Reading 7. Kingdom Proclamation. Learning to Speak for God

by on January 3, 2017
➡ Average Reading Time: 8 minutes

Read Me First | Read Me Second | Read Me Third

Kingdom Introduction
Observing the Text!

The Kingdom and Prayer
One of our greatest directives in the church is the Great Commission which is found in (Matthew 28). We are told to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything Jesus had commanded. Baptizing means to evangelize. Often in our Western culture, evangelism has been demoted to the memorization of a few scriptures to quote to a prospect or a programmed list of a few spiritual laws to walk through. We might ask the followings questions:

  • Are these the only ways in which to reach a person who is without Christ?
  • How does the Holy Spirit work in the area of evangelism?
  • Why did God send him to the church?
…the prime purpose of the coming of the Spirit of God upon the disciples was to equip them for mission.

To answer the question, “Why did God send us his Holy Spirit?” Michael Green responded:

There can be no doubt from a candid examination of the New Testament accounts that the prime purpose of the coming of the Spirit of God upon the disciples was to equip them for mission. The Comforter comes not in order to allow men to be comfortable, but to make them missionaries (Green. I Believe in the Holy Spirit . 58).

This is counter to the often-espoused understanding that the Holy Spirit is for the believer and is private for the community of God, the church. Scripture gives us a different view than the one often espoused today. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said that he would give the Holy Spirit (parakletos, pronounced para KLEE tos) to be with the church forever. The best way to understand the idea of parakletos is with the word continuator. The ministry of the Holy Spirit continues the kingdom ministry of Jesus in this present evil age.

There are many approaches to evangelism practiced by Christians today. I believe we should when we use any of these tools in winning individuals to Jesus. The ones we mentioned above, scripture memorization and spiritual laws, provide a message for the mind. There is another area, however, which does not receive as much attention as others. The late John Wimber, a co-founder of the Vineyard, called this area Power Evangelism, a phrase which John coined. He taught that this form of evangelism greatly increases the effectiveness of our efforts to lead men and women to Jesus. It surely is a biblical way for the proclamation of the kingdom. He believed that this presentation of the gospel was rational (content) but transcended the rational (transrational). As the gospel is being explained (words) there is a demonstration of the power of God (works) that accompanies it. This form of evangelism is empowered by the Spirit who is the continuator of the ministry of Jesus. Empowered Evangelism is a demonstration of the newest version of the kingdom of God at war with this present evil age. How then is the concept of evangelism to be understood in light of the declared mission of Jesus to energize the kingdom of God on the earth?Empowered Evangelism is a demonstration of the kingdom of God at war with this present evil age. Click To Tweet

Interpreting the Text!

God’s Power
How does the church proclaim the kingdom? How are we to give away the kingdom in this present evil age? Jesus left his disciples with the command to make disciples teaching them to observe everything that he had commanded (Matt. 28.20). The objective of Jesus was to produce obedient followers. Followers would continue to point out the kingdom in this present evil age as they continued to speak the words and do the works of Jesus (Matt. 20.20b; Acts 1.8). As the Holy Spirit continues the kingdom ministry of Jesus, he passes the authority that had been given to Jesus to the followers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the vehicle of God’s authority by which his followers fulfill the Great Commission.

The original word used in the Great Commission passage (Matt. 28.18) for authority, exousia, denotes power which was divinely given to Jesus. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we receive the authority of Christ, which is the authority of the Father so that we can what he is doing. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus told the Jews who were persecuting him, “the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated the gospel by doing the will of the Father. The word sees in the original language suggests possibility or potentiality. The action of seeing, which is described, may or may not occur and depends on circumstances. This clarifies that Jesus, depending on circumstances, could see what the Father was doing and when he did, he responded with the ministry of the Father. Jesus brought the kingdom of God into this evil age. This ministry is now our ministry and every Jesus follower gets to participate.

Empowered Evangelism
Paul’s testimony to the Corinthians concerning his initial efforts in their lives certainly includes, if not defines, the idea of Empowered Evangelism. He says:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but (my words and my preaching were) with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Cor. 2.4-5 NIV).

I didn’t preach my message with clever and compelling words. Instead, my preaching showed the Holy Spirit’s power. This was so that your faith would be based on God’s power. Your faith would not be based on human wisdom (1 Cor. 2.4-5 NIRV).

While Paul was in Athens he had preached with compelling words but with scanty results.

While Paul was in Athens he had preached with compelling words but with scanty results. When he arrived in Corinth, it is recorded that many believed (Acts 18.8). According to Paul’s own words (noted above), he spoke the proclamation of the gospel and in that speaking, there was a demonstration of the gospel as Jesus had done throughout his ministry. First Corinthians 2.4-5 is another way of stating the words and works of the kingdom in action. The scripture above is often misunderstood as a contrast, i.e., preaching to persuade (with wise and persuasive words) or a demonstration of the Holy Spirit (healing, etc.) The NIRV (New International Readers Version®: 2014) clears up the reading of the passage as I indicated by the parenthesis inserted into the NIV translation above.

Kingdom Conflict and Proclamation
As we risk ministering the power of the kingdom with the content of the kingdom, we begin functioning as members of God’s army. As such, we will certainly find ourselves face to face with the forces of the kingdom of darkness. Jesus followers should be sensitive to how they are functioning. When we are a member of the army, the armament (see Kingdom of God: 5) should be adorned. When functioning as a member of the Body of Christ, we should realize that a different set of actions should occur (a thumb does not do the same thing as a shield). We certainly do not want to use the armor of warfare on our brothers and sisters!

For the most part, the Western church is unaware that there is a war going on. Two things seem to be true. First, the Western church reads the New Testament and does not see that there is a war going on between God and Satan. Second, the secular worldview of the Western church cripples it from understanding the full message of the New Testament in regard to the war between God and Satan.

For the most part, the Western church is unaware that there is a war going on. Click To Tweet

The Westerner simply does not recognize the spirit world as real. Its worldview is set on a scientific assumption that is controllable. Because we have no concrete belief in the spirit world, it is simply relegated to myth and superstition. The influence of this Worldview inhibits modern Evangelicals from experiencing Empowered Evangelism. The Evangelical often has no paradigm to understand how Empowered Evangelism works. As an example, some of the controversies about Spiritual Gifts, which I call Gracelets, might be reduced if one examined his or her own worldview first.

The Western church often screens out the possibility of another sphere’s interaction and…

The New Testament demonstrates continual communication between the natural and the so-called supernatural [ref]See my discussion of this topic in my book: Gracelets. 94-97[/ref] (dreams, visions, prophecies, prophetic words, angelic visions, etc.). God used and still uses these forms of communication today to communicate with his children. The Western church often screens out the possibility of another sphere’s interaction and thus misses these important forms of communication from God to help in evangelism.

By including the possibility for another sphere’s interaction, we will begin to encounter Satan’s kingdom almost continually, thereby entering kingdom conflict. It is here that we must take on Christ’s authority as given in the Great Commission and do what he commanded: heal diseases, cast out demons, and demonstrate the kingdom of God in this present evil age.

When a believer changes worldviews and encounters the kingdom of God sphere, kingdom conflict is more recognizable. It has always been there, but new worldview glasses help to recognize it. As we begin to experience this sphere, we begin to experience the kingdom/rule of God as it wars with this present evil age. Any believer or church entering the ranks of Empowered Evangelism will begin to experience the supernatural in evangelism and in the building up and healing of the Body of Christ.

Living into the Text!

It is always important to apply what you have learned. Pause at this point and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to meditate on and put into practice some or all of the following.

  • When was the last time you witnessed with power with the words and works of the kingdom? What happened?
  • Why do you think that Empowered Evangelism will or will not work?
  • Why is it important to see and then do what you see the Father doing? Is this limited to what is spontaneous or does it include what Scripture shows us that the Father is always doing?
  • When was the last time you dressed as a soldier of the kingdom, but should have been acting like a member of the Body of Christ? What were the results?
  • Have you ever had a dream, vision, prophetic insight, angelic visitation? Do you believe these are still active?
BibleInfoResources!

The articles below come from various Bible Dictionaries and other sources. The posting of these brief articles are to introduce some readers to the vast amount of information that is provided to enhance your reading of the text of the Bible with a hope that it will lead to a better understanding of the text and will lead the reader to an improved praxis in his or her community of faith and personal life. You might read the articles offline in a number of different Bible Dictionaries. If you do not own a Bible Dictionary, I would recommend New Bible Dictionary 3rd Edition. If you like lots of color pictures, try Revell Bible Dictionary. Revell Bible Dictionary is no longer in print but is available from Amazon. One of these should suit your personal needs.

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Read Me First

 

Throughout these sessions, I have used the word ecclesia (singular) for the usual word church and ecclesiae (plural) to indicate a church in a particular geographic place, i.e., the ecclesiae at Corinth, meaning the whole of the many smaller ecclesia that met in homes in Corinth. This is to distinguish between the Institutional Church model (IC) and ecclesia that meet in cities and towns around the world. The ecclesiae written about by the authors of the Second Testament were not the same as what the “church” has become over the years of its existence. Usually, but not always, folks think of a church as a place where they go to a building and set in rows of pews and listen to music and sometimes sing and listen to sermons by a pastor or senior pastor. The ecclesiae of the Second Testament time did not invoke this model.

 

I have discovered over the years that if you want to try and change minds about something special, you have to venture out and reword it in order to grasp a foothold for a new refreshed understanding of the idea presented by the word. Such is the case between "church" and "ecclesia."

 

Happy Reading!

Read Me Second

 

Referenced verses in the text of this study are not used to prove some point of view. They are merely markers where the subject matter is referenced by other books and authors. To gain a larger view of each quote, a serious student of the Holy Writ would take the time to view the reference and see what the background is. The background provides tracks on which the meaning of a text rides. So knowing the context of a referenced passage would help the reader to gain a more thorough understanding of an author than just the words quoted and marked by a verse number that was not a part of the original author's text, which as you might remember was performed on the text in a random fashion many years later.

 

Happy Reading!

Read Me Third

 

The verses that are referenced in these sessions are not meant to prove a point. They are simply pointers to where the idea being written about may have a correlation. In order to see if they accomplish the thesis presented by the original author, a student should read, at a minimum, the chapter in which the verse is found as well as trying to ascertain what the original author may have meant to say to the original audience.

 

Of course, this is a lot of work but it is beneficial work. If one does not understand what the author meant when it was written and the audience could not have understood by what was written, then the words on the page can mean anything that a present reader may assign as a meaning, thus distorting what God was inspiring for the original writer to write to the original audience to hear.

A great and recent book by N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird entitled The New Testament in Its World would be a wonderful addition to your reading helps.

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

Guide Yourself into a Kingdom of God Mindset in 13 Readings, which covers a matrix through which you can view the writings of the New Testament about the subject matter of the kingdom of God. You can enjoy this material completely in just 13 readings. Of course, you can take all the time you want, say 13 Days or 13 Weeks. It's up to you. To get the most from your reading, it is important that you read the biblical text along with it. The New International Version (NIV: Electronic Version 2011) is the text on which the studies are built.

The first section of each reading is called Observing the Text, which is an introduction to the section that is being read. Next, you will encounter Interpreting the Text, which suggests an interpretation of the section your are reading. Then, there is Living into the Text, which suggests questions, which may help you live into the text. This final section BibleInfoResources!, provides you with some articles that may interest you. After all, the text of Scripture was originally written for a community of Yahweh or Jesus followers to help them in their pursuit of God. The text was never meant to be for the accumulation of personal knowledge. Of course, the Holy Spirit is the final word for living your life and for the life of a community of Jesus followers. Listen to what he may be saying to your community of faith and personally about what you are reading. But, on a personal level, don’t get a personal application for you mixed up with the meaning of the text in Scripture. Remember this easy rule of thumb: one meaning, many applications. NOTE: Throughout the text, you will see words that have a thin dashed underline. When you place your cursor over the word(s) a small tooltip box will appear with more information about the word(s).

Each reading may include some of the following icons and sections:

Observing the Text! What does the text say? Provides you with a quick overview of the passage.
Interpreting the Text! What does the text mean? Helps you gain an understanding of the meaning of the text as those who first heard or read it may have understood it.
Living into the Text! What does the text mean to my community of faith and to me? Some reflections to help assist your community of faith and you to live into the Story of God.
WordTreasures: Defining the Text! Definitions of key words and phrases.
Behind the Scenes: Historical Background of the Text! A look at the historical background of the text
BibleInfoResources! Helpful resources for further readings. The Resource Information appears at the end of each of the studies. Reading this material in the noted reference popup will enrich your comprehension of the material under consideration.

 

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit (Ghost: Old King James translation) is the third Person of the Trinity.

His personality is proved (1) from the fact that the attributes of personality, as intelligence and volition, are ascribed to him (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 1 Cor. 2:10, 11; 12:11). He reproves, helps, glorifies, intercedes (John 16:7-13; Rom. 8:26). (2) He executes the offices peculiar only to a person. The very nature of these offices involves personal distinction (Luke 12:12; Acts 5:32; 15:28; 16:6; 28:25; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 2:4; 3:7; 2 Pet. 1:21).

His divinity is established (1) from the fact that the names of God are ascribed to him (Ex. 17:7; Ps. 95:7; comp. Heb. 3:7-11); and (2) that divine attributes are also ascribed to him, omnipresence (Ps. 139:7; Eph. 2:17, 18; 1 Cor. 12:13); omniscience (1 Cor. 2:10, 11); omnipotence (Luke 1:35; Rom. 8:11); eternity (Heb. 9:4). (3) Creation is ascribed to him (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30), and the working of miracles (Matt. 12:28; 1 Cor. 12:9-11). (4) Worship is required and ascribed to him (Isa. 6:3; Acts 28:25; Rom. 9:1; Rev. 1:4; Matt. 28:19).

Easton's Bible Dictionary: Holy Spirit

 

Jesus Followers

 

There are many synonyms to use for the word believer, which is the most common word for a person who has "converted" to follow Jesus. I have chosen "Jesus follower(s) or follower(s) of Jesus instead of the word believer in these presentations to allow the reader an opportunity to move away from the idea of believer which conjures up the possible thought of "ascent" to a set of doctrines that have been assembled by different groups over the centuries and show up in this day and age as a set of statements posted on web sites and other written material. These sets of beliefs are suggested by many as the ones that one should ascent to so that upon death the one who assents can go to heaven, i.e., just believe and you are good to go. Jesus followers/followers of Jesus suggest an action that one should take. Remember, Jesus told his disciples to follow him. Yes, belief is important, but one must move beyond belief to action.

 

(See "Discipleship" Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. 182-188.)