In the previous post I made the attempt to get you to recognize what the throne of grace represents. I don’t believe that many of you think that it is a piece of celestial furniture some where up there and out there far from the daily living we experience. Hopefully, I was able to convey how the term of “grace” associated with the throne is representative of what comes from the throne in thought and action. The last part of that post was bringing to the forefront how the kingdom of God is within you. Today, this is where I am going to park and describe the scenery.
Jesus is our kingdom archetype. He made numerous claims about the kingdom of God, or kingdom of heaven, throughout his time in this world. Since the majority of the world no longer functions from within a kingdom political system it is difficult for us to relate or even comprehend the implications of his sayings. Pile on top of this all the religious baggage the centuries have created and it’s a wonder anyone can decipher what Jesus really was trying to get across.
My intention herein is to break loose some of the basic principles as they apply to our study at hand. If you have an issue with how I do this, that is your concern and I respect you for it. I would ask that you keep those concerns up on a shelf until the entire study has been completed since I will be using some items frequently in varying situations to address particular insights. It might be possible how I use one element in one situation might not sit well with you but be safe in another. This is a process to understand a variety of facets which are intertwined so being quick to point out a difference of doctrinal matter may hamper the overall objective. So, let me begin.
When Jesus made the claim that the kingdom of God is within us, he was forcing us to understand how this is possible. When we hear the term “kingdom” there are a whole series of thoughts which flood our understanding of what “kingdom” means. None of these are wrong – they’re merely inappropriate for what Jesus meant. What do I mean?
Consider how most pictures of a “kingdom” we project into our mind are associated with vast swaths of land teeming with natural resources, livestock, treasuries of gold, silver, and precious jewels guarded by legions of highly trained military personnel all subservient to a sovereign ruler. Even in Jesus’ day this was the norm for how people visualized a kingdom of any kind. So, when Jesus makes a claim that the “kingdom” is within, the entirety of what passes for a kingdom is redefined rather than trying to take the norm and stuff it into your body like some magic trick.
You need to ask yourself, “What makes a kingdom?” The obvious answer is that it requires first a king. A kingdom only exists when a king is present; wherever the king goes, the kingdom is right there with him. A king and his kingdom cannot be in two or more different places at the same time. Where the border of a kingdom ends another kingdom begins. Think about the reality of crossing state lines, or even better, national borders. One “kingdom” stops, and another begins.
When you cross a national border, you are required to go through “customs” to enter into that different region. The “customs” of your prior state must now adapt to the “customs” of the area you are entering into. The language may be different; the monetary means might have a new form of exchange; the relationship you have with the ruling class becomes altered; the means of being fed and nourished can be vastly dissimilar. We recognize these conditions all around us and yet fail to apply the same to the kingdom of God.
What then is the kingdom of God? Jesus offered us many examples of this, each employing daily activities as the descriptor for his answer. Since we can’t relate to many of these, I am going to take a different path to open this up for you.
Consider how in the opening chapter of the Genesis narrative we discover how God claimed, “…Let us make man in our image and likeness…and God created he him; male and female created He them.” Each of us on the face of this planet are created in the image and likeness of God. The conundrum is that no two people look alike if we follow the nature of being in His image. I clearly don’t need to point out that you do not look like me even though we both are in His image.
Jesus made a couple of claims in the fourth gospel which I will relate to in this matter. The first claim was that He and the Father are one. In his last recorded prayer Jesus asked that we be one with the Father just as he is. Consider how if this was the last prayer, somehow, we became separated from the Father in some way which Jesus never encountered or at least overcame. Consider also how if we became separated from the Father, we became separated from Jesus, and we also became separated from each other. If you don’t think this is valid, what happens when you become one with the Father and I also become one with Him? Are we not also one with each other? There cannot be my “oneness” and also your “oneness” while they both are being one with Him.
When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus stated that his kingdom was not of this world. The kingdom of Jesus is one with the Father and neither the Father nor His kingdom in this oneness is of this world.
In the fourth chapter of the fourth gospel Jesus declares God is spirit. This is to counter all representations of God being of the “world” or of creation. Throughout history mankind has looked at creation and crafted items which are perishable to be a god to demonstrate their reverence of the creation. We still do it today; however, we fail to accept the truth, a spiritual truth, about the nature of God’s being.
God is spirit. We are made in His image and likeness, not of this world, but of His domain, the spirit realm. This is the realm of the kingdom of God, of the kingdom where Jesus is king. Our oneness with the Father, with Jesus, with each other is in this spirit realm. In this spirit realm is where we discover the throne of grace, the throne of God’s kingdom, which is within you. The spirit realm inside of you is the same spirit realm inside of me. The kingdom of God inside of you is the same kingdom inside of me.
Now I understand this might seem fundamental for many of you. However, how much of your energies are dealing with “worldly” matters trying to use spiritual principles? How many of your prayers are addressing the troubles surrounding “you” in this world? Just what is “you” in this world anyway?
Stop and take a deep breath and then slowly let it out. Do it again. Once more.
Truth comes from all directions when you’re able to recognize it. Jesus said that we would worship the Father in spirit and truth. What I am trying to do here is connect all the spiritual truth about the kingdom which resides within you so that the foundation of the three pillars of grace will not falter within you. We’re moving onward…
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