Episode 24 begins with a review of Jesus’ spiritual kingdom, God’s rule in the heart of the believer. It then introduces a second phase of this kingdom and its promise for our future.

 

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Transcript
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 The Future of the Teachings of Jesus

13. The Spiritual Choice and the Spiritual Kingdom

Two Phases of the Spiritual Kingdom (Ep. 24)

The fundamental choice we face. In the last episode I outlined some of the major choices we face in the great modern struggle between the forces of spiritual religion and materialistic secularism. These include the existence of God, the freedom of the individual, the doing of God’s will, living life religiously and by faith, and living life in obedience to a God ordained morality. The religion of Jesus and all genuine spiritual religions affirm the truth of these values and the importance of living them. Committed secularists deny them and insist that life be lived in accordance with their secular precepts and mandates. All of these spiritual ideas and ideals of religion are crucially important, but the most fundamental one is the choice to do the Father’s will. It is this choice to exalt the Father’s will above our own personal will that most clearly separates the followers of Jesus and true religion from the non-religious and the followers of Godless secularism.

The kingdom of God is the will of God. Jesus instructed his followers to “seek first the kingdom of God.” (Mt. 6:33) What is this “kingdom of God” that Jesus instructed us to put first in our lives? He answered this question and clearly identified the kingdom of God in the prayer he taught his disciples: “Your kingdom come; Your will be done.” (Mt. 6:10) Thus, we see that Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is the will of God. It is the Father’s will dominant and transcendent in the heart of the believer. Where God’s will reigns, there is the kingdom of God. He emphasized the fundamental importance of choosing and doing God’s will when he cautioned his apostles that, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but rather he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mt. 7:21)

Jesus emphasized the inner spiritual kingdom. The decision to forsake the secular life and in faith dedicate ourselves to the doing of the Father’s will is wholly a personal and spiritual choice. Thus, it is apparent that the kingdom of Jesus’ teaching is not an outer material kingdom or an outward social organization. Rather, it is an inner spiritual dominion existing within the heart of each individual believer. Jesus made clear the inner spiritual nature of the kingdom when he was asked when the kingdom would come. He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Lk. 17: 20-21) When we in faith choose to enthrone God in our hearts and dedicate our will to the doing of our Father’s will we are thereby translated into this spiritual kingdom.

The spiritual conflict: self or God. Thus, it becomes clear that the great conflict we face in this 21st century after Christ between the teachings of Jesus and true religion and secularism is at its core a spiritual conflict. Ultimately it comes down to an inner personal decision to serve God and do his will or to serve self and the secular ways that presently dominate our world.

Two phases. Jesus in his gospel teachings emphasized the primary importance of choosing the Father’s spiritual will over our personal self-will as in the prayer he prayed in Gethsemane, “not my will, but yours, be done.” (Lk. 22:42) This is a spiritual choice and when we execute it we are participating in the spiritual kingdom of God. However, it is important to realize that we can also distinguish a second phase of this inner spiritual kingdom.

Phase 1–Personal experience. The initial phase of the spiritual kingdom consists of the personal and inner experience of the communion of the individual believer with God the Father. This phase is the spiritual ideal of individual righteousness and the concept man’s divine fellowship with God. It is the idea and ideal of the establishment of the kingdom in the hearts of men by the spirit’s domination and guidance of the individual believer. Jesus referred to this phase of the kingdom when he proclaimed, “the kingdom of God is within you.” (Lk. 17:21) Jesus taught that the coming of this kingdom is a gradual development, like the leaven in the dough or the growing of the mustard seed.

Phase 2–Enlarging brotherhood. We may also recognize a second phase of this spiritual kingdom. Phase two is the enlarging brotherhood of kingdom believers. This Jesus brotherhood is the sum of those individuals who have confessed their faith in the Fatherhood of God, thereby declaring their wholehearted dedication to the doing of the will of God, thus becoming members of the spiritual brotherhood of man. As more and more individuals come to believe Jesus’ gospel that we are all children of God and choose to do their Father’s will this kingdom expands. In this way Jesus’ brotherhood of kingdom believers comes into being and grows with each new individual and faithful decision to seek and do the Father’s will. Thus, it should be clearly realized that Jesus’ brotherhood of believers is not an institutional social organization; it is an invisible and spiritual brotherhood.

The unity of phase 1 and phase 2. As we observe these two phases of the kingdom it is clear that they go together. Phase one, the divine kingdom in the heart of the individual believer naturally brings into being phase two, the sum of those believers in whom God’s will reigns, the expanding spiritual brotherhood of the kingdom of God.

Social repercussions of phase 2. Phase 2 is a spiritual brotherhood, but it brings with it outward social repercussions that necessarily follow in its wake. These social aspects of the spiritual brotherhood are the enhanced morals and quickened ethics resulting from the reign of God’s spirit in the hearts of individual believers. Jesus taught not only that God is our Father but also that we are all brothers and sisters; we are all part of one heavenly family with one Father, and many siblings. We are commanded to treat our brethren as we would have them treat us and to love them as we love ourselves.  Our inner personal fellowship with God the Father directly manifests itself as outward and loving service of our brothers and sisters in the flesh. Religion is first an inner or personal adjustment, and then it becomes a matter of outward social service and group adjustment.

The spiritual rebirth of the Jesus brotherhood. It is this second phase of Jesus’ inner kingdom that is our great hope for the future. Most true followers of Jesus are presently slumbering within the cocoon of Christianity. They are relatively passive and inactive amid the growth of secularism and evil in our world. The spiritual rebirth, the spiritual reawakening, of this slumbering Jesus brotherhood of believers will supply new religious teachers who will awaken and turn our world back to Jesus and his actual teachings; they will also provide the leadership and inspiration to build a new and transformed human society that truly practices the principles of the gospel of the kingdom.

This spiritual rebirth of Jesus’ brotherhood of the kingdom has already begun. It will grow in the trying times ahead, spurred on by the great challenges we face by the growth in evil and the coercive power of materialistic secularism. It will one day reach a critical mass and bring about the spiritual transformation of our world, the glorious new age of improved human relations and advancing spiritual attainments. The religion of Jesus will come to rule our world!

 

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