Two of the areas that I lack understanding are "The Kingdom of God" and "The Church." I would like to share with you just a few things concerning these two areas that I believe God has shown me and wants to share with you. Lets first look at "The Kingdom Of God." We should ask ourselves just what is The Kingdom of God? I have to admit, when I would read about the Kingdom of God my thoughts would generally lead to heaven. This was a Kingdom prepared for us after our life was over here on earth. But, after doing some deeper research and listening to that inner voice I have come to see the Kingdom of God as something more in the present than in the future. So, just what did Christ mean when He said the "Kingdom of heaven" is come near you today? First, we need to understand what the Kingdom is. Lets look at some basic's of this Kingdom and why it is referred to as a Kingdom.
I cannot in a short amount of space give the clearest of pictures or define "The Kingdom of God" in full detail. I can only give you a glimpse of the aspects of it. Take a look at Genesis 1:26-27 and pay attention to the phrase "Let us create man in our image." This implies very strongly that man(the human species) was going to be given the attributes and characteristics of the Creator, God. Since we are being created in HIs very image then we have to have what the Creator possesses. What then are we created from? God is spirit, so when He first created man He created man as spirit, just like Himself. This is where we need to understand that 'man' refers to the human species, in which there is no gender. With that in mind we should also realize that we carry within our spirits all the attributes of the Creator's character. When we look at the word "image" in this verse it is not referring to physical likeness.
This denotes that man as a spirit being is an expression of God's moral and spiritual nature and his attributes make him "god-like," and place Him above and beyond all earthly creation. In essence, man was created by God in the god-class and was given the responsibility to exercise that quality as God's agent on earth. (Myles Munroe, "Rediscovering The Kingdom")The next part of the verse brings us to the Kingdom aspect, "Let them rule (have dominion) over." This statement brings us to the heart of God's intent when He created the "heavens and earth." When God creates something He first has a purpose, nothing is created without a purpose. So, when God created the heavens and earth He had to have a purpose for them. What was that purpose? Because God is "Love" He created the "heavens and earth" to share His attributes. Love has to be shared in order to be love. God created the heavens as an unseen world or invisible world. He also created the visible world, earth. In this statement "let them rule over" we find a critical part to understanding God's purpose. According to Myles Munroe:
This statement contains the secret to the transfer of power and authority from God to man, from heaven to earth, and from the unseen to the seen world. This is the foundation of divine delegation of responsibility for management and rulership over the earth to man...He did not say let "Us" have dominion over the earth, as that would have given Him legitimate access to earth without reference to mankind: but by these words He established mankind as the only legal authority on earth, with the power of attorney to act on His behalf.The next part of the verse describes what mankind is to rule over: "The fish of the sea, birds of the air, the livestock, earth, and all that creep upon the ground." No where in this statement is man to rule over his kind. Those are the boundaries of mankind's authority while representing God's Kingdom on earth. We are created to represent God's heavenly Kingdom (unseen) on earth (visible) and spread this Kingdom throughout the earth. In this verse we find the word "dominion." We need to understand just what it means. Without going into a lot of explanation let me quote once again from Myles Munroe's book, Rediscovering the Kingdom:
The definition of dominion can be crafted in the following way: "To be given dominion means to be established as a sovereign, kingly ruler, master, governor, responsible for reigning over a designated territory, with the inherent authority to represent and embody as a symbol, the territory, resources and all that constitutes that kingdom."M. Munroe goes on to say:
Mankind is heaven's earthly agency for the kingdom rulership influence. Mankind is intended to embody the nature of God on earth and serve as His divine representative in the physical world. The creation and commissioning of man was the first introduction and establishment of the Kingdom of heaven on earth.This in a nutshell is our purpose here on earth. The Kingdom of heaven is mankind ruling over this earth by representing God's very nature and spread that nature throughout the earth. An important point to bring up now is, why the physical part of man? In order for mankind to rule over a physical world, he would have to have a physical body (visible). This is why God formed male and female, a physical body to carry the spirit of mankind. With that being the case we must now turn to what Christ said about the most important law of all. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God by disobeying Him they lost their position as God's agents here on earth, they lost a kingdom. They basically gave the authority they possessed over to Satan. Sin, or rebellion entered into the rest of mankind by this one act of rebellion. From this point on we see God's plan to restore His Kingdom by restoring man's rightful place as His ambassador's here on earth. God the Father never stopped loving His creation because of mankind's action. He put His plan into action from that very moment and now today we have a choice to accept His plan or reject it. His love remains, but it is up to us to receive it.
In order for man to have dominion over God's Kingdom here on earth, a price had to be paid for their rebellion. It had to be perfect, and it had to be physical. God still had to work through mankind in a physical form to accomplish His plan of redemption. In order to do this He sent His only Son to pay the price for you and me. Now that Christ had come and made the needed sacrifice in the physical form, He set in motion the plan for mankind to have dominion over the Kingdom of God here on earth.
How was this plan going to be implemented after the death and resurrection of Christ? Here we will look at a key verse that is still in action today. Matthew 22:34-40 makes it clear as to how the Kingdom of God on earth was to spread. These two commandments are essential to the spreading of God's Kingdom and those who choose to follow Him must implement these two essential commandments into their very spirits. Once we have done that a third commandment comes into play, just as important as the two greatest. Matthew 28:16-20 gives us how we are to go about being God's agents here on earth. We are His body, physically working in a physical body carrying the message God has given us to the rest of the lost kingdom. The "Church" is the body of Christ, and we each have a part to play. He sent us here with a purpose, each one with a piece of the puzzle, that when placed in the proper place at the proper time makes a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of God. We, those who are believers in Christ, living the whole gospel by doing what Christ has commanded "Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, Love your neighbors and then Go into all the world" teaching them to do the same. We must rediscover "The Kingdom of God" in our hearts and understand the impact we each have in God's plan. If we do not place the piece of the puzzle in the proper place, the picture will be incomplete. The "Church" is far more than a local body of "Christians" getting together to worship, sing songs, listen to a sermon. It is far more reaching and involves far more than a trip to the local church. Yes, we need to come together for worship and prayer, but it cannot stop there. You have a purpose and were sent to this earth to fulfill it. We must show our love to the world around us, not just talk about it. By showing our love to our neighbor through our words and deeds, we express our love for God. Richard Stearns, in his book "The Hole In Our Gospel" says this:
This "mission of God" is now our mission, and the "whole gospel," the good news, is born out of God's love for us and ours for Him. That love, when demonstrated to the world through acts of kindness, compassion, and justice, is revolutionary; and when we become the agents of it, we make credible the message of a Savior who transforms men and women for eternity.Myles Munroe makes this statement on how we fit into two different Kingdoms:
As believers, we live on earth but our citizenship is in the Kingdom of heaven, and all the resources, authority, and power of that Kingdom are available to us as we seek to live as faithful and responsible ambassadors of our King.The Creator of this world, sent His only Son to redeem us and restore our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He met us at our greatest need, then reached out and touched us. He let us know that His love for us has never failed. Accepting Christ reinstates you as one of His ambassador's and a joint heir with Him. Now in the words of Christ, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John 20:21
Go now and express your love of God by expressing it to those around you. May God bless you richly as you reclaim the Kingdom of God one neighbor at a time.
(I look forward to your comments or suggestions. I would be glad to answer any questions you have. If you found this helpful and know someone that might also benefit from reading this, feel free to forward it.)
