After thinking about the subject of the last six articles, number six was to be the last one, it has been determined that there is a need for the one more article. Therefore, the seventh article is here given. This article will address the power of the kingdom of Christ in her workings! We have here turned the wording of the subject backward. Starting with the King of the kingdom, “the King of kings and the Lord of lords,” is sitting on his throne in the castle. With him are his knights, the “ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20), who are the apostles of Christ! The castle is the seat of authority and the constitution of the kingdom is the “law of Christ,” (Gal. 6:2 and 1 Cor. 9:21) or “the teaching of Christ” (2 John 9).
The ruling preamble to the kingdom of Christ is stated by Jesus when he was asked, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28). There is no place in the kingdom of Christ, for any who do not start with Jesus’ answer: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). No one can be a member of the kingdom of Christ, unless he has put God first in his love, but this is also a lifetime commandment. There is no place where it stops; for if one stops loving “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind, and with all thy strength,” he is at the “door” of continual sin. As John wrote about “abiding in the teaching of Christ,” “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2 John 9). This is the first “step,” if you will, in preparing to enter the kingdom of Christ! The first commandment, if you will listen and hear, is the mark of the kingdom of Christ, it is the character, the nature, of the kingdom of Christ! There has not been enough emphasis on this subject, in our teaching/preaching for many years! The reason for this neglect may be stated, “That it requires too much on the one we are trying to convert, to teach such! The “wisdom of men,” keeps telling us, that it takes too much time to try to teach a person whom we perceive as a “good” prospect that he must “love God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength!” It is simply too taxing to the mind/heart of the person we are trying to convert! Nevertheless, Jesus said it is the first commandment!
Let us go back and look at the kingdom of Christ! We have the castle area, wherein abides Christ, the king, and his “knights” the apostles of Christ. It is from the castle that all authority flows out to the “villages” (the congregations). What power there is, when each “village” is filled with a mind/hearts that have been taught from the beginning, that they must love God first. You see, this being the nature of the kingdom, as Jesus said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and John wrote: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). There is no commandment given to the villages, to each member of a village, that is “grievous!” The Greek word used by John is, “barus,” and it means: “heavy in weight;” then, “metaphorically 2a) burdensome 2b) severe, stern 2c) weighty.” There is no room for crying out, the commandments of Christ, set forth in his teaching are just too hard, to be taught to one who might otherwise be a “good” convert! Just how can we teach this “good” perceived that he/she must love God first? If we do so, he/she will never obey the gospel! Here is a thought question: “How can one obey the gospel who does not love God?” For those who do obey the gospel but find themselves sinning, God has a plan for those times when we come up short, when we miss the mark: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What a kingdom is the kingdom of Christ!!
The nature, the character, of the kingdom of Christ is so important to our having a correct understanding of it! If we fail here, nothing else can be right! How can an honest person, read these words, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8); and fail to love God? Is it possible to believe these words, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6); and not believe that our first act in having faith, is that God will reward us, without loving God, “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength?” NO!
Oh, the beauty of the kingdom of Christ! Is there a place within it, that beauty does not exist? NO! Not when each “village” has started and continues to love God, to love God first, to love God “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength!” Is this the kingdom you are working in? Is this the kingdom that you our adding the beauty of your life to? Are you really adding beauty to the kingdom of Christ?
Frank R. Williams