January 15, 2008

"Kingdom Living"

As Pastor Al mentioned Sunday, “The Gospel According to Matthew” has a theme of  “The King” and "His kingdom". If you were to do a cursory reading of Matthew and take note of the way Matthew develops this theme, you will find that in the genealogy of Jesus it is pointed out that his ancestor David was a "king" (Matt. 1:6). King Herod feels threatened by Jesus as "King of the Jews" (Matt. 2:2). John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus preaching that "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2), and even the defeated one tempted Christ with the "kingdoms of the world" (Matt. 4:8-9). This idea of a "King" and "His kingdom" must be important.

When Matthew turns his attention to the beginning of Jesus' earthy ministry, we find that Jesus began by preaching that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matt. 4:17). To take this further, Jesus even bookends the beatitudes with the promise of the "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3 and 5:10). It might be helpful to consider "the King" and "His Kingdom".

Who is the king? The king is Jesus. This king came not in violent power, but in the power of the Spirit giving life, "teaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people" (Matt. 4:23)

Who belongs in this kingdom? We know from scripture that at the time of salvation a believer is placed "in the kingdom of Christ" (Col. 1:13). Jesus is a righteous ruler whose subjects operate in a ‘new kingdom reality’ that sharply changes the way we live with one another and with the world. Our actions as members of the Kingdom of God should be seen as a visible manifestation of God’s rule in our lives.

Because ‘kingdom living’ is a manifestation of a ‘kingdom mindset,’ it is important to often return to Christ’s ‘Kingdom Manifesto’, the beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12). Over the next few weeks, join us as we think over the beatitudes and consider what ‘kingdom living’ really is.