Session 3 - Right of entry
By David Woodbury.
Within most of us is an innate sense that fallen humanity has no right of entry into the kingdom of God. Yet at the same time, we have discovered that part of our being is spiritual, imparted to us by the Creator and this needs to belong somewhere.
Within most of us is an innate sense that fallen humanity has no right of entry into the kingdom of God. Yet at the same time, we have discovered that part of our being is spiritual, imparted to us by the Creator and this needs to belong somewhere.
Common sense dictates that our
spiritual being needs to belong within a spiritual environment such as the
kingdom of God. So having found the first key of belief in God, how do we get
there and who has right of entry?
Jesus went
to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “I am the Son
of Man. Who do the people say I am?” They answered, “Some people say you are
John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah. And others say that you are
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you
say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.” Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No person
taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. So I tell you,
you are Peter. And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death
will not be able to defeat my church. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The things you
don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow. The things you
allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” (Matthew 16:13 - 19 - ICB)
I am aware that much controversy surrounds our key passage of
Scripture, Matthew 16:13 – 19, and it is not the intention
of this book to provide an in-depth explanation; that will be left to scholars
and commentators far more learned than I. However, one simple truth leaps out
at us from this narrative. In response to his declaration of faith in Jesus,
Peter was given the keys to the kingdom of God.
These keys are not so much found in a human person (Peter) and the
church he may or may not have founded but they are found by all who confess
like Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
This is not a mystery. The truth is plain for all to understand.
To those, who like Peter, believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, belong the keys and right of
entry into the kingdom. Our task as seekers of the kingdom of God is to discover
those keys, understand how to use them and realise what they will unlock for
us.
The reality of Peter’s spiritual pilgrimage is typical of many true
seekers after personal spirituality, great affirmations of faith followed by
abject failures. Yet nowhere is it recorded that Jesus withdrew his entitlement
to the keys of the kingdom. Citizenship in the kingdom of God is not so much
about performance as it is about faith in Jesus Christ. If our citizenship was
based on our performance then we would all be stateless; rather our tenure is
based on our faith in and commitment to the person of Jesus Christ.
One of the great benefits of citizenship in the kingdom of God is
that like Peter, we are granted revelations from God through his Holy Spirit.
Sometimes these revelations come as blinding lights that envelop our entire being,
but mostly they are revelations that are clearer in hindsight when we take time
to meditate on our experiences and process the truths they contain.
Throughout
the course of human history the way to God has been complicated by highly
complex doctrine and theological jargon. Earlier in the 16th chapter
of Matthew Jesus counsels his disciples against the elaborate and complex
doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (See Matthew
16:1-12) He then attempts to focus their thinking one issue: Who do the people say I am?
This is not a highly intellectual or difficult question; it comes
down to a fairly basic response to what is in essence a simple question: And who do you say I am? It certainly
appears that Jesus intended that entrance into the kingdom of God could be understood
and achieved in the simplest way, even by children.
The kingdom comes
When John
the Baptist appeared on the scene as the forerunner to Jesus, it was at a time when
no prophetic voice had been heard within the Jewish nation for about 400 years.
John’s challenge was for the people to return to the spiritual kingdom that God
had envisaged for humanity.
About that
time John the Baptist came and began preaching in the desert area of Judea.
John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon.” (Matthew 3:1 – 2)
More than
any other Gospel, Matthew’s Gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God. Matthew’s
picture of Jesus is of a man born to be King. Jesus walks through his pages as
if in the purple and gold of royalty.[1]
Much of Matthew’s gospel is written in kingdom language for his concept is that
of Jesus as king.
John the
Baptist was setting the scene for the conditions of entry into the kingdom of
God. To belong to this kingdom required a radical change of mindset and
outlook. He told his listeners that regret or remorse over past action was
insufficient; there had to be a radical change to their way of thinking if they
were to become citizens in this kingdom of God. Evidence of a changed mind
and a changed life were the visible fruit of citizenship in the kingdom of God.
This basic thought continues right throughout New Testament writings.
We need to note that both Jesus and
John the Baptist commenced their ministry with the same theme: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.[2] The great tragedy of the Jewish nation is that they were looking
for the establishment of this promised kingdom of God, but their perception was
one of a geographical and material kingdom like that of their ancestor David,
and not a spiritual kingdom. They felt their inheritance as children of Abraham
would guarantee them a place in the kingdom of God.
The idea that they would need to
repent, change their mindset and way of living was surprising, if not offensive
to them. Yet the reality of life, even for us today is that spiritual life
tends to become stale and mundane, and a constant call to renewal is necessary.
Jesus clearly understood that it would be extremely difficult for seekers
after personal spirituality to fully comprehend the conception of the kingdom
of God and he emphasised its importance by telling a number of parables that
illustrated its meaning and significance. In the 13th chapter of
Matthew alone Jesus uses this phrase in a number of parables, among them the
parables of:
Ø
The wheat and the weeds (The kingdom grows almost invisibly among its
enemies),
Ø
The pearl of great price (Citizenship in God’s kingdom is our most
valuable possession)
Ø
The
great fishing net (God determines who will be in his kingdom).
Since the
kingdom of God is not of this world it may be difficult for human beings,
confined to this materialistic and self-centred age, to understand or identify
with it. To be a citizen of this kingdom requires a total
reversal of this world’s values. There is a sense in which the kingdom of God
finds its real realm in personal spirituality, in the hearts, emotions, minds
and will of people.
The kingdom of God is a community where God’s will is as central and conformed to as it is in heaven.[3] Those who obey the will of God, who live as God wants them to, dwell within this Kingdom. It has nothing to do with national, man-made or ecclesiastical communities; it is something that is intensely personal. It has do with all that is within me, my will, my heart, my emotions, and my whole life. It is something that only I can bring myself under submission to.
It may be
that the kingdom of God is difficult for mere human beings to comprehend for it
comes from place we cannot fully comprehend. It is not of this world and cannot be thought of in worldly terms.[4] However, like many aspects of spirituality it must be believed and
accepted by faith; there is no other way.
Jesus went to great
lengths to impress on his listeners that entrance into the kingdom of God was a
matter of the spirit and that it can only be accessed through a spiritual
process. The scripture is quite clear, unless a person, by their own volition,
allows the Spirit of God to renew them; they cannot have any part in the
kingdom of God.
God’s kingdom is within you
20Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will
the kingdom of God come?” Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom is coming, but
not in a way that you will be able to see with your eyes. 21People
will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is within you.” (Luke 17:20 - 21)
In saying this, Jesus wanted to take
the thinking of the people from the material world that surrounded them and
focus it inward, on the spiritual, and upward, to the Father.
Perhaps it is difficult for us who are connected
to a material world to grasp the concept of a kingdom that is within the heart of the believer. A Christian missionary
to Laos experienced a powerful lesson on the indwelling of the kingdom of God.
He noted that prior to the colonisation of Laos and Cambodia the rulers of
those countries had an agreement as to the nationality of those in the border
areas. People who lived on short-grain rice, built their houses on stilts and
decorated them with Indian-style serpents were considered Laotians. Those who
ate long-grain rice, built their houses on the ground, and decorated them with
Chinese-style dragons were considered Vietnamese. The precise location of a
person's home was not what determined his or her nationality. Instead, each
person belonged to the kingdom whose cultural values he or she exhibited.[5]
Likewise citizenship in the kingdom of God is about the spiritual values we
have embraced and exhibit rather than any external connection we may have.
Although we exist in a material world the
kingdom of God is about God’s total presence in our hearts, minds, thinking and
actions. This kingdom is not present with the pomp, glory or power which
we often attach to earthly realms. It totally rejects all symbols of worldly
power and rule which so frequently deceive humanity and blind them to the
kingdom of God.
We live in a world which is
basically material but where things may not always be as they seem. Spiritual
reality is often obscured by illusion and the over use of words and contrived
images. It is only by faith that we see through the subterfuge and come to
understand things as they really are.
The kingdom of God will be complete
when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth.[6] In his covenant with
Abraham God announced the coming of the kingdom of God (see Matthew 8:11) something
which became a reality with the coming of Jesus.
Happily, human history is moving
toward the full realisation of that kingdom's transcendent order. It will find
its culmination in the new heaven and the new earth described in Revelation
21:1.
Although the Old Testament contained
oblique references to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God only came in all
its fullness with the coming of Jesus and continues today with the work of
God’s Spirit within the lives and relationships of God’s people.
Christians must resist looking to
man-made institutions or programs for evidence of the development of God’s
kingdom. Rather they should look for what God is doing in people’s hearts. Each
of us needs to look into our own heart and be sure that we are truly citizens
of the kingdom of God.
BIBLE
BACKGROUND
Matthew 16:1-19
Matthew 3:2 & 4:17
Matthew 6:10
Luke 17:20 - 21
Matthew 8:11
PERSONAL
REFLECTION
Ø
In
what ways am I willing to invest time and effort in discovering and acquiring
the keys to the kingdom?
Ø
What
steps can I take to open my inner being up to revelation by the Spirit of God?
Ø
Jesus
asked his disciples; Who do you say I am? What
is my personal response to the question and what does that mean to me?
Ø Am I ready to embrace a radical change in my outlook and lifestyle and
how will I facilitate that change?
ACTION PLAN
Ø
Jesus
asked his disciples; Who do you say I am.
Ø
Set
down in writing my personal response to the question
and what it really means to me.
GROUP
INTERACTION
Ø
Citizenship
in the kingdom of God is not so much about performance as it is about faith in
Jesus Christ. Discuss this statement
Ø Jesus asked his
disciples; Who do
you say I am? Why was it so crucial for
the disciples to have a concrete opinion of who Jesus was?
Ø Discuss the ways in
which our perception of Jesus impacts our Christian living.
Ø What are some of the restraints that impede us from embracing the radical
change of mindset and outlook required to belong in the kingdom of God?
Ø
How can we develop an awareness of God’s kingdom within our own
Christian community?
VIDEO:
Click on or paste the following link to watch the video for sessions 3.
https://youtu.be/Rt-YsiJoJ14
Click on or paste the following link to watch the video for sessions 3.
https://youtu.be/Rt-YsiJoJ14
DOWNLOADS:
Click on or paste the following link to download or print documents for session 3.
Click on or paste the following link to download or print documents for session 3.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqcRuZ3XUOKql2frFxnwYjzkXz4O?e=bIcGZz
(Right click to view or download individual files)
(Right click to view or download individual files)
[1] William Barclay –The Daily Study Bible – The
Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, p9
[2] Matthew
3:2 & 4:17
[3] Matthew 6:10
[5]
http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/god's_rule.htm
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