This Good News (14)

What is the good news of the kingdom of God?

[Points 6-8]

Sixth, the good news of the kingdom of God is that our time on earth is ‘training for reigning’. Paul asks the Corinthians rhetorically, assuming they know the answer, “Don’t you know that we will judge the world?”… “Don’t you know that we will judge angels?” As the family of God, the household of God, the ecclesia, I don’t think we’ll be sitting around on clouds playing harps and singing! We are not given much to go on, but a “new heaven and a new earth”, “in which dwells righteousness”, will probably need administering. Think about the things we looked at earlier regarding ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ and you will see that the kingdom of God is not a small, passive place – it is vast beyond our present understanding and God’s many sons are involved in the ‘family business’.

I believe that what we experience now as the earth-bound expression of ecclesia by way of gifts and talents, service and worship, calling and commission, discipline and instruction and so on, are how we learn the work of administering the eternal kingdom of God. I believe that is one of the reasons why, as the scriptures say, the ones who are faithful with little will be entrusted with much. And didn’t Paul write to the Romans (8:16-17) that, “…if indeed we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”?

In John 14 Jesus said, “In my Father’s household are many dwellings or abodes” (v.2) that have been prepared for the occupation and administration of His family. Flick down to verse 23: Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.”

The word ‘keep’ means to hold precious and binding; the ‘word’ here is logos, which is, I believe a reference to what Jesus said later in his commissioning of the twelve: “diligently maintain the entirety of my charge to you” – all that he had taught them, both by example and by instruction. So, those who hold precious and binding all that Jesus has taught, are dearly loved by the Father and He, with the Son and the Spirit (‘we’), will come to them and make our abode with them. The Father makes His abode with us now and has made fixed arrangements that we make our abode with Him in His eternal kingdom. Remember Jesus’ words, “that where I am, there you may be also.”

Once complete trust in Christ is established and the Father ‘signs the adoption papers’, there is never a point at which the Father (and the Son and the Spirit) is effectively separated from his child –not in this life on earth and not in eternity. Again, remember Jesus’ words, “I will never abandon you or forsake you.”

Seventh, the good news of the kingdom of God is the message Paul and his team took wherever they travelled in their carrying out the commission God gave them to take the message to the nations. As they travelled about, this was the sort of thing Paul announced and debated and argued for:

·   You don’t have to keep the law – any law – so it’s no use trying

·    God is effectively saying to you:

1.   ‘I am prepared to go to my records and change the verdict for the entire human race (you included) from guilty to not guilty –irrespective of what you’ve done, whether good or bad – because Jesus has paid the price and secured your redemption.’

2.   ‘I am prepared to solve your sin problem: first, I will forgive and forget all your transgressions; second, I will clean you up on the inside – by giving you a new nature, so that you will not have to sin (1 John 1:9). You will be able to say no to further transgressions (Titus 2:12)’

3.   ‘I will accept you into my presence – face-to-face without fear (Romans 5:1) and able to approach me with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12) because you will be “no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19)’

4.   ‘I will give you my spirit – the spirit of holiness, the spirit of my family – who will irrigate your heart with my love, producing a harvest of hope so you’ll be able to come strongly through the suffering that will come your way (Romans 5:3-5)’

5.   ‘I am prepared to dress you now – NOW – in the garb of my eternal kingdom and household: the righteousness of Christ. Clothed like that, you could not be any more acceptable to me (Romans 4; 2 Corinthians 5)’

·     All of that and more besides is yours if you will do two things – and even these two things God Himself will help you with: First, use your brain and count the cost. You can continue with what you have now and end up on the sharp end of God’s judgement, not because He hates you, but because it’s what you obviously want; or, you can sacrifice what you have now, take nothing but Christ and trust Him for the rest of your life to treat you as His own son, because that is what you want. You decide!

Second, trust no-one and nothing but Jesus Christ for you salvation. The moment you choose Him, God gives you both the desire and the will to trust Jesus only for your righteousness. Just like Abraham of old: he knew God was able to raise his son from the dead; he believed God was willing to do so if it came to that; so he stepped out to do what God asked of him. That was faith! And on the basis of faith, God added to his account all the righteousness he needed to satisfy Him. God will do the same for you.

·   It’s as if God is saying:

1.   ‘You will never again have to try to please me, just so long as you go on living in faith: knowing that I can do it; believing that I wll; and stepping into my arms.’

2.  ‘To believe in Jesus like that means there has been a real change of heart. You were a rebel but you’ve come to see things my way and agree with me – about your sin, about Jesus and about your future. I call that repentance. When you go on down this road, go on living in repentance too. When you sin, I’ll forgive you for sure, but don’t you dare presume that’s the end of it. As I showed you before, you no longer have to sin, so when I stop you on a matter and you agree with me that it’s sin, you’ll know my power in you to be able to choose the next time not to do it.’

3.   ‘I said before I would give you my spirit. I want you to read carefully what my apostle Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 8. If you are still with me and have done what I said, here’s what you have:

-  No condemnation whatsoever

-   No longer subject to the principle: “if you sin you die” (see 1 John 1:9 and 2:1)

-   You meet all the requirements of the law – because sin has been condemned

[NOTE: those who try to get there by keeping the law don’t get there. Those who try faith, get there and are viewed as law-keepers.]

-   Your mind set on what my spirit wants

-   Life and peace because you mind is now controlled by the spirit

-   Life for your body because of Jesus’ resurrection

[NOTE: those who seek life for their bodies without Jesus find death. Those who die to their bodies in Jesus find life.]

-   An obligation to put to death sins – by the spirit

-   Authority to be a son of God – I’m your ‘daddy’

-   The inner and constant witness that you are my son

-   You are also an heir of God and c0-heir with Jesus

-   You also have a share in suffering.

Eighth, the good news of the kingdom of God is that we can share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15). Paul said, “He called you to this through our good news, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The sanctifying work of the spirit and faith in the truth is the means to that end.

As we saw in the seventh point, we are heirs of God and c0-heirs with Jesus. My children are my heirs. All that is ours, asset and liability, becomes theirs. All that we’ve worked to build for them is theirs. And the non-physical things such as character which we have sought to live for them are theirs. Likewise, all that God has is mine; all that God is is mine; all that God has worked to build is mine (see prepared abode earlier). All that He has sought to live out for me is mine.

What then is “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”that we might know what we are heirs to? I use Philippians 2:6-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 as a guide here.

·     Unlike Lucifer, Jesus didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped at. It was his by birthright. But he laid it aside for a time (‘made a little less than angels’) in order to capture our hearts and then return to his place of glory – with us! We ask with the Psalmist, “what is man that you are mindful of him?” And God replies, “Only a little less than myself. You cannot breach the trinity, but you participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). That is your destiny as sons of light, citizens of heaven, members of my household.”

·     Again unlike Lucifer, Jesus humbled himself and became fully obedient: to the point of taking on human form and even to the point of death on a cross. The Father’s response to that was that He exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name – God’s own name. That is why at the name of Jesus, this Jesus, every knee will bow –because this Jesus bears the name of God Himself. And every tongue will confess him as LORD. It is the destiny of every twice-born son to share his glory and bow in worship at his feet, not hear his words, “depart from me, I never knew you.”

·     Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God; He is the head of the body, the ecclesia; He has supremacy and pre-eminence; the Father placed all His fullness in him and, through him, reconciles all things to Himself – whether they be things on earth or things in the heavens; He‘reconciled’ by making peace through the blood he shed on the cross.

This is a mere glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the good news of the kingdom of God is that all of us have a share in it because of God’s great love and Jesus’ great sacrifice.

Apostle Paul said two important things about this: “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us: ‘we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.’” (2 Corinthians 5:20); and “In the past God overlooked ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30)

The good news is that God has a massive investment in us – already signed, sealed and delivered in Jesus. What He seeks in return is our love and devotion – not to religion and ‘church’, but to Him personally as our Father and to the Son of His love.

Next: points 9 to 11

Cheers,
Kevin.