THE CHARACTER OF THE KINGDOM For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17). Jesus came into the world to set up the Kingdom of Heaven--not to banish the Romans from Jerusalem, but to banish sin from the hearts of men. Because He walked in obedience and truly represented the Father in the earth He came into direct confrontation with the world, the flesh, and the Devil. He consistently refused to meddle with the kingdoms of this world, even though they came to Him on one occasion in an attempt to make Him their King by force. My Kingdom is not of this world, He said (Jn. 18:36). He came to bring to earth a different kind of Kingdom--the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God on earth. (Some would try to make a distinction between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Just take your concordance and look up these terms as used in the four gospels, and it becomes self-evident that it is one and the same Kingdom: The Kingdom of God, brought down from Heaven, to embrace the hearts of men). The principles upon which this Kingdom would be established are the principles of righteousness, truth, meekness, and love. See Him stand before Pilate, a representative of the most powerful of all empires up to that time, and see how He replies to the question, Are you a King then? Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth (Jn. 18:37). The Kingdom of God is Righteousness First and foremost it is a Kingdom of Righteousness; for without righteousness--God’s righteousness--there can be no real peace; and without righteousness and peace there can be no real joy in the hearts of men. Now righteousness is a free gift of God, and it comes to us by the workings of His grace: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 5:2 1). The kingdom of righteousness has invaded the kingdom of sin and death. There are many kinds of kings and rulers and dictators both in the world and in the Church--but over them all there is a greater potentate who has the final authority, and this one is Death. There is a short reign of glory and power and it is all over. All lay down their crowns at the throne of Death. Kings in the Church do the same. They may rule and reign in splendour, have large followings, bring the masses under their subjection, receive adoration and honour from the multitudes--but sooner or later they themselves submit to a still greater potentate, even Death. But when the Kingdom of Heaven is truly making inroads into the lives of men, God’s servants begin to reign in life because of the working of the Cross in their lives. Righteousness is ministered to the hearts of men, and grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. Apart from a ministration of righteousness by the Holy Spirit, there is no abiding foundation for peace and much less for joy. This order is generally reversed because, generally speaking--the kingdoms of the Church are based on worldly principles. Joy is the quest of the world, so it has become the cornerstone of our Church gatherings. The music is like the music of the world and is designed to bring joy. The young people are caught up with the pleasures of the world, so we will incorporate worldly pleasures into our religious services. We will have worldly music and worldly games in our Church gatherings, and in this way we can get more young people involved in our Church activities. And they call it the Joy of the Lord. In many cases it is like the crackling of thorns under a pot (Ecc. 7:6). Now what is righteousness? The good works of the people? Not really. Christ Jesus ..is made unto us...righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). This puts the whole matter in an entirely different light. There ought to be good works, this is true. But they are not really righteous deeds in the sight of God except they be the outworking of Christ Himself in our midst. It is only as we are abiding in Christ that His righteousness is revealed in our lives. Only as Christ walks in His people--leading, motivating, energizing, and manifesting His own life are we truly a manifestation of the righteousness of God in the earth. We might bring forth some very impressive programs--religious or otherwise. We might preach, evangelize, and get involved with all kinds of Christian outreaches. But if it is because of human zeal, and not the fruit of the righteousness of Christ in our lives--if it is not because we are working together with God in the yoke of Christ--all these wonderful works are but as filthy rags in His sight, and will avail nothing in the day of Christ. Righteousness and Peace Then judgment (or justice) shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever (Isa. 32:16,17). When peace becomes our pursuit, we can very easily build a kingdom of peace based on our own efforts. We see it in the world about us. But it is also rampant in the Church. The spirit of compromise has overwhelmed God’s people. It seems necessary for survival. God help us to discern the thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. Do our motives spring from the indwelling Christ? Or are we compromising the truth for the sake of unity? Jesus came not to send peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34). He came to do justice, to establish righteousness, and peace will be the fruit of it. But this will bring confrontation with the world about us: friend against friend, brother against brother, father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law. This is inevitable, because the Kingdom of God is based on righteousness. The wisdom that cometh from above is first pure, then peaceable (Jas. 3:17). Gentle, and easy to be entreated--Yes. It is not harsh and cruel; but neither can it be compromising. It must first be pure. True peace will come out of this. True gentleness and meekness will come out of this. The pure in heart will see God, and will manifest and show forth the love and mercy and gentleness of Christ. But in the midst of it all he will know God’s grief because of the sin of His people, and will love righteousness and hate iniquity as Jesus did. And Joy And joy in the Holy Ghost It seems to me that the kingdom that prevails out there in the Church today is very much like the world. It is a kingdom based on Joy. Who would deny that God wants His people to have the joy of the Lord? But Joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Joy is the fruit that grows from the vine of truth and of righteousness. It is not something you try to produce with a lot of good snappy music. It is not manufactured by the mechanics of praise and worship. It is not the enthusiasm and excitement that is generated by an entertainer who knows how to stir the emotions, but does not draw the heart to brokenness and repentance. It is the oil of joy that flows from the olive berry that has known the crushing and the pressing in the vats of God’s dealings. It is the joy of Sarah, who calls her new born son Laughter (Isaac) because of God’s faithfullness in bringing fruitfullness and blessing to a woman of ninety, who had long bemoaned her state of barrenness before Abraham and before the LORD. It is the joy of Hanna, who likewise knew sorrow of heart and much reproach, because she was helplessly barren. But she came to the place where she could rejoice in a God who brings down the high and the mighty, and exalts the lowly -- who brings desolation to those who gloried in their fruitfullness, and causes the barren woman to be a mother of seven. It is the joy of Joseph, whose feet were laid in fetters and whose soul was laid in iron --but who in the fulfilment of God’s dealings in his life, wept over his brethren with tears of joy and victory, and rejoiced in the sovereign workings of God in his life--in the God who gives the oil of joy for mourning. It is the joy of Paul, who thought himself happy to be bound in chains, yet knowing he was free, because he knew he was a ‘‘prisoner of the Lord’’. Happiness is not a feeling that comes and goes because of circumstances. It is not something you have to work up when you come to Church after a long miserable week at your job. It is that abiding state of blessedness that is yours in the midst of the trial, in the midst of the pressure--because you know that you are walking with God and doing His will, and reigning in life by Christ Jesus. Christ Reigns as a Priest on the Throne
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 08:03:29 +0000