The Kingdom of Heaven – Part 2
When people talk about the kingdom of heaven there is a common tendency to talk about it as something in the future. It is like a dream we are waiting to become true. But, as we mentioned in the first part of this study, Jesus meant for us to begin receiving the benefits of the kingdom here and now.
To better understand this approach lets summarize the definitions for the words kingdom and sovereign.
Kingdom can be defined as a sphere of independent action or control ruled by a sovereign, whereas, sovereign can be defined as a supreme ruler with indisputable and permanent authority.
Considering these definitions, we can say that the kingdom of heaven was established with Jesus’ sacrifice, his resurrection from the death and the coming of the Holly Spirit over the believers. Though He is not physically ruling in the earth, He is ruling over a sphere of independent action (the church) over which He is the supreme ruler with indisputable and permanent authority. The church is the beginning of his kingdom and He is the sovereign.
An interesting fact is that Jesus recognizes that there is currently a ruler in this world, but his sphere is limited and his reign temporary.
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. Mt 4:17
Now, understanding the fact that the kingdom of heaven is in place, if we want to be part of this kingdom, we must be willing to live under the authority of its king. In the same way we are expected to begin receiving the benefits of the kingdom here and now, we are also expected to begin living according to its principles here and now.
The principles of the kingdom of heaven were layout by Jesus through a series of teachings. We have access to those teachings through the bible. In the next part of this series we will discuss one of the most important principles of the kingdom, one that Jesus himself said summarizes the law:
Love God and love one another Luke 10:27
If you would like to begin a discussion on this teaching please do so by accessing the topic about the Kingdom of Heaven in our forum site http://forum.forachangeonline.org/
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