KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

Jesus Christ has been chosen by heaven to the high office of Universal King. The collected wisdom of the universe has cast its vote, and elected Jesus Christ to be King over this earth and all things. "A crown was given unto Him" (Rev. 6:2). "We see Jesus ... crowned" (Heb. 2:9). "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns" (Rev. 19: 11-12). God says to the earth, "Behold My servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the nations" (Isa. 42:1). Addressing His chosen, the Almighty says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Heb. 1:8). Heaven has declared, "of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (Isa. 9:7). The voice of omnipotence proclaims, "I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron... be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth" (Ps. 1:6-10).

The choice of heaven, praise God! is ultimately to be the choice of the whole earth. He whom the Almighty Father has selected to be King over this earth, is enthroned and crowned, and every knee in the whole earth, yea, in the entire universe is going to bow in ratification of heaven's choice. This glorious One, who is the well-beloved of heaven, in whom the Great Godhood is well-pleased, about whose feet the swelling feelings of the innumerable angelic throngs roll in great billows of delight, this Person we are to crown in this earth as its supreme Sovereign. Blessed be His glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen.

Consider for a moment, what the heavenly messenger said to Mary, the mother of Jesus. "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great ... and the LORD GOD shall give unto Him the THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID: and He shall REIGN over the house of Jacob forever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end" (Lk. 1:31-33). Jesus was BORN TO RULE. He was born to REIGN over the nations of earth. Remember what He said to Pontius Pilate? "Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a KING then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a KING. TO THIS END WAS I BORN, and for this CAUSE came I into the world" (Jn. 18:37).

I declare to you today that the King reigns, and that the King is coming. The dawning of His coming in that eastern sky is beginning to fill the world with light. From Zion's lofty heights you shall hear increasingly the watchmen cry that the King is coming. God has raised up in the earth in these dark days at the end of the age an elect body, a herald, to proclaim the supremacy of the Kingdom of God and the absolute submission of all kings, rulers, nations and men to its rule. In the eleventh chapter of the Revelation at the fifteenth verse is one of the most remarkable statements ever written or spoken. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." "The kingdoms of this world ARE become." That is the word! It is not SHALL become, but there is a point at which the "voices in heaven," the proclamation of a people who DWELL IN THE HEAVENLIES, proclaim that the Kingdom of God has gotten the upper hand in the world. There is a time when there is an authoritative decree from God's heavenly people, His Zion company, His kings and priests after the order of Melchizedek to that effect. "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and He shall reign for ever and ever."

It is my deep conviction that the proclamation the seventh angel is sounding in heaven is causing voices to be heard ringing throughout celestial realms and impacting the earth with that wonderful fiat, "the kingdoms of this world ARE become ... " It is not that the kingdoms of this world, the powers of this age have been obliterated. It means that the reigns of power have been taken possession of by God's sons. That is to say that the Christ has been enthroned in this world in His elect body of sons as King of kings and Lord of lords. As the authority of God's Kingdom is developed in the enchristed ones, the herald sounds forth proclaiming that the King is come, and all realms must stand at attention before Him.

I will now take an illustration from ordinary life. Supposing that Queen Elizabeth II of England were to die today. May God grant that she shall continue to live. But if Queen Elizabeth were to die today you would see a very strange scene. Before more than a very few minutes had passed, the declaration would be made solemnly in the chamber of death that the Queen was dead. In a moment the high officers of state would turn about and salute the King. The heir-apparent would become the monarch in a moment, but before he had ever assumed the reins of power; before he had ever issued a proclamation of any kind; before he had committed a single royal act as the successor of his mother as the King of Great Britain and the Commonwealth; before he had ever done one thing as the great ruler of 75,000,000 people, a strange thing would happen.

There would issue from the Royal Palace, in peculiar garments, a number of men called heralds. The Chief Herald would march at the head, and they would go into the street in the historic part of London, in front of the steps of an imposing edifice. They would stand there with their long silver trumpets, and the Garter King at Arms would cause them to blow seven times. Then he would declare: "The Queen is dead. Long live the King!" His proclamation would be the first legal proclamation of the reign of Charles Philip, the present Prince of Wales, as the King of Great Britain and the Commonwealth of nations over all the lands and seas. It would not be because the Garter King at Arms was greater than the King, but because the law of England demands that his proclamation shall be set forth in a particular way. Only one man in all the kingdom can do it, and only certain heralds under his command can accompany him. That man is the man appointed by law and by centuries of custom as the Announcer of the death of the Queen and the reign of the new King. The King must BE King, and his Kingship must be proclaimed, BEFORE his authority and rule becomes evident.

Now somebody must proclaim that the Kingdom of God is come in the latter days. Somebody must proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom. Somebody must announce the King and His Kingdom. Some Voice must demand the obedience of all men and all nations to that Kingdom. The moment that the herald proclaims it the world becomes the Kingdom of our God and His Christ. For a number of years now by the spirit of revelation I have heard the PROPHETIC VOICE of God's Spirit-anointed remnant heralding with unmistakable clarity and authority the message that the hour is come for every king and every president and every ruler and every system of man and every people and kindred and tongue and nation on the face of the whole earth to hear the word of the Lord and to OBEY THE KING. The proclamation of the power and authority and triumph of the Kingdom of God has issued forth from the heavens, and the hour is wonderfully near at hand when the Lord shall roar out of Zion and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord and all kindreds shall serve Him. The nations must now listen to the Voice which rings from Zion, and bow before that Voice and say, "We will serve the King." The gates of the Kingdom are opening wide. The stage is all set for the coronation of the King over the kingdoms of this world. The King is coming! He is coming to be glorified IN HIS SAINTS and they in Him. The hour is at hand. The time is at hand to enter into the fullness of His life.

The focus of the New Testament is upon Christ and His Kingdom. When John the Baptist announced the Messiah's approach two thousand years ago, every thing concurred to give weight to his testimony. Guided by the signs of the times, and by the chronological predictions of the prophets, expectation was everywhere awake for the first sound of Messiah's footsteps. From all parts of the country they flocked to the man of God, who cried alone in the wilderness, "Repent ye! for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make His paths straight." With profound and breathless attention the motley group listened to the exciting tidings; and harsh as were his accents, rougher though some of his speeches were than the camel hair garment which he wore, they gladly received them and were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Presently the Lord Himself appears upon the stage; and John the Baptist, having dutifully fulfilled his role as the herald of the Messiah, retired and was little more heard of. Thus heralded, the Lord's ministry opened with every advantage; and vast crowds followed Him, as they had John, "trusting that it was HE who was to redeem Israel - saving them from their enemies, and from the hand of all that hated them."

Israel was looking for the Messiah to come and deliver them from ROME! They looked for Him to come with the glamour and pomp and power of an earthly Potentate, with the flashing of swords and the snapping heels of His army, to deliver them from their enemies and from the hands of all who oppressed them. They wanted a glorious, wealthy kingdom with prestige and honor for themselves. The prophets had plainly declared that a deliverer would come out of Zion. There could be no mistake about that, but their unregenerate hearts did not understand that the first work of the great Redeemer would be to deliver them from the curse of their sins and to transform their wicked hearts by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which deliverance could only be accomplished by the shedding of His precious blood and the renewing of the Holy Ghost within them. What value would it have been had the Saviour come only to deliver them from the power and authority of Rome if there was to be no change in their hearts? God's word is full of accounts of His mighty acts of deliverance on their behalf, but no sooner were they delivered from their enemies than they utterly corrupted themselves and forsook the Lord.

The book of Judges records how Israel corrupted themselves utterly before the Lord. The study of the book of Judges is the study of the utter depravity of the human heart. Again and again, over and over, time after time, repeatedly, the cycle goes on and on... "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord... and the Lord raised them up judges...the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge ... and it came to pass, when the judge was dead that they corrupted themselves more than their fathers ... and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord ... and the Lord raised them up judges ... and the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hands of their enemies all the days of the judge ... and it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they corrupted themselves more than their fathers ... and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... the children of Israel cried unto the Lord... and the Lord raised them up judges..." DO YOU GET THE PICTURE? How unmistakably evident that it was not their enemies from whom they needed deliverance - they needed deliverance FROM THEMSELVES! Their great problem was that they continually cried unto the Lord because of the oppression of the king of Mesopotamia, or the Moabites, or the Canaanites, or the Midianites, or the Ammonites, or the Philistines; BUT NEVER ONCE DID THEY CRY MIGHTILY UNTO GOD BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN DESPERATELY WICKED AND REBELLIOUS HEARTS! How like human nature that is!

The corruption of the human heart is incredible beyond words to express and it would have been completely useless had the Lord sent His Son to be the deliverer of His people while leaving their wicked hearts unchanged and their carnal natures undestroyed. The men of Israel could have believed in Jesus as their Saviour from the Romans. As their Saviour from their sins they could not believe in Him, for they loved their sins. The King of heaven came to offer them a share in His Kingdom; but they were not poor in spirit, and the Kingdom of Heaven was not for them. Gladly would they have inherited the earth; but they were not meek, and the earth was for the humble children of the perfect Father. The whole problem with Israel as a nation in the days of Christ was that they were unconverted. There was no birth from above. There was no new heart and no new spirit placed within by which men are transformed into new creatures and conformed into the image of God. They wanted the Christ to come and rule from without over their outward enemies, but they had no desire for Him to march triumphantly into their inner life to deliver them from the kings of corruption and idolatry that ruled upon the throne of their hearts. They wanted deliverance from ROME, but were uninterested in the cleansing of their own domain.

The same crowd is all about us today. They want deliverance from the government, from persecution, from communism, from the antichrist, from the trilateral commission, from the banking system, from the council on foreign relations, from the Jews and the vast political conspiracies that are steadily pushing the world into a nightmare of godlessness. But I do not hesitate to tell you that none of these are the problem. The most powerful kings that rule in the world today are those that rule inwardly - and it is only as the Kingdom of God takes its rightful place in our lives, that these kings are subdued and brought to naught. In the soul-realm we have the dominant king of self-will, which has usurped control and ridden roughshod over the ways of God. There are religious kings of static dogmas and creeds, traditions and commandments of men. There are kings of passion, bringing the dominion of the flesh. Emotions which usurp unholy sway over people. There are kings of ruling thoughts and imaginations which exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. But, praise God! there is a King who is mounted on a snow-white charger (Rev. 6: 2), the prophetic symbol of righteous conquest and dominion. This means victory! The Old Roman conquerors, when celebrating a brilliant conquest, rode down the avenues of the Imperial City upon a snow-white steed, and received the plaudits of the people. And so Jesus Christ, astride the snow-white charger of righteousness and power rides in swiftness and strength into our earth, into our inner land. I have heard the hoofs of His horse thundering through the corridors of my soul as He has marched into my land conquering and to conquer, bringing all into submission of Him.

Jesus, when He appeared on the world scene, came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and the first word of that gospel is this: "REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Mat. 4:17). Jesus saw that their attitude was not simply WE DON'T UNDERSTAND, but WE WILL NOT UNDERSTAND. We do not like the lifestyle You advocate. We are looking for a Messiah who will crush our enemies. We do not want to hear that we are unconverted sinners and that we need a Saviour. The scriptures had plainly foretold that the Messiah would come as a great King. So naturally the carnal minds of men looked for a King who would come in grandeur and majesty, sitting upon a golden throne and attired with costly robes of royalty. Jesus did come as a King, but His Kingdom was not of this world system. His Kingship ruled through righteousness, divine judgment and dominion over every evil and unclean spirit that was in man. "Wherefore receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably (well pleasing with reverence and godly fear" (Heb. 12:28). We are receiving a Kingdom, because we have received the KING, and He dwells within, and as He rules and reigns within, all of HIS DOMAIN becomes ours as we become ONE IN HIM. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. His joy becomes our joy. His peace becomes our peace. Then, our life manifesting the fruits of this Kingdom, we shall surely be well pleasing unto God.

A preacher once wrote, "Jesus Christ will return to this earth and with a mighty hand FORCE the people of the world to be happy and righteous." Ah, I have news for you, preacher; you cannot FORCE anyone to be happy, much less is it possible to force men to be righteous. Only a mighty transformation by the inworking of the Holy Spirit can accomplish so great a feat. Were Jesus Christ to come to earth to FORCE the people to do right, it could result only in the building of larger and larger prisons to accommodate the rebels; for apart from the washing of regeneration by the Holy Ghost within no man CAN do righteousness!

History is an endless record of wars, maladies, famines, and all kinds of other events which only result from that which is true WITHIN US. All the great events of history are but outward manifestations of the inner condition of the little cosmos of every individual. There is a vast universe without, and a cosmic world of good and evil, light and darkness, Christ and Belial. But all that exists in outer space does not exceed by one whit the realities which are to be found in the unfathomable depths of the INNER SPACE of a man's life. Man is but a microcosm of the macrocosm. Every thing that appears visibly without is first and foremost carried on invisibly within the innermost realms of man's being. There are inner forces just as complex, intricate, spacious, expansive, unsearchable, inexhaustible, and powerful as those cosmic forces without.

Men have fondly hoped to solve the troubles of the world by treaties of peace, by conferences, by leagues, by alliances, by summits, by understanding and agreement, and above all, through the influence of religion. International conference after international conference has been held; disarmament has been proposed; appeals have been made to the United Nations Organization; a World Court has been formed; leaders of the free world and the super powers have met again and again to compose their differences. But it is becoming more and more plain to all that the evils of the world which turn the hearts of men from peace and righteousness to war and evil cannot be overcome by parliaments, or cabinets, or conferences, or courts, or alliances, or commissions, or councils, or conventions, or treaties, or tribunals, or armaments, but only by a complete change of individual hearts and individual lives by the inner dominion of the Christ of God. For wars issue not from outer conditions, and things, and circumstances, and delicately hung balances between nations, and the breakdown of international diplomacy, BUT OUT OF THE NATURAL HUMAN HEART. Wars and evil are not the result of imperfect human government, but of IMPERFECTION IN THE HUMAN HEART. "Whence come wars? ... come they not hence, even of YOUR LUSTS THAT WAR IN YOUR MEMBERS?" (James 4:1).

The tendency of the human race as a whole has downward spiritually from the beginning. As a whole, man's penitence has been temporary, his apostasy repetitious. His acknowledgment of God's authority has been feigned, or at best half-hearted, his loyalty to the kingdom of darkness practically unqualified. His reformations have been superficial and brief, his revolts deep and protracted. As widely as the race is scattered, so widely have the works of the flesh been manifested. Throughout all generations they have been the same everywhere. The fountain is corrupt, and the stream cannot be better than its source. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, saith the Lord. The source of wickedness is within, and the manifestation of it without. And that is precisely why, precious friend of mine, the Kingdom of God IS WITHIN, and the rule of the King must be established WITHIN.

The persistent, perverse, unholy disposition in the "natural man" and the "carnal mind" does not change itself. Refinement will not change it. Education will not change it. Evolution will not change it. Society will not change it. Religious creeds and ceremonies and programs will not change it. "Deliverance meetings" will not change it. The perfidious hearts and lives of fallen men can no more be changed by these means than an Ethiopian can change his skin or a leopard his spots. The only way a change can be brought about is by being "created (anew) in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10). In all the ages of the past the only permanent reformations have been those which were wrought of God in INDIVIDUALS. All national reformations and improvements have ended in degeneracy and revolt. All ecclesiastical reformations, after they have run their course, have ended in backsliding and apostasy.

We have two verses in the New Testament which tell us what the Kingdom of God is NOT. Let us see what they say. When we learn what it is NOT, it explains more perfectly what it IS. "For the Kingdom of God is NOT meat and drink..." (Rom. 14:17). I believe this is symbolic. It means that it is not basically a physical, materialistic or ceremonial thing - "...but the Kingdom of God IS righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Secondly, "The Kingdom of God IS NOT IN WORD, but in power" (I Cor. 4:20). What does this indicate? It would indicate that the Kingdom of God is vibrant. The Kingdom of God is action. The Kingdom of God is life. The Kingdom of God is creative. If the Kingdom of God IS in power, this means the Kingdom of God is presently alive, active and functioning. Where God is, His presence is emanating life, healing, restoration or heaven's powers. The Kingdom of God is not to be found in the things you know about God or the depth of your knowledge and understanding of the deeper truths of sonship, reconciliation, etc. One knows that a person is in the Kingdom of God because of the life that emanates through him in faith by the Spirit of God. The Kingdom of God is not in word (head-knowledge of doctrines) but it is in POWER. The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but is righteousness - right being and right living. It is peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

The Kingdom of God is POWER. Paul tells us in I Cor. 1:24 that "Christ is the power of God." If Christ is the power of God, what kind of power is He? Why, spiritual power of course! There is nothing clearer in the history of this world than that Christ is power. He has made new men and women of tens of millions. He has turned them right around and set their faces towards God. That is the hardest task in the universe. To create a world is nothing compared with re-creating one human soul. The victories of Alexander the Great, Caesar, Napoleon, were child's play in comparison. Their power could crush men into a feigned submission, but it could not penetrate the inner nature and change the secret heart and will and soul. This is what Christ has done again and again. Have you ever tried to reform any soul held in the grasp of some sin? Motive after motive you urge - the injury he is doing to himself, his self-respect, public opinion, the love of friends and family, his place in this world or the next - all in vain. For a moment the poor sinful feet make a feeble struggle to lift themselves out of the mire, and then sink back deeper. A sense of despair comes over you: you feel as if there were nothing to which to appeal. And then one day a new heart, a new will, a new spirit are given by the sovereign operation of God; the man stands up in the glory of Christ. If you ask him the secret, he would tell you, with Paul, that Christ is the power of God unto salvation! Now, believe me, there is nothing worth calling power compared with the power that can accomplish that. To break a man's spirit; to reverse his will; to turn the currents of his heart; to make him love what formerly he hated; to set his spirit triumphantly superior to sin and weakness and sorrow and death; to translate him into the Kingdom of the Son and give him seating in heavenly places; to make him a son of the Most High with a calling to glory and virtue: whoever can work these revolutions is strong beyond all that the mighty of the earth ever conceived of power. And Christ has done it again and again, praise His wonderful name. And He shall reign until all enemies are under His feet and the last soul in heaven, earth and hell has been re-created into the image of God.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Mat. 6:10). So then the Kingdom of God originates in the realm of spirit (heaven) and finds expression in the earth-realm (physical). It is set up in the believer's heart. The Lord God omnipotent then reigns when He is known through the indwelling Christ. He takes unto Himself His mighty power and subdues all things unto Himself. He goes into the soul, conquering and to conquer, until He has put all things under His feet. He works in the soul, until every thought is brought into captivity and obedience to Christ. We are praying for the time when God will give every unbeliever in the universe to Jesus Christ for His inheritance. We pray for the day when the uttermost parts of the earth will come under His dominion and possession. We pray for the day when all kingdoms will bow before Him and all nations shall serve Him. We pray for the day when the mountain of the Lord's house, His government of kings and priests, the many-membered Christ of God, shall be established everywhere. We pray for that day when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in and all Israel shall be saved. In that day it shall be seen that Christ is King over the whole earth. He will appear to every soul on earth, in heaven and in hell as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is proper for those who love Him and seek His appearing, to pray that He would haste the time. Everyone should pray that His Kingdom, the Kingdom of grace and glory and power would come quickly and swallow up the kingdoms of earth.

Men need not a King to straighten out the mess in the outer world - they need a King to change the inside of every man! "Please come Lord Jesus," I found myself saying the other day, after reading the gory news. Killings and muggings, and violent jail-breaks; with endless marriage disputes; child abuse by men who should know better; the video tape muck and mire sewering through our cities and homes; drunkenness with its toll of killing; mass killings of innocents in bloody strife in countries all over the earth; and last but not least, what kind of a human being have we that could push the red button, sending the whole race into oblivion? And, praise God, the King is coming!

When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them, "The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation..." That is, the Kingdom of God does not come with outward show, with external pomp, being outwardly observed by all, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" (Lk. 17:20-21), or as the Diaglott gives it, "God's Royal Majesty is among you." The wonderful and rich truth the Lord presented here is that "the Kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU." He was telling us that the King is among His people, or more personally and intimately, Jesus was revealing, "THE KING IS WITHIN YOU, and if anyone says to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not" (Mat. 24:33). He then states that false prophets and false Christs should arise, and we have seen this come to pass in our day. False prophets and false anointed ones will attempt to tell us that the Christ may be here or there, but we know they are deluded, for Christ, the King, IS WITHIN US.

It is another mystery, but it is a grand fact of truth nevertheless that Christ first reigns IN us that may consequently reign THROUGH us. "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" (Mat. 25:34). "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (I Cor. 6:9-10). "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD..." (I Cor. 15:50).

The word "kingdom" indicates the richness of the heritage of the saints. It is no petty estate, no happy corner in obscurity. I heard a good man say he should be content with a cabin in the corner of glory land or a spot just inside the gate. I shall not be! The Lord says we shall inherit a KINGDOM. We would not be satisfied to inherit less, because less than that would not suit our character. "He hath made us kings and priests unto God" (Rev. 5:10) and we must reign for ever and ever, or be as wretched as deposed monarchs. A king without a kingdom is an unhappy and unfulfilled man. If I were a poor servant, a servant's quarters would be a boon, for it would correspond with my condition and degree; but if I am made a son of God, an heir of God and joint-heir with Jesus; if I am made a priest and a king, I must have a kingdom, or I shall not have attained to a position equal to my nature. He who makes us kings will give us a Kingdom to fit the nature which He hath bestowed upon us. Beloved, do strive after, more and more, that which the Spirit of God will give you, a KINGLY HEART; do not be among those who are satisfied with the miserable nature of ordinary humanity or the childish hopes of the babes in Christ who throng to the churches which are merely nurseries for the birthing, rearing and educating of babes and which then stiffle and threaten to suffocate the life out of these little ones with their own static creeds, lifeless traditions and infantine programs. They eagerly look for mansions and harps and golden streets and wings and white night gowns in that glory world above, unable to comprehend that such glittering diadems are only nursery toys to God's true kings; the true riches are ETERNAL SPIRITUAL REALITIES; the true treasury wealth looks down upon the stars. Do not sell yourself short, ye sons of the Most High! Get a kingly heart - ask the King of kings to give it to you, and beg of Him a royal spirit. Act royally on earth towards your Lord, and for His sake towards all men. Go about the world not as mean men in spirit and action, nor yet in false humility as paupers and beggers, but as kings and priests of a race superior to the dirt scrapers who are on their knees, crawling in the mud after fleeting earthly riches and transitory worldly fame.

What Christendom in general cannot comprehend is that the Christ does not rule alone but through a many-membered body. Man in God's image, man in Christ at the right hand of God, is God's government in the Kingdom of God. Was not this magnificent purpose burning in the heart of our heavenly Father when on the sixth creative day He proclaimed the wonderful decree: "Let us make man in our image ... 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" (Gen. 1:26). In this shadowy type we behold a vivid portrait of God's purpose for man, that when man comes fully into GOD'S IMAGE he shall be, first, the ruler of things BENEATH, the lowest realms of the bottomless, typified by the fish swarming in the depths of the seas, and the creeping things; next, the things upon the EARTH, typified by the cattle, and all the earth; and lastly, the things of the HEAVENS ALSO, typified by the fowl of the air. And should someone find it too difficult to embrace so great a truth from so small and insignificant a type, I would remind my reader that it was upon this very type from the ancient Garden of God, as reiterated by the prophet David in the eighth Psalm, that the writer of the book of Hebrews enlarged when by the Spirit he wrote, "For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What IS man, that Thou art mindful of him? Thou madest him a little lower (Gr.: for a little while lower) than the angels; Thou CROWNEST HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, and didst set him OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS: Thou hast put A-L-L  T-H-I-N-G-S in subjection under his feet. For in that He put ALL in subjection under him, He left N-O-T-H-I-N-G that is NOT put under him! But NOW we see NOT YET all things put under him (man). But WE SEE JESUS ... CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOR" (Heb. 2:5-9).

You won't quite grasp that at first. It's too overwhelming! To be CROWNED means to be given KINGLY RULE. To be crowned with GLORY and HONOR is to be given such rule as Jesus Christ has NOW, and of that rule we read, "Wherefore God also hath HIGHLY EXALTED Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, of things in HEAVEN, and things in EARTH, and things UNDER THE EARTH; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11). The rule that Jesus Christ now has is the very same rule over the identical THREE REALMS of heaven, the earth and the abyss, which God delegated to Adam, the MAN IN GOD'S IMAGE, in Gen. 1:26! We have already stated that MAN in God's image, MAN IN CHRIST AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD is God's government in the Kingdom of God. What a hope! What a calling! How much better, how much higher and more meaningful is this than harps and fluttering wings and white night gowns! A kingdom denotes rulership and advancement of all kinds. It means WORK and RESPONSIBILITY and a place of ministry and authority to bless. Glory! Little wonder in the light of truth so sublime that Daniel would prophesy three times that the SAINTS WOULD TAKE THE KINGDOM and reign for ever and ever. If you feel weak and helpless before a calling so high and holy, and that you could never fill such a role, remember that it is WITH HIM and UNDER HIM who is the Head and not apart from Him. We will be so fully and completely joined to Him that it will be literally true: AS HE IS SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.

I have met men who professed that they had no desire, no ambition whatever to rule and reign with Christ. It is enough, say they, to know that we are saved by grace and shall make heaven at last. In fact, I have been greatly criticised by some for my hope of inheriting the Kingdom of God and sitting with Christ upon the throne of universal dominion. In the eyes of these accusers I am vain, conceited, self-righteous, presumptuous, heretical and power-mad because I cherish the beautiful hope of sonship and rulership in the Kingdom of God. But I do not hesitate to tell you that Christ Himself has graciously bidden us to overcome and share with Him His authority over the nations and all things. He would both be King IN US and exercise His regal power THROUGH US. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). Such reward to His faithful followers is merely the tangible expression of the approval of God, and we may no more deny Him the pleasure of expressing that approval than we may renounce it once it is conferred. HE WHO DESPISES A THRONE DESPISES HIM WHO CONFERS THE THRONE. It was one of our Lord's rebukes to the Pharisees - "The glory that cometh only from God YE SEEK NOT" (Jn. 4:44). The Spirit of the Lord has been speaking to my heart. He is urging me to become a true partaker of the HEAVENLY CALLING.

Throneship involves far more than mere power over men's live and events. IT IS A MINISTRY AND AUTHORITY TO BLESS. I might add that it is the greatest ministry available with the largest capacity to bless. The purpose and scope of this Kingship ministry is given in Eph. 1:10 wherein we read, "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together into one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him." The apostle here takes up the divine intent, namely the goal of the divine plan which ordained that the whole creation, fragmented by its subjection to vanity - this gross material realm with its ensuing sin and death - should be restored to its pristine purity and original order, as it was when created "in Christ" in the beginning. Thus he writes that God "purposed in Himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather in one all things into Christ." The Greek word translated "dispensation" (IOKONOMIA) is a compound of two words meaning "house" (OIKOS) and "law" (NOMOS). By definition "dispensation" means stewardship, administration or over-sight of a household." In Lk. 16:2-4 OIKONOMIA is translated "stewardship" in the follwoing phrases: ". . give account of thy stewardship"; ".....taketh away from me the stewadship"; ".....and when I am put out of the stewardship".

In I Cor. 4:1 Paul stated that he was a "steward" whom God had placed over His household, the Church. To him was committed the dispensation, that is the administration, the Gospel (I Cor. 9:17). To him was given "the dispensation of the grace apostle explains to be the "mystery" or sacred secret "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, it namely that saved Gentiles and saved Israelites form "the same body," which is the Church. Writing to saints at Colosse the apostle refers to this same "dispensation of God" which had been given him for the sake of the Church (Col. 1:25). This was what Paul and the other apostles "dispensed" or administered to the "household of God" (Eph. 2:11-22; 3:2-6). They "dispensed" or administered the grace of God, the gospel of God, and GOD HIMSELF!

It should be clear to every thinking mind that the business of a steward is not only to control the wealth and goods of his master, but to administer, apportion, assign, allot, distribute and dispense to all for whom it is intended. Thus, the "dispensation" of God is not merely the control of the things of God, but the very dispensing of the things of God and of God Himself. If we make a thorough and careful study of the scriptures with spiritual insight, we will realize that the great purpose of God is to DISPENSE HIMSELF INTO HUMANITY. It is regrettable that the term "dispensation" has been misused by the church systems. It means far more than a period of time - it bespeaks the administrative arrangement, the governmental management, or the distributing, dispensing stewardship of God's plan. In this divine dispensation God, who is almighty and all-inclusive, intends to dispense nothing other than HIMSELF to us. There is a "fullness of times" in which God shall dispense the fullness of Himself into everything in heaven and in earth. He accomplishes this by gathering all things together into one IN CHRIST, and it is there, in the Christ, that all the fullness of God dwells. May the spirit of wisdom and revelation from God impress this upon you deeply!

As one has written, "God is exceedingly rich. He is like a successful business man who has an enormous amount of capital. God has a business in this universe, and His vast wealth is His capital. We do not realize how many billions, countless billions, He has. All of this capital is simply HIMSELF, and with it He intends to "manufacture" HIMSELF in mass production. God HIMSELF is the Businessman, the Capital, and the Product. His intention is to dispense Himself to many people in mass production. Therefore, God requires such a divine arrangement, a divine management, a divine dispensation in order to bring Himself into humanity." Praise His name! As His Kings and Priests upon His throne the elect sons of God are the governmental arrangement by which and through which God dispenses Himself into His creation. What an opportunity to change things! What an occasion to bless and heal and lift and transform the world! It would be a crime against humanity, my beloved brethren, to carelessly neglect and thus despise, as Esau despised his birthright, the position of responsibility and opportunity to bless and restore creation proffered to us by the illustrious King of kings and Lord of lords!

The reason so many people fail to attain to the great heights of the Spirit is because they are unable to see God's purpose, and therefore they have no particular incentive to seek the great heights that are in Him. So many Christians are far too taken up with carnal ideas and childish notions about mansions and harps and sitting on clouds eating pork chops with nothing to do and all eternity to do it in, to be able to grasp the true purposes of God!

There are certain basic principles of the Kingdom of God that must be a part of the frame of mind and the experience of all who press forward into sonship to God. We must learn to think like God. We must begin to RULE WITH CHRIST IN THIS LIFE. Too many saints are weak, frustrated and defeated. May the dynamite of God's Spirit blow us all out of the low places of lethargy, discouragement, oppression and defeat into a vibrant walk with Christ in the high places of peace, joy and triumph of His Kingdom. "Strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the devil. For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world - the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground IN THE EVIL DAY, and, having fought to the end, TO REMAIN VICTORS ON THE FIELD" (Eph. 6:10-14, Weymouth).

We are called to reign with Christ from the highest heaven. Such all-embracing majesty is far too vast for my feeble understanding, yet I know by the Spirit that the body of Christ is in practical preparation for the explicit purpose of UNIVERSAL DOMINION. But how can a man rule over principalities and powers and universes if he is unable to RULE HIS OWN SPIRIT? "He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that taketh a city" (Prov. 16:32). God is a God of principle. He does not do anything by chance. It is my deep conviction that what happens in your life and mine is a result of the use or abuse of the principles of the Kingdom of God. Learn this, beloved, and you will know one of the fundamental principles of reigning with Christ: OUR AUTHORITY IS OVER SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS FIRSTLY IN OURSELVES! "To him that overcometh will I (consequentially) give power over the nations: and he shall rule them..." (Rev. 2:26-27). "To him that overcometh will I grant (consequentially) to sit with Me in My throne" (Rev. 3:21).

You can never rule anything until first you overcome it WITHIN YOURSELF. To "overcome" means TO COME UP OVER THAT WHICH IS OVER YOU. When, within yourself, you rise up above the circumstance, the problem, so that it no longer controls or harasses you, you are then ready to begin to control it, to no longer be the victim of circumstances, but the master of them. Come up over what the religious systems have fed you. Come up over your own pride and inherent weaknesses. Come up over your desire to build a reputation for your name. Come up over the myriad pressures from within and without. Come up over the world of confusion and turmoil about you. You are called to be an OVER-COMER. Come over that wall! Come over into the Kingdom of God and a realm of complete victory.

One cannot make way for the King in other realms effectually, until his own heart has been cleared for the coming of the King. Here in one's self the wilderness is to be penetrated - depths of depravity must be filled; heights of insubordination must be lowered; all rough ways of self-will must be smoothed; and the crooked roadways of the carnal mind must be relaid with the precious mind that was in Christ Jesus. Here in one's own heart and life the work of kingship is to begin. We must reign as kings in the little kingdom of our own nature where we have been slaves. The rebel elements within our being must be conquered once and for all.

It is by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, that we overcome the enemies. As we use the weapons which we have carefully hung about our necks, we go from victory to victory, and hang up the trophies we take in battle until the walls of the armory are adorned with the weapons and shields that we use, and the weapons and shields that we have captured from the enemy. If we cannot come out victoriously over ourselves and over the little temptations and frustrations here, how can the Lord trust us to reign over that which is without? What kind of warriors would we make? How much could He depend upon us? He will give us the place for which we are prepared and qualified; we must set our faces to be overcomers if we are to sit with Him upon His throne and reign with Him. We must know how to use the armor which He has provided, the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

When God gets ready to assume His rightful place in the universe again, He will say, "I have people here who have been tested." How can we rule in the Kingdom of God unless we are tested first? How can God trust us to rule or to have dominion over the universe if He can't trust us with our own families. If God cannot trust us with ten dollars, how could He trust us with the wealth of the nations and the forces of the cosmos? Have you met the kind of person who can never keep a steady job? The first day that something goes wrong, they want to quit and look for another job. And usually the thing that went wrong was that the boss expected his money's worth! They might complain about the working conditions, but most folk simply want to complain about work. The carnal mind is lazy. It doesn't want to work or exert itself. It is too slothful to OVERCOME! This is the kind of person who is unstable as water (Gen. 49:4). I do not hesitate to tell you that such cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Man's first instinct under pressure is to run, to extricate himself from the situation. When we run from the problem immediately we FLUNK THE TEST. When we fail to overcome IN the problem, our character in that area is left weak, undisciplined and undeveloped. Oft times, so they can appear it "spiritual," men divorce their wives, wives divorce their husbands, parents abandon their children, people move from place to place, from job to job, from church to church. Often people pray like this: "Lord deliver me from this job where everyone is so filthy and the boss so hateful; give me a job with the Full Gospel Business Men where everyone is spiritual and praises God and speaks in tongues!" Ah, we seek an "environment" that is "conducive" to our "spirituality," little realizing that in that environment where all is so beautiful and harmonious we only APPEAR to be spiritual because there is nothing to cross us, nothing hostile, no adversities, no inconveniencies, in short, NOTHING TO OVERCOME! You can run from the problem, my friend; you can seek an environment where nothing is adverse to you, my beloved; you can even have faith where God will just solve all your problems and pour down the healings, prosperity and blessings; yes, you can do all this and be a Christian, even a good Spirit-baptized Christian, and make it to heaven someday; but I would be remiss if I did not warn you that you cannot do this and BECOME A RULER!

The journey to the throne of the universe begins in that small and undistinguished place where you are. The Kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU. The enChristed who are to reign with Christ first from sea to sea, then from planet to planet, and finally from universe to universe, are being prepared. Think not in your heart, precious friend of mine, that you may pass your life here, careless, indifferent to the dealings of God, suddenly to awake one fine morning to find yourself sitting with Christ governing the galaxies, because such a thing will not be. Begin today to MAKE WAY FOR THE KING!

This present time is but a proving ground for those who through grace will reign with their Lord over the endless vastnesses of infinity. He is raising us up to sit with Him in the higher than heavenlies. And the place which He is preparing for each one is not only a world to come, and a Kingdom of Life and Light, but a place IN HIM, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, Spirit of His Spirit, nature of His nature, life of HIS LIFE!

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