Episode 22 Seeking His Kingdom…

One very simple thing to keep in mind is to ask yourself the question, “what would Jesus do”! This may seem like a simple question, but it is the doorway into finding out about the nature and character of God.  If we try to know the character of Jesus, we then will know what He expects from us in every situation. Often our response to life’s circumstances is centered on what we want instead of responding to what Jesus wants. 

Mature Christians.

This may come as a shock to some but, Jesus does not exist for the sole purpose of making you happy. As a new Christian, it is normal to focus on what you need from God, but again it’s important to make the effort to “grow-up or become mature in Christ. Jesus gave His all so that you would become mature and become more like Him. His plan for your life is to advance the Kingdom of God on earth by being witnesses of Him. So that all may know of Jesus!

• Romans 8:29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren”.
• Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”.
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:1-17, is speaking to the Corinthians who should be mature in Christ but have not given the evidence of that maturity and understanding. They are still behaving in a carnal manner. In other words, they proclaim that they are Christians, but they still behave as if they did not know Jesus Christ. He describes these kinds of Believers as babes in Christ. All Christians should desire to know more about Jesus, what He has done for us and what we can expect from Him.

Seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness.

The desired way in which to become mature in our relationship with Jesus is to follow His instructions, for instance in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”.

The Kingdom Jesus is speaking of is a spiritual Kingdom, and it exists on earth as each believer acts according to what Jesus has taught. Luke 17:20, “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” When you do what is required in the Kingdom, the Kingdom is being made manifest through you. Keep in mind the Kingdom has a King, and the King is Jesus. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings (I Timothy 6:15 and Revelation 17:14).

If you have Him and He has you- you will have everything. Seek His “face” (Who He is) not His “hand” (only what He can provide).

The Old Testament of Law.

All that Jesus has promised to provide for His people is dependent on understanding the great change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The New Testament of the Bible is not simply a continuation from the Old Testament. The New Testament proclaims that there is a new way in which God deals with His people, the followers of Jesus Christ.

As you know the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi, has to do with the creation and formation of a group of people into a nation known as Israel. The purpose of God’s plan was to show the rest of the heathen/idolatrous world, at that time, what a nation subjected to the one true God would look like. All the blessings and benefits of being one nation under God. 

The means by which God would teach His people about His nature and character would be through something called the Law. God used Moses to bring His Ten Commandments to the Hebrews or Israelites. The Law was then the Ten Commandments and all of the religious and social rules and regulations found in the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah, which was written by Moses. 

Here is the critical point that is so important to understand. The Law handed down by God to Moses was “accepted by the people”. They agreed that the Law was good and that they would abide by the Law. This agreement meant that God and the people of Israel were in a “covenant relationship”. A covenant is more than a contract because God is one of the covenant heads. In this case, Moses was a covenant head too and he represented the people. When God makes a covenant He never reneges or changes His mind. What is important about this covenant is that it is a “Conditional Covenant”. That means that God’s response is based upon the people’s obedience or disobedience to the Law. Deuteronomy chapter 28 spells out the blessings and curses associated with the Law.

I hope you can see the conditional distinction. God will bless you as long as you keep the Law. In other words, His response is based on your behavior. Do good and be blessed, do evil and be cursed. Your relationship with God is “conditioned” upon your actions. Keep the Law perfectly and you would be in a perfect relationship with God.

The way to restore a relationship with God when one sinned or broke the Law, under the Old Testament, was to repent and provide a sacrifice. This was done year after year because no one could keep the Law perfectly. As you can imagine living under the Old Testament Covenant was a bit uncertain. You never quite knew where you stood with the Lord. 

What the Old Testament Covenant proved according to the New Testament was that no one could keep the whole Law. Break one part of the Law and you have broken it all. James 2:10-11 states, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 

The New Testament of Grace.

The Gospel message of the New Testament is “Good News.” The good news is that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are no longer under the Law, but a better way has been provided for us. Ephesians 2: 8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works (Law), lest anyone should boast”. 

The New Testament of Jesus Christ introduces a new or better covenant (the word better covenant is used 8 times in the book of Hebrews) which is called the New Covenant. This covenant is very different from the Old Covenant in that the New Covenant replaces the Law with Grace.

Grace can only exist in an “unconditional covenant”, remember the Old Covenant was conditional. In this New Covenant God, the Father, and Jesus Christ are the two covenant heads. What is great about this is that neither the Father nor Jesus can fail. This also means that anyone who agrees with Jesus (repents and believes) is part of the new covenant. Just as the Hebrews who agreed with Moses were part of the Old Covenant.

Grace.

As Christians, we have a right to God’s Grace. Nothing can be added. When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), it means that Jesus did everything necessary to secure our salvation and our ability to become more than conquerors in this life. 

The only thing that God requires of us is to believe- this is what “faith” is all about. Believing that Jesus provided for our eternity and that He provided for the “abundant life” now.

I will continue on the subject of Grace and Faith in the next episode.