Seven Kingdom Pillars to Build Upon
Jesus announced the Kingdom as the "good news", not the "good views". But He replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” Luke 4:43 NLT
It was a total life plan to be practiced now both individually and collectively (the church body). The Lord God’s Constitution contains EVERYTHING you need to live a prosperous, productive life filled with peace and joy no matter what comes your way! If only we will embrace it, consume it and live it. If God’s Kingdom is an abundant life, then it is something to be lived now, not merely the hereafter. Living the life of a Kingdom citizen, isn’t waiting and longing for Heaven. It is living a life here and now that manifests His Kingdom in our daily lives, including all His benefits! Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20
The Kingdom is mentioned synonymously with the Way (Jesus). Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
The Kingdom is something to be “walked out”, not a road map to be studied with no journey taken. Read in God’s Constitution what Jesus stated to His disbelieving brother:
So Jesus told them, “My message is not My own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own. John 7:17 NLT
Keep this in mind: We know as much as we are willing to practice and put into action, and no more. It is not something that you bring out and repeat on Sunday morning or as a part of a ritual. It is an interactive road map which you are to follow, or you will get lost.
The Kingdom of God has restrictions, but those restrictions are to keep us focused on the message and the individual that carries and possesses the message. Remember the Kingdom of God is God's laws, principles and benefits working in your life on His behalf.
Now before we take up the nature and scope, let us view the possibilities of the Kingdom of God in relation to the believer's belief and movement. What place does the Kingdom occupy? Now one of the writers of God's Constitution, Dr. Luke, after writing his gospel, starts to write the book of the Acts of the Apostles where everything that Jesus expounded and exposed in Himself was to be transferred into the lives of His followers.
Keep this in mind; it is Dr. Luke that has condensed seven headings in five verses.
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:1-5
First: The Word became flesh--Jesus began to do and teach. The Gospel begins with Jesus, the Word Incarnate. You cannot say God until you have first said Jesus, for Jesus puts character and content into God; His own character content. You cannot say Christ, the Kingdom of God, and the Holy Spirit until you have said Jesus, for Jesus puts His own character content in all of these. The Gospel lies in His person. He did not merely bring the Good News; He was the Good News. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3, 14
Second: The Word became deed--Jesus taught and put his Words into actions, the Word was a deed before it was an exposition. Therefore it was not a philosophy or mere moralism. It was a fact, a deed, vital not verbal. His Words were expounding on how He was living and what He was doing. So His deeds became words, and His words became deeds and together it showed what and who He was. The Word became flesh. Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35
Third: The Word became atonement—Jesus after His death. When this Word came in contact with the sin of man; it became crimsoned into sacrifice. He gave Himself for our sin. The outer cross lighted the nature of God as a self-giving love. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Fourth: The Word became victorious--Jesus showed Himself to these men and gave ample proof that He was alive. Death could not hold Him. His purpose in the flesh had been fulfilled. We as citizens of God’s Kingdom should never fear death. It has no hold on us as our spirits are eternal along with Him. During the forty days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 NLT
Fifth: The Word became the ultimate and final authority as well as the pattern for the new world--Jesus "over a period of forty days...taught them about the Kingdom of God". The Kingdom became the unshakable Kingdom and Jesus the unchanging Person. Earthly governments are overthrown, their foundations crumble but the Kingdom of God will never end or change! “As I live", says the Lord, "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11 And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!” Luke 1:33 NLT
Sixth: The Word became the center and the final power of authority--Jesus was taken up, taken up to the right hand of the Father. So the earliest believer's creed was "Jesus is Lord". Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Romans 8:34
Seventh: The Word became the inner core for this world's revolution by the coming of the Holy Spirit within them--Jesus instructed them not to leave Jerusalem. "You must wait for the promise made by My Father...you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (v.4) Keep in mind, the Holy Spirit is God’s Kingdom and His Word living in us as our Governor in the Kingdom. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17
Please note: These seven things constitute seven pillars upon which the Believer's structure rests, all of which are essential to understanding and embracing His Kingdom. But Jesus made the sixth center on His message. It was His first emphasis. "From that day, Jesus began to proclaim this message: 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you" Matthew 4:17
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Matthew 4:23
But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33
All scriptures are New King James translation except where noted.
W.R. and D. Arlene Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
These articles may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are sited at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you.
It was a total life plan to be practiced now both individually and collectively (the church body). The Lord God’s Constitution contains EVERYTHING you need to live a prosperous, productive life filled with peace and joy no matter what comes your way! If only we will embrace it, consume it and live it. If God’s Kingdom is an abundant life, then it is something to be lived now, not merely the hereafter. Living the life of a Kingdom citizen, isn’t waiting and longing for Heaven. It is living a life here and now that manifests His Kingdom in our daily lives, including all His benefits! Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20
The Kingdom is mentioned synonymously with the Way (Jesus). Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
The Kingdom is something to be “walked out”, not a road map to be studied with no journey taken. Read in God’s Constitution what Jesus stated to His disbelieving brother:
So Jesus told them, “My message is not My own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own. John 7:17 NLT
Keep this in mind: We know as much as we are willing to practice and put into action, and no more. It is not something that you bring out and repeat on Sunday morning or as a part of a ritual. It is an interactive road map which you are to follow, or you will get lost.
The Kingdom of God has restrictions, but those restrictions are to keep us focused on the message and the individual that carries and possesses the message. Remember the Kingdom of God is God's laws, principles and benefits working in your life on His behalf.
Now before we take up the nature and scope, let us view the possibilities of the Kingdom of God in relation to the believer's belief and movement. What place does the Kingdom occupy? Now one of the writers of God's Constitution, Dr. Luke, after writing his gospel, starts to write the book of the Acts of the Apostles where everything that Jesus expounded and exposed in Himself was to be transferred into the lives of His followers.
Keep this in mind; it is Dr. Luke that has condensed seven headings in five verses.
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:1-5
First: The Word became flesh--Jesus began to do and teach. The Gospel begins with Jesus, the Word Incarnate. You cannot say God until you have first said Jesus, for Jesus puts character and content into God; His own character content. You cannot say Christ, the Kingdom of God, and the Holy Spirit until you have said Jesus, for Jesus puts His own character content in all of these. The Gospel lies in His person. He did not merely bring the Good News; He was the Good News. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3, 14
Second: The Word became deed--Jesus taught and put his Words into actions, the Word was a deed before it was an exposition. Therefore it was not a philosophy or mere moralism. It was a fact, a deed, vital not verbal. His Words were expounding on how He was living and what He was doing. So His deeds became words, and His words became deeds and together it showed what and who He was. The Word became flesh. Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35
Third: The Word became atonement—Jesus after His death. When this Word came in contact with the sin of man; it became crimsoned into sacrifice. He gave Himself for our sin. The outer cross lighted the nature of God as a self-giving love. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Fourth: The Word became victorious--Jesus showed Himself to these men and gave ample proof that He was alive. Death could not hold Him. His purpose in the flesh had been fulfilled. We as citizens of God’s Kingdom should never fear death. It has no hold on us as our spirits are eternal along with Him. During the forty days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 NLT
Fifth: The Word became the ultimate and final authority as well as the pattern for the new world--Jesus "over a period of forty days...taught them about the Kingdom of God". The Kingdom became the unshakable Kingdom and Jesus the unchanging Person. Earthly governments are overthrown, their foundations crumble but the Kingdom of God will never end or change! “As I live", says the Lord, "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11 And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!” Luke 1:33 NLT
Sixth: The Word became the center and the final power of authority--Jesus was taken up, taken up to the right hand of the Father. So the earliest believer's creed was "Jesus is Lord". Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Romans 8:34
Seventh: The Word became the inner core for this world's revolution by the coming of the Holy Spirit within them--Jesus instructed them not to leave Jerusalem. "You must wait for the promise made by My Father...you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (v.4) Keep in mind, the Holy Spirit is God’s Kingdom and His Word living in us as our Governor in the Kingdom. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17
Please note: These seven things constitute seven pillars upon which the Believer's structure rests, all of which are essential to understanding and embracing His Kingdom. But Jesus made the sixth center on His message. It was His first emphasis. "From that day, Jesus began to proclaim this message: 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you" Matthew 4:17
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Matthew 4:23
But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33
All scriptures are New King James translation except where noted.
W.R. and D. Arlene Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
These articles may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are sited at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you.
