The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Gospel of the Kingdom, #2

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10—NIV)

Let's think for a moment about the Kingdom of God.

There are two aspects of the Kingdom, an internal aspect and an external, visible aspect. The internal is all-important. The external is a demonstration and product of the internal.

The internal Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints governing the works of God's hands. The works of God's hands include the angels and the nations of people who have been saved from destruction.

The Kingdom of God is a government! It is the rule of God.

At one time we had Paradise on the earth. But we could not keep it. We could not keep Paradise because there was no government that could keep Satan out and enforce obedience to God's laws.

Just as simple as that!

What, then, is the great need of the hour? It is for the construction of the Kingdom of God. For without the Kingdom of God we cannot maintain Paradise should we receive it again.

We want Paradise. God wants His rules kept.

No good would be accomplished today if every person on earth were to be brought to Heaven, to Paradise. Why is this? It is because Paradise would be destroyed immediately by the worldliness, lust, and self-seeking of the newly saved. There is no reason to believe our entrance into Paradise would change us from sinners to saints. In fact, sin began in Paradise!

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the Kingdom of God. Christ exemplifies the rule of God by His absolute obedience to the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is all that the Kingdom of God is.

As the Lord Jesus Christ is formed in us the Kingdom of God is formed in us. As the Father and the Son come to dwell in that which is formed in us, the Kingdom of God comes to dwell in that which is formed in us. One aspect of the Kingdom is that which is formed in us. Another aspect of the Kingdom is composed of the Father and the Son who come Personally to dwell in the Kingdom that has been formed in us.

The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints governing all the works of God's hands.

All of the gifts and ministries given to the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit are for the purpose of forming Christ, the Kingdom of God, in us. The more of Christ we have the more of the Kingdom of God we have.

Everything that takes place in a church service should be for the purpose of building Christ, the Kingdom of God, in us.

We can neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God until we are born again, because it is the Kingdom of God that is born in us.

He who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than any of the Old Testament Prophets because he has Christ formed in him and dwelling in him.

When John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul preached that the Kingdom of God is at hand, they meant both the internal kingdom and the external kingdom. The internal Kingdom is being formed in us now. The external Kingdom is at the right hand of God in Heaven.

To be continued.