the Kingdom: what it is - part 11

part 11 the typology of the Kingdom

This morning’s message is entitled the typology of the Kingdom.  Typology pertains to types and shadows which are Old Testament people, places, things, or events that foreshadow spiritual realities found in the New Testament.

Simply put, the OT is the story of national Israel, the Old Creation while the NT is the story of the New Creation, spiritual Israel.  Let’s begin with the beginning.

NEW BEGINNING

The Bible from beginning to end is a story about Israel, God’s creation.  It begins with the book of Genesis, which means beginning.  Genesis begins with “In the beginning.”  It begins with Adam and lists his descendants but it moves rather quickly to the point, which is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is Israel, God’s creation.

Israel is the clay and God is the potter.  Israel is his handiwork, his workmanship.  National Israel is in this sense, the Old creation.

The NT clues us in on the fact that God was in the process of creating a New Israel, the New Creation, in Christ.

John’s gospel opens up with the very same words as Genesis, “In the beginning.” 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God...”  It goes on in v14 to say “the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Virtually everyone agrees that this refers to Jesus.

Now we clearly have here a new Genesis, a new beginning in which we see a new creation and that new creation is the New Israel in Christ.

2 Cor 5:17 if anyone is in Christ he is A new creation. The old has gone the new has come.

Eph 2:10 for we are god’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus

We, the spiritual Israel are the new creation, the new Israel, god’s workmanship

Thus, National Israel was a type of the Spiritual Israel in Christ.  The NT opens with the beginning of this new creation, this new Israel, this spiritual Israel.

NEW FOUNDATION – THE 12

Now the story of Genesis, the story of the beginning of God’s old creation Israel teaches that the community of Israel has its foundation upon the 12.  Jacob aka Israel had 12 sons and from these 12 sons came the 12 tribes and the descendents who make up the Israel of old.  In this sense Israel was founded upon the 12.  If you spend time in the Old Testament you will see that there is heavy emphasis on that number twelve and the corresponding 12 tribes.  Very significant.

In the New Testament, the story of God’s new creation, we see that the New Israel also has its foundation upon a 12.

When Jesus began his ministry he spent an entire evening in prayer and then in the morning he selected from among his many disciples, 12 who would be apostles.  That wasn’t an arbitrary number.  The number 12 is quite significant and it should clue us in on the fact that God is in Christ creating a new Israel, his new creation and this 12 is the foundation upon which his new Israel is built.

In speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, spiritual Jerusalem, New Jerusalem Rev 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb

Just as national Israel was built upon a foundation of the 12, so also, spiritual Israel, the new creation is built upon a foundation of the 12.  The 12 tribes foreshadowed the 12 apostles as foundation of Israel.

NEW BIRTH

In the Israel of old, how did the community grow and expand?  How were new people added to their number?  By birth! 

In the old creation, to bring forth children two Israelites got together and birds and bees…did what they do to bring forth kids and then badda bing badda boom… Membership in Israel was primarily an ethnicity thing by flesh and blood relation, by national descent.  To grow a kingdom and expand it, you simply have many children.

In the NT we find that people are also born into the new Israel not by natural birth, but by spiritual birth through faith.  People become part of God’s family, Israel through faith, not through the womb.  John explains it this way in

John 1:10ff ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (by and large, most of national Israel rejected Jesus) ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Those born OF GOD belong to the Kingdom OF GOD.  They are born from above just as the kingdom to which they belong is from above.

NEW SLAVERY

In the OT, the Israel of old eventually became slaves in Egypt and were in need of redemption, rescue out of that slavery.

In the NT, we find that God’s creation, Israel is enslaved once more, not to a literal earthly Egypt but to a spiritual Egypt and are also in need of redemption, rescue out of spiritual slavery.

We see this explained in Paul’s letter to the Galatians when he contrasts slavery and freedom.  He says in

Gal 4:21ff  ²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. ²³ His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

²⁴ These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai (OC) and bears children who are to be slaves: (so Paul is saying that those still clinging to the OC are enslaved and in need of redemption) This is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

Paul is comparing the people of his day.  There were those who were clinging to the OC which corresponds to the Old Creation and there were those who were coming into the New Covenant and participating in the New Creation.  He points out that those in his day in literal Jerusalem clinging to the OC were in slavery.  In the first century, the city of Jerusalem had become a spiritual Egypt which had enslaved God’s people as they were in bondage to sin and death under the OC.

We see first century Jerusalem clearly identified as a spiritual Egypt in

Rev 11:8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Where was the Lord crucified?  Just outside the city gates of Jerusalem which is here called Egypt.

Egypt’s enslavement of Israel in the OT served as a type that foreshadowed the spiritual enslavement of God’s people that we find in the NT in the spiritual Egypt of Israel.

NEW GOSPEL

In the OT for the captives in Egypt, there was good news.  There was a gospel message that God was going to raise up a servant to lead them out of captivity and set the captives free, to bring them into a Promised Land where God’s name would reside, where they would have freedom and rest.

In the NT, we find that there is also a gospel message of good news for the captives.  God was raising up a servant to set the captives free and bring them into the land, but in the NT, just as the slavery is spiritual, so also the kingdom into which they are rescued is spiritual.

We see this good news in the words and actions of Jesus.

Luke 4:1ff  ¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus, in first century was proclaiming, “I am here to bring the prisoners out of slavery and into freedom and rest in the new Land.”

Israel’s captivity in literal Egypt was a type of the spiritual captivity under the OC in Jesus’ day and just as they had good news preached to them by God’s servant, the New Israel had good news proclaimed to them by God’s servant.

NEW EXODUS & PASSOVER LAMB

In the OT we have a book called Exodus dedicated to detailing the exodus out of Egypt.  This exodus was initiated with the shedding of the blood of the Passover Lamb. 

In the NT we have a new Exodus out of the spiritual Egypt and it is also initiated with the shedding of the blood of the true Passover lamb, Jesus Christ.

Remember from last week when Jesus was crucified?  His blood was shed on the cross during Passover.  Think that’s a coincidence?   1 Cor 5:7b for Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

The Passover Lamb served as a type foreshadowing Jesus, the true Passover Lamb.

NEW WILDERNESS WANDERING 40 YEARS TRANSITION

In the OT, after God brought Israel out of Egypt they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they came into the Promised Land.  Thus we have a forty year period as they transitioned from slavery to freedom.

In the NT, between 30 and 70 AD there is another 40 year transition period as the new creation, spiritual Israel transitions from slavery to freedom.  Jesus proclaimed the good news around 30 AD and they were fully redeemed from that bondage in 70 AD with the abolition of the OC.  This is a 40 year period of transition between the Old and New covenants, an overlap in the ages.  What they called the present age, the OC age was coming to an end – their time of slavery had come to an end and they were looking forward to entering their promised Kingdom.  The good news was preached and they were making their way to freedom in the kingdom.  But until the OC was fully done away and the NC fully ushered in, they were in transition between spiritual Egypt and the Spiritual Land of Israel, the Kingdom.

In the OT, during that 40 years in the wilderness, many wanted to return to Egypt saying to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness.”  They perished because they lacked faith.  Look at what the author of Hebrews says to his contemporaries in the first century:

Heb 4:1-2 ¹Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ² For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

In the NT time, during the 40 years between 30 and 70 AD many were tempted to turn back to the Old, but Jesus and the apostles and writers of the NT encouraged them to stay strong till the end, don’t turn back.  Anyone who puts hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom.

NEW WILDERNESS GENERATION

That OT generation that wandered for 40 years served as a type of Jesus’ first century generation.  We have that explicitly stated in the NT.

1 Cor 10:6,11  (Paul is pointing to the generation that wandered in the wilderness)

⁶ Now these things occurred as (types) of us.

Thus, the 40 year wilderness wandering in the OT foreshadowed the 40 year transition period between 30 and 70 ad.

NEW MOSES

In the OT God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery.  Moses was a type of Christ as Christ was the one who God raised up to lead (what scholars call) “the 2nd Exodus.”

When Moses was born, his life was endangered because a king whose position was threatened by the Hebrews decided to kill all of the baby boys.  Sound familiar?  In the NT, we have Jesus, the New Moses, born and we have a king Herod who saw his throne threatened and killed all of the baby boys of Israel.

So Moses was a type of Christ.  Christ is the fulfillment.

NEW COVENANT FOR LIFE IN NEW LAND (FREEDOM & REST)

Moses was also the mediator of the OC that corresponded to the Old Creation.  As God was bringing his people out of Egypt and they were transitioning from slavery to freedom, God gave Israel a covenant through Moses, which was embodied in The Law written on stone tablets.  This Law contained the stipulations for Israel regarding life as God’s people in the Land.

Jesus, as the antitype, also, in the process of leading Israel out of slavery gave a New Covenant which corresponds to the New Creation and a new law to be written upon the heart.  Many point at the sermon on the mount as Jesus’ giving of the new law.  As Moses gave instruction through the Law for Israel’s life in the Land, so also Jesus gave a NC, a Law by which the people were to live in the Kingdom.

The OC law served as a type foreshadowing the things of the New Covenant.

Heb 10:1  The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.

Col 2:13ff  ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code (the Law), with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

So the Law and those elements of the OC were shadows of the New Covenant realities found in Christ.

NEW JOSHUA TO LEAD THEM INTO THE NEW LAND

Not only did Moses foreshadow Jesus, but so did Joshua.  Joshua is the one who actually led the Israelites into the Land.  Israel came to conquer the Land and first came to Jericho.  After marching around the city of Jericho seven times, they blew a trumpet and gave a great shout after which the walls fell down and the Land was given into their hands.

In the NT we see that Jesus, the antitype of Joshua leads the New Israel into the Kingdom.  The Kingdom is given to the saints with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God (1 Thess 4:16).

NEW INHERITANCE (LITERAL PROMISED LAND; SPIRITUAL KINGDOM)

The OT calls the Promised Land Israel’s inheritance.  Joshua 11:23  So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. 

The NT calls the Kingdom Israel’s inheritance. Matthew 25:34  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

In OT the Promised Land as the Inheritance of OC Israel served as a type of the Kingdom as the inheritance of the saints.

 NEW TEMPLE, PRIESTHOOD, CIRCUMCISION

In the OT there was a sanctuary, a tabernacle a temple in which God’s presence dwelt.  It was physical, earthly and built with literal stones.

In the NT there is a new sanctuary, a new temple in which God lives by his spirit, it is not physical or earthly, but spiritual.  Jesus is chief cornerstone and people are built together as the temple.  Spiritual temple in a spiritual kingdom.

The temple of Old served as at type of the body of Christ, the new temple.

In the OT, literal Levites (those from the tribe of Levi) served as a priesthood offering literal animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people.

In the NT temple, the spiritual temple there is a spiritual priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices.  These are not literal Levites, but those who have been made Levites by the spirit.  We find this in the syllabus.

Isaiah 66:19ff ¹⁹ “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. (Paul and Barnabas who go to the nations and distant islands to proclaim God’s name and glory among the nations) ²⁰ And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.²¹ And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

Um, what???  You can’t just make someone a priest who is not a Levite.  And you can’t just make someone a Levite.  Levites are descendants of Levi.  In the New Israel you can because flesh and blood, ethnicity, and pedigree have nothing to do with status.  In the Kingdom God turns people from the nations not only into Israelites, but into Levites and priests to become a kingdom of priests.

In the OT, the literal priesthood as the literal blood descendants of Levi served as a type foreshadowing the spiritual priesthood found in the NT.

CIRCUMCISION

In the OT, circumcision was huge.  It was the defining mark of Israel, a symbol of the covenant.  But look what we find in the NT:

Gal 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mans anything; what counts is the new creation

Paul points out that circumcision of the flesh is no longer what counts because that pertained to the OLD Creation.  The NEW creation is what counts and the new creation is not associated with circumcision of the flesh, but a radically different kind of circumcision, a spiritual circumcision not done with human hands.  Look what Paul says in

Rom 2:27ff ²⁷ The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code (the OC Law) and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸ A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

In the OT circumcision of the flesh done with human hands foreshadowed the spiritual circumcision of the heart in NT.

NEW SON OF DAVID-KING

In the OT, once Israel established themselves in the Promised Land, they put a king over them.  Once they inherited the land, the goal was to have rest from their enemies and peace.  David and his mighty men shed much blood and put their physical literal earthly enemies under their feet.

In this way David also foreshadowed Jesus in that he put the spiritual enemies of God’s people under his feet.  Jesus ultimately conquered death, the last enemy and put it under his feet.

After David, in the time of Solomon, Israel enjoyed great peace.  Solomon means peaceful.  It is a variant of Shalom which means peace.  Solomon, the son of David, as king foreshadowed Jesus, the prince of peace, the true shalom, the King of the Kingdom.

Solomon, the literal son of David is a type of Christ, the heavenly son of David.

NEW KINGDOM (COMMUNITY & TERRITORY)

Solomon’s Kingdom, was for Israel a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity.  2 Chronicles 9 tells us that he reigned in righteousness and justice and that he had great renown as the wisest of all men.  Israel enjoyed great economic and territorial expansion as well as freedom and rest from their enemies.

In this, Solomon’s Kingdom foreshadowed the Kingdom of Christ.  In Christ, under his reign, Israel is restored to her former glory under a king reigning in wisdom, justice and righteousness, territorial expansion, in peace and prosperity.  This gloriously restored Israel is spiritual Israel, the NEW CREATION.  The Kingdom is Israel restored to her former glory under the reign of the son of David.

The earthly kingdom of Solomon in the Land foreshadowed the heavenly Kingdom of Christ.

NEW ZION

In the OT Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, the city of his father David, the fortress of Zion.

In the NT we have a Heavenly Jerusalem a Heavenly Mt Zion.  As the author of Hebrews says:

Heb 12:22ff ²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken —that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”

DOMINION

In the story of the OT the old creation, Israel walks in rebellion to God and gets removed from the Land and dominion is transferred to the gentiles.  We don’t find a NT counterpart to this in the story of the NT regarding the New Israel because the kingdom of God will never be shaken.  It won’t be handed over to another people or taken away; it is an everlasting kingdom that will remain forever.  The saints have inherited the kingdom and will possess it forever.

SUMMARY

In the OT we have the story of God and his people Israel.  This was manifest in physical earthly elements, an earthly or natural beginning, natural birth, literal slavery in a literal Egypt with a literal exodus, a literal wandering in a physical wilderness on their way into a physical earthly Promised Land where they lived under the administration of the OC, in which they built a literal temple, had an earthly priesthood administering earthly rituals, making literal sacrifices, in an earthly kingdom.  All of this served as types foreshadowing the spiritual realities found in the NT. 

There we have the same story retold following the spiritual counterparts, the antitypes to these very same earthly elements.  A new beginning, of a new Spiritual Israel bringing forth spiritual descendants through spiritual birth, a spiritual exodus out of a spiritual slavery, a forty year wandering in a spiritual wilderness, being brought into a spiritual kingdom in a heavenly Jerusalem to operate under the administration of a new covenant.

HELPS US TO SEE NATURE OF KINGDOM MORE CLEARLY

When framing the Bible in terms of types and shadows it becomes easy to see how the Kingdom fits into the Biblical narrative contextually.  We see the antitypes that correspond to those OT types and shadows.

We can see the nature of the Kingdom even more clearly as SPIRITUAL.  The OT story of Israel is bound up in earthly natural, physical elements.  In the NT, we find their spiritual, heavenly counterparts.  That is the pattern, the flow of the narrative.  Why would God bring forth a new creation that is spiritual, with a new birth that is spiritual, bring his people out of a slavery that is spiritual to wander in a wilderness that is spiritual in order to enter into a kingdom that’s PHYSICAL in a land that’s physical???  That’s not upgrading.  That’s downgrading.  That’s like going from a Harley Davidson to a Schwinn.  It doesn’t follow the pattern or flow and it’s not what the Bible teaches.

HELPS US TO APPRECIATE THE BIBLE

Understanding this framework of Biblical typology gives us an appreciation for beauty of the Bible as we see the wider Biblical narrative as one beautiful story about God’s creation, Israel.

SEE WHERE WE FIT

It also helps us to understand where we fit in God’s story as we identify our OT counterparts.  To whom in the OT do we correspond?  Who are we the spiritual counterparts of?  Are we the 12?  NO, those were chosen in Jesus’ day and are found in Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, Matthew, Nathaniel, Judas and those guys.  Are we those coming up out of spiritual Egypt?  NO.  That Egypt was judged in the first century with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  Are we amongst the generation wandering in the wilderness who have not yet received the inheritance of the Kingdom?  NO.  The Kingdom was given to the saints in the time of those kings, which was the time of Ancient Rome, seriously.  Our spiritual ancestors received the kingdom 2000 years ago.  Our OT counterparts are those dwelling in the land during Israel’s glory days during the reign of Solomon – a time of unprecedented peace prosperity, territorial expansion, during an administration characterized by wisdom, justice and righteousness.

We are among those who have been born into the already established kingdom.   We could think of ourselves as the antitype of those who lived during Solomon’s reign.  We have come into the Kingdom and enjoy the benefits of it, namely the presence of God dwelling in His tabernacle, peace, prosperity, freedom and rest, under a king reigning in glory, in wisdom, in justice, in righteousness.

This is where we find our place in God’s story.  We are the spiritual counterparts to those dwelling in Israel during the glorious reign of the son of David.  We dwell in the everlasting kingdom in the gloriously restored Israel and this glorious kingdom will remain forever; it will never be handed over or given to another people. 

ENJOYING WHAT WE HAVE

There is a lot of teaching out there that says that we are still looking forward to the establishment of the kingdom.  In an American church inundated by that kind of teaching we may have developed some false expectations and may be tempted to ask, “If the inheritance of the kingdom has been given already, what do we have to look forward to?”

Imagine you’re 14 years old and you came across a will written by your great grandparents, which decreed an inheritance of a mansion to be given.  If your parents inherited that mansion 10 years ago would you look back at that document and say, well if the inheritance has already been given, what do I have to look forward to?  No, you rejoice that the inheritance was already given, and you continue enjoying the benefits of that inheritance as you were born into it and dwell in that BIG BIG HOUSE WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF ROOMS.

We aren’t amongst those looking forward to the kingdom.  The kingdom has come.  We are among those that get to enjoy the kingdom that has been given.  I don’t think anybody living during the reign of Solomon ever said, I sure am looking forward to the time when God will put us in the Land where his name will dwell and establish a kingdom of unprecedented peace and prosperity with a son of David on the throne over a glorious kingdom.  They were already enjoying that.  They simply recognized what they had and enjoyed it. 

As their spiritual counterparts we have the antitype of that which is far greater!  Let’s enjoy it!  We are dwelling in the Kingdom under the reign of the son of David, Jesus Christ who is wiser than Solomon and rules with more justice, and more righteousness.  We get to enjoy the spiritual prosperity and peace of the kingdom.  We get to enjoy the freedom and rest of the kingdom.

Jesse is going to expound upon the freedom of the Kingdom next week, so in closing I’ll touch briefly on the idea of rest in the Kingdom.

The Sabbath rest in the OT foreshadowed Jesus who is the antitype, the reality the substance, the true Sabbath rest (Heb 3 & 4).   Let us rest in Christ who is our Sabbath rest.  

When somebody retires and has a fat 401K, pension, social security or retirement check coming in they are secure, at rest.  They know that their survival is not dependent upon their work.  Money is coming in and they don’t have to continue to work to earn money.  They are able to rest.  They CAN work if they desire and they have the freedom now to do what they want to do.  They don’t have to consider all of those factors they once did when their job was the primary means of provision.  They can get a job where they want doing what they want and can rest easy knowing they have provisions. 

Life in the kingdom is similar.  In the OC, their righteous standing before God was based upon their works, their ability to do the righteous requirements of the Law.  They didn’t have the full measure of rest.  But in the NC, in the Kingdom, Jesus has already met the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf so our righteous standing before God is already secure.  Like the retired person whose income is already accounted for, our righteousness is already accounted for; we can rest.  Jesus has already met the demands and our righteousness is secure in Him.  In that sense, we can rest. 

But that doesn’t mean that we SHOULD cease from doing good works.  It means that we aren’t saved by doing good works.  For it is by grace you have been saved…We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Eph 2:8-10).  We have been saved to do good works.  Whereas the mantra in the OLD CREATION was do this and live, that of the NEW Creation is live and do this (Spurgeon).  Now that the kingdom has come we don’t cease to do the will of God, but because the kingdom has come we seek to do his will on earth as it is in heaven.

But for citizens of the kingdom, motivation for doing God’s will isn’t fear of condemnation or punishment.  As the prophet says the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed (Is 53).  There is no condemnation for those in Christ.  Now the motivation to do good works is love.  Because God loved us so much and expressed his love for us in Jesus, let’s serve him in the kingdom out of our love for him all the while enjoying the rest that is in Jesus knowing that our righteous standing with God is secure in Him.

We serve Him, not because we have to but because we want to and because the NC law written upon our hearts compels us to.

It is our great honor and privilege to serve the king of glory.

www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Sermon audio mp3 sermon download Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ churches in Austin area. Non denominational Churches in Georgetown TX

You can watch sermon videos or listen to sermon audio .mp3 at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html

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the Kingdom: what it is - part 10

part 10 the nature of the Kingdom

Near the turn of the century, right as the space-time continuum was transitioning from BC to AD, during the time of the Roman Empire, some wise men from the east saw a star which led them to go to Jerusalem.  Upon their arrival they asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star and have come to worship him.”

Question: why would these wise men from the east assume that a star they saw during the reign of Rome was significant of the one who was to be born king of the Jews?  Why did they care who was king of the Jews and further, why would they travel all that distance to worship him?  They didn’t hop on Travelocity or Orbitz and book a flight.  They made a journey!

My sense of it is that these wise men from the east are probably from Babylonia or Persia, probably the same kind of wise men, astrologers, enchanters that were serving King Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Babylon.  Recall that Babylon had conquered Judea and took the Jews captive and when Medo-Persia swallowed up Babylon, they inherited the captives.  So in the course of history the wise men from the east had heavy interaction with the Jews especially after Daniel interpreted visions for the kings correctly and was put into a prominent position.  It was declared that the spirit of the holy gods was in him.  No doubt he gained respect from the wise men of the east.  I would imagine that these wise men in the east would have interacted with Daniel and learned from him and the other Jews that God was going to establish a kingdom at the time of those kings, namely during the reign of the fourth empire, Rome.  They probably learned of the other prophecies of the kingdom that we have looked at, what we have called the syllabus.  These wise men had become privy to the same syllabus that Israel had.  Those traditions were likely passed on from generation to generation and so the wise men from the east in the first century were expecting the same establishment of a kingdom that Israel was expecting.

Recall that our study of the prophecies of the kingdom has shown us that the Kingdom would essentially be a restored kingdom of Israel with a descendent of David on the throne.  Thus, the Kingdom belongs to Israel and the King of the Kingdom is the King of Israel, the King of the Jews.  This would explain their interest in the one born king of the Jews.  They knew that the time was right for God to set up the restored Kingdom of Israel and the king has arrived…this is the One.

Now when these wise men, called Magi, came and asked “where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star and have come to worship him” this caused quite the disturbance in Jerusalem.  The apparent problem is that there was already a man ruling as king of the Jews in those days, King Herod, the client king that Rome put on the throne over the Jews.  Since Rome had dominion over the Promised Land and thus the people of God, Rome installed a king over them who would keep the peace there and rule over the Jews while maintaining allegiance to Caesar.  In those days Herod was already ruling as king of the Jews. 

Herod had heard about these wise men and their search of this newborn king and their desire to worship him and was disturbed.  After all, this was a threat to him and his position.  Consider also their desire to worship him.  Now, when they came to worship him, that doesn’t mean that they came to do what we are doing this morning.  That doesn’t mean that they saw the newborn child as divine; rather it carries with it more the idea of paying homage or tribute to him as king. 

But consider mankind.  In a sense, man has an innate desire to achieve great things and to be honored for those achievements.  Herod is no exception.  Herod, known as Herod the GREAT, whose title is “King of the Jews” has good reason to desire honor as he did achieve great things, things deserving of tribute and honor. 

In 25 B.C. King Herod built a stadium near Jerusalem and even held Games there. And in the year 12 B.C. the building of the town of Caesarea which Herod built in honour of the Roman Caesar-Augustus, was completed. As I mentioned before, it was he who was behind the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, a great glorious, grand temple.  There is a reason he was called Herod, the GREAT.

But now, here are some wise men who have come from the east looking for the one who was born king of the Jews to worship him.  You can imagine the threat that this posed to Herod.  Hey, wait a minute, that’s my title.  That child is a threat to my title.  And they want to pay tribute to him?  That’s a threat to me too.  What has he done?  Look at all that my hands have done.  They want to pay homage to him…for what?  What has he done?  What could he ever do that would outdo what I have done?  I am Herod, the great!

So after hearing about these wise men and their quest, Herod called the religious leaders together and asked them where the Christ was to be born and they replied in Bethlehem.  Know how they knew it would be in Bethlehem?  It was foretold in the prophets.  Like everything else we have seen lately: It was in the syllabus.  The religious leaders rightly pointed to the words of Micah the prophet in which it says: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” (Micah 5:2)

Then Herod called the Magi to him secretly and said, “Say, you’re looking for the baby that was born King of the Jews.  I found out he was born in Bethlehem.  But I want to worship him too so go to Bethlehem and let me know when you find him.  I’ll meet you there and together we can worship this king of the Jews.”  But since this child was a threat to Herod, he had actually planned to kill the boy.  God warned the Magi not to return to Herod.  So Herod decided to kill all the baby boys age two and under in the area just to be sure.  But the child’s parents were warned in a dream to escape to Egypt and thus Jesus, the one born king of the Jews was preserved.

From the moment of Jesus’ birth we see that his mere existence brought a spectrum of responses.  On one end of the spectrum there were the wise men from the east who recognized him as the fulfillment of the prophets and traveled a great distance to pay tribute to the king of the Jews.  On the other end of the spectrum there are those like Herod who were threatened by the prospect of one who was born King of the Jews.  So from birth Jesus received mixed reviews.  Some affirmed and embraced his kingship and others threatened by it sought to eliminate him.  Some love him, some hate him.

This spectrum remains throughout Jesus’ life and ministry.

We see this spectrum in the people’s responses to Jesus’ miracles.  Jesus went about performing miracles like turning water to wine, walking on water, healing the sick, raising the dead. 

Upon driving out demons some of the crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”   But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

Like Herod, they were threatened in their position of prominence and began to plot his elimination.

 Again, Jesus receives a mixed review, a spectrum of responses.  Some embraced him and said step aside Keanu, he’s the one.  Others said I don’t care if he’s the one; I don’t like him and I want him dead.

Regarding his miracles to me the most bizarre miracle is a time when he feeds a multitude with just a few fish and barley loaves.  This miracle has the most significant response.

Turn with me in your Bibles to John 6.

As you turn there, I’ll set the context.

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples…

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

Scholars will point out that based on Mark’s account of the same event, they were arranged militarily, in the same fashion as an army.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Look with me at v14:

¹⁴ After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Interesting.  After Jesus arranged the crowd in the form of an army and then feeds them, he knew they wanted to make him king.  After all, one of if not the biggest problems for any army is how to provide for them.  If an army is going to go make war on another nation, we have to feed those guys.  Not a problem with this guy in charge.  Give him a few loaves and somehow everybody eats till they’re full and we got leftovers for the next week.  Make him king that he may go out before us and lead us in battle just like all the other nations.

Here was his chance to take the throne. Jesus, if you’re really king of Jews take the throne now.

But look at Jesus’ response.  Upon knowing their intent to make him king, he didn’t say give me the crown, let’s make this thing happen.  He withdrew from them to a mountain by himself.  Why?  If he was indeed the one born king of the Jews why not accept their offer and become King?  If Jesus was perceptive enough to know that they were going to make him king by force, he was certainly perceptive enough to know of all the trouble he would face at the hands of the religious leaders in days to come.  Why not take their offer now while so many people are on board and save the trouble later?  Why not accept the throne?

Because that is not the nature of the Kingdom.  The nature of the kingdom is not an earthly kingdom with an earthly king on an earthly throne in earthly Jerusalem.  The kingdom is heavenly in nature, with a heavenly king on a heavenly throne.  The kingdom is not of this world.

I think we gain some insight by recalling the history of the Kingdom.  In part 2 of this series I shared with you that Israel did not originally have a literal king on a literal throne.  But they petitioned with Samuel to put a king over them.  We want a king like all of the other nations so he can go out before us and lead us in battle.  Samuel was disturbed but God told him it’s not you they are rejecting Samuel, but they are rejecting me as king.

In other words, the act of putting a physical man on an earthly throne in earthly Jerusalem was a rejection of Him as King and ultimately a sign of rebellion against God.

If Jesus were to accept the offer of the Jews to make him king on a literal throne in earthly Jerusalem would be to do the very thing that was identified as a rebellion against God.  It would be to succumb to the very thing that the devil had tempted him to do in the wilderness.

Jesus rejects this kind of kingship, he rejects this kind of kingdom in favor of a different kind of Kingdom, one not built with human hands, one not of this world, for his Kingdom was to be one built by God, a heavenly kingdom.

However, there is a very popular view today, which teaches that God wanted to put Jesus on the throne in Israel, but Israel rejected him, didn’t want to put him on the throne.  So God is kinda doing a plan B with the church for now, but some time in our future, Jesus will come back in bodily form the physical Jesus, the Jews will have a change of heart and accept him as king on the throne in earthly Jerusalem to set up an earthly kingdom in Israel for national Israel. 

If that was to be the nature of the Kingdom here was his chance.  I guess he missed it.  John 6 poses a huge problem for any view that says that the nature of the Kingdom is earthly with an earthly king on an earthly throne in earthly Jerusalem.

Turn with me to John 18

From his birth and much of his ministry there was a spectrum of views on Jesus.  However, from this point forward, those who were threatened by Jesus grew in hostility, in large part due to his claims to divinity.  I’ll share with you two brief encounters that gave rise to their hostility before we make our way into John 18.

In John 8, Jesus said something that made them want to stone him.  He said if you were Abraham’s children you would believe me.  Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day.  He saw it and was glad.  They said you’re not even 50 years old and you have seen Abraham?  Now we know you’re smoking something.

His response, Before Abraham was born I AM.  He was taking on the divine name referencing Exodus 3:14 calling himself Jehovah.  At this they picked up stones to stone him but he slipped away.

Then in John 10:30ff ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” ³¹ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” ³³ “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Again, mixed reviews on this guy Jesus.  Some remained faithful followers and couldn’t help but see him as the fulfillment of the syllabus and as the true king of Israel, but others were ready to stone him for calling himself one with God.

Those in tune with the syllabus recognized that this was the righteous branch from the line of David called Jehovah our righteousness.  Both descendant of David and God.  His claim to divinity is in line with the syllabus.  He is both a child born to us to reign on David’s throne and called Mighty God everlasting father.  Both descendant of David and God.  His claim to divinity is in line with the syllabus.

Before these divine claims it seems one could have been somewhat neutral on Jesus and remain on the fence.  After Jesus’ divine claims it would be increasingly difficult to remain neutral about Jesus.  What started as a spectrum transformed into something very black and white.  A line had been drawn in the sand.  To embrace him was to risk losing membership in the synagogue. 

It all comes to a head in John 18 where we see the breaking point.

John 18 begins after the Passover meal, which we call the Last Supper, when Jesus dined with his disciples for the last time.  They went from the meal to an Olive grove to spend time in prayer, an agonizing time for Jesus.  Judas led a detachment of soldiers and religious leaders to Jesus to hand him over.  The religious leaders had conspired to have him killed, but the Jews didn’t have the right to execute anyone so they had to involve the Roman authorities.   So they had Jesus arrested and bound and took him to the palace of the Roman governor Pilate.

By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. ³² This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

That’s where we pick up in the text; verse 33

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

If my kingdom was built with human hands and advanced by the sword, I would have let Peter chop everyone’s ears off and some other choice appendages.  But my kingdom is not of this world.

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate said, you ARE A KING!  Jesus replied, YES, IT IS AS YOU SAY. But, my kingdom is not of this world.

Again, we must ask the question: if Jesus, is truly the king of the Jews, if this was the reason he was born then why didn’t he just accept the offer of the Jews back in John 6 when they wanted to make him king?  Now the religious leaders have brought him before the Roman governor in order to have him executed.  Jesus, why didn’t you accept the throne when they were ready to give it to you???  The answer lies in the nature of the kingdom.

Clearly the nature of the kingdom they wanted to give him was different from the nature of the kingdom he came to establish.

Let’s see how this plays out.  The text continues in John 19:1ff

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” (for those familiar with this story, perhaps  you see it afresh studying it in the context of the kingdom – it all makes more sense) And they struck him in the face.

⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷ The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

We have no king but Caesar.  Crucify him.  This is the same man that so many were ready to put on the throne after he fed 5000 with just a few loaves and fish.  Now he is fitted with a crown of thorns, mocked, and crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ Here they crucified him, and with him two others —one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Jesus  offered the Jews a kingdom.  But as we see here they rejected what He was offering.

Jesus perceived that the Jews were offering Him a kingdom.  But He rejected what they had to offer.

Clearly the nature of the kingdom the Jews were offering Jesus was different from the nature of the Kingdom that Jesus actually came to establish.

In Daniel we saw a glimpse of the nature of the Kingdom – that it would not be built with human hands.  Jesus makes this explicit when he says:  My kingdom is not of this world.  If it was, then my servants would have drawn their swords to prevent my arrest.  I came to establish a kingdom not of this world, not built with human hands, not attained or maintained by military might.  My kingdom is a heavenly kingdom.

The nature of the kingdom of God is not earthly but heavenly; it is a spiritual kingdom in a spiritual land, with a spiritual temple, with a spiritual priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices, with spiritual circumcision, inhabited by those born of the spirit, who are indwelt by God’s spirit, who follow a spiritual law written on the heart by the Spirit, and worship Him in spirit and in truth.  The nature of the Kingdom is spiritual.  It is of the spirit.  It is not of this world.

BUT…While the Kingdom is not OF this world it is IN this world!

It is not OF this world in the sense that it has its origins in heaven with God, but Kingdom life is lived out here on this planet.  Recall the prophecy of Daniel 7:27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High.

Dominion has been transferred to the saints.  The saints have dominion to rule over the nations under the heavens IN this world.  Thus, though the kingdom is not OF this world, it is manifest IN this world.

 The kingdom is to expand through the spread of the Gospel and God’s people are to rule and reign with him.  Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”  Though the kingdom is not OF this world, it is manifest IN this world.

What does that look like?  We weren’t given an exact blueprint for this, but I believe we can get some insight in the “model prayer”

RECALL HOW JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES TO PRAY.

Matt 6:9-10 ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:  “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Most scholars will connect the coming of his kingdom with his will being done on earth and I agree. 

Now this isn’t simply a “pray these things but you don’t have to act accordingly.”  I believe the intention is that his disciples would not only pray these things, but also act in accordance with these prayers.

Consider the last part of the prayer.  This “model prayer” continues:

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. ¹² Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Give us our daily bread doesn’t mean just ask God for bread and don’t work towards earning money with which to buy bread.  NO…pray that but work too!  Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors isn’t lip service where God’s people just say that but DON’T REALLY forgive their debtors.  Yes, pray that, but REALLY DO forgive your debtors too!

Similarly, I don’t believe that Jesus told his disciples to pray that the kingdom would come and that his will would be done on earth but to then sit around and not do his will.  Pray that His will would be done and act accordingly; pray that but also DO HIS WILL ON EARTH.

I believe that the kingdom has come, so I don’t personally pray that the kingdom would come.  But the corresponding part of that prayer is that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I believe this indicates that with the coming of the kingdom God’s saints are to act accordingly in bringing about God’s will on earth as it is in heaven, that as his hands and feet his servants would operate in accordance with His will and IN THE PROCESS, influence the world, engaging the culture, bringing about transformation. 

So we see here that though the kingdom is not of this world, it is in this world and it is manifest in his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.  

Now let’s be practical here.  When speaking of God’s will it can be tempting to move into the realm of the philosophical and to slip into the age-old discussion of predestination/free will.  That’s not what this is about here.  Let’s get this out of the way.  If God wants something to happen it happens.  He’s God.  He’s omnipotent.  This text isn’t referring to God’s ability or inability to bring about his divinely ordained plans.

Otherwise if we make it refer to his ability or inability to bring about his divinely ordained plans, we turn this prayer into our father hallowed be...I know that you're gonna do what you're gonna do anyway so go ahead and do what you're gonna do anyway in Jesus name amen.

I believe the context and meaning of God’s will in this sense is God’s desire for the lifestyle and actions of his people, how his people should think, talk, and live in practical terms – what He desires of us.  For example, there are passages in Scripture like 1 Thess 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.  1 Thess 5:16-17 ¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

These passages in Thessalonians communicate that God’s ideal for his people would be for them to be sanctified, to be joyful always, to give thanks in all circumstances and for them to pray continually.

I believe that in Jesus’ “model prayer” when he says to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as in heaven, the context is the same; I believe it pertains to bringing about God’s ideal design for life in practical terms – what he wants from people. 

God, empower us to live in a way that pleases you according to your desires.

In a nutshell, God’s will or his ideal design is that people would believe in His son, to love Him and love one another, that people would do to one another as they would want done to them.  This, I believe is what is conveyed by His will being done on earth.  So I exhort you let’s do his will.  Let’s be about our father’s business.

IN CLOSING… When offered an earthly kingdom by the devil, Jesus rejected it.  When he perceived that the Jews were going to put him on the throne over an earthly kingdom, he rejected it.  But he was the one born King of the Jews and for this reason he came into the world.  Clearly, the kingdom they wanted him to reign over was different in nature than the kingdom he came to establish. This morning we saw explicitly from Jesus’ words and actions that the kingdom is not of this world.  He didn’t come to establish an earthly kingdom and reign on an earthly throne; his kingdom is a heavenly kingdom, spiritual in nature.

Understanding the timing and the nature of the kingdom should lead us to a positive view for our lives and our role as God’s servants on this earth, operating as his hands and feet.  We should abandon any view that says: “The world is going to hell in a hand-basket; why bother?  Why polish the brass on a sinking ship?”  We should embrace the view that says the kingdom is here now and it belongs to us and we are called to expand it, to reign with Him and to do his will on earth as it is in Heaven.  Rather than sit back and watch the world DEgenerate, let us be an influence that REgenerates the world around us.  Let’s make this world a better place.  For you and for me.

While His kingdom is not OF this world, it is IN this world. We should not only pray that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we should also act in accordance with those prayers.  Let us DO his will on earth as it is in Heaven.  As the light of the world, we should let our light shine before men that they would see our good deeds and praise our heavenly King, that others may see the light and come and enter the gates of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, and bow the knee to our heavenly King, who reigns in glory.

As God’s people, let’s engage the culture, have a voice in the community, and have a positive influence on society, affecting the world around us with the transforming power of the gospel, which is the Kingdom.

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