What is the Kingdom of God, how do I get there, and how do I know it when I see it?
Russell Holloway, blog host
Last week described what God's kingdom is. This week will address how to enter His eternal kingdom—now.
Jesus provides an answer that is both specific and an apparent mystery.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again ... unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
~ John 3:3-6 (NKJV)
To be born again is to become a new creation, born by repentance into God's Holy Spirit as a place for Him to reside. God separates Himself from evil. Therefore we must repent of sin and be cleansed of sin by confessing Jesus as our risen-from-the-dead Lord—our Sovereign—so that He also becomes our Savior from sin.
God's will for His anointed kings is that they do battle to protect their people. King David is the paradigm for King Jesus. David began to save his people after he was anointed king, long before he received the throne. The most visible foe of Israel was Goliath, whose head David took, just as Jesus came to crush the head of Satan. King David went on to deliver Israel from the Philistines and all other enemies, just as King Jesus goes on to deliver us from all sin wherever He is invited to reign.
When we repent of sin and make Jesus our Lord, water baptism is the outward expression of having made this spiritual transaction with God. As we then yield to the Holy Spirit, He enters us and reproduces the Person of Jesus in us.
This might be seen in Jesus' birth, in the invitation Mary accepted. (See Luke 1:35.) When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, He creates a new life in us—the life of Christ—which grows and is eventually manifest to the world. We are then able to enter the kingdom of God because we belong to it. We are no longer citizens of Earth but of Heaven. We are adopted as sons and daughters of the Father Who is King.
Worldly subjects of our king are ruled by law. The heirs of God's kingdom, to whom it belongs, receive grace and are not subject to law. However, the King holds His own children to a higher standard than law, because we represent Him, His name, and the kingdom.
He is most jealous about the integrity of His Son's bride, whom we are.
More on that next week, in describing how we know the kingdom when we see it.
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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.
© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Thanks Anne :-)
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