I believe we have only seen a glimpse of the impact Christ intended the church to have in the world today. The church was established to have dominion over the kingdom of darkness and establish a real kingdom presence on earth. In fact the church started out being persecuted by civil government and later became the very tyrant that it prayed about being delivered from. Along the way the impact of the Holy Spirit directed truth in the form of canonical scripture to triumph over ecclesiastical order and civil corruption.
This led to at least two major church splits and finally to reform as the church shifted from canonical truth to experiential power with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit some 400 years or so from the start of the "Reformation" in Europe to the "Great Awakening" in America. It was as if the written truth of scripture was being pitted against the power and activity of the Holy Spirit. Today we are really faced with wrestling with Historical Christianity and following the traditions that were established by the Church; to canonical Christianity and trying to reconcile scripture to modern living; or possibly hearing a new "Word" from the Lord for a change of course through a new prophetic voice. What course do we really take? And, how do we mix or separate all or any of these?
I want to stress that these issues need prayer and dialogue as we try to maintain stability and hope for real kingdom manifestation to appear. What we must remember is that the Lord is not preparing us for escape, but victory. However, the only way the church is going to achieve power and strength is by making a united stand against the kingdom of darkness. Not a militant stand against physical forces, but a spiritual stand against forces that are desperately trying to influence our worldview through the impact of our minds. This has taken shape in our educational institutions; in our businesses; in entertainment; and yes, even in the church herself. We are under attack with values, ethics, and character defects, while the glamor of fame and fortune intoxicate us.
However, with so much talk about kingdom today, one wonders if there is really clarity on where the church and the kingdom define and distinguish from one another. The original concept of "church" was to be a defined people that God was calling out from the corruption of the world. I don't believe it was ever announced to be an institution, but a body of baptized believers embracing a call to salvation. The church became a sort of cell group formula that practiced a communist form of government to radially change the known world and announce a new world order through the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Somehow over time church moved from representing people to being characterized as just places of worship. So we in the West go to church rather than becoming the church.
The kingdom on the other hand has evolved from being a physical utopia to a supernatural third dimension that is somehow replacing the church as the focus of God for supernatural conquest. So today, kingdom has become this modern buzz word for a "now" voice that secretly is taking over the authority of the church and replacing church order with kingdom principles. It has invaded the church like a plague infecting our thinking and changing our perspective in the marketplace, society, and even in worship.
Wow! How did we get so mixed up? It is almost like we were back in the days of the Judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The concept of kingdom really has its' roots in NT thinking rather than an OT economy. The Lord called Abram out to become a nation not a kingdom. He was to be the genesis to correct what Adam infected in the Garden through the cancer of sin into the world. The nation however, in its quest to be independent requested a king from Samuel, thus a kingdom. They moved from theocratic rule to representative authority. God was reduced from being sovereign over His people to just endorsing the democratic process. True, He did select one king, David, as a model king for the true king that would come, but He never established kingdom.
In fact, it was Jesus who first introduced us to the Kingdom of God as a real concept and it was misinterpreted what He announced it would represent. Jesus announced religious and social change in His day. He also stressed freedom from evil, oppression from demons, authority over nature, and a return to God as Father. In summary, a return to embracing God in a family sense, instead of a legal sense, with Father as the patriarch. Instead of the king being the authority, Jesus would introduce a kingdom where the King Jesus would be the representative authority of the Father's will on the earth.
So in order to have a real kingdom, one must enthrone Jesus as Lord and submit to the mandates established by Him on behalf of the Father and enforced by the Holy Spirit in word and deed. The kingdom then must be an individual transformation in thought and the church a collective reality in manifestation. I will continue the discussion next month. Shalom!
