Becoming a Kingdom Citizen
All nations, including kingdoms, have citizens. All nations require immigration status. The Kingdom of God is no different. Every Kingdom Citizen today is a naturalized citizen. We emigrated from a foreign country, a "dominion of darkness"...
Constitutional Scripture: Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love
...where we as a race had been "exiled" every since Adam's rebellion in the garden of Eden. At that time, the human race lost citizenship in heaven. We lost our citizenship because we lost our kingdom, and we lost our kingdom because we lost our property; our territory. Remember, without territory, there is no kingdom; and without a kingdom, there can be no kingdom citizenship.
In the book of Matthew, when Jesus Christ began His public ministry, He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived...
Constitutional Scripture: Matthew 4:17 From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand".
That was the only message He preached. He brought back to earth the kingdom we lost at the Garden of Eden and gave us access to it again. We enter the kingdom of heaven through the process that Jesus called being "born again" changing our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our rebellion, and acknowledge Him as Lord (Owner) of our lives. This "new birth" gets us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Constitutional Scripture: John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God".
The new birth makes us naturalized citizens of the kingdom. It also "naturalizes" us to the sense that it returns us to our original "natural" state of authority and dominion over the earth as God intended from the start. When we become citizens of God's Kingdom, it means that we voluntarily align ourselves with a new government and a new country, embracing the language, its ideals and its values. God's Constitution of the Kingdom is very explicit regarding our citizenship.
Constitutional Scriptures:
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:12-13 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.
Focus Point: Not only does the new birth make us citizens of Heaven, but our citizenship begins immediately. We are kingdom citizens right now. Our citizenship is a present reality. We are fellow citizens with God's people "Our citizenship is in Heaven". God "has brought us into the kingdom of the Son".
Question: Why is this so important? Religion postpones citizenship to the future. Religious leaders tell their people, "You will be a citizen...someday. You will be in the kingdom...you will have joy...later...you will be a full citizen...but not today. Not yet. The kingdom has not yet come".
Well, I am here to tell you that they are wrong. The kingdom has come. Kingdom citizenship is never postponed. The Kingdom of God is present and functional on this earth right now. If you have been "born again" then you have been naturalized as a kingdom citizen right now. And this means that all the rights, benefits and privileges of Kingdom citizenship are yours right now. You don't have to wait until some indefinite time in the future.
You can never appropriate what you postpone.
Keep in mind, that the greatest enemy of the kingdom is religion. Religion keeps pushing the kingdom away from people. You can't get it now; you can't experience it now; you can't benefit from it now; wait until later". And so the people suffer. This is why so many religious people live defeated, destitute and frustrated lives. They believe that they have to wait for their "reward".
Continue to Part 3
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
Constitutional Scripture: Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love
...where we as a race had been "exiled" every since Adam's rebellion in the garden of Eden. At that time, the human race lost citizenship in heaven. We lost our citizenship because we lost our kingdom, and we lost our kingdom because we lost our property; our territory. Remember, without territory, there is no kingdom; and without a kingdom, there can be no kingdom citizenship.
In the book of Matthew, when Jesus Christ began His public ministry, He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived...
Constitutional Scripture: Matthew 4:17 From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand".
That was the only message He preached. He brought back to earth the kingdom we lost at the Garden of Eden and gave us access to it again. We enter the kingdom of heaven through the process that Jesus called being "born again" changing our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our rebellion, and acknowledge Him as Lord (Owner) of our lives. This "new birth" gets us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Constitutional Scripture: John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God".
The new birth makes us naturalized citizens of the kingdom. It also "naturalizes" us to the sense that it returns us to our original "natural" state of authority and dominion over the earth as God intended from the start. When we become citizens of God's Kingdom, it means that we voluntarily align ourselves with a new government and a new country, embracing the language, its ideals and its values. God's Constitution of the Kingdom is very explicit regarding our citizenship.
Constitutional Scriptures:
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:12-13 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.
Focus Point: Not only does the new birth make us citizens of Heaven, but our citizenship begins immediately. We are kingdom citizens right now. Our citizenship is a present reality. We are fellow citizens with God's people "Our citizenship is in Heaven". God "has brought us into the kingdom of the Son".
Question: Why is this so important? Religion postpones citizenship to the future. Religious leaders tell their people, "You will be a citizen...someday. You will be in the kingdom...you will have joy...later...you will be a full citizen...but not today. Not yet. The kingdom has not yet come".
Well, I am here to tell you that they are wrong. The kingdom has come. Kingdom citizenship is never postponed. The Kingdom of God is present and functional on this earth right now. If you have been "born again" then you have been naturalized as a kingdom citizen right now. And this means that all the rights, benefits and privileges of Kingdom citizenship are yours right now. You don't have to wait until some indefinite time in the future.
You can never appropriate what you postpone.
Keep in mind, that the greatest enemy of the kingdom is religion. Religion keeps pushing the kingdom away from people. You can't get it now; you can't experience it now; you can't benefit from it now; wait until later". And so the people suffer. This is why so many religious people live defeated, destitute and frustrated lives. They believe that they have to wait for their "reward".
Continue to Part 3
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you