Understanding The Kingdom Of God
Regular visitors to the site know I’m like a broken record when it comes to putting so much emphasis on how vitally important it is to study the Bible, so will understand how much I really enjoyed and appreciated a message from Creflo Dollar last week about how the kingdom of God works. I really learned a lot from his message and have been studying the Bible since then to get an even better understanding of what he taught, which I’ve really enjoyed and want to share a little of here. While this is a very important message for ALL Christians, it is especially important when we’re standing against the gates of Hell for the restoration of our marriages, because we MUST understand how to fully access and operate in the power of the kingdom of God to win. After all, the battle belongs to the Lord!
I didn’t do as thorough a study as I’d like, because it would have been very interesting to check out the different words that were used in the original text for all of the biblical references to the kingdom of God, which I haven’t had the time to do. One of the things I found most interesting though, is how little it seems the references to the kingdom of God have to do with heaven, which is what I think most of us tend to think of when we think of the kingdom of God, which is why it would be so interesting to study the meaning of the original text. But the following passages of scripture still give us a much clearer understanding of what the kingdom of God really is, and isn’t, according to the Bible:
Luke 17:20-21
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
Romans 14:17-19
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Luke 18:17
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
1 Corinthians 4:20
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
Mark 4:26-34
He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
The above passages of scripture clearly do not refer to a place or system of government, or where we will spend eternity, when they talk about the kingdom of God, which I personally found very interesting because that seems to answer a question I’ve always pondered.. Passages like 1 Corinthians 6:6-10, Galatians 5:19-21, and Ephesians 5:5, have always troubled me. Because I found it hard to believe that our sinful nature would really keep us out of heaven. Even though I was never able to explain why it DIDN’T mean that, I just couldn’t accept that conclusion. But, now it makes more sense, because the kingdom of God is not a reference to aplace or system of government. It’s about the unchanging spiritual laws and principles governing the power of God, His blessings, protection, provision, and discipline, and our relationship with Him, and when we’re controlled by our sinful nature, we can not experience the righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, as described in Romans 14:17. And that’s confirmed by Hebrews 1:9, which says You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” And Isaiah 48:22 says “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Perhaps this addresses the questions so many have when seeing our “saved” mates caught up in many of the sins listed in the above verses, about whether or not they’re really saved, and if they’re sin will keep them from going to heaven. Without addressing the need for repentance on our spouses’ part, we know the Bible is full of great men of God who got caught up in sin in one form or another, so it’s difficult to understand where the notion that if we’re saved we can’t be such terrible sinners originated. David, who was called a man after God’s own heart was guilty of adultery and murder, yet we don’t question his relationship with the Lord. And Paul even referred to himself as the cheif among sinners. BUT we now know for certain that as long as our husbands are caught up in the sin controlling them now and threatening to destroy our marriages and families, they are NOT experiencing either peace or joy, no matter how much they try to convince us and themselves otherwise. And they can not count on the blessings, protection or provision of God. In fact, they’re surely going to experience the discipline of God, and the pleasure of their sin will last only for a short time, according to Hebrews 11:25.
Now, getting back to the message from Creflo Dollar, since Jesus often compared the kingdom of God to what nature teaches us about sowing and reaping, Luke 8:11 is very significant, because it says “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. That’s pretty awesome and explains why the Bible is so important to us as Christians! As Dr. Dollar said, the Bible is not a book of rules; it’s a bag of seeds! And John 1:1-4 reveals just how important the word/seed is, because it says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The following passage from Luke is a very powerful illustration of how important the Bible is in our lives as Christians, because it contains the vitally essential seeds that must be sown into the soil of our hearts before we can reap the harvest and bear the fruit of the kingdom of God, which Matthew 21:43 helps us understand the importance of, because it says “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Luke 8:1-21 (AMP)
SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him, And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled; And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager; and Susanna; and many others, who ministered to and provided for Him and them out of their property and personal belongings.
And when a very great throng was gathering together and people from town after town kept coming to Jesus, He said in a parable: A sower went out to sow seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the traveled path and was trodden underfoot, and the birds of the air ate it up. And some [seed] fell on the rock, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away because it had no moisture. And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it [off]. And some seed fell into good soil, and grew up and yielded a crop a hundred times [as great]. As He said these things, He called out, He who has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him consider and understand by hearing! And when His disciples asked Him the meaning of this parable, He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend. Now the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those along the traveled road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and carries away the message out of their hearts, that they may not believe (acknowledge Me as their Savior and devote themselves to Me) and be saved [here and hereafter]. And those upon the rock [are the people] who, when they hear [the Word], receive and welcome it with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation fall away (withdraw and stand aloof). And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection). But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just (noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience. No one after he has lighted a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a [dining table] couch; but he puts it on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open. Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.
Then Jesus’ mother and His brothers came along toward Him, but they could not get to Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to have an interview with You. But He answered them, My mother and My brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and do it!
May every seed of God’s word be sown deeply into our hearts and produce a bountiful harvest of fruit for the glory of our Lord and Savior! And when the devil tries to steal, kill or destroy that precious seed through the trials we face while faithfully and obediently standing for the restoration of our marriages, and we need to be reminded that the blessings and promises of the kingdom of God are available in our lives now and not something so seemingly distant and intangible as heaven, we find assurance of that in Luke 18:28-30, because it says Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” And we should remember Hebrews 12:28-29, which reminds us Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
The links below are to both parts of Dr. Dollar’s AWESOME message, which is described on their website as follows:
“Many Christians lack knowledge but expect to receive a harvest of something they never planted in their hearts. In this single message, Dr. Creflo A. Dollar shows us that when we invest time in learning to operate in the Kingdom of God system, we can determine our own outcome in life. Plant the Word of God in your heart today and allow it to produce the type of fruit you desire for every situation and condition in life!”
How the Kingdom of God Works (Part 1) – Dial Up
How the Kingdom of God Works (Part 1) – Broadband/DSL
How the Kingdom of God Works (Part 2) – Dial Up
How the Kingdom of God Works (Part 2) – Broadband/DSL