The phrase – “THE Gospel of
the Kingdom” is mentioned thrice in the Scriptures (maybe more, but I haven’t
found them). Without exception, Christ was the one person preaching this
gospel.
Matt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matt 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John
was put in prison, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God…
So if we are to really
understand what this gospel of the Kingdom is all about, we should hear from
the lips of the Master himself.
He started preaching this
gospel at the beginning of his ministry on earth, right after he returned in the
power of the Spirit from the wilderness…
Luke 4: And Jesus
returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of
him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all.
And he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found
the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable
year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and
he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
And he began to say unto
them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
His intentions were clear
enough, his mission was very specific…he was to preach the gospel to the poor…that was the first thing…everything
he itemized in that short mission statement was clearly part of the gospel of
the Kingdom which he began preaching hereafter.
The two areas of his mission
statement that required active preaching were:
To preach the gospel to the
poor and to preach deliverance to the captives.
Each of these two areas were
enforced by his ministry of healing and deliverance; for example he says in…
Matt 12:28 But if I cast out
devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
This was his ministry of
deliverance in action…concerning this, he stated that if it was by the power of
the Spirit of God that he cast out devils, then the KINGDOM OF GOD has come
upon them.
This tells us that the
Kingdom of God is not a place we are looking forward to, it is the rule of God already
in existence upon his earthly subjects…a rule that however must be ENFORCED
like Christ did on earth…not by mere empty words or promises. Here are a few
examples of scriptures talking about the Kingdom of God…
1Cor 4:20 For the kingdom of
God is not in word, but in power.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost.
These scriptures place
boundaries around what the Kingdom of God is and what it is not, and
immediately we see that there can be no division between the gospel of the
Kingdom and the Kingdom of God itself…for the one preaches what the other is
about.
To be in the Kingdom and
live the LIFE of the Kingdom, one must be deeply engaged in righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost…that is; one must be actively pursuing the development
of the fruit of the Spirit above all else…one must also be prepared to back up
the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom with power, NOT NECESSARILY against
devils as Paul clearly states in these verses written to the Church at Corinth…
Now some are puffed up, as
though I would not come to you.
But I will come to you
shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are
puffed up, BUT THE POWER.
For the kingdom of God is
not in word, BUT IN POWER.
What will ye? shall I come
unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
Paul was clearly speaking to the Church when he penned these words...he wasn't talking about casting out demons, he was talking about enforcing the rule of God...enforcing the values of the Kingdom and disciplining those who called themselves believers...subjects of the Kingdom, who were erring from the faith.
One of the most common
pitfalls in Christianity and the Church today is the issue of wealth…fame…ambition…worldly
power…recognition…achievements…and so forth.
No believer will deny that
all the above mentioned are part and parcel of the world system…they have no place in
the Kingdom of God…for the Kingdom of God is emphatic about the requirements for believers who would come under its rule as the following scriptures will bear witness…
And when he was gone forth
into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good
Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Thou knowest the
commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear
false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
And he answered and said
unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him LOVED
HIM, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and COME,
TAKE UP THE CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.
And he was sad at that
saying, and went away grieved: for HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS.
And Jesus looked round
about, and saith unto his disciples, How HARDLY SHALL THEY THAT HAVE RICHES ENTER
into the kingdom of God!
And the disciples were
astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them,
Children, HOW HARD is it for them that TRUST IN RICHES to enter into the
kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of God.
One of the ways in which the
devil pulls the wool over believers’ eyes is in giving them a sense of false
security…they believe that the phrase TRUST IN RICHES means that they put all
their hopes in it, and that without their riches they may not ‘make it in life’…or
even survive life itself…
But this was not what Christ
meant when he spoke these words shortly after the rich young ruler departed
sorrowfully from him.
Was it that the rich young
ruler put all his TRUST in his riches? The Scriptures merely say that he had
GREAT POSSESSIONS…how did Jesus arrive at the word TRUST in describing the rich
young ruler’s ‘walking away from the Kingdom’ because he had great possessions?
The answer is because WE
TEND TO ACCUMULATE AND SPEND TIME (our lives) ON WHAT WE BELIEVE OR TRUST IN!
The rich young ruler
BELIEVED in wealth more than he believed in the Kingdom. Belief is a very
subtle thing…I can claim to be a believer because I am born again…but the proof
of my New Birth lies in the fruit I am bearing which will show up for people to
see.
Christ said by their fruit ye shall KNOW them!
The rich young ruler’s fruit
was obviously material…YOU CANNOT BEAR MATERIAL FRUIT OR PRODUCTIVITY AND AT
THE SAME TIME BEAR SPIRITUAL FRUIT…this was the reason why Christ exclaimed
TWICE in the above verses – HOW HARDLY SHALL THEY THAT HAVE RICHES ENTER THE
KINGDOM OF GOD (verse 23);
Children, HOW HARD is it for
them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (Verse 24).
This is the same sense in which Christ taught...you cannot serve God and Mammon for you will love the one and despise the other. The rich young ruler by his action of turning away, DESPISED the Kingdom and God...EVEN THOUGH HE LEFT SORROWFULLY!
In the first of the two
verses, Christ exclaims about how HARD it will be for those who have riches to
enter the Kingdom of God…yet he was talking to his FOLLOWERS (among whom were probably a few well to do) and the bible says
his disciples were astonished at his words!
Because of their
astonishment, Christ exclaimed AGAIN to re-emphasize his words, BECAUSE OF
THEIR ASTONISHMENT…they couldn’t believe their ears…then how could anyone
possibly be saved, they asked!
Christ’s answer was typical…With
men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
This is the point where I am
going…Christ separates riches into a class of its own…he does not mention how
difficult it is for people or even believers generally to enter the Kingdom
ORDINARILY...until he mentions MONEY…MAMMON…that appears to be a sore spot in the Kingdom…so
sore that ONLY GOD alone can make it POSSIBLE for a rich man to enter the
Kingdom…
The instruction that Christ
gave the rich young ruler is the same is one he gave EVERYONE ELSE…if
we will FOLLOW HIM…we HAVE TO deny OURSELVES…take up the cross…and only then
will we be qualified to follow him. This is the Kingdom procedure of admittance.
MT
16:24 Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.
The rich young ruler was
unable to deny himself his riches…it is VERY DIFFICULT for those who have
accumulated wealth to DENY themselves of it…in other words what Christ was
simply saying was that if indeed you want entry into the Kingdom…(believers and unbelievers alike); lay aside that
which touches on your SELF…then take up the cross…wealth touches on the Self…
It
is not easy to just go and sell off one’s GREAT possessions…it is the stuff that
fantasy is made of…this is what makes it difficult…if Christ were to stand
before wealthy men today…very FEW would be able to divest themselves of their
wealth in order to follow him…the others will TRULY DESIRE to enter the
Kingdom, but like the rich young ruler…they will walk away SORROWFULLY…suddenly
it will dawn on them just then…just how much their wealth means to them….
PART 3 TO FOLLOW…
