6 The Big Picture

 What does it matter if we study about the Kingdom of God?

Two deer hunters were very excited to have bagged a large 16 point buck but because the arrow had not hit its intended mark, the beast had travelled deeper into the woods before it died. This made it very difficult to field dress it, so the hunters were trying to pull out of the woods and closer to an access road. 

As they were huffing and puffing and straining to drag the large animal, another hunter happened by and whistled saying "wow, that's a beaut...!" and then he noted their struggle saying, "It's probably none of my business but it would be a lot easier for you if drag it out by its head instead of its hind legs so that you're not pulling against its fur."

The other two hunters looked at each other and rolled their eyes replying, "Thanks for your advice, but we ain't going that way"

When it comes to methods of understanding the Bible, it is easy to get overwhelmed by its size and scope. If we try to study it without having the right grasp of the big picture, then it is a lot like dragging a 16 point buck out of the woods by its hind legs. It makes it a lot harder than it needs to be.

The purpose of these posts is to show you a better way of seeing how all of its stories, its poetry, its history fits together into a cohesive whole. A wrong approach makes it a heavy lift and can create a lot of confusion about who God is and why the world is the way that it is. 

Likewise, there will be confusion regarding the role of His church. Has the church replaced Israel? Have all of the blessings described for them in the Old Testament been forfeited and now given to the church?

The most direct answer to this question is given by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

"I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. ..." 

Romans 11:1-2 KJV

So, why does the church exist?

Perhaps 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 provides one of the best explanations of the church's purpose in all of scripture. It reads:

"And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

The message is fairly simple, God wants to reconcile each of us back to Himself. This implies that both Jew and Gentile are in need of this. The only way that reconciliation to God can happen is through the one who was without sin but made Himself sin for us. 

When the Lord Jesus was accused, tried and wrongfully convicted of being a sinner and a rebel against Rome, He became sin in order to pay the penalty for even those who persecuted Him. This was done in order for even those that make Him an enemy could be made righteous when they repented (i.e. changed their mind about Jesus) and received Him as their Savior. 

Perhaps, you have a mistaken idea about who Jesus is and what He has done. Like the rest of us, you have likely asked why the world is so evil if God is really in control. When we look at the various answers given to explain this dilemma, it is hard to find one that makes a lot of sense.

The best place to start is with the Lord's answer when He simply states:

"Come unto me all of you who labor (are working hard to understand) and you are heavily burdened (to find the truth of getting right with God) and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, (work with me) and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." 

Matthew 11:28, 29 KJV

In order to understand God's plan and purpose, It is essential to start by trusting that Jesus is the only one who can give us the answers that we long for. It starts by admitting to God that you (and I) have sinned and rebelled against God. 

When each of us thanks God for sending Jesus to pay for my sins, it gives each of us the truth and assurance of forgiveness that we so desperately long for. Once we are reconciled to God, it becomes a whole lot easier to understand why the world is the way that it is and what God is doing about it. 

Does there have to be an Earthly Kingdom?

In the last post, we considered that approaching Bible study is a lot like putting a puzzle together. It starts with looking at the big picture on the box. Then we find the corner pieces and then we identify the border pieces. We must keep looking back at the big picture on the puzzle box for clues as to how all of the pieces fit together.

Grasping the big picture starts with the story of creation in Genesis. There we read of all that God created in six days before resting on the seventh day. God called it all very good. This is because God is good and He is good all of the time.

On the sixth day, God created humans as male and female and God set them over His creation to care for it, keep it as God intended it to be and to make it flourish as an interconnected web of blessing.

Our first parents were given the role of administering God's kingdom on His behalf. As we will see, their role as ministers was usurped by deceit. The man and the woman lost their place and the kingdom was made subject to decay and corruption.

The big picture that we must keep referring to is how God is working to re-establish that kingdom role back to mankind so that His creation is restored to what He first intended it to be. 

Human history can then be seen as the outworking of God’s justice to not only reestablish the kingdom back to where it was lost, but also to populate it with redeemed and loyal subjects.

We considered the four corners of our puzzle define why an earthly Kingdom is necessary. It is because:

• God is good and He is good all of the time. This is the basis for our restoration back to God. His goodness is revealed in the person of Christ as our Savior.
• God is faithful. His promise of salvation is as secure as His covenant that He makes.
• God is just. If a thief steals diamonds and he/she is caught, convicted and sentenced, does he/she get to keep the diamonds? Even so, the kingdom was stolen from God through Adam by the devil. The Kingdom must be restored when the devil is caught, convicted and sentenced to prison.
• God is omnipotent. He must be proclaimed victorious in the very arena in which His goodness was treasonously brought into question.

What is the role for the church in this?

If The church forgets what God has called her to, she will be confused about the message she is called to deliver. We are called to a future where we reign with Christ on the earth as kings. This is confirmed in Revelation 20:6 where we are informed about those who are in the first resurrection. (compare Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15) They (we) shall reign with Christ for 1000 years. 

In Ephesians 1:11-14, The apostle Paul teaches those in the church that: We are called to BE the revelation of the glory of God in Christ!!

Therefore we are training in this life for reigning in the coming Kingdom. We are to be to the praise of God's glory both now and forever. i.e. we are to live victoriously and bring light to the darkness - neither of which can be done successfully apart from unimpeded fellowship with Him.

It is often heard from those invited to hear the gospel that they won't go because the church is full of hypocrites. This is like a sick person saying that they will not go to the hospital because it is full of sick people. It misses the point that, like a hospital which has resources to heal the physical body, the church also has resources for promoting healing to those that are spiritually sick and dying.

It is important to distinguish the Local Church from the Universal Church. The local church is a hospital for those sickened by sin. Some in it have been healed and some have not. On the other hand, the Universal Church is composed only of those that believe in Christ and have received His healing touch of forgiveness. 

As such, the confusion that exists in the church concerning the kingdom and other matters often delays healing and keeps our souls weakened by our natural inclinations to sin. In such a condition we are prevented from receiving the full benefit of the Lord's healing Word.

The reality is that the local church is not a part of God's kingdom, but the universal church will be. For this reason, the local church is not even a part of the universal church... it is not a part of anything. It exists for three reasons: to glorify God, to equip the saints; to preach the gospel. 

In order to promote spiritual health, we need to consider the local church's role of equipping the saints. This series of posts assert that every error promoted in the church today can be traced back to a faulty theology of the Kingdom of God.

In our next post, we will consider what it means to be ambassadors of the coming Kingdom.

SMC