The Kingdom Within

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26)

The kingdom of God begins within the heart of the disciple of Jesus Christ. Some would argue that God's kingdom exists independent of human agency. I would agree. God is sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. God reigns over all creation. We did not create the world,  or anyone in it. We may participate in creating along with God, but as much as we may want to rule the world, (and some men really do want that) we are not in charge.

I think of Job's complaint before the Lord. He had lost everything, but his own life and his wife. Even she told him to curse God and die! Job maintained there was no grounds for God to treat him this way. He wanted God to answer his question, "Why?" God's answer was basically this: "I am creator. You are not. Who are you to advise God on the governing of the world?" (See Job 38-42)

Still, having acknowledged that God is sovereign, and no plan of God's can be thwarted, I maintain that, insofar as human experience is concerned, the kingdom of God begins in the heart. 

The way God tried to shape the world was through Israel. Israel brought us knowledge of the one true God. Israel made us aware of sin through the law of Moses. As the apostle Paul writes, "through the law comes the knowledge of sin." Therefore the reign of God must be acknowledged within if humans are to enter the kingdom of God. The path to entering the kingdom is faith in Jesus Christ. 

Belief is not as simple as we sometimes make it out. Belief merely brings us into relationship with God through Jesus. Think of it this way. As a pastor I know hundreds of people. I cannot remember all their names, but with a little help our history will come to mind. My relationship with many people is casual, moving little beyond friendly handshakes and greetings. Brief exchanges on a Sunday morning does little to build relationships. We have a relationship, but not very deep. In the same way a disciple can acknowledge their belief that Jesus is their savior, but don't move much past the acknowledgement. 

When I am fortunate, I get opportunity to go deeper with people. I become, not simply an appointed pastor, but I become their pastor in a real sense. They've given me permission to join them at some juncture in their life. It's a great honor and a profound gift these have given me. In the same way, we can move deeper in our belief by acknowledging Jesus as Lord of our lives. This is very different from acknowledging Jesus as Savior. Everybody wants to be told that Jesus paid the price for their sins. We all want forgiveness. We all want to be loved. The gospel tells us this. God loves us and sent His son to die that our sins might be washed away and the mercy of God flood into our hearts. But when it comes to Jesus becoming Lord over our lives, that's something we don't always want. 

Many disciples follow Jesus only in part. The Lord can have dominion over their Sunday morning, but not the rest of the week. Or the Lord can have control over my public behavior, but not my private thoughts. You get the idea. The Lord Jesus will have dominion over our entire life. That is why He says you must die to yourself if you would be His disciple. (Mark 8:34-38)

Some people I become close friends with. We hit it off. We work at our relationship. We laugh together and play together. We weep together and pray together. We care for and support each other. That's a fuller expression of belief than mere acknowledgement. Our believing in Jesus moves us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Savior, until His love transforms us to the point that we know His love is all we need. In Him we have everything we need. Our belief within becomes the arena where we hand over our very lives. We offer Jesus the controls. We stop trying to be masters of our own existence. 

Paul speaks of a righteousness that come by faith, a righteousness that the law could never produce. What the law did produce was a knowledge of the power of sin. Paul describes sin powerfully in Romans 7.

I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. (Romans 7:7b-8a)

So since all of us sin and fall short of God's glory, God has made a way for us to become truly righteous by freeing us from sin through the greater power of grace. Grace is given to us through our relationship with Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives. Jesus has the authority and power to deliverer us from every temptation, and mercy to cover every mistake. 

The beginning of our relationship with Jesus is as a passive recipient.  God's gift of Jesus is something we cannot earn. He willingly gives us mercy, forgiveness and grace for living through our receiving Christ. But the deepening relationship with Jesus moves us toward His grace filled support and wisdom and our happy obedience to serve His mission.

So we start out as being seen or judged as righteous in God's eyes, not because of our own righteous behavior, but because of Jesus' righteous behavior and God's loving mercy. We stand right before God through the holy sacrifice of Jesus. But now, once for all restored to God through Jesus' sacrifice, we are being made righteous through Jesus enabling us to be as He is.

For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2nd Corinthians 5:21)

The phrase "in him" or "in Christ" means we live under His authority and power. We are joined to Christ and Christ to us. We abide in Him and He in us. Our bodies are His temples. He resides upon His throne in our hearts and we look within for our Sovereign Lord to lead us, provide for us, and command us. We are His servants. Jesus is our King. We are His happy subjects who serve in all His kingdom. He is our generous, loving, wise and powerful King, who rules not with oppression and an iron fist, but with compassion, mercy, and truth.  

"the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God"
Romans 8:7

Until we come to to the place of serving Christ as Lord of our lives, we will continue to live serving our own base needs, our wants and desires. We will follow fad and fashion. We will get mixed up in the movement of the crowd, and ignore the calling of Christ on our lives. God's grace is calling you to enter the kingdom of God. That means a trip inside before the throne, not once in a life time, but daily and continually. This state as a Christian in name only is what Paul called living by the flesh. When Jesus truly becomes Lord of your life, your life is led by the Spirit of Christ, not by the urges of your flesh. 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Romans 8:5-9a)

Paul then implores the church of Jesus to live according to the Spirit living for Christ, not for the desires of the flesh. It's easy to make this sexual when we talk about flesh, but it's way more than that. The flesh is how we think, what we feel, what our bodies crave, and our hearts desire. The Spirit of Jesus sanctifies us making us want what God wills and then giving us the power to do what God wills. (Philippians 2:13)

The kingdom of God is within you. Once you become a loyal subject through the redemptive work of God's grace, you will begin to impact the world outside much more effectively. God can use you at any level of holiness. You can even be a nonbeliever and God can use you. He used Cyrus the Great to liberate the Jews from Babylon. Cyrus did not know the God of Israel, nor did he serve Him. God used Cyrus anyway, because God is sovereign ruler of the earth. But when you are working in harmony with God's will and His humble servant, you are most fruitful.

Enter the Kingdom and build that relationship within between you and the Lord. Then you, and all who love and serve Him, will together change the world to a place that looks more like a place that pleases God.