We finally finished James, and now have moved onto the book of Acts. There’s lots of good history in this book. This will be a short blog on one simple observation related to that history. What is the MESSAGE that Jesus and his Apostles intend for those who read the NT? Let’s let the text speak for itself:
He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)
According to Luke (who did the researched and wrote Acts) THE KINGDOM OF GOD is the message Jesus intended his listeners to comprehend. You see that idea confirmed many times over by looking up in an exhaustive concordance the phrases “kingdom of God”, “kingdom of heaven”, GOSPEL of the KINGDOM, and derivatives). You may find yourself amazed, even overwhelmed, by the number of occurrences of those phrases in the NT. You may find yourself wondering how you missed so critical a subject in the Bible?? Don’t worry, you’re in the majority. You were just BRAINWASHED by ‘the authorities’! But no matter, now you can TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your own spirituality by not taking anybody else’s word for what the Bible means. Just do your own research!
Let’s compare the Biblical idea (GOD’S KINGDOM) with the modern conception of Jesus’ message: THE GOSPEL. Whether you’re an ‘evangelical’ Christian or not, Martin Luther popularized this term way back in the 15th-16th centuries, and it stuck throughout churchianity from that day to this. Granted, today’s idea of THE GOSPEL is much different from Luther’s. But it is what it is.
What then is THE KINGDOM OF GOD message compared to just THE GOSPEL message?
It’s really simple:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD = GOD’S RULE OF HIS CREATION
vs.
THE GOSPEL = JESUS DIED TO PAY THE PENALTY (TO GOD) FOR HUMANITY’S SINS.
vs.
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM = GOD’S RULE OF HIS CREATION THROUGH JESUS (AND HUMANITY).
It all tracks back to the beginning of humanity during the days of THE CREATION. Check it out: Go back and read Genesis chapters 1-3 (esp. 1:28, 2:16-17 & all of 3). God’s INTENT for His CREATION was for God to RULE IT THOUGH MANKIND. I take that to be the basis of this GOSPEL OF GOD’S KINGDOM (which includes Jesus’ REDEMPTION). The way I see it, God just wants to RESTORE CREATION BACK TO HIS ORIGINAL INTENT. In other words, God wants to teach and guide mankind into properly taking care of HIS PROPERTY (the Creation) and have a “relationship” with Him in the process. Jesus is the connection between God and humanity. Think of it in terms of a ROYAL RELATIONSHIP based on a ROYAL AGREEMENT.
Now, where do you suppose Luther got his idea from, which today is WAY different from Jesus’ message? He got it from OVER-SIMPLIFYING and ADAPTING a modified form of THE GOSPEL to his contemporary political situation, based on the Apostle Paul’s words about Jesus. In other words, Luther committed one of the most basic HERMENEUTIC FALLACIES of modern times: ISAGESIS and EISAGESIS. We talked about that in a previous blog. Let’s take a look at the Apostle Paul’s words so we can get an idea of how EASY it was for Luther to take them out of context and reinvent them to suit his political agenda (this is a HUGE subject for another blog entry!):
Romans 1:1 – Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God … (the GOSPEL was Paul’s God-appointed mission in life)
1 Corinthians 9:23 – I do all things for the sake of the gospel … (the GOSPEL was the focus of all Paul’s energies)
This is the KEY text in the entire NT DEFINING Paul’s GOSPEL:
1 Corinthians 15:1 – Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (THIS is what contemporary churchianity ‘believes’ to be THE GOSPEL. Notice it says NOTHING about the Christian’s DUTIES? there’s a reason for that, which I’ll briefly indicate during the course of reading these GOSPEL quotes from Paul.)
Paul purportedly has his own exclusive GOSPEL! But was Paul’s GOSPEL message different from the other Apostle’s message, or from Jesus’ commanded message (vis., Matthew 28:18-20)? I seriously doubt it!
Galatians 1:6 – I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
Galatians 1:11 – For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. … Galatians 2:2 – It was because of a revelation (Paul’s telling us he got his gospel directly from Jesus) … Galatians 2:5 – But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. (a reference to the JUDAIZERS, a 2nd Temple political group using law enforcement to intimidate people into submitting to unauthorized government mandates) … Galatians 2:7 – But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (this is where churchianity justifies Paul’s message as being different from the other Apostles’ and Jesus’ message.) … Galatians 3:8 – The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” (This is the KEY to understanding WHERE modern churchianity STRIPS obedience off the Covenant REQUIREMENTS of “the GOSPEL”. This is ‘the devil’s’ coup d’tat!)
Philippians 1:16 – I am appointed for the defense of the gospel (churchians utilize this Pauline text to justify VERBAL VIOLENCE and SCHISMS between their various brethren, which creates DENOMINATIONS/DIVISIONS, all because their ideas clash with the other group’s ideas. They are supposed FIGHT for THE GOSPEL. Yeah, right … in-fighting sure is OBEDIENCE to THE GOSPEL! (Ephesians 4:3)
2 Timothy 2:8 – Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel (nice summary of the modern churchian gospel, only they neglect to focus on descendant of David – the MONARCH of the KINGDOM part of the gospel) … Romans 2:16 – according to my gospel … Romans 16:25 – according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
If you know Martin Luther’s GOSPEL, or rather how he utilized that NT term, you will see the great latitude of Luther’s APPLICATION of that term. He conflates his idea of GOD’S LOVE with THE GOSPEL, and then applies it the common man for POLITICAL PURPOSES, which is quite outside of the NT meaning of GOD’s LOVE and THE GOSPEL! That’s the foundation of today’s perversion. Today’s churchianity does the same thing as Luther, only today they adapt their EMOTIONAL GOSPEL to the modern COMMERCE society. Pretty sad!
So let’s set aside Luther’s 17th century mindset, along with today’s Industrial-Military mindset, and try to get it right for a change. Let’s reset the clock and undo the GOSPEL idea which got perverted by political forces acting upon organized churchanity over the past 2000 years. Remember: The church was controlled by the state up till just recently when there was a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE established in America. But even that legal ‘doctrine’ has become severely perverted today by the LAWYERS and JUDGES in this nation. They just do the same thing they’ve always done: TAKE BRIBES AND SUCCUMB TO THREATS issued by the “idle rich” using the forces of government. It’s like Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you … are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25) No surprises there!
Luther’s and today’s churchian GOSPEL focus SOLELY on Jesus’ REDEMPTIVE DEATH. That’s where the term EVANGELICAL originates, by the way. But what does GOD’S KINGDOM focus on? GOD as this world’s MONARCH. Yup, that’s right. God wants to RULE THE WORLD. But how in the world can He do that? Sounds like some kind of fantasy, or something out of a Hollywood script, eh? The difference between the two is night and day. The GOSPEL focuses on Jesus as the SUFFERING SERVANT (a phrase familiar to church people). But GOD’S KINGDOM focuses on Jesus as God’s CHOSEN KING. You see, God Himself won’t be ruling the planet, God’s SON will. That’s the key here. GOD RULES THE WORLD THROUGH HIS SON. That’s THE GOSPEL!
Pragmatically speaking, the main difference between the two ideas is the church’s GOSPEL focuses on JESUS’ LIFE, whereas GOD’S KINGDOM focuses on OUR DUTIES towards God. The GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM focuses on BOTH. When you understand that contrast, you will no longer wonder HOW the message got so out of whack, when it’s impossible to miss in the NT. The WHY is just as simple: WORLD POLITICS. But let’s focus on the HOW. Think about it:
– Focusing on Jesus takes all focus off of US.
– Focusing on our duties takes all the focus off of Jesus.
– Focusing on BOTH balances out the equation.
When you consider my earlier blogs about the NATURE of our RELATIONSHIP with God (= COVENANT), you can see how focusing on US (who are already Christians) is much more important than focusing on Jesus’ death (which is already in-effect for the Christian’s life). The simple reason is, because THE COVENANT AGREEMENT DEMANDS OBEDIENCE FROM US. So let’s put the two together and GET IT RIGHT for a change: We need Jesus’ REDEMPTION (both personal and social) from start to finish, and we also need OUR OBEDIENCE to God’s law from start to finish. Absent Jesus, we’re DOOMED (no forgiveness, and no advocacy), and absent our obedience, we’ll never become A HOLY PEOPLE. What would God want with an UNCLEAN people?
Let me say that another way: God FREELY provides our redemption by the act of his Son’s death. When we CHOOSE to avail ourselves of that FREE REDEMPTION, we thereby enter into an OBLIGATION TO OBEY the “stipulations of the Covenant”. That’s the nature of this legal agreement. There’s NO getting around it. So IF you are a Christian, and you don’t know this stuff, then you have been lied to, and are off target with your life … and you’d better get up to speed on this truth BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
So that’s what I have to say about THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S KINGDOM. Let’s bring some balance back into CHRISTIANITY for a change, shall we? Let’s add OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S LAW to our REDEMPTION IN CHRIST JESUS!
Thanx for stopping by, and see you in the next blog.
Reality Bible 