29.1 Application
© 2017 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
The revelation of Father is family.
The most significant thing to me out from this study of the Kingdom of God is that everything Christians ascribe to “heaven” as a “destination,” we transfer entirely to Church as God means Church to be, the House of His dwelling. Father just being Himself inside His creation is a fellowship of people walking together in love. The separation of heaven and earth must end in all of our understanding, for all such thinking is only death. And God’s form, His outward appearance, out from which flows all the ordering of the New Creation, is human beings, walking this earth inside of heaven, walking together in love.
Kingdom Is Relationships
Kingdom is outward. Kingdom is not something that can happen in and of ourselves. Kingdom exists only inside of relationships, inside of how all the elements of a new creation operate together as a unified whole, a complete ecosystem. Thus you, as a learner of Jesus, can apply Kingdom only by the operation of Love between you and other Christians.
I do not discount the gift of evangelism that God has given to some. I oppose completely the “get out and save the lost” whip that is used to drive God’s people in unbelief. The true witness of Christ is as non-Christians see the Love of God for real in operation among believers in Jesus.
Full Salvation
Here is the clearest statement in the Bible regarding the nature and context of our final salvation as well as, in equal measure, the fullest expression of our witness, the very thing that will persuade the world to believe and to know.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me (John 17:22-23).
Whatever topic we have studied inside of Kingdom, we have never been far from John 17, the speaking and the faith of Jesus out from which all the New Creation flows.
How Do We Live Here?
That they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. To apply Kingdom is to live and walk in all the meaning found inside these words.
EXCEPT! Here is what we find. Kingdom shows us exactly where we are going; yet, knowing that we are incapable of fulfilling anything that is Kingdom, we continue to ask ourselves “What really is the full meaning of these words?” And “How do we live and walk only here?” In Symmorphy V: Life, we will measure out the meaning of what these words describe, and in Symmorphy IV: Covenant, we will anchor ourselves entirely inside the HOW.
Kingdom Requires Covenant
This is why God places Kingdom before us first, so that, seeing what we must accomplish in casting the curse from off this earth, in setting all creation free, and in ordering all things by the river of Spirit flowing out of us, we then turn to His Heart that Father might show us HOW.
And the HOW is the Symmorphic relationship in Jesus’ words, a relationship based entirely inside of Covenant. I (Jesus) in them (us), and You (Father) in Me (Jesus). The result is the only thing salvation and the Kingdom of God is, you and me together, made perfect in one. And the moment this happens for real, right here on this earth, all mankind knows that God sent Jesus.
Applying Kingdom
So, how do we apply Kingdom? You, as an individual, are part of God’s Kingdom, but only by the Holy Spirit flowing out from you to connect you together with other believers in Jesus. And Kingdom is truly known only as that flow also comes back to you in a mutual fellowship.
Now, in our study of our weapons, I left off Paul’s conclusion in Ephesians 6, an omission that has been sitting in my heart as something important that must be included. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel… that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:18-20).
Personal Commitment
Paul was not placing himself as the “center of the Kingdom” for his readers, but rather, he was giving himself as a focal point for their faith, and for the sending forth of the Holy Spirit out from their active involvement in the Kingdom.
The goal is that the mystery of the gospel might be spoken with all boldness, and that mystery is Christ living as us, or, as we have come to know it, symmorphy. And thus the topic of personal commitment cannot be left out of any teaching on Kingdom, for it is only through our personal commitment to one another that we are part of that Kingdom. That commitment is not to some individual or some group but to the speaking of the mystery.
Prayer as Rivers of Spirit
You see, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints is the real operation of the Kingdom of God, in other words, rivers of Spirit flowing out of us connecting the whole body together as one. This is not just the weapon of the Spirit, all of us together; it is the life of the Body. It is, in fact, “heaven.”
Now, when we think of prayer, the exercise of unbelief that we once called “prayer” is not in our minds. Prayer is the expectation of God. Prayer is Father and us together sending forth Oour Holy Spirit, convinced that the Spirit will accomplish all Oour desire.
Prayer as Breathing out Spirit
In Symmorphy II: Essence, we learned that you cannot have a living planet without breathing a heaven upon it. Thus we see this prayer as our present application of Kingdom, whether we find ourselves alone as in the present season, or in the midst of a community of Christ. We are, right now, breathing life, breathing Spirit, breathing heaven upon this earth. Thus we see this action of praying, not just as we have learned to be the Mercy Seat, but as the entire fabric of Spirit flowing out from us binding us together in love.
You are accustomed to using the Greek concordance from Biblehub.com, thus I will simply state my understanding of how the words of Ephesians 6:18 fit this environment of our hearts out from which these rivers of living Spirit flow.
A Forever Connection
Supplication from the Greek positions the need in creation against the God who exists to fill that need. This relationship is forever. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:7). The relationship between God and creation is always a perfect match between need and abundance. How could God be abundant if we do not need that abundance?
Prayer/praying, then, from the Greek is made up of two parts, pros, meaning “motion together towards something” and euxomai, “to wish for or desire.” In other words, prayer is Father and us together expecting Oour desire in all confidence.
Praying with God
“Watchful” means fully aware, fully participating together with God inside of every season or opportune time for rivers to flow out. “Perseverance” means Father and us together prevailing in our expectation of fulfillment.
In all things, we are NOT praying “to” God as if our Father is not inside of Jesus inside of us. Rather, we are praying together with Father in all confidence and expectation that Oour Holy Spirit will prevail. That confidence in which Father and we walk together is constant, firm, and unyielding. And our expectation is towards ALL who belong to Jesus, that we would be bound together as one temple through which Father is made known.
All the All's
Notice all the “all’s” that Paul always throws in when he is talking about God in action. All the saints, the entire body of Christ, leave no one out in our sight and in our expectation. We may not know these millions of individuals personally, but we do know the One who also lives in them and is the only life they are.
But then Paul turns the direction of his readers from “all” to himself, as I also have done. And also for me, that to me might be given utterance with boldness. This also is the commitment towards me that I have asked of you, your expectation of faith together with me that I might persevere in speaking (and writing) this Word of Christ.
Faith and Expectation
Paul was “in chains,” yet those chains did not prevent him from proclaiming the mystery of Christ. I, also, am “in chains,” the inability to connect boldly with people I don’t know, yet those chains do not prevent me from proclaiming the mystery of Christ. We have the results of Paul’s chains, the books of Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians, written down. I, also, am free to write with all my heart.
And so I have set myself to write, to write and to send out what I write in faith and expectation, CONFIDENT that all things that Father and I desire WILL come back to me by the constant workings of Oour precious and holy Spirit.
Christian Community
And the thing Father and I desire together, the very thing for which I persevere against all opposition in writing and in sending out what I write, is Christian Community. Christian Community, flowing out from this Word of Christ that fills my heart, a dwelling place forever for me and for all who belong to me.
There is no Kingdom of God without Christian Community, without the Church being the Church in all fulness across this earth. And thus your application of Kingdom, in sending forth the Holy Spirit with Father in expectation and towards all who belong to Jesus, is for one purpose, for the gathering together unto Christ.
Your Assignment
For this reason, here is your real assignment for this course. The moment God opens that door for you into Christian Community, in the right season and at the right time, in the right place and with the right people – For Father’s SAKE – run through that door. Certainly, there are giants in the land, but you will give them no heed, for you KNOW they are all as nothing and you KNOW the fruit of that land, that it is good, the treasure of Christ forever in one another.
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the face, the visible appearance (Christian Community), of our Lord Jesus Christ inside His presence? For you are our glory and joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).