The Administration of the Kingdom of God'

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1,2—NIV)

It is possible that the central issue in Christianity in our day is the administration of the Kingdom of God.

Never before have the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit been so widespread among the believers. But this familiarity with the power and ability of the Spirit is creating a problem. Christian leaders, perhaps with the best of intentions, are seeking to use the Holy Spirit according to their own notions of what should be done in the Kingdom, how the resources of the Kingdom should be administrated. The issue is that of the mind and desires of man versus the mind and desires of Christ as the origin of direction and practice.

Am I or is Jesus to be in control of the things of the Kingdom? This is the great question confronting each of us.

We read in the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation that the False Prophet will support Antichrist. According to our understanding Antichrist is the administration of man in the political realm and the False Prophet is the administration of man in the religious realm.

Let us think for a moment about the Godhead. There are three Persons in the Godhead. Although the three Persons are One they are never confused as to identity. The Father is the One whose will is to be performed in the Kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus is the Word of the Father, the Expression of the Father's Person. The Holy Spirit is the wisdom and power of the Father who creates the universe according to the will of the Father as expressed through the Administrator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus came to bring us to the Father. He is the way to the Father.

The Lord Jesus is the Bridegroom of the Church as well as the beloved Son of the Father.

The Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God who died to make an atonement for our sins.

It pleases the Father that all the universe should become an expression of the Son. The Son is to become the Center and Circumference of all things.

It pleases the Father also that the saints should be the fullness of the Son. The Father loves the saints as He loves the Son.

The Son is the King. His scepter is righteousness. He is the Faithful One from the Father. It has been given to the Son to govern, to administrate all the wealth of the Kingdom. Although the Son will share the Kingdom with the saints so they become coheirs, yet the will of the Father always is expressed through the Son, the living Word.

The Holy Spirit always moves according to the will of the Father issued through the Son. This is why it is written that all things were made by Him, that is, by the Son.

To be continued. The Administration of the Kingdom of God 1