How many Christians these days are taught “the manner of the kingdom”: the spiritual and moral precepts that instruct God’s people in His ways? Many are confused and divided, as were the children of Israel, more than three thousand years ago.
“The children of Israel” is a term used in the Bible to describe the collective offspring of Jacob, whom God renamed “Israel”. When Joshua led the Israelites across the River Jordan into the Promised Land, they were not yet a nation—they were tribal families. After possessing their promised portions of Canaan, the tribes became territorial and inter-tribal clashes (ancient equivalents to rivalry between churches) were common.
“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Not right as God saw it but as they did.
Individualism was rampant. The strongest warrior, the one who led the call to arms against the oppressor of the day, was called a judge. The Spirit of God empowered many of these heroic figures, one of whom, Deborah, proved equal to the task.
But the judges were warriors, not monarchs, who rescued their people from the consequences of their own bad behaviour. In the Book of Judges, “There was no king in Israel” is used repeatedly to emphasize the impulsive and often violent acts that accompanied the judgements of those tribal warriors.
“Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” indicates that a moral vacuum had resulted from his lack of national identity. There is a great deal of difference between a random succession of heroic figures who “save the day” and an orderly progression of monarchs who rule wisely.
Today, more than three millennia after the judges, not much has changed. Charismatic heroes appear and disappear. At their best, they minister powerfully, striking heavy blows for spiritual freedom. They pay the price for power in time spent aside from family and friends, waiting on God’s anointing, then emerging to pray with power for the demonized, the sick, and the diseased.
Freedom follows in their wake, and if most of these charismatic heroes are less than perfect, appreciative people overlook their character deficiencies—even their moral failings. But few of them know much about the kingdom; their vision is to win souls at all cost.
God’s power in their lives is a direct result of their commitment—much like Samson’s, whose uncut hair was a sign of his Nazarite vow. But after he flirted with bondage the seven locks of his hair were cut off, and with them the power that had made him strong. Modern-day heroes suffer the same fate. Promising men take their place, and new expectations emerge. But ungoverned individuals are prone to unruly behavior.
God’s people need the rule of their Sovereign Lord over their lives. Through His Cross, Jesus has delivered the Church from its spiritual enemies. Total submission to Jesus Christ and resistance to sin is basic to life in the Kingdom of God.
It follows, then, that Kingdom Living in its fullness can come only when the idea of charismatic rescuers is dismissed and the identity of the Church as “the Israel of God” is understood. The Kingdom of God is not a denominational or extended family tribal system!
Our King has a kingdom, over which he rules and through which He exercises His authority on earth. The Church has “the keys of the kingdom”: revelation knowledge that allows believers to access kingdom authority. As Christ’s body, the Church has been entrusted with the values and principles of the Rule of God on Earth. It is what David’s throne was: “The throne of the kingdom of the LORD…” (1 Chronicles 28:5 & 29:23)
The children of Israel became a nation only when all the tribes were given a national identity. King David’s royal rule bound the tribes together into one nation. Under the rule of David’s son, Solomon, Israel became the greatest of all kingdoms. Solomon’s ultimate failure and that of his descendants emphasized the need for a greater son of David, one whose ascension to the throne would usher in a reign of everlasting righteousness.
Jesus Christ was destined for that throne and ascended to it, after His triumphant Resurrection! King David, “being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit upon his throne, he (David) foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ…this Jesus God has raised up…being exalted to the right hand of God…” (Acts 2:30-33)
“Now we see not yet all things put under Him, but we see Jesus…crowned with glory and honor.” Jesus now reigns on earth from heaven through his church and will reign on earth personally when he returns! How well you and I “reign in life” now by Jesus Christ will determine our role then and the extent of our authority.
So, while retaining the distinctive values of your ‘tribe’ — whether it be Evangelical, Pentecostal or other, keep in mind your wider role in the Kingdom, which is outside the door of your church, where a weary world waits to see the Jesus who is in you working through you.