The Restoring of Our Place In God's Plan
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Why is preaching the Gospel in the Kingdom of God so important? And, why did John focus so single-mindedly on that message? It all has to do with the Lord God's unchangeable purpose. From the beginning, His intent has been to extend His Heavenly Kingdom onto the earth through mankind. That remains His intent, despite the fall of mankind. At first Adam and Eve were completely fulfilled, fellowshipping with the Lord God and exercising their dominion authority as He intended. However, their sin and disobedience caused them to forfeit their authority. They lost the Kingdom.
Keep in mind, the gospel of the Kingdom reveals how God is restoring us to our place and how He is bringing us back from where we came. This is an important point to understand. Many of us assume or have been taught that the Gospel means that the Lord God is preparing to take us to heaven as our home. That isn't the true restoration, because we didn't come from heaven. Restoration means to put back in the original place or condition. Since we fell not from heaven, but from dominion authority on earth, being restored means putting us back in our earthly dominion.
Questions for Thought:
Food for Thought:
One of the Lord's biggest challenges in getting His message of the Kingdom to the world is the fact that we who are His representatives on earth are so slow to understand the message. Need I say, some even refuse to do so. Dreams of golden streets and heavenly bliss have blinded us to our responsibilities on earth. We like to speak on heaven because, for us, it represents our highest goal because it assists us in getting our minds off our problems here on earth. When we are busy singing "I'll fly away" and "When we all get to heaven", it is easy to forget for awhile our troubles, the latest rent increase, our overdue bills or the job we just lost.
Now a few questions on a personal level:
I John 1:6
~~W.R. Luchie
Why is preaching the Gospel in the Kingdom of God so important? And, why did John focus so single-mindedly on that message? It all has to do with the Lord God's unchangeable purpose. From the beginning, His intent has been to extend His Heavenly Kingdom onto the earth through mankind. That remains His intent, despite the fall of mankind. At first Adam and Eve were completely fulfilled, fellowshipping with the Lord God and exercising their dominion authority as He intended. However, their sin and disobedience caused them to forfeit their authority. They lost the Kingdom.
Keep in mind, the gospel of the Kingdom reveals how God is restoring us to our place and how He is bringing us back from where we came. This is an important point to understand. Many of us assume or have been taught that the Gospel means that the Lord God is preparing to take us to heaven as our home. That isn't the true restoration, because we didn't come from heaven. Restoration means to put back in the original place or condition. Since we fell not from heaven, but from dominion authority on earth, being restored means putting us back in our earthly dominion.
Questions for Thought:
- What is the purpose for Kingdom citizens to live out their years on earth, if our message is only to prepare us for heaven? In what manner are our years of life on earth supposed to be lived?
- How does the restoration of our dominion authority on earth happen? What causes this?
- What are the processes to achieve restoration?
- First John 1:6 is not describing unbelievers. It is referring to those who are believers. Explain what this verse means in light of its target audience.
Food for Thought:
One of the Lord's biggest challenges in getting His message of the Kingdom to the world is the fact that we who are His representatives on earth are so slow to understand the message. Need I say, some even refuse to do so. Dreams of golden streets and heavenly bliss have blinded us to our responsibilities on earth. We like to speak on heaven because, for us, it represents our highest goal because it assists us in getting our minds off our problems here on earth. When we are busy singing "I'll fly away" and "When we all get to heaven", it is easy to forget for awhile our troubles, the latest rent increase, our overdue bills or the job we just lost.
Now a few questions on a personal level:
- Are you challenged here to make changes to your life, your ministry and your interactions with those around you?
- What can be done to help believers understand this message?
I John 1:6
~~W.R. Luchie
