The Kingdom of God Wed. - Oct. 27, 2004
Here's a statement that's going to rub some the wrong way: Man was not created to spend eternity in heaven:
Man was created to spend eternity here on earth in the Garden of Eden. That was God's plan when He created the Garden. Eden was a kingdom and Adam was its king. But he lost it all when he sinned.
God's plan of salvation was prepared from the foundation of the world. That plan was to restore God's kingdom back to man. The kingdom was lost by the first Adam and restored by the Second Adam, Jesus.
Matt. 25:34 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world".
The Kingdom of God has been around a lot longer than the earth has.
We Christians are abiding our time, we can't wait to get to heaven to see our mansion and to walk on streets of gold.
But God is waiting for us to wake up to the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. When Jesus came He brought the Kingdom with Him.
While He was on earth He demonstrated the Kingdom of God by healing, delivering people from demons, raising people from the dead. Those were signs and wonders that were to make men want to be part of the Kingdom.
Jesus was and is the Door to the Kingdom. Our job is to tell others about this kingdom and demonstrate it by doing the same works Jesus did. When they want it so bad they can taste it we lead them to the Door, Jesus.
I. Psalm 115:15-16, KJV: Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
From the NIV: May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.
The Message Bible: May you be blessed by GOD, by GOD, who made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven of heavens is for GOD, but he put us in charge of the earth.
II. When God created the heavens and earth He was in the business of delegating authority.
Gen. 1:18, "And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
A. Laws of Nature:
a. The sun and moon were "To rule" over the day and night. He delegated authority to the sun and moon to rule, or reign overnight and day.
b. This is a law set into place at the time of creation.
c. There are many laws built-in to creation by God. The world calls them "natural" laws.
d. The thing that is unique about "Laws" is that we can't see them, only the results of them.
1. The Law of gravity. What goes up must come down.
2. The Law of motion. To every force, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
3. There are Laws of heat (thermodynamics). Touch fire you'll be burned. Touch your tongue to a piece of metal in freezing weather and you will stay in place for a while.
4. Other laws have to do with magnetism, electricity & mechanics.
II. Besides the natural laws God also established a kingdom on earth and delegated authority to Adam & Eve.
A. Gen. 1:25-27, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
B. Dominion = (according to Strong's Hebrew Dict.) to rule, to take, to prevail, to reign. To dominate, tread down, to subjugate (to bring under complete control, to master conquer & master).
From the Amplified Bible, "God said, Let Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them."
C. Man was both created and made.
a. In verse 26, Let us make man". In verse 27, "So God created man".
b. The Hebrew word for "make" means to form from something that already existed. Something tangible, that you can feel and see.
1. God used dirt to make Adam.
c. The word for "create" means to make something from nothing. Or, at least nothing that you can be seen or felt.
3. Gen. 2:7, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul"
L The Bible tells us that God is a spirit.
g. Man received his spirit directly from God when God breathed life into Adam.
4. Man received everything from God. God is our source for spirit, soul, and body.
a. "Source" in Hebrew is the word, Abba, or Father.
b. So, God is the Father of all mankind.
III. Go back to Gen. 1, Verse 26. God didn't say, "Let US have dominion".
A. God said, "Let THEM have dominion. Who is "them"?
1. Adam and Eve.
2. God delegated His authority to Adam & Eve.
3. Adam & Eve were given the "power of attorney" to act on God's behalf on earth.
a. God owns the earth. He just gave man a lease agreement with legal authority to rule it.
4. Adam and Eve were the only two given that legal authority on earth.
a. The devil didn't have the legal authority to do anything.
b. That's why the devil had to work through a serpent, in order to be legal he needed a body through.
B. Here is another one that may surprise some people:
1. Two of the most important words in the Bible are in verse 26.
a. They are the 2 words following "after our likeness", The 2 words are, "Let them".
b. When God spoke those words at the time of creating man, He established a law that gives to man, and only man, the authority to exercise dominion and control over the earth.
c. If God had said, "Let us", He would have given Himself access to earth. He would have ruled with man on earth.
d. Instead He used the words "Let them" Or "Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and overall the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth".
e. When God speaks, His words become law, even to God Himself. He can't break His word and He can't break His law without destroying His integrity.
1. Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"
2. Our faith is based on the fact that God's Word is true.
3. If there was one little "jot or tittle" not true in God's word then you might as well throw the whole thing out as being a lie.
4. But God is not a man that he should lie. His Word was true at Creation, His Word is true now and His Word will be true for all of eternity.
f. When God made the statement, "Let them have dominion", He established the law that the only being on earth with legal authority to rule is a man with a body.
g. God is a Spirit. He locked Himself out of the earth as a Spirit without a Body.
VI. Man is a spirit living in a body.
1. God delegated His authority to man to rule and have dominion over the earth.
2. That's why God can't do anything on earth without the cooperation of a human. a. By the same token, neither can the devil.
3. Man is God's legal agent on earth. God has access to earth through man.
4. If God wanted to He could have fixed things from the very beginning when Adam fell.
5. He could have just wiped out everything and everyone and said, "Let's try it again".
6. But God is love.
a. 'He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2Peter 3:9)
VII. God could not stop the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden because God is true to His Word.
1. If He had interfered it would have been illegal because God is a Spirit.
a. So Adam fell and lost his rulership over the kingdom.
b. God had a plan to restore the kingdom back to man but He needed a body to get His will done on earth.
c. So His Word became flesh and came to earth as the Second Adam in Jesus Christ.
2. Man was supposed to have authority and rule over the plants and resources of the earth.
1. But since the fall of Adam, it's been turned around. In too many cases man is being ruled by the earth.
a. Hemp weed for marijuana, Coca leaves for cocaine, poppies for heroin, tobacco, grapes, and grains used to make wine and liquors.
b. Meth, fentanyl, and other drugs are made from chemicals that come from minerals and plants of the earth. All these things bring man under a controlling spirit of addiction.
c. If it isn't drugs or alcohol we have people who worship nature as God. They think more highly of a baby buzzard than they do of a baby in a womb.
d. Man is supposed to rule over himself, his passions, lusts & greed. But instead, men become slaves of those things too.
2. God had a plan for man to reverse the situation. It was a kingdom coming back to earth. It would restore man's authority and give him the legal right to rule over the earth again. Jesus was to bring that kingdom to earth.
a. Jesus was preceded by John the Baptist. John prepared the way for Jesus to come and make a way for men to enter the Kingdom.
b. Matthew 3:1, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"
c. Jesus was baptized by John began His ministry. He was tempted in the desert by the devil.
d. He defeated him with the Word of God and then went about preaching the Gospel.
e. What was the first message Jesus preached? L Was it, you must be born again? No.
g. You must be baptized? No.
h. You must speak in tongues? No.
i. You must prophesy, heal the sick, and cast out devils? No.
3. The first message Jesus preached and the one He preached the most was about the Kingdom of God.
a. Jesus announced it wherever He went.
b. Most of the parables were teaching the Kingdom of God.
IV. Adam and Eve reigned in a kingdom until they rebelled against God.-
A. All of the earth was a "kingdom" created by God and ruled by Adam and Eve.
1. In this earthly Kingdom man was created to rule over fish of the sea, birds of the air, cattle, and all the resources of the earth.
2. Even every creeping thing. That includes the devil and his evil spirits.
3. Man was God's representative of Heaven on earth. Adam & Eve manifested the Shekinah glory of God on earth until they sinned. They lost the glory and became naked.
V. God created man to be a king and priest.
1. Rev. 1:6, "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
2. Rev. 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth"
5. Adam was both, a king and a priest. He was ruler over the kingdom of earth and as a priest, he fellowshipped with God.
6. Adam lost his kingdom and his priesthood by rebelling against God.
B. God's plan has been to restore the Kingdom back to man.
C. He chose a people to accomplish this. He chose the Jews.
D. People ask: Why did God choose the Jews?
1. Some people resent the idea that God chose a particular people. Especially for choosing the Jews.
a., After all, they have gone through, the Jews have probably wondered the same thing.
2. We have to remember, God chose one man, Abraham because of his faith.
3. The Jews descended from Abraham. Dent. 7:7, "The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers"
4. God wanted to reveal Himself to the world and He chose the line of Abraham to do it.
a. After the flood the world drifted away from the knowledge of God. They worshiped the sun, the moon & stars, the earth, animals, and carved images.
b. God wanted the people to know Him so He chose a people, the Jews, to do three things:
1. They were to write down and preserve God's revelation of Himself to mankind. They did that with precision and dedication. We have the results of their work in the Bible.
2. They were to display God's character by living holy lives. The word "holy" means separate or different. They were to live their lives differently than the pagan nations of the world. To accomplish this God gave the Jews various laws dealing with morals, religion, and society.
3. God knew the Jews wouldn't be able to keep all of the laws. So God came into the world Himself through the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus would fulfill every law and bring the Good News to the world that God was restoring the Kingdom of God back to man.
VI. When God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt they camped at the base of Mt. Sinai.
1. God told Moses to say to the people, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)
2. That was Israel's job assignment from God. They were supposed to bring the King of kings into the world and reign with Him in His kingdom here on earth.
a. Israel did bring Jesus into the world through the line of David.
3. When Jesus was born He was recognized as the Messiah by shepherds.
a. He was recognized by the Wise men who came from the east.
b. There came a time when Joseph & Mary went to the Temple to dedicate Jesus to God as their firstborn Son. A man there named Simeon recognized the baby Jesus as the Messiah.
c. Then at the same time a woman named Anna recognized Him as Messiah.
d. Later as Jesus grew to be a Man He was recognized by John the Baptist as Messiah.
e. After Jesus had gathered His disciples, Peter recognized Him as the Messiah.
f. But when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem the Pharisees only recognized Him as a troublemaker.
g. Since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, there has never been a more important day in the world than the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was rejected by the Pharisees.
VII. About 100 years ago an Englishman by the name of Sir Robert Anderson was a student of the Bible and was very well informed on prophecy.
A. He was a former head of Scotland Yard so he didn't leave anything to guesswork.
1. Everything he did was documented.
2. He wrote a book called "The Coming Prince", referring to Jesus.
3. He figured that from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem after Babylon destroyed it, it would be 173,880 days. History records the time of the command. It was given by the Persian king Artaxerxes on March 14,445 B.C.
6. Sir Robert Anderson figured it up. A lot of factors had to be figured in such as days for leap years, etc.
7. But 173,880 days from March 14, 445 B.C. brings it up to March 14, 32 A.D.
C. Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass".
1. That is an Old Testament prophecy telling about the coming of the Messiah. Notice it says, "Behold THY King cometh unto thee."
2. He was not coming in royal splendor as you would expect a king to come.
3. He was coming in humility. He was coming as a Lamb ready for slaughter. (Philippian 2:5-8)
D. The common people recognized Jesus as the Messiah. In Luke 19:38-40: 38 they were saying, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."
8. March 14, 32 A. D. was THE day for the world to accept Jesus as King of His Kingdom here on earth. It was then that Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, in fulfillment of scripture.
9. The Pharisees had plenty of prophecies that pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. Even down to Jesus riding the donkey. However, they rejected and crucified Him instead.
10. If they had accepted Jesus as the Messiah that day, Jesus would have entered the Temple to begin His reign on earth as King of kings.
11. Then, the devil would have been bound in hell for 1000 years and at the end of 1000 years would have been thrown into the Lake of Fire.
12. Here is what it would have been like if Jesus had been accepted as King and Messiah:
1. Rev. 20:1-3, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.".
13. That's yet to happen. But if Jesus had been accepted that day of March 14, 32 A.D. there would have been 1000 years of Him reigning as King in His Kingdom on earth.
1. That means by the time we came along, the 1000 year reign would have been over, the devil would have been long gone. Heaven and earth would have been renovated by fire and today we would be living in the New Jerusalem.
VIII. In closing: before the fall, Adam and Eve were clothed in Light. It was the Shekinah glory Of God. Adam and Eve were God's only legal agents on earth who were permitted to wear the glory of God. They expressed God's glory to the rest of creation. When they sinned they lost the glory and became naked.
1. God's plan is to restore man back into the Kingdom of God where the shekinah glory is.
2. When Jesus came to earth as the Word of God clothed in flesh, He brought the Kingdom of God with Him.
a. His first message was, "The kingdom of God is at hand." In other words, "Here am I and I brought the Kingdom of God with me."
b. Before Jesus came the world was a kingdom of darkness. He came as a beacon of Light to light the way for everyone to enter His kingdom of Light.
c. That's what Isaiah meant when he said, "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you." Isaiah 60: 1-2
Finally: Philippians 3:20 says, “ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (NKJV)
We may be here on earth but in reality, in the spiritual realm where it really matters, we are living in the Kingdom of God.
Our Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) is to let others know about the Kingdom of God. I pray that you have a better understanding of it today and as you leave here today you will be confident in spreading the good news about the Kingdom of God!
