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AN INTERACTIVE SUMMARY OF FROM FORGIVENESS TO THE KINGDOM
The following paragraphs are presented as a summary of From Forgiveness to the Kingdom. The review questions are designed to facilitate a clear comprehension of the thesis statements contained in that document. Click on the answer of your choice to determine the level of progress you are making in understanding the major points presented in this summary. For your convenience a link to the entire document is provided at the end of this lesson.
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)
We are turning a corner in Christian thinking. For two thousand years the Gospel has been presented as the means for gaining forgiveness of our sins, with a view to going to Heaven when we die. Now our eyes are being opened to what the Gospel really is about.
Let’s think for a moment about the grand plan.
We enter the program of salvation by receiving by faith the forgiveness of our sin, on the basis of the atonement made by the blood of Christ on the cross.
At this time we repent of our behavior in the world; are baptized in water; and are born again of the Spirit of God.
After this we are eligible to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
There are two major steps: first, the forgiveness of our sins and the new birth; second, the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
When we are baptized in water we take our place with Christ on the cross. Our first life is finished. Coming from the water means we have entered the resurrection of Christ and the ascension of Christ to the right hand of God. We arise to walk in newness of life. This is how we begin our life in the Kingdom of God.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we are baptized into the Body of Christ.
The first step gives us authority to enter the Kingdom of God. Man can meet God only at the cross.
The second step provides us with the wisdom and power to enter the Kingdom of God.
Authority, and then wisdom and power.
Review Question#1. Please click on the answer you think is correct.
What is the purpose of the two major steps we take when entering the program of salvation?
a. to become members of a church and to tell others about Jesus.
To be saved is to be kept from being destroyed in the Day of God’s wrath.
However, redemption includes more than this. Redemption is the work of gaining back what was lost to Satan in the beginning.
Three things have been lost to us because of our obedience to Satan:
The Presence of God.
Access to the Tree of Life.
Paradise.
We will not have been fully redeemed until we have regained the Presence of God, eternal life, and Paradise.
We can see immediately that forgiveness is but a means to an end. The Gospel forgives us that we may regain the Presence of God, access to the Tree of Life, and Paradise.
We have not been redeemed when we are forgiven. We have been saved from destruction in the Day of Wrath. Also, we are authorized to enter the plan of redemption.
There are the Presence of God, access to the Tree of Life, and Paradise. Now a fourth element has been added: the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the Divine means for regaining and maintaining the Presence of God, access to the Tree of Life, and Paradise.
This is why Paul never warned us concerning going to Heaven but concerning inheriting the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the issue.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; Idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
"Will not inherit the kingdom of God"! If we as a Christian continue to behave according to the desires of our sinful nature we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Nothing is said about not going to Heaven. Did you ever think about that?
Review Question #2. Please click on the answer you think is correct.
Define the word redemption in simple terms:
a. the work of gaining back what was lost to Satan in the beginning.
b. to be forgiven so we can go to Heaven when we die.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, (Isaiah 61:1)
This is the passage the Lord read in His local synagogue. The anointing by the Spirit of God is the "christing." It is this "christing" that establishes the Lord Jesus as the Anointed Deliverer.
His name is Jesus. His title is Christ, the Anointed One.
Notice that the ministry of Christ is not primarily to forgive people but to deliver them from the bondages place on them by Satan.
This is a very important point. The purpose of redemption is not primarily to forgive us. What good would that do? Our problem is spiritual bondage. Christ came from Heaven not only to forgive us but to deliver us from spiritual bondage.
The concept of deliverance cannot possibly be overemphasized in the present hour because of the massive weight of tradition that views the Gospel only as a means of gaining forgiveness.
To proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:2)
Again, the work of Christ is to bring people into the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God. Forgiveness is not mentioned.
Jesus read up to, but did not include, the phrase "and the day of vengeance of our God." The ministry of the Lord Jesus included casting out demons and healing the sick. However, "the day of vengeance of our God," which has to do with moral deliverance, with release from Satan’s power, had not come. Even the demons knew this and protested the coming of Jesus "before the time."
According to our understanding, "the day of vengeance of our God" has commenced. God is ready to exercise His anger against those spirits that have bound us and to remove them from us. The removal of unclean spirits is a major part of the work of redemption.
Review Question #3. Please click on the answer you think is correct.
Identify a major part of the work of redemption:
a. the removal of unclean spirits.
b. saving a lost and dying world.
There is a firstfruits of the Church, the Body of Christ. We see this in the nineteenth chapter of Revelation where the Bride appears prior to the thousand-year Kingdom Age, and then again after the thousand-year age in the form of the new Jerusalem.
These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) (Revelation 19:7,8)
We understand, therefore, that Christ, the exalted Head, will come to Zion, to the Church, and remove the works of Satan from her until she is composed of "oaks of righteousness." This does not mean oaks of imputed righteousness, but oaks of righteous behavior who have been made so by the power of Divine deliverance that destroys the works of Satan.
So here we have the Body, the Bride, without spot or wrinkle.
What comes next? What is next is the redemption of the nations of the earth. God so loves the world that He is not willing that the people perish but have eternal life. The Church, which is the Kingdom of God, the government of God, will be the source of eternal life for the nations. They will be as trees of life that will give forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who will receive, just as our Lord Jesus now gives forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who will receive.
"The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘come.’"
We have gone past the guard. We have been to the tool crib. Now the job commences. Notice the following:
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Isaiah 61:4)
Who are "they"? "They" are the oaks of righteousness. Here we find Israel, the Body of Christ, is rebuilding the earth.
How were the cities ruined?
The cities were ruined because Christ and the firstfruits of His Body descended from the air as an army and destroyed all the works of Antichrist.
Notice:
The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13)
When the Lord and His army go through the earth they will destroy the works of evil.
Review Question #4. Please click on the answer you think is correct.
How do we become "oaks of righteousness"?
b. by the power of Divine deliverance that destroys the work of Satan.
We, the members of Christ’s Body, are destined to serve mankind as priests.
And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. (Isaiah 61:6)
Notice below the final product of the work of redemption.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
So we see that the traditional view of the Gospel as being a means of forgiving us so we can go to Heaven when we die is only partially true at best.
Now, is it still true that the person who believes in Christ and is baptized shall be saved? Absolutely! He or she will be spared in the Day of God’s wrath and brought into the program of redemption.
Is it still true that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Absolutely! The Holy Spirit gives us the wisdom and power so we can gain victory over sin, so we can build up ourselves and the other members of the Body of Christ, and so we can show forth the moral light of God’s righteousness and praise.
Is it still true that we are to seek the ministries and gifts of the Spirit? Absolutely! These are the tools from the tool crib by means of which we are to redeem ourselves and others.
What, then, is different? The difference is that now we understand why we have been given the authority of the blood and the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. We realize the task we are facing and why the Scriptures make the statements they do.
For example:
Have you thought much about the following passage from Isaiah?
For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. (Isaiah 60:12)
Does the above mean anything to you? No? Why not? It is part of the Bible, isn’t it?
"But I thought that verse had something to do with the Jews."
No, it is speaking of the Church being served by the people of the world. Do you remember this passage?
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. (Isaiah 61:5)
"But does the New Testament teach anything like that?"
Of course.
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. (Revelation 21:6)
Who are the nations?
The nations are the saved people on the earth.
Into precisely what shall the glory and honor of the nations be brought?
Into the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb, the Christian Church, the Body of Christ, God’s Israel.
Review Question#5. Please click on the answer you think is correct.
For what task has the Church been given the authority of the blood and the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit?
a. to serve mankind as priests.
b. to receive a mansion in Heaven.
Return to Interactive Summary Study Series Main Page
Source Document:
From Forgiveness to the Kingdom
Copyright © 2002 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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