Having been brought to Zion By birth, by the second birth, the Christian has been brought to Zion. By birth, by being born from above, the gentile Christian has been brought to that which is settled and summarized in the new covenant, announced by the prophets of the Jews, by godly men like Jeremiah and Ezekiel. By the work of the Holy Spirit, according to this covenantal provision, Gentiles are engaged for heavenly purposes in the serving of the House of the Lord, which is Zion – the holy hill which gathers the delight of the Lord. The work of the ministry of a Christian, when simplified and brought forth in its most compact definition, is one which focuses the very recovering of the kingdom purposes of Heaven: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” You have been born for this reason, you have already come to its fullness in Christ – therefore, engage in its righteous cause and its efforts unto finalization. Every promise delivered to the saints, Jews as well as Gentiles, contain and consolidate Davidic purposes. The revealing of the future realization of the kingdom purposes of the Lord, given to John to deliver to the saints, begins with words representing his own understanding of the work of the ministry: “I am your brother and companion in the affliction, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ”. Three words to verbalize the context of sainthood: “Basileia” – kingdom, the corporate ground and the final outcome. “Thlipsis” – tribulation and affliction, words summarizing the controversy through which the kingdom will be expressed. “Hupomone” – endurance and consistency, the mode of operation by which kingdom purposes are attained to. The glamour and pomp by which man defines royalty, have no, absolutely no place in this apostolic view of reality. The cross of Christ, the main operative means to usher in the royal context and the heavenly expression of that which belongs to Zion, is apostolically defined as a destroyer of carnal bulwarks, as a battering ram – having “broken down the middle wall of partition”. The work of the cross of Jesus Christ prepares solid ground for a spirituality in which no sign of enmity is to be traced. Saints testify, individually as well as corporately, to the practical outcome of the reconciling efforts of Heaven. Zion, its presence in the hearts of saints, speaks the very reversal of any anti-Jewish sentiment. With Zion, with our arrival to the realities of Zion, follows a longing for that which is Davidic. Words like truth and righteousness, the beauty of holiness, humility and longsuffering are restored to its full value and capacity in their relating to the holy hill of Zion. A word from the mouth of the Lord expresses a fundamental irony, as well as great sorrow, in regards to the ways which man chooses to approach the Kingdom of God. “The kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence, and the violent take it by force.” The Davidic kingdom, the kingdom of the Messiah cannot be apprehended and taken by force or by earthly prowess. The Davidic kingdom looses ground at the very moment someone tries to substantiate its values by carnal means. Gentile saints do not replace the Jew in the process in which God has the initiative – the gathering a people for His praise. Neither Jew nor Gentile are meant to reach out for and approach the realities of the Davidic kingdom by political operations. Gentiles, men and women of the nations, may come to Zion in precisely the same manner as the Jew are invited to come. The heavenly city is not Jewish in essence – the Jew becomes a heavenly citizen by approaching it in meekness and by repentance. The heavenly city is not for the Gentiles to be regarded as something to lay hands on as rich spoil during militant exploits. Zion is a reality, a heavenly reality, which will be handed by heavenly hands to those who are willing to learn meekness and who are aware of the necessity of a breaking in the interior of the “middle wall of partition” – “the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the overflowing of peace”. This all belong to the Kingdom of God, the very realm of reconciliation – this all belong to the work of the ministry of the saints. Lars Widerberg Reading: Hebr 12:22-23, Jer 31:31-33, Ez 36:26:27, Matt 6:33, Rev 11:15, Eph 2:13-16, Matt 11:12, Ps 37:11 Apostolicity@gmail -- -- --
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 11:34:53 +0000
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