Thoughts from the Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 15 March 2023 08:54

Kingdom living (part one)
Some 760 years before Christ was born, Isaiah the prophet foretold of the establishment of the Lord’s house which we’ll see today is the church. We’ll also see that this passage refers to the kingdom of our God and of His Christ! Isaiah 2:2 (NKJV) 2 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.”
Scholars are in agreement that Isaiah is speaking of a time in the future when the Lord’s House, the Kingdom of our God would be established – and that it would be in the last days in Jerusalem. In Acts 2:16-17, Peter made it quite clear on the day of Pentecost that they were living in the “last days” spoken of by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28). This passage gives meaning to Isaiah’s prophecy of the “last days” as well. The “last days” had arrived, and these would be when the “mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established.”

In 1 Tim. 3:15 Paul teaches us that the “House of God” is the “church of the living God: 1 Timothy 3:15 (KJV) 15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” This first Pentecost after the Lord’s ascension was the day of the beginning of God’s new relationship with His people – in the “Last Days”!!! This was the Lord’s house, the church that Isaiah had prophesied of, and which you can read about in Acts Chapter Two.

But it’s also the day in which Peter exercised use of the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” in keeping with the Lord’s promise. The Lord had given Peter the charge in Matthew 16:18-19 ( KJV ) 18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

In Acts 2:47 on that eventful day, God added the saved ones to the church. God was taking saved ones out of darkness, and translating them into the kingdom of His dear Son: Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV) 13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
Isaiah’s statement of Isa. 2:2 indicates two things about membership in the Kingdom of God – the house of the Lord – the church: 1) Citizenship would be available to all races and nationalities; 2) Second, it implies that citizenship in the Kingdom of God, which is the church, would be greatly desired. “All nations shall flow unto it.”

Membership in that coming Household of God, the Kingdom of God, the church, was a thing to be excited about and earnestly longed for!! Jesus affirmed its existence was imminent, Mark 9:1 (KJV) 1 “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” It was to appear during the lifetime of that generation, and, praise God, it came! According to Colossians 1:13, God added them to the Kingdom. According to Acts 2:47, He added them to His church. Jesus reigns today as King over His Kingdom.

It’s still so, and we can be members of that same Kingdom today!!!

The author can be reached for comments at 256-574-2489.

-Terry Broome