The Kingdom Versus the Government of Man
Image by WikiImages from PixabayToday, the majority of all national and international problems facing our world stems from bad or poor government or religion. This includes global hunger, health epidemics, wars, terrorism, racial and ethnic conflicts, segregation, nuclear tension and economic uncertainty.
Throughout history, mankind's greatest challenge has been to learn how to live with himself and his neighbors. From Africa to Australia, Asia to Alaska, or Brazil to Botswana, the situation is always the same. There is tribal warfare, racial and ethnic conflicts as well as full-scale war woven into the story of mankind. This all progressed after man failed to listen and obey God's Word in the Garden. In all of these social and cultural expressions of mankind, the one thing that has always evolved was some kind of authority structure, a form of leadership or government mechanism to establish and maintain social order. To establish a social order, is to refrain from a choice society.
In a question that Jesus responded to concerning the signs of the end of the age, Jesus responded with this statement: Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:3-14
Notice, Jesus referred in verse 14 to the gospel of the Kingdom, not the good news. Why? Because the gospel of the Kingdom IS the good news. I want you to be aware, those signs which Jesus spoke of are the beginning of sorrows. It all is a process. In essence, there is much more to come.
We have many different leaders in that system that we call democracy or a republic, but in the Kingdom of God there is only one King and system (Kingdom). Please note: The need for government and order is inherent in the human spirit and is a manifestation of a divine mandate given to mankind by our Creator. Man was created to be a ruler and therefore it is his nature to seek some authority mechanism that would bring order to his private and social world. Government is necessary, desirable, and essential to mankind's social context no matter how primitive or modern. This is the key reason why man continues to search for an effective way to govern himself. The fruit of the Spirit, self-control, is essential to self govern. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Do you understand why Jesus made this statement? "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33 It is the governing of our King that makes the difference. His laws and His principles. It is all about our priorities.
Throughout history, mankind's greatest challenge has been to learn how to live with himself and his neighbors. From Africa to Australia, Asia to Alaska, or Brazil to Botswana, the situation is always the same. There is tribal warfare, racial and ethnic conflicts as well as full-scale war woven into the story of mankind. This all progressed after man failed to listen and obey God's Word in the Garden. In all of these social and cultural expressions of mankind, the one thing that has always evolved was some kind of authority structure, a form of leadership or government mechanism to establish and maintain social order. To establish a social order, is to refrain from a choice society.
In a question that Jesus responded to concerning the signs of the end of the age, Jesus responded with this statement: Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:3-14
Notice, Jesus referred in verse 14 to the gospel of the Kingdom, not the good news. Why? Because the gospel of the Kingdom IS the good news. I want you to be aware, those signs which Jesus spoke of are the beginning of sorrows. It all is a process. In essence, there is much more to come.
We have many different leaders in that system that we call democracy or a republic, but in the Kingdom of God there is only one King and system (Kingdom). Please note: The need for government and order is inherent in the human spirit and is a manifestation of a divine mandate given to mankind by our Creator. Man was created to be a ruler and therefore it is his nature to seek some authority mechanism that would bring order to his private and social world. Government is necessary, desirable, and essential to mankind's social context no matter how primitive or modern. This is the key reason why man continues to search for an effective way to govern himself. The fruit of the Spirit, self-control, is essential to self govern. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Do you understand why Jesus made this statement? "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33 It is the governing of our King that makes the difference. His laws and His principles. It is all about our priorities.
Remember, man's need for some kind of formal government structure is an outgrowth of his need for social order and relationship management. This need begins in the smallest prototype of society—the family—and extends all the way to the manifestation of national expressions of constitutional order. Nations need government.
In God's Constitution, the first book of Moses—Genesis--reveals that the first prototype of government was introduced by the Creator Himself long before the first human existed on earth. In fact it gives evidence of a governmental structure that pre-existed planet earth and the physical universe itself. Keep in mind, this expression of government structure was a result of a desire to bring order to chaos and productivity to emptiness. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:2-3
Here, in the Lord God's Constitution, we see that the impact of a divine, invisible, supernatural government was necessary because of disorder and chaos. Now you can understand that the purpose for government is to maintain productive order and management. Furthermore, the creation of mankind was also a result of disorder and the need for management. As you read more in the book of Genesis, you will find evidence of this as one of God's motives for creating Adam. This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. Genesis 2:4-6 The Lord God spoke it all into being. When the King speaks, it becomes law. Everything created was created by His Words!
Now from these verses, you will see that the Creator allowed no productive growth to take place on the planet earth because "there was no man to work the ground". The word "work" here implies management , administration, orderly development and making fruitful. One of the principle motives for the creation of man was to provide a manager, administrator and ruler of the planet earth. This is why the Creator God stated it in these words: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26
In the Kingdom of God, there aren't any bosses, but there are managers, leaders and representatives. Some are known as ambassadors, such as myself. The mandate of God for mankind was rulership and dominion, but never to dominate others.
Please note: The Hebrew word, manlakah, means "kingdom" or "sovereign rule" or government. Therefore, the first command given to man by his Creator was to establish a "government" on earth to destroy chaos and to maintain order. The government is God's solution to disorder. Because of disobedience (sin) to the Word of God in the garden of Eden, god's institution has been contaminated. Earthly governments are necessary because mankind does not self govern, lacking the fruit of the Spirit of self control!
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
In God's Constitution, the first book of Moses—Genesis--reveals that the first prototype of government was introduced by the Creator Himself long before the first human existed on earth. In fact it gives evidence of a governmental structure that pre-existed planet earth and the physical universe itself. Keep in mind, this expression of government structure was a result of a desire to bring order to chaos and productivity to emptiness. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:2-3
Here, in the Lord God's Constitution, we see that the impact of a divine, invisible, supernatural government was necessary because of disorder and chaos. Now you can understand that the purpose for government is to maintain productive order and management. Furthermore, the creation of mankind was also a result of disorder and the need for management. As you read more in the book of Genesis, you will find evidence of this as one of God's motives for creating Adam. This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. Genesis 2:4-6 The Lord God spoke it all into being. When the King speaks, it becomes law. Everything created was created by His Words!
Now from these verses, you will see that the Creator allowed no productive growth to take place on the planet earth because "there was no man to work the ground". The word "work" here implies management , administration, orderly development and making fruitful. One of the principle motives for the creation of man was to provide a manager, administrator and ruler of the planet earth. This is why the Creator God stated it in these words: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26
In the Kingdom of God, there aren't any bosses, but there are managers, leaders and representatives. Some are known as ambassadors, such as myself. The mandate of God for mankind was rulership and dominion, but never to dominate others.
Please note: The Hebrew word, manlakah, means "kingdom" or "sovereign rule" or government. Therefore, the first command given to man by his Creator was to establish a "government" on earth to destroy chaos and to maintain order. The government is God's solution to disorder. Because of disobedience (sin) to the Word of God in the garden of Eden, god's institution has been contaminated. Earthly governments are necessary because mankind does not self govern, lacking the fruit of the Spirit of self control!
W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
