Text: Mark 1:14-15: Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. And saying, "The time (kairos) [an occasion; set or proper time; a period possessed of certain characteristics; opportunity; season] is fulfilled (made replete; verified; accomplished), and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel".
Topic: "The Kingdom of God"! (Pt. 1)
Matthew [shows Christ as our King]: It was written primarily for the Jews, for He is the Son of David. In chapter one is His royal genealogy. Chapters 5-7, in the Sermon on the Mount, we have the manifesto (a public declaration of policy and aims) of the King, containing the laws of His Kingdom.
[Matthew chapter 3 John the Baptist (Christ’s
forerunner) begins his ministry in Judea]:
Matthew 3:1-2:
In those days came John the Baptist
preaching in the wilderness of Judea: And saying,
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
MARK [shows Christ as Servant]: This
Gospel was written to the Romans.
There is no genealogy. Why? Men are not interested in the genealogy of a
servant. More miracles are found here
than in any other Gospel. Romans cared
little for words, they cared far more for deeds.
·
Mark 10:45:
For even the Son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister (diakone’o)
[be an attendant; wait upon; teach; serve], and to give his life
(psuche’) [soul – the sensitive, irrational, mortal
part of man] a ransom for many.
[Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee] (Mark 1:14): Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the "KINGDOM OF GOD".
This message is in two parts, "The Kingdom of God" and "The Kingdom of Heaven"! So today in part one I’m going to talk about "The Kingdom of God"!
OF is a preposition used as a function word to indicate a point
of reckoning; origin; cause; coming from; possessing; belonging to. From the point of “reckoning”, all of what God
did was established, considered and set forth in a specified way for Kingdom
building. From the point of “origin”, Kingdom was birthed forth
and inaugurated by God. In relation
to “cause”, God Himself is the source, basis, foundation of Kingdom. Kingdom came from God, it’s possessed by God, and it belongs to God.
·
John
4:24: God is Spirit.
In Hebrew or the Old Testament, He is Elohiym (our Creator): Jehovah (LORD): El Elyon (Most High): Adonai (Lord Sovereign): El Roi (all
Seeing): El Shaddai (all Sufficient; all
powerful): El Olam (God Eternal) [past;
present; future]: Rapha (our
Health): Nissi (our Banner): Tsidkenu (our Righteousness): Shammah (Ever
Present): Greek,
New Testament He is The’os (Supreme Divinity).
In actuality the kingdom of
heaven and the kingdom of God are one in the same.
Heaven: (Hebrew - shama’yim) or (Greek – ouranos’) (lofty, high,
or elevated place). This is where God dwells (resides), and Kingdom is the power God rules with out of this elevated
place!
So, what is kingdom?
The word “kingdom” comes from
different Hebrew root words mamlakah’ (dominion,
the estate (rule) or the country (realm); royal; reign): malak’ (to
reign; ascend the throne; induct into royalty; king; queen; rule): mamlakuwth’
(reign): malkuwth’ (a rule; a dominion; reign; royal; realm;
empire). So they basically
have the same meaning, “dominion; ruling;
reigning; royalty; empire”.
Kingdom in the
Greek is the root word basilei’a [royalty; rule or a realm; kingdom (of God); kingdom ((of
heaven)]: basileus’ (a foundation of power): bas’is [(to
walk; a pace (“base”) implying the foot (sole of)].
What did God tell Joshua? Joshua 1:3: Every place that the sole (kaph) [the hollow hand or palm; the sole); fig power: foot] of your foot (re’gel) [a step; feet] shall tread (darak) [walk] upon, that have I given
unto you, as I said unto Moses.
I’ve heard people
say, that when they die they’re going up to the kingdom. Jesus never spoke of the “kingdom” as a place
that one had to go up to.
·
Luke
17:20: And when he was demanded of
the Pharisees, when the “kingdom of God” should come, he answered them
and said, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation (not with ocular or natural vision): Vs 21: “Neither shall they say, lo here or lo
there! For the kingdom of God is within
(inside of) you”!
·
1st Corinthians 4:20: The kingdom of God
is not in word (log’os) [something said,
including the thought], but in power (du’namis)
[the ability to work miracles; a miracle itself].
This lets us know
that “the kingdom” is a foundation
of power, or ruling authority that dwells within us by the Holy
Ghost.
Talking about God’s
Kingdom, Jesus Himself was the “Kingdom
of God” walking around on two feet.
Mark 11:1-11 (Jesus
makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem):
·
Vs 8:
And many spread their garments in the
way: and others cut down branches off
the trees, and strawed them in the way.
· Vs 9: And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, “Hosanna (hosanna’) [oh save]/(Hebrew)(yasha’) [Savior; deliver; salvation]; blessed is he that cometh (er’chomai) (accompany; to appear) in the name of the Lord”: Vs 10: “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh (er’chomai) [accompany us; has appeared] in the name (on’ama) [authority and character] of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest” (hup’sistos) [the Supreme God]; the heavens: most high; elevated places].
Jesus Christ was the absolute (complete;
total; entire; perfect; pure) power (kingdom) of God walking around on two feet. And because He was the “kingdom of God” walking around on two feet then, He now is and always will be the “kingdom of God” because He’s
now walking in us Christ’s body who is now “God’s
kingdom” in the earth walking around on two feet. Ephesians 5:30: We are members (limbs; parts of) of
his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world.
Look at what God said about Israel in Exodus
19:6: “You shall be unto me a
kingdom (mamlakah’)[dominion; the estate; realm;
throne] of priests, and a holy nation”. Look at what His Word says about us!
·
1
Peter 2:9: You are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar
people; that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you
out of darkness into his marvelous light.
·
Revelation
1:6 and Revelation 5:10: And
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on (over) the
earth.
Revelation 19:16 states He is KING OF KINGS AND LORD
OF LORDS.
Every king has
a domain in which to rule. We are
to reign over the earth or over the creation as the Adam people did in
Genesis. We are God’s Israel now not the
Israel that’s in the Middle East! Israel
meaning, he will rule (as) God. That’s
why God has empowered us by the Holy Ghost and in Christ there is neither bond nor free, Jew nor Greek (Gentile), male
nor female, we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
Therefore we must
take our rightful place ruling and
reigning in the earth as the Adam race of people (male and female) did and were
commanded to have dominion in Genesis 1:26:
·
And God said, “Let us make man in our image
(nature; substance [protoplasm; person;
embodiment; flesh]), after our likeness [ability to
function [operate] as God in the earth] and let them have dominion (subdue; bring under your control; rule; reign) over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth”.
Jesus has given unto us the “power” (exousi’a) [ability; liberty; freedom to become super-humans] to rule over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We have the Holy Ghost then we have that “power” (du’namis) (miracle working power) within us to do exploit’s for the glory of God.
Acts 1:8: You shall receive power (du’anmis), after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.
·
1st Corinthians 4:20: The kingdom of
God is not in word (log’os) [reasoning
of one’s mental faculty, or motive], but in power (du’namis)
[force; worker of miracles].
·
Romans
14:17: The kingdom of God is
not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy
in the Holy Ghost.
GOD is THE SUPREME
ALMIGHTY CREATOR! He is “JEHOVAH”, the self-Existent or Eternal God! When you speak of “self”, as a noun, it is
the identity, character, etc of any person or thing; one’s own
person as distinct from all others.
·
Isaiah
45:5: I am the LORD, and there is
none else, there is no God (elohiym)
[gods ordinarily; (spec) of the Supreme God] besides me.
Synonyms for “supreme” are: highest
ranking; leading; chief; head; top; foremost; principal; superior;
premier; first; cardinal; prime; sovereign.
When God gave the
Law in Exodus, He said:
·
Exodus
20:3: Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Vs 4: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Graven is the Hebrew root word pecel (peh’-sel), meaning
an idol; carved image / (pacal (paw-sal’)
meaning [to carve, whether wood or
stone; hew].
These are things hand
made by men of wood, stone or metal:
·
Deuteronomy
4:15: Take you therefore good heed
unto yourselves; for you saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD
spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: vs 16: Lest you corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the
similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female; vs 17: The likeness of any beast that is on the
earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air; vs 18: The likeness of anything that creeps on
the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the
earth. Vs 19: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto
heaven and when thou see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the
host of heaven, should be driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD
thy God, hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Even wearing a cross
with a crucifix on it is a mockery to Jesus’ resurrection because He’s not on
the cross, He’s not in the grave, and He’s not dead. He rose and He is very much alive. Listen at what Jesus said:
·
Revelation
1:18: “I am he that lives, and was
dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
of death”.
Jesus said in
John 10:34: Have you not read in your
law where I said, “You are gods”?
As I stated earlier,
GOD is THE SUPREME ALMIGHTY CREATOR (Elohiym),
in Genesis chapter one! In Genesis chapter two, He is “JEHOVAH”, the self-Existent or Eternal God! Remember, when you speak of “self”, as a noun, it is
the identity, character, etc of any person or thing; one’s own
person as distinct from all others. The “invisible God” is now made “visible” in
people both male and female, that enables us by His Spirit to do what He wants done in the earth.
·
Acts 7:48: Howbeit, “THE MOST HIGH”,
dwells not in temples made with hands.
Because God is “self-Existent” He doesn’t need
anyone or anything to exist. He was
before everything!
In Genesis 1:1
you see The SPIRIT GOD
creating, making, letting, and saying, bringing everything into existence,
because He is Creator! This lets us know
that the OMNIPOTENT (all-powerful),
OMNISCIENT (all-knowing), OMNIPRESENT
(all or everywhere present) GOD
was already creating before anything ever got here because God first created
everything in His own mind, then He spoke it into existence. So GOD’S KINGDOM was already at work before He brought anything else into
existence. HE WAS KINGDOM all by
HIMSELF! But, He wanted to make His
Kingdom visible in the earth and did!
Genesis 1:1-31:
God created the “heaven” (the
lofty or high or elevated place; eternity; dominion, authority, and power):
and the “earth” (the scenery for mankind to dwell and reign
over). Then He said “Let there be”: Then God made: Then God called: Then God saw
all He had created and made and He said it "was good"! But when He included included
man (male and female) God
said that it was “very good”!
Still talking
about God’s Kingdom:
Now look at Genesis 2:1-2:
·
Vs 1:
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished
(kalah’) [ended; completed;
accomplished; determined] and all the host (tsaba’) [a mass of persons] of them.
·
Vs 2: And on the seventh day God ended [ceased;
completed; accomplished; determined] his work which he had
made: and he rested on the
seventh day from all his work which he had made.
This “seventh day”
was not Saturday or Sunday! The seventh
day is an “eternal day”! All the other
days it states, “The evening and the
morning”, denoting a beginning and ending of something, but it doesn’t say
that for the seventh day! It’s a day
that doesn’t end, because it is a continuing of God manifesting Himself throughout eternity, forever!
God’s work in
relation to the “heavens and the earth”
being finished (complete;
accomplished), started and ended or was completed in Genesis 1:1.
Because He saw the ending (fulfilling) of all things, in the beginning,
and it was all in Christ!! So “GOD’S
KINGDOM” was already in operation in His Divine Mind before anything was
manifested.
But in Genesis 1:1,
the “heaven and the earth” God
created and all that is therein, encompassed (surrounded; contained; included) the
total of who and what “man” was to become!
·
St.
John 1:1: In [in place, time or state] the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
·
Vs 14: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us.
Jesus was The WORD made flesh, He was GOD manifested in flesh form and He was
also “the beginning” of
everything that God created.
·
Genesis
1:1: In (denoting
fixed] position) the beginning [(reshiyth’)
(the first in place, time, order or rank (spec) (a first-fruit) (s); chief] God
created the heaven and the earth.
When we come to
understand who “the beginning” is,
then we can understand that “the beginning” was and is not a calendar
date. “The beginning” was and is the person,
the Man Jesus the Christ!
·
Colossians
1:18: And he is the head of the
body (so’ma) [body as a sound whole], the
church (ekklesi’a) [the called out ones], who
is the beginning (arche’) [a
commencement or chief (ie order; time; place or rank); first].
·
Revelation
3:14: These things saith the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. And as he is, so are we in this
world (1 John 4:17).
In relation to Jesus
Christ being God’s Kingdom, in Genesis 1:1, the “HEAVEN” was the “GOD
OR SPIRIT” aspect of Jesus:
·
St.
John 1:1: “And the Word was with God
and the Word was God”:
And the “EARTH” was the “MAN
OR FLESH” aspect of Him:
·
St. John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”.
Remember, the
definition of GOD in Hebrew is ELOHIYM,
meaning gods in the ordinary sense, but
especially “the Supreme God”. The
first part of Elohiym is “El”, meaning strength; mighty; “the ALMIGHTY”;
power; Emmanuel. What does scripture say about Jesus
being Emmanuel?
·
Isaiah
7:14: Therefore the LORD himself
shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.
·
Matthew
1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Colossians 1:15-17 [speaking of Christ]: Who is the image (picture; reflection; likeness; portrait; embodiment) of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are
in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for
him: and he is before all things and by
him all things consist.
·
Philippians
2:5: Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus: vs 6:
who being in the form of God thought it
not robbery to be equal with God. Vs
7: But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men: vs 8: And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
Likeness is from
the root word homoi’oma, meaning
a form; resemblance; made like to man by putting on flesh. And
fashion being sche’ma, a figure (as a mode or
circumstance); condition (comprising the manner of life in relation to “humanity”). He had to become a man or what man is, to
deliver man-kind !
·
Hebrews
4:15: For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched (sumpathes’) [having
a fellow-feeling (sympathetic); mutually commiserative; having compassion one
for another] with the feeling of our infirmities (asthen’eia) [feebleness (of body or mind); malady;
frailty; diseases; sickness]; but was in all points [heart; soul; mind; body] tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was not born “Christ” He was made “Christ”.
·
Matthew 1:16: And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was “born Jesus” (Greek) (Iesous) (ee-ay-sooce’) / (Hebrew) (Jehoshua), meaning Jehovah
saved]:
who is CALLED (leg’o) [to “lay forth in words of systematic or
set discourse”; describe; name; put forth; show] CHRIST: (Christos’)
the Anointed One!
·
Acts
2:36: Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God “hath made” (poie’o)
[to bring forth; shown; appointed; band together; ordained; purposed; raised up] that
same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord (supreme in authority) and
Christ (the Anointed One)!!
JESUS couldn’t be
CHRIST without us! As JESUS He was one
man and that was GOD’S body, the body GOD used to offer up as the perfect
sacrifice for us! But at the same time
He had prepared for Himself another body, called CHRIST! That other
Body couldn’t be manifested until after Jesus was raised from the dead,
because it was the cross that differentiated between “Jesus” and “Christ”! That was the one man JESUS that died
on the cross, but when He rose, that was CHRIST, the many-membered body brought together as “one body”, with Christ as the “HEAD”! Colossians
1:18: And he is the head of the body,
the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence
(superiority).
This also includes
those in the spirit realm:
·
Hebrews
12:1: We are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses!
·
Vs 22:
But you are come (present tense) unto mount Sion and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels,
·
Vs 23:
To the general assembly and church of the
firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect.
We’re all now “one body” in Christ Jesus!
·
Romans
12:5: So we, being many, are one body in CHRIST and everyone members
one of another.
·
1st Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST!!
And this body of
“anointed ones” is God’s Kingdom in the earth!
His Kingdom of Kings and Priests!
·
Revelation
5:10: And hast made us unto our God kings
(sovereign [supreme rulers with His ultimate power]) and priests
(intercessors within the Melchisedec priesthood): and we shall reign on (over) the earth.
Let us continuously
talk kingdom and walk as God’s kingdom ambassadors and representatives in this
earth to glorify Him in the name of Jesus the Christ!!!
·
Psalm 24:6: This is the generation of them
that seek him that seek thy face (paneh’)[countenance],
O Jacob [heel-catcher].
These are the ones
that have put off the “faces of men”
and are become “God-faced”! And these are the ones that will trip up the enemy and put him
under their feet and walk on him by the power of the Holy Ghost dwelling in us,
because we are now “kingdom people”
or “God’s Kingdom” in the earth
today through Jesus the Christ!
Pastor Gracie Perry