"Make Us A King To Judge Us": His Kingdom!

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"  (Colossians 1:13)


Hello To All:

Much has been written with regards to the meaning of "kingdom" in the King's Book. Perhaps enough, even, to fill many libraries. Perhaps enough, even, to create a great deal of confusion.

Confusion seems to becoming more and more prevalent, both in the church and in the world. The deeper our fellowship with Jesus Christ (please see previous letter titled: Make Us A King To Judge Us: Our Fellowship), the less confusing the church and the world will become. Our ability to comprehend the truth of the "kingdom," is directly related to our comprehension of, and our apprehension of, the reality of "fellowship." The question must be asked: Are we truly and intimately in fellowship with the King?

Since it is true that every believer has been "translated" by the Father, "into the kingdom of his dear Son," then it must be understood, that who we are is defined by the reality, that what the "kingdom" is, defines who we are! If we have a wrong understanding of what the "kingdom" is, then we will also have a wrong understanding of who we are. The truth of our identity will be lost to us! Confusion becomes a common reality, because we fail to understand who we are in Christ Jesus!

All too often, we think of our relationship with Jesus Christ, exclusively in the context of John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

All too often, our thinking process goes like this: We see Jesus - We see the cross - We embrace our eternal life.  We has been capitalized in the previous sentence, because we tend to be very self centered in our assessments, regarding our standing. It is all about us - it is all about our eternal life - when it should be all about Jesus! Lest you, my beloved, think that this self-centered indictment of our condition is too harsh, please give careful consideration to the following.

John 3:16 gives us a glimpse into eternity. But, John 17: takes us deeper into our understanding of eternity. Let it be said, at the beginning of our understanding, that a right understanding of eternity is not self-centered! We find written at John 17:1-3 the following:

1. "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:"
2. "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."
3. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."

"And this is life eternal."  These are the words of our Creator. Do they have our attention? Are we rightly focused on what Jesus is saying to us? Or are we still too self-centered to understand His message?  "Life eternal," is not about our eternal life! This is not about us! "Life eternal," is about knowing "the only true God, and Jesus Christ," who is the fullness of God's revelation of Himself to us, and to all of His creation.  "Life eternal," is all about Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God!

In one place (John 5:39), we find written: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Here, our Creator is reminding us, that there are two ways of approaching His Book. One way is the self-centered way. In this way, we are thinking all about our eternal life. The other way, the right way, is focused on Jesus Christ, and the testimony that His Book reveals regarding Jesus of Nazareth: our King. Which way do we embrace? Have we bowed the knee to self, or have we rightly bowed the knee to our King, Jesus of Nazareth?

When next we gather, we shall continue our examination of the meaning of "His Kingdom."

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus