The King and His Kingdom

Eph.2:19-22 - Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Yes we were strangers from the covenants of God, but we also were His enemies. Walking in self righteous rebellion, we were dead in our sins and ambivalent about our Creator. We were consumed with us and our desires and we were on a daily journey to satisfy our own lusts. And even today believers sniff at scraps which many times do damage to the gospel. Debating over we should teach creationism in our fallen school systems is counterproductive. Have we won anything if someone acknowledges a design in creation? Is that what Christ dispatched us to share?

But after we came to faith in the Lord Jesus, we were made a part of His own household. We now are citizens of a different kingdom, one with a different message and a different King. But so often we walk according to the dictates of this fallen kingdom. So often we behave as if something eternal can be accomplished by repainting the culture with legislation and political leverage. So often we succumb to battling on the world’s terms.

But the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Why? Because our war is not with flesh and blood, but with evil principalities and wicked spirits. And our divine command is to spread the good news of redemption to a lost and dying world. Can we afford to get entangled with the things of this world? If we are about our Father’s business, how can we be about the business of this present evil world? There is a freedom which sets the captive free and allows the spirit to soar above the carnal fray. It is found in the shadow of the Almighty and under the intimate safety of His might wings. When we abide in Him we will quickly lose interest in the carnal battles which imprison so many who profess His name.

The mystery continues. We are part of a holy temple that is formed as an inhabitation for the Spirit of God Himself. Individually and collectively. There is something very disarming about such a thought. That THE Holy God would desire to live within us is unnerving and confounding. It is a sacred mystery that speaks to the eternal love of God and His redemptive plan. As cars drive past church buildings people recognize those buildings as places of worship. But as people come in contact with us, do they recognize the presence of Christ and us as His epistles?

But let us be clear about something extremely significant. In the days preceding the coming of the Lord Jesus there will be massive signs. And though the church has played games with the rapture, the catching away, that event is colossal in nature and will be a time of judgment for believers. The church has by and large dismissed the consequences of facing Christ as a believer and we have embraced the “I made it to heaven” monologue without addressing the accountability which must be rendered on that day.

Yes, we are saved completely by grace through faith, but that does not eliminate the Scriptural teachings concerning the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat. Why are the pulpits silent on this issue? Why do we live as though our heavenly ticket is punched and we are responsible for nothing? We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, but one day we will stand before our King. And although we are His child, we must give an account for the life we led. We will suffer loss.

About fifty years ago in a small, rural town in upstate New York, a mother gave birth to twin boys. They had flaming red hair like their father, and the entire town was excited since no twins had been born there for decades. The boys grew to be about one year old and they were the darlings of the town. One afternoon their mother put them down for their afternoon nap and hurried to the next door neighbor to borrow some flour. The house was several football fields away. As the mother stood on the front porch and spoke with her neighbor, across the field a billow of smoke began to rise from her own house.

She screamed and ran back to her house, but before she could get there the first floor was engulfed in flames. The mother attempted to enter the house but some men from an adjacent field had seen the smoke and came running and now were preventing her from killing herself. The two red headed boys died in those flames. Well, the entire town, even though the twin boys were not their own, suffered as if they belonged to everyone. The town suffered a great loss which was felt for many, many years.

How much more loss will we suffer when we stand before Him and agonize over an uncrucified life that was lived according to this world and our own flesh? The challenge is this: Whose kingdom are we serving, and which King will we stand before some day?