Jesus the Light 7 Essence of Kingdom
In the kingdom of heaven are to be discovered two key elements. First, there is a King, the God of heaven. Second, God, the King, has subjects, His obedient believers.
This, in essence, is what comprises the kingdom of heaven – a King and His subjects. This King of glory performs two essential functions: He sends forth His law that governs His kingdom. Then, He protects His people from all of their and His enemies. Our part is simply to honor our King by performing His will according to His Word.
The written Word of God therefore replaces dependence upon Oral Tradition. Hierarchy is cast out thereby, because the lowliest and highest alike within God’s kingdom are placed on the same level as equal subjects. The Word of God judges both. So each person for himself must judge the content of that message and obey the King.
The apostle Paul commands that such discernment be practiced by each and every Christian. 1 Cor.10:15: “I speak as to wise men, you judge what I say.” Again we are “to examine everything carefully and hold fast to what is good” – 1 Thess.5:21. Even in the gathering of the church collectively this is to be done as we learn from 1 Cor.14:29: “Two or three prophets should speak and the others should judge/evaluate what is said.”
As well, independence, self-will, and unholy tolerance of diversity are abolished by the coming of the kingdom of God. None are free to serve Sin, Self, or Superiors: man-made rulers in the church. All are rather set free to simply serve the King in harmony with other fellow servants.
Customs in this kingdom of heaven are different than those encountered among men. Speech is governed by a different spirit and employed unto another end than that of earth. Dress is simple and modest, free from excessive cost or improper exposure.
Treasures and self-indulgence are despised while appetites do not impel their actions. Flattery, coercion, or threats of pain fail to move them to stray from their course. Neither bribery nor sanctions divert their way. Titles, promotion, Prosperity, prominence, and pride are things despised in their eyes.
Aliens they are, and “strangers” describes them well. Expatriates residing on earth briefly until returning to their home land are what they are. For a season they reside in the foreign environment of this world, though conducting themselves as cultures apart.
These are the ones whose “citizenship is in heaven” -Phil.3:20. Born and bred from above, “partakers of a heavenly calling” -Heb.3:1, they are subjects of the kingdom of God, with a new King and His written Law and with completely transformed practices.
God determines both what His kingdom is and those dwelling in it. The Word of the King contained in the Scriptures defines the nature and boundaries of acceptable behavior within the heavenly society.
Heaven’s kingdom replaces gods with the Lord of Glory. The Majesty on High takes the place of earthly rulers. The written Word of the King cancels oral traditions. Majority rule or independent self-will are replaced by the Word of God and the norms of godly submission therein.
God’s kingdom differs significantly from cultures of earth and denominational “kingdoms.” In both the kingdoms of earth and in denominational kingdoms, individual freedom is defined and governed by the elite. The individual is free to do only what has been determined by rulers, which is not freedom at all.
On the other hand, the autonomous self-willed individual has no freedom to interact in his society as he has become an outlaw from it. But Self-will and revolt are not components of God’s kingdom.
Within the kingdom of heaven there is government without tyranny because Christ is our King. There is also liberty without lawlessness because Christ has set us free to serve Him and one another, not to serve Sin, Self, or Superiors: man-made rulers in the church.
In Christ’s kingdom, the society and individuals within it both have their respective places without infringing upon the realm of the other. The society speaks to the individual and the individual can speak to the society.
Individuals can be required to conform to the cultural ideal of the kingdom without it becoming oppressive by such insistence. By definition, the individual within the kingdom of God is a subject of the King and therefore accountable to obey the Word of God which is the heavenly ideal of that kingdom.
On the other hand, the society itself can be called upon by even a single individual to amend its ways and conform to the law of the King, His Word. And the individual can do so without becoming a rebellious outlaw within that kingdom.
Both the society and the individual are subject to the King and His Word which governs both. Waywardness on the part of either is to be resolved by recourse to the Scriptures. Neither the present state of the society nor the novelty of the individual are to be given heed to.
Man-made Traditions may have crept into the practices of the majority within the kingdom of heaven. These must be corrected by returning to the Word of the King. An individual may have gone astray in his behavior. He must be called to account by his fellow servants to repent and continue in the godly standards of Jesus’ kingdom.
Historically, serious problems have always arisen when the ideal of the kingdom of heaven, that is, the Word of God, is no longer the basis of appeal to address departure.
Then, either the lawless cry of Jeroboam, “To your tents, O Israel,” prevails or the oppressive traditions of the Pharisees is enforced, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders?”
In neither case are the society nor the individual preserved. Both perish when the Word of the King no longer is the reference point.
Dear Listener, if you are a genuine Christian, you no longer belong to yourself. You are joined now to your King, Jesus, and to all others who likewise are true members of His kingdom. 1 Cor.6:19,20 makes this very clear: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
We are now slaves of God and of righteousness in that glorious kingdom of heaven. Rm.6:16-18: “Do you not know that you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that pattern of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
No, in this kingdom of light and life, you are not free to serve Self. Gal.5:1,13: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Neither are we free to serve Sin. Jn.8:34-36: “Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who practices sin is the slave of sin. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you will be really free.’”
Neither are we free to serve Superiors: man-made religious rulers. “You have been bought with a price; do not become slaves of men” – 1 Cor.7:23.
Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Copyright Steve Phillips 2019