)
Nations will still exist, but they will be populated by the redeemed only,
who will go into and out of the City with gifts for the eternal God and His
Son.
The Gospel of the Kingdom has both temporal and spiritual blessings for its
loyal subjects. Our eternal state will not be one of idleness, but of
fruitful service to the King and to God the Father. The earth will be the
paradise it was intended to be at its creation. And God’s people, having
endured the presence of evil and tribulation, will be happy to tend the
fields of the Lord which will easily give forth their abundance in the
redeemed nations. |
|
We have seen how the Kingdom of God came in the past,
is coming in the present, and will fully come in the future. Now there are
important details to the Kingdom which must be addressed if we are to enter
into it with understanding. One of those details has to do with a great
apostasy (falling away from the Faith) that occurred in the early centuries
after Jesus came.
Because of that apostasy, which came in the name of Jesus and claimed to be
the visible representation of His Kingdom on earth, the truth of the nature
of the Body of Christ (the sum of His believers) has been obscured. One
reason we have been left in the dark on this issue is that we have been
taught to think of ourselves as members of something called “the Church.”
WHAT IS "THE CHURCH"?
Since the second or third century, Christians have referred to themselves
as “the Church.” We have become accustomed to the word “church,” without
understanding how it came about or why.
The various English translations of Scripture use the word “church” for the
Greek-Latin ecclesia or ekklesia. In truth, however,
ecclesia is properly translated “called out.” The word “church” was
adopted from the Latin kyriakon as the name of the developing
hierarchical system which eventually became the Roman Catholic Church.
In reference to the name “Church,” the Encyclopædia Britannica
states:
"The Greek word ekklesia, which came to mean church, was originally applied
in the Classical period to an official assembly of citizens. In the
Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament (3rd-2nd century BC),
the term ekklesia is used for the general assembly of the Jewish people,
especially when gathered for a religious purpose such as hearing the Law
(e.g., Deuteronomy 9:10, 18:16). In the New Testament it is used of the
entire body of believing Christians throughout the world (e.g., Matthew
16:18), of the believers in a particular area (e.g., Acts 5:11), and also of
the congregation meeting in a particular house—the 'house-assembly' (e.g.,
Romans 16:5)."
The term “church” (Anglo-Saxon, cirice, circe; Modern
German, cirche; Sw., kyrka) is the name employed in the
Teutonic languages to translate ekklesia. But this is an error.
The origin of “church” is the Latin word kyriakon (Greek,
kuriakos), “belonging to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:20; Revelation
1:10). It does not mean the same as ekklesia.
Even the Latin Vulgate uses the Latin ecclesia. (There are
many similarities among Latin and Greek words.) Yet ekklesia (or
ecclesia) has been translated as if it were kyriakon, and
meaning “The Lord’s congregation.”
Although ekklesia may mean the “called out” believers of Christ in
total, or as individual assemblies of the called out ones, it has no
exclusive connotation of a religious system. The kyriakon, or
“church,” however, is a theological system which operates on a professional
level. It is clergy-laity oriented. The rank-and-file are distinguished from
the clergy who function as priests—the oracles of God.
Outside the so-called “high” churches such as Roman Catholicism,
Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and the various Orthodox churches of the East,
most Christians would say that their pastors are not priests. But they make
the clergy-laity distinction by referring to them as “Reverend,” “Bishop,”
or some other hierarchical religious term. Some pastors wear clerical robes
that speak as loudly as words: “I am clergy; you are laity.” Even the word
“pastor” is suspect. Technically, both the Greek word, poimen, and
the Latin word, pastores, mean “shepherds.” But Latin being the
official language of the apostate Roman Church, pastores referred
to its papal priests. We need not make an issue of this fact if some prefer
the word “pastor.” It just helps to know.
In the true ekklesia, all members are equal before God,
although there may be some gifted by
God as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers
(Ephesians 4:11), who are to
function in specific manners strictly from a motive of love. They may
receive some honor or support for their service, but it is better for them
to work with their own hands so that they not be a burden to others (1
Thessalonians 4:11). Professional clergy often preach only that which is
popular or will ensure their financial security.
In later centuries kyriakon came to be used by the developing
hierarchical establishment of the world system to refer to its congregations
and to the Christian “synagogues” or meeting places called “churches,”
“cathedrals,” “chapels,” “sanctuaries,” etc.
(The word “sanctuary,” which is used even in non-Catholic churches as a name
for the room where the congregation meets, means a holy place, or the place
where God dwells. It was used for the Holy of Holies in the Hebrew temple.
Yet Scripture says that each believer in Jesus is the temple of God; He does
not dwell in temples made by hands [Acts 17:24; 1 Corinthians 3:16]).
Thus, the word ekklesia has been usurped to mean the churches whose
leaders rule the spiritual lives of their congregants through a clergy-laity
system. Originally this was done to preserve the establishment of the Roman
papal system. Later it was carried over to the Protestant religions at the
time of the Reformation. Today it is commonly used to denote the Body of
Christ, which is an error. That error was propagated by the English
translators of the “New Testament,” who knew that the word “church” would
cement in the minds of their congregants the legitimacy of their
hierarchical establishments. So, too, the words, “bishop,” “pastor,”
“preach,” and other terms did not originate in the Greek Scriptures but in
the apostate Roman Catholic religious system.
This is not a matter of semantics. Those English words were included as a
means to keep the people subservient to the hierarchical systems that
produced their Bibles.
Yet we can thank God for using the apostate establishments to preserve the
Scriptures for us. Had it not been for their power-grabbing nature, much of
what we have in ancient manuscripts would have been lost to us today. They
made possible the King James Bible and all subsequent translations in many
languages for the average person. The truth is available to us if we but
study the Scriptures diligently. While translations have their flaws—some
more so than others—the Gospel can be found in most of them.
Because of the confusion wrought by the early apostasy, today virtually all
churches hold that “the Church” was either a new creation by Jesus to
replace Israel, or was created in addition to Israel as a separate entity.
Both positions are based on the erroneous assumption that “the Church” was
necessary to be the oracle of God because of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The
truth is that all the promises of God in both the “Old” and “New Testament”
are only to Israel, and all believers in Jesus are heirs to those promises
regardless of their national heritage.
Old And New Reconciled
It is supposed that the “New Testament” replaced the “Old Testament” for
those who follow Jesus. The word rendered “testament” is diatheke,
which means “contract.” There has been a problem created by those who
compiled the Scriptures, particularly those within the Roman Catholic
Church. Confusion exists in what is meant by the “Old Testament” and the
“New Testament” as they relate to the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
There is no such division of Scripture as an “Old Testament” and a “New
Testament,” except as invented by the apostate early “Church.” Nor is there
any such thing as different testaments. There is only God’s Word given
through His prophets who wrote prior to the coming of Israel’s Messiah, and
to His apostles and prophets who wrote after the coming of Israel’s Messiah.
There is one Testimony which is made up of all the prophetic writings, and
it was given to Israel—the Testimony of Yeshua, HaMashiach (Jesus the
Christ), which spoke of Him before He came through the prophets
(pre-messianic Scriptures), and related His life and teachings after He came
through the apostles (post-messianic Scriptures).
“The Church” separated these into two categories called “Old Testament” and
“New Testament,” then said that these are two different covenants for two
different people.
While “testament” means “covenant,” it was erroneous for them to separate
the prophetic writings given before Messiah came, from the prophetic
writings given after Messiah came, and call them the “Old Testament” and the
“New Testament.” This implied that all of the pre-messianic writings
comprised the whole of what was done away with when Messiah instituted His
New Covenant in His blood. The only parts of those pre-messianic writings
that were done away were the Mosaic laws given to Israel. But it is not true
of God’s original covenant with Abraham, or of any other writings.
The pre-messianic Scriptures recorded many covenants with different people:
Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others, including
non-Israelites such as Hagar and her son Ishmael (Genesis 17:20). So the
so-called “Old Testament” is really the record of many covenants between God
and men. All of those covenants were specific to those people. The Old
Covenant in Moses, and the New Covenant in Jesus were made specifically with
the nation of Israel. The Old Covenant was sealed by keeping the Law by
faith. The New Covenant with the house of Israel was sealed with the blood
of Messiah.
All who come to Him enter into the covenant He made with Abraham. The Old
Covenant with Israel through Moses has been done away with and replaced by
the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. Therefore, the only parts of the
pre-messianic writings that do not apply to today’s Israel of Faith are
those that specifically related to Israel’s sacrifices for sin and the
ceremonial laws that pointed to the future coming of Messiah. Once Messiah
fulfilled those laws they no longer had to be adhered to by faithful Israel.
The wall of separation was torn down and the Gentiles were invited to enter
into the New Covenant with Israel.
To ignore the Abrahamic covenant is an error that has hindered the spiritual
growth of Christians for centuries. The New Covenant did not replace the
Abrahamic Covenant; it supplemented it. More properly, it fulfilled it. And
it pertained to Israel, not to “the Church.”
Are you shocked by all this? Well, what saith the Scriptures?
When Jesus told His apostles at His “Last Supper,” “This is my blood of the
new testament [covenant], which is shed for many,” He was fulfilling a
prophecy given through the prophet Jeremiah that spoke of a new covenant God
would make with……Israel:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah
31:31-33)
This prophecy pertained to Jesus at His first coming. It is specific not
only to the nation of Israel, but to the tribe of Judah. That specificity
means it cannot be construed to mean it is for something called “the
Church,” which replaced, or was created in addition to, Israel. This is
affirmed in the apostles' Scriptures, especially in the writing to the
Hebrew believers in Christ. Speaking of Jesus as the perfect High Priest of
Israel, the writer says:
"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is
the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better
promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no
place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he
saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according
to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them
by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued
not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And
they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the
greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new
covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old
is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8:6-13)
The Old Covenant spoken of here was that which God made with Israel through
Moses and the giving of the Mosaic laws. That covenant provided for animal
sacrifices which could not fully remove the sins of the people. These were
types that pointed to Christ. The New Covenant is a more perfect one based
upon the shed blood of Jesus. Both the Old Covenant and New Covenant are
said to be made with “the house of Israel.” Thus, the imperfect was replaced
by the perfect for the benefit of Israel. There is no mention of “the
Church.” All scriptural promises are to Israel, entered into by all who are
faithful both among the Israelites and the Gentiles.
After His resurrection, when Jesus was asked by His disciples, "Lord, wilt
thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus did not reply
that Israel is no longer in God's plan and that the kingdom of Israel will
never be restored. Nor did He say that His purposes will be fulfilled by
something new called "the church." Rather, "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.
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."
(Acts 1:6-8)
In other words, the "church" did not replace Israel, and it is not something
created in addition to Israel. The Kingdom of Heaven, when it comes to the
earth during Jesus' millennial reign, will also restore the kingdom of
Israel, not as supreme over all other nations, but within its own
boundaries.
God’s covenant with Abraham through Israel still stands; only the aspects of
the covenant given through Moses and pertaining to sacrifices for sin, and
those meant to keep Israel separate from the nations are done away with.
While the Mosaic laws pertaining to the sacrifices and other things
necessary to demonstrate righteousness before God were done away with, it
remains that God’s covenant with Abraham, operating through Israel, carries
through to the disciples of Jesus. This is part of the Gospel: we are joint
heirs with Christ as promised to the father of our faith, Abraham. This is
affirmed in the post-messianic Scriptures:
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are
the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham.…Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.…Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He
saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which
is Christ." (Galatians 3:6-16)
Thus, we enter not into the Mosaic Covenant, but into the Abrahamic
Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was interspersed to keep Israel separate from
the nations until Messiah came. Through faith in the Messiah, Jesus,
believers from out of the nations are melded with the faithful of Israel so
that out of the two God has made one people for Himself (Ephesians 2:15).
God’s covenant in Abraham’s faith was not annulled by the covenant of law
later given through Moses to Israel:
"And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the
inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to
Abraham by promise." (Galatians 3:17-18)
To whom was the promise of a better covenant given? Israel. Yet all who come
to Christ by faith, whether born naturally to Israel or to the other
nations, are heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant administered through Israel by
faith:
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are
ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29)
God proclaimed the Gospel to Abraham before it was fulfilled—that through
Abraham all nations would be blessed (Galatians 3:8). Isaiah, speaking
prophetically to the Messiah, said He would be a light to the Gentiles:
"And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise
up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also
give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto
the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
The Jewish prophet Simeon, seeing the Lord as a child in the temple
reiterated Isaiah:
"For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the
face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy
people Israel." (Luke 2:30-32)
Jesus is a light to the nations as the Messiah of Israel. He came to break
down the wall of separation between Israel and the other nations:
"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who
are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the
flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle
wall of partition between us. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of
twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto
God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For
through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone." (Ephesians 2:11-20)
The Gentiles, without Christ, are alienated from the commonwealth of Israel
and are strangers from the covenant of promise. In Christ they are bonded to
the commonwealth of Israel and partake of the covenants between God and
Israel. This is a mystery that was hidden throughout the centuries:
"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is
given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath
been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his
saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
(Colossians 1:25-27)
So sacred is the truth that God has made of two people one in Israel for His
glory, that Paul condemns those who would try to erect again the wall torn
down through Christ’s sacrifice:
"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he
was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with
the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself,
fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled
likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their
dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to
the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a
Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by
nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,
and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified." (Galatians 2:11-16)
From the very beginning, Satan tried to undo what Christ had done. He tried
to drive a wedge between Israel and the Gentiles, devising false teachings
that treated the two as something distinct.
Roman Catholicism proved his perfect foil to accomplish this. Using the
military power of Rome, that religious system—a hybrid Christian-pagan
hierarchical “church”—imposed upon kings and their subjects the belief that
the Kingdom of God had come through the Roman pontiff as the Vicar of Christ
on earth. Its leaders claimed that Israel was no longer the inheritor of
God’s promises; “the Church” was. Thus, “the Church” drove further the wedge
between the two through persecution and a bloody pogrom that still reeks
today.
Although God has managed to preserve individuals—even among the leaders—in
the religious systems, the fact remains that those systems are all
illegitimate usurpers of the promises made to the Israel of Faith. They do
not proclaim the full Gospel, but claim rewards and promises distinct from
those of the Israel of Faith. So doing, they cut off their hearers from
blessings.
It pains me to say this. I know wonderful men who are pastors of the
churches I am indicting. I would not question their love for the Lord. They
also are victims of the deception, having been trained in particular
theological systems. I know I am wounding them by my words here. All I can
say is I’m sorry. But as I understood these things I felt the same as when
the true nature of the Roman Catholic Church—which I loved—was revealed to
me thirty-seven years ago. I gave up what I loved for Him whom I loved more.
To be sure, we are not saved by this knowledge. We are saved by grace. We
are saved by our faith in the Messiah of God. And we must regard as saved by
grace our true brethren in Christ who are still in the churches, content
under the tutelage of even the most errant pastors. We must likewise regard
as saved those pastors who labor out of a motive of love for God’s flock. We
cannot be puffed up, as knowledge often does to people. Our eyes may be
opened now, but they were closed for too long before. Let us have grace
toward those who do not see these truths at this time. Some may resist until
the end— until they are cast out of the synagogues called churches today.
Some pastors will be cast out by their congregations when they begin to
really minister the truth as well.
Were Jesus’ words for “the Church”?
So successful has Satan been in erecting again the wall of separation
through the churches that there are some who even say that Jesus’ words were
not meant for “the Church.”
They assume that, since the Lord related His teachings to the Law, they were
meant only for Israel. And since the Law was done away with, they do not
apply to “the Church.” They assume that Israel was saved by keeping the Law
while “the Church” is saved merely by affirmation of faith in Jesus. They
have misconstrued the meaning of grace, lacking understanding of how grace
came to Israel through the Law. Thus, they have established an inadequate
gospel as a means to salvation.
Let us be clear about this very important truth: there is nothing man can do
to earn his salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith, and that is a
gift from God (Ephesians 2:4-10). But His faith is available to all who seek
truth with an honest heart:
"O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For
thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in
burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalms 51:15-17)
Many focus on the idea that man’s heart is utterly corrupt, and that no
semblance of goodness can be found in it. And it is true that there are
several Scriptures that attest to the deceitfulness of man’s heart. Yet man,
bearing the image of God, does have an innate goodness, even if that
goodness of itself cannot save him. Even Jesus acknowledged the possibility
of a good heart. When explaining the parable of the sower, He said:
"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." (Luke
8:15)
So whom do we believe? Jesus or some theological system? I suppose we should
correct the Lord.
We are saved by God’s grace, not by our own works. But our response to God’s
grace reveals the condition of our hearts. We are not robots to be forced
against our wills into the Kingdom of God. We have the ability to choose
Christ or reject Him. Otherwise there would be no such thing as love on our
part toward our heavenly Father and Jesus. Love is an act of one’s will. And
God desires that we love Him with all our hearts, souls, strength and minds.
It is important to know that God’s grace as the only means of salvation did
not apply only to “New Testament” believers, but also to “Old Testament”
Israel. Israel was never saved by keeping the Law; God’s grace has always
been at the heart of His dealing with men even from the creation of Adam.
The moral law was given as an expression of God’s grace to show man what God
required of him in order to be in fellowship with God. It was never meant as
a way to be saved.
True faith involves a desire to obey God’s moral law, which must be kept by
faith in what it teaches us: that God has made us His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus to do good works in which God had ordained us to walk. One
cannot break God’s commands and claim to love God.
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
“But,” some say, “Jesus never spoke to the Church, He spoke only to Israel.”
Yet what did He say immediately following these words?
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him
not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a
little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live,
ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye
in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it
is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I
will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14:15-21)
“The Church” wants to claim the Holy Spirit, but it does not want to assume
the responsibilities required to receive that blessing. To whom has the
Comforter—the Holy Spirit—been sent? To Israel, or to “the Church”? We
cannot have it both ways.
Actually, it is correct to say that the Holy Spirit is sent to Israel, and
that the Lord’s words were only for Israel. For we are all Israel by faith
if we have been baptized into the New Covenant which was promised to Israel.
Thus, all of the “New Testament” writings are for the Israel of Faith, not
for the apostate religious system that came to be known as “the Church.”
Does “The Church” Exist?
The truth is that there is no such thing as “the Church” in God’s economy.
All of the churches that exist today are descended from the original
apostate system, no matter how far from the original they may have
progressed. As long as they think of themselves as something other than a
company of people within the Abrahamic covenant and as distinct from Israel,
they are in error. This does not mean that all individuals in those churches
are not saved, or do not love God. It merely means that they have not been
taught properly who they are in Christ. God did not create a new entity to
replace Israel; nor did He establish a new creation in addition to Israel.
There is only the Israel of Faith.
Before the Covenantalists or the Dispensationalists pick up their stones, I
ask that they please hear me out.
All who would be saved, whether Jew or Gentile, are of one and the same
company through faith in the promise to Abraham:
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to
seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this
I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the
law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it
should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the
law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.…For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for
ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:16-29)
Now, when I say that there is only Israel I do not mean that “the Church”
has replaced Israel. I mean that all believers, whether born to natural
Israelite stock, or from other nations, grow together on the same
tree—Israel.
"For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be
holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and
thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the
branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted
in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by
faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut
off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted
in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into
a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches,
be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins." (Romans 11:16-27)
Read this Scripture carefully. You will see that there are not two trees,
but one. God did not create a new tree called “the Church,” but grafted into
the one tree, Israel (not natural Israel, but faithful Israel), all who have
faith in Jesus Christ and obey His commandments by faith.
We are not members of something called “the Church.” We are members of
Israel by faith.
The concept of “replacement theology” is a terrible deception. It boasts
against the natural branches. It states that God has completely finished
with Israel with the coming of Christ, and that He has replaced Israel with
something called “the Church,” which word is not found in the original Greek
Scriptures. As we have seen, the Greek word mistranslated “church” is
ekklesia, which means “called out ones.” Israel was called out from among
the nations to present the Gospel to the world. This is why Paul calls the
faithful of Israel the elect of grace (Romans 11:5). This is a term we often
hear applied to the so-called “Church,” but it initially applied to the
believing remnant of Israel. If Paul referred to Israel as the elect of
grace at a time when “the Church” was supposed to be in operation, why has
the concept been discarded?
Satan’s hatred for God’s people caused him to devise a religious system that
would confuse those who would come to Christ and obscure their understanding
of the great promises that are theirs if they will be faithful.
When Jesus came, He said He would build His ekklesia
on the faith exhibited by Peter when Peter stated that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:15-20). Jesus was not going to
build something new called “the Church.” He was again calling out Israel,
this time to be built on the New Covenant in His blood. When Jesus said "on
this rock I will build my ekklesia," He was saying that He was
going to build new assemblies among the Israelites of faith. The old order
of Moses had been done away.
Peter understood the Lord’s ministry within the context of the Messianic
prophecies given to Israel of old. He represented the apostles as the
foundation of that calling out.
Remember Hebrews 8:8-13, where we saw that the New Covenant in Christ’s
blood is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy to Israel; that prophecy did
not speak of a different company called “the Church,” which was to come
later.
Are you still unconvinced? Do you still believe that “the Church” is the
Bride of Christ, distinct from Israel? What if you were to learn that “the
Church” is not the Bride of Christ according to God’s Word?
Again, what saith the Scriptures?
"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come
hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away
in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of
God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper
stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve
gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three
gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west
three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had
a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall
thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the
breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured
the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it
was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the
foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of
precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the
third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth,
sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the
tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one
pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass." (Revelation 21:9-21)
The City of God, the New Jerusalem, is revealed as the Bride of the Lamb
(Jesus Christ), in which all the saints will have a part. Contrary to
popular opinion, “the Church” is not the Bride of Christ. Just as Gentile
disciples of Jesus are grafted into the Israel of Faith, so they will be
part of the Bride of Christ along with the faithful of natural Israel who
lived before and after Christ Jesus came to the earth.
Of course, the physical City—the material of which it is made—is not the
Bride of Christ; it is the inhabitants of the City, faithful Israel, that is
the Bride of Christ, called in this life, the Body of Christ.
There is no corporate Body of Christ called “the Church.” The corporate Body
of Christ is the Israel of Faith; it always has been, and it always will be
the Israel of Faith. The Lord has only one Bride. He is not a
bigamist—certainly not a polygamist!
Now, let us stop here to put to rest the myth of “St. Peter” guarding
the “Pearly Gates.” The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are on the
gates; the names of the twelve apostles, all Israelites,
are on the foundations. There is no mention of “the Church” as the Bride of
Christ. We see no representation of the pope or any other religious leaders
of what came to be called “the Church” in later centuries.
Christ did not come just to save us for Heaven, but that through Him we
might have an eternal inheritance with Abraham. This inheritance is of the
future earth, not of Heaven. We will enter into it in our resurrected
physical bodies, not as disembodied spirits.
Many Christians have the erroneous idea that after death they will go to
Heaven to live an ethereal existence, doing nothing much but whiling away
the time in fellowship with God, the angels and other saints. But there is
much more to our inheritance.
We have been adopted into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Thus, we are joint heirs of the Kingdom of
God if we continue in the faith and do not faint because of
tribulation or temptation.
Our faithfulness will be rewarded with eternal life in fruitful service to
our Creator whose love for us is demonstrated in His sacrifice for our sins. |
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The Gospel requires that we count the cost of what it
means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are not invited to “accept Jesus”
and let it go at that. There is a price to be paid:
"And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto
them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after
me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower,
sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to
finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to
finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to
build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against
another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with
ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or
else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassadors, and
desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but
if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is
neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 14:25-35)
While we are not to literally hate anyone, the Lord was making a point: we
cannot love anyone—not even our own lives—more than we love Him, or we are
not worthy to be His disciples. Loving Him may cost us our families, our
friends, our homes, our jobs, our very lives. It may even cost fellowship in
the “church.” If we are not willing to give up these things we are not
worthy of Him; He says we cannot be His disciples.
Jesus is not interested in the lukewarm who claim faith in Him but do not
live according to His commandments (Revelation 3:16). All who come to Him in
truth are disciples, meaning those who discipline their lives according to
their Lord’s will, and bear fruit:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit,
he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can
ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that
abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the
Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken
unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John
15:1-14)
Do not be deceived by a limited “gospel” based on what is called God’s
“unconditional love,” which implies we may live as we choose, even in sin.
God’s love was unconditional in that He sent His Son to die for the sins of
the world without the world having any hand in it, or asking for it. While
we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We cannot earn His gift
of salvation. But there are conditions to entering into that salvation, to
remaining in the love of God, and to inheriting the Kingdom of God. If this
were not true, why did Jesus say these things? And why do the post-messianic
Scriptures stress what is necessary for us to do to inherit eternal life if
there is nothing we can do about it? This is not “works” salvation; it is
the Word of God.
God created us with our own wills. There is a great error that says man is
incapable of responding to the Gospel —that he cannot even choose Christ; he
is chosen by Christ. The Scripture used to “prove” this is a portion of John
15:16 wherein Jesus says, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
But what does the whole verse say?
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John
15:16)
This is a continuation of the verses cited immediately above, where we are
told to bear fruit or risk being cut off and burned with the dead branches
just as happened to unfaithful Israel. This is what Paul meant when he said
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
There is a cost to salvation: denying ourselves, picking up our cross and
following (obeying) Jesus. If we do not do these things we cannot be His
disciples. If |