Introduction
Our Lord’s goal for ALL His followers
is to be loving and fruitful instruments in His Spirit to
expand His Kingdom. In doing this, it’s a given that we
will wage spiritual war against demonic forces in the heavenly
realm (Ephesians 6:12). But neither the expansion of His
Kingdom nor our ability to fight demonic forces hinges on our
own strength or effort. We’re entirely dependent on the
Spirit of King Jesus in us!
The indwelling presence of our Lord’s
Spirit distinguishes His followers from all other people on
earth. The Spirit of Jesus will continue to abide in those who
trust Him until we stand before Him at the Judgment Throne. His presence is our
guarantee that we will receive our salvation—eternity
with the King of kings (Ephesians 1:14).
The Spirit of Christ isn’t sitting
passively by as we go about our lives. Far from it! His purpose
is to rule our lives according to the will of God and to help
us increasingly conform to the character and purposes of Lord
Jesus. It’s as this process progresses in each of us that
we have an effect on those around us—one way or another!
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among
those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To
the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading
to life (2 Corinthians 2:15,16).
Do you yearn to wholeheartedly love and
serve the King of the Kingdom? Then willingly yield to His
Spirit inside you and become the aroma of life. Your part in expanding
the Kingdom is to be the fragrance of Jesus to all you
encounter.
Kingdom Service: Personally Caring For The
Needs Of Others
There’s a vast distinction between belief that God exists (which
even the demons have) and a trust that’s evidenced by your obedient actions:
But someone will say, ‘You have
faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds,
and I will show you my faith by what
I do. You believe that there is one
God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and tremble (James 2:18,19).
The trust that’s described in the
Hebrew Scriptures emphasizes justice for the poor and
compassion for the needy, reflecting the heart of the Father as
He uses His people to respond to needs. Both justice and
compassion require awareness of those in distress, and a responsive love to come
alongside them as His hands and feet and heart.
Jesus modeled obedience to the commands and
character of His Father by healing the sick (Matthew 14:14),
restoring sight to the blind (Matthew 20:34), cleansing lepers
(Mark 1:42), and feeding the hungry (Matthew 15:29-39).
Pro-foundly aware of the needs of others, He took concrete
steps to help them.
In fulfilling these prophesied acts of
kindness that revealed Him as the Messiah (see Isaiah 61),
Jesus embodied miraculous power at work. He was setting the
stage for those who follow Him to walk in His responsive steps.
For instance, as He transformed water into wine (John 2), Jesus
was carrying out the command of the Hebrew Scriptures: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to
do so” (Proverbs 3:27). Our
Lord could change water into wine, so He did.
What does this mean to those of us who are
born again? We are powerful
instruments of compassion because of
the Spirit of Christ in us!
Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in Me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do
greater ones, because I am going to
the Father (John 14:12).
• What does it mean about your own
faith if you’re not doing greater things than our Lord said
you’d do in Him? Does your failure to do greater things
make Jesus a liar through you? What changes are in order so
that you’ll fulfill our Lord’s words, “he will do greater works than these”?
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• Describe how you’re carrying
out your Kingdom responsibilities toward others “when it is in your power to do
so.”
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“I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing” (John
15:5).
If the Spirit of Jesus abides in you,
you’re called to glorify our
Father (John 15:8). This is a
lifelong endeavor with a twofold purpose: to demonstrate not
only that you’re truly born again, but also that
you’re undergoing an inward transformation of
sanctification into Christ’s likeness. Since Christ
proclaimed by word and example that we must put our faith into
action (see Matthew 25:32-46), then we’re to bear fruit
by meeting the needs of others, to the glory of our Father.
Fruitfulness is a key command in the
Kingdom! Jesus warned that every branch in Him that doesn’t
bear fruit will be taken away by His Father (John 15:2). And
even those who are fruitful will be pruned by God (think about what that means to who you
are, what you have, what you do!) so that they will be even
more fruitful.
Paul prayed heartily and unceasingly for
the followers of Jesus in Colosse that they would be filled
with the knowledge of our Lord’s will and bring joy to
the Father. The apostle yearned for this King-dom purpose to be
fulfilled in the lives of those who were spiritual children to
him:
That you may walk
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).
The concept of fruitfulness as an indicator
of spiritual responsiveness is a recurrent theme in the Older
Testament. To love God was inseparable from actions that mirror HIS love for
His people. The Law and the Prophets were signs for generations
to come that fruitfulness in both God’s people and the land of
Israel resulted from ongoing, obedient trust (see Ezekiel 19:
10, Isaiah 32:15).
God intends that His people be vines that spread out and bear nourishing fruit.
To do that, the vines must be clean, unhampered by tendrils of
entangling unrighteousness. The psalmist reminded God of His
faithfulness in bringing a vine out of Egypt and casting
out the pagan nations so that
His hand might plant and establish that precious vine. Through
His guiding and nurturing hand the vine took deep root and
filled the promised land (see Psalms 80:8,9).
A sure principle is at work here:
Fruit cannot be brought forth
unless the Lord of Life initiates it from
root to branch to fruit.
That the Hebrew Scriptures use a vine as a
metaphor for God’s people is shown time and again,
whether the vine is obedient and proliferates, or rebels and
withers. The interconnection between the vine and its
Vinedresser is unmistakable, as the prophet make clear about
the return of Messiah to Israel for His millennial rule:
For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit,
the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give
their dew—I will cause the remnant of this
people to possess all these (Zechariah 8:12).
As noted earlier, the intimacy of connectedness that yields
lasting fruit has a unique parallel: the union of a vine with its
branches and Jesus united through
His Spirit within His beloved (John
15). Abiding in Jesus through His Spirit is a relationship of lifegiving dependence on Him that is fruitful: “Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (v.4)
He has chosen His followers for a specific
purpose: to bear lasting fruit, a fruitfulness that’s undergirded by the
bran-ches in their relationship with
each other. The connectedness of the
followers of Jesus to one another is also clearly understood by the terms “mother and brother and sister” used by both Jesus and Paul to refer to extended
spiritual family in Him.
Now put this interconnectedness into perspective in the parable of the
Samar-itan who responded righteously. When a certain Jewish
traveler was beaten by robbers and left for dead, neither the
Levite nor the priest who were passing by came to his aid.
Disregarding his helpless plight and even crossing the road to
avoid contact, they were confirming the hardness of heart which
surrounded their neglect. (See Luke 10:30-37; also Proverbs 3:
27; Hosea 6:6.)
Yet these two religious leaders were
violating the very essence of motive that God had commanded all His people: “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself: I am the
LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). Love calls for responsive action,
whereas these men neglected the enacted mercy and righteousness
that underlay all the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 7:12).
The Bible leaves no doubt that our
God, the Creator of all that is, shows loving regard for
mankind. He’s created every
individual in His image! He
keeps watch on both the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). He
blesses both the righteous and the wicked, the just and the
unjust, with the sun and the rain (Matthew 5:45). The lesson
here for followers of Jesus:
If our holy God can bless both the righteous and wicked,
then we too need to see humanity through His loving
eyes,
regardless of whether a needy person is a
believer or not.
Doing good when it is in your power to do so is a
Hebraic principle of righteous response to our loving Father as
His Spirit confirms His will through you. The same God Who
promised Israel that He would never
stop doing good to them (Jeremiah 32:
40) has set an example for all who claim to walk His pathway of
righteousness. If you will let Him, the Spirit of our King,
Jesus, will empower you to go about
and do good (Acts 10:38).
Doing good when you can is Kingdom life, as illustrated in the Luke 13:18-21
parables. The mustard seed didn’t have much going for
itself as a tiny entity, but when planted it matured and
blessed others as a shady, protected home for birds. The
woman’s leaven was hidden in three measures of meal,
creating useful bread dough that could nourish many. By itself,
the leaven would have been useless. But by being fruitful and spreading,
the leaven was life-giving.
The Kingdom of heaven has not been given to
followers of Jesus because we deserve it or are in any way
worthy of it. Those among the Jewish people who rejected
Messiah Jesus made that mistake in thinking that their heritage
through Abraham was their security:
They answered and said to Him,
‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them,
‘If you were Abraham’s
children, you would do the works of Abraham’ (John 8:39).
Those who rejected the King of the Kingdom
which Jesus offered banked their confidence on their position as
Abraham’s children. They claimed status as their key to
acceptability.
But Jesus reminded them that the
descendants of Abraham were chosen by God to fulfill a purpose: “I will bless those who bless you, and I
will curse him who curses you; and in
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:
3). Don’t lose sight of the reality that you too have
needful purpose in the Kingdom (see Ephesians 2:8-10)!
Today, so many Christians are position-based. They
misplace their confidence as so many Jews did in their denominational tie or
the prosperity of their congregation. Their misguided focus on their particular brand
of religion keeps them from carrying out the purposes of the
King.
Scripture is clear that you enter the
Kingdom of God by trust in the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus (1
Peter 2:6,7). As the Psalmist had prophesied to the
disbelieving Israelites, “‘The
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the
LORD’S doing, and it is marvelous in our
eyes’” (Psalms 118:
22,23). Jesus openly used this commonly known passage to
confront the skeptical Jews who refused to recognize and
worship Him as the Prophesied One.
His accusation was drawn directly from the
Hebrew prophets: the Kingdom would be taken from them and given to
people who would bear its fruits (Matthew 21:43). Indeed, as God had promised,
many among non-Jewish nations would would eagerly seek Him (see Isaiah
65:1; 1 Chronicles 16:24-31).
Whether or not you bear fruit in the
Kingdom depends on HOW you hear the Word, for the manner in
which you internalize the Word determines its importance in your life. Hearing the Word of God from a Hebraic context means that you’ve
realized you must put into practice that which you’ve heard. That’s why Jesus so often summarizes His
teachings with the repeated phrase, “He
who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Intent to follow through is a deep internal motivation
grounded on your loving trust in your Lord.
The principle of obedience to God’s
commands because of your love relationship with Him is
foundational to Hebrew Scripture. The people of Israel realized
that when a true prophet spoke, his words were those that God
intended for them to obey. For instance, the theme of love-grounded obedience in Joshua 22:5 is largely unknown as a way of fruitful
life for much of western Christendom today. But in the time of
Jesus there was no doubt about the interconnection be-tween
love, obedience and holding fast to their God in willing
service. That’s why Jesus could so readily inform His
listeners that His “family
members” were those who HEAR
the word of God and DO IT (Luke 8:21).
There was also no doubt among those who had
ears to hear that Jesus equated His teaching with “the word of God”. An example: the parable of the seed (Luke 8:5-18)
depicts the different types of heart soil into which the seed
is planted. The seed is the WORD of God, planted within each
person who hears (8:11). What happens to that seed differs from person to person according to their
response to its priority in their life.
• In v.12, the word of God has been
received in their heart but not
cherished as such. The devil takes
away the WORD from their heart so they don’t trust and
find salvation in a lifelong journey with Jesus as Lord of
their life.
• Next are those in v.13 who joyfully
receive the WORD because it sounds so good. But as with the
previous soil, the tempter lures them away. The significance of
the Word in
their lives never takes root. Since the WORD isn’t a life
priority to which they’ve clung wholeheartedly, they too
fall away.
• The next soil type hears the WORD as
well (v.14). But mixed within their hearts are thorns of
worldly cares, riches and pleasures which produce compromise.
Because they don’t mature, they produce no lasting fruit.
These will ultimately be cast into fire (see John 15:6).
• Those who have heard with a prepared heart—noble
and good—KEEP GOD’S WORD and bear fruit as they
persevere in Christ. They have determined to DO that which they
hear, allowing neither temptation nor worldly compromise to
diminish fruitfulness for their King.
How painfully graphic is the warning by the
writer to a group of Hebrew followers of Jesus: don’t be
among those who HEAR and taste God’s Word but give up and fall away! If your
life keeps producing worldly thorns and briers, you’ll be
rejected, “near to being
cursed, whose end is to be burned” (see Hebrews 6:4-10).
Be Absolutely Sure You’re The King’s Subject
The Kingdom of Heaven offers us our freedom
within the boundaries of God’s
Word. Our King’s teaching
calls for a return to the heart motivation of obedience to a
loving and gracious God. The blessing comes to those who HEAR
the Word of God and OBEY it.
Truth is
something you DO, deeds which are done in and through God (John
3:21). Those who have done good will rise to life, while those
who have done evil will rise to condemnation (John 5:29).
For 40 days our resurrected Lord spoke of
things that pertained to the Kingdom (Acts 1:3), a message that
was continued by Paul (Acts 19:8) and Phillip (Acts 8:12). When
King Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial requirements of
God’s Law, He in no way nullified the way we should live according
to its wisdom—a Kingdom way of life.
Our God has detailed all that we need to
know of His character, His nature, and His ways. The
consequences of turning our hearts away from God as He has revealed Himself in both
testaments are severe. Most Roman Catholics and Pro-testants
would vehemently deny that they bow down to idols or images.
But many do “worship other
gods” as did their Israelite
ancestors (see Deuteronomy 30: 17,18) by ignoring the insights into
the one true God as He has revealed Himself in the Hebrew
Scriptures.
Self-serving religious practices, manmade
traditions that override His Word, and blatant law-lessness
among those who misinterpret God’s grace point to the
worship of “another god” besides that of Scripture. Love of God and obedience to His Word are inseparable evidence that you are clinging
to Him as He calls for (see Deuteronomy 5:10, 30:20; John 14:15; 15:
10,14).
Are you aware of how necessary for
spiritual growth are the foundations of Hebraic truth that
underlie the Newer Testament? When people choose to neglect or
disregard the Older Testament, they often form unscriptural
interpretations of God’s nature and character. They
project their own thoughts and ways into how they perceive God
thinks and acts, infusing their own desire for soul-pleasing
“grace” to override His timeless righteousness and
justice. The warning is clear in His Word: If you choose not to HEAR, you will
perish.
Kingdom people, however, realize that they
are called to be set apart in Jesus their King all throughout their lives.
The Spirit of Jesus in them sanctifies them as they yield
vestiges of self to His transforming power. Being set apart before God for His use and purpose has a Hebraic precedent as well (see,
for example, Joshua 3:5; 7:13). As the Psalmist has written, “know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him
who is godly” (Psalms 4:3).
Those who are called by the name of the King
represent Him on earth. Com-promise with the world’s ways
and values brings down His reputation among people who have yet
to believe, and mocks both His righteousness and His faithful
ones who are walking uprightly in Him (James 4:4; 1 John 2:
15-17). His honor is in your hands. He daily leads you in paths
of righteousness for His
Name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).
Sometimes personal uprightness means having
to leave behind those you love in order to carry out
your Kingdom responsibilities.
Many times those who don’t follow
Jesus in Spirit and in Truth disagree angrily with your
path of obedient trust!
You’re probably familiar with
Jesus’ declaration that those who love their
parents or children more than they love Him are not worthy of
Him (Matthew 10:37). A parallel concept appears with the
Levites, the tribe from which came the priests who served
before the God of Israel. The preeminence of God’s Word
in their lives and their covenant with Him caused faithful
priests to acknowledge that their relationship even with their
parents, siblings and children was secondary in comparison
(Deuteronomy 33:9).
By now you’re realizing that
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD because of your loving trust in
Him and your willingness to walk according to His Spirit in you
is an essential quality within the Kingdom of God. Paul was
drawing upon Hebrew Scripture as he described what he calls in
Romans 10:6 the righteousness that is by faith: “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that
you may do it” (Deuteronomy 30:
14, apperceived in Romans 10:8).
The Greek word Paul used for the
“word” of faith is rhema; the Spirit of Jesus
in you reveals God’s will to your heart for obedient response. To
HEAR God’s Word is to DO it out of loving response to
your King—the LORD of all. [We
discuss your need for rhema in Lifebyte 53.]
“Therefore, whatever you want men to
do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets”
(Matthew 7:12).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new.
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,
and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:
17-19).
Everything written in the Law of God and
reported by the prophets is summed up in this simple command:
“Whatever you want men to do
to you, do also to them.” Everyone who genuinely serves the King of the Kingdom is given the ministry of reconciliation. Do you see a connection between the boxed passage and
Matthew 7:12?
• How did you first hear about
Jesus? Was someone fulfilling their responsibility to share the “word of
reconciliation”?
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• In light of our responsibility to both do to others what we would have them do to us and to carry out a ministry
of reconciliation between God and
man, is any Kingdom subject exempted from service? Yes or No?
Have you exempted yourself? If you have, what have you
neglected to do?
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• If you haven’t carried out
your Spirit-empowered privilege to bring reconciliation between
our Lord and others, are you in His Kingdom? Explain.
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• Why are living where you do? Why
are you at your particular place of work? Why do you have
the relationships you have? Are these for Kingdom purposes?
Describe your purpose for where you live and work, and for the
relationships you’re in.
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• If your response above lacks
Kingdom purposes, what do you need to do to change?
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• Who in your neighborhood, workplace
or school knows you are a follower of Jesus? Describe how you
represent your Lord in your daily interactions with others. Are
you living as a beloved subject of the King?
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For more on the Kingdom, see Lifebyte 7. When Death is Good; and
Lifebyte 8. Resurrections Into
KINGDOM Living.
The Kingdom of God begins on earth in your
heart and continues for eternity; to miss the Kingdom on earth is to miss it forever.
