Jesus, The Church, and The Coming Kingdom

[EDITORS’S NOTE: THIS IS PART TWO OF A THREE PART ARTICLE.  PART ONE OF THIS ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE.] The Apostle and The Five-Fold Ministry 

             The question that becomes obvious, then, is if apostles are spiritual fathers to churches even though churches have pastors, elders, and teachers, how do apostles and elders (pastors) interact?  How do apostles relate to the other five fold ministries (prophets, evangelists, and teachers)?  An important step in answering that question is to see the purpose of these five different ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11. When we see their purposes in the heart of God we can see how they interact together throughout the New Testament.  

            Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, lays out a number of incredible truths about the Church and how it is supposed to function in the spiritual and natural realms.  Chapters 1-3 are all about the Church being dead in sin but made alive in God through Christ.  Paul sums up the first part of Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14-19 describing a church that is built up in her inner man to such a degree that she becomes the habitation for the fullness of God’s presence.  Then he moves in chapters 4 through 6, describing how the church should respond to this amazing privilege and awesome responsibility.  In the midst of this profound teaching Paul mentions that when Christ ascended to Heaven He gave gifts to the universal church. These gifts were part of God’s master plan to build His church into a full habitation for His glory, but they weren’t just ministry positions—they were people.   God had so fully moved through these people in one particular area that they went from just being Christians that showed one gift or another, like in 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, to becoming people that God gave to His church as a specially prepared present.           

            Ephesians 4:11 tells us these specially prepared people come with five different ministry functions (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher) but they have one purpose: to equip believers for service so that the body could be built up.  What does the body full built up look like?  Paul gives us the answer in 4:13: (1) A unity within the church, (2) a knowledge of God that leads to maturity, and (3) an apprehension by the body of the fullness of God’s presence.  By including five different types of people in the list of gifts, Paul is saying that one man with one particular gifting cannot bring the church to the full expression of maturity in Christ.  Evangelists are great at getting people saved but sometimes very lousy at getting those newly saved people growing.  Pastors care for people well but they often lack the ability to declare the word of the Lord like prophets and they cannot win the lost like evangelists. This is why the Lord calls all of these ministries to work as a team—so that the body of Christ as a whole can receive from each gifting the different elements required to reach maturity. 

            The book of Acts and the epistles of Peter and Paul are probably some of the only places in the history of the church where we see these principles working.  Because we are looking primarily at the role of apostles and elders (this is what pastors were called in the book of Acts and many places in the New Testament), I’ll limit my discussion to those two ministries.  Obviously the apostles took a primary position in the book of Acts because its full title is “The Acts of the Apostles.”  These were the men Jesus had entrusted with the expansion of the kingdom.  In the book of Acts, the apostles would frequently lead in the expansion of the kingdom through preaching and the demonstration the Spirit’s power.  And whenever the Kingdom of God took root in a city, the apostles very carefully created Kingdom Communities where the new citizens of God’s kingship can live and function together.  Today we call them churches.  Wherever these kingdom communities were established the apostles were careful to, after a period of time, appoint elders for each congregation (Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17).  Apostles were often, but not always, part of trans-local (or traveling) ministry teams.  They continued to move and extend the kingdom by preaching and conversion or by bringing God’s reign in a new dimension to already existing churches. 

            Elders, by way of contrast, were local teams that cared for the churches established by these apostles. These elders were men of character who would serve as spiritual parents for the church in the absence of the apostles.  There are several requirements that Paul gives to Timothy and Titus in their assignment to appoint elders in their respective cities.  They can be found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-11.  Make no mistake however, these men were vested with the charge of leading the church in their city.  They did not answer to Paul or Timothy or Titus, but they were in a relationship with them which contained accountability and respect so that at any given point Paul, Timothy, or Titus could come and bring correction or instructions for advance as needed.  The elders were held accountable by God for the health and well being of the churches, as well as for discerning who was and was not a true apostle (Hebrews 13:17, Revelation 2:2). 

            We see very little interaction between apostles and elders in the New Testament, but in those places where it does happen, we gain insight into their relationships.  Acts 15 describes a controversy that arose in the early church over the issue of circumcision.  Because the argument originated with Paul and Barnabas, the brothers of the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with “the apostles and elders,” (15:2, 4, 22).  Though we don’t have any recorded speech by an elder at the church in Jerusalem, it seems apparent that the apostles wanted to move forward with the approval of the elders of Jerusalem.  The apostles were concerned with the impact such a decision would have on the theology of the church and the expansion of the churches. The elders had to have a sound understanding of the issue in order to tend to the day to day issues that resulted from such a decision.  Unity was required to be assured the decision was from the Lord. 

            By creating a distinction between apostles and elders, we dare not try to say that there is no room for overlap.  The apostle John wrote the books of 1^st through 3^rd John.  Several times throughout those books John refers to himself simply as “the elder,” (cf. 2 John 1:1, 3 John 1:1).  Peter referred to himself as a fellow-elder to the elders he wrote to in 1 Peter 5:1.  An apostle often times would fulfill the role of an elder to the broader church and even as an elder to a specific assembly.  A great example in our current landscape is Jack Hayford, more commonly known as “Pastor Jack.”  Jack has gained international recognition for his ministry and operates in an apostolic role, but has remained faithful to fathering one congregation of people most of his life. 

            The danger here, however, is to believe that every pastor is an apostle.  Some are even as foolish to teach that any pastor with a church of X amount of people is automatically an apostle.  That is not the case.  Likewise, not every pastor sent by God to pastor is an apostle just because he is “sent.”  The danger lies in confusing the gifts God sends us.  Jesus taught us to receive a prophet in the name of a prophet so that we might receive “a prophet’s reward” (Matthew 10:41).  The same could be said of apostles, evangelists, or any other gift.  Should we not receive God’s specially sent agents in the capacity God sends them, we miss the impact of what God sent them to accomplish.  If I treat a pastor as if he is an apostle, not only will I expect him to do an apostle’s job (something he was never meant to do) but I will also miss the benefit of his pastoral gift in my life.  The result will lead us to be frustrated, discontented, and spiritually malnourished.

            This brings us to the current situation the church finds herself in.  One reason, but certainly not the only one, that the church in America is ineffective is because we’ve developed a system that is largely inconsistent with what the New Testament describes as church government.  The New Testament mentions the term “pastor” once, in Ephesians 4:11.  But we’ve taken this one mention in the New Testament and exaggerated its importance so much that we have a system that has only pastors, almost entirely excluding every other ministry gift God gave us.  Pastors are not bad, but the body of Christ will never mature if it only receive from pastors to the exclusion of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers.  Only a model that emphasizes all of the gifts of Ephesians 4, with the apostles operating as the connecting point of those different ministries, will be able to lead us into the fullness of Christ. 

[NEXT WEEK- WE'LL FINISH THE ARTICLE WITH A LOOK AT THE PURPOSE OF APOSTOLIC TRIBES AND HOW THEY FUNCTION.]

[EDITOR'S NOTE-THIS ARTICLE IS PART ONE OF A THREE PART SERIES. ]

Earlier I posted my notes on a teaching by Tim Johns called “Apostolic Strategies for Regional Revival.”  In my zeal to post new content to the blog and my myopia that causes me to think everyone is exactly like me, I posted material that some people wouldn’t understand because they haven’t traveled in the same circles I have.  This became clear when a friend of my sister-in-law read the article and then wrote me with a ton of really good questions.  I’m going to paste some of the e-mail here, because I think the answers to these questions will provide a useful foundation for more of what will appear here and around the Earth.

“I have some questions about the ‘Apostolic Strategies for Regional Revival’ workshop notes that you posted on your website. What makes a person an apostle?  Can pastors also be apostles, because they were sent by God to fulfill the role that they are in?  Later in the notes it says that you need to insist on government, so why is a pastor based system wrong for government.  I guess I don’t really understand what a “pastor based system” is in the way it is being refered to here. And what is an apostolic tribe, and why is it so important?” 

I want to be clear about a couple of things.  First, what typically happens whenever these issues are discussed is that we tend to find ourselves discussing forms of government, roles of men, and strategies for growth.  And while these things are important they tend to distract us a little bit from the true thrust of the apostolic—an unyielding fascination with Christ that provokes the body not only to grow in numbers but to “grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” Second, even though I’ve studied this topic thoroughly and spent time with many who thought they were apostles, most of my experience with men who truly are apostles has been from a distance.  In some ways I think that qualifies me to say something, since most people have hardly met anyone they would consider a true apostle.  Having said all that, let’s look at who an apostle is, how he functions with the rest of the body, and how the body draws from the apostolic gift to become an apostolic people. 

The Apostle 

            Defining the word “apostle” has become difficult in our day and age because we have nothing in the modern world called “apostle.”  When Jesus extended His miracle-working ministry to others, he gathered twelve of his closest disciples and called them “apostles,” (Matthew 10:1-2, cf. Mark 3:14-15).  Jesus, however, didn’t make up the word.  He borrowed from contemporary Roman culture a word that was used to described warships that were dispatched with a specific mission to accomplish.  It was also used to describe a designated representative of a king who was sent out to expand the territory of that king’s rule.  So just by looking at the term, it becomes obvious that a true apostle is sent by God to expand the Kingdom (Kingship) of God in the earth.  This plays out in a number of ways, but it is the most basic description of an apostle.

The best place to get a definition of any gift that God gives the body is in the Godhead.  Every gift and office in scripture has its origin in the counsels of God.  Hebrews 3:1 tells us that Jesus was the very first apostle.  He, more than any other man, was sent from the Father to extend the Kingship of God.  He was empowered by God to work signs and wonders and take back humanity for His Father.  He also fathered a generation of young men and raised them up to be apostles and prophets who would build His Church.  These realities were repeated in the lives of every man in the Bible whom we typically think of as an apostle.

The Bible gives us some definite ways to determine whether an individual is an apostle or not.  Jesus, speaking to the church in Ephesus, commends the saints because they “put to the test those who call[ed] themselves apostles,” (Revelation 2:2).  This should alert us to two things: 1) There are people who claim to be apostles and are not, and 2) There is a set of genuine qualifications that are necessary to be an apostle.  These biblical qualifications are not only applicable to the first century church, but to our own day and time as well. 

            By looking at the life and teaching of the early church some obvious signs become clear.  First, apostles are people who are witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ or have seen the risen Christ (cf. Acts 1:21-22, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).  In the future I hope to detail this reality more clearly, but apostles must be uniquely equipped testify to the reality that Jesus Christ is alive.  Secondly, apostles are known for extraordinary demonstrations of power in their ministry (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:12, Matthew 10:8).  Finally, in the same way evangelists are known for their ability to convert any one who doesn’t know Jesus, apostles have a unique ability to spiritually father believers.  The Corinthian church that Paul planted had many elders (pastors and teachers), but Paul was uniquely the spiritual father of the church in
Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:15).  

[EDITOR'S NOTE- LOOK FOR PART TWO NEXT WEEK- APOSTLES AND THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY]

I just recently returned from ROCK Tribal Gathering in Kansas City, Missouri. The Tribal Gathering serves as a chance for those who are part of this organic spiritual family to reconnect with each other and catch God’s purposes for the next stage of our development together. This TG served as an incredibly powerful time that included several messages from Heidi and Rolland Baker. I’ll try and make slices of their messages available in the future.

For now, though, I wanted to post my notes from my workshop with Dr. Timothy Johns on “Apostolic Strategies For Regional Revival.” The workshop served as a great chance to catch the bigger picture of what we’re after: not just a house church network, but the awakening of cities and nations facilitated by organic spiritual families. What appears below are my notes from the meeting. The document can also be downloaded for personal use here.

———————–

Apostolic Strategies for Regional Revival By Timothy Johns

First thing we have to know is the thing we are discussing is biblical. Apostle is a biblical term that means “sent one.” It’s a military term. It was a designated representative from the king sent to expand the territory of the kingdom. The first apostle was Jesus. He was sent from Heaven to break into the earth and reclaim the Earth. He appointed other apostles.

The church was always meant to be apostolic. It was never meant to function without apostles. There were twelve perennial apostles, but there were post-ascension apostles that were raised up after the original twelve. Today the church is mostly lead by pastors. Pastors are not the primary vehicle for church leadership. The best thing a pastor can do is to build relationships with apostles. They release advancement in the church. The average church in America has 53 members, because we are part of a pastor-based system. Apostles think strategically about taking a city or region. They put the go in the gospel. Their agenda is unity, purity, maturity and equipping the saints. They are entrepreneurial. They are always working themselves out of a job.

Strategy—apostles do think strategically. Apostles don’t move the kingdom by strategy. They don’t organize the kingdom into existence. They move it by power and by love. They don’t cookie-cutter something. They release the power of the Kingdom and build an uncontrollable grass-roots movement. Jesus had general directions—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. He didn’t have programs, but Jesus did have strategy.

You need to embrace the apostolic giftings and grace. You may not be an apostle, but you can be apostolic. Whatever you connect with at a heart level, that you pull the nutrients from. People who pull on an apostolic gift become infected with that gift.

What was Jesus’ strategy for revival? First of all, He knew who He was. The number one thing the demonic realm will do to an apostle is neuter you. Jesus had to hear it from the Father. “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” You have to hear from the Lord. The early stages is when Satan loves to take us out. We are most vulnerable in our embryonic stages. The battle for a region starts in your own head and your own heart.

Next, you want to only do what You see and hear the Father doing. You want to conduct the River of God in any way He wants You to. You have get filled up Yourself. Pray in tongues. Get full of the Spirit. Be in the word. Become a life-giving person. Become a great oozer. You have to begin to ooze the life of Jesus in your own way.

Go into an area and begin to pray and intercede. Ask the Lord for His vision for this area. Prayer walk. Whatever property you live on, plead the blood of Jesus over. Cancel all broken covenants over a property. You are trying to bring the Kingdom to a place that isn’t. What’s between you and your goal is a demon that has a legal right to be there because of a broken covenant. Pray for individuals.

Connect relationally with the people around you. Get their heart open through every means possible. Listen to their heart. Listen to three things. Listen their Yesterday person. Find out about their today person. Find out about their tomorrow person. Once you get into relationship, preach the kingdom. Gather converts. Begin to disciple them. Raise them into a family so they can reproduce.

You have to insist on government. People will want to hang out and do the Bible study thing. There will be a resistance to government. The battle in people’s hearts is over the kingdom and everyone will have authority issues. Western Christianity is about accepting Jesus and still being able to do our own thing. We want Christianity without fellowship. It’s not about obeying us, its about helping each other obey God. The reason most house churches fail is because they try to only be relational, without submitting to authority designed to expand the Kingdom of God. Apostolic authority is given to help us advance the borders of the Kingdom. The more you find your place in authority, you open yourself to the power of the kingdom. Plant a church with government in it.

A regional revival will need five elements.
1) Strategic Intercession—Unify with other pastors and leaders in the city and begin to intercede with them over the city.
2) Multiplying House Churches
3) Training or Equipping Experience for house church members
4) Celebration Experience
5) Unity with an Apostolic Tribe for an apostolic thrust. The family must be bigger than their region. They need cross cultural experiences.

I just recently returned from ROCK Tribal Gathering in Kansas City, Missouri. The Tribal Gathering serves as a chance for those who are part of this organic spiritual family to reconnect with each other and catch God’s purposes for the next stage of our development together. This TG served as an incredibly powerful time that included several messages from Heidi and Rolland Baker. I’ll try and make slices of their messages available in the future.

For now, though, I wanted to post my notes from my workshop with Dr. Timothy Johns on “Apostolic Strategies For Regional Revival.” The workshop served as a great chance to catch the bigger picture of what we’re after: not just a house church network, but the awakening of cities and nations facilitated by organic spiritual families. What appears below are my notes from the meeting. The document can also be downloaded for personal use here.

———————–

Apostolic Strategies for Regional Revival By Timothy Johns

First thing we have to know is the thing we are discussing is biblical. Apostle is a biblical term that means “sent one.” It’s a military term. It was a designated representative from the king sent to expand the territory of the kingdom. The first apostle was Jesus. He was sent from Heaven to break into the earth and reclaim the Earth. He appointed other apostles.

The church was always meant to be apostolic. It was never meant to function without apostles. There were twelve perennial apostles, but there were post-ascension apostles that were raised up after the original twelve. Today the church is mostly lead by pastors. Pastors are not the primary vehicle for church leadership. The best thing a pastor can do is to build relationships with apostles. They release advancement in the church. The average church in America has 53 members, because we are part of a pastor-based system. Apostles think strategically about taking a city or region. They put the go in the gospel. Their agenda is unity, purity, maturity and equipping the saints. They are entrepreneurial. They are always working themselves out of a job.

Strategy—apostles do think strategically. Apostles don’t move the kingdom by strategy. They don’t organize the kingdom into existence. They move it by power and by love. They don’t cookie-cutter something. They release the power of the Kingdom and build an uncontrollable grass-roots movement. Jesus had general directions—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. He didn’t have programs, but Jesus did have strategy.

You need to embrace the apostolic giftings and grace. You may not be an apostle, but you can be apostolic. Whatever you connect with at a heart level, that you pull the nutrients from. People who pull on an apostolic gift become infected with that gift.

What was Jesus’ strategy for revival? First of all, He knew who He was. The number one thing the demonic realm will do to an apostle is neuter you. Jesus had to hear it from the Father. “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” You have to hear from the Lord. The early stages is when Satan loves to take us out. We are most vulnerable in our embryonic stages. The battle for a region starts in your own head and your own heart.

Next, you want to only do what You see and hear the Father doing. You want to conduct the River of God in any way He wants You to. You have get filled up Yourself. Pray in tongues. Get full of the Spirit. Be in the word. Become a life-giving person. Become a great oozer. You have to begin to ooze the life of Jesus in your own way.

Go into an area and begin to pray and intercede. Ask the Lord for His vision for this area. Prayer walk. Whatever property you live on, plead the blood of Jesus over. Cancel all broken covenants over a property. You are trying to bring the Kingdom to a place that isn’t. What’s between you and your goal is a demon that has a legal right to be there because of a broken covenant. Pray for individuals.

Connect relationally with the people around you. Get their heart open through every means possible. Listen to their heart. Listen to three things. Listen their Yesterday person. Find out about their today person. Find out about their tomorrow person. Once you get into relationship, preach the kingdom. Gather converts. Begin to disciple them. Raise them into a family so they can reproduce.

You have to insist on government. People will want to hang out and do the Bible study thing. There will be a resistance to government. The battle in people’s hearts is over the kingdom and everyone will have authority issues. Western Christianity is about accepting Jesus and still being able to do our own thing. We want Christianity without fellowship. It’s not about obeying us, its about helping each other obey God. The reason most house churches fail is because they try to only be relational, without submitting to authority designed to expand the Kingdom of God. Apostolic authority is given to help us advance the borders of the Kingdom. The more you find your place in authority, you open yourself to the power of the kingdom. Plant a church with government in it.

A regional revival will need five elements.
1) Strategic Intercession—Unify with other pastors and leaders in the city and begin to intercede with them over the city.
2) Multiplying House Churches
3) Training or Equipping Experience for house church members
4) Celebration Experience
5) Unity with an Apostolic Tribe for an apostolic thrust. The family must be bigger than their region. They need cross cultural experiences.

So, I’ve been encouraged by a couple of friends to continue blogging. It’s friends like these I appreciate. Look for articles about Jesus and the Kingdom revolution that is coming to continue here on this site.

In addition to this blog, I started another blog just about my journey in experiencing the glory of God by enjoying being me. It will have shorter, more day-to-day blogs in the original blog format. Without stealing from what I wrote there, I believe God’s glory is found when we live deeply from our hearts and become real about who we are. The blog is called Pursuing Glory. Check it out some time.

Anyways, thanks to those who encouraged me to continue. Together let’s keep pressing for the fullness of the kingdom.

Travis

So, I’ve been encouraged by a couple of friends to continue blogging. It’s friends like these I appreciate. Look for articles about Jesus and the Kingdom revolution that is coming to continue here on this site.

In addition to this blog, I started another blog just about my journey in experiencing the glory of God by enjoying being me. It will have shorter, more day-to-day blogs in the original blog format. Without stealing from what I wrote there, I believe God’s glory is found when we live deeply from our hearts and become real about who we are. The blog is called Pursuing Glory. Check it out some time.

Anyways, thanks to those who encouraged me to continue. Together let’s keep pressing for the fullness of the kingdom.

Travis

As we read in our last post, the kingdom of God is best understood as the manifest reign of God.  Wherever God truly is reigning and extending His rule, there is the kingdom.  At some point, though we have to realize that when Jesus and the writers of the New Testament speak about the nature of the kingdom of God, there are certain aspects of it that we can see here and now.  Jesus commissioned the apostles to preach and demonstrate signs of the kingdom: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give,” (Matthew 10:7-8).  At the same time there are certain aspects of the kingdom of God that we do not see.  The very fact that demons still exist plainly declares that Jesus has not fully destroyed wickedness and taken up the fullness of His reign on the Earth.  This leaves us with the question: Is the kingdom here?  Or is it still yet future?  The bold answer of Scripture is: “Yes!”

In order to understand this clearly we have to understand that the Bible describes two realities which operate in the world.  The word the Bible uses to describe these two realities is “aion,” the Greek word best translated into English as “age.”  Jesus speaks about the reality of two ages when He says, “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come,” (Matthew 11:32).  Paul declared the reality of the two ages when he taught the Corinthians that Christ would be “exalted far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come,” (Ephesians 1:21).  

Paul not only believed in the existence of two distinct ages but also believed that this current age stands in direct opposition to the coming age.  Speaking of the work of Christ, Paul says that Jesus “gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age,” (Galatians 1:4).  Paul also says that not only is this present age evil, but it is ruled by Satan.  Paul calls him “the god of this age,” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  Two ages exist, one a current age ruled by Satan and another a future age that will come to the earth and be ruled by the resurrected Christ.  These two ages not only exist but are in total opposition to each other.  

.  While we experience a measure of the coming age (or the coming Kingdom) in this life we will taste it fully in the age to come.  As Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life,” (Mark 10:29-30).  There is a future age that will be consummated by the coming of our King.  Matthew 24:3 associates the close of this age with the coming of Christ.  Luke 20:34-36 associates our resurrection with the age to come.  Thus the age to come will be marked by the return of the resurrected Christ and redeemed humanity enjoying the state of resurrection.  

The reality that is presented here has an important application. The kingdom of God has come in the first coming of Christ, but it is not fully consummated.  Many movements believe that we have the ability to establish the kingdom of God here on earth.  And we do, in a measure. But I believe the body of Christ suffers if we focus entirely on the kingdom now and aren’t seeking the kingdom of the age to come.  While we are commanded to seek the kingdom and pray for the coming of the kingdom, the kingdom will only be established fully at the return of the King.  We err when we pursue the kingdom now and neglect the fact that the fullness of the kingdom is still to come.  We haven’t seen it? the fullness of it yet.  This should encourage us.  There is a greater manifestation of the Kingdom that is coming.  Those who truly receive this message will both fully prepare for the coming Kingdom and be empowered to see the Kingdom established in their lives today, in the here and now.  As Paul said, “Therefore comfort [stir up or exhort] one another with these words,” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

George Eldon Ladd wrote an excellent book a number of years ago called “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” which combined theological scholarship with a prophetic edge that allowed him to both teach and preach about the nature of the kingdom of God.  I’ll quote him extensively over the next few weeks.  Our first question to ask is “What is the kingdom of God.”  Ladd gives us a great answer that will help our understanding:

     We must ask the fundamental question: What is the meaning of “kingdom.”  The modern answer to this question looses the key meaning to this ancient biblical truth.  In our western [understanding], a kingdom is primarily a realm over which a king exercises his authority. We typically think of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the original group of countries that recognize the queen as their sovereign.  

     The second meaning of a kingdom is the people belonging to a given realm.  The Kingdom of Great Britain may be thought of as the citizens over whom the Queen exercises her rule, the subjects of her kingdom.  

     The exclusive application of either of these two ideas to the Biblical teaching of the Kingdom leads us astray from a correct understanding of biblical truth.  We must set aside our modern [understanding] if we are to understand Biblical terminology.  Webster’s dictionary provides us with a clue when it gives as its first definition: “The rank, quality, state, or attributes of a king; royal authority; dominion; monarchy; kingship.”  [This] is precisely [what is] necessary to understand the ancient Biblical teaching.

     The primary meaning of both the Hebrew word malkuth in the Old Testament and basileia in the New Testament is the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king.  A basileia may indeed be a realm over which a sovereign exercises his authority; and it may be the people who belong to that realm and over whom authority is exercised; but these are secondary and derived meanings.  First of all, a kingdom is the authority to rule, the sovereignty of a king.

     When the word refers to God’s kingdom, it always refers to His reign, His rule, or His sovereignty, and not to the realm in which it is exercised.  We read in Luke 19:11-12, “As they heard these things, He proceeded to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.  He said therefore, ‘A nobleman went into a far country to receive a basileia and then return.’”  The nobleman did not go away to get a realm, an area over which to rule.  The realm over which he wanted to reign was at hand.  The territory over which he was to rule was this place he left.  The problem was that he was no king.  He needed authority, the right to rule.  He went off to get a “kingdom” i.e., kingship, authority.  The Revised Standard has therefore translated the word “kingly power.”

The kingdom of God is His kingship, His rule, his authority.  When this is once realized, we can go throughout the New Testament and find passage after passage where this meaning is evident, where the kingdom is not a realm or a people but God’s reign.  Jesus said that we must “receive the kingdom of God” as little children (Mark 10:15).  What is received?  The Church? Heaven?  What is received is God’s rule.  In order to enter the future realm of kingdom, one must submit himself in perfect trust to God’s rule here and now.  

Over the last couple of weeks the Lord has been stirring my heart to begin writing about the kingdom of God and its implications for the church and the earth at large.  As I was contemplating doing that last night, I remembered that Jesus spent forty days after the resurrection teaching the apostles about the kingdom and I just felt stirred to spend the next forty days looking into the kingdom of God.  What is it?  Why is it important? How does it relate to the church?  What are the principles by which it operates?  These are questions that I think we don’t really search out in a deep way, and I want begin to tackle these and more in this next little season.

I think it’s appropriate, though, to begin with this realization—the apostles were being taught about the kingdom of God by a man who had been raised from the dead.  I’ve just been hashing over that thought for a bit, and the implications are stunning.  The very resurrection of His body was a whole discourse to these men about the nature of the kingdom.  We handle the kingdom like it’s a normal thing that everyone has access to.  But the disciples spent forty days discussing the implications of kingdom life with their king who still had nail piercings through His hands.  Even after forty days of teaching by this resurrected king the apostles had not realized that Christ had no plans of taking over the Roman Empire.  They had not realized what Christ told Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this realm,” (John 18:36).  This seems like an elementary statement but most of church history is full of us confusing the two realms.

This kingdom that we’ve been called to partake of is one of another order.  Though it will resemble kingdoms we’ve seen it will be totally different.  Speaking of the resurrected body that Jesus received and we will receive in the age to come, Paul says, “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory,” (1 Corinthians 15:39-41).  The point of all of this is that the kingdom we will receive will have a different type of glory than anything we can imagine on earth.  In order to rightly usher in and pray down the kingdom of God into the earth we must begin to understand what it looks like when it operates in our lives and breaks into the lives of the lost and dying.
          
I want us to begin to pursue the reality of the kingdom in our lives. But I want us to pursue it knowing that it will be incredibly different than anything else we’ve ever experienced.  It will be of a supernatural order above anything we’ve ever experienced.   Let’s not just get the words in our vocabulary.  Let’s begin to experience the reality of the kingdom in our every day life.  Let’s live life before a king who conquered death for us.  Let’s pursue the supernatural aspect of the kingdom that is available to us.  We’ll look more at what it looks like in the next few weeks—but our resurrected king has a promise for us—“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom,” (Luke 12:32).